OBJECTIVES: Patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) have a high incidence of cardiac involvement, which often presents insidiously and can progress rapidly, making it one of the leading causes of death. Multiparametric cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) provides a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of myocardial injury and is emerging as a valuable tool for detecting cardiac involvement in CTD. This study aims to investigate the correlations between CMR features and serological biomarkers in CTD patients, assess their potential clinical value, and further explore the impact of pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity on CMR-specific parameters, thereby evaluating the role of CMR in the early diagnosis of CTD-related cardiac involvement. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 72 consecutive CTD patients who underwent CMR at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between September 2019 and March 2024. Clinical data, serological markers, and CMR parameters were collected. Differences in CMR parameters were compared between CTD patients with positive and negative serological markers. Correlations between serological biomarkers and CMR parameters were analyzed, with subgroup analyses performed for different CTD subtypes. Logistic regression (univariate and multivariate) was applied to explore the effects of pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity on CMR parameters, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine cutoff values. RESULTS: In differential analyses, CTD patients with elevated interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 levels exhibited significantly higher myocardial T₂ values compared with those with normal levels (P=0.014, P=0.012). Elevated IL-10 was associated with a higher prevalence of microvascular lesions on CMR (P=0.038). Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and T₂ values (r=0.371, P=0.009). ROC analysis indicated that when the hs-cTnT threshold was 0.01 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting elevated left ventricular T₂ values were 85.71% and 61.11%, respectively [area under the curve (AUC)=0.767, P=0.001]. hs-cTnT and creatine kinase (CK) were also positively correlated with native T₁ values (r=0.371, P=0.009; r=0.364, P=0.032). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) showed a positive correlation with the percentage of the late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (r=0.236, P=0.047). Conversely, hs-cTnT correlated negatively with global radial strain (GRS) (r=-0.297, P=0.034), while CK correlated negatively with both GRS and global circumferential strain (GCS) (r=-0.292, P=0.022; r=-0.282, P=0.027). Among patients with elevated hs-cTnT, the cumulative glucocorticoid dose prior to CMR was negatively associated with elevated T₂ values (OR=0.997, P=0.018), and this correlation remained significant after adjusting for duration of steroid use (OR=0.997, P=0.044). ROC analysis showed that when the cumulative glucocorticoid dose did not exceed 613 mg/mL (prednisone equivalent), the sensitivity and specificity for predicting elevated T₂ values were 90.48% and 77.78%, respectively (AUC=0.862, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Several inflammatory biomarkers demonstrate correlations with specific CMR parameters, with hs-cTnT showing the strongest associations across multiple indices. Elevated hs-cTnT suggests a high likelihood of cardiac involvement in CTD patients. Furthermore, pre-CMR immunotherapy intensity significantly influences the specificity of T₂ mapping, indicating its importance in interpreting CMR results. These findings provide critical insights for clinicians in the early recognition, timely intervention, and disease evaluation. Future research should further explore the role of CMR in the assessment of CTD-related cardiac assessment of CTD-related cardiac involvement. Future studies should further explore the role of CMR in evaluating CTD cardiac manifestations and its integration with other clinical data to optimize patient management.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Connective Tissue Diseases/blood* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; ROC Curve ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Troponin T/blood*

A brain-computer interface (BCI) based on motor imagery (MI) provides additional control pathways by decoding the intentions of the brain. MI ability has great intra-individual variability, and the majority of MI-BCI systems are unable to adapt to this variability, leading to poor training effects. Therefore, prediction of MI ability is needed. In this study, we propose an MI ability predictor based on multi-frequency EEG features. To validate the performance of the predictor, a video-guided paradigm and a traditional MI paradigm are designed, and the predictor is applied to both paradigms. The results demonstrate that all subjects achieved > 85% prediction precision in both applications, with a maximum of 96%. This study indicates that the predictor can accurately predict the individuals' MI ability in different states, provide the scientific basis for personalized training, and enhance the effect of MI-BCI training.
Humans ; Imagination/physiology* ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Brain-Computer Interfaces ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Brain/physiology* ; Movement/physiology* ; Motor Activity/physiology* ; Psychomotor Performance/physiology*

