Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), whose etiology is influenced by genetic and clinical risk factors, considerably impacts women's quality of life. However, the genetic underpinnings in non-European populations and comprehensive risk models integrating genetic and clinical factors remain underexplored. This study constructed the first polygenic risk score (PRS) for POP in the Chinese population by utilizing 20 disease-associated variants from the largest existing genome-wide association study. We analyzed a discovery cohort of 576 cases and 623 controls and a validation cohort of 264 cases and 200 controls. Results showed that the case group exhibited a significantly higher PRS than the control group. Moreover, the odds ratio of the top 10% risk group was 2.6 times higher than that of the bottom 10%. A high PRS was significantly correlated with POP occurrence in women older than 50 years old and in those with one or no childbirths. As far as we know, the integrated prediction model, which combined PRS and clinical risk factors, demonstrated better predictive accuracy than other existing PRS models. This combined risk assessment model serves as a robust tool for POP risk prediction and stratification, thereby offering insights into individualized preventive measures and treatment strategies in future clinical practice.
Humans ; Female ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; Risk Assessment/methods* ; China/epidemiology* ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Genetic Risk Score ; East Asian People

Background::There is a need for effective and safe therapies for psoriasis that provide sustained benefits. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab, an anti-interleukin-23p19 monoclonal antibody, for treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Chinese patients.Methods::In this multi-center, double-blind, phase III trial, patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis were enrolled and randomly assigned (1:1) to receive subcutaneous tildrakizumab 100 mg or placebo at weeks 0 and 4. Patients initially assigned to placebo were switched to receive tildrakizumab at weeks 12, 16, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Patients in the tildrakizumab group continued with tildrakizumab at week 16, and every 12 weeks until week 52. The primary endpoint was the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) response rate at week 12.Results::At week 12, tildrakizumab demonstrated significantly higher PASI 75 response rates (66.4% [73/110] vs. 12.7% [14/110]; difference, 51.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 40.72, 62.13]; P <0.001) and Physician’s Global Assessment (60.9% [67/110] vs. 10.0% [11/110]; difference, 49.1% [95% CI, 38.64, 59.62]; P <0.001) compared to placebo. PASI 75 response continued to improve over time in both tildrakizumab and placebo-switching to tildrakizumab groups, reaching maximal efficacy after 28 weeks (86.8% [92/106] vs. 82.4% [89/108]) and maintained up to 52 weeks (91.3% [95/104] vs. 87.4% [90/103]). Most treatment-emergent adverse events were mild and not related to tildrakizumab. Conclusion::Tildrakizumab demonstrated durable efficacy through week 52 and was well tolerated in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.Trial registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05108766.

Bone defect has always been a major clinical challenge because of its great difficulty and long period of treatment. Drynariae Rhizoma is a commonly used medicine in osteology and traumatology of traditional Chinese medicine， and its active ingredients（mainly flavonoids） facilitate osteoblast differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells， osteoclast proliferation， vascular-osteogenic coupling， and inhibit osteoclast activity to promote bone mineralization， and repair and reconstruction of bone defect. As a good substitute for bone regeneration drugs， the active constituents of Drynariae Rhizoma can be loaded on scaffold materials of tissue engineering， which greatly improves the bioavailability of the drug. Meanwhile， the sustained-release microspheres also solve some problems such as sudden drug release from the scaffolds， and the composite scaffolds with active ingredient of Drynariae Rhizoma prepared by them have good ossification activity and osteoinduction， with precise bone repair effects， which meet the diverse performance requirements of bone grafts and have a promising clinical application prospect.

