Objective To observe the clinical characteristics and prognosis of primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) in the elderly. Methods The clinical and pathological features of 52 elderly patients with PNS and 64 non-elderly patients with PNS were retrospectively analyzed and compared.The elderly patients with PNS received routine treatment:oral corticosteroids prednisone 1mg·kg-1 ·d-1.After 8 weeks maintenance treatment,if symptoms were alleviated,the prednisone dose was gradually reduced to a maintenance dose, then was stopped gradually. If symptoms were not alleviated, the cyclophosphamide or cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil was added. Results There were significant differences in the numbers of patients complicated with hypertension, infection,chronic renal insufficiency and hematuria between the elderly group and non-elderly group (P＜0. 05＝.But there were no significant differences in the level of blood albumin, quantitative measurement of 24 hours urinary protein and incidence rate of acute renal insufficiency between the two groups (P＞0.05). The major pathological types of PNS in the elderly were membranous nephropathy (46.2 %),IgA nephropathy (23. 1 %) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis ( 11.5 %), respectively. And the major pathological types of PNS in non-elderly group were mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (32.8%), IgA nephropathy ( 25.0% ) and minimal change nephropathy ( 20. 3 %), respectively.Complete remission after treatment was found in 31 patients(59.6%), partial remission in 18 cases and inefficacy in 3 cases. Conclusions The major clinicopathological type of PNS in the elderly is membranous nephropathy and should be treated using corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents,with different effects in different pathological types.

Objective To investigate the correlation between asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy.Methods The 81 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy were selected.According to the urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER),the patients were divided into micro-albuminuria group (DN1 group,UAER 21-199 mg/24 h,38 cases) and macro-albuminuria group (DN2 group,UAER ≥ 200 mg/24 h,43 cases).The 20 healthy people were defined as control group.Intimal-media thickness and endothelial dysfunction of the radial artery of right forearm were detected by color Doppler ultrasound.The serum level of ADMA was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results There was no significant difference in radial artery inner diameter intimal-media thickness among the 3 groups (P ＞ 0.05).The Endothelial dependent diastolic function (EDD) and endothelial independent diastolic function (EID) in DN1 group and DN2 group were significantly lower than those in control group [(10.45 ± 2.58)％ and (7.56 ± 2.17)％ vs.(15.72 ± 3.05)％,(15.42 ± 2.71)％ and (15.37 ± 2.92)％ vs.(19.31 ± 3.76)％,P ＜ 0.05],and the EDD in DN2 group was significantly lower than that in DN1 group (P＜ 0.05).The serum ADMA in DN1 group and DN2 group was significantly higher than that in control group [(0.63 ± 0.08) and (0.92 ± 0.12) μ mol/L vs.(0.39 ± 0.05)μmol/L,P ＜0.05],and in DN2 group it was significantly higher than that in DN1 group (P ＜0.05).In patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy,the serum ADMA and EDD had negative correlation (r =-0.81,P =0.020),but the serum ADMA and C reactive protein had positive correlation (r =0.75,P =0.034).Conclusions The serum level of ADMA is significantly increased in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy.There is a close correlation between ADMA and endothelial dysfunction of artery.

A 34-year-old male patient with suspected pheochromocytoma was referred to our department for paroxysmal hypertension. Pheochromocytoma was confirmed by very high plasma nor-metanephrine ( NMN ) and metanephrine ( MN ). Contrast CT of the adrenal disclosed a 3.0 cm x 3.0 cm mass in the left adrenal. 18 F-FDG-PET-CT showed high uptake only in the left adrenal. When the patient's blood pressure was well controlled with 4 mg/d doxazosin for 2 weeks, surgery was then performed under laparoscopy. A round solid left adrenal pheochromocytoma was resected. After surgery, plasma MN and NMN levels returned to normal, and the patient was free of clinical symptoms with normal blood pressure. This patient has been followed 3 years with normal blood pressure, MN, and NMN levels, without tumor recurrence shown hy adrenal CT.