Objective:To compare the clinical effects of minimally invasive vitreous surgery with and without anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs for polypoid choroidal vascular disease (PCV) complicated with vitreous hemorrhage.Methods:A cohort study was performed.Thirty-six consecutive cases (36 eyes) with PCV combined with vitreous hemorrhage who underwent 25G minimally invasive vitreous surgery in Xuzhou First People's Hospital from June 2015 to June 2020 were enrolled.According to surgical methods, the patients were divided into pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) group (24 eyes) receiving vitrectomy only and PPV+ anti-VEGF group (12 eyes) receiving vitrectomy first and intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs one week after the operation.All patients were followed up for at least 6 months.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) of the two groups before treatment, 1 month after treatment and at the last follow-up were measured and compared.Postoperative complications such as recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage and macular scar formation were recorded.This study followed the Declaration of Helsinki and was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Xuzhou First People's Hospital (No.xyyll[2021]014).Written informed consent was obtained from each patient before surgery.Results:Statistically significant differences were found in BCVA between the two groups before and after treatment ( Fgroup=8.552, P=0.006; Ftime=31.775, P<0.001).The BCVA of the two groups at 1 month after operation and at the last follow-up were significantly improved in comparison with before treatment, and the BCVA at the last follow-up was significantly better than that at 1 month after operation (all at P<0.05).One month after operation and at the last follow-up, the BCVA of PPV+ anti-VEGF group was better than that of PPV group, showing statistically significant differences (both at P<0.05).Statistically significant differences were found in CRT between the two groups before and after treatment ( Fgroup=4.797, P=0.041; Ftime=295.764, P<0.001).One month after operation and at the last follow-up, the CRT of both groups was significantly improved in comparison with before treatment, and the CRT was significantly better at the last follow-up than 1 month after operation (both at P<0.05).The postoperative 1-month CRT of PPV+ anti-VEGF treatment group was lower than that of PPV group, with statistically significant difference ( P<0.05).No statistically significant difference was found in CRT between the two groups at the last follow-up ( P>0.05).Elevated intraocular pressure occurred in 2 eyes and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in 1 eye in PPV group, accounting for 8.33% and 4.17%, respectively.Cataract aggravated in 2 eyes in PPV+ anti-VEGF group.The incidence of vitreous rebleeding in PPV group and PPV+ anti-VEGF group was 16.67%(4/24) and 8.33%(1/12), respectively, with no significant difference ( P=0.646).The incidence of macular scarring in PPV group and PPV+ anti-VEGF group was 4.17%(1/24) and 33.3%(4/12), respectively, showing a statistically significant difference ( P=0.030). Conclusions:Minimally invasive vitreous surgery is a safe and effective way to treat PCV combined with vitreous hemorrhage.It can improve vision, reduce CRT, and the effect is gradually enhanced in the short term.Intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs can enhance the postoperative effect of PPV and present better vision and anatomical structure of retina.

Objective To explore the effect of iliac artery to deep femoral artery angioplasty on the improvement of postoperative lower limb ischemic symptoms and recovery in patients with lower limb arteriosclerosis obliterans(LEASO).Methods One hundred and four LEASO patients in Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine from December 2013 to July 2016 were involved in the study and they were divided into control group and observation group according to the treatment program,each group 52 cases.The control group was treated with conservative treatment,and the observation group was treated with iliac artery to deep femoral artery angioplasty.After treatment,the limb ischemic injury degree Rutherford classification and clinical efficacy of the two groups were compared,all patients were followed up for 6 months to compare the survival quality score before and 6-month after treatment.Results (1) Rutherford classification: after treatment,Rutherford classification in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group,the result was statistically significant (Z=2.160,P=0.031);(2) Clinical efficacy: the total effective rate in the observation group (94.23% (49/52)) was higher than that of the control group (76.92% (40/52)),the difference was statistically significant (χ2=6.310,P=0.012);(3) Life quality: before treatment,there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the quality of life score ((55.01±6.32) points vs.(54.89±6.14) points,t=0.098,P=0.922),but 6 months after treatment,the score of the observation group became higher than that of the control group ((69.63±7.51) points vs.(63.15±6.98) points,t=4.558,P=0.000).Conclusion The treatment of LEASO using iliac artery to deep femoral artery angioplasty can effectively improve patient''s lower limb ischemic symptoms and life quality.

The 3D gait analysis system (Vicon) was used for the gait analysis of health persons and amputees who wear lower limb prosthesis. The result indicated that gait analysis can supply changes of kinematics and biomechanics; which can be used to analyze the difference of joint movement between the health persons and amputees. The 3D gait analysis is feasible for amputees in rehabilitation.