Currently, transcatheter intervention is the preferred treatment for patients with anatomically suitable atrial septal defects. However, the use of nickel-titanium alloy occluders in interventional procedures results in lifelong presence of the implant in the body, leading to complications such as metal allergies and arrhythmias in some patients. To overcome the short-term and long-term complications associated with the presence of metal, and to avoid radiation exposure and metal toxicity, this paper reports a case of successful transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect in a pediatric patient with metal allergies using fully biodegradable occluder under ultrasound guidance, achieving excellent results by interventional therapy.

Objective: To investigate the potential efficacy and safety of Lutai Danshen Baishao granules (LDBG) for treating female melasma associated with kidney deficiency and blood stasis patterns. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at the Third Central Hospital of Tianjin, China from March to December 2023. A total of 110 female patients with melasma linked to kidney deficiency and blood stasis were enrolled and treated with either LDBG or a placebo twice daily for 60 days. Efficacy was assessed through measures such as the total melasma area, reduced melasma area, reduction rate of melasma area, melasma color score, Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) score, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom score scale. Safety assessments included routine blood and biochemical tests. Results: Participants in both groups were aged 52–63 years, with no significant differences. After the 2-month intervention, the total melasma area decreased in both groups; however, a greater reduction was observed in the test group [462.50 mm2 (12.81%) vs. 100.00 mm2 (3.11%), P < .001]. Moreover, LDBG treatment significantly reduced the MASI and melasma color scores in the test group (P < .05). The total TCM symptom evaluation score significantly decreased (test group: 6.00 vs. placebo group: 7.00, P = .001), with significant relief in symptoms such as improvement in dark lips, nails, and waist soreness in the test group, compared with that in the placebo group (P < .05). Within-group comparisons revealed that TCM syndrome was significantly alleviated in the test group (P < .05). Conclusion LDBG intervention shows promising effectiveness in reducing female melasma and alleviating TCM syndromes.

Retina and optic nerve both originate in brain, therefore they have the similar structure and functional characteristics of the brain. Exploring the performance of the central optic nervous disorder on the retina will be beneficial to uncovering the interaction mechanism between brain and eye. As an extension of the central nervous system, the retina contains ganglion cell, a special neuron, whose axon form the optic nerve and has access into the central nervous system. Therefore, the retina can be used as a mirror reflecting neurodegenerative diseases structurally and functionally. With the development of imaging technology, optical coherence tomography(angiography)has become the mainstream tool for ophthalmological clinical diagnosis due to its easy operation and low cost. In recent years, discovering biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer&#39;s disease, Parkinson&#39;s disease, multiple sclerosis and so on, in the retinal optical coherence tomography images has gradually become an emerging research direction. In this review, we summarized the research progress of neurodegenerative diseases analysis based on the retinal images in the past decade, and provide a prospect to inspire further research as far as possible.