Delirium is a common cause and complication of hospitalization in the elderly and is associated with higher risk of future dementia and progression of existing dementia, of which 70% is Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD and delirium, which are known to be aggravated by one another, represent significant societal challenges, especially in light of the absence of effective treatments. The intricate biological mechanisms have led to numerous clinical trial setbacks and likely contribute to the limited efficacy of existing therapeutics. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising avenue for overcoming these hurdles by deploying algorithms to uncover hidden patterns across diverse data types. This review explores the pivotal role of AI in revolutionizing drug discovery for AD and delirium from target identification to the development of small molecule and protein-based therapies. Recent advances in deep learning, particularly in accurate protein structure prediction, are facilitating novel approaches to drug design and expediting the discovery pipeline for biological and small molecule therapeutics. This review concludes with an appraisal of current achievements and limitations, and touches on prospects for the use of AI in advancing drug discovery in AD and delirium, emphasizing its transformative potential in addressing these two and possibly other neurodegenerative conditions.

Objective:To explore the clinical, genetic, and therapeutic prognostic characteristics of two pediatric cases of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) in order to enhance understanding of this disease and investigate more effective treatment strategies.Methods:Clinical data were collected from two children clinically diagnosed with LNS who were treated at Anhui Provincial Children′s Hospital from April 2023 to January 2024. Data were collected retrospectively and included clinical manifestations (symptoms, signs, laboratory and imaging findings), treatment course, and follow-up results. Peripheral venous blood samples (2 mL each) were obtained from children 1 and his parents. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing to confirm the genetic etiology.Standard bioinformatic analysis of the raw WES data was conducted, including quality control, alignment, variant calling, and annotation. Candidate pathogenic variants were filtered using population frequency databases (e.g., gnomAD), disease databases (e.g., OMIM, ClinVar), and multiple in silico pathogenicity prediction tools (e.g., SIFT, PolyPhen-2, CADD). Phenotype matching was integrated using Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) terms. Pathogenicity classification of variants was performed according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation of Sequence Variants (2015). This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Anhui Children′s Hospital, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University (Approval No.: EYLL-2014-027).Results:Case 1, a 4-year-old boy presented with "developmental delay for over 3 years, accompanied by abnormal postures and involuntary lip-biting". Physical examination revealed limb dystonia, anxious expression, lower lip damage, and communication difficulties. Laboratory tests showed hyperuricemia and renal stones. Genetic testing identified a hemizygote variant in the HPRT1 gene, c. 135G>T (p.Arg45Ser), inherited from an asymptomatic carrier mother, confirming the diagnosis of LNS. This variant was absent from population databases (gnomAD, 1000 Genomes, dbSNP). Protein function prediction tools consistently indicated pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant (SIFT, PolyPhen-2, CADD, and REVEL scores all reached pathogenic thresholds). Protein structural modeling revealed that the mutation disrupts the hydrogen-bonding network, compromising tetramer stability. ACMG classification designated it as likely pathogenic (PM1 + PM2_Supporting + PM5 + PP3). The patient was treated with benhaxol hydrochloride, baclofen, and clonazepam to improve neurological symptoms, and also received treatment with febuxostat in the nephrology department to manage purine metabolism. After one year of follow-up, the patient′s abnormal posture showed slight improvement, self-injurious behavior persisted but was managed with protective gloves, blood uric acid levels normalized, and renal stones decreased. Case 2, a 13-year-old boy was hospitalized in the nephrology department due to a urinary tract infection. Following successful infection treatment, his limb dystonia worsened, leading to his transfer to the neurology ward. The patient had a history of delayed motor and language development, abnormal postures, and lip-biting self-injurious behavior, with elevated blood uric acid levels, leading to an LNS diagnosis. The parents declined genetic testing due to financial constraints. Following discharge, the patient did not adhere to the prescribed medication regimen or attend scheduled outpatient visits. The patient had died by the time of the 4-month follow-up contact. Conclusion:HPRT1 gene variants are the genetic cause of LNS in children, and the HPRT1 gene is the only known pathogenic gene for LNS. Early genetic diagnosis, strict adherence to multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment, and intensive intervention for self-injurious behaviors are crucial for improving the quality of life and prolonging survival in children with LNS.

