Objective To investigate if diastolic function could be improved by cardiac sympathetic nerve blockade in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Methods Sixty consecutive cases of DCM were randomed into therapeutic group and control group. Patients in therapeutic group were administered thoracic epidural blockade (TEB) (T 1-5 ) with 0.5 % lidocaine intermittent injection every two hours for four weeks, in addition to some routine medicine, while patients in control group were only administered routine treatment. Then the parameters of left ventricular diastolic function were evaluated with Doppler echocardiography before and after four weeks. Results ①All the patients in TEB group felt better within five minutes after injection of lidocaine within local epidural cavity.Their symptoms were relieved more rapidly than those of the drug therapy alone. Some patients with NYHA class Ⅳ could lie down supine in a short time. Exercise tolerance increased in patients with NYHA class Ⅱ to Ⅲ. But symptoms and signs of patients in control group were relieved very slowly, some patients even got worsen. ② Thirteen of thirty in therapeutic group got improvement on diastolic function after treatment. One of thirty in this group deteriorated. In detail, six of fifteen patients with demonstrated improvement of left ventricular diastolic filling changed from having a restrictive filling pattern to having a pseudonormal left ventricular filling pattern. Four of nine patients with a pseudonormal filling pattern changed to have a delayed filling pattern.Three of six patients, left ventricular filling pattern moved from a pseudonormal left ventricular filling pattern to a normal filling pattern. Only one patient acquired a restrictive filling pattern from a pseudonormal filling pattern. In contrast, in control group one of thirty got improvement on diastolic function after treatment. Nine of thirty in this group deteriorated. Individual changes of left ventricular filling pattern showed that only one patient improved from a delayed filling pattern to normal filling pattern, whereas seven patients had a restrictive left ventricular filling pattern developed from a pseudonormal filling pattern and another two patients achieved a pseudonormal filling pattern from delayed filling pattern. Conclusions Diastolic function in patients with DCM was improved significantly by cardiac sympathetic nerve blockade. The approach has beneficial effects on the patients of DCM.

Objective To explore the mechanism of effects of cardiac sympathetic anesthesia on left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) and left cardiac cavity size of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.Method 121 consecutive patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were divided into cardiac sympathetic nerve blockade group(TEA group) and control group(c group).In TEA group,5％ lidocaine was injected into thoracic epidural cavity for about 4 to 8 weeks in addition with routine therapy.In c group,only routine therapy was used.We observe the changes of LVEF and left cardiac cavity size before and after treatment in both groups. Result In TEA group,after anesthesia,LVEF was increased from(31.3± 12.8) to(47.3± 21.3),P<0.001;left ventricular end－ diastolic diameter was reduced from(69.1± 7.1)to (65.1± 8.0),P<0.001;left atrial diameter was decreased from(44.0± 6.2)to(39.4± 7.2),P< 0.001. Conclusion Cardiac sympathetic anesthesia can effectively improve the ejection performance of dilated cardiomyopathy and make the dilated cardiac cavity turn to normal level.

Objective To assess the sleep disturbance in patients with early-stage idiopathic Parkinson's disease of different clinical subgroups. Methods Four hundred and eighty-six Chinese PD patients were selected as our subjects. Their clinical data including demographics,a broad spectrum of motor variables and non motor features,including tremor,rigidity,hypokinesia,PIGD,motor phenotypes,disease progression,fatigue, constipation,apathy,depression,global cognitive function and L-dopa complications were collected and analyzed by cluster analysis. The PD subtypes were classified by using k-means cluster analysis according to the clinical data. The cluster analysis indicated four main subtypes:subtype 1 was mildly affected in all domains;subtype 2 was severely affected on all motor and non motor symptoms;subtype 3 showed intermediate severity in most domains;subtype 4 characterized by short disease duration and rapid disease progression. Then compared the sleep disturbance among different subtypes with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index( PSQI). Results Two hundred and thirty-six cases(48. 6%)were identified as suffering from sleep disturbance. Of which,female PD with sleep disturbance rate was 55. 1%( 130/236 )and male was 44. 9%( 106/236 ). Female was prone to develop sleep disturbance at early stage than male. PSQI scores in subtype 1,2,3 and 4 were(6. 09 ± 3. 72),(9. 36 ± 4. 24), (7. 82 ±4. 35)and(9. 09 ± 4. 73)respectively and the difference was significant(F =14. 503,P =0. 000) . Conclusion Sleep disturbance occurs frequently in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease and exist clinical heterogeneity.

