Characteristics and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction induced after interferon therapy in patients with chronic viral hepatitis / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To investigate the characteristics and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction induced after interferon therapy in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.Methods The clinical data of 96 chronic viral hepatitis patients received interferon therapy were analyzed retrospectively.Serological markers of thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies changes were observed,and were followed up for 1 year after treatment.Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate risk factors of thyroid dysfunction.Results Among the 96 cases,84 cases didn't develop thyroid dysfunction after interferon therapy(normal group),and 12 cases developed thyroid dysfunction after interferon therapy (abnormal group),the incidence was 12.5％ (12/96),there were 5 cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis,3 cases of Graves disease,3 cases of destructive thyroiditis,and 1 case of non-autoimmune hypothyroidism.The time to develop thyroid dysfunction was 2-7 (3.8 ± 1.9) months after treatment,the duration of thyroid dysfunction was 1-11 (4.2 ± 0.9) months.Five patients received endocrine therapy,and 2 patients stopped interferon therapy.All patients regained normal thyroid function during 1-year followup after end of treatment.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that female gender (OR =3.767) and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (OR =1.117) were the independent risk factors for thyoid dysfunction.Conclusions Hashimoto's thyroiditis,Graves disease,destructive thyroiditis and non-autoimmune hypothyroidism are the main types of thyroid dysfunction induced after interferon therapy in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.The thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies should be closely monitored during treatment in patients with chronic viral hepatitis receiving interferon therapy,especially in female and patients who have thyroid autoantibodies.

Expression of Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) Gene of Dirofilaria immitis Guided by Transcriptomic Screening

Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) infections affect domestic dogs, cats, and various wild mammals with increasing incidence in temperate and tropical areas. More sensitive antibody detection methodologies are required to diagnose asymptomatic dirofilariasis with low worm burdens. Applying current transcriptomic technologies would be useful to discover potential diagnostic markers for D. immitis infection. A filarial homologue of the mammalian translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) was initially identified by screening the assembled transcriptome of D. immitis (DiTCTP). A BLAST analysis suggested that the DiTCTP gene shared the highest similarity with TCTP from Loa loa at protein level (97%). A histidine-tagged recombinant DiTCTP protein (rDiTCTP) of 40 kDa expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) showed immunoreactivity with serum from a dog experimentally infected with heartworms. Localization studies illustrated the ubiquitous presence of rDiTCTP protein in the lateral hypodermal chords, dorsal hypodermal chord, muscle, intestine, and uterus in female adult worms. Further studies on D. immitis-derived TCTP are warranted to assess whether this filarial protein could be used for a diagnostic purpose.

Clinical study of optimization of treatment with lamivudine or de novo combination therapy with lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil for chronic hepatitis B after 48 weeks / 中国医师杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of the optimization of treatment with lamivudine or de novo combination therapy with lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil.Methods A total of 98 cases of chronic hepatitis B patients were randomly divided into optimization of treatment group and de novo combination therapy group,optimization of treatment group treated with lamivudine optimization therapy,de novo combination therapy group treated with lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil,virological,serological,biochemical and other indices were detected every 12 weeks,analyzed treatment effect after 48 weeks.Results Two groups were comparable baseline before treatment(P ＞0.05).HBV DNA negative rate,e antigen-negative rate,and resistance rates at week 48 were 86％,37％,and 0 in the de novo combination therapy group,and 59％,12％ and 18％ in the optimized treatment group (P ＜0.05).The e antigen seroconversion and ALT normalization rates were 23％ and 91％ in the de novo combination group,and 6％ and 86％ in the optimized treatment group (P ＞0.05).There was similar incidence of adverse reactions.Conclusions Compared to the de novo combination therapy group,the lamivudine-optimized treatment group can achieve higher HBV-DNA negative rate,e antigen-negative rate,lower resistance rates,and good safety.

Clinical Observation on Shilin Qinghua Decoction for Treatment of Urinary Calculi / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Shilin Qinghua Decoction(SQD) for the treatment of urinary calculi.Methods Two hundred urinary calculi patients were equally randomized into two groups: the treatment group received SQD(mainly composed of Herba Lysimachiae,Endothelium Corneum Gigeriae Galli,Radix Paeoniae Alba,Talcum,Radix Clematidis,Poria,Semen Vaccariae,Herba Plataginis,Herba Polygoni Avicularis,Herba Dianthi,Succinum powder),and the control group received uralyt.Twenty days constituted one treatment course,and the treatment lasted 1～3 course(s) according to the illness state.The therapeutic effect was evaluated after 2 months.Results The total effective rate was 96.0% in the treatment group and 81.0% in the control group,the difference being obviously significant(P