The relationship between prognosis and temporal muscle thickness in 102 patients with glioblastoma.

Temporal muscle thickness measured on 3D MRI has recently been linked to prognosis in glioblastoma patients and may serve as an independent prognostic indicator. This single-center study looked at temporal muscle thickness and prognosis in patients with primary glioblastoma. Overall survival was the major study outcome. For a retrospective analysis from 2010 to 2020, clinical data from 102 patients with glioblastoma at the Department of Oncology Radiotherapy of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University were gathered. Fifty-five cases from 2016 to 2020 contained glioblastoma molecular typing data, of which 45 were IDH wild-type glioblastomas and were analysed separately. TMT was measured on enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance images in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.Overall patient survival (OS) was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method and survival curves were plotted using the log-rank-sum test to determine differences between groups, and multifactorial analyses were performed using a Cox proportional-risk model.The median TMT for 102 patients was 6.775 mm (range: 4.95-10.45 mm). Patients were grouped according to median TMT, and the median overall survival (23.0 months) was significantly longer in the TMT > median group than in the TMT median group (P 0.001; Log-rank test). Analysing 45 patients with IDH wild type alone, the median overall survival (12 months) of patients in the TMT > median group was significantly longer than that of patients in the TMT ≤ median group (8 months) (P < 0.001; Log-rank test).TMT can serve as an independent prognostic factor for glioblastoma.

Hemoglobin to red cell distribution width ratio as a prognostic marker for ischemic stroke after mechanical thrombectomy.

Background: The hemoglobin to red cell distribution width ratio (HRR) has been experimentally associated with the prognosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, its relationship with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for AIS remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between HRR at admission, follow-up HRR, and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing MT. Methods: Acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing MT were consecutively enrolled from January 2017 to December 2022. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory information were collected. HRR was measured by dividing hemoglobin (Hb) by red cell distribution width (RDW) at admission and after 24 h of MT. Clinical outcomes after 3 months were evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The primary outcome was poor prognosis (mRS > 2) at 3 months, while the secondary outcome was death within 3 months. Results: A total of 310 patients were analyzed, of whom 216 patients (69.7%) had poor prognosis, and 92 patients (29.6%) died. Patients with a poor prognosis and death had significantly lower HRR levels at admission and after 24 h. HRR at admission was not associated with clinical outcomes according to multivariable logistic regression analysis. However, HRR after 24 h was significantly associated with poor prognosis (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.646, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.520-0.803, p < 0.001) and death (adjusted OR: 0.615, 95% CI: 0.508-0.744, p < 0.001). Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated the predictive ability of HRR after 24 h, with areas under the curves of 0.790 for poor prognosis and 0.771 for death. Conclusion: Rapidly measurable HRR levels are an independent marker of outcome after MT in AIS patients. This may provide a reliable auxiliary outcome measure for clinical routine and interventional therapy.

Advances in the relationship between temporal muscle thickness and prognosis of patients with glioblastoma: a narrative review.

The most dangerous variety of glioma, glioblastoma, has a high incidence and fatality rate. The prognosis for patients is still bleak despite numerous improvements in treatment approaches. We urgently need to develop clinical parameters that can evaluate patients' conditions and predict their prognosis. Various parameters are available to assess the patient's preoperative performance status and degree of frailty, but most of these parameters are subjective and therefore subject to interobserver variability. Sarcopenia can be used as an objective metric to measure a patient's physical status because studies have shown that it is linked to a bad prognosis in those with cancers. For the purpose of identifying sarcopenia, temporal muscle thickness has demonstrated to be a reliable alternative for a marker of skeletal muscle content. As a result, patients with glioblastoma may use temporal muscle thickness as a potential marker to correlate with the course and fate of their disease. This narrative review highlights and defines the viability of using temporal muscle thickness as an independent predictor of survival in glioblastoma patients, and it evaluates recent research findings on the association between temporal muscle thickness and prognosis of glioblastoma patients.

Anlotinib combined with TAS-102 as the third-line treatment for a patient with metastatic colon cancer: A case report.

Chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy is a first-line and second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer(mCRC), which has brought survival benefits to mCRC patients, however, disease progression is inevitable. More than 60% of patients still needed third-line treatment after the progress of second-line treatment. After the failure of second-line chemotherapy, treatment compliance and the physical tolerance of patients both decrease. Therefore, choosing an appropriate third-line treatment regimen is key to prolonging survival and improving quality of life. As a novel cytotoxic antitumor drug, trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) is composed of trifluridine (FTD) and tipiracil hydrochloride (TPI). FTD can directly bind to the DNA of cancer cells to cause DNA dysfunction, thereby exerting antitumor effects. TPI can inhibit the degradation of FTD, thereby increasing its cytotoxicity. The few side effects of TAS-102 has become an important reason why clinicians present it as a treatment option to the patient for consideration, clinical trial data for progression free survival are lacking. The exploration of third-line treatment regimens with drug combinations has attracted much attention. This article reports a case of metastatic colon cancer (RAS/BRAF wild type, pMMR/Non-MSI-H), after failure of first-line and second-line therapies, the patient was eventually treated with anlotinib combined with TAS-102 as the third-line treatment. The treatment has shown good efficacy, with a long PFS benefit for more than 20 months and mild adverse reactions. This case reports demonstrates that anlotinib combined with TAS-102 is a promising third-line treatment regimen for refractory mCRC, and provides proof-of-concept for the clinical exploration of optimal third-line combination treatment regimens.

Lysophosphatidic Acid Induced Apoptosis, DNA Damage, and Oxidative Stress in Spinal Cord Neurons by Upregulating LPA4/LPA6 Receptors.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) has disruptive effects on lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Recently, LPA has been reported to be involved in spinal cord neuronal injury and toxicity, promoting the pathogenesis of LSS. However, the exact effects of LPA on spinal cord neurons remain unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of LPA (18 : 1) on spinal cord neuronal cytotoxicity, apoptosis, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. After clinical detection of LPA secretion, spinal cord neurons were treated with LPA (18 : 1); cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay, and LDH leakage was detected by LDH kit; cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry; ROS production was measured by DCFDA staining and MitoSOX Red Staining; the activation of the Gα12/Gα13 signaling pathway was detected by serum response factor response element (SRF-RE) luciferase reporter gene; the relationship among LPA, LPA4/6, and ROCK was examined by western blotting. In spinal cord neurons treated with LPA (18 : 1), cellular activity decreased and LDH release increased. The Rho kinase inhibitor (Y-27632) can attenuate LPA-induced apoptosis, DNA damage, and oxidative stress in spinal cord neurons. Moreover mechanistic investigation indicated that LPA (18 : 1) activates Gα12/13-Rho-ROCK2-induced apoptosis, DNA damage, and oxidative stress in spinal cord neurons by upregulating LPA4/LPA6 receptors. Further, the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 attenuates the effects of LPA by downregulating LPA4/LPA6 receptors. Taken together, the possible mechanism by which LPA secretion in LSS patients aggravates patient injury was further elucidated using an LPA-induced spinal cord neuronal injury cell model in vitro.

Research Progress in Immunotherapy of NSCLC With EGFR-Sensitive Mutations.

Lung cancer is a malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality across the world. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer has improved the prognosis of some lung cancer patients to a greater extent and provided a new direction for the clinical treatment of lung cancer. Immunotherapy still has limitations in terms of its appropriate population and adverse reactions. Particularly for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, there has been no major breakthrough in current immunotherapy. Whether immunotherapy can bring new benefits after drug resistance is induced by tyrosine kinase inhibitor-targeted therapy and whether the combination of immunotherapy with other treatments can improve the prognosis remain to be studied in depth. In this article, we provide a detailed review of the relevant characteristics of the tumor microenvironment of NSCLC with EGFR mutation and the current research on immunotherapy for NSCLC with EGFR mutation.

Influence of dipole and intermolecular interaction on the tuning dielectric and energy storage properties of polystyrene-based polymers.

A dielectric polymer with high energy density is in high demand in modern electric and electronic systems. The current polymer dielectrics are facing the tradeoff between high energy density and low energy loss. Although many efforts have been devoted to solving the problem by modifying biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and glassy polymers, limited success has been achieved. In the present work, we disperse the high polar nitrile units in a low polar polystyrene (PSt) matrix to avoid the strong coupling force among the adjacent polar groups and reduce the relaxation-induced high dielectric loss. In addition, the possible charge transportation offered by phenyl groups could be blocked by the enlarged bandgap. Notably, the induced polarization is established between the nitrile and phenyl groups, which may lead to the copolymer chain being more densely packed. As a result, excellent energy storage performances, including the high energy density and low loss, are achieved in the resultant poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (AS). For instance, AS-4 exhibits a Ue of 11.4 J cm-3 and η of 91% at ambient temperature and 550 MV m-1. Manipulating the dipole polarization in the low polar glassy polymer matrix is verified to be a facile strategy for the design of a high-energy storage dielectric polymer.

