OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in response evaluation and relapse monitoring for patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). METHODS: The clinical characteristics, efficacy and survival of 38 PMBCL patients in our hospital from January 2010 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ctDNA monitoring was conducted by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among the 38 patients, 26 cases were female, and 32 cases were diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage I-II. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 74.7% and 61.7%, respectively. Males and those with high aaIPI scores (3 points) had a relatively poor prognosis. The NGS results of 23 patients showed that STAT6 (65.2%), SOCS1 (56.5%), and TNFAIP3 (56.5%) were the most common mutated genes. Patients with stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) exhibited enrichment in cell cycle, FoxO, and TNF signaling pathways. A total of 29 patients underwent end-of-treatment PET/CT (EOT PET/CT), and 16 of them received ctDNA monitoring with 12 negative. Among 6 patients with EOT PET/CT positive (Deauville 4), 4 underwent ctDNA monitoring, and 3 of them were negative, being still in continuous remission without any subsequent anti-tumor therapy. CONCLUSION CtDNA may be combined with PET/CT to assess efficacy, monitor relapse, and guide treatment of PMBCL.
Humans ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; Female ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Mutation

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

OBJECTIVE: Observational studies have found associations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and vascular dementia (VD); however, these findings are inconsistent. It remains unclear whether these associations are causal. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis by systematically searching for observational studies on the association between IBD and dementia. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on summary genome-wide association studies (GWASs) was performed. Genetic correlation and Bayesian co-localization analyses were used to provide robust genetic evidence. RESULTS: Ten observational studies involving 80,565,688 participants were included in this meta-analysis. IBD was significantly associated with dementia (risk ratio [ RR] =1.36, 95% CI = 1.04-1.78; I ² = 84.8%) and VD ( RR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.18-5.70; only one study), but not with AD ( RR = 2.00, 95% CI = 0.96-4.13; I ² = 99.8%). MR analyses did not supported significant causal associations of IBD with dementia (dementia: odds ratio [ OR] = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.98-1.03; AD: OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.95-1.01; VD: OR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.97-1.07). In addition, genetic correlation and co-localization analyses did not reveal any genetic associations between IBD and dementia. CONCLUSION Our study did not provide genetic evidence for a causal association between IBD and dementia risk. The increased risk of dementia observed in observational studies may be attributed to unobserved confounding factors or detection bias.
Humans ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/complications* ; Dementia/etiology* ; Observational Studies as Topic ; Genome-Wide Association Study

Objective:To investigate the association between serum interleukin (IL) -6 and silent information regulator (SIRT) -1 and frailty in elderly patients in the emergency department.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Patients aged 60 years and above treated in the emergency department of Beijing Bo'Ai Hospital from January to December 2022 were collected. Blood routine, biochemical indicators, and serum IL-6 were detected within 24 h after enrollment. At the same time, fasting venous blood 2 mL was collected and the serum was stored at minus 80℃ after centrifugation. The level of SIRT-1 was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nutritional risk screening 2002 was performed within 72 h, Barthel index was used to assess the ability of daily living and grip strength was measured. The patients were divided into frailty and non-frailty groups according to Fried frailty phenotype (FP). The differences of clinical data and laboratory indicators were compared between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between serum IL-6, SIRT-1 and frailty. The predictive ability of serum IL-6 and SIRT-1 for frailty was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:A total of 316 elderly patients in the emergency department were included in this study and divided into frailty group ( n=156) and non-frailty group ( n=160) according to Fried FP criteria. Univariate analysis showed that serum IL-6 [33.3 (13.0, 69.2) ng/L vs. 20.0 (9.2, 41.3) ng/L, P=0.001] and SIRT-1 [(9.98±1.23) μg/L vs. (8.98±1.65) μg/L, P<0.001] of patients in the frailty group were higher than those in the non-frailty group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that serum IL-6 ( OR=1.006, 95% CI: 1.001-1.011, P=0.036) and SIRT-1 ( OR=1.838, 95% CI: 1.475-2.290, P<0.001) were independently associated with frailty after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, Barthel index and grip strength. The area under the curve (AUC) of serum IL-6 for predicting frailty was 0.671 (95% CI: 0.604-0.738, P<0.001), the predictive cut-off point was 33.8 ng/L. The AUC of SIRT-1 for predicting frailty was 0.736 (95% CI: 0.674-0.799, P<0.001), the predictive cut-off point was 9.13 μg/L. The AUC of the model of IL-6 combined with SIRT-1 was 0.765 (95% CI: 0.707-0.823, P<0.001), the sensitivity and specificity were 0.776 and 0.726, respectively, and its predictive efficacy was superior to that of IL-6 alone ( Z=2.119, P=0.034). Conclusion:Serum IL-6 and SIRT-1 are independent predictors of frailty in elderly patients in the emergency department.

