Objective:To investigate the brain iron status in the sensorimotor cortex of patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and its relationship with changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC).Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Thirty-two patients with CLBP (CLBP group) who were treated at Wuxi People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from July 2023 to March 2024 and 30 age-and gender-matched healthy volunteers (control group) were prospectively included. All subjects underwent pain and neuropsychological assessments and head MRI examinations, including conventional sequences, quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI. QSM values of the sensorimotor cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, right olfactory cortex, and right posterior cingulate gyrus were extracted using the ANTs toolkit. The bilateral postcentral gyrus and posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus in the sensorimotor cortex were selected as seed points using SPM software to extract the average time series of BOLD signals and evaluate the changes in RS-FC values with other brain regions. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare the differences in QSM values and RS-FC values between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between iron deposition in key brain regions and RS-FC values and clinical scale scores. Results:The QSM values in the posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus and the left postcentral gyrus in the CLBP group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( t=2.17, P=0.009; t=4.44, P<0.001), and the QSM value in the left postcentral gyrus was positively correlated with pain-related scale scores ( P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the QSM values in the left orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus ( t=2.22, P=0.031) and the right inferior temporal gyrus ( t=2.98, P=0.004) were increased, while the QSM values in the right olfactory cortex ( t=2.54, P=0.014) and the right posterior cingulate gyrus ( t=2.70, P=0.009) were decreased in the CLBP group. Compared with the control group, the RS-FC values between the left postcentral gyrus, the posterior part of the bilateral precentral gyrus, and the left superior frontal gyrus were increased in the CLBP group ( P<0.001), the RS-FC value between the right postcentral gyrus and the right precuneus was increased ( P<0.001). The RS-FC of the bilateral motor cortex and the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with the QSM values of the bilateral motor cortex ( r=0.444, P=0.015). Conclusion:Iron deposition in the sensorimotor cortex (posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus and the left postcentral gyrus) is increased in CLBP patients and is correlated with abnormal functional connectivity within and between brain regions.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of transradial approach(TRA)for carotid artery stenting(CAS)using single-layer braided carotid stents with a microporous dense mesh design.Methods A retrospective consecutive series of patients with carotid artery stenosis who underwent CAS via TRA using single-layer braided microporous dense mesh stents admitted to the Department of Neurology,Linyi People's Hospital,Shandong Second Medical University were included from December 2022 to April 2023.General and clinical data,lesion characteristics,procedural metrics,periprocedural conditions,and follow-up outcomes were collected from the patients.General and clinical data including sex,age,medical history(hypertension,diabetes,coronary artery disease),and preoperative modified Rankin scale(mRS)score.Lesion characteristics included stenosis location,normal lumen diameters distal and proximal to the stenosis,stenosis rate,lesion length,and aortic arch type.Procedural metrics included successfully guided catheter placement,stent deployment,retrieval of the embolic protection device and residual stenosis rate.Periprocedural conditions included periprocedural complications(within 72 hours included puncture site bleeding,symptomatic radial artery occlusion,new cerebral infarctions on diffusion-weighted imaging,and cardio-cerebrovascular events[angina,acute myocardial infarction,cerebral infarction,cerebral hemorrhage])and length of hospital stay.The mRS scores at 1 and 6 months after surgery were recorded via telephone follow-ups.At 12 months after surgery,outpatient carotid color Doppler ultrasound was performed to evaluate in-stent restenosis.Results(1)Ten patients(9 male,1 female)aged 57-72 years,with a median age of 70(62,71)years were included.Among them,9 had hypertension,2 had diabetes,and 1 had coronary artery disease.Four patients had symptomatic carotid stenosis:2 presented with hemiparesis,1 with mild dysarthria,and 1 with transient ischemic attack.Preoperative mRS scores among symptomatic patients were 0(1 patient),1(2 patients),and 2(1 patient).The remaining 6 patients had asymptomatic stenosis,all with preoperative mRS scores of 0.