Objective To study the visfatin level changes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to study the correlation of visfatin level and atherosclerosis in RA.Methods Fifty cases of patients were divided to the plaque group (33 cases) and plaque-free group (17 cases) according to the carotid intima media thickness checked by carotid ultrasonography.In addition, their blood lipid level, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), rheumatoid factors (RFs), anti-CCP, visfatin etc.were measured.Fifty healthy people were set as the control group.The correlation between the visfatin level of RA patients and atherosclerosis was analyzed.The statistical analysis was carried out with independent t-test,analysis of variance, Spearman correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression.Results The serum visfatin level of RA plaques group was obviously higher than that of the plaque-free group [(47±22) μg/L vs (34±19) μg/L, t=4.361, P＜0.01].The serum visfatin level of RA patients was positively correlated to HOMA-IR (r=0.567, P=0.001), RF (r=0.502, P=0.003), anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline, (anti-CCP) (r=0.420, P=0.038) and carotid artery IMT (r=0.596, P=0.001).High-density lipoprotein-C (OR=1.009, P=0.020), HOMA-IR (OR=1.450, P=0.006), anti-CCP (OR=1.005, P=0.014) and visfatin (OR=0.971, P=0.008) were independent relevant factors affecting carotid artery IMT.Conclusion The serum visfatin level of RA patients is closely related to atherosclerosis.

Background and purpose:Nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) is an albumin-bound form of paclitaxel that utilizes the natural properties of albumin to improve paclitaxel delivery to the tumor. It has recently been approved for treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within short time after adjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efifcacy and safety of albumin-bound paclitaxel in patients with aggressive and refractory metastatic breast cancer (MBC).Methods:A total of 58 patients with MBC were enrolled into this study from Jul. 2009 to Jan. 2014. All patients received albumin-bound paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. The adverse reactions were evaluated every cycle, and the short-term response was evaluated every two cycles. The patients were followed-up, and the survival was analyzed.Results:58 patients with refractory MBC were evaluable for response, 67.2% of patients received multiple line (≥3 lines) chemotherapy, 32.8% of patients with first and second line of chemotherapy were involved metastasis within one year after adjuvant chemotherapy, 84.5% of patients with visceral metastasis and 93.1% with prior taxane treatment. The objective response rate (ORR) was 13.8%, and disease control rate (DCR) was 60.3%, the median progression free survival (PFS) was 4.0 months, and the overall survival (OS) was 10.1 months. For 23 patients with triple negative breast cancer, ORR was 13.0% and DCR was 56.5%, the median PFS was 4.1 months, and OS was 6.6 months. The main toxicity was myelosuppression (grades 3 and 4 neutropenia, anemia and thombocytopenia were seen in 34.5%, 12.1% and 6.9% of patients, respectively), gastrointestinal reactions, sensory neuropathy, myodynia/arthragia, fatigue, alopecia and so on.Conclusion:The albumin-bound paclitaxel-based chemotherapy can be used in aggressive and refractory MBC. It also showed antitumor activity in taxanes-resistance patients and triple negative patients with good safety and tolerance.

