Introduction: Hypernatremia is a common yet high-mortality electrolyte disorder. The hypothalamus maintains water homeostasis via thirst sensation and arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion. Hypothalamic tumors, such as gliomas, can progressively destroy these osmoregulatory centres, leading to “malignant” hypernatremia (>180 mmol/L). We report a case of life-threatening hypernatremia in a patient with a progressive hypothalamic glioma, exploring its complex pathophysiology. Case: A 41-year-old female with a progressive high-grade hypothalamic glioma and persistent hydrocephalus presented with generalized weakness, reduced oral intake, and dehydration. Her initial Glasgow Coma Scale was E4V3M6. Laboratory investigations revealed malignant hypernatremia (serum sodium 209 mmol/L) and a serum osmolarity of 441 mOsm/kg. Despite life-threatening dehydration (urea 26.2 mmol/L, creatinine 343 umol/L), she was still able to deceptively produce urine output of 400 mL/day with a concentrated urine osmolarity of 890 mOsm/kg. A 1 mcg IV desmopressin trial reduced urine output to 60 mL/day and serum sodium by 10 mmol/L within 14 hours, confirming relative AVP deficiency. The patient’s malignant hypernatremia was gradually corrected to 168 mmol/L over 1 week (8–12 mmol/L/day) using controlled intravenous hydration. However, her condition deteriorated due to hospital-acquired infection, and she succumbed 10 days after admission. Conclusion This case underscores several critical learning points for managing hypothalamic emergencies. First, hypothalamic tumors can reset the osmostat or destroy osmoregulatory centres, causing adipsic AVP deficiency. Second, clinicians must be alert to “masked polyuria” where severe hypovolemia reduces the glomerular filtration rate, causing urine output to appear “normal” despite underlying AVP deficiency. This state of “relative polyuria” is a hallmark of hypothalamic hypernatremia, thus indicating that a normal urine output does not rule out AVP deficiency. While desmopressin is indicated, its use in adipsic patients demands strict fluid titration to prevent iatrogenic hyponatremia. Rapid hypotonic correction carries a proven risk of cerebral oedema, and sodium measurement accuracy varies significantly across laboratory methods in extreme ranges.
Hypernatremia ; Hypothalamic Neoplasms

Objective : To analyze the correlation between different laboratory biomarkers and disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis and to compare their specificity and sensitivity in assessing disease activity. Methods : Spearman correlation or Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between disease activity and laboratory biomarkers. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) was used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of each laboratory biomarker in evaluating disease activity. Results : Hypersensitive C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, D-dimer, erythrocyte sediment rate, C-reactive protein, immuno-inflammatory index(platelet count×neutrophil count/lymphocyte count), fibrinogen/albumin ratio, albumin and pro-albumin were correlated with disease activity. The ratio of fibrinogen to albumin, fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, immuno-inflammatory index, C-reactive protein and hypersensitive C-reactive protein had good values in determining the disease activity. Conclusion Different laboratory biomarkers are correlated with the disease activity of ankylosing spondylitis, and some of them have better discriminating values for the disease activity.

Yttrium-90(90Y)selective internal radiation therapy(SIRT)is an emerging modality for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),leveraging the nuclide 90Y to deliver targeted radiation therapy.90Y has a long half-life and can be used to selectively ablate tumor cells by high-energy beta rays.It has high biological effectiveness and robust local control capabilities.In recent years,with the continuous advancement of basic and clinical research,the application of 90Y-SIRT in the conversion treatment of unresectable HCC(uHCC)has made significant progress.However,challenges remain in the clinical application of 90Y-SIRT,including how to improve the efficacy of conversion therapy and how to optimize therapy regimens.This review aims to summarize the research progress of90Y-SIRT in the conversion therapy of uHCC.

Objective To synthesize qualitative studies on the experiences of postoperative lung cancer patients participating in pulmonary rehabilitation,aiming to comprehensively understand the barriers and facilitators influencing their engagement and to provide evidence-based insights for improving rehabilitation adherence.Methods Qualitative studies were retrieved from databases including Web of Science,PubMed,Cochrane Library,Embase,CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIPand Sinomed,with a search period spanning from database inception to January,2025.The methodological quality of eligible studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research.Extracted findings were mapped and synthesized using the Theoretical Domains Framework(TDF)and the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior mode(COM-B).Results Ultimately,a total of 11 studies were included,yielding 48 findings.Using the Theoretical Domains Framework(TDF)and COM-B model,facilitators and barriers to pulmonary rehabilitation in postoperative lung cancer patients were mapped and consolidated into 14 categories,culminating in 2 synthesized findings.Conclusion Participation in pulmonary rehabilitation among postoperative lung cancer patients is influenced by multiple factors.Clinicians should develop patient-centered pulmonary rehabilitation plans by considering these factors and incorporating patients' attitudes and perspectives.

