Pancreatic melatonin enhances anti-tumor immunity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma through regulating tumor-associated neutrophils infiltration and NETosis

Tumor microenvironment contributes to poor prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients. Proper regulation could improve survival. Melatonin is an endogenous hormone that delivers multiple bioactivities. Here we showed that pancreatic melatonin level is associated with patients' survival. In PAAD mice models, melatonin supplementation suppressed tumor growth, while blockade of melatonin pathway exacerbated tumor progression. This anti-tumor effect was independent of cytotoxicity but associated with tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs), and TANs depletion reversed effects of melatonin. Melatonin induced TANs infiltration and activation, therefore induced cell apoptosis of PAAD cells. Cytokine arrays revealed that melatonin had minimal impact on neutrophils but induced secretion of Cxcl2 from tumor cells. Knockdown of Cxcl2 in tumor cells abolished neutrophil migration and activation. Melatonin-induced neutrophils presented an N1-like anti-tumor phenotype, with increased neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) causing tumor cell apoptosis through cell-to-cell contact. Proteomics analysis revealed that this reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated inhibition was fueled by fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in neutrophils, while FAO inhibitor abolished the anti-tumor effect. Analysis of PAAD patient specimens revealed that CXCL2 expression was associated with neutrophil infiltration. CXCL2, or TANs, combined with NET marker, can better predict patients' prognosis. Collectively, we discovered an anti-tumor mechanism of melatonin through recruiting N1-neutrophils and beneficial NET formation.

Correlation between diabetic peripheral neuropathy and overall burden of cerebral small vessel disease in patients with type 2 diabetes / 国际脑血管病杂志

Objective:To investigate the correlation between diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and the overall burden of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods:Patients with type 2 diabetes and CSVD admitted to the Departments of Neurology and Departments of Cerebrovascular Diseases of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from June 2018 to July 2021 were enrolled retrospectively. An electromyography evoked potential meter was used to detect peripheral nerves and record the nerve conduction velocity, including median nerve, ulnar nerve, posterior tibial nerve, common peroneal nerve, and sural nerve. MRI examination and CSVD overall burden score were performed on all patients. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent correlation between DPN and nerve conduction velocity and the overall burden of CSVD. Results:A total of 142 patients were enrolled. Their age was 67.22±8.42 years; 65 were males (45.8%). The overall burden of CSVD: 69 patients were in 0-point group (48.6%), 32 were in 1-point group (22.5%), 19 were in 2-point group (13.4%), 12 were in 3-point group (8.5%), and 10 were in 4-point group (7%). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in age, hypertension, DPN, median nerve motor conduction velocity (MCV), ulnar nerve MCV, common peroneal nerve MCV, median nerve sensory conduction velocity (SCV), ulnar nerve SCV, posterior tibial nerve SCV, common peroneal nerve SCV and sural nerve SCV among the different CSVD overall burden score groups (all P<0.05). Ordinal multi-classification logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio [ OR] 1.051, 95% confidence interval [ CI]1.000-1.104; P=0.048), DPN ( OR 2.446, 95% CI 1.050-5.697; P=0.038), hypertension ( OR 3.578, 95% CI 1.627-7.867; P=0.002) were independently positively correlated with the overall burden of CSVD; common peroneal nerve SCV ( OR 0.972, 95% CI 0.946-0.998; P=0.035) and sural nerve SCV ( OR 0.940, 95% CI 0.917-0.964; P<0.001) were independently negatively correlated with the overall burden of CSVD. Conclusion:DPN is positively correlated with the overall burden of CSVD. Common peroneal nerve and sural nerve SCV are negatively correlated with the overall burden of CSVD.

