OBJECTIVES: To analyze sex and age distribution of global disease burden of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: CAVD data during 1990-2021 were obtained from the IHME website for Global Burden of Disease (GBD). The prevalence, mortality, years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were analyzed by gender and age groups. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC). RESULTS: In 2021, there were 13.32 million CAVD patients and 142 000 deaths caused by CAVD globally. Age-standardized prevalence was higher in males (193.2/10⁵) than that in females (128.9/10⁵). Patients in 65-<85 age group accounted for 64.0% of total cases, while those ≥85 years old accounted for 16.1%. From 1990 to 2021, prevalence increased in both sexes with an AAPC of 0.72% for males and 0.57% for females, respectively. Prevalence grew fastest from 2000 to 2010, slowed thereafter, and declined from 2015 to 2021. In <65 years old, the mortality of males was 2.4 times higher than that of females, while in ≥85 years old, mortality of females (117.3/10⁵) exceeded that of males (99.1/10⁵). YLD rates increased with age, and were higher in males for all age groups. DALY rates decreased overall but increased in ≥85 years old, with a greater increase in females. CONCLUSIONS There are significant gender and age disparities in global disease burden of CAVD, with the elderly, especially super-elderly females deserving particular attention. It is recommended to develop personalized intervention strategies for these populations.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Calcinosis/mortality* ; Prevalence ; Global Burden of Disease ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; Aortic Valve/pathology* ; Aortic Valve Stenosis/epidemiology* ; Age Distribution ; Adult ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Sex Distribution ; Global Health ; Aortic Valve Disease/epidemiology* ; Sex Factors

BACKGROUND: Early control of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is crucial for reducing the progress of cardiovascular disease. However, its additional role to the risk of primary osteoporosis in men with coronary heart disease was inconclusive. Our study aims to determine the association of LDL-C and its trajectories for osteoporosis risk in the middle-aged and aged men of China. METHODS: The retrospective cohort study of 1546 men aged 69.74 ± 11.30 years conducted in Beijing, China from 2015 to 2022. And the incidence of primary osteoporosis was annually recorded. LDL-C trajectories were further identified by latent class growth model using repeated measurements of LDL-C. The association of baseline LDL-C for osteoporosis was estimated using hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI in Cox proportional hazard model, while mean level and trajectories of LDL-C for osteoporosis were evaluated using odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI in logistic regression model. RESULTS: During the median 6.2-year follow-up period, 70 men developed primary osteoporosis. The higher level of baseline LDL-C (HR = 1.539, 95% CI: 1.012-2.342) and mean LDL-C (OR = 2.190, 95% CI: 1.443-3.324) were associated with higher risk of osteoporosis in men with coronary heart disease after adjusted for covariates. Compared with those in the LDL-C trajectory of low-stable decrease, participants with medium-fluctuant trajectory, whose longitudinal LDL-C started with a medium LDL-C level and appeared an increase and then decrease, were negatively associated with osteoporosis risk (OR = 2.451, 95% CI: 1.152-5.216). And participants with initially high LDL-C level and then a rapid decrease demonstrated a tendency towards reduced risk (OR = 0.718, 95% CI: 0.212-2.437). CONCLUSIONS Elevated LDL-C level and its long-term fluctuation may increase the risk of primary osteoporosis in men. Early controlling a stable level of LDL-C is also essential for bone health.

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 effects of Peiyuan Yishen Antai Decoction on cell senescence and decidualization of aged mice with recurrent spontaneous abortion(RSA)based on P53/P21 signaling pathway;To discuss its mechanism in the treatment of RSA.Methods 8-9 month old CBA/J female mice were randomly divided into aging model group(normal saline 0.3 mL/d),Chinese materia medica group(18.72 g/kg)and dydrogesterone group(2.6 mg/kg).6-8 week old CBA/J female mice were assigned to a reproductive age blank group(normal saline 0.3 mL/d),with five mice in each group.After administering the corresponding solutions by gavage for 2 weeks,the reproductive age blank group mice were housed in cages with BALB/c male mice,while the remaining groups were housed in cages with DBA/2 male mice.After confirming the presence of vaginal plug,gavage was continued until the 9th day of pregnancy for sampling.Mice embryo loss rate was observed,HE staining was used to observe the morphology of uterine decidua,immunohistochemistry was used to detect the localization and expression of aging related protein Pi6INK4a in decidua tissue,RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of P53,P21,insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1(IGFBP-1)and prolactin(PRL)in decidual tissue.Results Compared with the reproductive age blank group,the embryo loss rate of the aging model group significantly increased(P＜0.05),the irregular endometrial cells were vacuolated,the number of glands and blood vessels was reduced,the expression of P16INK4a in decidual tissue significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the expressions of P53,P21 mRNA and protein significantly increased(P＜0.05),the mRNA and protein expressions of IGFBP-1 and PRL significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the aging model group,the Chinese materia medica group and the dydrogesterone group showed an decreasing trend in embryo loss rate in mice,the arrangement of cells in the decidua tissue was relatively neat,and the number of blood vessels and glands increased,the expression of P16INK4a in decidua tissue was significantly decreased(P＜0.05),the mRNA and protein expressions of P53 and P21 were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),while the mRNA and protein expressions of IGFBP-1 and PRL significantly increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Peiyuan Yishen Antai Decoction can improve the aging status of endometrial stromal cells in aged RSA model mice by regulating the P53/P21 signaling pathway,promote decidualization process,and thus exert a protective effect on pregnancy.

