OBJECTIVE: To investigate the diagnostic value of Hepcidin as a sepsis biomarker in critically ill adults. METHODS: An observational study was conducted. The patients with suspected or proven infection admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Zhoupu Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences from March 2016 to November 2017 were enrolled. According to the third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (Sepsis-3), the patients were divided into non-sepsis group and sepsis group, and the septic patients were subdivided into general sepsis subgroup and septic shock subgroup according to the severity of disease. The differences in serum Hepcidin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil granulocytes (NEUT) and lactic acid (Lac) within 1 hour after ICU admission between non-sepsis and sepsis groups and among the sepsis subgroups were compared. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) within 24 hours after ICU admission and sequential organ failure score (SOFA) were recorded, and the mortality rate was followed up for 28 days. Receiver operation characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of Hepcidin and PCT, CRP, WBC for sepsis. Logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between Hepcidin and sepsis. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between Hepcidin and other parameters of sepsis patients. RESULTS: A total of 183 patients were enrolled, 93 in the non-sepsis group and 90 in the sepsis group (48 with general sepsis and 42 with septic shock). (1) The levels of Hepcidin, IL-6, TNF-α, PCT, Lac in serum, and APACHE II and SOFA scores in the sepsis group were significantly higher than those in the non-sepsis group. ROC analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of Hepcidin and PCT for sepsis diagnosis were 0.865 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.807-0.911] and 0.848 (95%CI = 0.788-0.897), respectively, without statistical significance (Z = 0.443, P = 0.657). Furthermore, the AUC of Hepcidin for sepsis diagnosis was significantly higher than that of the conventional biomarkers CRP and WBC [AUC was 0.530 (95%CI = 0.455-0.604) and 0.527 (95%CI = 0.452-0.601), respectively] with statistical significance (both P < 0.01). When Hepcidin > 54.00 μg/L, its sensitivity for sepsis diagnosis was 95.56%, specificity was 66.67%, positive and negative predictive value was 73.51% and 93.94%, respectively. Parallel test was conducted for combination of Hepcidin and PCT, which showed that the AUC was 0.885, and the sensitivity and negative predictive value was significantly improved to 98.96% and 98.36%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that after adjusted for PCT, Hepcidin > 54.00 μg/L was also associated with sepsis independently, with odds ratio (OR) of 1.011 (95%CI = 1.008-1.015, P < 0.001), indicating that Hepcidin and PCT were not completely overlapped in the diagnosis of sepsis. (2) With the increase in infection severity, serum Hepcidin, PCT, IL-6, TNF-α, Lac, APACHE II, SOFA score and 28-day mortality all showed an increasing trend in patients. There was a significantly positive correlation between Hepcidin and IL-6, TNF-α, PCT, APACHE II, and SOFA in the sepsis patients (r value was 0.526, 0.449, 0.591, 0.359, and 0.374, respectively, all P < 0.01), but no correlation was found between Hepcidin and Lac (r = 1.104, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Serum Hepcidin is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis, and it is correlated to the severity of the sepsis. The combination of Hepcidin and PCT can improve the accuracy of diagnosis of sepsis. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION China Clinical Trial Registration Center, ChiCTR-DDD-16008522.
Adult ; Biomarkers ; C-Reactive Protein ; Calcitonin ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; China ; Critical Illness ; Hepcidins ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Protein Precursors ; ROC Curve ; Sepsis

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the influence of Shenfu Injection (SHF) on the quality of life of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving chemotherapy.

METHODSA total of 133 patients with NSCLC receiving at least two cycles of chemotherapy with taxol plus cisplatin (TP)/vinorelbine plus cisplatin (NP) or gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) were randomized into SHF pre-treatment group (with SHF given only in the first cycle) and SHF post-treatment group (with SHF given only in the second cycle). The Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC) were used to evaluate the quality of life of the patients after the treatments.

RESULTSBoth of the groups showed improved quality of life after the treatments (P<0.01), but the improvements were more obvious in SHF pre-treatment group (P<0.05). SHF showed favorable effects in relieving such adverse effects as fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea associated with the chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONSHF can improve the quality of life in NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapies.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; drug therapy ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; prevention & control ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; Phytotherapy ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vinblastine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Vomiting ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVETo achieve pregnancy with unaffected embryo using in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis(PGD) for the couples at risk of having children with beta-thalassemia.

