OBJECTIVES: Whether vortioxetine has a utility as an adjuvant drug in the treatment of bipolar depression remains controversial. This study aimed to validate the efficacy and safety of vortioxetine in bipolar depression. METHODS: Patients with bipolar Ⅱ depression were enrolled in this prospective, two-center, randomized, 12-week pilot trial. The main indicator for assessing treatment effectiveness was a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) of ≥50%. All eligible patients initially received four weeks of lurasidone monotherapy. Patients who responded well continued to receive this kind of monotherapy. However, no-response patients were randomly assigned to either valproate or vortioxetine treatment for eight weeks. By comprehensively comparing the results of MADRS over a period of 4‍‒‍12 weeks, a systematic analysis was conducted to determine whether vortioxetine could be used as an adjuvant drug for treating bipolar depression. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients responded to lurasidone monotherapy, and 60 patients were randomly assigned to the valproate or vortioxetine group for eight weeks. After two weeks of combined valproate or vortioxetine treatment, the MADRS score in the vortioxetine group was significantly lower than that in the valproate group. There was no difference in the MADRS scores between the two groups at 8 and 12 weeks. The incidence of side effects did not significantly differ between the valproate and vortioxetine groups. Importantly, three patients in the vortioxetine group appeared to switch to mania or hypomania. CONCLUSIONS This study suggested that lurasidone combination with vortioxetine might have potential benefits to bipolar II depression in the early stage, while disease progression should be monitored closely for the risk of switching to mania.
Humans ; Bipolar Disorder/drug therapy* ; Vortioxetine/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Valproic Acid/administration & dosage* ; Lurasidone Hydrochloride/administration & dosage* ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Pilot Projects ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Sulfides/therapeutic use* ; Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of the Yiqi Jiedu formula （YQ） in treating ischemic stroke （IS） from the perspective of the microbial-gut-brain axis （MGBA）. MethodRats were randomly divided into five groups， with six in each group， including sham surgery group， model group， and low， medium， and high dose YQ groups （1， 5， and 25 mg·kg^-1）. Except for the sham surgery group， all other groups were established with a middle cerebral artery occlusion （MCAO） model using the thread occlusion method. The success of modeling was determined through neurobehavioral scoring， and the protective effect of YQ on IS was evaluated. Then， the changes in gut microbiota before and after MCAO modeling and YQ administration were compared using 16S rDNA sequencing technology， and the possible biological pathways related to the effect of this formula were analyzed. The expression of inflammatory factors such as interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-17A （IL-17A）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） in serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Western blot was used to detect the expression of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and Occludin in brain and intestinal tissue， and hematoxylin-eosin staining （HE） was used to observe pathological changes in the cerebral cortex and colon， so as to validate the possible mechanism of action. ResultYQ significantly improved the neurobehavioral score of MCAO rats （P<0.01） and played a good regulatory role in intestinal microbial disorders caused by enriched pathogens and opportunistic pathogens during the acute phase. Among them， significantly changed microorganisms include Morgentia， Escherichia Shigella， Adlercreutzia， and Androbacter. Bioinformatics analysis found that these bacteria may be related to the regulation of inflammation in the brain. Compared with the blank group， the detection of inflammatory factors in the serum of IS model rats showed an increase in inflammatory factors IL-6 and IL-17A （P<0.01） and a decrease in the content of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the content of inflammatory factors IL-6 and IL-17A in the serum of the treatment group decreased （P<0.05）， and that of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 increased （P<0.01）. The expression results of barrier proteins ZO-1 and Occludin in brain and intestinal tissue showed that the expression levels of both decreased in IS model rats （P<0.05）， while the expression levels of both increased in the treatment group （P<0.05）. ConclusionAcute cerebral ischemia can lead to an imbalance of intestinal microbiota and damage to the intestinal barrier， and it can increase intestinal permeability. YQ can regulate intestinal microbiota imbalance caused by ischemia， inhibit systemic inflammatory response， and improve the disruption of the gut-blood brain barrier， preventing secondary cascade damage to brain tissue caused by inflammation. The MGBA may be an important mechanism against the IS.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of peripheral blood cytokine models on organ functional impairment after chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T) cell therapy in children with B-lineage lymphocytic leukemia.Methods:The clinical data of 44 children with acute B-lineage lymphoblastic leukemia who received CAR-T cell therapy at Children′s Hospital of Soochow University from September 2018 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.Peripheral blood cytokines, including interleukin(IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon(IFN)-γ and IL-17A, were measured daily for 14 days after receiving CAR-T cell therapy.The trend of peripheral blood cytokine levels was analyzed at the endpoint of organ function recovery or death within 14 days after CAR-T cell treatment.Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to establish a mathematical prediction model to predict the occurrence of organ damage in the children.Results:Of the 44 children, 31 cases were boys and 13 cases were girls, with a median age of 7.96 (5.19, 11.48)years.Cytokine release syndrome(CRS) response occurred in 95.5% (42/44) children, with 88.1% (37/42) had a grade 1-3 CRS response, and 16.7% (7/42) had a severe grade 4-5 CRS response.Using IL-6>3 892.95 pg/mL as cut-off value, the area under the curve(AUC) for predicting acute respiratory failure was 0.818, with a sensitivity of 0.8 and a specificity of 0.735, while combining IFN-γ>414.4 pg/mL, IL-6>3 892.95 pg/mL and IL-2>27.05 pg/mL were the three cut-off values, with an AUC of 0.741, sensitivity of 0.6 and specificity of 0.912 for predicting acute respiratory failure. Using IFN-γ>1 699.5 pg/mL as cut-off value, the AUC for predicting shock was 0.908, with a sensitivity of 0.722 and a specificity of 1.With IL-6>4 607.3 pg/mL as cut-off value, the AUC for predicting liver injury was 0.964, with a sensitivity of 1 and a specificity of 0.906, while combining both IL-6>4 607.3 pg/mL and IFN-γ>1 446.2 pg/mL as cut-off values, the AUC for predicting liver injury was 0.977, with a sensitivity of 1 and a specificity of 0.906.Combining both IL-6>6 972.2 pg/mL and IFN-γ>3 981.5 pg/mL predicted a positive predictive value of 62.5% and a negative predictive value of 94.4% for grade 4-5 CRS response, with an AUC of 0.846, a predictive sensitivity of 0.714 and a specificity of 0.838, and all children had a combination of two or more organ function injuries.Conclusion:The combination of IL-6 and IFN-γ can effectively predict the incidence of liver injury and cytokine release syndrome.The combination of peripheral blood cytokines IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-2 can be used to predict the incidence of acute respiratory failure after the treatment of CAR-T cells in children with acute B-lineage lymphoblastic leukaemia.IFN-γ single index can be used to predict the incidence of shock.The combination of IL-6 and IFN-γ can be used to predict the incidence of liver injury and the severity of CRS.

