Humans ; Amyloidosis ; Amyloid ; Cardiomyopathies

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of low-carbohydrate diet and online lifestyle intervention on patients with lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods This study was conducted among 53 patients with lean NAFLD who attended Department of Infectious Diseases in Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital from December 2019 to March 2021,and the patients were given low-carbohydrate diet for calorie restriction[total calorie intake was calculated based on basal metabolic rate(BMR)and physical activity level(PAL)and was restricted within(BMR×95%×PAL-1 000)kcal to(BMR×95%×PAL-500)kcal,and carbohydrate ratio fluctuated between 10%and 55%]and lifestyle interventions for 8 weeks.An online software was used for supervision and follow-up,and the patients were observed in terms of treatment outcome and safety.The patients were compared in terms of controlled attenuation parameter(CAP),liver stiffness measurement(LSM),Anthropometric parameters,blood biochemistry,urinary protein,and urine ketone body before and after intervention.The patients were followed up after 1 year to measure body weight and body mass index(BMI).The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups,and the paired-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous;the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups.Results After 8 weeks of intervention,CAP decreased from 304.47±31.91 db/m to 242.43±26.74 db/m,LSM decreased from 7.43±2.41 kPa to 6.36±1.79 kPa,and body weight decreased from 64.29±7.37 kg to 60.24±7.08 kg(t=11.25,3.72,and 14.07,all P<0.001).Of all patients,25(47.2%)had disappearance of fatty liver,and abnormal LSM in 12 patients(63.2%)returned to normal;52 patients(98.1%)had a mean reduction of 4.05±2.32 kg in body weight.The degree of reduction in CAP increased with the degree of reduction in body weight.After intervention,there were significant reductions in BMI,waist circumference,hip circumference,alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT),uric acid,fasting blood glucose,triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),and low-density lipoprotein(LDL)and a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein(t=12.85,13.77,10.28,7.64,6.21,8.35,6.83,6.31,7.4,4.97,5.95,and-2.21,all P<0.05).The patients with abnormal ALT,AST,GGT,uric acid,fasting blood glucose,TG,TC,and LDL at baseline which returned to normal after intervention accounted for 75%,100%,81.8%,57.1%,100%,66.7%,73.5%,and 85.3%,respectively.There were no significant changes in blood urea nitrogen,serum creatinine,urine protein,and urine ketone body(all P>0.05).There was no rebound in body weight and BMI after 1 year of follow-up(P>0.05).There were no gastrointestinal reactions during intervention or follow-up.Conclusion Low-carbohydrate diet and lifestyle intervention can improve liver fat content,liver function,and blood lipid parameters in patients with lean NAFLD,with good safety.

Objectives:To investigate the clinical feasibility of three-dimensional(3D)high-resolution late gadolinium enhancement(LGE)MRI in accessing left atrial myocardial fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF). Methods:A total of 34 AF patients referred for hybrid surgical ablation were retrospectively enrolled in this study.3D-LGE-MRI images were acquired by Siemens 3.0 T machine and analyzed by ADAS post-processing software by two experienced radiologists to obtain parameters such as the area and the area percentage of LGE.Regional analysis was performed by one of the two radiologists at ten left atrial segments.The Kappa test was used to assess the agreement for scoring image quality,and the interclass correlation coefficient(ICC)was used to evaluate the interobserver agreement of LGE parameters.The parameters of left atrial morphology,area(and area percentage)of LGE,and location of LGE were compared between patients with persistent AF and paroxysmal AF. Results:Images of all 34 patients were considered to have diagnostic value.The scores of the overall image quality and the clarity of the left atrial wall evaluated by two radiologists were(2.88±0.64)points and(3.26±0.75)points(radiologist 1),(2.97±0.58)points and(3.24±0.70)points(radiologist 2),respectively.The corresponding Kappa values were 0.724 and 0.859.Both the area and the area percentage of LGE showed good consistency among observers,and the ICCs were 0.969 and 0.950,respectively.The difference in the area of LGE and the area percentage of LGE between patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation was similar(both P＞0.05).Compared with patients with paroxysmal AF,patients with persistent AF had a higher Utah stage and more severe myocardial fibrosis in the right inferior pulmonary vein antrum and the left atrial septum(all P＜0.05). Conclusions:3D high-resolution LGE-MRI provides a non-invasive way to visualize and quantify left atrial myocardial fibrosis.The extent of left atrial fibrosis in patients with persistent AF is more severe than that in patients with paroxysmal AF,with a preferential distribution in the right inferior pulmonary vein antrum and the left atrial septum.

