This review aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of the etiology, epidemiology, pathology, and conventional treatment of heterotopic ossification (HO), especially emerging potential therapies. HO is the process of ectopic bone formation at non-skeletal sites. HO can be subdivided into two major forms, acquired and hereditary, with acquired HO predominating. Hereditary HO is a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder, but both acquired and hereditary form can cause severe complications, such as peripheral nerve entrapment, pressure ulcers, and disability if joint ankylosis develops, which heavily contributes to a reduced quality of life. Modalities have been proposed to treat HO, but none have emerged as the gold standard. Surgical excision remains the only effective modality; however, the optimal timing is controversial and may cause HO recurrence. Recently, potential therapeutic strategies have emerged that focus on the signaling pathways involved in HO, and small molecule inhibitors have been shown to be promising. Moreover, additional specific targets, such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and non-coding RNAs, could be used to effectively block HO or develop combinatorial therapies for HO.
Humans ; Ossification, Heterotopic/genetics*

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vision-threatening disorder that leads to pathological growth of the retinal vasculature due to hypoxia. Here, we investigated the potential effects of alamandine, a novel heptapeptide in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), on hypoxia-induced retinal neovascularization and its underlying mechanisms. In vivo, the C57BL/6J mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) were injected intravitreally with alamandine (1.0 μmol/kg per eye). In vitro, human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) were utilized to investigate the effects of alamandine (10 μg/mL) on proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and tubular formation under vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulation. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) matrix data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and RAS-related genes from the Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) were sourced for subsequent analyses. By integrating scRNA-seq data across multiple species, we identified that RAS-associated endothelial cell populations were highly related to retinal neovascularization. The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed a significant decrease in alamandine levels in both the serum and retina of OIR mice compared to those in the control group. Next, alamandine ameliorated hypoxia-induced retinal pathological neovascularization and physiologic revascularization in OIR mice. In vitro, alamandine effectively mitigated VEGF-induced proliferation, scratch wound healing, and tube formation of HRMECs primarily by inhibiting the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α)/VEGF pathway. Further, coincubation with D-Pro⁷ (Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor D (MrgD) antagonist) hindered the beneficial impacts of alamandine on hypoxia-induced pathological angiogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Our findings suggested that alamandine could mitigate retinal neovascularization by targeting the MrgD-mediated HIF-1α/VEGF pathway, providing a potential therapeutic agent for OIR prevention and treatment.
Animals ; Retinal Neovascularization/prevention & control* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism* ; Humans ; Mice ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism* ; Oligopeptides/therapeutic use* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Endothelial Cells/drug effects* ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/drug therapy* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Renin-Angiotensin System/drug effects* ; Cells, Cultured

Patients with periodontal disease often require combined periodontal-orthodontic interventions to restore periodontal health, function, and aesthetics, ensuring both patient satisfaction and long-term stability. Managing these patients involving orthodontic tooth movement can be particularly challenging due to compromised periodontal soft and hard tissues, especially in severe cases. Therefore, close collaboration between orthodontists and periodontists for comprehensive diagnosis and sequential treatment, along with diligent patient compliance throughout the entire process, is crucial for achieving favorable treatment outcomes. Moreover, long-term orthodontic retention and periodontal follow-up are essential to sustain treatment success. This expert consensus, informed by the latest clinical research and practical experience, addresses clinical considerations for orthodontic treatment of periodontal patients, delineating indications, objectives, procedures, and principles with the aim of providing clear and practical guidance for clinical practitioners.
Humans ; Consensus ; Orthodontics, Corrective/standards* ; Periodontal Diseases/complications* ; Tooth Movement Techniques/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*

In recent years,with the development of gene testing and new drug research,the diagnosis and treatment of inherited diseases have made rapid progress,corresponding to higher requirements for genetics education.As a teacher of medical genetics,the author joined the course remodeling during last 10 years from a web-based study of genetic disorders to a"case-based learning"supported by flipped classroom in order to optimize teaching effects and learning outcomes.The result of this remodeling project proposes a new strategy to guide perspectives course de-sign in future.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and death factors of elderly male with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)complicated with coronavirus infectious disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods A total of 55 hospitalized elderly male T2DM patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in this study from December 2022 to February 2023.All the patients were divided into survival group(n=32)and death group(n=23).The clinical indicators were compared between the two groups and evaluated by multifactor analysis to clarify their clinical characteristics and death risk factors.Results Age,T2DM duration,C-RP,procalcitonin,serum creatinine,creatine kinase,myoglobin,BNP,troponin,D-dimer,FPG and HbA1c were higher(P＜0.05 or(P＜0.01),while lymphocyte count and PaO2 were lower(P＜0.05)in death group than in survival group.The advanced age,C-RP,procalcitonin,serum creatinine,troponin,BNP,D-dimer,increase of FPG and HbA1c,and the reduction of lymphocyte count and PaO2 were risk factors for death(P＜0.05).Conclusion Age,blood glucose control,cardiac renal and pulmonary functions,and risk of thrombosis in elderly male T2DM with COVID-19 have important significance inevalu-ating the prognosis.

