Objective To investigate the relationship between the initial change of Tg and clinical outcome in DTC patients with pulmonary metastases after 131I treatment.Methods A total of 47 DTC patients (13 males,34 females;average age (41.6±16.3) years) with pulmonary metastases from January 2008 to June 2014 were retrospectively analyzed.Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the variation of Tg: G1 with a declined (more than 50％) Tg;G2 with a declined (less than 50％) Tg or an increased (less than 10％) Tg;G3 with an increased (more than 10％) Tg.The median follow-up time was 1 501 d.Clinical outcomes were divided into remission,stable disease and progressive disease according to the serum test and imaging results.Data analysis was performed by χ2 test and Fisher exact test.Results The percentage of G1,G2,G3 patients was 44.7％(21/47),40.4％(19/47),and 14.9％(7/47) respectively.Results of follow-up showed 19.0％(4/21) patients achieved remission and 81.0％(17/21) with stable disease in G1.There were 2/19 with remission,12/19 with stable disease and 5/19 with progression disease in G2.All patients (7/7) had progressive disease in G3.The clinical outcome was related to the variation of Tg after 131I treatment (Fisher exact test,P<0.01).Conclusions Initial Tg after 131I treatment could be a predictor to the outcome of patients.The increased Tg level indicates a high possibility of 131I refractory disease.

Background and purpose:This study aimed to investigate the relationship between lymph node metastatic rate (LR) and response to radioiodine therapy in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).Methods:A total number of 143 PTC patients after radioiodine therapy were included and classified into 4 groups [Ⅰ(0%-10%),Ⅱ(>10%-25%),Ⅲ(>25%-50%),Ⅳ(>50%)] according to the lymph node metastatic rate, and the responses to initial radioiodine therapy after a median follow-up period of 20.7 months were evaluated. They were classiifed into 4 groups [excellent response (ER), indeterminate response (IDR), biochemical incomplete response (BIR), and struc-tural incomplete response (SIR)] according to the guideline proposed by 2015 American Thyroid Association. One-Way analysis of variance,χ2 test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to evaluate the differences in basic clinicopathological features and clinical responses among the 4 groups. The ROC curve was analyzed to evaluate the clinical value of lymph node metastatic rate for predicting ER and optimal cut-off point.Results:There were no signiifcant differences in gender and T-stage among 4 groups (P>0.05). However,Ⅰ group was signiifcantly older than the other 3 groups (P=0.001). With the increase of lymph node metastatic rate, the number of ER cases decreased, while cases of BIR and SIR generally increased. Compared with the other 3 groups, less cases of ER (27.8%), while more BIR (27.8%) or SIR (11.1%) were observed in groupⅣ (H=18.816,P=0.000). Cut-off value of lymph node involved rate was 52.27%, with a better speciifcity of predicting ER. Area under the ROC curve was 0.668.Conclusion:The higher lymph node metastatic rate in patients with PTC, the worse clinical outcome it could be. A cut-off value of lymph node metastatic rate 52.27% is a speciifc independent predictor for the clinical outcome in PTC patients treated with radioiodine therapy.

Objective To evaluate the impact of low-dose 131I therapy and high-dose 131I therapy on the clinical outcome in PTC patients coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).Methods A total of 140 non-distant metastatic PTC patients (16 males,124 females,age range:16-66 years) from July 2010 to December 2014 were enrolled in this retrospective study.Patients concurrent with HT (n=84,group A) were divided into low-dose group (1 110 MBq,n=56,group A1) and high-dose group (5 550 MBq,n=28,group A2) according to 131I ablation dose.Patients without HT (n =56) were enrolled as control group (group B),and received 1 110 MBq of 131I.The thyroid remnant ablation outcome was evaluated according to 131I diagnostic whole-body scan (Dx-WBS),neck ultrasonography (US),serum Tg and TgAb level 6-8 months after 131I ablation therapy.The successful ablation rates were compared by x2 test.Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was also used.Results There were no significant differences among the 3 groups in terms of both clinicopathological features and postoperative remnant thyroid (H:0.203-2.944,x2:0.271-0.970,all P＞0.05).When negative Dx-WBS and US were deemed as successful ablation criterion,complete ablation rate was found significantly more in group B (94.6％,53/56) than that in group A1 (82.1％,46/56;x2=4.264,P＜0.05),but no significant difference was found between group A2 (85.7％,24/28) and group A1 (x2 =0.318,P＞0.05).When combining negative sTg (sTg＜1 μg/L,TgAb＜46 kU/L) with the above 2 criterions to assess remnant ablation outcome,group B also had a higher successful rate to achieve complete ablation (85.7％,48/56) compared with group A1 (75.6％,34/45),but without statistical significance (x2=2.978,P＞0.05),and no difference was observed between group A2 (12/15) and group A1 (x2=1.320,P＞ 0.05).Conclusion Non-distant metastatic PTC patients coexisting with HT has undesirable 131I ablation outcome compared with those without HT,increasing 131I dose is unhelpful to enhance efficiency of remnant ablation for PTC patients with HT.