Effect of Huatan Jieyu granules in treatment of Parkinson's disease patients with sleep disorder identified as symptom pattern of phlegma-heat-stirring wind.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and efficacy of Huatan Jieyu granules in treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with sleep disorder identified as symptom pattern of phlegma-heat-stirring wind in terms of the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. METHODS: In total, 107 Parkinson's disease patients with sleep disorders identified as symptom pattern of phlegma-heat-stirring wind were selected and randomly divided into the experimental group (55 cases) and the control group (52 cases). Both groups were given basic treatment with prednisone. The experimental group of patients was treated with Huatan Jieyu granules and the control group of patents was treated with only the basic treatment. Treatment lasted for 4 weeks. Sleep polygraph were recorded before the study as well as 3 months and 6 months after treatment. RESULTS: After treated with Huatan Jieyu granules, the total sleep time, and the percentage of non rapid eye movement 2 (NREM 2), non rapid eye movement 3 (NREM 3) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep period increased significantly, while the percentage of NREM1 sleep period decreased significantly compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The treatment of PD patients with sleep disorder by Huatan Jieyu granules can improve their sleep structure and their sleep quality.

Tuning the dielectric and energy storage properties of polystyrene-based polymer dielectric by manipulating dipoles and their polarizing behavior.

Polymer dielectrics with high energy density can be realized in high-k polymers, but undesirable energy loss always occurs, especially at high electric field and elevated temperature application. By systematically comparing the dielectric and energy storage properties of poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate)s (P(St-MMA)s) with PSt and PMMA homopolymers, the positive roles of the MMA units in the improvement of their dielectric and energy storage properties are well addressed. The best electric performance, including the largest Ue of 12.2 J cm-3, η of 92%, and Eb of 530 MV m-1 at ambient temperature, was obtained in the copolymer bearing 45 mol% MMA. Considering the different types of dipoles and the generated intermolecular forces, the influence of MMA on the dielectric performances of the copolymers is well illustrated. Instead of permanent dipoles alone, the combination of isolated permanent dipoles together with induced dipoles may be promising for realizing high-k, high energy density and low loss. This conclusion helps to understand the dielectric performances of polymer dielectrics from an intermolecular force point of view and proposes a strategy for realizing high energy density but low loss under a high electric field in polymer dielectrics.

Inhibitory Effect and Molecular Mechanism of the New Phorphyrin-Based HCE6 Photosensitizer on the Activity of MKN45 Human Gastric Cancer Cells.

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common in Asia, with a high mortality. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new treatment for cancer. With advantages of minimum invasiveness, small adverse side effects and high selectivity, PDT can be used as palliative treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer. YLG I, also known as 2-(1 hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinyl porphin e6 trisodium salt (HCE6), is a recently developed photosensitizer. A previous study showed that HCE6 significantly inhibited the growth of QBC939 human cholangiocarcinoma cells. However, the effects and mechanisms of HCE6 on gastric cancer cell suppression are not known. In this study, we investigated the effects of HCE6 on the human gastric cancer cell line MKN45 and found that at the concentration of 2.0 mg/L, HCE6 almost completely killed MKN45 cells at a light intensity of 3.6 J/cm². RNAseq results confirmed that mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mediated apoptosis was involved in the effects of HCE6 on cell death, and we also found that HCE6 induced chromosome conformational changes in the early phase of apoptosis. The results of our study help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying HCE6-mediated inhibition of gastric cancer cell growth and provide a theoretical basis and molecular targets for the treatment of gastric cancer.

A high-energy sulfur cathode in carbonate electrolyte by eliminating polysulfides via solid-phase lithium-sulfur transformation.

Carbonate-based electrolytes demonstrate safe and stable electrochemical performance in lithium-sulfur batteries. However, only a few types of sulfur cathodes with low loadings can be employed and the underlying electrochemical mechanism of lithium-sulfur batteries with carbonate-based electrolytes is not well understood. Here, we employ in operando X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy to shed light on a solid-phase lithium-sulfur reaction mechanism in carbonate electrolyte systems in which sulfur directly transfers to Li2S without the formation of linear polysulfides. Based on this, we demonstrate the cyclability of conventional cyclo-S8 based sulfur cathodes in carbonate-based electrolyte across a wide temperature range, from -20 °C to 55 °C. Remarkably, the developed sulfur cathode architecture has high sulfur content (>65 wt%) with an areal loading of 4.0 mg cm-2. This research demonstrates promising performance of lithium-sulfur pouch cells in a carbonate-based electrolyte, indicating potential application in the future.