Objective:To explore the independent risk factors of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis, and to establish and evaluate a risk prediction model for PVT in patients with cirrhosis.Methods:A total of 295 cases of cirrhosis hospitalized in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from December 2019 to October 2021 were divided into a modeling set ( n=207) and an internal validation set ( n=88) by the random number table. In addition, patients with cirrhosis hospitalized in Yichang Central People's Hospital, Wuhan Puren Hospital, No.2 People's Hospital of Fuyang City and People's Hospital of China Three Gorges University during the same period were collected as an external validation set ( n=92). The modeling set was divided into PVT group ( n=56) and non-PVT group ( n=151). Univariate analysis was used to preliminarily screen the related indicators of PVT, and then multivariate logistic regression analysis with forward stepwise regression was used to determine independent risk factors for PVT. A nomogram prediction model was constructed based on the independent risk factors obtained. The internal and external validation set were used to verify the predictive ability of the model. Distinction degree was used to evaluate the ability of the model to distinguish patients with or without PVT. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to evaluate the consistency between predicted risk and the actual risk of the model. Results:Univariate analysis showed that smoking, history of splenectomy, trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), gastrointestinal bleeding and endoscopic variceal treatment, and levels of hemoglobin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and D-dimer were significantly different between the PVT group and the non-PVT group ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that smoking ( P=0.020, OR=31.21, 95% CI: 1.71-569.40), levels of D-dimer ( P=0.003, OR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.04-1.20) and hemoglobin ( P=0.039, OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00), history of TIPS ( P=0.011, OR=18.04, 95% CI: 1.92-169.90) and endoscopic variceal treatment ( P=0.001, OR=3.21, 95% CI: 1.59-6.50) were independent risk factors for PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the internal validation set was 0.802 (95% CI: 0.709-0.895) ( P<0.001), and the AUC for the external validation set was 0.811 (95% CI: 0.722-0.900) ( P<0.001). Both AUC were larger than 0.75. The calibration curve of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed that the P values of both internal validation set ( χ2=3.602, P=0.891) and the external validation set ( χ2=11.025, P=0.200) were larger than 0.05. Conclusion:Smoking, history of TIPS or endoscopic variceal treatment, levels of D-dimer and hemoglobin are independent risk factors for PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis. The prediction nomogram model based on the above factors has strong predictive ability.

