Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide. Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) accounts for up to a third of these cases, and neuro-inflammation is thought to play a role in such cases. Despite being a long-debated issue in the field of DRE, the mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation have yet to be fully elucidated. The pro-inflammatory microenvironment within the brain tissue of people with DRE has been probed using single-cell multimodal transcriptomics. Evidence suggests that inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the nervous system can lead to extensive biochemical changes, such as connexin hemichannel excitability and disruption of neurotransmitter homeostasis. The presence of inflammation may give rise to neuronal network abnormalities that suppress endogenous antiepileptic systems. We focus on the role of neuroinflammation and brain network anomalies in DRE from multiple perspectives to identify critical points for clinical application. We hope to provide an insightful overview to advance the quest for better DRE treatments.
Humans ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy/metabolism* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/immunology* ; Animals ; Brain/pathology* ; Nerve Net/pathology*

Objective To analyze the effects of rapid rehabilitation surgical procedures on recovery and stress response in patients undergoing hepatectomy.Methods Retrospective analysis of 60 patients with liver resection in Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University from January 2012 to December 2015,40 males and 20 females.According to the rehabilitation method,it was divided into intervention group (n=30) and control group (n=30).The operation time,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative complications,and interleukin-6 (IL-6),C-reactive protein (CRP),and white blood cell count (WBC) on days 1st,3rd,and 5 th before and after surgery were compared between the two groups.Results Both groups completed the operation successfully.There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss and operation time between the two groups (P＞0.05).The duration of postoperative ventilation and postoperative hospitalization in the intervention group was less than that in the control group,and the incidence of postoperative complications (23.3％ vs.50.0％) and the first and second day after surgery were lower than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences (P＜0.05).On the first,third and fifth days after surgery,IL-6 and CRP in the intervention group were lower than those in the control group,respectively (64.96± 24.10) μg/L vs.(286.74±67.98) μg/L,(60.52±18.31)μg/L vs.(162.33±52.62) μg/L,(31.61± 9.42) μg/L vs.(77.44±24.54)μg/L and (24.64±17.45) mg/L vs.(41.46±20.79) mg/L,(81.11± 36.58) mg/L vs.(117.23±44.80) mg/L,(44.90±22.31) mg/L vs.(65.27±38.05) mg/L,the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion The concept of rapid rehabilitation surgery applied to patients with hepatectomy can reduce postoperative stress response,reduce postoperative complications,and accelerate the recovery process.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of galectin-3 in inducing the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into hepatocyte- like cells and explore the involvement of the signaling pathways in the induced cell differentiation.

METHODSThe third passage of cultured rat femoral BMSCs were treated with 0.5 μg/mL galectin-3, 20 ng/mL hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or both to induce their differentiation, with untreated rat BMSCs and hepatocytes as controls. At 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of induction, the cells were examined for morphological changes followed by glycogen staining, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Gene microarray technique was used to examine the mRNA expression profile of the BMSCs induced with galectin-3. The BMSCs were also induced with galectin-3 in combination with XMU-MP-1, a Hippo signaling pathway inhibitor, after which Western blotting was performed to detect the expressions of YAP, P-YAP, ALB, AFP and CK-18 in the cells.

RESULTSThe cells isolated from the femoral bone marrow of SD rats showed a consistent surface marker phenotype with the BMSCs. Induction with galectin-3, HGF, or both all resulted in gradual morphological changes of the BMSCs into hepatocyte-like cells, and the cells with a combined induction for 28 days showed the highest morphological similarity with hepatocytes. The cells induced with galectin-3, HGF, or their combination for 28 days all showed increased positivity rate of glycogen staining, which was the highest in the cells with combined induction ( < 0.05) without significant difference between the cells induced with galectin-3 and HGF alone ( > 0.05). Induction with galectin-3 and HGF alone both increased the expressions of AFP, ALB and CK-18 mRNAs in the cells, and their expression levels were similar between the cells at 28 days ( > 0.05). Galectin-3 and HGF did not show an interactive effect on the mRNA expressions of AFP (=0.236, =0.640) or ALB (=50.639, =0.000), but had a synergistic effect on CK-18 mRNA expression (=50.639, =0.000). The protein expressions of AFP, ALB and CK18 were also increased in the induced cells but not detected in the cells without induction. Gene microarray results revealed 27 up-regulated genes and 62 down-regulated genes in galectin-3-induced BMSCs involving TGF-β, PI3K-Akt and Hippo signal pathways. Induction with galectin-3 and galectin-3+XMU-MP-1 increased YAP expression in the cells, and galectin-3+XMU-MP-1 was more efficient to induce the differentiation of the BMSCs.

