OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between methylation levels of tumor suppressing subtransferable candidate 1 (TSSC1) and melanophilin (MLPH) genes in peripheral blood and coronary heart disease (CHD) in Chinese population. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted in 86 CHD patients and 95 healthy individuals, whose methylation levels of TSSC1 and MLPH genes in peripheral blood were determined using mass spectrometry. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the methylation levels in different subgroups. The correlation of TSSC1 and MLPH gene methylation levels with age and gender were evaluated using Spearman correlation coefficient and contingency coefficient, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy individuals, the CHD patients showed a significant correlation between MLPH hypermethylation and myocardial infarction (MI) (MLPH_CpG_2.7: P=0.045; MLPH_CpG_3/cg06639874: P=0.049; MLPH_CpG_5: P=0.019), and this correlation was even stronger in individuals below 65 years of age (MLPH_CpG_2.7: P=0.014; MLPH_CpG_4: P=0.001) and in male subjects (MLPH_CpG_2.7: P=0.004; MLPH_CpG_3/cg06639874: P=0.044). The methylation level of TSSC1 gene in peripheral blood was not found to correlate with CHD or its subtypes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest a correlation of MLPH hypermethylation in peripheral blood with CHD and MI in Chinese population, especially in individuals below 65 years and in male individuals.
Humans ; DNA Methylation ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Aged ; Coronary Disease/blood* ; Adult ; CpG Islands

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of birth defect-related mortality. However, more recent CHD mortality data for China are lacking. Additionally, limited studies have evaluated sex, rural-urban, and region-specific disparities of CHD mortality in China. METHODS: We designed a population-based study using data from the Dataset of National Mortality Surveillance in China between 2008 and 2021. We calculated age-adjusted CHD mortality using the sixth census data of China in 2010 as the standard population. We assessed the temporal trends in CHD mortality by age, sex, area, and region from 2008 to 2021 using the joinpoint regression model. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2021, 33,534 deaths were attributed to CHD. The period witnessed a two-fold decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality from 1.61 to 0.76 per 100,000 persons (average annual percent change [AAPC] = -5.90%). Females tended to have lower age-adjusted CHD mortality than males, but with a similar decline rate from 2008 to 2021 (females: AAPC = -6.15%; males: AAPC = -5.84%). Similar AAPC values were observed among people living in urban (AAPC = -6.64%) and rural (AAPC = -6.12%) areas. Eastern regions experienced a more pronounced decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality (AAPC = -7.86%) than central (AAPC = -5.83%) and western regions (AAPC = -3.71%) between 2008 and 2021. Approximately half of the deaths (46.19%) due to CHD occurred during infancy. The CHD mortality rates in 2021 were lower than those in 2008 for people aged 0-39 years, with the largest decrease observed among children aged 1-4 years (AAPC = -8.26%), followed by infants (AAPC = -7.01%). CONCLUSIONS CHD mortality in China has dramatically decreased from 2008 to 2021. The slower decrease in CHD mortality in the central and western regions than in the eastern regions suggested that public health policymakers should pay more attention to health resources and health education for central and western regions.
Humans ; Heart Defects, Congenital/mortality* ; Male ; Female ; China/epidemiology* ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Adult ; Child ; Adolescent ; Infant, Newborn ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Rural Population

Objective:To analyze the influences of coronary angiography(CAG)of transradial artery on the success rate,radiation dose and safety in elderly patients with coronary heart disease(CHD).Methods:This study conducted a prospective study.A total of 150 elderly CHD patients who admitted to Heilongjiang Rad Cross Sengong General Hospital from November 2022 to November 2023 were selected,and they were randomly divided into three groups using a random number table,which included the femoral artery group(n=50),radial artery group(n=50),and ulnar artery group(n=50).The femoral artery group underwent CAG by using the femoral artery approach,and the radial artery group underwent CAG by using the radial artery approach,and the ulnar artery group underwent CAG by using the ulnar artery approach.The CAG success rate and CAG indicators[dosage of contrast agent,X-ray exposure time,time of conducting puncture,corrected TIMI frame count(CTFC)]were compared among the three groups.The radiation-related parameters[cumulative dose(CD),dose-area product(DAP)]also were compared among three groups.The patients'comfort degrees of three groups were assessed by adopting General Comfort Questionnaire(GCQ)at three time points(pre-CAG,during CAG,at the 12th hour post-CAG).In addition,the complications of three groups were recorded.Results:The numbers of success angiography were respectively 47 cases,48 cases and 46 cases in femoral artery group,radial artery group and ulnar artery group,and the success rates of them were respectively 94.00%(47/50),96.00%(48/50)and 92.00%(46/50),without statistically significant differences among three groups(P>0.05).There were not significant differences in the dosage of contrast agent,X-ray exposure time,time of conducting puncture,CTFC,CD and DAP among three groups(P>0.05).In the GCQ scores,the scores pre-CAG of all three groups were highest,followed by those at the 12th hour post-CAG,and then,those during CAG were lowest,which appeared a trend of rise after decline.The total incidence of complication was lowest(6.25%)in the radial artery group,followed by the ulnar artery group(10.87%),and that(21.28%)of the femoral artery group was the highest,but there was not statistically significant difference in that among three groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:The CAG success rates of the radial artery,femoral artery and ulnar artery are similar,and there is not significant difference in radiation dose.However,compared with CAG of femoral artery and ulnar artery,the CAG of radial artery has higher safety,and higher comfort degree at the same time.

