BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the first cohort of people in China treated with a responsive neurostimulation system (Epilcure TM , GenLight MedTech, Hangzhou, China) for focal drug-resistant epilepsy in this study. METHODS: This multicenter, before-and-after self-controlled study was conducted across 8 centers from March 2022 to June 2023, involving patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who were undergoing responsive neurostimulation (RNS). The study was based on an ongoing multi-center, single-blind, randomized controlled study. Efficacy was assessed through metrics including median seizure count, seizure frequency reduction (SFR), and response rate. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationships of basic clinical factors and intracranial electrophysiological characteristics with SFR. The postoperative quality of life, cognitive function, depression, and anxiety were evaluated as well. RESULTS: The follow-up period for the 19 participants was 10.7 ± 3.4 months. Seizure counts decreased significantly 6 months after device activation, with median SFR of 48% at the 6th month (M6) and 58% at M12 ( P  <0.05). The average response rate after 13 months of treatment was 42%, with 21% ( n  = 4) of the participants achieving seizure freedom. Patients who have previously undergone resective surgery appear to achieve better therapeutic outcomes at M11, M12 and M13 ( β  <0, P  <0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in patients' scores of quality of life, cognition, depression and anxiety following stimulation when compared to baseline measurements. No serious adverse events related to the devices were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings suggest that Epilcure TM exhibits promising therapeutic potential in reducing the frequency of epileptic seizures. However, to further validate its efficacy, larger-scale randomized controlled trials are required. REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR2200055247).
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy/therapy* ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; China ; Adolescent ; Treatment Outcome ; Quality of Life ; Single-Blind Method ; Seizures ; Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods*

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

Peptide-based therapies have attracted considerable interest in the treatment of cancer, diabetes, bacterial infections, and neurodegenerative diseases due to their promising therapeutic properties and enhanced safety profiles. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the major trends in peptide drug discovery and development, emphasizing preclinical strategies aimed at improving peptide stability, specificity, and pharmacokinetic properties. It assesses the current applications and challenges of peptide-based drugs in these diseases, illustrating the pharmaceutical areas where peptide-based drugs demonstrate significant potential. Furthermore, this review analyzes the obstacles that must be overcome in the future, aiming to provide valuable insights and references for the continued advancement of peptide-based drugs.
Humans ; Peptides/pharmacology* ; Animals ; Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Drug Discovery ; Neurodegenerative Diseases/drug therapy* ; Diabetes Mellitus/drug therapy*

Objective To explore the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome character-istics and medication patterns of cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD)using data mining techniques.Methods Clinical research literature on TCM treatment of CSVD,published from the establishment of the database to September 1,2024,was retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang,and VIP databases.Analyses were conducted on syndromes,drug frequencies,properties,flavors,and meridian tropisms.Data mining was performed using R4.4.1 software to ex-plore associations,correlations,and clustering of TCM herbs,aiming to elucidate medication patterns in CSVD treatment.Results A total of 60 prescription formulas for treating CSVD were screened,involving 142 TCM herbs with a total usage frequency of 1,312 times.The top five most frequently used herbs were Chuanxiong,Danggui,Dilong,Huangqi,and Chishao.Herb properties were pre-dominantly warm and cold;flavors were mainly pungent,bitter,and sweet;and meridian tropisms were primarily to the liver,spleen,and heart meridians.Twenty-nine strong association rules were identified,and association analysis revealed core herbal combinations centered around Chuanxiong,Chishao,and Danggui.Clustering analysis yielded five herbal combinations.Conclusion CSVD is characterized by a deficiency in essence and excess in superficiality.Treatment should focus on tonify-ing deficiencies and eliminating excesses,combining both tonification and purgation methods.Medication patterns predominantly involve herbs for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis,often combined with herbs for nourishing the kidney and marrow,calming the liver and suppressing wind,and awakening the mind and opening the orifices.