Objective:To explore the clinical, genetic, and therapeutic prognostic characteristics of two pediatric cases of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) in order to enhance understanding of this disease and investigate more effective treatment strategies.Methods:Clinical data were collected from two children clinically diagnosed with LNS who were treated at Anhui Provincial Children′s Hospital from April 2023 to January 2024. Data were collected retrospectively and included clinical manifestations (symptoms, signs, laboratory and imaging findings), treatment course, and follow-up results. Peripheral venous blood samples (2 mL each) were obtained from children 1 and his parents. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed. Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing to confirm the genetic etiology.Standard bioinformatic analysis of the raw WES data was conducted, including quality control, alignment, variant calling, and annotation. Candidate pathogenic variants were filtered using population frequency databases (e.g., gnomAD), disease databases (e.g., OMIM, ClinVar), and multiple in silico pathogenicity prediction tools (e.g., SIFT, PolyPhen-2, CADD). Phenotype matching was integrated using Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) terms. Pathogenicity classification of variants was performed according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation of Sequence Variants (2015). This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Anhui Children′s Hospital, Children′s Hospital of Fudan University (Approval No.: EYLL-2014-027).Results:Case 1, a 4-year-old boy presented with "developmental delay for over 3 years, accompanied by abnormal postures and involuntary lip-biting". Physical examination revealed limb dystonia, anxious expression, lower lip damage, and communication difficulties. Laboratory tests showed hyperuricemia and renal stones. Genetic testing identified a hemizygote variant in the HPRT1 gene, c. 135G>T (p.Arg45Ser), inherited from an asymptomatic carrier mother, confirming the diagnosis of LNS. This variant was absent from population databases (gnomAD, 1000 Genomes, dbSNP). Protein function prediction tools consistently indicated pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant (SIFT, PolyPhen-2, CADD, and REVEL scores all reached pathogenic thresholds). Protein structural modeling revealed that the mutation disrupts the hydrogen-bonding network, compromising tetramer stability. ACMG classification designated it as likely pathogenic (PM1 + PM2_Supporting + PM5 + PP3). The patient was treated with benhaxol hydrochloride, baclofen, and clonazepam to improve neurological symptoms, and also received treatment with febuxostat in the nephrology department to manage purine metabolism. After one year of follow-up, the patient′s abnormal posture showed slight improvement, self-injurious behavior persisted but was managed with protective gloves, blood uric acid levels normalized, and renal stones decreased. Case 2, a 13-year-old boy was hospitalized in the nephrology department due to a urinary tract infection. Following successful infection treatment, his limb dystonia worsened, leading to his transfer to the neurology ward. The patient had a history of delayed motor and language development, abnormal postures, and lip-biting self-injurious behavior, with elevated blood uric acid levels, leading to an LNS diagnosis. The parents declined genetic testing due to financial constraints. Following discharge, the patient did not adhere to the prescribed medication regimen or attend scheduled outpatient visits. The patient had died by the time of the 4-month follow-up contact. Conclusion:HPRT1 gene variants are the genetic cause of LNS in children, and the HPRT1 gene is the only known pathogenic gene for LNS. Early genetic diagnosis, strict adherence to multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment, and intensive intervention for self-injurious behaviors are crucial for improving the quality of life and prolonging survival in children with LNS.