Objective To summarize and analyze the efficacy and influencing factors of second allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for acute leukemia relapsing after the first allo-HSCT. Methods Clinical data of 17 patients with acute leukemia who underwent second allo-HSCT at Peking University First Hospital from January 2005 to December 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Among the 17 patients, 7 achieved long-term disease-free survival after second transplantation. The median progression-free survival after successful second transplantation was 7 months (range 8 days to 69 months). The relapse fatality was 24%, and the transplant-related fatality was 35%. Conclusions Second transplantation is an effective treatment for relapsed and refractory acute leukemia, but the relapse fatality and transplant-related fatality remain high. Patient age, time of relapse after the first transplantation and disease status before second transplantation are all factors that affect the efficacy of second transplantation. Younger age, late relapse and complete remission of disease before second transplantation are all beneficial for long-term disease-free survival after second transplantation.

In the era of evidence-based medicine， the progress of medical science and technology has enriched medical diagnostic tools and treatment methods， but it has also led to the loss of medical warmth and the alienation of the doctor-patient relationships. William Osler emphasized that while medical technology advances， attention should also be paid to the practice of narrative medicine and the development of physician’s narrative literacy. The view of the physician he advocated reminds us that the core of medicine still lies in the narrative connection between doctors and patients， as well as a deep understanding of human nature. By exploring the relationship between Osler’s view of the physician and narrative medicine as well as physician’s narrative literacy， this paper analyzed the methods of cultivating physician’s narrative literacy， providing references for modern medical education and practice， and assisting in the harmony and unity of science and technology and humanity.

BACKGROUND:Fibromyalgia syndrome,as a common rheumatic disease,is related to central sensitization and immune abnormalities.However,the specific mechanism has not been elucidated,and there is a lack of specific diagnostic markers.Exploring the possible pathogenesis of this disease has important clinical significance. OBJECTIVE:To screen the potential diagnostic marker genes of fibromyalgia syndrome and analyze the possible immune infiltration characteristics based on bioinformatics methods,such as weighted gene co-expression network analysis(WGCNA),and machine learning. METHODS:Gene expression profiles in peripheral serum of fibromyalgia syndrome patients and healthy controls were obtained from the gene expression omnibus(GEO)database.The differentially co-expressed genes were screened in the expression profile by differential analysis and WGCNA analysis.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)and support vector machine-recursive feature elimination(SVM-RFE)machine learning algorithm were further used to identify hub biomarkers,and draw receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)to evaluate the accuracy of diagnosing fibromyalgia syndrome.Finally,single sample gene set enrichment analysis(ssGSEA)and gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA)were used to evaluate the immune cell infiltration and pathway enrichment in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Eight down-regulated differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were obtained after differential analysis of the GSE67311 dataset according to the conditions of log2|(FC)|>0 and P<0.05.After WGCNA analysis,497 genes were included in the module(MEdarkviolet)with the highest positive correlation(r=0.22,P=0.04),and 19 genes were included in the module(MEsalmon2)with the highest negative correlation(r=-0.41,P=6×10-5).After intersecting DEGs and the module genes of WGCNA,seven genes were obtained.Four genes were screened out by LASSO regression algorithm and five genes were screened out by SVM-RFE machine learning algorithm.After the intersection of the two,three core genes were identified,which were germinal center associated signaling and motility like,integrin beta-8,and carboxypeptidase A3.The areas under the ROC curve of the three core genes were 0.744,0.739,and 0.734,respectively,indicating that they have good diagnostic value and can be used as biomarkers for fibromyalgia syndrome.The results of immune infiltration analysis showed that memory B cells,CD56 bright NK cells,and mast cells were significantly down-regulated in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome compared with the control group(P<0.05),and were significantly positively correlated with the above three biomarkers(P<0.05).The enrichment analysis suggested that there were nine fibromyalgia syndrome enrichment pathways,mainly related to olfactory transduction pathway,neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,and infection pathway.The above results showed that the occurrence and development of fibromyalgia syndrome are related to the involvement of multiple genes,abnormal immune regulation,and multiple pathways imbalance.However,the interactions between these genes and immune cells,as well as their relationships with various pathways need to be further investigated.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) acts as an oncogene in liver cancer, yet its roles and in-depth molecular mechanisms within the liver cancer immune microenvironment remain mostly undefined. Here, we demonstrated that disruption of tumor-intrinsic PRMT5 enhances CD8⁺ T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity both in vivo and in vitro. Further experiments verified that this effect is achieved through downregulation of the inhibitory immune checkpoint molecule, fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL1). Mechanistically, PRMT5 catalyzed symmetric dimethylation of transcription factor 12 (TCF12) at arginine 554 (R554), prompting the binding of TCF12 to FGL1 promoter region, which transcriptionally activated FGL1 in tumor cells. Methylation deficiency at TCF12-R554 residue downregulated FGL1 expression, which promoted CD8⁺ T-cell-mediated antitumor immunity. Notably, combining the PRMT5 methyltransferase inhibitor GSK591 with PD-L1 blockade efficiently inhibited liver cancer growth and improved overall survival in mice. Collectively, our findings reveal the immunosuppressive role and mechanism of PRMT5 in liver cancer and highlight that targeting PRMT5 could boost checkpoint immunotherapy efficacy.