Under the background of increasingly severe drug-resistant bacteria infections,protracted course of chronic wounds has become clinical difficulties disturbing both patients and doctors.With the unique advantages of broad antibacterial spectrum,low drug resistance rate and high safety,polyhexanide antibacterial agent has gradu-ally become a major approach for treatment and nursing of chronic wounds.The application of polyhexamethylene biguanide(PHMB)antimicrobial agents in treatment and nursing of chronic wounds was reviewed in the article,including the antibacterial properties,comparisons with other antimicrobial agents,actual clinical practice and potential side effects,aiming to guide the further application of PHMB antimicrobial agents in treatment of chronic wounds.

Skin malignant tumors mostly occur in the light exposure site. Early diagnosis and treatment can effectively improve the survival rate of patients. Histopathological examination is the gold standard for clinical diagnosis of skin malignant tumors, but this method is an invasive operation which brings pain to patients and takes a long time, and may cause problems such as incision infection and scar formation. In recent years, spectroscopy technology has developed rapidly. It is a non-invasive real-time detection method, which can be simply operated, and has a high sensitivity. It has been gradually applied to the diagnosis of skin malignant tumors. This paper reviews the application progress of spectroscopy technology, including fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy in the diagnosis of skin malignant tumors.

Objective:To analyze the differences in clinicopathological features between non-elderly and elderly patients with melanoma, and to identify risk factors for prognosis in elderly patients with melanoma.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical and pathological data collected from non-elderly (aged < 60 years) and elderly (aged ≥ 60 years) patients with melanoma, who were confirmedly diagnosed according to clinical manifestations and histopathological findings at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2008 to December 2023. The differences in clinical and pathological characteristics between the two groups were analyzed using the chi-square test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The relationship between clinicopathological variables and overall survival was analyzed using a Cox regression model.Results:A total of 233 patients with cutaneous melanoma were included, with the age being 60.3 ± 14.7 years, and the number of patients was highest in the age group of 60 - 69 years. There were 102 cases (43.8%) in the < 60 years old group and 131 cases (56.2%) in the ≥ 60 years old group. Compared with the < 60 years old group, the ≥ 60 years old group showed a significant increase in the proportion of patients with active tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes ( P = 0.040), proportion of those with Ki-67 index ≥ 30% ( P = 0.010), and Charlson comorbidity index ( P = 0.002), but a significant decrease in the proportion of patients with BRAF/KIT/NRAS mutations ( P = 0.003), proportion of those receiving surgical treatment ( P = 0.034), and proportion of those receiving adjuvant therapy ( P = 0.042). There was a significant difference in the overall survival between the two groups (log-rank test, χ2 = 6.10, P = 0.014). The gender, metastasis status, presence or absence of ulceration, distant metastasis status, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, Charlson comorbidity index, and Breslow thickness were important prognostic indicators affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that males ( P = 0.015, HR = 4.622, 95% CI: 1.352 - 15.798), presence of distant metastasis ( P = 0.013, HR = 9.844, 95% CI: 4.621 - 59.763), and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 ( P = 0.038, HR = 3.149, 95% CI: 1.067 - 9.294) were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Conclusions:Compared with the non-elderly patients with melanoma, a higher Ki-67 index, a higher Charlson comorbidity index, less surgical treatment, and less adjuvant therapy were more common in the elderly patients with melanoma. Males, the presence of distant metastasis, and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 appeared to be independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma.

