The anterior hip capsule is thinner in dysplastic hips: a study comparing different young adult hip patients.

PURPOSE: To investigate the thickness and intra-substance change of anterior capsule of the hip joint, and compare the difference of the capsular features in patients with different statuses of hip stability. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed to review a hip preservation database. Using the lateral center edge angle(LCEA), patients with borderline dysplasia of the hip (BDH) of 20° ≤ LCEA ≤ 25°, femoracetabular impingement(FAI) with LCEA > 30° and dysplasia of the hip (DH) of LCEA < 20° were enrolled and stratified into different treatment groups. The patients' imaging was reviewed by two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists who were blinded to clinical outcomes. Thickness and intra-substance change of the anterior hip capsule was measured on the sagittal oblique sequences of MRI. A surgeon measured the thickness of the anterior hip capsule during arthroscopy. The capsular thickness and intra-substance change were compared among different groups. RESULTS: Thirty patients (17 women and 13 men) enrolled in each group (FAI, BDH, and DH) matched by sex and ages were evaluated. There were no significant differences in terms of age, sex, BMI, Alpha angle, and Tönnis grade among all three groups. The mean thickness of the anterior capsule in the DH group was 3.2 ± 0.5 mm, which was significantly thinner than that in the BDH and FAI groups (4.5 ± 0.8 mm and 4.7 ± 0.6 mm), and there was no significant difference in capsular thickness between the BDH and FAI groups. The Median of anterior capsule thickness via arthroscopic measuring was 6 mm and 7 mm in the BDH and FAI groups respectively, which has no statistical difference. The intra-substance change of the anterior capsule shows a significant difference among the three groups, and a higher incidence of delamination of the capsule was found in DH groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with hip dysplasia have a significantly reduced capsular thickness on MRI and delaminated anterior joint capsule, which could be a sequence of instability. The clinical relevance of this study is that capsular thickness and intra-substance changes of the anterior capsule vary which could alter capsular management strategies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III of evidence, DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES, No consistently applied reference standard.

Arthroscopic Suture Fixation of Os Acetabuli With Absorbable Suture Anchors-A Double-Pulley Technique.

Os acetabuli is a bone fragment with unknown origin and isolated at the acetabular rim that may be associated with cam-type femoroacetabular impingement. If this bone fragment is too large and threatens the stability of the hip joint after resection, fixation would be recommended. However, conventional rigid fixation with metal screws has some disadvantages. We describe an arthroscopic suture fixation of the Os acetabulum with absorbable anchors penetrating the bone fragment and secured by tying knots in a double-pulley fashion simultaneously. This technique provides a new feasible solution for the fixation of Os acetabuli, avoiding any metal implants and potential damage to the joint.

Risk Prediction of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Occurrence Within 6 Months After Coronary Revascularization: Machine Learning Study.

BACKGROUND: As a major health hazard, the incidence of coronary heart disease has been increasing year by year. Although coronary revascularization, mainly percutaneous coronary intervention, has played an important role in the treatment of coronary heart disease, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) such as recurrent or persistent angina pectoris after coronary revascularization remain a very difficult problem in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: Given the high probability of MACE after coronary revascularization, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model for MACE occurrence within 6 months based on machine learning algorithms. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed including 1004 patients who had undergone coronary revascularization at The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province and Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2019 to December 2020. According to the characteristics of available data, an oversampling strategy was adopted for initial preprocessing. We then employed six machine learning algorithms, including decision tree, random forest, logistic regression, naïve Bayes, support vector machine, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), to develop prediction models for MACE depending on clinical information and 6-month follow-up information. Among all samples, 70% were randomly selected for training and the remaining 30% were used for model validation. Model performance was assessed based on accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, confusion matrix, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), and visualization of the ROC curve. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that 21 patient characteristic variables were statistically significant (P<.05) between the groups without and with MACE. Coupled with these significant factors, among the six machine learning algorithms, XGBoost stood out with an accuracy of 0.7788, precision of 0.8058, recall of 0.7345, F1-score of 0.7685, and AUC of 0.8599. Further exploration of the models to identify factors affecting the occurrence of MACE revealed that use of anticoagulant drugs and course of the disease consistently ranked in the top two predictive factors in three developed models. CONCLUSIONS: The machine learning risk models constructed in this study can achieve acceptable performance of MACE prediction, with XGBoost performing the best, providing a valuable reference for pointed intervention and clinical decision-making in MACE prevention.