Objective To explore the therapeutic efficacy of automatic peritoneal dialysis on elderly patients with cardiorenal syndrome(CRS).Methods A total of 260 elderly CRS patients treated at our hospital from January 2019 to January 2022 were recruited,and then randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,with 130 cases in each group.The control group received conventional basic treatment and symptomatic treatment,while the observation group received automated peritoneal dialysis treatment on this basis.Cardiac function indicators,renal function indicators,inflammatory factors,MAP and heart rate were compared between the two groups.Re-sults After treatment,significantly lower LVESD(26.29±1.19 mm vs 29.59±1.84 mm),LVEDD(47.43±1.39 mm vs 51.81±1.34 mm),LAD(30.74±1.15 mm vs 33.11±0.88 mm),and levels of NT-proBNP(1034.74±313.61 ng/L vs 2634.02±853.67 ng/L),urea(16.69±3.57 mmol/L vs 32.67±4.54 mmol/L),cystatin C(0.47±0.13 mg/L vs 0.61±0.15 mg/L),creatinine(254.74±41.15 mmol/L vs 394.09±38.61 mmol/L),TNF-α(144.14±23.16 mg/L vs 183.97± 23.37 mg/L)and hs-CRP(4.09±1.03 μg/L vs 5.45±1.17 μg/L),and higher LVEF(39.14± 4.48％vs 35.64±5.27％)were observed in the observation group than the control group(all P＜0.01).There were no significant differences in heart rate and MAP between the two groups before and after treatment(P＞0.05).Conclusion Automatic peritoneal dialysis can improve the cardiac and renal function and reduce inflammatory response in elderly CRS patients,and show positive significance for improving prognosis.

Objective:To explore the clinical data of patients with metastatic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL).Methods:The clinical data of 57 patients with metastatic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma diagnosed and treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2016 to June 2022 were reviewed, including 28 cases of pheochromocytoma(PCC) and 29 cases of paraganglioma(PGL). The clinical manifestations, biochemical indexes, tumour characteristics, and metastatic characteristics of the 57 patients were analysed.Results:There were 34 males and 23 females. The median age at the time of initial diagnosis was 34 (20, 54) years, 17 (29.3%) presented with concurrent metastases, and 40 (70.7%) with heterochronous metastases. The median time to presentation of metastases was 2.2 (0, 5.0) years (range 0-22 years). Adrenergic symptoms were present in 45 cases (78.6%) at the time of initial diagnosis, and the median size of the primary tumour was 6.7 (5.0, 9.0) cm. Excessive catecholamine secretion was present in 48 cases (81.4%). The most common locations of metastasis were lymph nodes (71.9%, 41/57), bone (47.3%, 27/57), lung (38.6%, 20/57), and liver (35.1%, 20/57). Metastatic PGL had more multifocal metastases than PCC [10 (34.5%) vs. 2 (7.1%), P=0.011)], was more frequently associated with SDHB mutations [13 (42.9%) vs. 3 (10.7%), P=0.008], and was more likely to have concurrent metastases [12 (41.3%) vs. 5 (17.9%), P=0.005]. Metastatic PCC primary tumours were larger compared to PGL [median length 8.9 (4.0, 17.0) cm vs. 6.1 (1.0, 15.8) cm, P=0.020]. Conclusions:Patients with PGL present with metastases over an extremely wide time span, and patients diagnosed with PPGL should be followed throughout their lives. PGL is more prone to multifocal metastases and simultaneous metastases than PCC, and PGL is more highly correlated with the SDHB mutation.