Objective To investigate levels of soluble T cell immunoglobulin mucin domain 3(sTim-3)and soluble growth stimulating gene expression protein 2(sST2)in peripheral blood of patients with alcoholic liver disease(ALD),and their correlation with disease severity.Methods A total of 112 ALD patients in our hospital from June 2021 to June 2023 were selected as the ALD group,including 47 patients with alcoholic fatty liver(AFL group),37 patients with alcoholic steatohepatitis(ASH group)and 28 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis(ALC group).Another 112 healthy subjects were used as the control group.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was applied to detect serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2.ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of sTim-3 and sST2 in different clinical types of ALD.The correlation between serum sTim-3,sST2 levels and clinical indicators in ALD patients was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis.The factors influencing disease severity in ALD patients was analyzed by Logistic regression model.Results The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were higher in the ALD group than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were increased successively in the AFL group,the ASH group and the ALC group(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combined diagnosis of ALC and ASH by sTim-3 and sST2 was significantly larger than that of AUC of the single diagnosis of sTim-3 and sST2(P＜0.05).Levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(ALT),glutamic oxalacetic transaminase(AST),total bilirubin(TBIL),alkaline phosphatase(ALP)and glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT)were increased successively in the AFL group,the ASH group and the ALC group(P＜0.05).The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were positively correlated with levels of ALT,AST,TBIL,ALP and GGT,respectively(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that high levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were independent risk factors for severe disease in ALD patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 increase in ALD patients,which are related to disease severity in ALD patients.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets in treating hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or comorbid phlegm-stasis syndrome and explore its therapeutic mechanisms through plasma metabolomics.Methods:Thirty-six hypertension patients(4 dropouts)diagnosed with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome were enrolled as the treatment group from June 2022 to September 2023 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine,while 30 healthy volunteers with balanced constitutions were recruited as the blank group.Plasma samples were collected from patients pre-and post-treatment and from healthy volunteers.Clinical outcomes,including syndrome scores,office blood pressure(BP),and 24-hour ambulatory BP,were recorded.Plasma metabolomic profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS).Results:Compared with baseline,Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets significantly reduced traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores(P＜0.01),office systolic/diastolic BP(P＜0.01),and 24-hour ambulatory BP parameters(24-hour mean BP,daytime/nighttime mean BP;all P＜0.01).Metabolomic analysis identified 45 differential metabolites between the blank group and pretreatment patients,and 64 metabolites altered post-treatment(VIP＞1,P＜0.05).Enrichment analysis of 16 overlapping endogenous metabolites revealed that Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets primarily modulated arachidonic acid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism pathways.Conclusion:Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets demonstrates significant clinical efficacy in hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome,potentially mediated through regulation of arachidonic acid and sphingolipid metabolism.

Objective To investigate levels of soluble T cell immunoglobulin mucin domain 3(sTim-3)and soluble growth stimulating gene expression protein 2(sST2)in peripheral blood of patients with alcoholic liver disease(ALD),and their correlation with disease severity.Methods A total of 112 ALD patients in our hospital from June 2021 to June 2023 were selected as the ALD group,including 47 patients with alcoholic fatty liver(AFL group),37 patients with alcoholic steatohepatitis(ASH group)and 28 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis(ALC group).Another 112 healthy subjects were used as the control group.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was applied to detect serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2.ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of sTim-3 and sST2 in different clinical types of ALD.The correlation between serum sTim-3,sST2 levels and clinical indicators in ALD patients was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis.The factors influencing disease severity in ALD patients was analyzed by Logistic regression model.Results The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were higher in the ALD group than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were increased successively in the AFL group,the ASH group and the ALC group(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combined diagnosis of ALC and ASH by sTim-3 and sST2 was significantly larger than that of AUC of the single diagnosis of sTim-3 and sST2(P＜0.05).Levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase(ALT),glutamic oxalacetic transaminase(AST),total bilirubin(TBIL),alkaline phosphatase(ALP)and glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT)were increased successively in the AFL group,the ASH group and the ALC group(P＜0.05).The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were positively correlated with levels of ALT,AST,TBIL,ALP and GGT,respectively(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that high levels of sTim-3 and sST2 were independent risk factors for severe disease in ALD patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion The serum levels of sTim-3 and sST2 increase in ALD patients,which are related to disease severity in ALD patients.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of serum galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) and Gd-IgA1/IgA ratio in normal children.Methods:The children from a kindergarten and 3 primary or secondary schools in Baoding (Hebei Province) from March to August 2023 were included in the cross-sectional study.According to their age, the children were divided into the 3-6-year-old group, >6-11-year-old group, and >11-16-year-old group.Besides, some adults were also included as the control group.The immunoturbidimetric assay was used to detect serum IgA levels, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to detect Gd-IgA1 and Gd-IgA1/IgA levels.The above indicators were subject to normal distribution tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA)or rank sum test.Results:A total of 136 normal subjects were included for analysis.Among these subjects, there were 64 males and 72 females.There were 13 children in the 3-6-year-old group, 51 children in the >6-11-year-old group, and 56 children in the >11-16-year-old group.Besides, 16 normal adults (28-45 years old) from the physical examination center were also included as the control group.The serum IgA levels of the 3-6-year-old group, >6-11-year-old group, >11-16-year-old group, and adult group were (0.88±0.35) g/L, (1.38±0.65) g/L, (1.78±0.61) g/L, and (2.49±0.94) g/L, respectively.Except for no statistically significant difference between the 3-6-year-old group and the >6-11-year-old group, as well as between the >11-16-year-old group and the adult group, all other age groups showed statistically significant differences in serum IgA levels (all P<0.05).The serum Gd-IgA1 levels of the 3-6-year-old group, >6-11-year-old group, >11-16-year-old group, and adult group were 7.77(5.77, 16.51) μg/L, 7.12(5.29, 9.82) μg/L, 8.96(6.21, 14.30) μg/L, and 9.39(6.63, 40.00) μg/L, respectively, with statistically significant differences ( H=9.22, P=0.027).There was no significant difference in the Gd-IgA1/IgA ratio among different groups ( P=0.130).The correlation analysis suggested that Gd-IgA1/IgA1 did not correlate with age ( r=0.134, P=1.200).The Gd-IgA1 level was positively correlated with the IgA level ( r=0.204, P=0.017).There was no significant difference in serum IgA, Gd-IgA1, and Gd-IgA1/IgA levels between different gender groups. Conclusions:There are differences in Gd-IgA1 levels among different age groups among these children, but Gd-IgA1/IgA is not correlated with age.As a diagnostic biomarker, Gd-IgA1 should be emphasized from the different levels among different age groups, while Gd-IgA1/IgA seems to be more convenient for clinical research and application.