Objective:To investigate the effect of 308-nm light-emitting diode (LED) phototherapy at escalating doses after autologous melanocyte transplantation on the repigmentation in patients with refractory stable vitiligo.Methods:A prospective, randomized, self-controlled trial was conducted. Twelve patients with refractory stable vitiligo (a total of 17 skin lesions) were collected from the Department of Dermatology, People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from November 2023 to September 2024. Autologous cultured melanocyte transplantation was performed. One week after the inner layer of petrolatum gauze had fallen off, each white patch was bisected by the midline and randomly divided into a test group and a control group; both groups received 308-nm LED light irradiation at an initial dose of 50 mJ/cm 2; then, the test group received a slow (5%) dose escalation, while the control group received a quick (10%) dose escalation. The repigmentation outcomes, clinical efficacy and safety were observed at 1, 3, and 6 months after the start of phototherapy. Results:A total of 12 patients with refractory stable vitiligo were collected, including 3 males and 9 females, aged 5 to 59 (29.4 ± 19.6) years. At 1 month after phototherapy, there was no significant difference in the vitiligo repigmentation area score between the test group and the control group ( P = 0.666) ; at 3 months after phototherapy, the vitiligo repigmentation area score was significantly higher in the test group (54.45 [5.17, 85.50] points) than in the control group (39.75 [4.52, 65.05] points, Z = -2.51, P = 0.012) ; at 6 months after phototherapy, no significant difference in the vitiligo repigmentation area score was observed between the two groups ( P = 0.11). In the test group, the marked response rate increased from 41.18% (7/17) at 1 month to 58.82% (10/17) and 58.82% (10/17) at 3 and 6 months after treatment, respectively; in the control group, it increased from 29.41% (5/17) at 1 month to 35.29% (6/17) and 47.06% (8/17) at 3 and 6 months after treatment, respectively. At 1 month after treatment, the response rate was 58.82% (10/17) in the test group, and 64.71% (11/17) in the control group, which both increased to 70.59% (12/17) at 3 and 6 months after treatment. There were no significant differences in the marked response rates or response rates between the two groups at different time points after treatment (all P > 0.05). The maximum dose of 308-nm LED light was 106.0 (87.0, 152.5) mJ/cm 2 in the test group, and 219.0 (200.5, 268.5) mJ/cm 2 in the control group; the total accumulated dose of 308-nm LED light was 2 101.0 (1 865.0, 2 270.5) mJ/cm 2 in the test group, and 3 411.0 (2 683.5, 4 016.5) mJ/cm 2 in the control group. Blisters occurred in 3 lesions (17.6%) in the control group, while no adverse reactions were observed in the test group. Seven patients (58.3%) preferred the low-dose escalation irradiation protocol in the test group. Conclusion:Autologous melanocyte transplantation combined with 308-nm LED phototherapy initiated at a minimum dose and followed by a 5% dose-escalation irradiation protocol exhibited comparable efficacy but superior safety profiles compared with a conventional 10% dose-escalation irradiation protocol in the treatment of refractory stable vitiligo.

Intentional tooth replantation (ITR) is an advanced treatment modality and the procedure of last resort for preserving teeth with inaccessible endodontic or resorptive lesions. ITR is defined as the deliberate extraction of a tooth; evaluation of the root surface, endodontic manipulation, and repair; and placement of the tooth back into its original socket. Case reports, case series, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ITR in the retention of natural teeth that are untreatable or difficult to manage with root canal treatment or endodontic microsurgery. However, variations in clinical protocols for ITR exist due to the empirical nature of the original protocols and rapid advancements in the field of oral biology and dental materials. This heterogeneity in protocols may cause confusion among dental practitioners; therefore, guidelines and considerations for ITR should be explicated. This expert consensus discusses the biological foundation of ITR, the available clinical protocols and current status of ITR in treating teeth with refractory apical periodontitis or anatomical aberration, and the main complications of this treatment, aiming to refine the clinical management of ITR in accordance with the progress of basic research and clinical studies; the findings suggest that ITR may become a more consistent evidence-based option in dental treatment.
Humans ; Tooth Replantation/methods* ; Consensus ; Periapical Periodontitis/surgery*

Instrument separation is a critical complication during root canal therapy, impacting treatment success and long-term tooth preservation. The etiology of instrument separation is multifactorial, involving the intricate anatomy of the root canal system, instrument-related factors, and instrumentation techniques. Instrument separation can hinder thorough cleaning, shaping, and obturation of the root canal, posing challenges to successful treatment outcomes. Although retrieval of separated instrument is often feasible, it carries risks including perforation, excessive removal of tooth structure and root fractures. Effective management of separated instruments requires a comprehensive understanding of the contributing factors, meticulous preoperative assessment, and precise evaluation of the retrieval difficulty. The application of appropriate retrieval techniques is essential to minimize complications and optimize clinical outcomes. The current manuscript provides a framework for understanding the causes, risk factors, and clinical management principles of instrument separation. By integrating effective strategies, endodontists can enhance decision-making, improve endodontic treatment success and ensure the preservation of natural dentition.
Humans ; Root Canal Therapy/adverse effects* ; Consensus ; Root Canal Preparation/adverse effects*