Background::The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria were published to build a global consensus on nutritional diagnosis. Reduced muscle mass is a phenotypic criterion with strong evidence to support its inclusion in the GLIM consensus criteria. However, there is no consensus regarding how to accurately measure and define reduced muscle mass in clinical settings. This study aimed to investigate the optimal reference values of skeletal muscle mass index for diagnosing sarcopenia and GLIM-defined malnutrition, as well as the prevalence of GLIM-defined malnutrition in hospitalized cirrhotic patients.Methods::This retrospective study was conducted on 1002 adult patients with liver cirrhosis between January 1, 2018, and February 28, 2022, at Beijing You-An Hospital, Capital Medical University. Adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and who underwent an abdominal computed tomography (CT) examination during hospitalization were included in the study. These patients were randomly divided into a modeling group (cohort 1, 667 patients) and a validation group (cohort 2, 335 patients). In cohort 1, optimal cut-off values of skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar skeletal muscle index (L3-SMI) were determined using receiver operating characteristic analyses against in-hospital mortality in different gender groups. Next, patients in cohort 2 were screened for nutritional risk using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002), and malnutrition was diagnosed by GLIM criteria. Additionally, the reference values of reduced muscle mass in GLIM criteria were derived from the L3-SMI values from cohort 1. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between GLIM-defined malnutrition and clinical outcomes.Results::The optimal cut-off values of L3-SMI were 39.50 cm 2/m 2 for male patients and 33.06 cm 2/m 2 for female patients. Based on the cut-off values, 31.63% (68/215) of the male patients and 23.3% (28/120) of the female patients had CT-determined sarcopenia in cohort 2. The prevalence of GLIM-defined malnutrition in cirrhotic patients was 34.3% (115/335) and GLIM-defined malnutrition was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis ( Wald = 6.347, P = 0.012). Conclusions::This study provided reference values for skeletal muscle mass index and the prevalence of GLIM-defined malnutrition in hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis. These reference values will contribute to applying the GLIM criteria in cirrhotic patients.

Objective By exploring the conditional configuration effect of negative defensive medicine behavior,the formation mechanism and causal path of negative defensive medicine are explained,and systematic suggestions are provided for negative defensive medicine behavior,so as to improve the rational utilization of health resources.Methods NCA and fsQCA are used to conduct configuration analysis on factors influencing passive defensive medical behavior,output the conditional configuration,and further analyze the configuration effects among the influencing factors.Results The antecedent conditions of negative defensive medicine include systemic mechanisms,institutional norms,social culture,doctor-patient relationships,and self-efficacy.Ultimately,two paths contributing to passive defensive medical behavior emerge:environment conduction type and efficiency-environment joint conduction type,their consistency is 0.830.Conclusion To reduce the negative defensive medical behavior,it should pay atten-tion to improving the institutional environment and improving doctors'self-efficacy,establish a fair and reasonable external institutional environment,create an honest and harmonious cultural atmosphere,strengthen the training of doctors'professional ability and improve the doctor-patient relationship,so as to improve the rational use of health resources.

Objective By exploring the conditional configuration effect of negative defensive medicine behavior,the formation mechanism and causal path of negative defensive medicine are explained,and systematic suggestions are provided for negative defensive medicine behavior,so as to improve the rational utilization of health resources.Methods NCA and fsQCA are used to conduct configuration analysis on factors influencing passive defensive medical behavior,output the conditional configuration,and further analyze the configuration effects among the influencing factors.Results The antecedent conditions of negative defensive medicine include systemic mechanisms,institutional norms,social culture,doctor-patient relationships,and self-efficacy.Ultimately,two paths contributing to passive defensive medical behavior emerge:environment conduction type and efficiency-environment joint conduction type,their consistency is 0.830.Conclusion To reduce the negative defensive medical behavior,it should pay atten-tion to improving the institutional environment and improving doctors'self-efficacy,establish a fair and reasonable external institutional environment,create an honest and harmonious cultural atmosphere,strengthen the training of doctors'professional ability and improve the doctor-patient relationship,so as to improve the rational use of health resources.

Objective By exploring the conditional configuration effect of negative defensive medicine behavior,the formation mechanism and causal path of negative defensive medicine are explained,and systematic suggestions are provided for negative defensive medicine behavior,so as to improve the rational utilization of health resources.Methods NCA and fsQCA are used to conduct configuration analysis on factors influencing passive defensive medical behavior,output the conditional configuration,and further analyze the configuration effects among the influencing factors.Results The antecedent conditions of negative defensive medicine include systemic mechanisms,institutional norms,social culture,doctor-patient relationships,and self-efficacy.Ultimately,two paths contributing to passive defensive medical behavior emerge:environment conduction type and efficiency-environment joint conduction type,their consistency is 0.830.Conclusion To reduce the negative defensive medical behavior,it should pay atten-tion to improving the institutional environment and improving doctors'self-efficacy,establish a fair and reasonable external institutional environment,create an honest and harmonious cultural atmosphere,strengthen the training of doctors'professional ability and improve the doctor-patient relationship,so as to improve the rational use of health resources.