Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Polypeptide drugs have attracted much attention in the field of drug research and development due to their wide range of indications,especially in pharmaceutical R&D of new drugs with endocrine related indications such as diabetes and osteoporosis.With the advancement of peptide synthesis and delivery technologies,the research and application of peptide drugs have made significant breakthroughs.However,the R&D and nonclinical safety assessment of peptide drugs still face many challenges,and there are no specific guidelines for the nonclinical safety evaluation of this class of drugs domestically or abroad.This article focuses on the field of endocrine indications.By analyzing the nonclinical studies of approved peptide drugs,and considering the current R&D status and specific regulatory requirements,this paper proposes considerations on the nonclinical safety assessment of peptide drugs,including the selection of relevant animal species,key study contents,specific considerations for peptides containing non-natural amino acids,etc.The aims are to provide references for optimizing and improving the nonclinical safety evaluation of peptide drugs.

Polypeptide drugs have attracted much attention in the field of drug research and development due to their wide range of indications,especially in pharmaceutical R&D of new drugs with endocrine related indications such as diabetes and osteoporosis.With the advancement of peptide synthesis and delivery technologies,the research and application of peptide drugs have made significant breakthroughs.However,the R&D and nonclinical safety assessment of peptide drugs still face many challenges,and there are no specific guidelines for the nonclinical safety evaluation of this class of drugs domestically or abroad.This article focuses on the field of endocrine indications.By analyzing the nonclinical studies of approved peptide drugs,and considering the current R&D status and specific regulatory requirements,this paper proposes considerations on the nonclinical safety assessment of peptide drugs,including the selection of relevant animal species,key study contents,specific considerations for peptides containing non-natural amino acids,etc.The aims are to provide references for optimizing and improving the nonclinical safety evaluation of peptide drugs.

Therapeutic mRNA vaccine for tumors attracted much attention as a new type of tumor treatment,and most products are in the preclinical and clinical research stage,and there has not post-market drug.However,the non-clinical evaluation of therapeutic mRNA vaccines for tumors is more complicated,due to their target features,mechanisms,delivery patterns,and the cross-species differences of immune system.The choice of animal model is not only content of the clinical effectiveness,and it was a key factor of toxicity assessment.In this work,the challenges for non-clinical evaluation of therapeutic mRNA vaccines for tumors are discussed,and the compliant requirements are reviewed,and the general considerations are suggested.

Adult ; Body Temperature/drug effects* ; COVID-19/pathology* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Ephedra sinica/chemistry* ; Female ; Fever/pathology* ; Glycyrrhiza/chemistry* ; Humans ; Indoles/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy/methods* ; Pneumonia, Viral/pathology* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects*

Accurate methods for identifying pelvic lymph node metastasis (LNM) of prostate cancer (PCa) prior to surgery are still lacking. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of peripheral monocyte count (PMC) for LNM of PCa in this study. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients from three centers were divided into a training set (n = 125) and a validation set (n = 173). In the training set, the independent predictors of LNM were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, and the optimal cutoff value was calculated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The sensitivity and specificity of the optimal cutoff were authenticated in the validation cohort. Finally, a nomogram based on the PMC was constructed for predicting LNM. Multivariate analyses of the training cohort demonstrated that clinical T stage, preoperative Gleason score, and PMC were independent risk factors for LNM. The subsequent ROC analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value of PMC for diagnosing LNM was 0.405 × 109 l

Pyroptosis，which is different from cell necrosis， apoptosis and autophagy，is a new type of programmed cell death. It is characterized by the swelling of cells until the cell membrane rupture， resulting in the release of cell contents and the activation of a strong inflammatory response. Pyroptosis signaling pathway is divided into the classical pathway dependent on Caspase-1 and the non-classical pathway dependent on Caspase-4， 5 and 11. In classical pathway， activation Caspase-1 depends on inflammasome， whereas in non-classical pathway， Caspase-4， 5， and 11 are activated directly. All of these result in the cleavage of gasdermin D（GSDMD） protein， the formation of membrane pores， the maturation and release of interleukin-1β（IL-1β） and IL-18， and the rupture of the cell membrane， and then leads to pyroptosis. Ulcerative colitis （UC） is a common disease of the digestive system. The UC course is long， easy to relapse， and difficult to cure. The pathogenesis of UC is not completely clear. In recent years， it has been found that pyroptosis plays an important role in the development of UC. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has a long history of preventing and treating UC， with significant clinical effects. It is found that the mechanism of TCM in the prevention and treatment of UC is closely correlated with inflammasome， IL-1β and IL-18. The mechanism of TCM in preventing and treating UC is correlated with cell pyroptosis. Therefore， this paper reviews the relationship between cell pyroptosis and UC and the regulatory effect of TCM.

