Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of patients with brucellosis complicated with epididymo-orchitis (Brucellar epididymo-orchitis, BEO), so as to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of BEO.Methods:General and clinical data of 293 male patients with acute brucellosis admitted to the Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital from January 2023 to December 2024 were retrospectively collected. They were divided into a BEO group (30 cases) and a non-BEO group (263 cases) based on the presence or absence of epididymo-orchitis. Epidemic characteristics, clinical manifestations and laboratory examination results were compared and analyzed.Results:Among 293 male patients with acute brucellosis, the incidence of BEO was 10.24% (30/293). Their age was mainly concentrated in 45 - < 60 years old (53.33%, 16/30), and occupation was mostly farmers (63.33%, 19/30). There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of age, occupation, exposure history and onset season between the BEO group and the non-BEO group ( P > 0.05). The distribution of abdominal pain and urinary frequency/urgency/pain symptoms was compared, and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). White blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count (NEUT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the BEO group were higher than those in the non-BEO group ( P < 0.05), while the levels of cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were lower than those in the non-BEO group ( P < 0.05). After 6 - 8 weeks of hospitalization, the levels of WBC, NEUT, CRP, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IFN-γ in patients of the BEO group were significantly different from before treatment ( P < 0.05). Twenty-eight patients were cured, 1 patient underwent orchiectomy, and 1 patient experienced recurrence. Conclusions:Middle-aged male patients with brucellosis are more prone to BEO. Clinical manifestations and laboratory tests have certain diagnostic value for BEO. Suspected BEO patients should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible to reduce the occurrence of adverse prognosis.

Objective:To learn about the clinical characteristics of patients with neurobrucellosis (NB) and provide references for clinical diagnosis and treatment of NB.Methods:The clinical data of 22 NB patients diagnosed and treated at Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital from January 2018 to November 2024 and 178 healthy individuals undergoing physical examinations during the same period were retrospectively collected. The epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment and prognosis of NB patients were analyzed.Results:Among the 22 NB patients, 12 were males (54.55%) and 10 were females (45.45%). The age was (51.77 ± 12.75) years old, ranging from 27 to 80 years old. Most of the patients were farmers (95.45%, 21/22), and 16 cases (72.73%) had contacted with cattle/sheep. The onset seasons were mainly in summer (40.91%, 9/22) and spring (31.82%, 7/22). Among all NB patients, there were 10 cases of encephalitis/meningoencephalitis, 9 cases of myelitis, and 3 cases of meningitis. The general symptoms were mainly fever (68.18%, 15/22), the neurological symptoms were mainly nausea and vomiting (36.36%, 8/22), and the physical signs were mainly muscle weakness (50.00%, 11/22) and pathological signs (45.45%, 10/22). The laboratory test results showed that the levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, C-reactive protein, total protein, albumin, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, α-hydroxybutyric acid dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glutathione reductase in NB patients were significantly different from those in healthy individuals ( P < 0.001). Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed ischemic changes in 5 cases (22.73%), abnormal brain signals in 2 cases (9.09%), and demyelinating lesions in white matter in 1 case (4.55%). After treatment, 18 NB patients were followed up and showed good prognosis, with only 2 cases exhibiting varying degrees of sequelae (walking disorders or memory impairment). Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of NB patients are diverse. A comprehensive judgment should be made by combining epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and imaging examinations.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of patients with brucellosis complicated with epididymo-orchitis (Brucellar epididymo-orchitis, BEO), so as to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of BEO.Methods:General and clinical data of 293 male patients with acute brucellosis admitted to the Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital from January 2023 to December 2024 were retrospectively collected. They were divided into a BEO group (30 cases) and a non-BEO group (263 cases) based on the presence or absence of epididymo-orchitis. Epidemic characteristics, clinical manifestations and laboratory examination results were compared and analyzed.Results:Among 293 male patients with acute brucellosis, the incidence of BEO was 10.24% (30/293). Their age was mainly concentrated in 45 - < 60 years old (53.33%, 16/30), and occupation was mostly farmers (63.33%, 19/30). There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of age, occupation, exposure history and onset season between the BEO group and the non-BEO group ( P > 0.05). The distribution of abdominal pain and urinary frequency/urgency/pain symptoms was compared, and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). White blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count (NEUT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the BEO group were higher than those in the non-BEO group ( P < 0.05), while the levels of cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were lower than those in the non-BEO group ( P < 0.05). After 6 - 8 weeks of hospitalization, the levels of WBC, NEUT, CRP, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IFN-γ in patients of the BEO group were significantly different from before treatment ( P < 0.05). Twenty-eight patients were cured, 1 patient underwent orchiectomy, and 1 patient experienced recurrence. Conclusions:Middle-aged male patients with brucellosis are more prone to BEO. Clinical manifestations and laboratory tests have certain diagnostic value for BEO. Suspected BEO patients should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible to reduce the occurrence of adverse prognosis.