Effect of electrode array type and insertion technique on the insertion force: in vitro cochlear model study / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect of insertion technique and electrode array type on the insertion force of electrode array, and to provide a basis for further optimizing electrode design and facilitating mini-invasive electrode insertion. Methods: Three types of electrode array from Nurotron (Standard Electrode, Slim-medium Electrode, Slim-long Electrode) were studied. from July 2019 to December 2019. These electrode arrays were inserted into the phantom models of the cochlea, manually or robot-assisted(medium speed and low speed). The real-time force during electrode array insertion was recorded by ATI Nano 17 Ti sensors and was analyzed by accessory software. Origin 2020b software was used for statistical processing. Results: The insertion force of all electrode arrays progressively increased with the insertion depth. With the manual technique, the peak force of slim-medium electrode insertion was significantly smaller than that of the standard electrode insertion((71.0±16.6) mN vs (140.9±52.7) mN, Z=3.683, P<0.01), and the peak force of the slim-long electrode insertion was between the peak force of standard electrode and slim-medium electrode(P>0.05). No difference was found in the force variation of insertion among the three electrodes(P>0.05). With medium-speed and low-speed robotic assistance, the peak force characteristics of three electrodes were similar to those with the manual technique, but the force variation of standard electrode insertion ((83.9±9.7) mN/s) at medium speed was significantly larger than that of the slim-long electrode insertion ((69.2±4.0)mN/s), and the force variation of the standard electrode insertion at low speed was significantly greater than the other two electrodes. For the same electrode, robot-assisted insertion presented significantly lower peak force and force variation than manual insertion for each type of electrode array. But there was no difference in the peak force and force variation between two-speed levels of robot assistance (P>0.05). Conclusions: The insertion force of the electrode array will be lower when a slim electrode array or robot technique is applied. Long electrode array might make manual insertion difficult or less precise. Robot assistance has advantage on force control during electrode array insertion.

Doctors and social media: knowledge gaps and unsafe practices

INTRODUCTION@#Easy access and availability of communication tools have facilitated doctors' communication, adding new challenges. Through this study, we aimed to determine the profile of the knowledge and practices of doctors in our institution, and to identify knowledge gaps in the use of social media accounts.@*METHODS@#An anonymous survey was sent by electronic mail in March-May 2018 to 931 doctors working in National University Hospital, Singapore. It included questions on demographics; use of social media; and case-based scenarios involving professionalism, patient-doctor relationship and personal practices of social media use.@*RESULTS@#The response rate was 12.8%. The majority of the respondents owned a social media account (93.3%), had not received education on social media use in medical school (84.0%), did not own a separate work phone (80.7%) and claimed to have no medical education on this as a doctor (58.8%). Unawareness of the institution's social media policy was reported by 14.3% of the respondents. Questions on knowledge of the privacy settings of their account were incorrectly answered. Only 75.6%-82.4% of the participants responded 'no' when asked if they would post pictures of patients or their results, even if there were no patient identifiers.@*CONCLUSION@#There is inadequate knowledge regarding institutional social media policy and privacy settings of social media accounts among doctors. Regarding practices in social media use, while most agree that caution should be exercised for online posts involving patients, ambiguity still exists. The emerging knowledge deficit and potentially unsafe practices that are identified can be addressed through continuing medical education and training on social media use.

Stability of anterior chamber after implantable collamer lens V4c implantation for one year in moderate and high myopic eyes / 中华实验眼科杂志