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of plasma exosome⁃derived miR⁃29b⁃3p in myocardial ischemia⁃reperfusion injury ( MIRI) rats on hypoxia/reoxygenation ( H/R) cardiomyocyte after sevoflurane (SEV) postconditioning through targeting IGF1 . Methods : The GEO database was used to screen differentially expressed miRNAs in MIRI , and cardiomyocytes were treated with H/R to construct a MIRI cell model. The expression of miR⁃29b⁃3p and IGF1 in the MIRI cell model post⁃treated with SEV was intervened , and then the survival rate of cardiomyocytes was detected by MTT , apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry , and inflammatory factors (IL⁃1β and TNF⁃α ) in cardiomyocytes in each group were detected by ELISA. Results : Compared with Normal group , the expression of miR⁃29b⁃3p in plasma exosomes of MIRI rats was enhanced (P < 0. 05) , and the target⁃binding relationship between miR⁃29b⁃3p and IGF1 was confirmed ( P < 0. 05) . After SEV post⁃treatment , the expression of miR⁃29b⁃3p in H/R⁃stimulated cardiomyocytes decreased , while the expression of IGF1 increased (both P < 0. 05) . Overexpression of miR⁃29b⁃3p in plasma exosomes could significantly inhibit the survival rate of H/R cells after SEV treatment , aggravate apoptosis and inflammatory response , while knockdown of miR⁃29b⁃3p showed a opposite effects (all P < 0. 05) . The rescue experimental data showed that overexpression of IGF1 could partially reverse the effects of overexpression of miR⁃29b⁃3p on H/R cell injury after SEV treatment ( all P <0. 05) . Conclusion Plasma exosome⁃derived miR⁃29b⁃3p promotes H/R cardiomyocyte injury after SEV treatment by targeting IGF1 .

Ulcerative colitis （UC） is a chronic recurrent inflammatory bowel disease which primarily affects the colonic mucosa. The UC patients mainly present diarrhea， abdominal pain， tenesmus， and mucous bloody stools， and even malnutrition and systemic symptoms in severe cases， with rising incidence， which has a significant impact on the health and quality of life of patients. The pathogenesis of UC is not clear， and the Western medical therapies include sulfasalazine， glucocorticoids， and immunosuppressants， which， however， have side effects and unsatisfactory effects. Chinese medicine with high safety， mild adverse reactions， and a multi-component， multi-target， and multi-pathway treatment manner has garnering increasing attention. Therefore， finding the Chinese medicine to treat UC has become a hot spot. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma is one of the commonly used Chinese herbal medicines， with the effects of tonifying spleen and reinforcing qi， clearing heat and detoxifying， dispelling phlegm and relieving cough， relieving pain， and harmonizing medicines. Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma mainly contains glycyrrhizic acid， glycyrrhetinic acid， diammonium glycyrrhizinate and other active ingredients. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma has anti-inflammatory， antioxidant， antimicrobial， and immunomodulatory activities. According to statistics， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma is among the top three Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of UC. The recent years have witnessed progress in the treatment of UC with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and the related prescriptions. The present study summarized the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory， immunomodulatory， intestinal flora-regulating， cell apoptosis-inducing， and oxidative stress-reducing effects of the key chemical constituents （glycyrrhetinic acid， diammonium glycyrrhizinate， polysaccharide， glycyrrhetinic acid， and isoglycyrrhizin） and compound prescriptions of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. The findings provide a solid foundation for further development and clinical application of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma.

