Animals ; Arginine ; pharmacology ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Hypertension ; etiology ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of using comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in estimating if standard dose treatment is fit for the elderly patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma.Methods.Comprehensive geriatric assessments including three assessments of activity of daily living,instrumental activity of daily living and comorbidity scoring according to Cumulative Illness Rating Score for Geriatrics were adopted to assess if standard dose treatment is fit for the elderly patients in our prospective study.Thirty seven patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma,aged ＞70 years were enrolled in the study,and grouped into fit,unfit and frail groups according to comprehensive geriatric assessment scoring and their age.The treatment protocolswere not determined by comprehensive geriatric assessment scores,but by clinical judgments made by clinicians based on their clinical experience and disease features.The clinically effective response and overall survival (OS) were analyzed in the three groups.Results According to CGA scores,patients were grouped into fit [21 cases (56.8％)],unfit [7 (18.9％)] and frail [9 (24.3％)].37 cases received 213 courses of treatment at average 5.76 courses per case.The overall response (complete / partial remission) rates were [85.7％(18/21) vs.28.6％ (2/7) vs.44.4％ (4/9),x2=9.69,P=0.008] and median survival times were (44 months vs.10 months vs.9 months;x2 =7.03,P=0.03) among fit,unfit and frail groups with statistically significant differences.Total effective rate (achieving all clinical targets) in fit group of 21 cases were 100 ％ (12/12)with receiving standard dose therapy,and 66.7％ of(6/9)with low dose therapy(P=0.06).Overall response rate(total/partial remission) [85.7％(18/21) vs.28.6％(2/7) vs.44.4％(4/9),x2=9.69,P=0.008] and median survival (44 months vs.10 months vs.9 months;x2 =7.03,P=0.03) amongfit,unfit and frail groups.In fit group,the two-year overall survival was higher in patients receiving standard dose treatment than receivingpalliativetreatment,with statistical significance [83.3 ％ (10/12) vs.33.3 ％ (3/9),P =0.032],without significant hematologic toxicity observed between the subgroups.Conclusions Comprehensive geriatric assessment can identify if elderly patients diffuse large B cell lymphoma can acquire a satisfactory curative effect from a standard dose treatment ofimmunochemotherapy.

Objective To investigate the genetic data of 30 insertion deletion polymorphism (InDel) loci included in Investigator® DIPplex in Uygur population from Xinjiang, and evaluate its application in forensic medicine. Methods Allele frequencies, population genetics parameters of the 30 InDels were determined in 223 unrelated Uygur individuals with Investigator® DIPplex, and they were statistically analyzed and compared with available data of other populations of different races from different regions. Results After Bonferroni's correction, there were no significant departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or linkage disequilibrium between the loci. The average heterozygosity (Ho) was 0.468 6, the mean discrimination power (DP) was 0.609 5, and the total probability of discrimination power (TDP) reached 0.999 999 999 995. The cumulative probability of exclusion was 0.995 478 in trio cases (CPEtrio) and 0.972 007 in duo cases (CPEduo). The genetic distance between Uygur and Kazakh was closer than those between Uygur and other populations, such as African American. Conclusion Multiplex detection of the 30 InDel loci revealed a moderately high polymorphic genetic distribution in Chinese Uygur population residing in Xinjiang, demonstrating that the Investigator® DIPplex kit can be used as a supplementary tool for human identity tests, especially in challenging DNA cases.

OBJECTIVE: To study the percentages of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), mononuclear cells (MNC) and fibroblastic cells (FBC) in different post-traumatic intervals after skeletal muscle mechanical injury in rats. METHODS: The rat model of skeletal muscle mechanical injury was established. The rats were divided into injured groups (6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 10 d and 14 d after injury) and control group. The percentages of PMN, MNC and FBC in different post-traumatic intervals after skeletal muscle mechanical injury were assessed with HE staining and image analysis. RESULTS: At post-injury 6-12h, the percentages of PMN and MNC infiltration appeared in injured sites and that of PMN reached peak. At 1 d, the percentage of MNC infiltration appeared and reached peak, while that of PMN decreased. At 3-7 d, the percentage of FBC gradually increased, while that of PMN and MNC decreased. At 10-14d, the percentage of FBC reached peak. CONCLUSION The percentages of PMN, MNC and FBC in injured zones showed time-dependent changes, which might be used as reference index for determination of age of skeletal muscle injury.
Animals ; Fibroblasts ; Muscle, Skeletal/injuries* ; Neutrophils ; Rats ; Time Factors