METHODSA couple carrying different thalassemia mutations of codon 41/42 and codon IVS2 position 654 received standard IVF treatment and intracytoplasmic sperm injection, embryo biopsy, single cell polymerase chain reaction and DNA analyses, and only the unaffected or carrier embryos were transferred to uterus. Pregnancy confirmation, and prenatal diagnosis were done at 20 week's gestation.

RESULTSA total of 13 embryos were analyzed in the IVF cycle. PGD indicated that 2 were normal 18.1 , 3 were affected 27.3 , and 6 were carriers 54.5 ; diagnosis was not possible in 2. Three embryos were transferred to uterus on the third day after oocyte retrieval. Ultrasonography showed twin pregnancy with one blighted ovum. The prenatal diagnoses revealed that both fetuses were unaffected, one normal baby and one carrier were born.

CONCLUSIONThese studies represent the successful application of PGD for beta-thalassemia in China.

Adult ; Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Preimplantation Diagnosis ; methods ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; methods ; beta-Thalassemia ; diagnosis ; genetics ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of Jianpi Liqi Yiliu Formula (JLYF) combined with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells for treating patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODSBetween January 2011 and January 2014, 60 advanced HCC patients were enrolled in this study, who were assigned to the treatment group and the control group according to their willingness for taking JLYF, 30 cases in each group. All patients received CIK cell treatment: 1 x 10⁹-3 x 10⁹ each time, by intravenous dripping from the 1st day to the 3rd day, once per day. Besides, patients in the treatment group took JLYF decoction, while those in the control group took Chinese medical decoction by syndrome typing. All patients received treatment of at least two cycles. The time to progression (TTP) , overall survival (OS), disease control rate (DCR), performance status scale (PS), Child-Pugh scale, and adverse reactions were observed, and subgroup analyzed.

RESULTSTo May 31, 2014, all patients reached the clinical endpoint. TTP was 3.5 months (95% Cl: 3.30-4.10) in the treatment group, better than that (2.5 months, 95% CI: 2.32-2.68) of the control group (P < 0.05). DCR was 36.7% in the treatment group and 30.0% in the control group (P > 0.05). OS was 5.2 months (95% CI: 4.53-5.87) in the treatment group and 4.6 months (95% CI: 4.06-5.14) in the control group (P > 0.05). The PS scale was 1.60 ± 0.10 after treatment, lower than that (1.80 ± 0.09) before treatment in the treatment group (P < 0.05). When the PS scale was 0-2 or Child-Pugh scale was class A, TTP was longer in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05). No adverse reaction occurred in the two groups during the treatment course.

CONCLUSIONSThe combination of JLYF with ClK cell treatment could prolong advanced HCC patients' TTP, improve PS scale, as compared with syndrome typed Chinese medical decoction treatment group. Besides, when the PS scale was 0-2 or Child-Pugh scale was class A, it was a better treatment program for advanced HCC patients.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; therapy ; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Cytokine-Induced Killer Cells ; cytology ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo explore the distribution of Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome types in primary liver cancer (PLC) and their differences of the survival time.

METHODSFrom May 2007 to March 2009, recruited were 151 PLC inpatients at Department of Tumor, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Their survival time were statistically calculated. Patients' average survival time and median survival time were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. The Log-rank test was used to analyze their differences of survival time among different CM syndrome types.

RESULTSThe proportion of CM syndrome types in PLC patients were ranked from high to low as follows: mutual accumulation of dampness and blood stasis syndrome [MADBSS, 43.0% (65/151)], Gan-stagnation Pi-deficiency syndrome [GSPDS, 34.4% (52/151)], qi stagnation blood stasis syndrome [QSBSS, 9.3% (14/151)], retention of damp-heat syndrome [RDHS, 8.6%(13/151)], and Gan-Shen yin deficiency syndrome [GSYDS, 4.6% (7/ 151)]. The median survival time of different CM syndrome types were ranked from longer to shorter as follows: GSPDS (14.77 months), QSBSS (6.13 months), RDHS (5.27 months), MADBSS (4.78 months), and GSYDS (0.80 months). The mean survival times were ranked from longer to shorter as follows: GSPDS (12.40 months), QSBSS (8.84 months), MADBSS (6.99 months), RDHS (7.08 months), and GSYDS (0.72 months). There was statistical difference in the difference of the survival time among different CM syndrome types (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSGSPDS and MADBSS were the most common CM syndrome types in PLC patients. There was difference in the survival time between GSPDS and MADBSS/between RDHS and GSYDS. There was difference in the survival time between MADBSS and GSYDS. Patients of GSPDS might get the best prognosis, while patients of GSYDS might get the poorest prognosis.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; mortality ; pathology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Yang Deficiency ; Yin Deficiency