Subspine Hypertrophy: Higher Incidence of Symptomatic versus Asymptomatic Hips in Patients with Unilateral Femoroacetabular Impingement.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference of anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) and subspine hypertrophic deformity between symptomatic and asymptomatic hips in patients traditionally diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), and investigate the correlation of subspine decompression with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 70 patients with unilateral symptomatic FAI who underwent hip arthroscopy. The operative hips and contralateral hips naturally formed the symptomatic groups and asymptomatic control groups, respectively. The morphometric comparison of the hip joint was performed between the operative and contralateral sides of each patient. Radiological assessment was performed by two observers (an experienced musculoskeletal radiologist and an experienced surgeon). Three-dimensional (3D)-CT images of each patient were blindly reviewed to determine the AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity. Reformatted two-dimensional (2D)-CT images and anterior-posterior (AP) pelvic plain radiographs were blindly reviewed to determine FAI-related morphological measurements. Moreover, the surgical assessment was reviewed by one experienced surgeon to interpret whether subspine decompression was performed. The correlation of subspine decompression with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophy was analyzed. RESULTS: Out of 70 patients with unilateral symptomatic FAI, 37 were males (52.9%) and 23 (32.9%) had symptoms involving the left hip. The mean age was 39.3 ± 10.4 years and the mean BMI was 24.3 ± 3.6. The distribution of AIIS variants in symptomatic hips did not differ significantly from that in asymptomatic hips (χ2 = 3.092, P = 0.213). Twenty-nine hips in the symptomatic group (41.4%) and 12 hips in the asymptomatic group (17.1%) were identified as positive for subspine hypertrophy. The incidence of positive subspine hypertrophy was significantly higher in the symptomatic hips compared to the asymptomatic hips (χ2 = 9.968, P = 0.002). FAI-related morphological parameters including α angle, lateral center-edge angle, acetabular anteversion, crossover sign, and Tonnis grade were highly symmetrical and did not show significant differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic hips. Fifty-four of 70 hips (77.1%) had labral tears extended to the acetabular rim corresponding to the AIIS. Forty-seven hips of 70 hips (67.1%) underwent subspine decompression, which was significantly correlated with AIIS variation and subspine hypertrophic deformity (P = 0.019 and 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Subspine hypertrophic deformity was found to be more common in symptomatic side vs asymptomatic side in patients with unilateral symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement. Subspine hypertrophy may be considered as an underlying indication for subspine decompression besides low-lying AIIS.

Longitudinal Capsulotomy in Hip Arthroscopy: A Safe and Feasible Procedure for Cam-Type Femoracetabular Impingement.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the surgical security, feasibility, and clinical efficacy of the longitudinal outside-in capsulotomy in hip arthroscopic treatment for cam-type femoracetabular impingement (FAI). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with cam-type FAI who underwent hip arthroscopy in our institute from January 2018 to June 2019. All hip arthroscopic procedures were performed by one experienced surgeon in the same manner, except the fashions of capsulotomy. Fifty six patients with mean age of 39.1 and mean body mass index (BMI) of 24.5 were categorized into two groups according to the fashions of capsulotomy. Twenty six cases with longitudinal outside-in capsulotomy were categorized into Group L, and 30 cases with transversal interportal capsulotomy were categorized into Group T as the control group. The demographic parameters were retrieved from medical documents and compared between the two groups. Surgical outcome including overall surgical time, traction time, complications, visual analogue score (VAS), and intraoperative radiation exposure were compared to investigate the security and feasibility. Radiographic assessment, and functional outcome were compared between the two groups to determine the clinical efficacy of the longitudinal capsulotomy. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the demography and duration of follow-up between the two groups. The overall surgical time demonstrated no significant difference between Group L and Group T (130.8 ± 16.6 min and 134.0 ± 14.7 min, P = 0.490). Significantly decreased traction time was found in Group L (43.2 ± 8.4 min and 62.2 ± 8.6 min, P < 0.001) compared to Group T. The Median of the fluoroscopic shot was 1 and 3 (P < 0.001). No major complications and reoperation were reported in both groups. The case of intraoperative iatrogenic injure was 0 (0%) and 6 (20%) in Group L and Group T respectively (P = 0.035), and the case of postoperative neurapraxia was 0 (0%) and 8 (26.6%) in Group L and Group T respectively (P = 0.017). The Median of postoperative VAS was 2 and 3 in Group L Group T (P = 0.002). The postoperative α angle was 42.3° ± 3.4° and 44.4° ± 3.5° in group L and group T respectively (P = 0.001). The postoperative iHOT-12 score at final follow-up was 79.3 ± 6.7 and 77.0 ± 7.9 respectively (P = 0.141). CONCLUSION: Longitudinal outside-in capsulotomy with less radiation exposure, reduced traction time, and reduced complications could be a safe and feasible procedure in arthroscopic treatment for cam FAI. Its clinical efficacy was not worse compared with traditional interportal capsulotomy in short-term follow-up.