Objective To investigate the echocardiographic features of complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA)in fetuses.Methods Prenatal echocardiographic data of 9 fetuses diagnosed as TGA by autopsy or postnatal echocardiography during January 2010 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.Results All of 9 fetuses showed normal cardiac axis and atrioventricular connection on four-chamber view.Eight of them showed the baby bird's beak sign on left ventricular outflow tract view.On left and right ventricular outflow tracts view,the two great arteries were parallel in 8 fetuses.Totally 6 fetuses showed just 2 vessels on three vessels and tracheal (3VT) view.On aortic arch view,the radian of aortic arch had increased in different degrees in 7 fetuses.There were 4 fetuses with ventricular septal defect observed by both of four-chamber and left ventricular outflow tract views.Conclusion The echocardiographic features of fetuses with TGA are characteristic in left ventricular outflow tract,left and right ventricular outflow tracts,3VT and aortic arch views,including baby bird's beak sign,2 great arteries' parallel relations,only 2 vessels on 3VT view,and increased radian of aortic arch.Of these features,baby bird's beak sign is the most common.

Objective The clinical heterogeneity of Parkinson's disease (PD) may point at the existence of subtypes. Aim of this study is to assess the severity of depression in patients with PD of different clinical subtypes. Methods A broad spectrum of motor variables and nonmotor features, including tremor, rigidity, hypokinesia, postural instability gait disorder, fatigue, constipation, apathy, depression, global cognitive function, as well as the clinical data and demographics, including age, gender, age at disease onset, course of disease, were collected in 600 Chinese PD patients. The PD subtypes were classified using k-means (k=4) cluster analysis according to the clinical data. Their depression was assessed with Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results The cluster analysis indicated 4 main subtypes: Subtype 1 was mildly affected in all domains, and the ratio of tremor score to non-tremor score was the highest among the 4 clusters. Subtype 2 was severely in all motor and nonmotor symptoms. Subtype 3 showed intermediate severity in most domains. Subtype 4 was characterized by short course and rapid progression of disease. 43.5% of cases were identified as in depression. There was significant difference in scores of CES-D among the 4 subtypes (P<0.05). Conclusion Depression occurred frequently in patients with PD with some clinical heterogeneity.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of thoracic epidural blockade (TEB) on plasma fibrinogen (FIB) levels.

METHODSThirty cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were selected randomly into a TEB group and a control group. TEB patients were subjected to a persistent TEB (T1 - 5), and injected with 0.5% lidocaine 3 - 5 ml every two or four hours for four weeks in addition to routine medicine, while patients in the control group were given routine medicine only. Plasma concentrations of FIB were measured using the micro-capillary assay. Doppler echocardiography was performed before and after the treatment.

RESULTSPlasma concentrations of FIB in two groups were greater than the normal value before the treatment. There was a significant decrease of plasma concentrations of FIB in the TEB group after the treatment (4.2 +/- 1.3 g/L vs 3.6 +/- 0.9 g/L, P < 0.05), but there was no significant change in the control group (4.2 +/- 1.2 g/L vs 4.3 +/- 1.9 g/L, P > 0.05). After four weeks of treatment, the left ventricular end diastolic diameters (LVEDD) of TEB patients were reduced (72 +/- 10 mm vs 69 +/- 10 mm, P < 0.05) and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of TEB patients increased significantly (33% +/- 13% vs 44% +/- 14%, P < 0.05). In contrast, LVEDD (73 +/- 11 mm vs 73 +/- 12 mm, P > 0.05) and LVEF (32% +/- 14% vs 33% +/- 12%, P > 0.05) did not change significantly in the control group.