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics and prognosis of acute leukemia(AL) with SET-NUP214 fusion gene. METHODS: The clinical data of 17 patients over 14 years old newly diagnosed with SET-NUP214 positive AL admitted in Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital from August 2017 to May 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Among the 17 SET-NUP214 positive patients, 13 cases were diagnosed as T-ALL (ETP 3 cases, Pro-T-ALL 6 cases, Pre-T-ALL 3 cases, Medullary-T-ALL 1 case), AML 3 cases (2 cases M5, 1 case M0) and ALAL 1 case. Thirteen patients presented extramedullary infiltration at initial diagnosis. All 17 patients received treatment, and a total of 16 cases achieved complete remission (CR), including 12 cases in patients with T-ALL. The total median OS and RFS time were 23 (3-50) months and 21 (0-48) months, respectively. Eleven patients received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(allo-HSCT), with median OS time of 37.5 (5-50) months and median RFS time of 29.5 (5-48) months. The median OS time of 6 patients in chemotherapy-only group was 10.5 (3-41) months, and median RFS time of 6.5 (3-39) months. The OS and RFS of patients with transplantation group were better than those of chemotherapy-only group (P=0.038). Among the 4 patients who relapsed or refractory after allo-HSCT, the SET-NUP214 fusion gene did not turn negative before transplantation. While, in the group of 7 patients who have not relapsed after allo-HSCT till now, the SET-NUP214 fusion gene expression of 5 patients turned negative before transplantation and other 2 of them were still positive. CONCLUSION The fusion site of SET-NUP214 fusion gene is relatively fixed in AL patients, often accompanied by extramedullary infiltration. The chemotherapy effect of this disease is poor, and allo-HSCT may improve its prognosis.
Humans ; Adolescent ; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Retrospective Studies ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Acute Disease ; Prognosis ; Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell/therapy* ; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the inflammatory effects of Cinobufotalin on monocytes in resting state and macrophages in activated state and its molecular mechanism. METHODS: THP-1 cells were stimulated with Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate to induce differentiation into macrophages. Lipopolysaccharides was added to activate macrophages in order to establish macrophage activation model. Cinobufotalin was added to the inflammatory cell model for 24 h as a treatment. CCK-8 was used to detect cell proliferation, Annexin V /PI double staining flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis, flow cytometry was used to detect macrophage activation, and cytometric bead array was used to detect cytokines. Transcriptome sequencing was used to explore the gene expression profile regulated by Cinobufotalin. Changes in the significantly regulated molecules were verified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. RESULTS: 1∶25 concentration of Cinobufotalin significantly inhibited the proliferation of resting monocytes(P<0.01), and induced apoptosis(P<0.01), especially the activated macrophages(P<0.001, P<0.001). Cinobufotalin significantly inhibited the activation of macrophages, and significantly down-regulated the inflammatory cytokines(IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8) released by activated macrophages(P＜0.001). Its mechanism was achieved by inhibiting TLR4/MYD88/P-IκBa signaling pathway. CONCLUSION Cinobufotalin can inhibit the inflammatory factors produced by the over-activation of macrophages through TLR4/MYD88/P-IκBa pathway, which is expected to be applied to the treatment and research of diseases related to the over-release of inflammatory factors.