The Evaluation of Sagittal Pelvic-Femoral Kinematics in Patients with Cam-Type Femoracetabular Impingement.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the sagittal hip-pelvic kinematics in symptomatic cam-type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) patients in the process of sitting down and compare their difference between patients with sitting pain complaint and those without. METHODS: Twenty-nine symptomatic cam-type FAI patients were recruited from our clinic between May 2018 and October 2018. Patients were categorized into two groups depending on whether they complain of pain in prolonged sitting or not. The pelvic-femoral measurements were assessed with a set of lateral pelvic radiography in sitting and standing respectively. Pelvic incidence (PI), sacral slope (SS), and proximal femoral shaft angle (PFSA) were measured on lateral pelvic radiography, and then pelvic tilting, apparent hip flexion, true hip flexion, and the pelvic-femoral ratio were calculated to investigate the kinematic change from standing to sitting position. Demographic measurements, hip morphology measurements, functional measurements, visual analog scale (VAS), and pelvic-femoral measurements were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Thirteen cases without sitting pain complaint and 16 cases with sitting pain complaint were stratified to Group N and Group P respectively. No was significant difference in age, body mass index (BMI), and gender between the two groups. Hip morphology measurements (α angle and lateral center-edge angle) and functional measurements (iHOT-12) showed no significant difference between the two groups. However, the mean VAS of pain while sitting was 0.5 ± 0.4 and 1.6 ± 0.6 in Group N and Group P respectively (P = 0.005). Patients with sitting pain complaint have increased pelvic PI compared to those without (50.1° ± 6.5° and 44.2° ± 7.6°, P = 0. 042). The changes in SS (pelvic tilting) from standing to sitting in Group N was significantly larger than that in Group P (21.8° ± 7.0° and 15.1° ± 6.5°, P = 0.012). Although no significant difference in apparent hip flexion and true hip flexion was found. Patients without sitting pain complaint demonstrated a higher pelvic-femoral ratio (22.8% ± 7.9% and 16.1% ± 7.5%, P = 0.010) compared to those with sitting pain complaint. CONCLUSION: Sagittal pelvic-femoral kinematics could have an influence on the symptomology of cam-type FAI. The small PI and insufficient sagittal pelvic tilting in the process of sitting down could be related to the complaint of sitting pain in patients with symptomatic cam-type FAI.

Efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy for blood stasis syndrome of plaque psoriasis: protocol for a randomized, single-blind, multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Fire needle therapy is a characteristic treatment in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). An increasing number of studies have indicated that fire needle treatment for psoriasis provides satisfactory results with few side effects and a low recurrence rate. We herein describe the protocol for a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial that will provide high-quality evidence on the efficacy and safety of fire needle therapy for plaque psoriasis. METHODS: Ninety-two patients with blood stasis syndrome (BSS) of plaque psoriasis will be enrolled and randomly assigned to receive fire needle therapy (intervention group) or fire needle control therapy (control group) once a week for 4 weeks. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score will serve as the major efficacy index, while the body surface area (BSA), Physician Global Assessment (PGA) score, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score, patient-reported quality of life (PRQoL), visual analog scale (VAS) score for itching, TCM symptom score, and relapse rate will be assessed as secondary outcomes. The PASI score, BSA, PGA score, and VAS score for itching will be evaluated at baseline and during the 4-week treatment and follow-up periods. DLQI score, PRQoL, and TCM symptom score will be assessed at baseline and during the treatment period. Recurrence will be evaluated during the follow-up period. Safety assessments include vital sign monitoring, routine blood tests, blood biochemistry, routine urine tests, pregnancy tests, physical examinations, and adverse-event recording. SAS software will be used for data analysis. The data network platform will be designed by the data management center of Nanjing Ningqi Medical Technology Co., Ltd. DISCUSSION: It is believed that fire needle therapy can activate the meridians, promote blood circulation, and regulate skin immunity. BSS of plaque psoriasis is related to not only immune dysfunction but also poor or stagnant blood flow. We anticipate that the results of the trial described in this protocol will provide strong evidence for the safety and efficacy of fire needle therapy for BSS of plaque psoriasis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03953885 . Registered on May 15, 2019. Name: Fire Needle Therapy on Plaque Psoriasis with Blood Stasis Syndrome.