CONCLUSIONSGalectin-3 can induce the differentiation of rat BMSCs into hepatocyte-like cells, and the combination with HGF increases the efficiency of induced differentiation of the cells. TGF-β, PI3K-Akt and Hippo pathways are involved in the induced differentiation of the BMSCs, and inhibiting Hippo pathway can improve the induction efficiency.

Objective To study the correlation between the clinical characteristics of HCC patients with different phenotype circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood.Methods 77 patients with HCC and 21 patients with benign liver diseases treated at Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University from April 2015 to December 2016 were retrospectively studied.The CanPatrolTM System was adoptedto detect epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype CTCs in the peripheral blood.This study aimed to clarify whether the epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype CTCs were specifically originated from the tumorand to investigate the correlation between CTCs and the clinical features of the patients.Results Using epithelial and mesenchymal markers,the CTCs were divided into three subtypes:epithelial,mesenchymal and mixed CTCs.No epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype CTCs were detected in patients with benign liver diseases.The positivity rates of epithelial,mixed and mesenchymal CTCs in the peripheral blood of 77 patients with HCC were 37.7％ (29/77),74.0％ (57/77) and 50.6％ (39/77),respectively.The positivity rates of epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype CTCs in patients with HCC were significantly higher than the group of patients with benign liver diseases (P ＜ 0.05).The positivity rates of epithelial CTCs were significantly correlated with AFP,number of tumor and portal vein tumor thrombus (P ＜ 0.05).The positivity rates of mixed CTCs were significantly correlated with portal vein tumor thrombus,tumor differentiation and BCLC stage (P ＜ 0.05).The positivity rates of mesenchymal CTCs were significantly correlated with tumor size,portal vein tumor thrombus,tumor differentiation and BCLC stage (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The positivity rates of epithelial,mixed and mesenchymal CTCs were closely related to different aspects of clinical characteristics of patients with HCC.These CTCs may serve as indicatorsto evaluatethe progress of HCC.

Objective To evaluate the value of fast track surgery (FTS) in laparoscopic hepatectomy.Methods The clinical data of 142 patients undergoing laparoscopic liver resection from January 2014 to January 2016 were analyzed retrospectively.74 patients received fast track surgery treatment (FTS group) and 68 patients received traditional treatment methods (control group).Results Compared with control group,FTS group had a shorter operative time and less blood lose (t =2.279,t =2.432,P ＜0.05),quicker postoperative intestinal function recovery (t =3.548,P ＜ 0.05),a shorter postoperative hospitalization time (t =2.821,P ＜ 0.05),a lower hospitalization cost (t =2.507,P ＜ 0.05),a lower postoperative VAS scores (t =3.394,t =3.176,t =7.079,P ＜ 0.05) in 3 post-op successive days.There were 3 patients with major post-op complications in FTS group (4.05％,3/74) compared with 4 cases in control group (5.88％,4/68) (x2 =0.253,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The application of fast track surgery in laparoscopic liver resection is safe and effective,and helpful in reducing patients' inhospital cost.