Purpose::Under-foot impact loadings can cause serious lower limb injuries in many activities, such as automobile collisions and underbody explosions to military vehicles. The present study aims to compare the biomechanical responses of the mainstream vehicle occupant dummies with the human body lower limb model and analyze their robustness and applicability for assessing lower limb injury risk in underfoot impact loading environments.Methods::The Hybrid III model, the test device for human occupant restraint (THOR) model, and a hybrid human body model with the human active lower limb model were adopted for under-foot impact analysis regarding different impact velocities and initial lower limb postures.Results::The results show that the 2 dummy models have larger peak tibial axial force and higher sensitivity to the impact velocities and initial postures than the human lower limb model. In particular, the Hybrid III dummy model presented extremely larger peak tibial axial forces than the human lower limb model. In the case of minimal difference in tibial axial force, Hybrid III's tibial axial force (7.5 KN) is still 312.5% that of human active lower limb's (2.4 KN). Even with closer peak tibial axial force values, the biomechanical response curve shapes of the THOR model show significant differences from the human lower limb model.Conclusion::Based on the present results, the Hybrid III dummy cannot be used to evaluate the lower limb injury risk in under-foot loading environments. In contrast, potential improvement in ankle biofidelity and related soft tissues of the THOR dummy can be implemented in the future for better applicability.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules in the treatment of cough caused by acute bronchitis in children, which is defined in TCM terms as a syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing the lung.Methods:This was a block-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.From January 2022 to September 2023, 359 children aged 3 to 7 years old diagnosed as acute bronchitis (lung-obstructing phlegm-heat syndrome) were enrolled from 21 participating hospitals and randomly assigned to the experimental group and placebo group in a 3︰1 ratio, and respectively treated with Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules and its matching placebo.Cough resolution/general resolution rate after 7 days of treatment was used as the primary efficacy outcome for both groups.Results:(1)On the seventh day of treatment, the rate of cough disappearance/basically disappearance in the experimental group and placebo group were 73.95% and 57.61% retrospectively, which had statistically significance ( P=0.001).(2)After 7 days of treatment, the median duration of cough disappearance/basic disappearance were 5 days and 6 days in the two groups , with a statistically significant difference ( P=0.006).The area under the curve of cough symptom severity time was 7.20 ± 3.79 in the experimental group and 8.20±4.42 in the placebo group.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P=0.039).(3) After 7 days of treatment, the difference between TCM syndrome score and baseline was -16.0 (-20.0, -15.0) points in the experimental group and -15.0 (-18.0, -12.0) points in the placebo group, with significant difference between the two groups ( P=0.004).In the experimental group, the clinical control rate, the markedly effective rate, the effective rate and the ineffective rate were 49.04%, 28.35%, 16.48% and 6.13% severally; and in the placebo group, the clinical control rate, the markedly effective rate, the effective rate and the ineffective rate were 38.04%, 26.09%, 29.35%, and 6.52% separately, which had statistically significant ( P=0.014).(4) There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events or adverse reactions during the trial between both groups.Moreover, while adverse reactions in the form of vomiting and diarrhea were occasionally reported, no serious drug-related adverse event or adverse reaction was reported.(5)The tested drug provided good treatment compliance, showing no statistically significant difference from the placebo in terms of compliance rate. Conclusions:Based on the above findings, it can be concluded that Xiao′er Huangjin Zhike Granules provides good safety, efficacy, and treatment compliance in the treatment of cough caused by acute bronchitis, and lung-obstructing phlegm-heat syndrome, in children.

Objective:To explore the therapeutic efficacy and prognostic factors of induction therapy for secondary central nervous system lymphoma(SCNSL).Methods:Clinical data of patients diagnosed with SCNSL from 2010 to 2021 at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were retrospectively collected.A retrospective cohort study was performed on all and grouped patients to analyze the efficacy and survival.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the adverse prognostic factors.Results:Thirty-seven diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients with secondary central involvement were included in the research.Their 2-year overall survival(OS)rate was 46.01％and median survival time was 18.1 months.The 2-year OS rates of HD-MTX group and TMZ group were 34.3％and 61％,median survival time were 8.7 and 38.3 months,and median progression-free survival time were 8.1 and 47 months,respectively.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age,sex,IPI,Ann Arbor stage were correlated with patient survival time.The median survival time of patients with CD79B,KMT2D,CXCR4.ERBB2,TBL1XR1,BTG2,MYC,MYD88,and PIM1 mutations was 8.2 months,which was lower than the overall level.Conclusion:HD-MTX combined with TMZ as the first-line strategy may improve patient prognosis,and early application of gene sequencing is beneficial for evaluating prognosis.