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; enzymology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peroxidase ; blood

OBJECTIVE: To research the relation between the time-dependent appearances of myotibroblasts during the repair of contused skeletal muscle in rat and wound age determination. METHODS: A total of 35 SD male rats were divided into the control and six injured groups according to wound age as follows: 12 h, 1 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d and 14 d after injury. The appearances of myofibroblasts were detected by HE staining, immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Masson's trichrome staining was utilized to examine collagen accumulation in the contused areas. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining showed that α-SMA+ myofibroblasts were initially observed at 5 d post-injury. The average ratio of myofibroblasts was highest at 14 d post-injury, with all samples, ratios more than 50%. In the other five groups, the average of α-SMA positive ratios were less than 50%. The collagen stained areas in the contused zones, concomitant with myofibroblast appearance, were increasingly augmented along with advances of posttraumatic interval. CONCLUSION The immunohistochemical detection of myofibroblasts can be applied to wound age determination. The myofibroblasts might be involved in collagen deposition during the repair of contused skeletal muscle in rat.
Animals ; Collagen/metabolism* ; Contusions/metabolism* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Myofibroblasts/metabolism* ; Rats ; Time Factors ; Wound Healing

Background:Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common type of hematological malignancy in elderly people.Geriatricians have developed comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) methods for elderly patients;however,the tools used for CGA in AML are not uniform.Thus,we aimed to validate the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales,age,comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index),and albumin (IACA) index,which is a new tool for CGA,in elderly patients with AML.Methods:Patients aged ≥60 years who had been diagnosed with AML were screened for eligibility.Among the IACA low-,intermediate-,and high-risk groups,continuous variables were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test,and categorical variables were compared using x2 and Fisher exact tests.In addition,probabilities of overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results:A total of 21,34,and 6 patients were categorized into IACA low-risk (0 point),intermediate-risk (1-2 points),and high-risk (≥3 points) groups,respectively.The rates of relapse/progression-related mortality were 23.8％,58.8％,and 100.0％ in the IACA low-,intermediate-,and high-risk groups,respectively (x =12.81,P ＜ 0.001).The 2-year probabilities of OS were 47.7％ (95％ confidence interval [CI] 22.8％-72.6％) and 20.2％ (95％ CI 5.9％-34.5％) in the IACA low-and intermediate-risk groups,respectively (x2=5.99,P =0.014),which were significantly higher than those in the high-risk group (low-risk [47.7％ (95％ CI 22.8％-72.6％)] vs.high-risk [0],x2=20.80,P ＜ 0.001;intermediate-risk [20.2％ (95％ CI 5.9％-34.5％)] vs.high-risk [0],x2=7.56,P =0.006;respectively).In the IACA low-risk group,the 2-year probability of OS in patients receiving induction chemotherapy (50.8％ [95％ CI 24.1％-77.5％]) was significantly higher than that in those receiving best supportive care (0,x2=25.74,P＜ 0.001).Conclusion:We suggest that the IACA index might be a simple and effective tool for comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly AML patients.

BACKGROUNDArterial stiffness increases with age and is also associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Little is known about the relations of homocysteine and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) to arterial stiffness in the Chinese community. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of plasma homocysteine and hs-CRP levels with arterial stiffness in a community-based cohort.

METHODSWe related levels of homocysteine and hs-CRP to four measures of arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), carotid-radial PWV, carotid-ankle PWV and heart rate corrected augmentation index) in 1680 participants from two communities of Beijing, China. Arterial stiffness was measured within two days of the time of biomarker measurement.

RESULTSIn univariate analysis, homocysteine was positively associated with the carotid-femoral PWV (r = 0.211, P < 0.0001), carotid-radial PWV (r = 0.120, P < 0.0001) and carotid-ankle PWV (r = 0.148, P < 0.0001), whereas it was inversely related to the augmentation index (r = -0.052, P = 0.016). Hs-CRP was positively associated with the carotid-femoral PWV (r = 0.074, P = 0.001) and carotid-ankle PWV (r = 0.050, P = 0.02). In multiple-adjusted models (R(2) = 0.57), homocysteine levels remained a significant determinant of the carotid-femoral PWV (standardized β = 0.065, P = 0.007), whereas the association of hs-CRP with measurements of arterial stiffness was not present.

CONCLUSIONSIn the Chinese population, plasma homocysteine levels are associated with alterations of aortic stiffness, whereas plasma levels of hs-CRP are not independently related to artery stiffening.

Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Homocysteine ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Vascular Stiffness ; physiology

BACKGROUNDHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may induce autoimmune response and autoantibodies can be detected in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. However, the reported positive rate of autoantibodies in CHC patients in China varies considerably. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-liver-kidney-microsome type 1 autoantibodies (anti-LKM-1) in a large cohort of CHC patients, and analyzed the factors related to the presence of the autoantibodies.

METHODSA total of 360 CHC patients were enrolled in this study. Serum ANA and anti-LKM-1 were detected by indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Clinical analysis was performed to disclose the related factors to autoantibody production.

RESULTSThe prevalence of ANA and anti-LKM-1 in CHC patients was 12.5% (45/360) and 2.5% (9/360), respectively. Women had a higher prevalence than men (18.9% vs 11.4%, P = 0.046). Patients with positive autoantibodies had lower HCV RNA levels (1.2 x 10(7) copies/L vs 7.2 x 10(7) copies/L, P < 0.05). Positive ANA was associated with higher serum globulin (P < 0.05). Stratified analysis showed that there were no significant differences in age, HCV genotype, disease course, clinical stage, prevalence of cirrhosis and interferon therapy between autoantibody-positive and -negative subgroups.

CONCLUSIONAutoantibodies can be induced in the course of CHC, and some CHC patients can even develop autoimmune hepatitis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; blood ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and to evaluated the predictive value of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA)in advanced-aged DLBCL patients.Methods A total of 24 patients aged 80 years and over diagnosed with DLBCL in our hospital from March 2010 to July 2017 were enrolled in this study.CGA included three parts:age,activities of daily living(ADL)/instrumental activities of daily living(IADL)and comorbidity evaluated by the cumulative illness rating score for geriatrics(CIRS-G).According to CGA scores,all patients were classified into either the not-applicable group or the frail group.Results There were 10 and 14 patients in the not-applicable group and the frail group,respectively.Twenty-two patients received chemotherapy,and the incidences of toxicity after chemotherapy were comparable between the two groups.Nine patients achieved complete remission (CR),five patients partial remission(PR),and the overall response rate(ORR) was 63.6 ％.The not-applicable group seemed to have a higher complete remission rate than the frail group(60.0 ％ vs.25.0 ％,x2=2.764,P =0.192).However,the overall response rates were comparable between the two groups.Treatment-related deaths occurred in 2 and 3 patients(20.0 ％ vs.25.0 ％,x2 =0.078,P =1.000)in the not-applicable and frail groups,respectively.Relapse/progression-related deaths occurred in 3 and 5 patients in the not-applicable and frail groups(30.0％ vs.41.7％,x2 =0.321,P =0.675),respectively.The 2-year overall survival rates and progression-free survival rates were 56.3 ％ versus 35.2 ％ (x2 =0.635,P =0.426)and 42.2 ％ versus 16.7 ％ (x2 =2.156,P =0.142) in the not-applicable and frail groups,respectively.Conclusions Advanced-aged patients with DLBCL have a poor prognosis,which can be predicted by CGA to a certain extent.Further improvement in the current CGA scoring system is still needed to accurately predict the prognosis of DLBCL in advanced-aged patients and to guide treatment.