Objective To analyze the differences and correlations of imaging parameters in patients with Parkinson's disease(PD)combined with cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD)with different cognitive functions based on MRI.Methods A retrospective selection was conducted on 192 PD patients combined with CSVD.According to the Montreal cognitive assessment(MoCA)and mini-mental state examination(MMSE)scores,they were divided into cognitive impairment PD group(n=69)and cognitive normal PD group(n=123),and the clinical data and MRI imaging parameters of the two groups were compared.Results The age and drinking history of the cog-nitive impairment PD group were higher than those of the cognitive normal PD group(P<0.05);the lacune of presumed vascular origin(LPVO)score,periventricular white matter hyperintensity(PVWMH)score,basal ganglia-perivascular space(BG-PVS)score,brain atrophy(BA)score,and CSVD total score in the cognitive impairment PD group were higher than those in the cognitive normal PD group(P<0.05),while there was no statistically significant difference in deep white matter hyperintensity(DWMH)score,cen-trum semiovale perivascular space(CS-PVS)score,and cerebral microbleed(CMB)score between the two groups(P>0.05);Multi-variate logistic analysis showed that age,LPVO score,BG-PVS score,BA score,and CSVD total score were independent influencing factors of cognitive impairment(P<0.05).Conclusion There are differences in imaging parameters such as LPVO score,PVWMH score,BG-PVS score,BA score,and CSVD total score among PD patients combined with CSVD with different cognitive functions,and they are correlated with MMSE and MoCA scores.

Objective:This study aims to explore whether there are specific behavioral deficits of response inhibition and emotional processing in patients with checking obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and those with washing OCD.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2020 to December 2022, collecting clinical data from 75 OCD patients at the outpatient psychological consultation clinic of Xiangya Second Hospital and the clinical psychology department of Hunan Brain Hospital. The sample included 40 OCD patients with checking type (checking group, 24 males, 16 females, aged 14-34 years, mean age 22.1±5.0 years) and 35 OCD patients with washing type (washing group, 12 males, 23 females, aged 14-41 years, mean age 22.6±6.7 years). An age-matched healthy control group (control group) of 80 individuals (HCs, 37 males and 43 females, aged 14-25 years, mean age 20.8±1.9 years) was also recruited. All participants completed the Go/No-go task and Hariri task with behavioral data recorded. The Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale was used to assess the severity of OCD symptoms. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to assess the severity of depression and anxiety. A 3 (group: checking OCD, washing OCD and HC)×2 (task type: Go vs. No-go/Shape vs. Face) repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the behavioral performance across tasks.Results:Compared with HC group, both checking OCD group and washing OCD group had significantly higher scores in depression and anxiety ( F=85.43, 32.33,both P<0.05). When performing Go/No-go task, a significant group×task interaction effect was observed ( F3(2, 152)=3.23, P3=0.042, partialη32=0.04). In the checking OCD group, No-go accuracy was significantly lower than Go accuracy (accuracy=0.821 vs. 0.893, P<0.001); the checking OCD had significantly lower accuracy than HC in the No-go task (accuracy=0.821 vs. 0.876, P=0.005); there were no significant group differences between the washing OCD and HC in the No-go task ( P>0.05). When performing Hariri task, a significant group×task interaction effect was found ( F3(2, 152)=4.91, P3=0.009, partial η32=0.06). The washing OCD group showed significantly lower accuracy in matching emotional faces than the control group (0.879 vs. 0.936, P=0.001), whereas the checking OCD group showed no significant difference from the HC ( P>0.05); there were no significant group differences in shape matching task ( P>0.05). The accuracy of shape matching task was significantly higher than face matching task in the three groups (shape: checking OCD=0.936,washing OCD=0.929,HC=0.943; face:checking OCD=0.877,washing OCD=0.844,HC=0.917;all P>0.05). Conclusions:Checking OCD and washing OCD exhibit distinct behavioral impairment patterns in response inhibition and emotional processing. Checking-type OCD is primarily characterized by impaired response inhibition, whereas washing-type OCD is mainly associated with deficits in emotion processing.