Objective To estimate the safety,feasibility and generalization of three point single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC).Methods The clinical data of 1 126 patients who underwent three-point SILC at the second department of Hepatobiliary Surgery of Zhu Jiang Hospital,Southern Medical University From January 1,2011 to December 30,2015 was analyzed retrospectively.The patient who were indicated for conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included,but those suspected malignant diseases of gallbladder were excluded.Results Of the 1126 patients,the surgery was performed successfully in 923 patients,and 192 patients need extra ports due to the adhesion and difficulty of exposing the Calots triangle,and 11 were converted to open surgery due to severe adhesion,with the success rate being 81.9％.The operating time was (29.5 ± 12.2) min (from the entrance of laparoscope to the removing of gallbladder),the blood loss was (8.7 ± 7) ml,and the hospital stay time was (1.4 ± 0.7) d (after surgery).There were three cases of bile duct injury:two of them were bile leak of aberrant duct,one of them was bile leak of cystic duct damaged by heat.And there was one case of injury of duodenum,22 cases of umbilicus hematoma,13 cases of hematoma of thorax,and 2 cases of thoracic hemorrhage who required surgery.There were no hernia,aerothorax and so on.Conclusion Three point SILC is a technology that is safe,maneuverable and suitable for being carried out in clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of enteral nutrition containing glutamine on improving blood lipids and immune parameters in elderly patients with gastrointestinal cancer.Methods 98 cases of elderly patients with gastrointestinal cancer were randomly divided into observation group(n=5 1)and control group (n=47).The control group was additionally given conventional enteral nutrition,and the observation group was additionally given enteral nutrition containing glutamine.The levels of albumin (ALB),tumor necrosis factor (TNF),indicators of cellular immunity,indicators of humoral immune function and blood lipid,before and after operation,were observed in the two groups.Results 9 days after operation,the levels of ALB and total cholesterol,per-centage of CD8 + cells were lower than those in the control group,and levels of TFN,IgA,triacylglycerol,low density lipoprotein cholesterin,percentage of CD4 + cells and CD4/CD8 ratio were higher than those in the control group,and have significant differ-ences (P <0.05).While,there was no statistically significant difference of the percentage of CD3 cells between the groups(P >0.05).Conclusion Enteral nutrition containing glutamine can significantly improve blood lipids and immune function in elderly pa-tients with gastrointestinal cancer,which may have important clinical research value and be worthy of further application.

OBJECTIVETo explore the feasibility of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic system.

METHODSTwo patients with benign gallbladder disease with a history of recurrent abdominal pain were selected to undergo the surgery. Gallstones were diagnosed by B ultrasound examination. All the operations were performed through the umbilical incision with the 3D laparoscopic system.

RESULTSThe 2 operations were completed successfully with a operative time of 35 min and 50 min. Both of the patients were ambulatory 8 h after the surgery, began to have a normal diet 1 day after operation, and were discharged 2 days postoperatively without any clinical symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS3D single-incision laparoscopic operation can well reveal the tissue anatomy in the operative field especially for some important structures such as the Calot's triangle with an improved safety compared to conventional laparoscopic operations.

Objective To explore the feasibility of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic system. Methods Two patients with benign gallbladder disease with a history of recurrent abdominal pain were selected to undergo the surgery. Gallstones were diagnosed by B ultrasound examination. All the operations were performed through the umbilical incision with the 3D laparoscopic system. Results The 2 operations were completed successfully with a operative time of 35 min and 50 min. Both of the patients were ambulatory 8 h after the surgery, began to have a normal diet 1 day after operation, and were discharged 2 days postoperatively without any clinical symptoms. Conclusions 3D single-incision laparoscopic operation can well reveal the tissue anatomy in the operative field especially for some important structures such as the Calot's triangle with an improved safety compared to conventional laparoscopic operations.

Objective To explore the feasibility of single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic system. Methods Two patients with benign gallbladder disease with a history of recurrent abdominal pain were selected to undergo the surgery. Gallstones were diagnosed by B ultrasound examination. All the operations were performed through the umbilical incision with the 3D laparoscopic system. Results The 2 operations were completed successfully with a operative time of 35 min and 50 min. Both of the patients were ambulatory 8 h after the surgery, began to have a normal diet 1 day after operation, and were discharged 2 days postoperatively without any clinical symptoms. Conclusions 3D single-incision laparoscopic operation can well reveal the tissue anatomy in the operative field especially for some important structures such as the Calot's triangle with an improved safety compared to conventional laparoscopic operations.