Study on efficacy and safety of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction treatment for oxaliplatin induced peripheral neurotoxicity: A protocol for a randomized, controlled, double-blind, multicenter trial.

BACKGROUND: Oxaliplatin can cause severe peripheral neurotoxicity, which is an important reason for clinical oxaliplatin reduction and cessation of treatment. Oxaliplatin induced peripheral neurotoxicity (OIPN) can cause paresthesia and dysesthesia, even affect the quality life of patients. So far, there are no recognized and effective measures to prevent OIPN. Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction is a classical prescription of ancient Chinese medicine recorded in "the synopsis of the Golden Chamber," which can be used in the treatment of various neurotoxicity. However, there is a lack of large-scale and high-quality clinical studies on the prevention of OIPN by Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction on preventing OIPN. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a randomized, controlled, double-blind, and multicenter clinical trial. Three hundred sixty patients will be randomly assigned into Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction group and Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction mimetic agent group. Patients will receive chemotherapy with FOLFOX of 8 cycles of 3 weeks with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for 6 months and 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome measure is the differences in the incidence of chronic neurotoxicity of grade 2 and above during and after treatment. The secondary outcome measure is the improvement in other symptoms associated with chemotherapy. Four methods will be used to evaluate the efficacy of neurotoxicity, including oxaliplatin specific toxicity grading standard (Levi classification); CTCAE4.02 version; EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 scale, EORTC QLQ C30 scale, and EORTC QLQ-CR29 scale are used at the same time; Electromyography. DISCUSSION: This study will provide objective evidences to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction on preventing OIPN. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov (Identifier: NCT04261920).

Efficacy and Safety of Jueyin Granules for Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Psoriasis Vulgaris: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Introduction. The etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis are complex. Blood-heat syndrome is the core pathogenesis of psoriasis. Based on theories of Chinese medicine (CM), heat-clearing and blood-cooling (HCBC) are the primary treatment. Very few studies have investigated the pharmacological mechanism of the CM HCBC method for treating psoriasis. This multicenter randomized controlled trial will focus on treating psoriasis blood-heat syndrome with the HCBC method using Jueyin granules (JYKL). This will be an objective and standardized evaluation of the efficacy, safety, and reproducibility of the HCBC method to obtain objective evidence meeting international standards that aim to establish a clinical standard suitable for the popular application of CM for treating psoriasis. Methods and Analysis. A five-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical design will be used in this study. At least 196 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either JYKL or placebo treatment approximately 30 minutes after meals in the morning and evening (one sachet per time, twice daily for 8 consecutive weeks). The study duration will be 17 weeks, including 1 week of screening, 8 weeks of intervention, and 8 weeks of follow-up. The patients will be evaluated every 2 weeks, and the measures will be compared with baseline values. The primary outcome measure will be the psoriasis lesion area severity index. We will also observe the recurrence rate, body surface area, physician global assessment, dermatology life quality index, quality of life index, visual analogue scale score, CM symptom score, combined drug use, and adverse events. This trial is registered with NCT03961230.

Influences of UGT2B7 rs7439366 and rs12233719 Polymorphisms on Fentanyl Sensitivity in Chinese Gynecologic Patients.

BACKGROUND This study discussed potential influences of UDP glucuronosyltransferase family 2 member B7 (UGT2B7) rs7439366 and rs12233719 polymorphisms on fentanyl sensitivity among Chinese gynecologic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS UGT2B7 polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. Before surgery, baseline latency to pain perception (PPLpre) and pain perception latency of the dominant hand (PPLpost) at 3 minutes after injecting fentanyl were measured by cold pressor-induced pain test. Perioperative fentanyl adoption referred to the total of fentanyl administration during and after operation. Intensity of spontaneous pain was appraised adopting 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS). Factorial analysis was performed by Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test. RESULTS Significant differences of PPLpost (CC/CT/TT, P=0.038) and preoperative analgesic effect (CC/CT/TT, P=0.028) were discovered between the rs7439366 genotypes. PPLpost was significantly different between the CT and TT groups (P=0.009) and the CC+CT and TT groups (P=0.026). Preoperative analgesic effect was significantly different between the CT and TT groups (P=0.007) and the CC+CT and TT groups (P=0.009). All of the clinical features studied had no close association with rs12233719 SNP. CONCLUSIONS Gynecologic patients with rs7439366 TT genotype had significantly lower fentanyl sensitivity than the other 2 genotype carriers.

Our Choice: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial for optimal implementation of psoriasis treatment by the integration of Chinese and western medicine.