(2)Two patients had left internal carotid artery(ICA)stenosis,and 8 had right ICA stenosis.The mean stenosis degree was(79.9±7.1)％,and the mean lesion length was(16.8±5.7)mm.The mean normal distal and proximal lumen diameter of the stenosed blood vessel were(5.1±0.5)mm and(8.1±0.8)mm,respectively.One patient had a type Ⅰ aortic arch,8 patients had type Ⅱ,and 1 patient had type Ⅲ.Among the 8 patients with right ICA stenosis,4 underwent direct catheterization of the right common carotid artery using a glidewire,while the other 4 required exchange technique for guide catheter placement.Both left-sided lesions were treated using exchange technique.Guide catheter placement and stent deployment were successful in all cases.No difficulties were encountered in embolic protection device retrieval.The mean residual stenosis rate was(21.6±6.7)％.(3)The mean postoperative hospital stay was(1.8±0.9)days.No puncture site bleeding or symptomatic radial artery occlusion occurred.One patient experienced a cerebrovascular event due to a pontine perforator artery infarction,presenting with diplopia and impaired left eye adduction,likely caused by postoperative hypotension and hypoperfusion.This patient had an immediate postoperative mRS score of 2 at discharge,which improved to 0 at 6 months.The other 9 patients showed no change in mRS scores compared to preoperative assessments,and no new cerebral infarctions were detected within 72 hours after surgery.At 12-month follow-up,carotid color Doppler ultrasound revealed no in-stent restenosis in any patient.Conclusions CAS performed via TRA using single-layer braided microporous dense mesh stents appears to be feasible and safe.However,this study is a single-center,retrospective analysis with a small sample size.Larger prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these findings.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of transradial approach(TRA)for carotid artery stenting(CAS)using single-layer braided carotid stents with a microporous dense mesh design.Methods A retrospective consecutive series of patients with carotid artery stenosis who underwent CAS via TRA using single-layer braided microporous dense mesh stents admitted to the Department of Neurology,Linyi People's Hospital,Shandong Second Medical University were included from December 2022 to April 2023.General and clinical data,lesion characteristics,procedural metrics,periprocedural conditions,and follow-up outcomes were collected from the patients.General and clinical data including sex,age,medical history(hypertension,diabetes,coronary artery disease),and preoperative modified Rankin scale(mRS)score.Lesion characteristics included stenosis location,normal lumen diameters distal and proximal to the stenosis,stenosis rate,lesion length,and aortic arch type.Procedural metrics included successfully guided catheter placement,stent deployment,retrieval of the embolic protection device and residual stenosis rate.Periprocedural conditions included periprocedural complications(within 72 hours included puncture site bleeding,symptomatic radial artery occlusion,new cerebral infarctions on diffusion-weighted imaging,and cardio-cerebrovascular events[angina,acute myocardial infarction,cerebral infarction,cerebral hemorrhage])and length of hospital stay.The mRS scores at 1 and 6 months after surgery were recorded via telephone follow-ups.At 12 months after surgery,outpatient carotid color Doppler ultrasound was performed to evaluate in-stent restenosis.Results(1)Ten patients(9 male,1 female)aged 57-72 years,with a median age of 70(62,71)years were included.Among them,9 had hypertension,2 had diabetes,and 1 had coronary artery disease.Four patients had symptomatic carotid stenosis:2 presented with hemiparesis,1 with mild dysarthria,and 1 with transient ischemic attack.Preoperative mRS scores among symptomatic patients were 0(1 patient),1(2 patients),and 2(1 patient).The remaining 6 patients had asymptomatic stenosis,all with preoperative mRS scores of 0.(2)Two patients had left internal carotid artery(ICA)stenosis,and 8 had right ICA stenosis.The mean stenosis degree was(79.9±7.1)％,and the mean lesion length was(16.8±5.7)mm.The mean normal distal and proximal lumen diameter of the stenosed blood vessel were(5.1±0.5)mm and(8.1±0.8)mm,respectively.One patient had a type Ⅰ aortic arch,8 patients had type Ⅱ,and 1 patient had type Ⅲ.Among the 8 patients with right ICA stenosis,4 underwent direct catheterization of the right common carotid artery using a glidewire,while the other 4 required exchange technique for guide catheter placement.Both left-sided lesions were treated using exchange technique.Guide catheter placement and stent deployment were successful in all cases.No difficulties were encountered in embolic protection device retrieval.The mean residual stenosis rate was(21.6±6.7)％.(3)The mean postoperative hospital stay was(1.8±0.9)days.No puncture site bleeding or symptomatic radial artery occlusion occurred.One patient experienced a cerebrovascular event due to a pontine perforator artery infarction,presenting with diplopia and impaired left eye adduction,likely caused by postoperative hypotension and hypoperfusion.This patient had an immediate postoperative mRS score of 2 at discharge,which improved to 0 at 6 months.The other 9 patients showed no change in mRS scores compared to preoperative assessments,and no new cerebral infarctions were detected within 72 hours after surgery.At 12-month follow-up,carotid color Doppler ultrasound revealed no in-stent restenosis in any patient.Conclusions CAS performed via TRA using single-layer braided microporous dense mesh stents appears to be feasible and safe.However,this study is a single-center,retrospective analysis with a small sample size.Larger prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these findings.