Data GSE75214 and GSE48959 that contained ulcerative colitis(UC) in the active stage was download from GEO database. Differential genes of UC in the active phase were obtained by using adjusted P<0.05 and |log_2 FC|≥1.5, which was the screening criteria. PPI analysis was performed in the STRING database, and GO and KEGG pathway analysis was performed in DAVID database. Cytoscape was used to visualize differential genes, and calculate key genes in the active phase. Coremine Medical was used to analyze and systematically evaluate traditional Chinese medicines for treating key genes. Finally, 139 differentially expressed genes in the active phase were screened out, which included the 109 up-regulated genes and 30 down-regulated genes. DAVID analyzed that the biology and pathways of these differential genes were mainly concentrated in inflammatory response, immune response, chemokine activity, TNF pathway, NF-κB pathway, and Toll-like receptor pathway. Cytoscape software calculated that IL-6, CXCL8, IL-1β, MMP9, CXCL1, ICAM1, CXCL10, TIMP1, PTGS2 and CXCL9 were the key genes of UC in the active phase. According to Coremine Medical analysis, traditional Chinese medicines for UC in the active stage included Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Curcumae Radix had clearing heat clearing damp, reducing fire and detoxifying effects, which was in line with the pathogenesis of UC active stage, and was often used in clinical treatment of dampness-heat diarrhea. Therefore, Huangqin Decoction, which Scutellariae Radix was the principal drug, was selected for systematic evaluation. The evaluation showed that Scutellariae Radix was superior to Western medicine in terms of improving clinical efficiency, reducing inflammatory factors and immunoglobulin levels, with statistically significant differences and fewer adverse reactions. This study provided a new idea for further research on the pathogenesis of UC in the active phase by analyzing the genes and their mechanism of action, and the systematic evaluation of Chinese medicine for the treatment of UC active stage provided a basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of UC by Chinese medicine.
Colitis, Ulcerative ; Computational Biology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Scutellaria baicalensis

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify novel plasma biomarkers for distinguishing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients from healthy individuals who have positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen (VCA-IgA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred seventy-four plasma cytokines were analyzed by a Cytokine Array in eight healthy individuals with positive EBV VCA-IgA and eight patients with NPC. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunohistochemistry were employed to detect the expression levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3) in NPC cell lines and tumor tissues. Plasma MIF and CCL3 were measured by ELISA in 138 NPC patients, 127 EBV VCA-IgA negative (VN) and 100 EBV VCA-IgA positive healthy donors (VP). Plasma EBV VCA-IgA was determined by immunoenzymatic techniques. RESULTS: Thirty-four of the 174 cytokines varied significantly between the VP and NPC group. Plasma MIF and CCL3 were significantly elevated in NPC patients compared with VN and VP. Combination of MIF and CCL3 could be used for the differential diagnosis of NPC from VN cohort (area under the curve [AUC], 0.913; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 80.30%), and combination of MIF, CCL3, and VCA-IgA could be used for the differential diagnosis of NPC from VP cohort (AUC, 0.920; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 84.00%), from (VN+VP) cohort (AUC, 0.961; sensitivity, 90.00%; specificity, 92.00%). Overexpressions of MIF and CCL3 were observed in NPC plasma, NPC cell lines and NPC tissues. CONCLUSION: Plasma MIF, CCL3, and VCA-IgA combination significantly improves the diagnostic specificity of NPC in high-risk individuals.
Biomarkers* ; Blotting, Western ; Capsid* ; Cell Line ; Chemokine CCL3 ; Cohort Studies ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Macrophages* ; Plasma* ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tissue Donors