BACKGROUND: Plaque psoriasis is a refractory inflammatory skin disease. The common therapies used to treat plaque psoriasis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine (WM) have distinct characteristics and advantages. Although a combination of TCM and WM therapies, adjusted to the clinical situation, is widely used, there are no systematic studies on the hierarchical selection of this treatment combination based on the severity of skin lesions. We therefore designed a randomized clinical trial to focus on the sequence of internal and external treatments of TCM in patients with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis and to optimize the integration of Chinese and western medicine for the treatment of patients with severe plaque psoriasis, thereby achieving high-level clinical evidence and establish treatment norms for the integrated use of Chinese and western medicines. METHODS: In this proposed multicenter, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 108 patients with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis will be randomly assigned to two groups in a 1:1 ratio to receive either internal or external TCM treatment, and 270 patients with severe plaque psoriasis will be randomly assigned to three groups in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive treatment with TCM or WM, or TCM + WM. All enrolled patients will receive 8 weeks of treatment. Follow-up assessments will be done 8 weeks after the treatment. The primary outcome of this study is the evaluation of efficacy and relapse rate, based on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, and the secondary outcome measures include determination of the affected body surface area, physician's global assessment, pruritus scores (determined using a visual analog scale), TCM symptom score, Dermatology Life Quality Index, patient-reported quality of life score and incidence of serious adverse events. DISCUSSION: This study will provide high-level clinical evidence for internal and external TCM treatment optimization and will contribute to establishing norms for the integration of Chinese and western Medicines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03941431. Registered on 8 May 2019.

Effects of moving cupping therapy for plaque psoriasis: study protocol for a randomized multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: It is difficult to achieve a balance among safety, efficacy, and cost for the clinical treatment of plaque psoriasis. The current treatment of psoriasis often involves comprehensive therapy such as topical plasters, internal medicine, and phototherapy, which are expensive, and some of the drugs have serious side effects. Moving cupping is a type of cupping that has been used clinically for thousands of years in China. It has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to perform. Therefore, it is widely used in public hospitals in China for psoriasis treatment. However, a comprehensive evaluation of the current clinical evidence of its efficacy is lacking. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of moving cupping to treat plaque psoriasis. METHODS: A multicenter, two-arm parallel group, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial will be conducted at six hospitals in China between August 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021. A total of 122 adult patients (aged 18-65 years) who meet the inclusion criteria are being recruited. Participants will receive either basic treatment combined with moving cupping therapy or basic treatment combined with moving cupping placebo. The treatment cycle will be 4 weeks, and the efficacy of treatment will be assessed weekly by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index during the treatment period and follow-up visits at weeks 6 and 8. The body surface area, physician's global assessment, Dermatology Life Quality Index, patient-reported quality of life, visual analog scale, Traditional Chinese Medication syndrome scoring scale, combined medication, and adverse events will also be recorded and compared to the relative baseline values. DISCUSSION: The findings of this trial may lead to better decisions regarding the treatment of plaque psoriasis. If the trial outcomes are considered favorable, this ancient Chinese medical therapy may be worthy of widespread use because of its convenience and low cost. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered on May 15,2019 at ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier number NCT03952676.

[Effect of dapagliflozin on gene expression of glucose transporter 2 and glucose transporter 4 in kidney of type 2 diabetic rats].

Objective: To investigate the effects of dapagliflozin on the gene expressions of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) in type 2 diabetic rats. Methods: High fat diet and 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) were used to establish the rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. When the fasting blood glucose (FBG) content was more than or equal to 16.7 mmol/L, the model was established successfully. After successful modeling, the rats were randomly divided into model group (group B, normal saline), dapagliflozin low-dose group (Group C, 0.75 mg/kg), dapagliflozin middle dose group (Group D, 1.5 mg/kg) and dapagliflozin high-dose group (Group E, 3.0 mg/kg), with 6 rats in each group. Six healthy SD rats were selected as normal control group (group A, normal saline). Each group was administrated by gavage once a day for 7 weeks. The body weight, serum FBG, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) were measured after 7 weeks. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) in serum and kidney were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of kidney. The protein expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4 were detected by Western blot. RT-qPCR was used to detect the relative expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4 mRNA in kidney tissue. Results: Compared with group A, the body weight, SOD, GSH-Px levels of rats in each group were significantly decreased (P＜0.05), while the levels of FBG, HbA1c, BUN, SCR and MDA were significantly increased (P＜0.05), renal pathological damage was serious, the relative expressions of GLUT2, GLUT4 mRNA and protein in renal tissue were significantly decreased (P＜0.05). Compared with group B, the body weight, SOD, GSH-Px levels and the mRNA relative expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4 in group C, group D and group E were significantly increased (P＜0.05), while the levels of FBG, HbA1c, BUN, SCR and MDA were significantly decreased (P＜0.05). The renal pathological damage in group D and group E was significantly alleviated, and the expressions of GLUT2 and GLUT4 protein in renal tissue were significantly increased (all P＜0.05). Conclusion: Dapagliflozin can alleviate the condition of type 2 diabetic rats and up regulate the expression of GLUT2 and GLUT4 genes in kidney.