【Objective】 To determine the best collection time period of plasma which can be used for human COVID-19 immunoglobulin for intravenous injection through SARS-CoV-2-IgG change and neutralizing antibody distribution against different virus strain in representative mixed plasma before and after Omicron strain infection by ELISA and pseudovirus neutralization test. 【Methods】 An ELISA method for quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2-IgG was established and its linear range,accuracy and precision was verified. SARS-CoV-2-IgG potency was detected in 25 convalescent plasma which were collected 20-40 days after confirmed Omicron infection, two groups of mixed plasma samples WP1 and WP2 were prepared according to the SARS-CoV-2-IgG results, and pseudovirus neutralization experiments with different virus strain (prototype strain, BA. 1,BA.2, BA.4/5, BF.7, BQ.1.1) were carried out to determine the distribution of neutralizing antibodies against different virus strain. SARS-CoV-2-IgG potency of representative mixed plasma collected from 14 plasma stations subordinate to the company before and after Omicron strain infection was detected, including Omicron convalescent plasma (OP) collected from different plasma stations from December 2022 to May 2023 and normal pool plasma (VN) feed in March 2023 which collected from March 2022 to December 2022. According to the results, the difference and the change rule with time of SARS-CoV-2-IgG before and after Omicron strain infection were analyzed. 【Results】 The linearity of SARS-CoV-2-IgG ranged from 6.25 to 200 EIU/mL, the accuracy in-batch ranged from 81.793% to 106.985%, the precision in-batch ranged from 1. 100% to 13.000%, and the total error in-batch ranged from 2.988% to 22.679%. The accuracy between batches ranged from 90.788%to 96.893%, the precision between batches ranged from 4.870% to 6.272%, and the total error between batches ranged from 9.192% to 15.399%. The results of pseudovirus neutralizing antibody showed that the potency of different virus strain neutralizing antibodies were in the order of prototype strain>BA.2>BA.4/5>BF.7≈ BQ.1.1>BA.1 and the correlation between WP1 and WP2 was high (Pearson r=0. 931 1, P=0.002 3) which indicated that the potency distribution of neutralizing antibodies of different virus strain in Omicron convalescent plasma was basically stable. Compared with the mixed convalescent plasma sample G128 collected in June 2022, the potency of Omicron neutralizing antibodies of WP series were significantly higher, the ratio of BA.2 antibody to prototype antibody increased from 26.9% (before infection) to 82.6%-87.5% (after infection). The results of VN series before Omicron infection were < 100 EIU/mL, and the results of OP series after Omicron infection showed that the plasma collected from the beginning of December 2022 was the peak of antibody in the same month,and then dropped sharply, entering a short plateau in February-March 2023 (potency was about 40% of the peak value),and then dropped sharply again in April (potency was about 20% of the peak value). 【Conclusion】 The potency and proportion of neutralizing antibody against Omicron subtype in convalescent plasma after COVID-19 Omicron strain infection increased significantly. IgG antibody of plasma donors in different regions reached its peak in the month of infection, then continued to dropped sharply. The best collection period of plasma that can be used for human COVID-19 immunoglobulin for intravenous injection was 1 to 2 months after infection.

Renal fibrosis is a common and irreversible pathological feature of end-stage renal disease caused by multiple etiologies. The role of inflammation in renal fibrosis tissue has been generally accepted. The latest view is that fatty acid metabolism disorder contributes to renal fibrosis. peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1α (PGC1α) plays a key role in fatty acid metabolism, regulating fatty acid uptake and oxidized protein synthesis, preventing the accumulation of lipid in the cytoplasm, and maintaining a dynamic balanced state of intracellular lipid. In multiple animal models of renal fibrosis caused by acute or chronic kidney disease, or even age-related kidney disease, almost all of the kidney specimens show the down-regulation of PGC1α. Upregulation of PGC1α can reduce the degree of renal fibrosis in animal models, and PGC1α knockout animals exhibit severe renal fibrosis. Studies have demonstrated that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), MAPK, Notch, tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), non-coding RNA (ncRNAs), liver kinase B1 (LKB1), hairy and enhancer of split 1 (Hes1), and other pathways regulate the expression of PGC1α and affect fatty acid metabolism. But some of these pathways interact with each other, and the effect of the integrated pathway on renal fibrosis is not clear.
Animals ; Fatty Acids ; Fibrosis ; Lipid Metabolism ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha/metabolism* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic

Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter (VWM) is one of the most prevalent inherited childhood white-matter disorders, and the pathogenic gene has been confirmed as EIF2B gene. VWM is characterized by chronic progressive neurological deterioration with cerebellar ataxia, usually less prominent spasticity and relatively mild mental decline. There are episodes of rapid and major neurological deterioration provoked by stresses, such as fever, minor physical trauma and acute fright, which is a characteristic clinical feature of VWM. Brain magnetic resonance imaging findings are diagnostic in almost all patients,and the disappearance of the cerebral white matter occurs in a diffuse "melting away" pattern. The onset of VWM can be at any age from fetal stage to adult stage, and the clinical phenotypes vary immensely. Gene diagnosis is the golden standard for VWM. This article reported a patient with a course of 17 years, who was misdiagnosed as Wilson′s disease because of low serum ceruloplasmin, and was finally diagnosed as VWM by reinterpretation of whole exome sequencing, which is worthy of clinicians′ vigilance and consideration.