Objective:To explore the feasibility of extracting the key plane of the normal fetal palate on the 11-13 + 6 week from tomography ultrasonography imaging based on artificial intelligence. Methods:The fetal volume datas of 235 cases of 11-13 + 6 week normal fetal were collected from the Department of Ultrasound in the Luohu District People′s Hospital of Shenzhen and Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital from May 2020 to April 2021. The data acquisition was completed by sonographers A and B by using the GE Voluson E10 color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic instrument. All datas were marked offline by sonographer C. Tomographic imaging was performed on all included data by sonographer D, the tomographic images were saved and the time-consuming was recorded, and the datas of the sonographer group were obtained. The labeled data were randomly divided into the training set and test set for model transfer learning and testing.The 4-fold cross-validation was adopted to record the test set image output by the model and the time consumption to obtain the intelligent group data. A senior sonographer performed image analysis on the two groups of data images. The feasibility of the intelligent model was verified by comparing the score of the plane of retronasal triangle(RTP), the acquisition rate of RTP, the acquisition rate of the fault, and the time-consuming difference between the sonographer group and the intelligent group. Results:①There was no significant difference in the overall distribution of RTP scores between the sonographer group and intelligent group [5 (5, 6) points vs 5 (5, 6) points, Z=0.355, P=0.722]. The RTP acquisition rate of the sonographer group and intelligent group was not statistically significant (78.72% vs 76.60%, χ 2=0.55, P=0.458). The consistency and correlation of RTP obtained by the two groups were high (Kappa=0.645, φ=0.646, both P<0.001). ②The effective layers of the sonographer group were 9 (8, 9) and the intelligent group was 8 (7, 9). The fault acquisition rate of the doctor group was higher than that of the intelligent group (78.72% vs 68.51%, χ 2=12.52, P=0.001). The consistency and correlation of the two groups in obtaining faults were media (Kappa=0.503, φ=0.521, both P<0.001). ③The time-consuming of the intelligent group was significantly lower than that of the sonographer group [1.50 (1.23, 1.75)s vs 26.94 (22.28, 30.48)s, Z=11.440, P<0.001]. Conclusions:This research model can quickly and accurately realize the extraction and tomography of the key plane of the normal fetal palate on the 11-13 + 6 week.

Objective:To investigate the clinical and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) characteristics of heart involvement in patients with Fabry disease (AFD).Methods:From January 2018 to March 2021, eight AFD patients [3 males and 5 females, mean age (50±11) years old, range 26-60 years old] confirmed by genetic testing or pathology in Fuwai Hospital were retrospectively included in this study. At the same time, sixteen patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) [6 males and 10 females, mean age (46±15) years old] and 16 healthy individuals [6 males and 10 females, mean age (51±11) years old] were included as controls. The clinical baseline data and CMR data of the patients were collected and analyzed. The CMR data were analyzed using the software CVI42, with the corresponding parameters automatically generated. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the differences in the parameters among the three groups. Independent-samples t test, Fisher precise test or Mann-Whitney U test were used for the comparison between each two groups. Results:Statistically significant difference was found in renal insufficiency between the HCM group and the AFD group; No other significant difference was found in other clinical factors and ECG results (all P>0.05). CMR results showed that in the AFD group, there were 5 cases with symmetric or roughly symmetric hypertrophy, and 3 with asymmetric hypertrophy. The late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) showed myocardial enhancement in 5 patients, mainly presenting as multiple intermural enhancement, and partially as local subendocardial enhancement. In the HCM group, fourteen cases suffered mainly asymmetric ventricular septal thickening, with or without thickening of other parts of left ventricular wall; and 2 cases had thickening of middle and distal part of the left ventricle. The LGE showed myocardial enhancement in 14 patients, which manifested as focal or patchy enhancement in hypertrophic myocardium, including focal enhancement in the right ventricular insertion of ventricular septum (more common) and subendocardial enhancement in the middle and far segments of left ventricle. Statistically significant difference was found in the differences between the left atrial anterior posterior diameter, the maximum wall thickness of left ventricular, the left ventricular myocardial mass index (LVMI) and the native T 1 value among the three groups (all P<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the left atrial anterior posterior diameter and the maximum wall thickness of left ventricular between AFD group and HCM group ( P>0.05). The LVMI in AFD group was higher than that in healthy group and HCM group (all P<0.05). Significant difference was found in the native T 1 value among the three groups, with the native T 1 value of the AFD group [(1 177.4±46.0) ms] was significantly lower than that of the healthy group [(1 244.5±34.3) ms] and the HCM group [(1 278.8±41.6) ms], with ( F=13.10, P<0.001). Conclusions:The clinical characteristics of AFD and HCM are quite similar. When AFD is suspected, CMR imaging should be the first choice for imaging examination. Especially, T 1 mapping imaging can provide important information for the diagnosis of AFD.

