Hereditary carotid body tumor (HCBT) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor mainly caused by germline mutations of the SDHx gene. Its multifocality, familial aggregation, and potential malignant risk pose unique challenges to diagnosis and treatment. This review systematically expounds the molecular mechanism of HCBT, pointing out that SDHx mutations drive tumorigenesis through the “pseudo-hypoxia” pathway and are regulated by epigenetic and somatic mutations. In terms of diagnosis, we emphasize the crucial role of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and SDHB immunohistochemistry and advocate for multigene panel sequencing for patients with high-risk characteristics (such as early-onset, multifocal, family history or malignant signs) to clarify the genetic background. On the basis of existing evidence, we recommend conducting baseline biochemical tests for all newly diagnosed patients and actively suggest genetic screening for high-risk individuals such as those who are young, have multifocal tumors, or have a family history. In terms of treatment, surgery is the main treatment method for HCBT. Nevertheless, individualized strategies still need to be formulated based on tumor classification and patient’s overall condition and genetic background. Comprehensive management measures such as targeted therapy, radionuclide therapy, and standardized family management are crucial for improving the prognosis of patients.

OBJECTIVE To establish a nomogram model based on clinical and biochemical parameters in elderly patients with p16-negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma and to identify patients who may benefit from concurrent chemoradiotherapy(CCRT)combined with induction chemotherapy(IC).METHODS A total of 142 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients who received CCRT in Huanggang Central Hospital between June 2021 and May 2024 were retrospectively included for analysis,and the patients were divided into a training set(n=99)and a validation set(n=43)in a ratio of 7:3.Before treatment,all patients underwent a complete physical examination,fiberoptic nasopharyngeal endoscopy,laboratory tests,and plasma Epstein-Barr virus deoxyribonucleic acid(EBV-DNA)level detection.The study endpoint was disease-specific survival(DSS),defined as the time from initial treatment to cancer-related death or the last follow-up date.RESULTS EBV-DNA level,T stage,N stage,albumin(ALB),and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)were screened by COX and LASSO regression analysis to establish a nomogram model for predicting DSS in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.The nomogram model had good discrimination ability[C-index value:0.947(95%CI:0.905-0.990)vs.0.930(95%CI:0.862-0.998)]and accuracy in both the training set and the validation set.The nomogram model was divided into low-risk group,medium-risk group and high-risk group according to risk.There were statistical differences in DSS among the three groups in the training set and validation set(χ2=7.153,9.266,P=0.028,0.010).In the training set and validation set,only the patients in the high-risk group who received IC+CCRT had a longer DSS than those who received CCRT.CONCLUSION The nomogram model of pre-treatment EBV-DNA level,T stage,N stage,ALB,and LDH was used to distinguish high-risk elderly p16-negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients,suggesting that this population may be the beneficiary of IC+CCRT in clinical practice.

Sodium valproate (VPA) is a widely used antiepileptic drug and mood stabilizer in both neurology and psychiatry. Valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy (VHE) is a rare but serious complication associated with its use. This paper reports a clinical case of a patient with bipolar disorder who developed VHE after self-administering, a rapid short-term dose escalation of VPA. The patient exhibited symptoms including nausea, vomiting, altered consciousness, and disorientation shortly after the dosage increase. Following prompt discontinuation of VPA and symptomatic treatment including cathartic therapy to promote drug elimination, the patient gradually regained consciousness and physical symptoms resolved. Through a review of this case and relevant literature, this article discusses the pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of VHE, to provide clinical reference for healthcare professionals.