Background: s/Aims: Plasma pregenomic hepatitis B virus RNA (pgRNA) is a novel biomarker in chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB). We aimed to describe the longitudinal profile of pgRNA and factors influencing its levels in CHB patients on nucleoside analogue (NUC). Methods: Serial plasma samples from 1,354 CHB patients started on first-line NUC were evaluated. Time of NUC initiation was taken as baseline (year 0), followed by 1-year, 3-year and 5-year of NUC therapy. pgRNA was measured by Research Use Only RealTime HBV RNA v2.0 (0.2 mL) (Abbott Diagnostics) with lower limit of detection of 0.8 log U/mL (~20 copies/mL). Results: Among 1,354 subjects (median age at baseline 49.8 [interquartile range, IQR 40.2–57.3]) years, 65.2% male, 16.1% hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive, 28.6% cirrhotic), baseline median HBV RNA was 3.68 (IQR 2.42–5.19) log U/mL. Upon NUC therapy, median pgRNA levels were 2.45 (IQR 1.82–3.62), 2.23 (IQR 1.67–3.05) and 2.14 (IQR 1.48–2.86) log U/mL at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively, with the corresponding log U/mL reductions of 0.82, 1.20 and 1.54. Undetectable/ unquantifiable pgRNA was achieved in 13.5%, 15.9% and 20.1% of patients at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively. Older age, male sex, HBeAg-negativity and high PAGE-B score were associated with lower pgRNA. Conclusions Plasma pgRNA declines are modest under NUC therapy, with only 16.3% achieving RNA undetectability after 5 years of first-line NUC indicating cccDNA silencing has not been achieved in the majority of patients. Clinical characteristics should be taken into consideration when interpreting the plasma pgRNA level.

Functional cure, defined as sustained hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance with unquantifiable hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA at 24 weeks off treatment, is a favorable treatment endpoint in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Nonetheless, functional cure is rarely attained with the current treatment modalities of nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) and pegylated interferon alpha. Multiple novel virus-targeting agents and immunomodulators are under development for HBV with functional cure as the treatment goal. Among virus-targeting agents, antisense oligonucleotides and small-interfering RNAs are the most advanced in the developmental pipeline, and can induce potent and sustainable HBsAg suppression. The other virus-targeting agents have varying effects on HBsAg and HBV DNA, depending on the drug mechanism. In contrast, immunomodulators have modest effects on HBsAg and have limited roles in monotherapy. Multiple combination regimens incorporating RNA interference agents with immunomodulators have been studied through many ongoing clinical trials. These combination strategies demonstrate synergistic effects in inducing functional cure, and will likely be the future direction of development. Despite the promising results, research is warranted to optimize treatment protocols and to establish criteria for NUC withdrawal after novel therapies. Functional cure is now an attainable target in CHB, and the emerging novel therapeutics will revolutionize CHB management.