Objective:To assess the clinical value of digital PCR (dPCR) for the prenatal diagnosis of common fetal aneuploidies.Methods:A dPCR-based assay was developed for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13. A retrospective analysis was carried out on 173 amniotic fluid samples collected by the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. By using chromosomal karyotyping as the gold standard, the diagnostic performance of the multiplex dPCR system was evaluated in a double-blind manner. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Taizhou Hospital (Ethics No. K20250339).Results:Chromosomal karyotyping has identified 59 cases of trisomy 21, 5 cases of trisomy 18, 2 cases of trisomy 13, 6 cases with chromosomal structural abnormalities or mosaicisms, and 101 cases with a normal karyotype. The dPCR results ( Z-score cutoff = 4.0, CI = 99.997%) showed full concordance with karyotyping (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, Kappa = 1). Among the 6 structurally abnormal or mosaicism samples, dPCR has accurately detected 4 cases, but mis-classified 2 cases of trisomy 21 with very low-level mosaicisms (3.3%, 6.9%, respectively) as normal. Conclusion:The established multiplex dPCR system demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for common chromosomal aneuploidies, with results available within 24 hours. It can serve as an efficient supplementary tool to conventional chromosomal karyotyping, providing reliable support for time-sensitive clinical decision-making in prenatal diagnosis.

Objective:To analyze the differences in clinicopathological features between non-elderly and elderly patients with melanoma, and to identify risk factors for prognosis in elderly patients with melanoma.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical and pathological data collected from non-elderly (aged < 60 years) and elderly (aged ≥ 60 years) patients with melanoma, who were confirmedly diagnosed according to clinical manifestations and histopathological findings at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2008 to December 2023. The differences in clinical and pathological characteristics between the two groups were analyzed using the chi-square test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The relationship between clinicopathological variables and overall survival was analyzed using a Cox regression model.Results:A total of 233 patients with cutaneous melanoma were included, with the age being 60.3 ± 14.7 years, and the number of patients was highest in the age group of 60 - 69 years. There were 102 cases (43.8%) in the < 60 years old group and 131 cases (56.2%) in the ≥ 60 years old group. Compared with the < 60 years old group, the ≥ 60 years old group showed a significant increase in the proportion of patients with active tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes ( P = 0.040), proportion of those with Ki-67 index ≥ 30% ( P = 0.010), and Charlson comorbidity index ( P = 0.002), but a significant decrease in the proportion of patients with BRAF/KIT/NRAS mutations ( P = 0.003), proportion of those receiving surgical treatment ( P = 0.034), and proportion of those receiving adjuvant therapy ( P = 0.042). There was a significant difference in the overall survival between the two groups (log-rank test, χ2 = 6.10, P = 0.014). The gender, metastasis status, presence or absence of ulceration, distant metastasis status, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, Charlson comorbidity index, and Breslow thickness were important prognostic indicators affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that males ( P = 0.015, HR = 4.622, 95% CI: 1.352 - 15.798), presence of distant metastasis ( P = 0.013, HR = 9.844, 95% CI: 4.621 - 59.763), and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 ( P = 0.038, HR = 3.149, 95% CI: 1.067 - 9.294) were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma. Conclusions:Compared with the non-elderly patients with melanoma, a higher Ki-67 index, a higher Charlson comorbidity index, less surgical treatment, and less adjuvant therapy were more common in the elderly patients with melanoma. Males, the presence of distant metastasis, and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 3 appeared to be independent risk factors affecting the overall survival in the elderly patients with melanoma.

