Objective:To comparatively evaluate the efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and anti-interleukin (IL)-12/23 biologics as the first-line treatment in Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2024, at the Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, the clinical data of patients with CD treated with anti-TNF-α (infliximab or adalimumab) or anti-IL-12/23 biologics (ustekinumab) as first-line treatment were retrospectively collected. All the patients were followed up for 1 year since the initiation of first-line biologic treatment, with the follow-up concluding on December 31, 2024. The primary outcomes were the clinical efficacy (including clinical response rate and clinical remission rate) of anti-TNF-α or anti-IL-12/23 treatment at week 24 and week 48, and the endoscopic efficacy(including endoscopic response rate and endoscopic remission rate) at week 48. The clinical efficacy was assessed based on Crohn′s disease activity index(CDAI). The clinical response was defined as a reduction in CDAI by ≥ 70 from baseline (week 0), and clinical remission was defined as CDAI < 150. The endoscopic efficacy was assessed based on simple endoscopic score for Crohn′s disease (SES-CD), the endoscopic response was defined as a reduction in SES-CD by ≥50% from baseline (week 0), and endoscopic remission was defined as SES-CD ≤2. Chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test was used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 215 CD patients were enrolled, including 160 males and 55 females, with the age of (31.88±11.55) years old. Among them, 179 patients completed the clinical efficacy evaluation, 110 cases were treated with anti-TNF-α, 69 cases were treated with anti-IL-12/23. The clinical response rates of patients treated with anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 at week 24 were 95.5%(105/110) and 95.7%(66/69), respectively, and the clinical remission rates at week 24 were 86.4%(95/110) and 85.5%(59/69), respectively; the clinical response rates at week 48 were 95.5%(105/110) and 97.1%(67/69), respectively, and the clinical remission rates at week 48 were 89.1%(98/110) and 88.4%(61/69), respectively; and the differences were not statistically significant(Fisher′s exact test, χ2=0.03, Fisher′s exact test, χ2=0.02; P=1.000, 0.708, 0.872, and 0.887). A total of 76 patients completed endoscopic efficacy evaluation, among which 55 cases were treated with anti-TNF-α, and 21 cases were treated with anti-IL-12/23. The endoscopic response rates of patients treated with anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 were 74.5%(41/55) and 66.7%(14/21), respectively, and the endoscopic remission rates at week 48 were 49.1%(27/55) and 28.6%(6/21), respectively; and the differences were not statistically significant( χ2=0.47 and 2.60, P=0.492 and 0.107). Conclusion:Both anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 are effective as first-line biological therapies for CD, and there are no significant differences in both clinical and endoscopic efficacy between these 2 biologics.

Objective:To compare the role of double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) and dual-energy CT enterography (DCTE) in evaluating the clinical characteristics of Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:From July 1, 2016 to November 1, 2023, 72 patients with CD who underwent both DBE and DCTE (with an interval of less than 3 months) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were enrolled in this retropective study. Among them, 4 patients underwent both DBE and DCTE twice (a total of 76 cases). The data of DBE and DCTE in the diagnosis of 76 CD cases were analyzed, including the diagnostic rate of CD, the consistency of the 2 methods in detecting the lesion location (ileocecal, colonic, ileocolonic, and upper gastrointestinal tract involvement), and the detection rates of stenosis, ulcer and the location, long ulcer (long-diameter≥2 cm), and fistula. Kappa test was performed for the consistency analysis, and Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results:The diagnostic rate of CD by DBE was higher than that by DCTE (80.3% (61/76) vs. 65.8% (50/76)), and the diagnostic rate of combination of the 2 methods (89.5% (68/76)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=4.04 and 12.28, P=0.044 and <0.001). The result of Kappa consistency test showed that the consistency of CD lesion location detected by DBE and DCTE was poor (Kappa value=0.29, t=3.17, P=0.002). The detection rate of stenosis by DBE was higher than that by DCTE (46.1% (35/76) vs. 13.2% (10/76)), the detection rate of stenosis by combination of the 2 methods (52.6% (40/76)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=19.73 and 26.82, both P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the detection rates of fistula among DBE, DCTE, and the combination of the 2 methods (3.9%(3/76), 2.6% (2/76), 5.3% (4/76); all P>0.05). The detection rate of ulcer by DBE was higher than that by DCTE(73.7% (56/76) vs. 7.9% (6/76)), the detection rate of ulcer by combination of the 2 methods (76.3%(58/56)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=68.10 and 72.98, both P<0.001). The detection rates of long ulcer and non-terminal ileum ulcer by DBE were both 17.9% (10/56). All the 6 cases with ulcer detected by DCTE were located in the terminal ileum, and no long ulcers were observed. Conclusions:In the diagnosis of CD, as well as in the detection of stenosis and ulcer, DBE and the combination of DBE and DCTE have more advantages over DCTE alone. The consistency between DBE and DCTE in identifying the location of lesion is poor. DBE has advantages in detecting long ulcer and non-terminal ileum ulcer.

Objective:To comparatively evaluate the efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and anti-interleukin (IL)-12/23 biologics as the first-line treatment in Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2024, at the Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, the clinical data of patients with CD treated with anti-TNF-α (infliximab or adalimumab) or anti-IL-12/23 biologics (ustekinumab) as first-line treatment were retrospectively collected. All the patients were followed up for 1 year since the initiation of first-line biologic treatment, with the follow-up concluding on December 31, 2024. The primary outcomes were the clinical efficacy (including clinical response rate and clinical remission rate) of anti-TNF-α or anti-IL-12/23 treatment at week 24 and week 48, and the endoscopic efficacy(including endoscopic response rate and endoscopic remission rate) at week 48. The clinical efficacy was assessed based on Crohn′s disease activity index(CDAI). The clinical response was defined as a reduction in CDAI by ≥ 70 from baseline (week 0), and clinical remission was defined as CDAI < 150. The endoscopic efficacy was assessed based on simple endoscopic score for Crohn′s disease (SES-CD), the endoscopic response was defined as a reduction in SES-CD by ≥50% from baseline (week 0), and endoscopic remission was defined as SES-CD ≤2. Chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test was used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 215 CD patients were enrolled, including 160 males and 55 females, with the age of (31.88±11.55) years old. Among them, 179 patients completed the clinical efficacy evaluation, 110 cases were treated with anti-TNF-α, 69 cases were treated with anti-IL-12/23. The clinical response rates of patients treated with anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 at week 24 were 95.5%(105/110) and 95.7%(66/69), respectively, and the clinical remission rates at week 24 were 86.4%(95/110) and 85.5%(59/69), respectively; the clinical response rates at week 48 were 95.5%(105/110) and 97.1%(67/69), respectively, and the clinical remission rates at week 48 were 89.1%(98/110) and 88.4%(61/69), respectively; and the differences were not statistically significant(Fisher′s exact test, χ2=0.03, Fisher′s exact test, χ2=0.02; P=1.000, 0.708, 0.872, and 0.887). A total of 76 patients completed endoscopic efficacy evaluation, among which 55 cases were treated with anti-TNF-α, and 21 cases were treated with anti-IL-12/23. The endoscopic response rates of patients treated with anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 were 74.5%(41/55) and 66.7%(14/21), respectively, and the endoscopic remission rates at week 48 were 49.1%(27/55) and 28.6%(6/21), respectively; and the differences were not statistically significant( χ2=0.47 and 2.60, P=0.492 and 0.107). Conclusion:Both anti-TNF-α and anti-IL-12/23 are effective as first-line biological therapies for CD, and there are no significant differences in both clinical and endoscopic efficacy between these 2 biologics.

Objective:To compare the role of double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) and dual-energy CT enterography (DCTE) in evaluating the clinical characteristics of Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:From July 1, 2016 to November 1, 2023, 72 patients with CD who underwent both DBE and DCTE (with an interval of less than 3 months) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were enrolled in this retropective study. Among them, 4 patients underwent both DBE and DCTE twice (a total of 76 cases). The data of DBE and DCTE in the diagnosis of 76 CD cases were analyzed, including the diagnostic rate of CD, the consistency of the 2 methods in detecting the lesion location (ileocecal, colonic, ileocolonic, and upper gastrointestinal tract involvement), and the detection rates of stenosis, ulcer and the location, long ulcer (long-diameter≥2 cm), and fistula. Kappa test was performed for the consistency analysis, and Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis.Results:The diagnostic rate of CD by DBE was higher than that by DCTE (80.3% (61/76) vs. 65.8% (50/76)), and the diagnostic rate of combination of the 2 methods (89.5% (68/76)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=4.04 and 12.28, P=0.044 and <0.001). The result of Kappa consistency test showed that the consistency of CD lesion location detected by DBE and DCTE was poor (Kappa value=0.29, t=3.17, P=0.002). The detection rate of stenosis by DBE was higher than that by DCTE (46.1% (35/76) vs. 13.2% (10/76)), the detection rate of stenosis by combination of the 2 methods (52.6% (40/76)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=19.73 and 26.82, both P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the detection rates of fistula among DBE, DCTE, and the combination of the 2 methods (3.9%(3/76), 2.6% (2/76), 5.3% (4/76); all P>0.05). The detection rate of ulcer by DBE was higher than that by DCTE(73.7% (56/76) vs. 7.9% (6/76)), the detection rate of ulcer by combination of the 2 methods (76.3%(58/56)) was higher than that by DCTE alone, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=68.10 and 72.98, both P<0.001). The detection rates of long ulcer and non-terminal ileum ulcer by DBE were both 17.9% (10/56). All the 6 cases with ulcer detected by DCTE were located in the terminal ileum, and no long ulcers were observed. Conclusions:In the diagnosis of CD, as well as in the detection of stenosis and ulcer, DBE and the combination of DBE and DCTE have more advantages over DCTE alone. The consistency between DBE and DCTE in identifying the location of lesion is poor. DBE has advantages in detecting long ulcer and non-terminal ileum ulcer.

Objective To investigate neurological function, volume of cerebral infarction, changes of lipid peroxidation, and the intervention effect of compound angelica injection (CAI) on rats with focal cerebral ischemia injury. Methods Models of rat with cerebral ischemia were reproduced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). All animals were randomly divided into sham-operation group, model group, CAI group, and edaravone group. 1 hour after the models were established, rats in the sham-operation group and model group received intraperitoneal injection with normal saline, while rats in CAI group and edaravone group received intraperitoneal injection with relevant medicine for continuing 7 days. Volume of cerebral infarction was detected by Tetrazole staining method, neurologic function were detected by neuroethology, and concentration of MDA in brain tissue was also detected. Results After 7-day cerebral ischemia, compared with the model group, volume of cerebral infarction in CAI group was significantly reduced (P<0.05), and the concentration of MDA was a little lower. Conclusion CAI has significant protective effects which can significantly improve neurological function, reduce volume of cerebral infarction, and alleviate the effects of lipid peroxidation of rats with focal cerebral ischemia injury.