Background and purpose:The incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) is increasing worldwide. However, there were some differences among different regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence trends and clinicopathological characteristics of TC in Qingdao, a typical eastern coastal city, and to analyze the change in etiological spectrum of surgical thyroid diseases in recent years.Methods:A total of 2 251 patients who underwent thyroidectomy in 2014 due to thyroid nodules at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were retrospectively reviewed. The clinico-pathological characteristics were further analyzed among 1 306 patients with TC and compared with the corresponding data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database as well as previous data from this hospital.Results:With the increasing number of thyroidectomy in Qingdao, there was also an increase in the proportion of TC in patients after thyroidectomy, from 34.8% in 2010 to 59.0% in 2014. Among those with TC, the male-to-female ratio was 1∶2.80, with a relatively high incidence among 20-54 year-old adults, who were younger than those reported in terms of distribution of age in SEER database (U=2 289,P=0.000). About 50.2% of the TC patients were overweight or obese, 78.2% TC patients had only asymptomatic nodules detected by ultrasound at initial diagnosis, while 16.6% had visible or palpable thyroid nodules. Only 5.2% presented hoarseness or other repression symptoms. Micro-carcinoma accounted for 61.7% of TC in 2014 at this hospital, which was significantly higher than the proportion in 2010 (37.7%). Lymph node involvement was significantly more frequent at this hospital than in SEER database (49.5%vs 26.0%,χ2=11.806,P=0.001). Even among patients with micro-carcinoma, 31.3% already presented lymph node metastases. The proportions of papillary, follicular, medullary and anaplastic carcinoma were 97.5%, 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.5%, respectively, among which the percentage of papillary carcinoma was higher than that in SEER database (U=4 654.5,P=0.055).Conclusion:There was an increase in the number of thyroidectomy in Qingdao, and the preoperative diagnostic accuracy of TC in this area kept rising. The in-cidence of TC was relatively high in a younger population, with more common lymph node involvements and an overweight trend. The increasing proportion of micro-carcinoma might be related to the popularization of health examination. However, the frequent lymph node metastasis in patients with micro-carcinoma is an important indicator of the invasive behavior of micro-carcinoma, which should not be overlooked.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate whether glycation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) increases cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by altering its anti-atherogenic property.

DATA SOURCESData cited in this review were obtained mainly from Pubmed and Medline in English from 2000 to 2013, with keywords "glycation", "HDL", and "atherosclerosis". Study selection Articles regarding glycation of HDL and its role in atherogenesis in both humans and experimental animal models were identified, retrieved and reviewed.

RESULTSGlycation alters the structure of HDL and its associated enzymes, resulting in an impairment of atheroprotective functionality and increased risks for cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients.

CONCLUSIONGlycation of HDL exerts a deleterious effect on the development of cardiovascular complications in diabetes.

Atherosclerosis ; etiology ; metabolism ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, HDL

Diverse types of GABAergic interneurons tend to specialize in their inhibitory control of various aspects of cortical circuit operations. Among the most distinctive interneuron types, chandelier cells (i.e., axo-axonic cells) are a bona fide cell type that specifically innervates pyramidal cells at the axon initial segment, the site of action potential initiation. Chandelier cells have been speculated to exert ultimate inhibitory control over pyramidal cell spiking. Thus, chandelier cells appear to share multiple similarities with basket cells, not only in firing pattern (fast spiking) and molecular components, but also in potentially perisomatic inhibitory control. Unlike basket cells, however, synaptic recruitment of chandelier cells is little known yet. Here, we examined the mediodorsal thalamocortical input to both chandelier cells and basket cells in medial prefrontal cortex, through combining mouse genetic, optogenetic and electrophysiological approaches. We demonstrated that this thalamocortical input produced initially weak, but facilitated synaptic responses at chandelier cells, which enabled chandelier cells to spike persistently. In contrast, this thalamocortical input evoked initially strong, but rapidly depressed synaptic responses at basket cells, and basket cells only fired at the initiation of input. Overall, the distinct synaptic recruitment dynamics further underscores the differences between chandelier cells and basket cells, suggesting that these two types of fast spiking interneurons play different roles in cortical circuit processing and physiological operation.
Mice ; Animals ; Neurons/physiology* ; Pyramidal Cells/physiology* ; Interneurons ; Action Potentials/physiology* ; Synaptic Transmission

BACKGROUNDA novel anti-rheumatic drug, T-614, has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect and to improve abnormal immunological findings in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To assess the safety and efficacy of T-614 versus placebo in patients with active RA we conducted a 24-week clinical study in 280 Chinese patients.

METHODSIn a multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study, 280 patients were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 95) or T-614 at 50 mg (n = 93) or 25 mg (n = 92) daily. Active disease was defined by 4 of the following 5 criteria: >or= 5 tender joints, >or= 3 swollen joints, morning stiffness lasting for >or= 60 minutes, and Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) >or= 28 mm/h, the assessment of pain at the rest by patient as moderate or severe. Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed at baseline, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks. The primary efficacy variable at week 24 was the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response rate using the intent-to-treat population.

