Objective To observethe clinical efficacy of comprehensive acupuncture treatment in treating primary open-angle glaucoma, and to objectively evaluate the therapeutic efficacy.Method Twenty-eight patients (53 eyes) who received acupuncture treatment were recruited. By adopting a self-control design, the changes of intraocular tension, mean defect (MD) of vision field, mean sensitivity (MS), vision, and score of Quality of Life Scale for Patients with Visual Impairment (QLSPVI) were observed after 3-month acupuncture treatment.ResultThe intraocular tension of the 28 patients declined obviously after the treatment (P<0.01); MD, MS and vision didn't show significant improvements after the treatment (P>0.05); the QLSPVI score dropped significantly after the treatment (P<0.01);the total effective rate was 86.8%; the therapeutic efficacy wasn't correlated with age, disease duration, and treatment duration (P>0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture treatment can effectively reduce the intraocular tension, control the deterioration of MD and MS, maintain the level of vision, and enhance the quality of life of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma; with the same disease duration, the longer the treatment, the better the therapeutic efficacy.

AIM:To investigate the effects of microRNA-29a and 133a expression in the atrium on atrial fibril-lation (AF) and fibrosis.METHODS:Chronic rapid atrial pacing was used to establish the persistent AF dog model , and the sham group was also set up .The cardiac ultrasound measurement was used for determining the cardiac structure size . The Masson 3 color staining were used to evaluate the stage of fibrosis .The expression of microRNA-29a and 133a in the left atrium ( LA) was detected by real-time transcriptase polymerase chain reaction .RESULTS: Compared with before modeling , no statistical difference of atrial dilatation and decreased ejection fraction in the model dogs with persistent AF was observed (P>0.05).Compared with sham group, the degree of fibrosis and collagen volume fraction (CVF) in per-sistent AF model group were increased obviously (P<0.05).The expression of microRNA-29a and 133a were decreased obviously (P<0.01, P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Structural remodeling of the atrium and atrial fibrosis are the essential for development and maintenance of atrial fibrillation .Down-regulation of microRNA-29a and 133a expression may be very important molecular mechanism for atrial structural remodeling in the persistent AF model dogs .

Objective: Heart failure (HF) patients are usually associated with liver function impairment, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores can evaluate liver function, but its effect in HF patients has been unclear. We want to study the application of CTP scores in predicting the risk of death for in-hospital HF patients. Methods: A total of 1180 consecutive in-hospital HF patients were enrolled. According to CTP scores evaluated liver function at admission, the patients were divided into 3 groups: CTP grade A group, n=951, CTP grade B group, n=206 and CTP grade C group, n=23. The endpoint of this study was all-cause death. Results: There were 180 patients died at 1 year follow-up period, the in-hospital and 1 year mortalities were increased with the elevated CTP grades accordingly: for in-hospital mortalities in CTP grade A, B and C groups were (0.8%, 11.7% and 56.5%) respectively, P< 0.001; for 1 year mortalities were (9.6%, 34.5% and 78.3%) respectively, P< 0.001. Multivariable Cox regression analyses indicated that the higher CTP grades, the higher risk of in-hospital and 1 year mortalities in HF patients. The area under curve for CTP scores in predicting the in-hospital and 1 year mortalities were 0.88 and 0.74 respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis presented that the patients with improved CTP scores from grade B or C to grade A at discharge had the higher 1 year survival rate than those without improvement, P=0.028.
Conclusion: CTP scores may independently predict the risk of death for in-hospital HF patients, the levels of CTP scores might be used for evaluating the efficacy of in-hospital treatment.

OBJECTIVEThis study was designed to investigate the plasma level of soluble ST2 (sST2) and related influencing factors, and establish its reference value in the healthy community-based population in Beijing area of China.

METHODSWe measured plasma sST2 level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay between March 2012 and August 2012 in 1 334 healthy subjects in communities, including 597 males and 737 females. Empiric and quantile regression methods were used to determine the reference range of plasma sST2. A multiple linear regression model was established to analyze the factors that might affect the level of plasma sST2.

RESULTSGender is the most important factor affecting the plasma level of sST2 in healthy people. Plasma level of sST2 is significantly higher in men than in women (P < 0.01). Within each age strata, i.e. < 45, 45-54, 55-64, ≥ 65 years old, the plasma levels of sST2 were significantly higher in men than age-matched female (all P < 0.01). Age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and smoking did not affect plasma sST2 level. Reference range of sST2 was 5.7-53.5 µg/L for men and 4.4-42.4 µg/L for women (95% nonparametric reference interval). The one-side upper 95th percentile value of sST2 to discriminate the cardiovascular disease from healthy state was 47.2 µg/L for men and 37.2 µg/L for women.

CONCLUSIONSThis study established the normal reference range of plasma sST2 in healthy community-based population. The major influencing factor of sST2 level in healthy population is gender.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; analysis ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Reference Values

BACKGROUND: LY01005 (Goserelin acetate sustained-release microsphere injection) is a modified gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist injected monthly. This phase III trial study aimed to evaluated the efficacy and safety of LY01005 in Chinese patients with prostate cancer. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial across 49 sites in China. This study included 290 patients with prostate cancer who received either LY01005 or goserelin implants every 28 days for three injections. The primary efficacy endpoints were the percentage of patients with testosterone suppression ≤50 ng/dL at day 29 and the cumulative probability of testosterone ≤50 ng/dL from day 29 to 85. Non-inferiority was prespecified at a margin of -10%. Secondary endpoints included significant castration (≤20 ng/dL), testosterone surge within 72 h following repeated dosing, and changes in luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prostate specific antigen levels. RESULTS: On day 29, in the LY01005 and goserelin implant groups, testosterone concentrations fell below medical-castration levels in 99.3% (142/143) and 100% (140/140) of patients, respectively, with a difference of -0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], -3.9% to 2.0%) between the two groups. The cumulative probabilities of maintaining castration from days 29 to 85 were 99.3% and 97.8%, respectively, with a between-group difference of 1.5% (95% CI, -1.3% to 4.4%). Both results met the criterion for non-inferiority. Secondary endpoints were similar between groups. Both treatments were well-tolerated. LY01005 was associated with fewer injection-site reactions than the goserelin implant (0% vs . 1.4% [2/145]). CONCLUSION: LY01005 is as effective as goserelin implants in reducing testosterone to castration levels, with a similar safety profile. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04563936.
Humans ; Male ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/therapeutic use* ; East Asian People ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/agonists* ; Goserelin/therapeutic use* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Testosterone