Finite element analysis of cemented prostheses for hip replacement in elderly patients with comminuted intertrochanteric fracture.

BACKGROUND: To determine postoperative stress distribution after cemented arthroplasty in elderly patients with comminuted intertrochanteric fracture, and assist in determining a rational prosthetic stem length. METHODS: A three-dimensional (3D) model of intertrochanteric fracture was established using the Mimics and Unigraphics modeling software, which included the 3D model of comminuted intertrochanteric fracture, two long-stem(#4,#5) and one short stem(#3) prostheses, and the mantle layer of cement. The bone defect of the calcar femorale was replaced with a 5-mm thick cement. Then, the 3D finite element model of those materials was established, boundary conditions of force were imposed, and material parameters were set. Accordingly, a finite element analysis was performed to this model in stress. RESULTS: (1) The stress of the femur in the three-stem replacement prosthesis models increased from proximal end to distal end in the same pattern, while a stress concentration region was found at 5 mm from within the distal tip of the short-stem prosthesis (#3), which had a peak value of 67.85 MPa. However, no stress concentration was found on the long-stem prosthesis model. (2) For the short-stem prosthesis, the stress distribution of the cement-prosthesis interface was significantly concentrated in the distal region around the prosthesis end, in which the peak value of the lateral interface exceeded the fatigue strength of the bone cement. However, the biomechanics for the long prosthesis was better appreciated. CONCLUSION: Long prosthesis stems may theoretically be a better option for comminuted intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients. However, the application of exceedingly long prosthesis stems would not be a better option. KEY WORDS: Comminuted intertrochanteric fracture, Elderly patients Finite element analysis, Prosthetic replacement.

Oral Taodan granules for mild-to-moderate psoriasis vulgaris: protocol for a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease with high recurrence rates and increasing incidence. Patients require long-term medication to reduce symptoms and prevent disease progression. Therefore, the development of treatments with high efficiency and low rate of adverse events is of utmost importance. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an outstanding role in reducing disease symptoms and improving quality of life. The aim of this trial is to clarify the treatment efficacy, safety, and control of disease recurrence in patients with psoriasis with blood-stasis syndrome treated with Taodan granules (TDKL). METHODS: This trial is a five-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study planned to transpire between September 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021. A sample size of 216 participants (108 per group) with mild-to-moderate psoriasis will be randomly assigned to receive TDKL or placebo twice per day, 7 days per week, for 8 weeks. The study duration will be 17 weeks, including a 1-week screening period, 8 weeks of intervention, and another 8 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcomes are improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score and recurrence rate after 8 weeks of treatment. Secondary outcomes include body surface area affected and the scores for the Physician Global Assessment, Dermatology Life Quality Index, pain-related quality of life, pain on the visual analogue scale, and TCM syndromes. The number, nature, and severity of adverse events will be carefully recorded. DISCUSSION: The study results will help clarify the safety and efficacy of TDKL as treatment for psoriasis with respect to both disease regression and recurrence rate. We expect that this study will provide high-quality evidence with important public health implications that may alter the approach to psoriasis management in China. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03942198).

Characteristics of psoriasis vulgaris in China: a prospective cohort study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is an incurable, chronic skin disorder with considerable impact on the quality of life. No drugs are available for treating the disease. Clarifying the progression, exploring the risk factors affecting progression, and finding effective treatments with few side-effects and low recurrence rates is critical. This protocol describes a future study that will analyze psoriasis vulgaris progression risk factors and trends, establish a multicenter clinical registration platform, evaluate clinical evidence for Chinese Medicine (CM) intervention for psoriasis, and evaluate therapeutic effectiveness and recurrence rate advantages of CM. METHODS: The study is a prospective cohort clinical trial planned for October 2019 to September 2021 involving 20 clinics. The trial will enroll 1,500 participants in a psoriasis vulgaris group, and 500 healthy participants in a control group (no intervention). The psoriasis vulgaris group will be divided into three equal-sized subgroups: blood heat syndrome group (BHS), blood stasis syndrome group (BSS), and non-blood heat nor blood stasis syndrome group (NHS) group. Participants will be grouped according to CM syndrome classification and receive oral CM herbal medication (according to the CM syndrome classification, and tailored to the participant's disease progression). Medication will be administered twice every day during the intervention phase (eight weeks of intervention, and eight weeks of follow-up). Exposure measures include demographic variables, risk factors, and intervention factors. DISCUSSION: The primary outcome measures include improvement in both the psoriasis and severity index scores after eight weeks of intervention. Secondary outcome measures include body surface area affected, Physician Global Assessment scores, Dermatology Life Quality Index, pain-relat ed quality of life, pain on visual analog scale, CM syndromes, and recurrence. Other outcome measures include CM physical scale, personal history, medical expenses, and patient satisfaction. The number, nature, and severity of adverse events will be carefully recorded. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03942185).

Polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen B*27 on clinical phenotype of spondyloarthritis in Chinese.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an ever-increasing number of alleles of human leukocyte antigen B*27 (HLA-B*27) have been identified. This study aimed to establish an updated method for HLA-B*27 subtyping, and to investigate the impact of HLA-B*27 polymorphisms on the clinical phenotype of spondyloarthritis (SpA). METHODS: Overall, 184 SpA patients were recruited for analyzing diversity of HLA-B*27 via an updated high-resolution polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP). RESULTS: The prevalence of HLA-B*27 was 94.0%, and four subtypes were identified including HLA-B*2704 (77.5%), B*2705 (20.2%), B*2707 (1.7%), and B*2724 (0.6%). There was an obvious male predominance (P=.05) and markedly elevated C-reaction protein (CRP) in B*27 positive SpA (P<.01). In multivariate linear regression analysis, the elevated CRP was positively associated with HLA-B*27 positivity (regression coefficient B=46.1, P=.0003), grade of sacroiliitis (B=47.5, P=.0032), and male gender (B=20.4, P=.0041). Notably, a male predilection was also found in B*2705 positive SpA while B*2707 was associated with older age, higher positive family history, and higher prevalence of extra-articular features (all P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, an updated PCR-SSP technique to identify increasing alleles of HLA-B*27 was developed and their different effects on clinical manifestations of SpA were demonstrated. Genotyping of HLA-B*27 would shed light on our understanding of the pathogenesis of SpA.

El polimorfismo TNF-alfa-308 determina las manifestaciones clínicas y la respuesta al tratamiento de la espondilitis anquilosante en la etnia china Han / TNF-alpha-308 polymorphism determines clinical manifestations and therapeutic response of ankylosing spondylitis in Han Chinese

Antecedentes y objetivo: Existe un debate creciente acerca de si el factor de necrosis tumoral alfa (TNF-α)-308 está asociado a la espondilitis anquilosante (EA). El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar si el TNF-α-308 está implicado en la susceptibilidad genética, así como las características clínicas y la respuesta terapéutica de EA en la etnia china de Han. Métodos: Se incluyó en el presente estudio a 260 pacientes de EA, y a 260 donantes de sangre sanos y étnicamente equiparables. Se identificó el polimorfismo del promotor de TNF-α-308 mediante amplificación de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa, con prueba de polimorfismo de longitud de fragmentos de restricción. Resultados: El análisis genético de la población reflejó que la prevalencia del alelo A y el genotipo G/A fue igualmente infrecuente tanto en los pacientes de EA (3,85% y 7,69%) como en los sujetos sanos (4,23% y 8,46%). En comparación con los portadores del genotipo G/G, se observó una tasa de sedimentación eritrocítica y de proteína C reactiva sérica marcadamente elevadas en los pacientes de EA con la variante G/A (87,06±49,4 vs. 55,53±42,99mm/h, p=0,0126; 54,95±27,77 vs. 34,36±36,13mg/dl, p=0,0116, respectivamente), presentándose siempre con dolor vertebral inflamatorio (70 vs. 43,33%, p=0,0214) y sacroilitis relativamente leve (65 vs. 41,67%; p=0,0431). El alelo G y el fenotipo G/G fueron más frecuentes en los pacientes que respondieron bien al tratamiento anti-TNF-α (96,55 vs. 73,53%, p=0,0032; 93,1 vs. 47,06%, p=0,0015), mientras que no se produjo una superioridad obvia de ambos en la predicción de la respuesta terapéutica de las medicaciones convencionales para EA. Conclusiones: Nuestros datos indican que el polimorfismo TNF-α puede influir más en las características clínicas que en la susceptibilidad a EA, en la etnia china de Han (AU)