Objective To investigate the effects of morroniside on fibrinogen (Fib), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) in focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats. Methods The animal model was induced with occlusion of middle cerebral artery (MCAO) with suture embolus, and morroniside was then administered intragastrically at the dose of 30, 90 and 270 mg/kg for 7 d. Acetyl salicylic acid was taken as positive control drug. The content of Fib, and PT, APTT and TT were measured withrelated kits. Results Compared with the sham-operated group, the concentration of Fib significantly increased (P<0.001) and PT, APTT and TT significantly shortened in the model group (P<0.001); however, compared with the model group, morroniside significantly decreased Fib content (P<0.01) and prolonged PT, APTT and TT (P<0.05). Conclusion Morroniside can antagonize the coagulation function in focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats.

Parkinson's disease is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder among old people, characterized by progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and accordingly low level of dopamine in the nigrostriatal pathway.Neuroinflammation and even systemic inflammation have been suggested to be involved in the demise of dopaminergic neurons. Anti-inflammatory treatment could protect brain from inflammatory injury and prevent the progressive course of Parkinson's disease, which suggests a potential new strategy for Parkinson's disease treatment.

Ectopic ACTH syndrome caused by adrenal pheochromocytoma is very rare.A case was herewith reported and the domestic and foreign literatures were reviewed.The correct diagnosis of the syndrome depends on clinical,biochemical,hormonal,radiographic,pathological investigations,as well as tumor immunohistochemistry for final comprehensive judgments.