Objective:To investigate the brain iron status in the sensorimotor cortex of patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and its relationship with changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC).Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Thirty-two patients with CLBP (CLBP group) who were treated at Wuxi People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from July 2023 to March 2024 and 30 age-and gender-matched healthy volunteers (control group) were prospectively included. All subjects underwent pain and neuropsychological assessments and head MRI examinations, including conventional sequences, quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI. QSM values of the sensorimotor cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, right olfactory cortex, and right posterior cingulate gyrus were extracted using the ANTs toolkit. The bilateral postcentral gyrus and posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus in the sensorimotor cortex were selected as seed points using SPM software to extract the average time series of BOLD signals and evaluate the changes in RS-FC values with other brain regions. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare the differences in QSM values and RS-FC values between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between iron deposition in key brain regions and RS-FC values and clinical scale scores. Results:The QSM values in the posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus and the left postcentral gyrus in the CLBP group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( t=2.17, P=0.009; t=4.44, P<0.001), and the QSM value in the left postcentral gyrus was positively correlated with pain-related scale scores ( P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the QSM values in the left orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus ( t=2.22, P=0.031) and the right inferior temporal gyrus ( t=2.98, P=0.004) were increased, while the QSM values in the right olfactory cortex ( t=2.54, P=0.014) and the right posterior cingulate gyrus ( t=2.70, P=0.009) were decreased in the CLBP group. Compared with the control group, the RS-FC values between the left postcentral gyrus, the posterior part of the bilateral precentral gyrus, and the left superior frontal gyrus were increased in the CLBP group ( P<0.001), the RS-FC value between the right postcentral gyrus and the right precuneus was increased ( P<0.001). The RS-FC of the bilateral motor cortex and the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with the QSM values of the bilateral motor cortex ( r=0.444, P=0.015). Conclusion:Iron deposition in the sensorimotor cortex (posterior portion of the bilateral precentral gyrus and the left postcentral gyrus) is increased in CLBP patients and is correlated with abnormal functional connectivity within and between brain regions.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of gray matter volume (GMV) and structural covariant network (SCN) in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) related cognitive impairment.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Ninety-eight patients with CSVD who attended Wuxi People′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between October 2021 and December 2022 were prospectively included. The patients were evaluated using the cognitive status assessment scale and were categorized into 57 cases in the CSVD with cognitive impairment group and 41 cases in the CSVD without cognitive impairment group according to the presence or absence of cognitive impairment. 3D-T 1WI structural image data were collected, and GMV differences between the two groups were compared by SPM 12 toolbox and CAT12 toolkit. At the same time, Pearson correlation analysis was also performed to analyze the GMV of differences between the 2 groups and cognitive status assessment scale scores. The BCT software package based on MATLAB platform was used to construct the GMV-related structural covariant network (SCN), and the graph theory method was utilized for SCN analysis to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) of the global and local parameters within the set sparsity range, and the permutation test was used to compare the differences in the AUC of the 2 groups. Results:In the CSVD with cognitive impairment group, GMV in bilateral hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and left amygdala was significantly lower than that in the CSVD without cognitive impairment group (family wise error corrected P<0.05), and the GMV in these regions had correlation with cognitive status assessment scale ( P<0.05). At the global network level of the SCN, the area under the curve (AUC) of the characteristic path length was significantly higher in the CSVD with cognitive impairment group than in the CSVD without cognitive impairment group ( P=0.023), while the AUC of global efficiency was significantly lower in CSVD with cognitive impairment group than in the CSVD without cognitive impairment group ( P=0.005). At the local level, the nodal degree and nodal efficiency of the left putamen were significantly decreased in the CSVD with cognitive impairment group compared to the CSVD without cognitive impairment group (false discovery rate corrected P<0.05). Conclusions:GMV reduce in patients of CSVD with cognitive impairment in the bilateral hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and left amygdala. In the structural covariance network, characteristic path length increase while global efficiency reduce, and node degree and nodal efficiency of the left putamen reduce.