Objective: To explore the association between various components of sleep quality and the co-occurrence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors and depressive symptoms among junior high school students, so as to provide evidence for targeted prevention strategies of NSSI and depression. Methods: From May to June 2024, a total of 5 008 junior high school students from 8 schools in 2 districts/counties of Chongqing were selected through a stratified cluster sampling method. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Adolescent Non suicidal Self injury Assessment Questionnaire (ANSAQ) were used to assess sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and NSSI, respectively. Data were analyzed by using the Chi-square test, Bonferroni correction, and multivariate Logistic regression. Results: Non-NSSI group and depressive symptoms group accounted for 68.11% among junior high school students, NSSI-only group accounted for 4.71%, only depressive symptoms group accounted for 14.94%, and co-occurrence of NSSI and depressive symptoms group accounted for 12.24%. The prevalence of the co-occurrence group was higher in girls (16.39%) than in boys (7.85%) ( χ 2=84.89, P <0.01). After controlling for gender, grade, and boarding status etc., multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that five sleep components, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction, were significantly and positively associated with the co-occurrence of NSSI and depressive symptoms ( OR =1.30-3.86, all P <0.05). The strength of association between these components and the co-occurrence group, in descending order, was: daytime dysfunction ( OR = 2.52), sleep disturbances ( OR =2.36), subjective sleep quality ( OR =1.76), sleep latency ( OR =1.44), and sleep duration ( OR =1.22) (all P <0.01). Conclusions The co-occurrence of NSSI and depressive symptoms is prevalent among junior high school students, with girls being more significantly affected. Sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction may represent particularly important risk factors. Targeted and prioritized intervention strategies addressing specific sleep components should be developed and implemented to reduce the co-occurrence of NSSI and depressive symptoms in junior high school students.

Objective: To explore the potential subgroups of emotion regulation strategies among junior high school students and their moderating role in the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptom, so as to provide basis for improving mental health among junior high school students. Methods: In October 2024, a cluster sampling method was used to select 3 389 junior high school students from 4 secondary schools across 2 districts in Chongqing. Surveys were conducted by using Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale (CES-D), Chinese Parental Psychological Control Scale (CPPCS), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Latent profile analysis was applied to identify subgroups based on emotion regulation strategies, and multiple linear regression model was used to test the moderating effect of emotion regulation strategies on the association between parental psychological control and depressive symptom among junior high school students. Results: According to the two dimensions of emotion regulation strategies-cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, three distinct subgroups were identified:the moderate cognitive reappraisal-moderate expressive suppression subgroup (moderate-moderate subgroup, 64.2%), the low cognitive reappraisal-moderate expressive suppression subgroup (low-moderate subgroup, 9.6%), and the high cognitive reappraisal low expressive suppression subgroup (high-low subgroup, 26.1%). Hierarchical regression results indicated that both parental psychological control ( β =0.70) and deficits in cognitive reappraisal (low moderate subgroup, β =5.38) were associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms, whereas the high-low subgroup appeared to mitigate depressive symptom ( β =-3.47) (all P < 0.01). Compared to the moderate-moderate subgroup, the low-moderate subgroup showed a statistically significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between parental psychological control and depressive symptom ( β =0.14, P <0.05), while the negative moderating effect of the high-low subgroup was not statistically significant ( β =-0.07, P >0.05). Conclusions The negative impact of parental psychological control on depressive symptom in junior high school students varies depending on the use of different emotion regulation strategies. For a majority of students, enhancing cognitive reappraisal training may help alleviate the adverse effects of parental psychological control and promote better mental health.

Objective: To explore the independent effects and gender differences of different types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the co-occurrence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts (SA), so as to provide a reference for the precise prevention and control of self-harm in junior high school students. Methods: From May to June 2023, a total of 7 360 junior high school students were selected from 12 schools in three districts/counties of Chongqing using a combination of stratified cluster sampling and convenience sampling methods. Information on NSSI, SA, ACEs, and depressive symptom, as well as other related data were collected through the Adolescent Non-suicidal Self-injury Assessment Questionnaire (ANSAQ), suicide related section of the Chinese Adolescent Health related Behavior Questionnaire (Junior High School Version), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form ( CTQ- SF), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Statistical analyses of the data were performed using the Chi-square test and multiple Logistic regression. Results: The detection rates of NSSI, SA, NSSI+SA and ACEs in junior high school students were 19.2%, 4.6%, 3.5% and 57.9% respectively. After controlling for factors such as gender, grade, family type, self rated family economic status, self rated academic performance, self rated academic pressure, number of close friends, and depressive symptom scores, results from the multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that junior high school students with physical abuse ( OR = 1.98, 95% CI =1.23-3.18), emotional abuse ( OR =2.83, 95% CI =1.92-4.19), sexual abuse ( OR = 1.70, 95% CI =1.07- 2.69 ), physical neglect ( OR =1.67, 95% CI =1.20-2.33) and witnessing domestic violence ( OR =2.10, 95% CI =1.41-2.87) in childhood had higher risks for the occurrence of NSSI+SA (all P <0.05). After stratification by gender, boys with sexual abuse in childhood had a high risk for the occurrence of NSSI+SA ( OR =2.17, 95% CI =1.06-4.43), whereas girls with emotional abuse ( OR =3.69, 95% CI =2.29-5.94), physical neglect ( OR =1.62, 95% CI =1.07-2.45) and witnessing domestic violence ( OR =2.17, 95% CI =1.41-3.34) in childhood had hgih risks for the occurrence of NSSI+SA (all P <0.05). Conclusions Different types of ACEs have different effects on the co-occurrence of self-harm in junior high school students and there are gender differences. When family interventions are conducted for the combined model, emphasis should be placed on aspects of emotional abuse and domestic violence while optimizing the interventions based on gender differences.