Objective:To investigate the stability of anterior chamber following implantable collamer lens (ICL) V4c implantation for one year in moderate and high myopic eyes.Methods:An observational case series study was conducted.Medical data of 19 patients (37 eyes) who received ICL V4c implantation in Xuzhou First People's Hospital from March 2016 to October 2017 were collected.The patients were 20 to 29 years old, with the preoperative spherical equivalent (SE) of -5.875 to -15.750 D, with an average of (-9.743±3.220)D.All eyes were followed up for one year, and the changes of visual acuity, SE and intraocular pressure were observed.Pentacam anterior eye segment analyzer was used to measure the anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber volume (ACV) and anterior chamber angle (ACA) before operation and at 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after operation, and to evaluate the vaults of the ICL V4c at different time points after implantation.This study protocol adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by an Ethics Committee of Xuzhou First People's Hospital (No.xxy11[2015]-XJS-004). Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Results:There were statistically significant differences in visual acuity between before and after operation ( F=5.057, P=0.007), and the one-year postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) was significantly better than the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before operation ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in SE and intraocular pressure among different time points ( F=1.294, 1.302; both at P>0.05). There were significant differences in ACD, ACV and ACA among different time points ( F=44.811, 889.971, 196.096; all at P<0.001). ACD, ACV and ACA at 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after operation were significantly lower than those before operation (all at P<0.001). There was a significant difference in the 1-month, 6-month and 1-year postoperative ICL vault ( F=7.256, P=0.001). The ICL vault at 1 year after operation was (433.784±168.550)μm, which was significantly decreased in comparison with (484.860±183.634)μm at 1 month and (464.351±170.167)μm at 6 months after operation ( P=0.006, 0.041). Conclusions:The anterior chamber is stable in one year after ICL V4c implantation, and the UCVA is better than preoperative BCVA.ICL V4c is safe and effective for moderate and high myopia.

Associations of Sarcopenia, Handgrip Strength and Calf Circumference with Cognitive Impairment among Chinese Older Adults / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#To evaluate the associations of sarcopenia, handgrip strength and calf circumference with cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults.@*Methods@#Totally 2,525 older adults were recruited from the Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study. Cognitive impairment was assessed by the Chinese Mini-Mental State Examination. Handgrip strength was calculated from the means of the right and left hand values. Calf circumference was measured at the site of maximum circumference of the non-dominant leg. The formula developed by Ishii was used to define sarcopenia. Multiple logistic regression was performed to evaluate the associations of sarcopenia, handgrip strength, and calf circumference with cognitive impairment.@*Results@#The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 34.36%. The adjusted odds ratio ( @*Conclusion@#Sarcopenia, identified by low handgrip strength and low calf circumference, was positively associated with cognitive impairment.

Current status of the research on nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease / 临床肝胆病杂志

Nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease (NAFPD) is defined as pancreatic fat deposition associated with obesity in the absence of significant drinking, and its pathogenesis remains unclear. NAFPD is closely associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), type 2 diabetes, pancreatitis, pancreatic tumor, and pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenal surgery and can promote the spread of pancreatic cancer cells and result in the early death of patients with pancreatic cancer. The diagnosis and evaluation of NAFPD mainly rely on pathological biopsy and imaging examination, but their clinical application is limited by detection techniques and diagnostic level. Major prevention and treatment methods for NAFPD include a reduction in body weight, bariatric surgery, and pharmacotherapy. Since there are few articles on NAFPD and it is not taken seriously in clinical practice, there are significant differences in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Therefore, this article elaborates on the current status of research on NAFPD and the advances in its diagnosis and treatment.

Predictors of hematoma growth in acute intracerebral hemorrhage: clinical,imaging features, and biomarkers / 国际脑血管病杂志

Intracerebral hemorrhage is the most important type of hemorrhagic stroke,and its mortality and disability rate are the highest among all types of stroke.Secondary hematoma enlargement is an independent risk factor for early neurological deterioration and poor outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.This article reviews the predictive factors and possible mechanisms of hematoma enlargement in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage from the aspects of clinical features,laboratory examination,and imaging examination.

Sleep, activity and fatigue reported by Postgraduate Year 1 residents: a prospective cohort study comparing the effects of night float versus the traditional overnight on-call system