Objective To explore the effectiveness of high-definition diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)sequence combined with T1 WI-fat suppression(FS)dynamic contrast enhancement(DCE)sequence for preoperative T-stage of rectal cancer by using 3.0T MRI standardized scanning.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on MRI images of 57 patients with rectal cancer confirmed by pathology.Before surgery,the patients underwent 3.0T MRI standardized rectal cancer scan methods,including routine sequence,high-definition DWI sequence,and T1 WI-FS DCE sequence,etc.Then two experienced physicians evaluated the T-stage of preoperative rectal cancer through high-definition DWI(transverse and sagittal sections)and T1 WI-FS DCE sequences in the double-blind method.Using the postoperative pathological results of rectal cancer as the"gold standard",two sequences were combined to evaluate the accuracy,sensitivity,and specificity of rectal cancer T-stage.Results Among the 57 cases,there were 9 cases of upper rectal cancer,39 cases of middle rectal cancer,and 9 cases of lower rectal cancer.The accuracy rates of preoperative T-stage diagnosis for rectal cancer by two evaluator were both 85.7％(6/7)in T1 stage,88.2％(15/17)and 94.1％(16/17)in T2 stage,96.9％(31/32)and 93.8％(30/32)in T3 stage,and both 100.0％(1/1)in T4 stage.For evaluator 1,the sensitivity and specificity of the rectal cancer T-stage diagnosis were 96.1％and 83.3％,and for evaluator 2 were 94.1％and 83.3％,respectively.For rectal cancer MRI diagnosis,the accuracy rates and sensitivity were higher when combining the high-definition DWI sequence and T1 WI-FS DCE sequence,compared with a single high-definition DWI sequence or T1 WI-FS DCE sequence,and the difference was statistically significant.The average preoperative apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)value of rectal cancer was compared between the corresponding postoperative pathological T1 to T4 stage groups,and the difference was statistically significant.Conclusion The combination of high-definition DWI sequence and T1 WI-FS DCE sequence improves the accuracy of rectal cancer T-stage,providing assistance for personalized clinical treatment.

Objective To explore the changes of resting-state degree centrality(DC)in elderly patients with chronic insomnia disorder(CID).Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)data were collected from 26 untreated elderly patients with CID(CID group)and 45 healthy controls(HC)(HC group).Two-sample t-test was conducted to compare the intergroup differences in whole-brain DC values,and the correlation between DC values in different brain regions and clinical indicators were analyzed,and logistic regression analysis was performed to verify the diagnostic efficacy of changes in DC values for elderly CID.Results Compared with the HC group,the DC values of the right insula,left rolandic operculum,and opercular part of right inferior frontal gyrus in the elderly CID group decreased[P＜0.05,false discovery rate(FDR)corrected],while the DC values of the right middle frontal gyrus increased(P＜0.05,FDR corrected).And the DC values of the opercular part of right inferior frontal gyrus in the elderly CID group were positively correlated with sleep efficiency(r=0.504,P=0.009)and self-rating depression scale(SDS)(r=0.401,P=0.042),respectively.The sensitivity of DC value in the opercular part of right inferior frontal gyrus for diagnosing elderly CID was 0.822,the specificity was 0.615,and the accuracy was 0.701.Conclusion Elderly CID patients have abnormal DC values in the right insula,left rolandic operculum,opercular part of right inferior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus,which may provide imaging evidence for exploring the pathogenesis of CID and clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of low-dose biphasic (inspiratory and expiratory) CT air trapping sign and semi-quantitative score in predicting abnormal blood gas parameters and progression to severe disease in COVID-19 patients.Methods:Patients with non-severe COVID-19 who were diagnosed by nucleic acid testing and hospitalized in designated hospitals in Wuxi City from January 23 to February 29, 2020 were prospectively and consecutively recruited. All patients received low-dose biphasic CT examination on admission and repeated CT examination at regular intervals during the course. On the inspiratory phase admission of the bipolar CT, the scope of the lesion was evaluated by semi-quantitative score, and the air trapping sign on bipolar CT was assessed. The differences of semi-quantitative score, the presence of the air trapping sign and other clinical factors were compared between the patients with abnormal and the normal blood gas index, as well as between the cases progressed to severe disease and cases without disease progression using the independent sample t-test or χ 2 test. The area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and the comprehensive discriminant improvement index (IDI) were used to evaluate the predictive effectiveness of the semi-quantitative scores, air trapping sign, and combination of two factors in differentiating cases with abnormal and normal blood gas indexes, as well as in differentiating cases