Aim To investigate the intracellular up-take and target protein binding characteristics of two Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors(BTKi)with differ-ent selectivities to provide further insights into the mechanisms of drug off-target-related bleeding risk.Methods Ibrutinib(non-selective BTKi)and za-nubrutinib(selective BTKi)were used as study drugs.After incubation of MEC-1 cells and human platelets with drugs,the cellular thermal shift assay(CETSA)was combined with Western blot to obtain the melting curve and isothermal curve to analyze the binding char-acteristics of the two drugs with the target protein BTK.After incubation of MEC-1 cells and human platelets with drugs,the concentrations of the two drugs were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)to analyze the intracellular uptake of the two drugs.Results CETSA analysis confirmed that zanubrutinib was more selective for the target protein BTK compared to ibrutinib.LC-MS/MS analysis showed that both drugs were uptaken intracel-lularly by MEC-1 cells and platelets in a concentration-dependent manner.Conclusions While BTKi targe-ting BTK to B lymphocytes exerts therapeutic effects,off-target effects on platelets due to differences in their intracellular uptake,and target-binding characteristics may be one of the reasons for the differences in bleed-ing risk across selective BTKi.

Objective:To explore the risk factors of renal function progression in patients with acute renal injury (AKI) after moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest surgery in acute aortic dissection (AD).Methods:Retrospective analysis was made base on the data of 290 patients with acute AD who underwent surgical treatment from January 2014 to August 2022 in the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University. According to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) AKI diagnostic criteria in 2015, patients with AKI after surgery were selected as the study objects. Patients with progressive deterioration of renal function or required continuous renal replacement therapy after AD operation were defined as the progression group of AKI, the other patients with gradual improvement of renal function after AD operation were defined as the improvement group of AKI. The clinical data of the two groups were compared, and the risk factors for the progression of AKI after AD were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.Results:A total of 290 AD surgeries were completed, of which 143 cases developed AKI after surgery, including 81 cases in AKI progression group and 62 cases in AKI improvement group. In the progression group of AKI, before surgery the proportion of patients with coronary heart disease: 24.7% (20/81) vs.11.3% (7/62), serum creatinine (Scr) >133 μmol/L: 24.7% (20/81) vs. 3.2% (2/62), pericardial tamponade: 22.2% (18/81) vs. 8.1% (5/62), lower limb ischemia: 25.9% (21/81) vs. 3.2% (2/62) were significantly increased. Postoperative acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE) score: 14.00 (9.00, 19.75) scores vs. 10.00 (7.00, 12.00) scores, ICU hospitalization days: 8 (5, 13) d vs. 5 (3, 7) d, postoperative mortality: 24.7%(20/81) vs. 1.6%(1/62), the proportion of KDIGO phase 3 ratio: 46.9%(38/81) vs. 3.2%(2/62), postoperative infection: 61.7%(50/81) vs. 38.7% (24/62), low cardiac output syndrome: 29.6% (24/81) vs. 6.5% (4/62), cerebral infarction complications: 38.2%(31/81) vs. 16.1%(10/62), and mortality after surgery were also higher. Compared with improvement group of AKI, all differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative lower limb ischemia ( OR = 9.430, 95% CI 1.975 to 45.032, P = 0.005), postoperative low cardiac output syndrome ( OR = 5.288, 95% CI 1.543 to 18.126, P = 0.008), and postoperative infection ( OR = 2.273, 95% CI 1.022 to 5.057, P = 0.044) were independent risk factors for the progression of AKI after AD surgery. Conclusions:The independent risk factors of renal function progression in patients with AKI after hypothermic circulatory arrest surgery in acute AD include preoperative lower limb ischemia, postoperative low cardiac output syndrome, and postoperative infection.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum dried with two different methods(air drying and heating) on inflammation in acute lung injury(ALI) mice in vivo and in vitro. Lipopolysaccharide(LPS) was sprayed into the airway of wild type C57BL/6J male mice to establish the model, and the drug was injected into the tail vein 24 h after modeling. Lung function, lung tissue wet/dry weight(W/D) ratio, the total protein concentration, interleukin 6(IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF), and pathological changes of the lung tissue were used to evaluate the effects of different gypenosides on ALI mice. The results showed that total gypenosides(YGGPs) and the gypenosides substituted with one or two glycosyl(GPs_(1-2)) in the air-dried sample improved the lung function, significantly lowered the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in BALF, and alleviated the lung inflammation of ALI mice. Moreover, GPs_(1-2) had a more significant effect on inhibiting NO release in RAW264.7 cells. This study showed that different drying methods affected the anti-inflammatory activity of G. pentaphyllum, and the rare saponins in the air-dried sample without heating had better anti-inflammatory activity.
Male ; Mice ; Animals ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Gynostemma ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Lung ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology*