The telomere structure in the cell nucleus is crucial for maintaining the stability and functions of chromosomes.Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase,which catalyzes the elongation of telomeres using its own RNA as a template,thereby counteracting the shortening of telomeres caused by chromosome replication and cell division.Due to its overexpression in over 85％of malignant tumor cells,telomerase has emerged as a highly promising biomarker and a novel target for cancer therapy.In recent years,given the importance of precise quantification of telomerase activity in guiding medical diagnosis and treatment strategies,researchers have developed various high-performance telomerase detection techniques.Among these,electrochemical biosensing technique has cause much attention due to its high sensitivity,operational convenience,rapid response,and ease of miniaturization.This paper focused on the latest advances in electrochemical sensing technique for detection of telomerase activity,aiming to provide inspiration for designing novel telomerase activity detection strategies by elucidating three unique properties of telomerase primer extension products.

Objective:To preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of a domestically developed bilateral interventional ultrasound renal denervation (RDN) system in patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite antihypertensive medication.Methods:A multicenter, single-arm trial was conducted. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension (≥2 antihypertensive drugs) were enrolled from April 2023 to April 2024 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. RDN was performed using the UltraCure? bilateral interventional ultrasound system via femoral or brachial artery access. Multi-segmental "quadrant-based" ablation was performed in bilateral main renal arteries and branches/accessory arteries (diameter≥4 mm). Primary endpoints were changes in office systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 24-hour daytime SBP at 2-and 6-months post-procedure. The primary safety endpoints included the incidence of major adverse events, device-related adverse events, and puncture site complications.Results:Ten patients, mean aged 47.1 years, including 9 male, successfully completed RDN. At 2 and 6 months post-procedure, office SBP decreased by (19.7±15.2) mmHg ( P=0.002, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) and (13.8±13.9) mmHg ( P=0.013) from baseline, while the 24-hour daytime SBP decreased by (13.4±10.6) mmHg ( P=0.004) and (11.2±9.2) mmHg ( P=0.004). Apart from one case of a limited distal renal artery dissection, no other serious device/procedure-related adverse events were observed. At 6-month follow-up, the estimated glomerular filtration rate remained stable ((85.3±18.3) ml·min -1·1.73 m -2 vs. (82.3±19.2) ml·min -1·1.73 m -2, P=0.41). No renal artery stenosis was detected. Conclusions:The domestic interventional ultrasound RDN system could effectively reduce office and ambulatory blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, demonstrating a favorable safety profile. Long-term efficacy requires confirmation through large-scale randomized controlled trials.

Paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury is a serious neurological complication, for which surgery is currently the main treatment method. Due to different surgical approaches, patients are usually expected to maintain a passive prone position for a long time or switch between the supine and prone positions. Affected by multiple factors such as neurogenic sensory disorders, pathological changes in muscle tone and operative duration, the risk of intraoperative acquired pressure injury (IAPI) is significantly increased. Current clinical prevention strategies for IAPI in these patients predominantly focus on localized pressure relief during positioning, lacking systematic, standardized comprehensive prevention protocols or evidence-based guidelines. To address it, Department of Nursing, Orthopedics Branch, China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, Spinal Trauma Professional Committee, Orthopedics Branch, Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Nursing Group of Spine and Spinal Cord Professional Committee of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine organized experts in relevant fields to formulate Guideline for the prevention of intraoperative acquired pressure injury in paraplegic patients with spinal cord injury ( version 2025), based on evidence-based medical evidence and latest research results and clinical practice at home and abroad. Eleven recommendations were put forward from the aspects of preoperative risk assessment, intraoperative prevention strategies, postoperative handover and monitoring, and supportive mechanisms for IAPI prevention, aiming to standardize the prevention measures and management strategies of IAPI in paraplegic patients with spinal cord injury and accelerate the recovery of patients and improve the therapeutic effect.