with and without disease progression to severe COVID-19 cases. Results:In total 51 non-severe COVID-19 cases were included, with 16 cases showed air trapping sign during the first biphasic CT examination on admission. During the course of the disease, there were 13 patients with abnormal blood gas index, and 9 cases displaying air trapping sign (9/13). All 7 cases with progression to severe cases showed air trapping sign (7/7). Patients with advanced age, air trapping sign and higher semi-quantitative score were found more likely to have abnormal blood gas index ( t=3.10, χ 2=9.38, t=3.34, P<0.05); patients with advanced age, underlying diseases, air trapping sign and higher semi-quantitative score were more likely to develop into severe disease ( t=2.68, χ 2=6.65, χ 2=4.25, t=4.33, P<0.05). The AUC of semi-quantitative score, air trapping sign and combination of two factors in distinguishing abnormal blood gas index from normal blood gas index was 0.803, 0.754 and 0.794 respectively. The AUC of semi-quantitative score, air trapping sign and combination of two factors in distinguishing cases with progression to severe cases from non-progression was 0.881, 0.898 and 0.932, respectively. Air trapping sign combined with semi-quantitative score significantly improved the prediction effectiveness of disease progression, compared with semi-quantitative score or air trapping sign (IDI=0.271, 0.117). Conclusion:Air trapping sign and semi-quantitative score might be used as effective indicators to predict the progression of COVID-19 cases, and the combination of these two factors might be more helpful to predict the disease progression.

Owing to incurable castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) ultimately developing after treating with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), it is vital to devise new therapeutic strategies to treat CRPC. Treatments that target programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) have been approved for human cancers with clinical benefit. However, many patients, especially prostate cancer, fail to respond to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment, so it is an urgent need to seek a support strategy for improving the traditional PD-1/PD-L1 targeting immunotherapy. In the present study, analyzing the data from our prostate cancer tissue microarray, we found that PD-L1 expression was positively correlated with the expression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L (HnRNP L). Hence, we further investigated the potential role of HnRNP L on the PD-L1 expression, the sensitivity of cancer cells to T-cell killing and the synergistic effect with anti-PD-1 therapy in CRPC. Indeed, HnRNP L knockdown effectively decreased PD-L1 expression and recovered the sensitivity of cancer cells to T-cell killing in vitro and in vivo, on the contrary, HnRNP L overexpression led to the opposite effect in CRPC cells. In addition, consistent with the previous study, we revealed that ferroptosis played a critical role in T-cell-induced cancer cell death, and HnRNP L promoted the cancer immune escape partly through targeting YY1/PD-L1 axis and inhibiting ferroptosis in CRPC cells. Furthermore, HnRNP L knockdown enhanced antitumor immunity by recruiting infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and synergized with anti-PD-1 therapy in CRPC tumors. This study provided biological evidence that HnRNP L knockdown might be a novel therapeutic agent in PD-L1/PD-1 blockade strategy that enhanced anti-tumor immune response in CRPC.

Objective:To analyze the risk factors for postoperative pulmonary venous obstruction after correction of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection(TAPVC).Methods:We retrospectively reviewed all patients undergoing operative repair of TAPVC in our institution from December 2013 to January 2018. Patients with functionally univentricular circulations or atrial isomerism were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether there was pulmonary vein obstruction. The clinical variables of the two groups were compared. Variables for the multivariable analysis were chosen if there was statistical significance on univariable analysis.Results:145 patients were included, 91(63%) males, aged 4(2, 8)months and weight 5.5(4.5, 7.5)kg. Mean follow-up interval was(51±23) months. Postoperative obstruction developed in 27 patients(18.6%). The differences of anatomic type[supracardiac 18(67%) vs.59(50%), cardiac 4(15%) vs. 50(42%), infracardiac 3(11%) vs. 1(1%), mixed 2(7%) vs. 8(7%), P=0.003], preoperative obstruction[yes 19(70%) vs. 37(31%), no 8(30%) vs. 81(69%), P<0.001], associated cardiac lesions[yes 13(48%) vs. 27(23%), no 14(52%) vs. 91(77%), P=0.008] and bypass time[109(89, 129)min vs. 88(70, 110)min, P=0.002] between two groups were statistical significant. A multivariable model showed preoperative obstruction( P<0.001) and bypass time( P=0.009) were associated with postoperative obstruction. Conclusion:The incidence of pulmonary vein obstruction after correction of TAPVC was still high. If there was preoperative obstruction, or the bypass time was too long during operation, the surveillance of pulmonary vein obstruction should be strengthened after operation.