Objective This study aimed to evaluate whether the onset of the plateau phase of slow hepatitis B surface antigen decline in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with intermittent interferon therapy is related to the frequency of dendritic cell subsets and expression of the costimulatory molecules CD40,CD80,CD83,and CD86. Method This was a cross-sectional study in which patients were divided into a natural history group(namely NH group),a long-term oral nucleoside analogs treatment group(namely NA group),and a plateau-arriving group(namely P group).The percentage of plasmacytoid dendritic cell and myeloid dendritic cell subsets in peripheral blood lymphocytes and monocytes and the mean fluorescence intensity of their surface costimulatory molecules were detected using a flow cytometer. Results In total,143 patients were enrolled(NH group,n = 49;NA group,n = 47;P group,n = 47).The results demonstrated that CD141/CD1c double negative myeloid dendritic cell(DNmDC)/lymphocytes and monocytes(%)in P group(0.041[0.024,0.069])was significantly lower than that in NH group(0.270[0.135,0.407])and NA group(0.273[0.150,0.443]),and CD86 mean fluorescence intensity of DNmDCs in P group(1832.0[1484.0,2793.0])was significantly lower than that in NH group(4316.0[2958.0,5169.0])and NA group(3299.0[2534.0,4371.0]),Adjusted P all<0.001. Conclusion Reduced DNmDCs and impaired maturation may be associated with the onset of the plateau phase during intermittent interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Objective To explore characteristics of clinical parameters and cytokines in patients with drug-induced liver injury(DILI)caused by different drugs and their correlation with clinical indicators. Method The study was conducted on patients who were up to Review of Uncertainties in Confidence Assessment for Medical Tests(RUCAM)scoring criteria and clinically diagnosed with DILI.Based on Chinese herbal medicine,cardiovascular drugs,non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs),anti-infective drugs,and other drugs,patients were divided into five groups.Cytokines were measured by Luminex technology.Baseline characteristics of clinical biochemical indicators and cytokines in DILI patients and their correlation were analyzed. Results 73 patients were enrolled.Age among five groups was statistically different(P=0.032).Alanine aminotransferase(ALT)(P=0.033)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)(P=0.007)in NSAIDs group were higher than those in chinese herbal medicine group.Interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α)in patients with Chinese herbal medicine(IL-6:P<0.001;TNF-α:P<0.001)and cardiovascular medicine(IL-6:P=0.020;TNF-α:P=0.001)were lower than those in NSAIDs group.There was a positive correlation between ALT(r=0.697,P=0.025),AST(r=0.721,P=0.019),and IL-6 in NSAIDs group. Conclusion Older age may be more prone to DILI.Patients with NSAIDs have more severe liver damage in early stages of DILI,TNF-α and IL-6 may partake the inflammatory process of DILI.

OBJECTIVE: To determine and verify the correlation formula of age estimation using the content of signal joint T-cell receptor excision DNA circle (sjTREC) in human peripheral blood and to discuss its application value in forensic biological practice. METHODS: The samples of peripheral blood stains were collected from 30 healthy unrelated individuals whose ages were known. The DNAs were extracted from the samples stored at room temperature after 4 weeks. The content of sjTREC was measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR technique, and the TATA box binding protein (TBP) was selected as reference genes. The age of each sample was predicted with the formula which was Age = -7.181 5 Y-42.458 +/- 9.42 (Y = dCtTBP-sjTREC), and the result was compared with the real age of each individual to determine the accuracy of the formula. RESULTS: sjTREC and TBP gene were detectable in all 30 samples of peripheral blood. The contents of sjTREC in human peripheral blood showed a decreasing tendency with aging. The accuracy rate for the age estimation by this method was 76.67%. CONCLUSION The method for the age estimation with the content of sjTREC was simple, fast, sensitive, and good species specific with important potential application prospect.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aging/blood* ; Blood Stains ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; DNA/genetics* ; DNA Primers/genetics* ; Female ; Forensic Genetics/methods* ; Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte/genetics* ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; TATA-Box Binding Protein/genetics* ; Young Adult