Objective: To investigate the effects of scleral crosslinking using genipin on ocular biological parameters and scleral biomechanics of form-deprivation myopia rabbits. Methods: Sixty healthy New Zealand rabbits of 14 days old were collected.The right eyes were selected as experimental eye.The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: control group with no treatment; myopia model group with eyelid suture procedure performed on the right eye; genipin injection group with eyelid suture procedure performed on the right eye combined with subconjunctival injection of genipin.The suture was removed 60 days after the eyelid suture procedure.The diopter, length of vitreous cavity, and axial length were measured.The sclera at 1: 00 and 7: 00 position of the experimental eye was used to make a scleral strip.The thickness, elastic modulus, creep rate, ultimate stress and ultimate strain of the sclera were measured.This study was approved by the animal experimental Ethics Committee of Bethune International Peace Hospital (2018-ky-09). Results: The diopters of genipin injection group, myopia model group and control group were (2.50±1.38), (0.33±0.52) and (2.08±0.52)D, respectively, the axial lengths of the three groups were (15.33±0.82), (15.83±0.41) and (15.00±0.43)mm, respectively; the changes in vitreous cavity lengths were (1.50±0.79), (2.59±0.83) and (1.48±0.66)mm, respectively; and the ratios of vitreous cavity length to axial length were 0.46±0.02, 0.51±0.02 and 0.47±0.02, respectively.The diopter in myopia model group was significantly lower than those in control group and genipin injection group, the axial length in myopia model group was significantly longer than that in control group, the change in vitreous cavity lengths and ratio of vitreous cavity length to axial length in myopia model group were significantly higher than those in control group and genipin injection group, the axial length in myopia model group was significantly longer than that in control group, the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05). The elasticity modulus was (9.10±3.12)MPa and ultimate stress was (1.42±0.57)MPa in genipin injection group, which were significantly higher than (6.98±3.30)MPa and (1.15±0.57)MPa in control group, and (6.25±3.17)MPa and (0.82±0.38)MPa in myopia model group (all at P<0.05). The ultimate strain was (20.99±5.60)% in genipin injection group, which was significantly lower than (25.08±6.35)% in control group and (27.78±8.20)% in myopia model group, with significant differences between them (both at P<0.05). Conclusions Posterior sub-Tenon capsule injection of genipin for collagen crosslinking in the sclera increases the biomechanical strength of sclera and effectively prevents the development of form-deprivation myopia in rabbits, which provides a new idea for the prevention and treatment of myopia in the future.

Objective:To detect the proportion of lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood of the ad-vanced breast cancer patients before and after chemotherapy with docetaxel and thiotepa,as well as the association between the proportion of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets with the response rate and prog-nosis.Methods:The proportions of lymphocyte subsets (CD3 +T cell,CD3 +/CD4 +T cell,CD3 +/CD8 +T cell,CD3 -/CD16 +56 +NK cell,CD3 +/CD16 +56 +T cell,CD19 +B cell,CD4 +/CD25 +T cell,CD8 +/CD28 -T cell,CD8 +/CD28 +T cell)in the peripheral blood of 86 patients were analyzed with flowcytometry before and after chemotherapy.The result was analyzed in combination with clinico-pathological data.Results:The proportion of regulatory T cells (Treg)after chemotherapy in the disease control patients decreased significantly compared with that of the progressive patients (P=0.034).The difference of the proportions of Treg before and after chemotherapy affected significantly the overall survi-val (OS).The OS of the patients with decreased proportion of Treg was significantly longer than that of the patients with increased proportion of Treg,which was 23.5 and 9.4 months respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion:The patients with decreased proportion of Treg after chemotherapy had higher response rate and better survival benefit.

Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have attracted increasing research interests for the purpose of biomedical application because they provide not only nanostructured topography, but also chemical composition of pure carbon atoms, as well as ultra high strength and excellent flexibility. Regarding the interactions of nanomaterials to biological systems, non-specific adsorption of plasma proteins is one of the most important issues to be concerned, which plays a crucial role that would determine how biological systems response to the biomaterials. Motivated by application of SWNT materials in biomedical fields, in this study, the adsorption behaviors of plasma proteins on the surface of SWNT nonwoven, prepared directly by floating chemical vapor observation and energy deposition method were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and ELISA. Results indicated the SWNT non-woven showed a clear adsorption preference of fibrinogen over albumin. There was no human serum albumin detected using above analysis methods on the SWNT nonwoven even incubated in the albumin solution of 4 mg/ml. While more than 0.15 microg of human fibrinogen was detected by ELISA on the SWNT nonwoven with area of 40 mm x 40 mm incubated in the fibrinogen solution of 5 microg/ml. In addition, IgG of sheep-anti-human serum fibrinogen exhibited strong nonspecific adsorption on the surface of SWNT nonwoven. The adsorption behaviors are different significantly from those of other carbon materials and conventional biomaterials. The unique interaction of SWNT nonwoven to plasma proteins is of significance to further studies of blood cells responses.
Adsorption ; Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Blood Proteins ; chemistry ; Nanotubes, Carbon ; chemistry ; Surface Properties