OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of Caspase-8 and Bcl-2 in the formation of loose bodies in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD).

METHODSSpecimens of cartilage loose bodies were collected from 50 adult patients with KBD, and the samples of articular cartilage were collected from 10 healthy adults to serve as control. Avidin-biotin alkaline phosphatase immunohistochemistry was employed to examine Bcl-2 and Caspase-8 positivities in the chondrocytes in the loose bodies.

RESULTSIn KBD loose bodies, the percentage of chondrocytes positive for Bcl-2 and Caspase-8 [(18.40∓8.78)% and (67.54∓12.29)%, respectively] were significantly higher than those of the control group [(12.25∓1.58)% and (24.70∓4.35)%, respectively]. Caspase-8 was found to promote chondrocyte apoptosis in the loose bodies, and this effect overrode the apoptosis-suppressing effect of Bcl-2. Bcl-2 and Caspase-8 positivities were found mainly in the deep hypertrophic chondrocytes in the cartilage or in cells adjacent to the bone tissues.

CONCLUSIONKBD loose bodies contain an increased percentage of apoptotic chondrocytes positive for Bcl-2 and Caspase-8. The apoptosis-inducing effect of Caspase-8 was a dominant feature in the cartilage pathology of KBD compared to the apoptosis-suppressing effect of Bcl-2.

Adult ; Apoptosis ; Cartilage ; pathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Caspase 8 ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Loose Bodies ; metabolism ; Kashin-Beck Disease ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of a combination treatment of entecavir and Peginterferon alpha-2a for HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B patients with high serum hepatitis B viral loads.

METHODS60 treatment-naive HBeAg-positive CHB patients with high serum hepatitis B viral loads were enrolled and randomly divided into three groups: group A received Peginterferon alpha-2a monotherapy for 48 weeks (n = 20); group B received entecavir monotherapy for more than 48 weeks (n = 20); group C received Peginterferona alpha-2a combined with entecavir for 12 weeks, then Peginterferon alpha-2a monotherapy for 36 weeks (n = 20). Virological response, ALT normalization, HBeAg and HBsAg seroclearance rate were analysed at the end of 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment.

RESULTSThe ratio of undetectable hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA were 50% and 10%, 95% and 25% and 100% and 30% in group C and group A respectively, 50% and 20%, 95% and 75% and 100% and 90% in group C and group B respectively at the end of 4, 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. The differences were significant between group C and A (Z = -4.6, P < 0.001), group C and B (Z = -2.53, P = 0.0114). ALT normalization rate was significantly lower in group A than that of group C (Z = -2.63, P = 0.0086). HBeAg levels declined more in group C than the other two groups after 24 weeks of treatment.

CONCLUSIONSFor HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B patients with high serum hepatitis B viral loads, combination treament of Peginterferon alpha-2a with entecavir is more effective than Peginterferon alpha-2a monotherapy in virologic response and ALT normalization after 24 weeks of treatment.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Antiviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Guanine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; virology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; administration & dosage ; Polyethylene Glycols ; administration & dosage ; Recombinant Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Viral Load

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment strategies of patients with severe traumatic aortic injury (TAI). Methods: A total of 25 patients with TAI, who hospitalized in our hospital between August 2005 to March 2021 and underwent thoracic aortic endovascular repair (TEVAR), were included in this retrospective study. According to the time from admission to TEVAR, the patients were divided into emergency TEVAR group (14 cases, TEVAR within 24 h of admission) and elective TEVAR group (11 cases, patients underwent surgery or fracture reduction and fixation first for serious injuries and then underwent TEVAR more than 24 h after admission). The general clinical data of patients, injury severity score (ISS), time from admission to intervention, total hospital stay, the proportion of closed chest drainage and the proportion of abdominal organ repair were obtained and compared. Clinical follow-up and 1-year postoperative aortic computed tomography angiography (CTA) were performed on the patients. Death, the occurrence of aortic adverse events and injury recovery were followed up and recorded. Results: The mean age of these 25 TAI patients was (41.4±14.4) years, 20 patients were males (80.0%). 21 patients (84.0%) had persistent chest and back pain, 17 (68.0%) had pleural effusion and 5 (20.0%) had mediastinal hematoma. The injury severity score (ISS) was significantly higher in the elective TEVAR group than in the emergency TEVAR group (24.9±14.4 vs. 35.5±9.3, P=0.044). The time from admission to intervention ((1.0±0.0) d vs. (3.4±0.9) d, P<0.001], the time from admission to TEVAR ((1.0±0.0) d vs. (11.5±13.8) d, P=0.030) and total hospital stay ((6.1±2.3) d vs. (26.8±7.7) d, P<0.001) were significantly longer in elective TEVAR group than in emergency TEVAR group. The proportion of thoracic closed drainage was significantly lower in the elective TEVAR group than in the emergency TEVAR group (9 (64.3%) vs. 2 (18.2%), P=0.042). The proportion of abdominal organ repair was significantly higher than in the emergency TEVAR group (0 vs. 4 (36.4%), P=0.026). All of 25 patients were discharged alive and followed up for (84.0±30.5) months. All patients survived and completed 1-year postoperation CTA. There were no aortic adverse events occurred, and no complications after surgery, and the fractures and organ injuries healed well. Conclusions: The clinical characteristics of severe TAI are acute multi-injuries combined with persistent chest and/or back pain, pleural effusion, and mediastinal hematoma. Timely diagnosis and treatment are important factors for the outcome. The treatment strategy for multi-injuries should give priority to dealing with life-threatening injuries. TEVAR is the primary treatment strategy for severe TAI and is related to satisfactory outcomes.
Adult ; Aorta, Thoracic/surgery* ; Aortic Diseases ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation/adverse effects* ; Endovascular Procedures/methods* ; Female ; Hematoma/surgery* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pleural Effusion/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) is the most common conservative management for urinary incontinence (UI) after radical prostatectomy (RP). However, whether the PFME guided by a therapist (G-PFME) can contribute to the recovery of urinary continence for patients after RP is still controversial. We performed this meta-analysis to investigate the effectiveness of G-PFME on UI after RP and to explore whether the additional preoperative G-PFME is superior to postoperative G-PFME alone. Literature search was conducted on Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed, to obtain all relevant randomized controlled trials published before March 1, 2018. Outcome data were pooled and analyzed with Review Manager 5.3 to compare the continence rates of G-PFME with control and to compare additional preoperative G-PFME with postoperative G-PFME. Twenty-two articles with 2647 patients were included. The continence rates of G-PFME were all superior to control at different follow-up time points, with the odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 2.79 (1.53-5.07), 2.80 (1.87-4.19), 2.93 (1.19-7.22), 4.11 (2.24-7.55), and 2.41 (1.33-4.36) at 1 month, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery, respectively. However, there was no difference between additional preoperative G-PFME and postoperative G-PFME, with the OR (95% CI) of 1.70 (0.56-5.11) and 1.35 (0.41-4.40) at 1 month and 3 months after RP, respectively. G-PFME could improve the recovery of urinary continence at both early and long-term stages. Starting the PFME preoperatively might not produce extra benefits for patients at early stage, compared with postoperative PFME.
Humans ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal/physiopathology* ; Pelvic Floor/physiopathology* ; Physical Therapy Modalities ; Prostatectomy/adverse effects* ; Prostatic Neoplasms/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Incontinence/therapy*