Objective To explore the risk factors for medium-and long-term mortality in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia(SCAP)based on the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Ⅳ(MIMIC-Ⅳ),construct a prognostic model and evaluate its predictive efficacy.Methods In this retrospective cohort study,1943 SCAP patients from the U.S.MIMIC-Ⅳdatabase(2008-2019)were randomly divided into training(n=1363)and validation(n=580)sets(7:3 ratio).Primary and secondary endpoints were 1-year and 30-/90-day all-cause mortality,respectively.Prognostic factors were selected using LASSO regression and multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling,and a visual nomogram model was built.Model performance was assessed via C-index,receiver operator characteristic(ROC)curves,and calibration curves,and compared with the CURB-65 score.Risk stratification was validated using Kaplan-Meier analysis.Results The 30-day,90-day,and 1-year all-cause mortality rates for SCAP patients were 25.9％,34.5％,and 42.6％,respectively.Seven independent risk factors were identified:age(HR=1.037),heart rate(HR=1.007),red blood cell distribution width(RDW,HR=1.092),Acute Physiology Score Ⅲ(APS-Ⅲ,HR=1.013),cerebrovascular disease(HR=1.453),liver disease(HR=1.272),and malignancy(HR=2.007).Based on these factors,Cox regression model was constructed and nomogram was drawn,C-indices of training set and validation set were 0.710 and 0.688,respectively.For 1-year mortality prediction,the model achieved superior area under the ROC curve(AUC)values(training set:0.768;validation set:0.738)compared with CURB-65 score(training set:0.648;validation set:0.616).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed significantly worse survival in high-risk group than low-risk group(P<0.0001).Conclusions Age,heart rate,RDW,APS-Ⅲ,cerebrovascular disease,liver disease,and malignant tumor were medium-and long-term mortality risk factors in SCAP patients.The prognostic model constructed based on these factors has high predictive power and provides an important clinical diagnosis and treatment reference.

Objective:To analyze the safety and short-term efficacy of thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib in the treatment of inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:A prospective study was conducted on patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC who were intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy and treated at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from October 2020 to September 2023. Anlotinib was administered orally concurrently with radiotherapy (days 1-14, 21 days per cycle, for 3 cycles). Adverse effects and short-term tumor recurrence were observed from the beginning of radiotherapy to the 3-month post-radiotherapy. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates from the date of initial treatment (induction therapy), and intergroup comparisons were performed using the log-rank test.Results:The median age was 62 years (range:42-76 years), with a male predominance ( n=36, 88%) of the included 41 patients. The incidence of grade 3-4 acute hematologic adverse events was 20% (8 cases); the incidence of grade 3 hemoptysis was 2% (1 case), with no grade 4 hemoptysis; the incidence of grade 3-4 radiation pneumonitis was 10% (4 cases). No grade 5 adverse events were observed in the entire cohort. With a median follow-up of 19.7 months (range: 7.1-50.1 months), 19 patients (46%) experienced recurrence, including 4 patients (10%) with local recurrence, 6 patients (15%) with regional lymph node recurrence, and 11 patients (27%) with distant metastases. The 1-year PFS rate was 78.3%. 8 patients (20%) died, including 3 patients died from COVID-19 infection during the follow-up period, 1 patient who died from hypostatic pneumonia due to prolonged bed rest after cerebral infarction, and 4 patients died from tumor-related causes. The 1-year OS rate was 78.0%. Conclusions:Thoracic radiotherapy combined with anlotinib demonstrates good safety, manageable adverse events, and favorable short-term efficacy in NSCNC patients intolerant to concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Objective:To evaluate the role of a single PET-CT scan in predicting survival and prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who did not undergo surgery but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 23 NSCLC patients treated at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from May 2022 to June 2024. All patients were pathologically confirmed, received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, did not undergo surgery for various reasons, and instead received radiotherapy. Each patient underwent only one PET-CT scan after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy and before radiotherapy. According to the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) on PET-CT, patients were divided into the low-uptake group (SUV max < 8, n=12) and high-uptake group (SUV max ≥ 8, n=11). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with survival curves plotted. Univariate analysis of influencing factors of survival was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of the two groups were compared, including progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results:The 1-year PFS rates were 100% in the low-uptake group, 54.5% in the high-uptake group. This difference was statistically significant ( P=0.007). The 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 100% in the low-uptake group, the 1-year and 2-year OS rates were both 90.9% in the high-uptake group, with no statistically significant difference ( P=0.394). Univariate Cox analysis identified age as an independent factor affecting PFS. Conclusions:For NSCLC patients who did not undergo surgical resection but received radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy, a single PET-CT scan before radiotherapy has potential value in predicting PFS. However, clinical studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up are required to evaluate its predictive value for OS.

