Impact of pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation on recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays a vital role in the occurrence and progression of atrial fibrillation (AF). The association between pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCATA) and AF recurrence following ablation has not been fully clarified. HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to evaluate the association between PCATA and AF recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). METHODS: Patients who underwent the first RFCA for AF and performed coronary computed tomography angiography before ablation between 2018 and 2021 were enrolled. The predictive values of PCATA for AF recurrence after ablation were investigated. The area under curve (AUC), relative integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and categorical free net reclassification improvement (NRI) were used to assess the discrimination ability of different models for AF recurrence. RESULTS: During 1-year follow-up, 34.1% patients experienced AF recurrence. The multivariable analysis model revealed that PCATA of the right coronary artery (RCA) was an independent risk factor for AF recurrence. Patients with a high level of RCA-PCATA had a high risk of recurrence, after adjusting for other risk factors by restricted cubic splines. The performance in predicting AF recurrence was significantly improved by adding the marker of RCA-PCATA to the clinical model (AUC: 0.724 vs. 0.686, p = .024), with a relative IDI of 0.043 (p = .006) and continuous NRI of 0.521 (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: PCATA of RCA was independently associated with AF recurrence after ablation. PCATA may be helpful for risk classification for AF ablation patients.

Effect of Eltrombopag on Response to Immunosuppressive Therapy in Patients with Transfusion-Dependent Non-Severe Aplastic Anemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the efficacy of eltrombopag combined with cyclosporine A (CsA) and CsA alone in patients with transfusion-dependent non-severe aplastic anemia (TD-NSAA).@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 76 patients with treatment-naive TD-NSAA in Ningde Municipal Hospital of Ningde Normal University and Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from December 2017 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 45 cases were treated with eltrombopag combined with CsA, and 31 patients with compatible baseline characters were treated with CsA alone. The efficacy of patients between the two groups was compared, and the factors affecting the curative effects were also analyzed.@*RESULTS@#There were significant differences in hematological response (HR) and complete response(CR) rates between the two groups at 3, 6, 12 months, and follow-up endpoint of treatment (P<0.05). With the prolongation of eltrombopag treatment time, the curative effect increased gradually, and the patients achieved more CR and HR rates by the end of the follow-up period. Simultaneously, with the increase in the maximum stable dose of eltrombopag, the HR rate increased gradually. The megakaryocyte count in eltrombopag group was higher than that in control at 6 and 12 months (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the median time of platelet transfusion independence in eltrombopag group was more shorter (P=0.018), and the median platelets transfusion volume was lower (P=0.009). At 3, 6, 12 months after eltrombopag, the change of platelet in eltrombopag group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Analysis of related factors affecting the efficacy showed that sex, age, iron overload, platelet count before treatment had no effect on the efficacy, and the median maximum stable dosage and the administration period for eltrombopag were related to the curative effect. The patients of eltrombopag group experienced adverse events of varying degrees, but the reactions were mild and mostly tolerated.@*CONCLUSION@#Eltrombopag can effectively improve the hematopoietic response and promote platelet recovery for TD-NSAA patients with relatively more residual hematopoietic cells, and it is safe and well tolerated.

An expanded landscape of human long noncoding RNA.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators of multiple essential biological processes involved in physiology and pathology. By analyzing the largest compendium of 14,166 samples from normal and tumor tissues, we significantly expand the landscape of human long noncoding RNA with a high-quality atlas: RefLnc (Reference catalog of LncRNA). Powered by comprehensive annotation across multiple sources, RefLnc helps to pinpoint 275 novel intergenic lncRNAs correlated with sex, age or race as well as 369 novel ones associated with patient survival, clinical stage, tumor metastasis or recurrence. Integrated in a user-friendly online portal, the expanded catalog of human lncRNAs provides a valuable resource for investigating lncRNA function in both human biology and cancer development.

Efficacy of Low Dose Combined Chemotherapy for Patients with Relapsed and Refractory Aplastic Anemia-Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria Syndrome / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the clinical efficacy of low dose combined chemotherapy（LDCC） for patients with relapsed and refractory aplastic anemia-paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria（AA-PNH） syndrome, and to analyze the advantages of LDCC in the treatment of AA-PNH syndrome.@*METHODS@#The clinical characteristics and the curative effect of LDCC in 9 patients with relapsed and refractory AA-PNH syndrome were retrospectively analyzed. Five patients were treated with MP therapy［melphalan 2 mg/(m·d); prednisone 0.5 mg/(kg·d)］, and the other 4 patients were treated with HA therapy(HHT 2 mg/d iv drip, for 5 days; Ara-C 100 mg/d iv drip, for 5 days). The changes of PNH clone, dosage of corticosteroid, hemolysis and the relapse of disease, hematological parameters and adverse reactions were compared before and after therapy. All patients were treated for 1-2 courses.@*RESULTS@#Seven out of 9 patients responded well, the dosage of corticosteroid and the bilirubin concentration decreased significantly and anemia was relieved in 7 patients (P<0.05). One patient relapsed in one year. PNH clone of 3 patients turned negative. Five patients did not rely on blood transfusion in 1 year. There was no bone marrow failure to be found in all patients.@*CONCLUSION@#The LDCC has better efficacy and safety in the treatment of patients with AA-PNH syndrome, moreover, the patients is more tolerant to LDCC, thus the LDCC may be a selection for treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory AA-PNH syndrome.

Clinical and laboratory features of rheumatoid arthritis that has negative serum autoantibodies / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical and laboratory features of auto antibody-negative rheumatoid arthritis(RA).Method The clinical features and laboratory parameters were compared between auto-antibndy-negative(n=30)and-positive(n=217)RA patients.The patients with osteoarthritis(OA,n=34) were used as controls.Results Thirty(12.1%)of 247 RA patients were auto-antibody-negative.It was shown that morning stiffness of the joints in auto-antibody-negative RA was shorter than that of auto-antibody-posi- tive RA patients(P