Paraplegia caused by spinal cord injury is a serious neurological complication, for which surgery is currently the main treatment method. Due to different surgical approaches, patients are usually expected to maintain a passive prone position for a long time or switch between the supine and prone positions. Affected by multiple factors such as neurogenic sensory disorders, pathological changes in muscle tone and operative duration, the risk of intraoperative acquired pressure injury (IAPI) is significantly increased. Current clinical prevention strategies for IAPI in these patients predominantly focus on localized pressure relief during positioning, lacking systematic, standardized comprehensive prevention protocols or evidence-based guidelines. To address it, Department of Nursing, Orthopedics Branch, China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, Spinal Trauma Professional Committee, Orthopedics Branch, Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Nursing Group of Spine and Spinal Cord Professional Committee of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine organized experts in relevant fields to formulate Guideline for the prevention of intraoperative acquired pressure injury in paraplegic patients with spinal cord injury ( version 2025), based on evidence-based medical evidence and latest research results and clinical practice at home and abroad. Eleven recommendations were put forward from the aspects of preoperative risk assessment, intraoperative prevention strategies, postoperative handover and monitoring, and supportive mechanisms for IAPI prevention, aiming to standardize the prevention measures and management strategies of IAPI in paraplegic patients with spinal cord injury and accelerate the recovery of patients and improve the therapeutic effect.

Objective:To preliminarily evaluate the efficacy and safety of a domestically developed bilateral interventional ultrasound renal denervation (RDN) system in patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite antihypertensive medication.Methods:A multicenter, single-arm trial was conducted. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension (≥2 antihypertensive drugs) were enrolled from April 2023 to April 2024 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University. RDN was performed using the UltraCure? bilateral interventional ultrasound system via femoral or brachial artery access. Multi-segmental "quadrant-based" ablation was performed in bilateral main renal arteries and branches/accessory arteries (diameter≥4 mm). Primary endpoints were changes in office systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 24-hour daytime SBP at 2-and 6-months post-procedure. The primary safety endpoints included the incidence of major adverse events, device-related adverse events, and puncture site complications.Results:Ten patients, mean aged 47.1 years, including 9 male, successfully completed RDN. At 2 and 6 months post-procedure, office SBP decreased by (19.7±15.2) mmHg ( P=0.002, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) and (13.8±13.9) mmHg ( P=0.013) from baseline, while the 24-hour daytime SBP decreased by (13.4±10.6) mmHg ( P=0.004) and (11.2±9.2) mmHg ( P=0.004). Apart from one case of a limited distal renal artery dissection, no other serious device/procedure-related adverse events were observed. At 6-month follow-up, the estimated glomerular filtration rate remained stable ((85.3±18.3) ml·min -1·1.73 m -2 vs. (82.3±19.2) ml·min -1·1.73 m -2, P=0.41). No renal artery stenosis was detected. Conclusions:The domestic interventional ultrasound RDN system could effectively reduce office and ambulatory blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, demonstrating a favorable safety profile. Long-term efficacy requires confirmation through large-scale randomized controlled trials.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective:To investigate the relationship between telomere length of bone marrow mononuclear cells and prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).Methods:Telomere length of bone marrow mononuclear cells before transplantation, after transplantation and before donor mobilization as well as information related to follow-up of 33 AML patients who received allo-HSCT in the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University between June 2020 and June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Telomere length was detected by using telomeric terminal restriction fragment (TRF) method. Telomere length was compared among patients with different prognoses. The recurrence within 1 year was treated as the gold standard and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the effect of telomere length before transplantation or before donor mobilization in the judgement of the recurrence within 1 year after transplantation. The patients were stratified according to the optimal threshold value of telomere length for patients or donors, and Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with different stratification, and log-rank test was performed.Results:The median age of 33 patients was 34 years (14-61 years), and there were 17 males and 16 females; 31 patients were initially diagnosed with AML, 1 patient transferred from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) to AML, and 1 patient transferred from chronic granulocytic leukemia (CML) to AML; 14 received identical sibling transplantation and 19 received haploidentical sibling transplantation. The median age of the donors was 30 years (20-65 years), including 24 males and 9 females. Telomere length of bone marrow mononuclear cells before mobilization in 33 donors was longer than that in patients before transplantation (33 cases) and at +30 d after transplantation (31 cases) [(6.67±0.31) kb, (6.40±0.33) kb, (6.48±0.33) kb, respectively; all P < 0.05], and the difference between patients before and at +30 d after transplantation was not statistically significant ( t = 0.89, P = 0.378), and the telomere length of bone marrow mononuclear cells in 11 patients +180 d after transplantation was (6.66±0.18) kb. The incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) after transplantation was 45.5% (15/33), the incidence of infection with clear imaging and pathogenic basis was 39.4% (13/33), the mortality rate within 1 year after transplantation was 3.0% (1/33), and the recurrence rate within 1 year after transplantation was 15.2% (5/33). There were no statistically significant differences in telomere length of donor pre-mobilization bone marrow mononuclear cells between the groups with and without aGVHD and between the infected and non-infected groups (all P > 0.05).Compared with patients who had not relapsed within 1 year after transplantation, telomere length of donor pre-mobilization bone marrow mononuclear cells was shorter in patients who relapsed within 1 year after transplantation [(6.39±0.19) kb vs. (6.72±0.30) kb, t = -3.23, P = 0.011], telomere length was longer in patients before transplantation [(6.75±0.16) kb vs. (6.35±0.36) kb, t = 4.17, P = 0.001]. ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal threshold values for telomere length of pre-transplantation and donor pre-mobilization bone marrow mononuclear cells were 6.48 and 6.42 kb, respectively for patients who relapsed within 1 year after transplantation. PFS in patients with pre-transplantation bone marrow mononuclear cells telomere length < 6.48 kb was better than that in patients with telomere length ≥ 6.48 kb ( P = 0.003); PFS in patients with pre-mobilization bone marrow mononuclear cells telomere length>6.42 kb was better than that in patients with telomere length ≤ 6.42 kb ( P < 0.001). Conclusions:In allo-HSCT for AML, patients have an increased risk of relapse within 1 year after transplantation when their pre-transplantation bone marrow mononuclear cells telomere length is long and the donor bone marrow mononuclear cells telomere length is short.