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of proximal ulnar osteotomy combined with autologous iliac bone grafting for the repair of chronic elbow varus with posteromedial rotational instability caused by coronoid process bone defects.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 9 male patients with chronic elbow varus and posteromedial rotational instability caused by coronoid process bone defects who were treated with proximal ulnar osteotomy combined with autologous iliac bone grafting at Sichuan Provincial Orthopaedic Hospital from January 2017 to May 2024. The patients' ages ranged from 20 to 46 years, with an average of 29.78±8.77 years old. There were 3 cases on the right side and 6 on the left side. The height of the bone defect on the anteromedial surface of the coronoid process ranged from 5.24 to 12.23 mm, with an average of 9.01±2.61 mm. The time from injury to surgery ranged from 5 to 9 months, with an average of 6.78±1.39 months. During the operation, proximal ulnar osteotomy combined with autologous iliac bone grafting was used to repair the coronoid process bone defect. Simultaneously, the lateral ulnar collateral ligament was reconstructed using the suture anchors (3 patients) or repaired with autologous palmaris longus tendon (6 patients). Finally, a hinged external fixator was applied in all cases. The range of motion (ROM) of the elbow joint was recorded before and after the surgery. The visual analogue score (VAS) was used to evaluate the degree of pain, and the Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS) was employed to assess the elbow joint function.Results:All surgical incisions healed primarily, and no case of infection occurred. All 9 patients were followed up, with a follow-up period ranging from 11 to 25 months, and an average of 17.78 ± 5.16 months. The bone grafts all healed, with a healing time ranging from 3 to 5 months, and an average of 3.56±0.73 months. The elbow extension angles before surgery, at 6 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up were 24.44°±14.24°, 11.11°±9.28°, and 2.22°±4.41°, respectively. The flexion angles were 118.89°±5.46°, 123.33°±5.00°, and 128.89°±3.33°, respectively. The flexion-extension ROMs were 94.44°±18.28°, 112.22°±13.02°, and 126.67°±7.07°, respectively. The pronation angles were 61.67°±6.12°, 61.67°±3.54°, and 67.22°±5.07°, respectively. The differences in these angles were all statistically significant ( P<0.05). The supination angles before surgery, at 6 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up were 77.22°±7.55°, 78.89°±6.01°, and 79.44°±6.35°, respectively. The rotational ROMs were 138.89°±11.93°, 140.56°±7.26°, and 146.67°±10.31°, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed ( P>0.05). The VAS scores before surgery, at 6 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up were 6.89±0.78 points, 2.33±1.00 points, and 0(0, 0.5) points, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( H=23.216, P<0.001). The MEPS scores were 42.22±5.65 points, 76.67±7.05 points, and 95.00±7.50 points, respectively, and the difference was also statistically significant ( F=134.212, P<0.001). The cantilever test confirmed that none of the patients had elbow joint instability symptoms, and the patients were satisfied with the treatment effect. Conclusions:Proximal ulnar osteotomy combined with autologous iliac bone grafting, simultaneous repair or reconstruction of the lateral ligament complex, and fixation with a hinged external fixator is an effective treatment approach for chronic elbow varus with posteromedial rotational instability. This method can alleviate elbow pain, improve the ROM, and enhance elbow function in patients, yielding satisfactory short-term outcomes.

Objective:To observe the efficacy of eculizumab in children with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.Methods:It was a single-center observational study. The clinical data of children diagnosed with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome and treated with eculizumab in Wuhan Children's Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2023 to May 2024 were retrospectively collected. Eculizumab was used at the conventional dose based on the children 's weight. Event-free survival (no death or end-stage renal disease) rate, complete remission rate and recurrence rate of thrombotic microangiopathy in children with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome after eculizumab treatment were analyzed. The complete remission time of estimated glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin, platelet, lactic dehydrogenase, urine routine and the adverse reactions during the treatment were observed. Whole exome sequencing was used to conduct genetic testing based on blood samples of the children and their parents.Results:There were 4 children enrolled in the study. Four children were all Han Chinese, including 3 males and 1 female. The median age of onset was 8 years (ranging from 7 to 10 years). Two patients had complement gene abnormalities, both of which were homozygous deletions of complement factor H-related 1 and complement factor H-related 3. All the patients were free of plasma exchange or perfusion after treatment with eculizumab, and the 6-month event-free survival rate and thrombotic microangiopathy complete remission rate were both 4/4. The complete remission time was 19 (14-28) days. The time for the complete recovery of platelets, lactate dehydrogenase, estimated glomerular filtration rate and hemoglobin in 4 children was 4 (1-5), 19 (14-28), 10 (5-14) and 29 (20-42) days, respectively. Except for 1 patient whose urine routine fluctuated between negative and weakly positive expression, the other 3 patients had normal urine routine. All the patients discontinued eculizumab. Two patients without gene mutations discontinued eculizumab after 7 doses, and there was no recurrence during the 1-year follow-up after drug withdrawal. Two patients with genetic abnormalities discontinued eculizumab after 26 weeks of treatment, and no recurrence was found during the 3-month follow-up after drug withdrawal. One patient developed rash approximately 7 days after receiving the third dose of eculizumab. The rash was relieved after anti-allergic treatment, and there was no recurrence after the continued use of eculizumab.Conclusion:Eculizumab is effective and safe in the treatment of children with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. Discontinuation of eculizumab can be considered in patients without gene mutations when their condition is stable, but close monitoring and follow-up are needed after drug withdrawal.