Purpose: Combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chemotherapy have become the standard first-line treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-negative advanced gastric cancer. However, primary resistance remains a challenge, with no effective biomarkers available for its prediction. This retrospective study explores the relationship between the baseline inflammatory burden index (IBI) and primary resistance in such context. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 62 patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer who received ICIs and chemotherapy as their first-line treatment. The IBI was calculated as follows: C-reactive protein (mg/L) × neutrophil count (10 3 /mm 3 )/lymphocyte count (10 3 /mm 3 ). Based on disease progression within 6 months, patients were categorized into the primary resistant or the control group. We compared baseline characteristics and IBI scores between the groups and assessed the predictive value of the IBI using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing primary resistance. Results: Nineteen patients were included in the primary resistance group, and forty-three patients were included in the control group. The IBI was significantly higher in the resistant group compared to the control group (P<0.01). The area under the curve for the IBI was 0.82, indicating a strong predictive value. Multivariate analysis identified the IBI as an independent predictor of primary resistance (P=0.014). Conclusions The baseline IBI holds promise as a predictor of primary resistance to combined ICIs and chemotherapy in patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: Combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chemotherapy have become the standard first-line treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-negative advanced gastric cancer. However, primary resistance remains a challenge, with no effective biomarkers available for its prediction. This retrospective study explores the relationship between the baseline inflammatory burden index (IBI) and primary resistance in such context. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 62 patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer who received ICIs and chemotherapy as their first-line treatment. The IBI was calculated as follows: C-reactive protein (mg/L) × neutrophil count (10 3 /mm 3 )/lymphocyte count (10 3 /mm 3 ). Based on disease progression within 6 months, patients were categorized into the primary resistant or the control group. We compared baseline characteristics and IBI scores between the groups and assessed the predictive value of the IBI using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing primary resistance. Results: Nineteen patients were included in the primary resistance group, and forty-three patients were included in the control group. The IBI was significantly higher in the resistant group compared to the control group (P<0.01). The area under the curve for the IBI was 0.82, indicating a strong predictive value. Multivariate analysis identified the IBI as an independent predictor of primary resistance (P=0.014). Conclusions The baseline IBI holds promise as a predictor of primary resistance to combined ICIs and chemotherapy in patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: Combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chemotherapy have become the standard first-line treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-negative advanced gastric cancer. However, primary resistance remains a challenge, with no effective biomarkers available for its prediction. This retrospective study explores the relationship between the baseline inflammatory burden index (IBI) and primary resistance in such context. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 62 patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer who received ICIs and chemotherapy as their first-line treatment. The IBI was calculated as follows: C-reactive protein (mg/L) × neutrophil count (10 3 /mm 3 )/lymphocyte count (10 3 /mm 3 ). Based on disease progression within 6 months, patients were categorized into the primary resistant or the control group. We compared baseline characteristics and IBI scores between the groups and assessed the predictive value of the IBI using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing primary resistance. Results: Nineteen patients were included in the primary resistance group, and forty-three patients were included in the control group. The IBI was significantly higher in the resistant group compared to the control group (P<0.01). The area under the curve for the IBI was 0.82, indicating a strong predictive value. Multivariate analysis identified the IBI as an independent predictor of primary resistance (P=0.014). Conclusions The baseline IBI holds promise as a predictor of primary resistance to combined ICIs and chemotherapy in patients with HER-2-negative advanced gastric cancer.

Objective The study aimed to explore the factors influencing individual variations in the therapeutic efficacy of botulinum toxin type A(BoNT-A)in the treatment of benign essential blepharospasm(BEB).Methods A retrospectively analysis was performed on the general information of 40 BEB patients who received BoNT-A injections at our center between 2018 and 2023.The information included gender,age,education level,disease duration,number of injections,injection dose,severity of clinical symptoms,injection methods,and other relevant factors.All patients received both the pretarsal(PT)injection and the PT combining with preseptal(PS)injection(PT-PS).A multivariate linear regression analysis was used to statistically analyze the factors affecting the duration of therapeutic effect(DOT).Results Multiple regression analysis showed that gender,age,education level,clinical symptoms and injection method were closely related to the DOT[F(8,71)=4.372,P<0.001],with the injection method being the strongest predictor.Specifically,the mean DOT for the two injection methods was 136.00(123.00,156.50)days,with the PT-PS method significantly longer than the PT method[144.50(132.25,161.75)vs.125.00(114.00,145.25),P<0.001].Conclusion Gender,age,educational level,clinical symptoms,and injection method are predictive indicators for the DOT of BoNT-A in BEB patients.Specifically,DOT is positively correlated with age but negatively correlated with educational level and severity of clinical symptom.Additionally,the DOT is longer in male patients compared to female patients and in those treated with the PT-PS injection method compared to the PT injection method.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery has been a common practice for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, but the response rate varies among patients. This study aimed to develop a ResNet-Vision Transformer based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-endoscopy fusion model to precisely predict treatment response and provide personalized treatment. METHODS: In this multicenter study, 366 eligible patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery at eight Chinese tertiary hospitals between January 2017 and June 2024 were recruited, with 2928 pretreatment colonic endoscopic images and 366 pelvic MRI images. An MRI-endoscopy fusion model was constructed based on the ResNet backbone and Transformer network using pretreatment MRI and endoscopic images. Treatment response was defined as good response or non-good response based on the tumor regression grade. The Delong test and the Hanley-McNeil test were utilized to compare prediction performance among different models and different subgroups, respectively. The predictive performance of the MRI-endoscopy fusion model was comprehensively validated in the test sets and was further compared to that of the single-modal MRI model and single-modal endoscopy model. RESULTS: The MRI-endoscopy fusion model demonstrated favorable prediction performance. In the internal validation set, the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy were 0.852 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.744-0.940) and 0.737 (95% CI: 0.712-0.844), respectively. Moreover, the AUC and accuracy reached 0.769 (95% CI: 0.678-0.861) and 0.729 (95% CI: 0.628-0.821), respectively, in the external test set. In addition, the MRI-endoscopy fusion model outperformed the single-modal MRI model (AUC: 0.692 [95% CI: 0.609-0.783], accuracy: 0.659 [95% CI: 0.565-0.775]) and the single-modal endoscopy model (AUC: 0.720 [95% CI: 0.617-0.823], accuracy: 0.713 [95% CI: 0.612-0.809]) in the external test set. CONCLUSION The MRI-endoscopy fusion model based on ResNet-Vision Transformer achieved favorable performance in predicting treatment response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and holds tremendous potential for enabling personalized treatment regimens for locally advanced rectal cancer patients.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy/methods* ; Aged ; Adult ; Chemoradiotherapy/methods* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025 Edition added the 9213 Guideline for validation,verification,and transfer of microbiological analytical methods.Based on the characteristics of pharmaceutical microbiological analyt-ical methods and practical applications,it specified definitions of relevant terms and application scenarios,estab-lished technical indicators and acceptance criteria for methodological evaluation,and introduced key statistical tools and evaluation principles.This article systematically elaborates on the drafting background and process of the Guideline,and interprets its key content,aiming to offer theoretical guidance and practical reference for relevant practitioners in applying this guideline.This guideline strengthens the foundation of pharmaceutical microbial analytical methods in China and enhances the scientificity and accuracy of the pharmaceutical microbial standards system.