Humans ; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptors, Type II/metabolism* ; Pedigree ; Mutation ; Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy between visual trephine arthroplasty assisted percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (VPTED) and traditional percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy(PTED) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: The clinical data of 60 patients with lumbar disc herniation admitted from June 2019 to December, 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 38 males and 22 females, aged from 26 to 58 years old with an average of (43.63±8.48) years, 47 cases were on L_4,5 segment and 13 cases were on L₅S₁ segment. Among them, 32 were treated with VPTED (group A) and 28 were treated with traditional PTED (group B). The general conditions of all the patients were recorded, including intraoperative fluoroscopy times, operation time, hospital stay and surgical complications during follow-up. The arthroplasty area ratio was observed by sagittal CT at the middle level of the intervertebral foramen. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score of low back pain, Oswestry disability index (ODI) were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy between two groups. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 9 to 15 months with an average of (12.10±1.16) months. There was no statistical difference of preoperative general data between two groups. The operation time, fluoroscopy times and hospital stay were (70.47±5.87) min, (13.66±1.34) times and (6.31±0.69) d in group A, and (90.71±7.66) min, (22.82±2.48) times and (6.54±0.92) d in group B. The operation time and intraoperative fluoroscopy times in group A were lower than those in group B(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in hospital stay between two groups (P>0.05). No obvious surgical complications were found during the follow-up in both groups. The arthroplasty area ratio in group A was (29.72±2.84)% and (29.57±2.20)% in group B, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS, ODI and JOA score between two groups before operation and at the final follow-up(P>0.05), but the final follow-up was significantly improved(P<0.05). CONCLUSION The two surgical methods have definite clinical efficacy in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Visual trephine arthroplasty assisted percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy has the advantages of high efficiency and rapidity when establishing the channel, and can significantly reduce the operation time and intraoperative fluoroscopy times.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Diskectomy, Percutaneous/methods* ; Diskectomy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Arthroplasty

2019-nCoV Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, which has brought new challenges to the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic, has the characteristics of stronger transmissibility and more rapid transmission and more significant immune evasion. It took only two months to become a predominant strain worldwide after its identification in South Africa in November 2021. Local epidemics caused by Omicron variant have been reported in several provinces in China. However, the epidemiological characteristics of highly mutated Omicron variant remain unclear. This article summarizes the progress in the research of functional mutations, transmissibility, virulence, immune evasion and cross-reactive immune responses of Omicron variant, to provide references for the effective prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic caused by Omicron variant.
COVID-19 ; Humans ; Mutation ; Pandemics ; SARS-CoV-2