RESULTSThe ACR response rate was significantly higher in the T-614 treatment group compared with the placebo group within 8 weeks after the initiation of treatment. After 24 weeks, the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups and the placebo group showed 39.13%, 61.29% and 24.21% in ACR20 and 23.91%, 31.18% and 7.37% in ACR50, respectively. A time-response in ACR response was observed, with clear superiority for the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups compared to placebo (P < 0.0001), and the 50 mg/d dose compared to the 25 mg/d dose (P < 0.05) when using the ACR response analyses after 24 weeks. ESR and c-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly different in the treatment groups after 24 weeks. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was not significantly higher with T-614 than with placebo, but upper abdominal discomfort, leucopenia, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (sALT), skin rash and/or pruritus were more common in the 50 mg and 25 mg dosage groups.

CONCLUSIONT-614, a new slow-acting drug, is effective in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is well tolerated.

Adult ; Aged ; Antirheumatic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; drug therapy ; Benzopyrans ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sulfonamides ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

Salivary analysis can be used to assess the severity of caries. Of the known salivary proteins, a paucity of information exists concerning the role of proteinase 3 (PR3), a serine protease of the chymotrypsin family, in dental caries. Whole, unstimulated saliva was collected from children with varying degrees of active caries and tested using a Human Protease Array Kit and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A significantly decreased concentration of salivary PR3 was noted with increasing severity of dental caries (P<0.01); a positive correlation (r=0.87; P<0.01; Pearson's correlation analysis) was also observed between salivary pH and PR3 concentration. In an antibacterial test, a PR3 concentration of 250 ng·mL⁻¹ or higher significantly inhibited Streptococcus mutans UA159 growth after 12 h of incubation (P<0.05). These studies indicate that PR3 is a salivary factor associated with the severity of dental caries, as suggested by the negative relationship between salivary PR3 concentration and the severity of caries as well as the susceptibility of S. mutans to PR3.
Child ; Dental Caries ; enzymology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Myeloblastin ; metabolism ; Saliva ; enzymology

Objective To evaluate the impact of BRAF(V600E) gene status on clinical outcome of radioiodine((131)I) therapy in low-intermediate risk recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods Totally 135 PTC patients were enrolled and divided into two groups according to BRAF(V600E) gene status:BRAF(V600E) mutation group(n=105) and BRAF(V600E) wild group(n=30). The median follow-up time was 2.16 years(1.03-4.06 years),and clinical outcome after initial (131)I ablation therapy was divided into excellent response(ER),acceptable response(AR),and incomplete response(IR) according to the serological and imageological follow-up results. The cinical outcomes were then compared between these two groups. Results There was no significant difference in clinicopathological features and initial radioactive iodine dose between BRAF(V600E) mutation and wild groups (P>0.05). ER,AR,and IR after (131)I ablation therapy accounted for 74.3%,20.0%,and 5.7% in BRAF(V600E) mutation group and 73.3%,20.0%,and 6.7% in BRAF(V600E) wild group,and no statistical difference was found (P=0.891). Conclusion For low-intermediate risk recurrent PTC,BRAF(V600E) gene status may have no impact on the response to (131)I ablation therapy,and thus this molecular feature should not be used as an independent weighting factor for risk assessment in this population.
Carcinoma ; genetics ; radiotherapy ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Humans ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; therapeutic use ; Mutation ; Prognosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf ; genetics ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; genetics ; radiotherapy

Objective To predict the monthly reported echinococcosis cases in China with the autoregressive integrated mov-ing average(ARIMA)model,so as to provide a reference for prevention and control of echinococcosis. Methods SPSS 24.0 software was used to construct the ARIMA models based on the monthly reported echinococcosis cases of time series from 2007 to 2015 and 2007 to 2014,respectively,and the accuracies of the two ARIMA models were compared. Results The model based on the data of the monthly reported cases of echinococcosis in China from 2007 to 2015 was ARIMA(1,0,0)(1,1, 0)12,the relative error among reported cases and predicted cases was-13.97%,AR(1)=0.367(t=3.816,P<0.001),SAR (1)=-0.328(t=-3.361,P=0.001),and Ljung-Box Q=14.119(df=16,P=0.590).The model based on the data of the monthly reported cases of echinococcosis in China from 2007 to 2014 was ARIMA(1,0,0)(1,0,1)12,the relative error among reported cases and predicted cases was 0.56%,AR(1)=0.413(t=4.244,P<0.001),SAR(1)=0.809(t=9.584, P<0.001),SMA(1)=0.356(t=2.278,P=0.025),and Ljung-Box Q=18.924(df=15,P=0.217).Conclusions The different time series may have different ARIMA models as for the same infectious diseases.It is needed to be further verified that the more data are accumulated,the shorter time of predication is,and the smaller the average of the relative error is.The estab-lishment and prediction of an ARIMA model is a dynamic process that needs to be adjusted and optimized continuously accord-ing to the accumulated data,meantime,we should give full consideration to the intensity of the work related to infectious diseas-es reported(such as disease census and special investigation).