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025 Edition added the 9213 Guideline for validation,verification,and transfer of microbiological analytical methods.Based on the characteristics of pharmaceutical microbiological analyt-ical methods and practical applications,it specified definitions of relevant terms and application scenarios,estab-lished technical indicators and acceptance criteria for methodological evaluation,and introduced key statistical tools and evaluation principles.This article systematically elaborates on the drafting background and process of the Guideline,and interprets its key content,aiming to offer theoretical guidance and practical reference for relevant practitioners in applying this guideline.This guideline strengthens the foundation of pharmaceutical microbial analytical methods in China and enhances the scientificity and accuracy of the pharmaceutical microbial standards system.

Objective The study aimed to explore the factors influencing individual variations in the therapeutic efficacy of botulinum toxin type A(BoNT-A)in the treatment of benign essential blepharospasm(BEB).Methods A retrospectively analysis was performed on the general information of 40 BEB patients who received BoNT-A injections at our center between 2018 and 2023.The information included gender,age,education level,disease duration,number of injections,injection dose,severity of clinical symptoms,injection methods,and other relevant factors.All patients received both the pretarsal(PT)injection and the PT combining with preseptal(PS)injection(PT-PS).A multivariate linear regression analysis was used to statistically analyze the factors affecting the duration of therapeutic effect(DOT).Results Multiple regression analysis showed that gender,age,education level,clinical symptoms and injection method were closely related to the DOT[F(8,71)=4.372,P<0.001],with the injection method being the strongest predictor.Specifically,the mean DOT for the two injection methods was 136.00(123.00,156.50)days,with the PT-PS method significantly longer than the PT method[144.50(132.25,161.75)vs.125.00(114.00,145.25),P<0.001].Conclusion Gender,age,educational level,clinical symptoms,and injection method are predictive indicators for the DOT of BoNT-A in BEB patients.Specifically,DOT is positively correlated with age but negatively correlated with educational level and severity of clinical symptom.Additionally,the DOT is longer in male patients compared to female patients and in those treated with the PT-PS injection method compared to the PT injection method.

Botulinum toxin(BoNT)is currently the first-line method for treating focal dystonia,which causes muscle paralysis by chemical denervation.Recent neuroimaging studies have found that BoNT treatment could alter neuroplasticity in the brain of patients with focal dystonia.However,the specific central nervous system mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.To this end,here we review the neuroimaging studies on BoNT treatment for dystonia from three aspects:functional magnetic resonance imaging,structural magnetic resonance imaging,and positron emission tomography imaging.It suggests that BoNT may improve the symptoms of dystonia patients by affecting functional connectivity,microstructure,and metabolic levels of the cortex,basal ganglia,thalamus,and cerebellum,etc.Therefore,this review will provide a theoretical reference for further exploring the mechanism and developing potential therapeutic targets of dystonia.

Age-related hearing loss(ARHL)is a common chronic disease that poses a serious threat to the physical and mental health of the elderly in an aging society.It is a sensorineural hearing loss characterized by the loss of auditory hair cells,stria vascularis lesions,apoptosis of spiral ganglia,and degeneration of the audi-tory central nervous system,reducing the quality of life of the patients.This article reviews the research progress in the relationship of ARHL with Alzheimer's disease,depression,and frailty,as well as the daily intervention in ARHL.This review aims to improve people's awareness and attention to the health hazards of ARHL and to delay the occurrence and development of ARHL by implementing daily intervention measures to form a healthy lifestyle.