Objective:To learn about the clinical characteristics of patients with neurobrucellosis (NB) and provide references for clinical diagnosis and treatment of NB.Methods:The clinical data of 22 NB patients diagnosed and treated at Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital from January 2018 to November 2024 and 178 healthy individuals undergoing physical examinations during the same period were retrospectively collected. The epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment and prognosis of NB patients were analyzed.Results:Among the 22 NB patients, 12 were males (54.55%) and 10 were females (45.45%). The age was (51.77 ± 12.75) years old, ranging from 27 to 80 years old. Most of the patients were farmers (95.45%, 21/22), and 16 cases (72.73%) had contacted with cattle/sheep. The onset seasons were mainly in summer (40.91%, 9/22) and spring (31.82%, 7/22). Among all NB patients, there were 10 cases of encephalitis/meningoencephalitis, 9 cases of myelitis, and 3 cases of meningitis. The general symptoms were mainly fever (68.18%, 15/22), the neurological symptoms were mainly nausea and vomiting (36.36%, 8/22), and the physical signs were mainly muscle weakness (50.00%, 11/22) and pathological signs (45.45%, 10/22). The laboratory test results showed that the levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, C-reactive protein, total protein, albumin, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, α-hydroxybutyric acid dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glutathione reductase in NB patients were significantly different from those in healthy individuals ( P < 0.001). Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed ischemic changes in 5 cases (22.73%), abnormal brain signals in 2 cases (9.09%), and demyelinating lesions in white matter in 1 case (4.55%). After treatment, 18 NB patients were followed up and showed good prognosis, with only 2 cases exhibiting varying degrees of sequelae (walking disorders or memory impairment). Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of NB patients are diverse. A comprehensive judgment should be made by combining epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and imaging examinations.

Objective:To learn about the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children with brucellosis, in order to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment of brucellosis in children.Methods:Clinical data of children with brucellosis (aged ≤14 years) who visited the Department of Infectious Diseases at Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital from December 2020 to December 2022 were retrospectively collected, and their epidemiological characteristics, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, treatment and outcome were summarized and analyzed.Results:A total of 34 children with brucellosis were included, including 25 males (73.53%) and 9 females (26.47%), with a gender ratio of 2.78 ∶ 1.00. The median age was 8 years and 1 month, mainly in the age group of 6 to 14 years (19 cases, 55.88%). Epidemiological investigation showed that most of the affected children were rural residents (25 cases, 73.53%), with more contact with cattle/sheep (26 cases, 76.47%). The onset time was mainly concentrated in summer (15 cases, 44.12%) and spring (13 cases, 38.24%). The clinical symptoms were mainly fever (97.06%, 33/34) and arthralgia (64.71%, 22/34). In the laboratory tests, 25 cases (73.53%) had positive blood cultures, and the white blood cell count (WBC) of 30 cases (88.24%) was (4 - 10) × 10 9/L. Among the abnormalities of liver function, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased in 19 cases (55.88%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased in 14 cases (41.18%) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) increased in 6 cases (17.65%). Among the myocardial enzymatic abnormalities, α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH) increased in 29 cases (85.29%), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) increased in 27 cases (79.41%), and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) increased in 8 cases (23.53%). After treatment, 25 children with positive blood culture turned negative. Conclusions:Children with brucellosis are mainly male, older and rural residents. The clinical manifestations are mainly fever and arthralgia. Doctors in relevant departments should conduct detailed epidemiological investigations and laboratory tests for such children in clinical work, in order to achieve early detection, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric brucellosis.