Objective:The aim of our study is to develop an LC-MS/MS method using isotope internal standard for the determination of vancomycin in human blood serum and to validate its clinical value.Method:We conducted a methodological evaluation study using serum samples from 221 hospitalized patients (142 males and 79 females; mean age (59.31±15.32) years) who received treatments of vancomycin at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University between March 2021 and June 2022. In addition, thirty clinical residual serum samples from healthy individuals (15 males and 15 females; mean age (35.65±9.86) years) undergoing physical examination were used for methodological evaluation. The method was established using AB Sciex Triple Quad 4500 MD liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer and chromatographic separation was carried out using a Phenyl-Hexyl column with gradient elution. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% formic acid in water and methanol; the column temperature was 40℃; Vancomycin-[d12] TFA salt was used as the internal standard (IS). The sensitivity, specificity, linearity, accuracy, imprecision, matrix effect, and carry-over of the method were evaluated.Results:The detection limit of vancomycin was 0.2 mg/L and the lowest limit of quantification was 0.5 mg/L. It showed good linearity ( R2=0.998 4) in the 1 to 50 mg/L concentration range. Accuracy (recovery rate 87.45%-112.69%), intra-day and inter-day imprecision ( CV 4.91%-7.69%), internal standard standardized matrix factor (90.22%-104.29%). Carryover pollution was negligible. Of the 221 patients, the mean trough concentrations of vancomycin in serum was (13.15±8.56) mg/L. Conclusion:The LC-MS/MS method for the detection of serum vancomycin established in our laboratory meets the requirements of the reference method, and can be used for the monitoring of clinical therapeutic drugs.