Objective:To explore the changes of bone mineral density (BMD) and type H vessel, which was recently identified as strongly positive for CD31 and Endomucin (CD31 hiEmcn hi) in long bone from ovariectomized (OVX) mice compared withSham group. Methods:C57BL/6Jwild-type mice were used for experiments and bone tissuewas collected. Eight-week-old female mice were randomly divided into bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) and a sham operation (Sham). The bilateral ovaries were exposed and removed in the OVX group. In the sham group, the ovaries were only exposed but left intact. After 4weeks, these mice were killed for experiment and the femurs were collected for Micro CT scanning in order to observe the changes of bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular indexes, including bone volume (BV), total volume of interest (TV), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular number (Tb.N). The fresh tibia of each mouse was fixed, decalcified, dehydrated and embedded for immunostaining. All experimental data were analyzed with t-test. Results:Mouse femora from two groups were dissected at 4 week time points, and the attached soft tissue was completely removed for Micro CT scanning. BMD in OVX is 0.11±0.01 g/cm 3 and 0.21±0.01 g/cm 3 in Sham, which indicated the BMD in OVX significantly decreased. The results showed significant difference between the groups ( P=0.001). The microarchitecture in trabecular bone changed. BV/TV in OVX is 11.52%±1.77% and 25.87%±1.31% in Sham, which indicated the BV/TV in OVX significantly decreased. The results showed significant difference between the groups ( P<0.05). Tb.N in OVX is 1.67±0.33/mm and 2.95±0.82/mm in Sham, which indicated the Tb.N in OVX slightly decreased. The results showed no significant difference between the groups ( P=0.066). Tb.Th in OVX is 0.06±0.01 mm and 0.07±0.01 mm in Sham, which indicated the Tb.Th in OVX significantly thinned. The results showed significant difference between the groups ( P=0.021). Tb.Sp in OVX is 0.29±0.15 mm and 0.19±0.01 mm in Sham, which indicated the Tb.Sp in OVX significantly increased. The results showed significant difference between the groups ( P<0.05). In the groups BMD decreased and trabecular microstructure was broken. Both BMD and trabecular indexes (BV/TV, Tb. Th, Tb. Sp) showed significant changes in OVX group compared with Sham ( P<0.05) except Tb.N. We next examined the expression of CD31 and EMCN via immunostaining in order to observe the changes of type H vessel.By immunostaining, the percentage of HV/TV in OVX group was 9.14%±0.99% and 29.33%±1.22% in the sham-operated mice. Dramatically decreased type H vessels in the metaphysis of OVX mice were observed compared with that of Sham control mice. The results showed significant difference between the groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In this study, ovariectomized mice, a widely used model for postmenopausal osteoporosis, exhibited significantly reduced type H vessels accompanied by reduced BMD, which indicatedtype H vessel involved in the occurrence of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Background::Heterogeneity of tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) is significantly associated with clinical outcomes and treatment responses in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC). Comprehensive profiling of the cellular diversity and interactions between malignant cells and TME may clarify the mechanisms underlying UC progression and guide the development of novel therapies. This study aimed to extend our understanding of intra-tumoral heterogeneity and the immunosuppressive TME in UC and provide basic support for the development of novel UC therapies.Methods::Seven patients with UC were included who underwent curative surgery at our hospital between July 2020 and October 2020. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis in seven tumors with six matched adjacent normal tissues and integrated the results with two public scRNA-seq datasets. The functional properties and intercellular interactions between single cells were characterized, and the results were validated using multiplex immunofluorescence staining, flow cytometry, and bulk transcriptomic datasets. All statistical analyses were performed using the R package with two-sided tests. Wilcoxon-rank test, log-rank test, one-way analysis of variance test, and Pearson correlation analysis were used properly.Results::Unsupervised t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding clustering analysis identified ten main cellular subclusters in urothelial tissues. Of them, seven urothelial subtypes were noted, and malignant urothelial cells were characterized with enhanced cellular proliferation and reduced immunogenicity. CD8 + T cell subclusters exhibited enhanced cellular cytotoxicity activities along with increased exhaustion signature in UC tissues, and the recruitment of CD4 + T regulatory cells was also increased in tumor tissues. Regarding myeloid cells, coordinated reprogramming of infiltrated neutrophils, M2-type polarized macrophages, and LAMP3 + dendritic cells contribute to immunosuppressive TME in UC tissues. Tumor tissues demonstrated enhanced angiogenesis mediated by KDR + endothelial cells and RGS5 +/ACTA2 + pericytes. Through deconvolution analysis, we identified multiple cellular subtypes may influence the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy response in patients with UC. Conclusion::Our scRNA-seq analysis clarified intra-tumoral heterogeneity and delineated the pro-tumoral and immunosuppressive microenvironment in UC tissues, which may provide novel therapeutic targets.

Periodontitis is the most widespread oral disease and is closely related to the oral microbiota. The oral microbiota is adversely affected by some pharmacologic treatments. Systemic antibiotics are widely used for infectious diseases but can lead to gut dysbiosis, causing negative effects on the human body. Whether systemic antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis can affect the oral microbiota or even periodontitis has not yet been addressed. In this research, mice were exposed to drinking water containing a cocktail of four antibiotics to explore how systemic antibiotics affect microbiota pathogenicity and oral bone loss. The results demonstrated, for the first time, that gut dysbiosis caused by long-term use of antibiotics can disturb the oral microbiota and aggravate periodontitis. Moreover, the expression of cytokines related to Th17 was increased while transcription factors and cytokines related to Treg were decreased in the periodontal tissue. Fecal microbiota transplantation with normal mice feces restored the gut microbiota and barrier, decreased the pathogenicity of the oral microbiota, reversed the Th17/Treg imbalance in periodontal tissue, and alleviated alveolar bone loss. This study highlights the potential adverse effects of long-term systemic antibiotics-induced gut dysbiosis on the oral microbiota and periodontitis. A Th17/Treg imbalance might be related to this relationship. Importantly, these results reveal that the periodontal condition of patients should be assessed regularly when using systemic antibiotics in clinical practice.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Dysbiosis ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Virulence ; Microbiota ; Periodontitis/chemically induced* ; Cytokines