In clinical application, a microneedle system that continuously delivers drugs is of great value for the delivery of some vaccines and hormone drugs. In this study, a controlled-release chitosan-based microneedle array (PVA/CS-MN) was designed, combining microneedle patches with drugs for controlled-release of drugs. Here we report the optimization of the preparation process of PVA/CS-MN. The appearance, morphology, mechanical properties, dissolution and swelling properties, and in vitro penetration properties of the MN arrays were characterized. The PVA/CS-MN prepared by the optimal process showed good morphology and mechanical properties. PVA/CS-MN can smoothly open microchannels on the skin and achieve controllable dissolution and swelling functions. Ascorbic acid (l-ascorbic acid) was used as a model drug to prepare a Vc-PVA/CS-MN. In vitro transdermal diffusion experiments showed that the Vc-PVA/CS-MN released about 57% of the drug within 1 h. About 66.7% of the drug was slowly released within 12 h, and a total of 92% of the drug was released after 7 days. The controllable sustained-release properties and excellent drug delivery efficiency of PVA/CS-MN provide a new option for sustained transdermal drug delivery.
Ascorbic Acid ; Chitosan ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Hormones ; Vaccines

Objective: To know the detection rate of hereditary thrombocytopenia (HT) in children with chronic thrombocytopenia and its clinical and laboratory characteristics for an early clinical identification and diagnosis of HT in future. Methods: Data of the children with thrombocytopenia, who had been treated in Beijing Children′s Hospital from April 2016 to May 2018 and whose present history lasted for more than 1 year and had poor response to immunotherapy were retrospectively collected.HT was screened in these patients by adopting next generation sequencing (NGS). Finally, clinical and laboratory characteristics of these children with HT were summarized and analyzed. Results: A total of 161 children with chronic thrombocytopenia were included.Forty-three cases (26.7%) were found to have gene mutations.The genetic rules of the mutant gene, the family verification and the clinical manifestations of the proband and some related laboratory tests were analyzed and 24 cases (14.9%) can be diagnosed as HT.Among the HT patients, the proportion of males and females was 159, and the median onset of age was 0.58 years, which was significantly lower than that of non-HT cases (the median onset of age was 4.36 years), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001); the proportion of mucosal hemorrhage and visceral hemorrhage (31.8% and 13.7%) of HT was significantly higher than non-HT cases (15.3% and 0.6%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Fifty percent of (12/24 cases) cases of HT had positive family history; according to the ave-rage platelet volume and platelet morphology in peripheral blood smear, HT could be divided into small platelet HT, po-sitive platelet HT and large platelet HT.Some cases had well response to immunotherapy but seemed easy to relapse du-ring the withdrawal period, while the others responded poorly to therapy.Different clinical manifestations of HT suggest different pathogenesis, which can be divided into the related types of megakaryocyte differentiation defect, megakaryocyte maturation defect, platelet release defect and platelet survival time shortening. Conclusions The pathogenesis and cli-nical phenotype of HT was different.Some of them were effective for immunotherapy, which were easily confused with immune thrombocy-topenla(ITP). It is clinically necessary to perform NGS in children with thrombocytopenia at early onset, abnormal platelet morphology, prolonged disease course or severe mucosal/visceral hemorrhage, in order to recognize HT timely to avoid delay in diagnosis and poor prognosis.

Objective To detect the effective connectivity of resting- state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in normal adults. Methods 36 normal adults were performed resting-state fMRI scanning, and 5 brain netwokes were included as regions of interests. Independent component (ICA) was used to evaluate the effective connectivity, and multivariate Granger causality analysis (mGCA) was used to analyze the casuality between the networks. All preprocessing steps were carried out using Statistical Parametric Mapping 5.0 software. Results 5 classic resting brain networks including default mode network (DMN), memory network (MeN), motor network (MoN), auditory network (AN) and executive control network (ECN) were aquired. The mGCA presented significant casuality between DMN and other 4 networks, MeN and ECN, AN and MoN, ECN and AN. Conclusion There are specific brain effective connectivity of resting-state fMRI in normal adults, and there is significant causal link between these networks.