INTRODUCTION@#As the traditional overnight call system was shown to contribute to fatigue, Singapore implemented a shift system in 2014. We aimed to compare activity levels, sleep (using a wrist actigraph), fatigue and professional quality of life between residents working on night float and those on overnight calls.@*METHODS@#All Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) residents at our institution were invited to participate. Participants were required to wear a wrist actigraph for four months and complete two validated surveys (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] and Professional Quality of Life [ProQOL] scale) once each at the start and end of the study.@*RESULTS@#49 residents were recruited. Night float and on-call residents showed a comparable median (range) number of steps (10,061 [1,195-15,923] vs. 10,649 [308-21,910]; p = 0.429), amount of sleep logged (361 [149-630] minutes vs. 380 [175-484] minutes; p = 0.369) and time taken to fall asleep (6 [0-14] minutes vs. 6 [range 0-45] minutes; p = 0.726), respectively. Night float residents had less efficient sleep, with 90.5% having sleep efficiency of over 85% compared to 100% of on-call residents (p = 0.127). More night float residents reported ESS scores > 10 (73.1% vs. 38.5%) and higher burnout scores on ProQOL scale (41.4% vs. 21.4%) at the start of the study. However, this was similar to the end of the study and not statistically significant.@*CONCLUSION@#Physical activity and amount of sleep were not significantly different between night float and on-call residents. Residents on night float reported comparatively more fatigue and burnout.

Efficacy comparison of paclitaxel liposome or gemcitabine combined with cisplatin for treatment of elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma / 肿瘤研究与临床

Objective To evaluate the clinical effects and safety of paclitaxel liposome or gemcitabine combined with cisplatin in elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell cancer. Methods A total of 52 elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell cancer in Kunshan First People's Hospital from January 2012 to October 2016 who received paclitaxel liposome with cisplatin (n=24) or gemcitabine with cisplatin(n = 28) were analyzed retrospectively. The patients received at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy, 2-6 cycles in total. CT was rechecked every 2 cycles. The clinical effects and adverse reactions were evaluated by National Cancer Institute Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (NCI RECIST) and NCI Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE). Results The objective response rate (ORR) and the disease control rate(DCR)in paclitaxel liposome group and in gemcitabine group had a lot in common [ORR:29.2 %(7/24)vs.32.1 %(9/28),χ2=0.054,P =0.817;DCR:70.8 %(17/24)vs.71.4 %(20/28),χ2=0.002,P =0.962]. The median progression-free survival(PFS) time in gemcitabine group was longer than that in paclitaxel liposome group (5.7 months vs. 5.4 months, χ2= 0.466, P = 0.495). One-year survival rate in gemcitabine group (37.0 %) was higher than that in paclitaxel liposome group (34.8 %) and there was no statistically significant difference (χ 2= 0.027, P = 0.869). However, hematologic adverse reactions in paclitaxel liposome group were lower than those in gemcitabine group (P< 0.05). Conclusion The effect of paclitaxel liposomes combined with cisplatin for treatment of elderly patients with advanced lung squamous cell carcinoma is not inferior to gemcitabine combined with cisplatin, which has less adverse reactions and may be recommended as the first-line chemotherapy for the patients.

Cerebral microbleeds and cognitive impairment: Spatial distribution implications / 国际脑血管病杂志

Cognitive impairment and dementia are increasingly considered to be a continuum of overlapping neurological syndrome in the elderly with cerebrovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease.The association between cerebral microbleeds and cognitive impairment have attracted more and more attention.This article reviews the relationship between spatial distribution of cerebal microbleeds and cognitive impairment.

Cryptogenic stroke in patients w ith patent foramen ovale / 国际脑血管病杂志

Cryptogenic stroke refers to ischemic stroke that can not be defined by routine examination at present. Studies have show n that patent foramen ovale may be a common cause of cryptogenic stroke, and its possible mechanism is the paradoxical embolism. With the development of imaging technology , more and more studies have show n that patent foramen ovale is closely associated w ith cryptogenic stroke. This article review s cryptogenic stroke in patients w ith patent foramen ovale.