Objective:To analyze the prognostic value of systemic inflammatory score (SIS) in patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated by definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) combined with or without consolidation immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI).Methods:The medical record data of 229 patients who received dCRT from January 2014 to December 2017 and 183 patients who received dCRT combined with any form of ICI (induction, concurrent, consolidation or combination) from August 2018 to August 2022 in the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences were retrospectively analyzed. Upon admission, 1 and 3 months after treatment (efficacy evaluation) and upon tumor recurrence, peripheral blood count was collected, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and SIS were calculated, respectively. The SIS before, 1 and 3 months after treatment was defined as SIS 0, SIS 1 and SIS 3, respectively. Overall survival (OS) was considered as the primary endpoint. All patients were divided into dCRT group and dCRT+ICI group according to whether received immunotherapy, and then divided into different subgroups based on the cutoff value of SIS determined by X-Tile software. The prognostic value of SIS was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the predictive efficiency. The predictive value of SIS was compared with inflammatory indexes (NLR, PLR) and independent prognostic factors. Results:In the dCRT group, the optimal cutoff value of SIS 0 was 590×10 9 and 530×10 9 in the dCRT+ICIs group. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that SIS 0 was an independent predictive factor of OS, progression - free survival (PFS), local - recurrence free survival (LRFS) and distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) in the dCRT group, but not associated with DMFS in the dCRT+ICI group. In the dCRT group, SIS 1>970×10 9 (optimal cutoff value) predicted poor OS ( HR=2.512, 95% CI=1.622-3.198, P<0.001), PFS ( HR=1.726, 95% CI=1.187-2.509, P=0.004), and DMFS ( HR=1.625, 95% CI=1.029-2.564, P=0.037). In the dCRT+ICI group, SIS 3>1570×10 9 (optimal cutoff value) indicated poor OS ( HR=5.107, 95% CI=1.731-15.069, P=0.003). In both groups, the AUC of SIS was higher than NLR, PLR and other traditional clinicopathological predictive indexes except T stage. Conclusions:SIS before treatment can be considered as an independent, dependable and easily acquired prognostic marker in patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC treated by dCRT or dCRT+ICI. In the dCRT+ICI group, the optimal time point of post-radiotherapy SIS (3 months after treatment) is postponed than that (1 month after treatment) in the dCRT group.

The codon was optimized for the bovine nebovirus(BNeV)VP1 gene and the recombi-nant plasmid pFastBac-Dual-VP1 was constructed,and BNeV-VP1 virus-like particles(VLPs)were prepared using a baculovirus expression system,and identified by Western blot,indirect im-munofluorescence and electron microscopy.Successfully validated VLPs were mixed with MF59 adjuvant and CpG-ODG,and mice were immunised by intramuscular injection and evaluated for immunity effects.The results showed that the optimized CAI(codon adaptation index)of VP1 gene was 0.93 and the GC content was 60.4％.The constructed recombinant plasmid was trans-formed into DH10Bac for blue-white spot screening,and after successful verification,it was trans-fected into SF9 cells to obtain recombinant baculovirus Baculo-BNeV-VP1.BNeV virus-like parti-cles with diameters ranging from 35 to 40 nm were observed under the electron microscope,and both IFA and Western blot experiments proved that the target proteins were successfully ex-pressed and biologically active,and protein optimisation revealed that the highest protein expres-sion was found at the infectious dose MOI=0.5.Mice were immunized by intramuscular injection after 50 μg of VLPs were mixed with MF59 adjuvant and CpG-ODN.The results showed that the VLPs immunization group produced IgG antibodies 7 days after the first dose,and the antibody ti-ter increased gradually,reaching a maximum of 1∶102 400,and declined at 35 d,but still main-tained a high level;The blocking titer BT50 is up to 640,which can induce the production of BNeV VP1-specific blocking antibody in mice.In this study,the baculovirus expression system was used to express the VP1 protein of BNeV,and BNeV VLPs were successfully constructed,which could induce humoral immune response in mice,which provided a reference for the follow-up research of BNeV vaccine.