Objective:To analyze the metabolic status of forest encephalitis patients, research the effect of forest encephalitis on lipid metabolism, and clarify the possible pathogenesis.Methods:Based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), lipidomics analysis was performed in 50 patients with tick-borne encephalitis and 39 healthy samples from Hulunbuir region. The patients′ serum samples were analyzed by utilizing the multivariate statistical analysis method such as principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA).Results:A total of 465 peaks were detected in the samples, and metabolites such as phospholipids and glycerides were identified. To identify the significant differential metabolites ( P<0.01, VIP>1, FC>2), a total of 26 biomarkers were screened, which phospholipids tend to be upregulated[log 2(Fold change)>0], such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE); while glycerides tend to be decreased[log 2(Fold change)<0], such as diacylglycerol (DAG) and triacylglycerol (TAG), and those metabolites were closely related to anti-inflammatory and other metabolic pathways. The AUC value of potential biomarkers obtained was 0.999, which could be used for diagnosis of disease group and healthy group. Conclusions:The study showed that phospholipid metabolism and glyceride metabolism pathways would have some change after human infected by virus, and the differential metabolites could be used as potential markers for the diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis, which provide a theoretical basis for disease research.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of T 1 mapping/indexed extracellular volume fraction (iECV) quantified with cardiac MR (CMR) parameters, and its correlation with traditional indicators of myocardial dysfunction in aortic insufficiency (AI) patients. Methods:A total of 36 patients clinically and radiologically diagnosed with chronic AI in our hospital between May 2012 and February 2016 were retrospectively selected. All AI patients underwent conventional CMR protocol, native and post T 1 mapping. CMR parameters, such as aortic regurgitant fraction (RF), late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) mass fraction, myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) and iECV. Based on the values of aortic RF, AI patients were divided into mild AI group (9 cases), moderate AI group (14 cases) and severe AI group (13 cases). The clinical characteristics were teased from the patients′ electronic medical records. Univariate analysis of variance was used to compare the measurement data of native T 1 mapping, post-contrast T 1 mapping, ECV, and iECV. LSD test was used for pair wise comparison between the mild AI, moderate AI and severe AI groups. Data about cardiovascular history, New York Heart Association (NYHA) heart function classification, and LGE were compared by chi-square test or Fisher exact test. The correlation between left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and iECV was evaluated by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:There was no difference in age, sex, cardiovascular history among the three groups. Comparison of patients with different severity of AI in the three groups: (1) There was statistically significant difference in the LGE positive rate among the three groups ( P=0.023), while the myocardial replacement of fibrosis increased with the grade of aortic regurgitation. (2) There was no statistically significant difference in the measurement data of native T 1 mapping, post-contrast T 1 mapping, ECV among the three groups ( H=1.815, 0.929, 2.496, all P values>0.05), while the diffuse myocardial fibrosis tended to increase with the degree of aortic regurgitation. There was statistically significant difference in iECV among the three groups ( H=16.725, P<0.001). The measurement data of iECV in the severe AI group was significantly higher than those in the other two groups ( P<0.05). LVEF value was inversely correlated with iECV ( r=-0.649, P<0.001). Conclusions:Quantitative T 1 mapping/iECV can serve as a parameter to noninvasively identify diffuse myocardial fibrosis in AI patients of different severities. It changes with LVEF and can manifest the reversible stage of left ventricular decompensation.