Porcine interferon-alpha (pIFN-alpha) fermentative production by recombinant Pichia pastoris was carried out in a 10-L bioreactor to study its metabolism changes and effects on fermentation under different inducing strategies, by analyzing the change patterns of the corresponding metabolism and energy regeneration. The results show that the specific activities of alcohol oxidase (AOX), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FLD) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) largely increased when reducing temperature from 30 degrees C to 20 degrees C under pure methanol induction, leading significant enhancements in methanol metabolism, formaldehyde dissimilatory energy metabolism and pIFN-alpha antiviral activity. The highest pIFN-alpha antiviral activity reached 1.4 x 10(6) IU/mL, which was about 10-folds of that obtained under 30 degrees C induction. Using methanol/sorbitol co-feeding strategy at 30 degrees C, the major energy metabolism energizing pIFN-alpha synthesis shifted from formaldehyde dissimilatory energy metabolism pathway to TCA cycle, formaldehyde dissimilatory pathway was weakened and accumulation of toxic intermediate metabolite-formaldehyde was relieved, and methanol flux distribution towards to pIFN-alpha synthesis was enhanced. Under this condition, the highest pIFN-alpha antiviral activity reached 1.8 x 10(7) IU/mL which was about 100-folds of that obtained under pure methanol induction at 30 degrees C. More important, enhanced pIFN-alpha production with methanol/sorbitol co-feeding strategy could be implemented under mild conditions, which greatly reduced the fermentation costs and improved the entire fermentation performance.
Animals ; Energy Metabolism ; Fermentation ; Interferon-alpha ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Methanol ; pharmacology ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Sorbitol ; pharmacology ; Swine

Objective To discuss the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced transvaginal sonography TVS in the diagnosis of myometrial invasion grade of endometrial cancer. Methods Total twenty-eight cases were studied by contrast-enhanced TVS,which were proved pathologically endometrial cancer in our hospital. The diagnosis of myometrial invasion grade of endometrial cancer by contrast-enhanced TVS were compared with pathologic results based on FIGO. Results The total coincidence of contrast-enhanced transvaginal sonography in detecting the depth of myometrial invasion was 78.6%. In the evaluation of no myometrial invasion,it showed the sensitivity of 71.4%,specificity of 85.7% and coincidence of 62.5%. In evaluation of superficial myometrial invasion,the sensitivity,specificity and coincidence was 73.7% ,77. 8% ,87. 5% ,respectively. The sensitivity in detecting deep invasion was 100. 0% ,the specificity was 96.0% ,while coincidence was 75.0%.There was no significant difference among the coincidence of various depth of myometrial invasion by contrast-enhanced TVS. Conclusion Contrast-enhanced TVS was valuable in the diagnosis of myometrial invasion grade of endometrial cancer.

Objective To study testicular microlithiasis(TM)on scrotal ultrasound findings in re-lation to the incidence of varicocele in males with scrotal symptoms.Methods Ultrasound finding of 8351 cases aged 40 days to 88 years with scrotal symptoms were reviewed.Results TM was found in 170 pa-tients(2.04%)and varicocele Was found in 1449 patients(17.35%)of symptomatic individuals.Varicocele Was found in TM and non-TM were 15.88%(27/170)and 17.38%(1422/8181)respectively,statistical anal-ysis revealed that there was no close relationship between TM and varicocele(x2=0.26,P>0.05)in symp-tomatic population. Conclusion TM is a comnlofl disease and has no direct correlation with varicocele.

AIM:To investigate the effect of L-arginine(L-Arg) on expression of bcl-2,bax mRNA during pulmonary ischemia and reperfusion injury(PIRI) in rabbits.METHODS: Single lung ischemia and reperfusion animal model was used in vivo.The rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: sham operated group(sham,n=12),ischemia-reperfusion group(I/R,n=12) and I/R+ L-arginine group(L-Arg,n=12).Changes of several parameters,which included apoptotic index(AI),wet to dry ratio of lung tissue weight(W/D) and index of quantitative assessment of histologic lung injury(IQA),were measured at 300 min after reperfusion in lung tissue.Meanwhile the location and expression of bcl-2,bax mRNA as well as the ratio of bcl-2 mRNA/bax mRNA were observed.The lung tissue was prepared for light microscopic and electron microscopic observation at 60,180 and 300 min after reperfusion.RESULTS: As compared with I/R group,in intima and extima of small pulmonary artery,alveoli,and bronchiole epithelia,the expression of bcl-2 mRNA and the ratio of bcl-2 mRNA/bax mRNA were increased,and the expression of bax mRNA was decreased in L-Arg treatment group.The values of AI,W/D and IQA showed significantly lower than that in I/R group at 180 minutes after reperfusion in lung tissue(P