Correlation between blood glucose variability and TOAST type of patients with acute ischemic stroke / 中华神经科杂志

Objective To study the correlation between blood glucose variability and TOAST type of patients with acute ischemic stroke and provide new evidence which can improve the prognosis of ischemic stroke.Methods One hundred and forty-three hospitalized patients with acute ischemic stroke from August 2013 to August 2014 were included.All patients were estimated about the general state of health and performed laboratory examinations and other auxiliary examinations.Then the TOAST type of all cases was classified.The 24-hour blood glucose monitoring was done to the patients to calculate the blood glucose variability.One hundred and forty-three cases were divided into blood glucose variability group ( standard deviation of glucose ( GluSD )≥1.4 mmol/L, 85 cases ) and control group ( GluSD <1.4 mmol/L, 58 cases) according to glucose variability.We estimated the neurologic impairment of the patients with the US National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale ( NIHSS) and the activities of daily living with Barthel index.The relation between blood glucose variability and the prognosis of ischemic stroke was analysed with multivariate analysis.Results Differences were significant in age, history of diabetes and NIHSS score between blood glucose variability group and control group.The degree of neurologic impairment of large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) group (moderate and severe neurologic impairment:43/53(81.0%)) and cardio-aortic embolism ( CE) group ( moderate and severe neurologic impairment:15/17 ) was more serious than that in small artery occlusion ( SAO) group ( moderate and severe neurologic impairment:6/71 ( 8.5%) ) , especially in CE group.The differences were significant (χ2 =7.043,P<0.05).Blood glucose variability in patients with LAA was more obviously than that in other patients.NIHSS score and activities of daily living of the patients estimated on admission and after 2 weeks were not different in the blood glucose variability group, but the difference was significant in control group.The poor prognosis in blood glucose variability group was 2.821 times that in control group ( 95% CI 1.880 -4.233 ).Conclusions The people sufferd ischemic stroke with old age, diabetes or severe case are more vulnerable to abnormal blood glucose variability.Abnormal blood glucose variability is an independent risk factor for acute ischemic stroke and induces difficulty to recovery and poor prognosis.

The significance of serum neutrophil extracellular traps in rheumatoid arthritis / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To explore the role of serum neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods The serum circulating free DNA (cf-DNA) / NETs in 45 RA patients and 18 healthy controls were detected by Pico Green dsDNA Quantitation Kits,and the association between serum NETs and ESR,DAS28 score,anti-CCP antibodies was analyzed.T test,rank sum test,Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis were ued for statistical analysis.Results ① The levels of serum dsDNA/NETs in RA patients [0.523 0(0.282 0,1.637 0) μg/ml] were significantly higher than those in healthy controls [0.410 5 (0.140 0,0.966 0)μg/ml] (Z=-2.419,P=0.016).② The level of serum dsDNA/NETs in RA was positively correlated with ESR and DAS28 score (r=0.357,P=0.016; r=0.325,P=0.029),but not with anti-CCP antibodies(r=0.146,P=0.434).③ The levels of serum dsDNA/NETs in RA treated by DMARDs were lower than those of untreated with DMARDs[0.516 5(0.282 0,1.637 0) μg/ml,0.523 0 (0.369 0,1.485 0) μg/ml,Z=-1.215,P=0.225],but the difference was not significant.Conclusion NETs maybe associated with disease activity and play an important role in RA pathogenesis.

Evidence of waveform information in arterial blood gas by beat-by-beat sampling method in patients with normal heart function / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Since 2011 EB-APS conference, we hypotheses that phase switching of inspiration-expiration is dominantly initiated by oscillatory information PaO2, PaCO2 and [H+] via fast peripheral chemical receptors. However, the evidence of the waveform of ABG is lack.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Six surgery patients with normal heart function and negative Allen test, had been placed the arterial catheterization directly connected to 3 x 1 000 mm pre-heparin plastic pipe for continuous collecting arterial blood. We counted the number of heart beat for the blood collecting time, and separated the blood pipe into the heart beat numbers' short pieces using haemostatic forceps, then put pipe into iced water at once fir analyzing PaO2, PaCO2, pH and SaO2 as soon as possible. We selected two breaths cycles of waveform from each patient for data calculations of magnitudes and time interval.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The heart beat numbers for filling blood into pipe were 16 ± 2, and all covered more than 2 breathing cycles. Each breathing cycle is cover 5 ± 0.6 heart beat. There were significant changes of PaO2, PaCO2, [H+] a and SaO2 (i.e. the highest high values compare to the next lowest values, P < 0.05). The time interval of changing PaO2, PaCO2, [H+]a and SaO2 magnitudes were 11.28 ± 1.13 mmHg, 1.77 ± 0.89 mmHg, 1.14 ± 0.35 nmol/L and 0.52% ± 0.44% respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This simple continuous beat-by-beat arterial blood sampling and ABG analyzing method is new and practicable. We obtain a clear evidence of periodic parameters ABG waveform, which following breathing cycle.</p>

