Chronic Progression of Lung Cancer Recurrence After Surgery: Warning Role of Postoperative Pneumonia.

PURPOSE: The association between the process of postoperative pneumonia and lung cancer recurrence remains elusive in lung cancer surgery. Herein, the association between postoperative pneumonia and lung cancer recurrence was investigated, emphasizing the warning role of postoperative specific pneumonia in primary lung cancer resection patients. METHODS: The occurrence of postoperative pneumonia was assessed in 4-6 months (PPFS), 7-12 months (PPST), and lung cancer recurrence within 1 year (LRO) in 332 patients. The primary outcome was the development of PPST and LRO according to PPFS occurrence. The relevant risk factors of PPFS, PPST, and LRO were identified through multivariable regression analysis. RESULTS: During follow-up, 151 (45.48%) participants experienced PPFS. Irrespective of the existing postoperative pneumonia in 1-3 months (PPOT), PPFS significantly increased the risk of PPST (P < 0.01) and LRO (P < 0.01), and persistent PPST further increased the risk of LRO (P < 0.001). The generalized estimating equation identified chemotherapy as an independent risk factor for PPFS and PPST. CONCLUSION: PPFS was associated with the increased risk of PPST and LRO. Postoperative pulmonary inflammation assessed 4 months post-surgery also significantly influenced LRO development, indicating a need for close follow-up of lung inflammatory conditions to improve patient outcomes.

Comparison of a Novel Muscle Training Device with Conventional Rehabilitation Training in Motor Dysfunction of Lower Limb Patients: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative functional training for fracture or osteoarthritis is mainly focused on functional self-exercise, which aims to recover the function of the lower limbs. PURPOSE: To compare the function and life quality recovery in patients with fracture or arthritis treated with novel muscle training device (NMT) or conventional rehabilitation training (CRT) following surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 32 fracture patients were randomly divided into the NMT or the CRT groups. The evaluation was performed on the first and 7th day after surgery. The outcome measurements included the incidence of foot drop, Deep Vein Thrombosis and pressure ulcers, Hospital for Special Surgery knee score (HSS scores), pain scores for the Visual Analogue Scale (Pain scores for VAS), Zung self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and the Barthel Index score. RESULTS: The comparison of the change scores between the two groups indicated significant differences on day 7 following surgery in the Barthel Index score (P<0.01). The Pain scores for VAS between the two groups indicated a significant difference (P<0.05, U=20.0). The HSS scores between the two groups indicated a significant difference (P<0.05, U=19.0). The HSS scores exhibited a highly significant difference in the NMT group (P<0.01). The Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze the various components of the HSS scores. The comparison of the change scores on the function between the two groups indicated a significant difference (P<0.05). The Range of Motion difference between groups exhibited highly significant differences (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The novel muscle training device positively influenced the decrease in pain score, which resulted in a range increase of knee joint movement and a significant overall improvement in motion.

Optimal concentration of necrostatin-1 for protecting against hippocampal neuronal damage in mice with status epilepticus.

Hippocampal neurons undergo various forms of cell death after status epilepticus. Necrostatin-1 specifically inhibits necroptosis mediated by receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) and RIP3 receptors. However, there are no reports of necroptosis in mouse models of status epilepticus. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of necrostatin-1 on hippocampal neurons in mice with status epilepticus, and, furthermore, we tested different amounts of the compound to identify the optimal concentration for inhibiting necroptosis and apoptosis. A mouse model of status epilepticus was produced by intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid, 12 mg/kg. Different concentrations of necrostatin-1 (10, 20, 40, and 80 µM) were administered into the lateral ventricle 15 minutes before kainic acid injection. Hippocampal damage was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining 24 hours after the model was successfully produced. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining, western blot assay and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the expression of apoptosis-related and necroptosis-related proteins. Necrostatin-1 alleviated damage to hippocampal tissue in the mouse model of epilepsy. The 40 µM concentration of necrostatin-1 significantly decreased the number of apoptotic cells in the hippocampal CA1 region. Furthermore, necrostatin-1 significantly downregulated necroptosis-related proteins (MLKL, RIP1, and RIP3) and apoptosis-related proteins (cleaved-Caspase-3, Bax), and it upregulated the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Taken together, our findings show that necrostatin-1 effectively inhibits necroptosis and apoptosis in mice with status epilepticus, with the 40 µM concentration of the compound having an optimal effect. The experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Fujian Medical University, China (approval No. 2016-032) on November 9, 2016.