Objective To investigate the risk of perioperative blood transfusion in elderly patients with hip fracture and its impact on short-term prognosis.Methods The clinical data of elderly patients with hip fracture admitted to the orthopedic department of Shenzhen Municipal Second People's Hospital from January 2021 to November 2022 were collected.The patients were divided into the blood transfusion group and non-blood transfusion group according to whether or not having blood transfusion during perioperative period.The independent influencing factors for perioperative blood transfusion were analyzed by the univariate and multi-factorial logistic regression,and the short-term prognostic differences were compared between the two groups.Results A total of 412 elderly patients with hip fracture were included in the study.There were 257 cases of perioperative blood transfusion(blood transfusion group,62.4％),and the average blood transfusion amount was(4.1±2.52)U.The univariate analysis showed that the age,fracture type,complications(cardiac insuffi-ciency,preoperative pulmonary infection,bronchiectasis),red blood cell count,hemoglobin,red blood cell vol-ume distribution width,albumin,ASA grade,NYHA cardiac function grade,surgical mode,intraoperative blood loss volume and operative time had statistical differences between the blood transfusion group and non-blood transfusion group(P＜0.05).The multivariate logistic analysis showed that preoperative low Hb level,cardiac insufficiency,intraoperative blood loss volume＞200 mL and operative duration＞120 min were the independent risk factors for perioperative blood transfusion in elderly patients with hip fracture.The hospitali-zation and bed rest time in the blood transfusion group were longer than those in the non-blood transfusion group,the hospitalization expenses was higher and the activity of daily living(ADL)score was lower(P＜0.05).Conclusion The preoperative blood transfusion in elderly patients with hip fractures has high risk.Preopera-tive low hemoglobin level,cardiac insufficiency,intraoperative blood loss volume＞200 mL and operative du-ration＞120 min are the independent risk factors for perioperative transfusion in elderly patients with hip fracture and affect the short term prognosis in the patients.

Objective To analyze the expression of N-MYC and N-MYC downstream regulated gene-1(NDRG1)in gastric cancer tissues,and to assess their effects on biological characteristics of gastric cancer cells.Methods Paired of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues resected from 82 cases of patholog-ically confirmed gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment in the hospital from January 2021 to May 2023 were collected.Gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues of 82 patients who were surgically re-sected and pathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer in the hospital from January 2021 to May 2023 were collected.Real-time quantitative PCR(qPCR)was used to detect the relative mRNA expression levels of N-MYC and NDRG1,and clinical data of the patients were collected.The correlation between the mRNA expres-sion of N-MYC and NDRG1 and clinicopathological features of the patients was discussed.NCI-N87 cells in logarithmic growth phase were selected and cultured in vitro.N-MYC interference plasmid(si-N-MYC)and its negative control(si-NC)was transfected into NCI-N87 cells,respectively,which were recorded as si-NC group and si-N-MYC group.Moreover,si-N-MYC was co-transfected into NCI-N87 cells with anti-NC and an-ti-NDRG1,respectively,and denoted as si-N-MYC+anti-NC group and si-N-MYC+anti-NDRG1 group.CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation activity,Transwell assay was used to detect cell invasion ability,and Western blotting assay was used to detect N-MYC and NDRG1 protein expression in cells.Results The relative expression of N-MYC mRNA in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in paracancer tissues(P＜0.05),and the relative expression of NDRG1 mRNA was lower than that in paracancer tissues(P＜0.05).There were significant differences in the expression of N-MYC and NDRG1 mRNA in patients with different TNM stages,lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis(P＜0.05).Compared with the si-NC group,the cell proliferation and invasion ability of the si-N-MYC group were decreased(P＜0.05),and the expression of NDRG1 protein was down-regulated(P＜0.05).Compared with si-N-MYC+anti-NC group,cell proliferation and invasion ability of si-N-MYC+anti-NDRG1 group were increased(P＜0.05).N-MYC could target and regulate NDRG1,and knocking down NDRG1 could reverse the biological effects of N-MYC on gastric cells.Conclusion In gastric cancer tissue,N-MYC mRNA expression is upregulated and NDRG1 mRNA expression is downregulated,both of which play important roles in the regulation of malignant biological behaviors such as proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