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of premature rupture of the membrane (PROM) on neonatal complications in premature infants.

METHODSThe registration information of 7684 preterm infants with gestational age <37 weeks were collected from the cooperative units in the task group between January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. Specially trained personnel from each cooperative units filled in the unified form in a standardized format to record the gender, gestational age, birth weight, PROM, placental abruption, antenatal corticosteroid, Apgar score, amniotic fluid pollution, and complications of the infants. The data were analyzed comparatively between the cases with PROM and those without (control).

RESULTSThe preterm mortality rate was significantly lower but the incidences of ICH, NEC, ROP and BPD were significantly higher in PROM group than in the control group (P<0.05). The 95% confidence interval of the OR value was <1 for mortality, and was >1 for ICH, NEC, ROP and BPD. After adjustment for gestational age, birth weight, gender, mode of delivery, placental abruption, placenta previa, prenatal hormones, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), gestational period hypertension and 5-min Apgar score <7, the incidences of NEC, ROP and BPD were significantly different between the two groups (P<0.05) with 95% confidence interval of OR value >1, but the mortality rate and incidence of ICH were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONPROM is a risk factor for NEC, ROP and BPD in preterm infants, and adequate intervention of PROM can reduce the incidences of such complications as NEC, ROP and BPD in the infants.

Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Female ; Fetal Membranes, Premature Rupture ; pathology ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; etiology ; Infant, Premature ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors

Background: The dose and time point for switching from clopidogrel to ticagrelor remain controversial, especially for Chinese acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with complicated coronary artery disease (CAD). Hence, the purpose of this study was to further explore the optimal dose and time point for the switching strategy to balance the increase in platelet inhibition and the decrease in adverse events in Chinese ACS patients with complicated CAD managed by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: From July 2017 to December 2017, the prospective, randomized, open-label study (the SwitcHIng from clopidogrel to ticagrelor study) assigned the eligible Chinese ACS patients with complicated CAD managed by PCI (n = 102) for 90 mg of ticagrelor at 12 h (T-90 mg-12 h), 90 mg of ticagrelor at 24 h (T-90 mg-24h) or 180 mg ticagrelor at 24 h (T-180 mg-24 h) after the last dose of clopidogrel. The primary endpoint was the comparison of maximal platelet aggregation (MPA) values at 2 h after switching strategies among the three groups. In addition, the MPA values at baseline, 8 h and before discharge and the rates of high ontreatment platelet reactivity were evaluated, the incidences of bleeding episodes and dyspnea during hospitalization and at 30-day follow-up in our study were also recorded. The MPA was measured by light transmittance aggregometry in our study. A repeatedmeasures analysis of variance (ANOVA) model and one-way ANOVA were used to compare data for the primary endpoint. Results: The MPA values were significantly decreased in the T-180 mg-24 h group compared with the T-90 mg-12 h group (P = 0.017) and decreased numerically compared with the T-90 mg-24 h group (P = 0.072) at 2 h. In particular, the MPA values were markedly reduced in the T-90 mg-24 h group compared with the T-90 mg-12 h group at 8 h after switching treatment (P = 0.002). There was no significant difference among the three groups in all bleedings and dyspnea events. Conclusions: The optimal treatment strategy recommended in this study for Chinese ACS patients with complicated CAD managed by PCI is 180 or 90 mg of ticagrelor at 24 h after the last dose of clopidogrel. In addition, a negative interaction was detected in this study between the overlap for clopidogrel and ticagrelor at 12 h after the last dose of clopidogrel. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03577652; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03577652.