To prepare Cinnamomi Ramulus pieces standard decoction and establish its quality standard, provide quality reference for formula granules and other clinic non-traditional forms of medicines, and lay a foundation for standard decoction research for the pieces containing essential oil. 14 batches of Cinnamomi Ramulus pieces with different quality were collected from market and their extraction process was further improved based on the preparation principle of standard decoction to prepare the standard decoction of Cinnamomi Ramulus pieces. Then its transfer rate of Cinnamaldehyde, dry extract rate and pH value were calculated to evaluate its process stability; and a method for chromatographic fingerprint and content determination was also established. Results revealed that the dry extract rate for standard decoction of Cinnamomi Ramulus pieces was from 6.06%-8.95%, with an average value of 7.18%; the transfer rate of cinnamaldehyde was at the range of 29.6%-54.3%, with an average of 43.2%; and the pH value was at the range of 4.33-4.82. The fingerprint similarities between 14 batches of standard decoction of Cinnmomi Rammulus pieces and reference fingerprint were all>0.9. The established method for standard decoction was stable and its quality standard was perfect, suitable for evaluating the quality of standard decoction of Cinnanomi Ramulus pieces.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of Hepcidin as a sepsis biomarker in critically ill adults. Methods: An observational study was conducted. The patients with suspected or proven infection admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Zhoupu Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences from March 2016 to November 2017 were enrolled. According to the third international consensus definitions for sepsis and septic shock (Sepsis-3), the patients were divided into non-sepsis group and sepsis group, and the septic patients were subdivided into general sepsis subgroup and septic shock subgroup according to the severity of disease. The differences in serum Hepcidin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil granulocytes (NEUT) and lactic acid (Lac) within 1 hour after ICU admission between non-sepsis and sepsis groups and among the sepsis subgroups were compared. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) within 24 hours after ICU admission and sequential organ failure score (SOFA) were recorded, and the mortality rate was followed up for 28 days. Receiver operation characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of Hepcidin and PCT, CRP, WBC for sepsis. Logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between Hepcidin and sepsis. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between Hepcidin and other parameters of sepsis patients. Results: A total of 183 patients were enrolled, 93 in the non-sepsis group and 90 in the sepsis group (48 with general sepsis and 42 with septic shock).① The levels of Hepcidin, IL-6, TNF-α, PCT, Lac in serum, and APACHEⅡand SOFA scores in the sepsis group were significantly higher than those in the non-sepsis group. ROC analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of Hepcidin and PCT for sepsis diagnosis were 0.865 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.807-0.911] and 0.848 (95%CI = 0.788-0.897), respectively, without statistical significance (Z = 0.443, P = 0.657). Furthermore, the AUC of Hepcidin for sepsis diagnosis was significantly higher than that of the conventional biomarkers CRP and WBC [AUC was 0.530 (95%CI = 0.455-0.604) and 0.527 (95%CI = 0.452-0.601), respectively] with statistical significance (both P < 0.01). When Hepcidin > 54.00 μg/L, its sensitivity for sepsis diagnosis was 95.56%, specificity was 66.67%, positive and negative predictive value was 73.51% and 93.94%, respectively. Parallel test was conducted for combination of Hepcidin and PCT, which showed that the AUC was 0.885, and the sensitivity and negative predictive value was significantly improved to 98.96% and 98.36%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that after adjusted for PCT, Hepcidin > 54.00 μg/L was also associated with sepsis independently, with odds ratio (OR) of 1.011 (95%CI = 1.008-1.015, P < 0.001), indicating that Hepcidin and PCT were not completely overlapped in the diagnosis of sepsis. ② With the increase in infection severity, serum Hepcidin, PCT, IL-6, TNF-α, Lac, APACHEⅡ, SOFA score and 28-day mortality all showed an increasing trend in patients. There was a significantly positive correlation between Hepcidin and IL-6, TNF-α, PCT, APACHEⅡ, and SOFA in the sepsis patients (r value was 0.526, 0.449, 0.591, 0.359, and 0.374, respectively, all P < 0.01), but no correlation was found between Hepcidin and Lac (r = 1.104, P > 0.05). Conclusions: Serum Hepcidin is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis, and it is correlated to the severity of the sepsis. The combination of Hepcidin and PCT can improve the accuracy of diagnosis of sepsis. Clinical trial registration China Clinical Trial Registration Center, ChiCTR-DDD-16008522.