Sodium valproate (VPA) is a widely used antiepileptic drug and mood stabilizer in both neurology and psychiatry. Valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy (VHE) is a rare but serious complication associated with its use. This paper reports a clinical case of a patient with bipolar disorder who developed VHE after self-administering, a rapid short-term dose escalation of VPA. The patient exhibited symptoms including nausea, vomiting, altered consciousness, and disorientation shortly after the dosage increase. Following prompt discontinuation of VPA and symptomatic treatment including cathartic therapy to promote drug elimination, the patient gradually regained consciousness and physical symptoms resolved. Through a review of this case and relevant literature, this article discusses the pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of VHE, to provide clinical reference for healthcare professionals.

Background::Early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) can considerably improve the prognosis of patients. Aberrant cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation signatures are a promising tool for detecting ESCC. However, available markers based on cell-free DNA methylation are still inadequate. This study aimed to identify ESCC-specific cfDNA methylation markers and evaluate the diagnostic performance in the early detection of ESCC.Methods::We performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) for 24 ESCC tissues and their normal adjacent tissues. Based on the WGBS data, we identified 21,469,837 eligible CpG sites (CpGs). By integrating several methylation datasets, we identified several promising ESCC-specific cell-free DNA methylation markers. Finally, we developed a dual-marker panel based on methylated KCNA3 and OTOP2, and then, we evaluated its performance in our training and validation cohorts. Results::The ESCC diagnostic model constructed based on KCNA3 and OTOP2 had an AUC of 0.91 [95% CI: 0.85–0.95], and an optimal sensitivity and specificity of 84.91% and 94.32%, respectively, in the training cohort. In the independent validation cohort, the AUC was 0.88 [95% CI: 0.83–0.92], along with an optimal sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 92.9%. The model sensitivity for stage I–II ESCC was 78.4%, which was slightly lower than the sensitivity of the model (85.7%) for stage III–IV ESCC. Conclusion::The dual-target panel based on cfDNA showed excellent performance for detecting ESCC and might be an alternative strategy for screening ESCC.

Background::Evaluating the impact of digestive system diseases is vital for devising effective prevention strategies. However, comprehensive reports on the burden of digestive system diseases in China are lacking. Our study aimed to provide an overview of the burden and trends of digestive system diseases from 1990 to 2019 in China and its provinces.Methods::This cross-sectional study utilized the Global Disease Burden Study 2019 to estimate the incidence, mortality rate, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life disability, years of life lost, and changes in the burden of digestive diseases across Chinese provinces from 1990 to 2019. The analysis of disease burden primarily examines the characteristics of sub-disease distribution, time trends, age distribution, and sex distribution. Additionally, we compared provincial age-standardized DALYs for digestive diseases with the expected rates based on the socio-demographic index (SDI).Results::In 2019, there were 499.2 million cases of digestive system diseases in China, resulting in 1,557,310 deaths. Stomach cancer, colon and rectal cancer, and esophageal cancer are the top three diseases associated with mortality and DALY related to digestive system diseases. Meanwhile, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and gallbladder and biliary diseases are the top three kinds of diseases with the highest prevalence among digestive system diseases. The risk of gastric cancer sharply increases among men after the age of 40 years, leading to a significant disparity in burden between men and women. As the SDI increased, the DALYs associated with digestive system diseases in China and its provinces showed a downward trend.Conclusion::Our study highlights the inverse correlation between DALYs associated with digestive system diseases and the SDI.