Evidence of waveform information in arterial blood gas by beat-by-beat sampling method in patients with heart failure / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>We investigate the magnitudes of waveform changes of arterial blood gas (ABG) in patients with heart failure.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five patients with heart failure were selected, continuous collecting radial artery blood and measured PaO2, PaCO2, pHa and Sao2. We selected two typical breaths cycles of waveform changes of ABG from each patient for data analysis. Comparison of the adjacent highest and lowest values to verify the presence of a periodic waveform changes of ABG, and in addition, we used t test to analysis the range of waveform changes of ABG in patients with heart failure and patients with normal cardiac function and compared whether the difference between them.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 5 patients (2 surgical and 3 ICU) with heart failure, were 4 male and 1 female, (69 ± 7)year, (169 ± 10) cm, (75 ± 19)kg, LVEF = (38 ± 3)%. The heart beat numbers for full blood into the blood sampling pipe were 17 ± 2, and all covered more than 2 breath cycles. There were significant changes of PaO2, PaCO2, [H+]a and SaO2 (P < 0.05). The magnitudes of changing PaO2, PaCO2, [H+]a and Sao2 were (7.94 ± 2.02)mmHg, (1.18 ± 0.56)mmHg, (0.54 ± 0.17)nmol/L and (0.21 ± 0.07)%, and they were (6.1 ± 1.5)%, (3.2 ± 1.5)%, (1.5 ± 0.5)% and (0.2 ± 0.1)% from their mean respectively. Even these magnitudes fo all ABG parameters were trendily lower than those of patients with normal cardiac function, but only PaO2 and [H+]a were significant (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Using this simple continuous beat-by-beat arterial blood sampling method, we obtained a clear evidence of periodic waveform of ABG parameters following by breath cycle in patients with heart failure, but the magnitude trendily be decreased.</p>

Circulatory sleep apnea: Preliminary report of clinical observation on sleep apnea in patients with chronic heart failure / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The aim of this study is to investigate the occurrence and mechanism of Cheyne-Stokes breathing pattern in patients with heart failure.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-six patients who performed polusomnography sleep testing at National Center of Cardiovascular Diseases Fuwai Hospital from March to May in 2015. We divided them into chronic heart failure (CHF) group and non-CHF group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The occurrences of sleep apnea in two groups were high. In CHF group (n = 11) , there were 10 patients with apnea hypopnea index (AHI) > 5; and their AHI was 23.93 ±14.63. In non-CHF group (n = 45), there were 33 patients whose AHI > 5; and their AHI was 16.20 ± 18.76. The ratio of center sleep apnea to all gross sleep apnea ratio in CHF group was higher than that in non-CHF group (80.21% ± 30.55% vs 27.16% ± 35.71%, P < 0.01 ).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Based upon the new theory of holistic integrative physiology and medicine, we explain the mechanism of circulatory dysfunction induce the oscillation breathing in patients with CHF. The sleep apnea and C-S respiration in CHF should be called circulatory sleep apnea, rather than central sleep apnea.</p>