Objective: To investigate the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging characteristics and influence factors of aortic insufficiency (AI) patients with myocardial fibrosis. Method: This retrospective study included 59 AI patients who received CMR and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) examinations from June 2011 to February 2015. AI patients were divided into 2 groups: bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) group (n=30) and non-BAV group (n=29). Patients were also divided into late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) group (n=27) and non-LGE group (n=32). The baseline clinical characteristics were collected through electronic medical records. Hemodynamic parameters such as grade of AI, cardiac functional parameters and LGE mass fraction (LGE%) were measured by CMR post-processing analysis. Kappa test was used to assess the consistency of AI severity between CMR and TTE, and the multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate influence factors of myocardial fibrosis in AI patients. Results: (1) 56 (94.9%) patients were male, and the mean age was (44.2±11.0) years old. There was no significant difference in age and gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, alcoholic consumption between BAV and non-BAV group (all P>0.05). There were a higher proportion of smoking history (P=0.008), a lower body mass index (BMI) (P=0.020) in the LGE group than in the non-LGE group. (2) The accuracy of CMR in diagnosis of BAV was 96.7% (29/30) compared to the gold standard. In the BAV group, 20 patients (66.7%) were with fusion of left and right cusp (L-R), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of right and noncoronary cusp (R-N), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of left and noncoronary cusp (L-N); patients with BAV had larger left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVi), left ventricular end systolic volume index (LVESVi), higher proportion of LGE and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than those in non-BAV group (all P<0.05). There were 19 patients with BAV in the LGE group, the cases of L-R, R-N, L-N were 10 (52.6%), 5 (26.3%), and 4 (21.1%), respectively. In the non-LGE group, patients with BAV of L-R, R-N, L-N were 10 (90.9%), 0, and 1 (9.1%), respectively. Patients with LGE had lower body surface area (BSA), LVEF and larger LVEDVi, LVESVi, left ventricular mass index (LVMi) and higher proportion of BAV compared patients without LGE. In addition, the proportion of moderate and severe AI patients was significantly higher in BAV group than in non-BAV group (P=0.009). (3) The consistency of CMR and TTE in evaluating the severity of AI patients: the agreement between TTE and CMR regarding AI severity was satisfactory (kappa value was 0.624, 95%CI 0.402-0.831, P<0.001). (4) The linear regression analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between LVEF and LGE% in BAV and non-BAV group (P<0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of BAV was an independent risk factor of left ventricucar fibrosis (OR=5.050, 95%CI 1.220-20.908, P=0.025) after adjustment for LVEF, hypertension, LVEDVi and LVMi. Conclusion Multi-parametric CMR provides a satisfactory noninvasive tool for estimation of myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodeling in patients with AI, and BAV is an independent risk factor for myocardial fibrosis in patients with AI.

Objective: To observe the changes of LC3, lc3-Ⅱ/lc3-Ⅰ ratio, Nrf2 and Bcl2 in myocarditis induced by coxsackievirus group B type 3 (CV-B3) infection and myocardial damage in SD rats caused by particulate matter of four different pollution sources, and to further explore the mechanism of autophagy and apoptosis of myocardial cells and myocardial damage. Methods: Adult SD rats were randomly divided into CV-B3 infection group (20 rats), automobile exhaust group (20 rats), coal smoke group (20 rats), burning straw group (20 rats), atmosphere group (20 rats) and control group (20 rats). The expressions of LC3, Bcl2 and Nrf2 in rats were detected by Western blot at 12 hours, 48 hours, 5 days and 10 days. Results: In the first three groups of rats expression of LC3, Bcl2 and Nrf2 was upregulated, this was seen early in CV-B3 group, the peak was high, and recovery was fast; while in automobile exhaust group the above changes appeared later, the amplitude was low; in the coal smoke group rats the above changes appeared even later, but the amplitude of change was higher than that in automobile exhaust group, but lower than that of CV-B₃ group. In automobile exhaust and coal smoke groups Bcl2 and Nrf2 expression was still slightly increased at day 10. After 48 hours, the above measurements in rats in the atmosphere group were temporarily up-regulated, and returned to normal on day 5. The above measurements of rats in the straw smoke and the control group did not show significant change. Conclusions In the SD rats with acute viral myocarditis induced by CV-B3 and myocardial damage induced by automobile exhaust, coal smoke and atmospheric particulate matter, the whole process of metabolism, renewal, repair and anti-damage activity of myocardial cells can be accomplished through autophagy activation, apoptosis inhibition and antioxidant mechanism.