OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between Chinese medicine syndrome patterns (CMSP) and their associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy stage III (DN2-3).

METHODSRetrospective analysis was conducted on 209 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patients were allocated into two groups, the DN2-3 group and the control group. Some related clinical materials and laboratory indexes, including age, course of disease, body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high and low density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL), serum creatinine (Scr) and microalbuminuria (MALB) as well as their CMSP (both the essential syndrome and the superficial syndrome) in the DN2-3 group were collected and compared.

RESULTSSignificant differences were found between the DN2-3 group and the control group in aspects of course of disease (months, 107.74 +/- 96.19 vs. 82.03 +/- 79.10), BMI (kg/m2, 26.25 +/- 4.02 vs. 24.95 +/- 3.56) and Scr level (mmoL/L, 71.93 +/- 24.24 vs. 65.91 +/- 13.70, P < 0.05). The qi-yin deficiency SP (38 cases, 36.19%), and the blood stasis (51 cases, 48.58%) presented as the dominant essential and superficial CM-SP respectively in DN2-3 patients, holding the highest proportion. Analysis on the relationship of associated indices among patients with different CMSP showed statistical differences presented in level of MALB, i.e. which in pi-shen qi-deficiency SP (128.77 +/- 103.59 mg/24 h) was higher than in yin-deficiency dryness-fire SP and qi-yin deficiency SP (88.43 +/- 68.93 mg/24h and 82.60 +/- 55.22 mg/24 h, P < 0.05); it also presented in HbA1c (%) and TG levels(mmol/L), those in stasis SP were 10.73 +/- 2.71 and 2.29 +/- 1.58 ), in dampness SP were 8.80 +/- 2.19% and 4.37 +/- 5.92, and in stasis-phlegm SP were 8.83 +/- 2.09 and 2.40 +/- 2.18 (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe risk factors for occurrence of DN2-3 may be the course of disease, BMI and Scr. Qi-yin deficiency with blood-stasis is the most commonly encountered syndrome in patients with DN2-3. Relations of MALB with Pi-Shen qi-deficiency pattern; HbA1c with blood-stasis pattern, and TG with dampness syndrome are distinctly exhibited in them.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Albuminuria ; physiopathology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; physiopathology ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; physiopathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare, distinct subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, possessing an aggressive course and poor prognosis with no standard therapy. Twelve patients who have failed at least two initial CHOP or CHOP-like regimens were enrolled in this study and treated with individualized cyclosporine (CsA), prednisone (PDN), and monthly, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (HDIVIG). The dose of CsA was adjusted individually based on the blood trough concentration of CsA and renal function. All patients were examined for response, toxicity and survival. The most significant toxicities (≥ grade 2) were infection (16.7%), renal insufficiency (8.3%), hypertension (8.3%), diabetes (8.3%) and insomnia (16.7%). Discontinuation of treatment occurred in one patient (8.3%) due to grade 3 renal toxicity and subsequent grade 4 pulmonary infection. Treatment-related death was not observed. The overall response rate was 75.0% (complete response, 33.3%; partial response, 41.7%). With a median follow-up of 25.5 months, the median duration of response was 20 months (range, 12 to 49 months) and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 25.5 months (range, 10 to 56 months). The 2-year PFS rate was 81.5%. Our findings indicate the combination of CsA, PDN and HDIVIG is an effective salvage regimen for refractory or relapsed AITL with predictable and manageable toxicity.
Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Prednisolone ; therapeutic use ; Remission Induction ; Salvage Therapy ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use