Preliminary study of clinical significance of decreased D(L)CO in patients with left ventricular heart failure / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study aimed to investigate the feature of D(L)CO (Diffusion Lung Capacity for Carbon Monoxide) in CHF (left ventricular heart failure) patients, underlying pathophysiological mechanism and clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively studied the D(L)CO, pulmonary ventilation function, cardiopulmonary exercise testing and related clinical information in severer HF patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Peak VO2 severely decreased to 34 ± 7 percentage of predicted(%pred) and anaerobic threshold to 48 ± 11%pred in all patients. D(L)CO moderately decreased to 63 ± 12%pred and there were 25 patients lower than 80%pred. FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC and TLC were 75 ± 14%pred, 71 ± 17%pred, 97 ± 11%pred, and 79 ± 13%pred, which indicated borderline or mild restrictive ventilatory dysfunction. The decrease of D(L)CO was more severe than those of TLC, FEV1 and FVC.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>For patients with severe CHF, cardiopulmonary exercise function is extremely limited, D(L)CO generally moderately declines and ventilation function is merely mildly limited. D(L)CO is the parameter for cardiopulmonary coupling, reflecting limitation of the cardiovascular dysfunction while without ventilatory limit.</p>

Circulatory breathing abnormality: Clinical observation on exercise induced oscillatory breathing pattern / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Exercise induced oscillatory ventilation (EIOB) during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is associated with severity and prognosis of disease, but clinical approach for the character of EIOB due to circulatory dysfunction are seldom reported.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This retrospective analysis of symptom-limited maximum CPET data with an increment of 10-20 W/min in 38 patients with CHF. We calculated the duration, frequency, amplitude and other parameters of EIOB.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 31 presenting with EIOB (82%) in all patients with CHF. In EIOB group, VE amplitude were (12.4 ± 4.4)L/min (accounting for 81% ± 30% of mean) and duration were (77.0 ± 20.0)s. The number of patients whose EIOB presenting at rest, exercise, recovery stage and the whole eriod were 24, 31, 4 and 4, respectively. Except VE, there were VO2, VCO2, RER and PETO2 presenting EIOB in all 31 patients; VE/VCO2, VO2/VE and breath frequency in 29 patients; PETCO2 in 26 patients; VT and VO2/HR in 25 patients; and HR in 2 patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EIOB may occur in any period of CPET, mostly in severe patient with CHF, and presenting in many variables. Due to it is resulted from the circulatory dysfunction, we should call it circulatory (cardiac) oscillatory breathing abnormality.</p>

Increased expression and activity of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To explore the significance of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through detecting the levels of AhR and its response gene cytochrome P4501 A1 (CYP1 A1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).Methods Peripheral blood samples were collected from 35 patients with RA and 20 healthy subjects.The expression of AhR and CYP1A1 at mRNA level were detected by real-time PCR.The percentages of AhR-positive cells in PBMCs were detected by flow cytometry (FCM).The effects of leflunomide (LEF) on the expression of AhR and CYP1A1 were analyzed.The detailed clinical data of RA patients were recorded.The disease activity score (DAS) was calculated.Correlation analysis between AhR/CYP1A1 level and clinical data was conducted.Results (1) Both the expression of AhR at mRNA level and the percentage of AhR-positive cells in PBMCs from RA patients without LEF treatment were significantly higher than those from healthy subjects [(3.61±1.65) vs.(2.00±1.27),P=0.002; (34.21±11.30)％ vs.(18.83±7.32)％,P＜0.01].There were no statistically significant differences in the expression of AhR at mRNA level and the percentages of AhR-positive cells between patients with or without LEF treatment [(3.83 ± 1.62) vs.(3.61 ± 1.65),P =0.670 ; (36.69±10.61)％ vs.(34.21±11.30)％,P=0.462].(2) Non-LEF treatment group showed a higher relative expression of CYP1 A1 at mRNA level than that from control group [1.33 (0.08,7.86) vs.(0.62 ±0.29),z=-3.922,P＜0.01],but there was no statistical difference between LEF treatment group and non-LEF treatment group [(2.62±2.08) vs.1.33(0.08,7.86) z=-0.133,P=0.894].(3) Neither the expression of AhR and CYP1A1 at mRNA level nor the percentages of AhR-positive cells showed significant correlations with clinical data.Conclusion AhR was highly expressed in PBMCs from patients with RA,which might participate in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.But the high expression of AhR did not reflect disease activity.Moreover,the treatment of LEF showed no significant influences on the expression of AhR and CYP1A1 in PBMCs from patients with RA.