CONCLUSIONSThe results suggest that plasma FIB levels in patients with DCM were decreased by performing a TEB, in addition to a reduction of the enlarged cardiac cavity and an improvement in cardiac systolic dysfunction. TEB might contribute to lowering the occurrence of thrombus and thromboembolism in patients with DCM. TEB might be a promising therapeutic method to improve the prognosis of DCM patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Autonomic Nerve Block ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; blood ; therapy ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective:To investigate the characteristics and associated factors of depression in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease(PD).Methods:A total of 1138 elderly PD patients from Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University were consecutively enrolled.The Hamilton Depression 17-item Scale(HAMD-17)was used to diagnose depression(scores ≥14). The depressive characteristics of PD patients with depression and those without depression were compared, and Logistic regression model was used to analyze the clinical risk factors of depression in PD patients.Results:Among the 1 138 PD patients, 233 cases had depression.The incidence of depression in PD patients was 20.5%, and the treatment rate was only 6.0%(14 cases). The main symptoms of depression in PD patients included sleep disturbance(101 cases, 43.3%), depression(57 cases, 24.5%), work and interest loss(49 cases, 21%). Compared to PD patients without depression, PD patients with depression were more likely women(49.4% vs36.3%), and had lower cognitive scores[(25.56 ± 4.22)scores vs(27.07 ± 3.08)scores], higher rate of freezing of gait(51.0% vs24.0%), higher incidence of disability(87.1% vs28.5%)( P<0.05). A comparison of each part of the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale(UPDRS)between the two groups revealed that the scores of activities of daily living[(16.52 ± 8.71)scores vs(10.15 ± 5.48)scores], the motor examination[(33.78 ± 19.48)scores vs(22.87 ±13.08)scores]and the complications of therapy[2.0(0.0, 6.0)scores vs0.0(0.0, 2.0)scores]were higher in the PD patients with depression group than in the PD patients without depression group( P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that women( OR=1.532, 95% CI: 1.073-2.187, P=0.019), disability( OR=6.357, 95% CI: 4.399-9.186, P<0.001), activities of daily living evaluated by UPDRS( OR=1.093, 95% CI: 1.043-1.146, P<0.001)and motor complications( OR=1.100, 95% CI: 1.014-1.193, P=0.022)were independent risk factors for PD depression. Conclusions:Depression was common in PD patients and usually manifested as sleep disturbance and low motivation, women, motor complications, disability and decreased quality of daily living were independent risk factors for depression.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of short-term full-dose prophylaxis in adult Chinese patients with severe hemophilia A.

METHODSThirteen adult Chinese patients with severe hemophilia A receiving on-demand or low-dose prophylaxis underwent ultrasound examination of the target joints and evaluation of Hemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS). The data of annual bleeding episodes in the period of on-demand or low-dose prophylaxis were collected retrospectively from the patients, and the changes in bleeding and joint condition (ultrasound findings of the target joints and HJHS) were observed during short-term full-dose prophylaxis. The activity intensity of the patients was assessed using the IPAQ questionnaire, and the 72 h FⅧ trough activity was measured during full-dose prophylaxis.

RESULTSThe median age of the 13 patients was 26.0 (20.5-29.0) years. For full-dose prophylaxis, the patients received a median therapeutic dose of 31.0 (29.1-33.0) IU/kg, administered for 3 times per week; the median 72 h FⅧ trough activity of patients was 1.7% (1.3-3.4%). During the follow-up period for 3 months, the annual bleeding rates (ABR) and annual joint bleeding rates (AJBR) decreased significantly in all the patients (=0.001 and 0.001, respectively), but zero bleeding was achieved in only 4 patients (30.8%) and zero joint bleeding in 7 patients (53.8%); 9 patients (69.2%) still experienced breakthrough bleeding. The damage severity of target joints assessed by ultrasound and HJHS in 6 patients (46.2%)was worse than before and no obvious progression of target joints damage was found in 7 patients (53.8%). Compared with the patients without progression, the patients with worsened joint damage had poorer baseline joint condition, higher bleeding frequencies before and during the follow-up, a higher intensity of physical activity, and a lower baseline FⅧ activity.

CONCLUSIONSAt present, although short-term full-dose prophylaxis can significantly reduce the bleeding and partially prevent the progression of joint damage, it is not yet possible to achieve the goal of zero bleeding for all adult patients with severe hemophilia A in China, nor can it completely prevent further joint damage. For adult patients with different clinical bleeding phenotypes, joint conditions and physical activity intensity, individualized therapy involving additional evaluation methods should be implemented, and physiotherapy and surgical intervention can be considered when necessary.