OBJECTIVETo estimate the level of blood lead and some haematological parameters in the workers occupationally exposed to lead so as to know the effect of lead exposure on hematopoietic system in exposed workers.

METHODSThe graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrocopy was used to determine blood lead (BPb). The haematological parameters were determined by Sysmex KX-21 automated haematology analyzer.

RESULTSHemoglobin (Hb) in the lead-absorption group[male: (129.3 +/- 12.3) g/L, female: (112.2 +/- 9.4) g/L], and hematocrit (HCT) in the lead-absorption group[male: (0.338 +/- 0.030) L/L, female: (0.302 +/- 0.028) L/L] were significantly lower than those in normal people group and lead-exposed group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The relationships between BPb and Hb, HCT were weakly negative correlation. Red cell distribution width (RDW) in the lead-absorption group(male: 16.68% +/- 0.80%, female: 16.98% +/- 0.98%) were significantly higher than those in normal people group and lead exposed group, and RDW in lead exposed group (male: 14.77% +/- 0.83%, female: 14.92% +/- 1.13%) were higher than that in normal people group. BPb was weakly positively correlated with RDW.

CONCLUSIONHb, HCT and RDW were three indices which may reflect the occurrences and degrees of anaemia in lead exposed workers.

Anemia ; chemically induced ; Erythrocytes ; drug effects ; Female ; Hematocrit ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Lead ; blood ; toxicity ; Male ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation of the joints with high risk of disability. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made towards the diagnosis and treatment of RA, and the international RA guidelines have been also kept updated. Nevertheless, there are many challenges in China, especially inadequate number of rheumatologists and insufficient experience in the diagnosis and treatment of RA. Therefore, Chinese Rheumatology Association drafted the standardized diagnosis and treatment of RA based on the available evidence, so as to improve the management of RA patients in China.

Objective: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a diagnostic tool that provides precise and reproducible information about cardiac structure, function, and tissue characterization, aiding in the monitoring of chemotherapy response in patients with lightchain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of CMR in monitoring responses to chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, we enrolled 111 patients with AL-CA (50.5% male; median age, 54 [interquartile range, 49–63] years). Patients underwent longitudinal monitoring using biomarkers and CMR imaging. At followup after chemotherapy, patients were categorized into superior and inferior response groups based on their hematological and cardiac laboratory responses to chemotherapy. Changes in CMR findings across therapies and differences between response groups were analyzed. Results: Following chemotherapy (before vs. after), there were significant increases in myocardial T2 (43.6 ± 3.5 ms vs. 44.6 ± 4.1 ms; P = 0.008), recovery in right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (median of -9.6% vs. -11.7%; P = 0.031), and decrease in RV extracellular volume fraction (ECV) (median of 53.9% vs. 51.6%; P = 0.048). These changes were more pronounced in the superior-response group. Patients with superior cardiac laboratory response showed significantly greater reductions in RV ECV (-2.9% [interquartile range, -8.7%–1.1%] vs. 1.7% [-5.5%–7.1%]; P = 0.017) and left ventricular ECV (-2.0% [-6.0%–1.3%] vs. 2.0% [-3.0%–5.0%]; P = 0.01) compared with those with inferior response. Conclusion Cardiac amyloid deposition can regress following chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA, particularly showing more prominent regression, possibly earlier, in the RV. CMR emerges as an effective tool for monitoring associated tissue characteristics and ventricular functional recovery in patients with AL-CA undergoing chemotherapy, thereby supporting its utility in treatment response assessment.