Humans ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism* ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/genetics* ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; NF-kappa B

Objective:To investigate the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of children with spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality caused by non-severe violence, and to raise the awareness of spinal cord injury in children.Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed on the age of onset, injury mechanism, main clinical symptoms and occurrence time, treatment process and recovery of children with spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality caused by non-severe violence. The children were admitted to our hospital from August 2015 to September 2020. Abnormal findings in spinal cord MRI in acute stage were analyzed, and long-term prognosis was followed up by telephone. The degree of spinal cord injury was determined according to the criteria established by the American Spinal Cord Injury Association.Results:Of six patients, three boys and three girls, aged from 16 months to 8 years old.Injury mechanism: fall on the bed, a sudden fall in standing position, fall while jumping in sports.All of the symptoms appeared immediately after trauma, such as limb weakness, pain, unable to walk, urination disorders.Treatment process: spinal immobilization, methylprednisolone pulse therapy[20 mg/(kg·d)], alleviat edema and protect the nerve system, necessary symptomatic treatment including urethral catheterization, the use of antibiotics, timely rehabilitation treatment.No fracture or dislocation was found in all six patients by spinal cord radiometric examination, and MRI of spinal cord indicated abnormal signals of thoracic cord or below. The recovery sequence of spinal cord function: urination function recovery, pain from lower limbs relief, lower limbs weakness improvement.By the time of follow-up by telephone, the course of disease was 1 to 5 years. Urine fecal incontinence was found in one patient, and his muscle strength of both lower extremities belong to grade Ⅰ, atrophic changes were found in spinal cord MRI.The remaining five patients were able to walk independently, complained of leg pain during long distance walking, mild varus or valgus, and no obvious abnormality in spinal cord MRI.Conclusion:In daily activities, except bend down in dancing, falling on the sacral tail is easy to cause spinal cord injury without fracture and dislocation in children. The damaged spinal cord function often cannot recover thoroughly, and even cannot recover. It is advisable to identify early, formulate comprehensive treatment measures in time, strive to improve the prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma(sALCL). METHODS: The clinical data of 90 cases with sALCL treated in the Department of Hematology of the Affiliated Xijing Hospital of Air Force Medical University from November 2018 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical features, treatment and prognosis were summarized and the prognostic factors were investigated. RESULTS: There were 58 males and 32 females, with a median age of 32 (12-73) years old. 69 (76.7%) patients had Ann Arbor stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ disease and half of the patients had extranodal infiltration. The median age was 27(12-72) years of the 60 ALK⁺ patients while 53(15-73) years of the 30 ALK^- patients, and it was significantly different in the age of onset between the two group(P<0.01). 88 patients received first line chemotherapy, and 50(568%) cases achieved complete remission(CR). IPI score≥3 was an independent risk factor for CR. The median progressive free survival(PFS) and overall survival(OS) of the patients were not reached. Multivariate analysis showed that no achievement of CR after first-line therapy was a significant prognostic factor influencing PFS and OS. CONCLUSION sALCL mainly occurs in males and most patients were in advanced stage. Half of the patients had extranodal involvement. The CR rate after first-line chemotherapy was 568%, and IPI score≥3 was a significant prognostic factor for CR. No achievement of CR after first-line therapy is poorly prognostic for PFS and OS.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Child ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic/diagnosis* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) is a type of bead-like, fibrous and reticular substances that is actively released by activated inflammatory neutrophils during the stage of infections or inflammatory responses. NET, which is composed of chromatin DNA and multiple intracellular protein components, may wrap pathogens to limit their diffusions. Meanwhile, NET may kill pathogens via a wide range of antibacterial proteins, which is considered as the third antibacterial mechanism of neutrophils, in addition to phagocytosis and degranulation. Recent studies have shown the involvement of NET in the immune response against parasitic infections. This review summarizes the advances of NETs in the immune responses against parasitic infections, so as to provide insights into the elucidation of the pathogenesis and development of therapeutics of parasitic diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the change of lymphocyte subsets before and after immunosuppressive therapy (IST) with disease severity of severe aplastic anemia (SAA) and hematologic response to IST. METHODS: The clinical data of 94 patients with SAA/VSAA treated by r-ATG and CsA in our hospital from December 2009 to October 2011 was analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 26 patients who had sequential data of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines before and after treatment were enrolled. The relationship between lymphocyte subsets, cytokine level before IST and disease severity, as well as the relationship between changes if lymphocyte subsets, changes of cytokine and the HR after IST for 6 months was analyzed. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in the ratio and absolute count of lymphocyte, the ratio and absolute count of each lymphocyte subsets, including CD3 CONCLUSION The hematopoietic recovery and early hematologic remission may be affected by the intensity of immune suppression reflected from the changes of lymphocyte subsets and the immune reconstruction reflected from the recovery of lymphocyte subsets. The immune reconstruction is most significant within 3 months after IST.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Retrospective Studies