Objective:To investigate whether end-tidal carbon dioxide (etCO 2) is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) after liver transplantation. Methods:Clinical data of 83 patients undergoing classic allogeneic liver transplantation were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into AKI group and non AKI group based on changes in serum creatinine levels within 48 hours after surgery, and differences in baseline data, intraoperative etCO 2 decrease rate [ΔetCO 2(%)], and postoperative creatinine values were analyzed between the groups. Results:The incidence of AKI within 48 hours after liver transplantation in 83 patients was 56.6%(47/83). The proportion of male patients in the AKI group was higher ( P=0.003), and the ΔetCO 2(%) in the anhepatic phase of AKI group patients was higher than that of non AKI patients [(0.26±0.08)% vs (0.22±0.07)%, P=0.024]. There was no statistically significant difference in ΔetCO 2(%) between the two groups during pre liver, inferior vena cava (IVC) occlusion, and new liver phase (all P>0.05). On the 7th day after surgery, the creatinine value in the AKI group was significantly higher than that in the non AKI group [68.7(55.4, 92.6)]μmol/L vs 52.7(44.1, 69.3)μmol/L, P<0.001], at a 3-month follow-up, creatinine levels in 43 patients (91.5%) in the AKI group returned to normal. Conclusions:The decrease in ΔetCO 2(%) during the anhepatic phase of liver transplantation reflects to some extent the severe fluctuations in circulation during the operation, which may be related to the occurrence of AKI within 48 hours after surgery.

Objective:To develop a risk prediction model of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. The clinical data of 798 patients with T2DM hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology and Neurology of Shanxi Bethune Hospital from August 2021 to October 2023 were collected. Based on whether they had concurrent ACI, the patients were divided into T2DM with ACI group (case group) and pure T2DM group (control group). The patients were then allocated to a training set ( n=558) and a validation set ( n=240) in a 7∶3 ratio by the sample functions in R software. LASSO regression was employed to screen and optimize variables, and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to establish the nomogram prediction model. The discriminative ability, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the risk prediction model were assessed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis, respectively. Results:LASSO regression identified gender, age, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), albumin (ALB), and carotid vascular condition as the variables for prediction. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that female ( OR=0.489, 95% CI: 0.308-0.778) and ALB ( OR=0.846, 95% CI: 0.795-0.901) were protective factors for ACI occurrence in T2DM patients, while age ( OR=1.051, 95% CI:1.025-1.077), systolic blood pressure ( OR=1.047, 95% CI: 1.034-1.059), FPG ( OR=1.185, 95% CI: 1.089-1.288), and carotid plaque ( OR=7.359, 95% CI: 3.050-17.756) were risk factors. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for risk of ACI in the training set was 0.863(95% CI: 0.833-0.893), and it was 0.846(95% CI: 0.797-0.896) for the validation set. Calibration curves and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test indicated good model fit (training set χ2=8.311, P=0.404; validation set χ2=3.957, P=0.861). Decision curve analysis showed that the clinical effectiveness of the model was higher when the threshold probabilities of the training set and the validation set was 0.02-0.93 and 0.12-0.99, respectively. Conclusion:In this study, a prediction model of ACI risk in T2DM patients was successfully established.

Background/Aims: To evaluate the causal correlation between complement components and non-viral liver diseases and their potential use as druggable targets. Methods: We conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the causal role of circulating complements in the risk of non-viral liver diseases. A complement-centric protein interaction network was constructed to explore biological functions and identify potential therapeutic options. Results: In the MR analysis, genetically predicted levels of complement C1q C chain (C1QC) were positively associated with the risk of autoimmune hepatitis (odds ratio 1.125, 95% confidence interval 1.018–1.244), while complement factor H-related protein 5 (CFHR5) was positively associated with the risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC;1.193, 1.048– 1.357). On the other hand, CFHR1 (0.621, 0.497–0.776) and CFHR2 (0.824, 0.703–0.965) were inversely associated with the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis. There were also significant inverse associations between C8 gamma chain (C8G) and PSC (0.832, 0.707–0.979), as well as the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (1.167, 1.036–1.314). Additionally, C1S (0.111, 0.018–0.672), C7 (1.631, 1.190–2.236), and CFHR2 (1.279, 1.059–1.546) were significantly associated with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. Proteins from the complement regulatory networks and various liver diseaserelated proteins share common biological processes. Furthermore, potential therapeutic drugs for various liver diseases were identified through drug repurposing based on the complement regulatory network. Conclusions Our study suggests that certain complement components, including C1S, C1QC, CFHR1, CFHR2, CFHR5, C7, and C8G, might play a role in non-viral liver diseases and could be potential targets for drug development.