Background and objective: There is ongoing debate as to whether tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-308 is associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The aim of the present study was to determine whether TNF-α-308 is involved into genetic susceptibility, clinical features and therapeutic response of AS in Han Chinese. Methods: Two hundred and sixty AS patients with 260 ethnically matched healthy blood donors were enrolled into the present study. TNF-α-308 promoter polymorphism was identified using polymerase chain reaction amplification with restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Results: Population genetic analysis showed that the prevalence of allele A and G/A genotype was equally infrequent in both AS patients (3.85% and 7.69%) and healthy subjects (4.23% and 8.46%). Compared with the carriers of G/G genotype, remarkably elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum C-reactive protein were observed in AS patients with G/A variant (87.06±49.40 vs. 55.53±42.99mm/h, P=.0126; 54.95±27.77 vs. 34.36±36.13mg/dl, P=.0116, respectively), and they always presented with inflammatory spinal pain (70.00% vs. 43.33%, P=0.0214) and suffered relatively mild sacroiliitis (65.00% vs. 41.67%, P=0.0431). The allele G and G/G genotype were more frequent in good responders to anti-TNF-α treatment (96.55% vs. 73.53%, P=.0032; 93.10% vs. 47.06%, P=.0015), whereas there was no obvious superiority of them in predicting therapeutic response of conventional medications for AS. Conclusions: Our data suggest that TNF-α-308 polymorphism may influence the clinical features rather than susceptibility to AS in our Han Chinese (AU)

TNF-α-308 polymorphism determines clinical manifestations and therapeutic response of ankylosing spondylitis in Han Chinese. / El polimorfismo TNF-α-308 determina las manifestaciones clínicas y la respuesta al tratamiento de la espondilitis anquilosante en la etnia china Han.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing debate as to whether tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-308 is associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The aim of the present study was to determine whether TNF-α-308 is involved into genetic susceptibility, clinical features and therapeutic response of AS in Han Chinese. METHODS: Two hundred and sixty AS patients with 260 ethnically matched healthy blood donors were enrolled into the present study. TNF-α-308 promoter polymorphism was identified using polymerase chain reaction amplification with restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. RESULTS: Population genetic analysis showed that the prevalence of allele A and G/A genotype was equally infrequent in both AS patients (3.85% and 7.69%) and healthy subjects (4.23% and 8.46%). Compared with the carriers of G/G genotype, remarkably elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum C-reactive protein were observed in AS patients with G/A variant (87.06±49.40 vs. 55.53±42.99mm/h, P=.0126; 54.95±27.77 vs. 34.36±36.13mg/dl, P=.0116, respectively), and they always presented with inflammatory spinal pain (70.00% vs. 43.33%, P=0.0214) and suffered relatively mild sacroiliitis (65.00% vs. 41.67%, P=0.0431). The allele G and G/G genotype were more frequent in good responders to anti-TNF-α treatment (96.55% vs. 73.53%, P=.0032; 93.10% vs. 47.06%, P=.0015), whereas there was no obvious superiority of them in predicting therapeutic response of conventional medications for AS. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that TNF-α-308 polymorphism may influence the clinical features rather than susceptibility to AS in our Han Chinese.

Investigation on the association between inerleukin-10 -592C/A, 819C/T and -1082A/G gene polymorphisms and development of diabetic nephrophathy.

We conducted a case-control study to investigate the association between interleukin (IL)-10-592C/A, -819C/T and -1082A/G polymorphisms and susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. A hospital-based case-control study was taken in our study. A total of 172 patients with proven type 2 diabetes mellitus and 344 controls were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University between March 2012 and October 2014. Genotyping of IL-10 -592C/A, -819C/T and -1082A/G polymorphisms was done by done by PCR-RFLP methods. By the χ(2) test, the distributions of the GG, GA and AA genotypes in IL-10 -1082A/G were significantly different between patients with diabetic nephropathy and control subjects (χ(2) = 8.09, P = 0.02). By conditional logistic regression analysis, we found that the AA genotype of IL-10 -1082A/G was associated with an elevated risk of diabetic nephropathy compared to the GG genotype in codominant model, and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 2.38 (1.23-4.57). In dominant model, the GA+AA genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of diabetic nephropathy compared to the GG genotype in dominant model (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.05-2.16). In recessive model, the AA genotype could influence the susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy when compared with the GG+GA in recessive model (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.12-3.85). In conclusion, we suggested that IL-10 -1082A/G gene polymorphism was correlated with development of diabetic nephropathy, but no association was observed between IL-10 -819T/C and -592A/C and risk of diabetic nephropathy.