INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with heightened cardiovascular disease and increased susceptibility to osteoporosis, with shared underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the association between vascular function and bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 49 patients with RA at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. Endothelial function was measured as reactive hyperaemia index (RHI)-endothelial peripheral arterial tonometry and aortic stiffness as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) using SphygmoCor. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the associations between BMD and vascular function. We used natural logarithm RHI (lnRHI) and cf-PWV as response variables, and each BMD as covariate, adjusting for body mass index, positive anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, cumulative prednisolone dose, hydroxychloroquine use and Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation 2. RESULTS: We recruited 49 patients (mean age 61.08 ± 8.20 years), of whom 44 (89.80%) were women and 39 (81.25%) were Chinese. Significant associations were found between lnRHI and BMD at the lumbar spine (β = 0.4289, P = 0.037) and total hip (β = 0.7544, P = 0.014) in univariable analyses. Multivariable analyses confirmed these associations, showing that lower BMD at the lumbar spine (β = 0.7303, P = 0.001), femoral neck (β = 0.8694, P = 0.030) and total hip (β = 0.8909, P = 0.010) were significantly associated with worse lnRHI. No significant associations were found between BMD and cf-PWV. CONCLUSION Lower BMD is associated with endothelial dysfunction, but not aortic stiffness in patients with RA. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these associations and understand the underlying mechanisms.
Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications* ; Female ; Male ; Bone Density ; Middle Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Vascular Stiffness ; Aged ; Singapore ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Osteoporosis/complications* ; Endothelium, Vascular/physiopathology* ; Cardiovascular Diseases/complications* ; Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity ; Hyperemia

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subsequent radiotherapy (RT) following first-line treatment with durvalumab plus chemotherapy in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). METHODS: A total of 122 patients with ES-SCLC from three hospitals during July 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis was performed to address potential confounding factors. The primary focus of our evaluation was to assess the impact of RT on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: After IPTW analysis, 49 patients received durvalumab plus platinum-etoposide (EP) chemotherapy followed by RT (Durva + EP + RT) and 72 patients received immunochemotherapy (Durva + EP). The median OS was 17.2 months vs . 12.3 months (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.85, P = 0.020), and the median PFS was 8.9 months vs . 5.9 months (HR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32-0.97, P = 0.030) in Durva + EP + RT and Durva + EP groups, respectively. Thoracic radiation therapy (TRT) resulted in longer OS (17.2 months vs . 14.7 months) and PFS (9.1 months vs . 7.2 months) compared to RT directed to other metastatic sites. Among patients with oligo-metastasis, RT also showed significant benefits, with a median OS of 17.4 months vs . 13.7 months and median PFS of 9.8 months vs . 5.9 months compared to no RT. Continuous durvalumab treatment beyond progression (TBP) prolonged OS compared to patients without TBP, in both the Durva + EP + RT (NA vs . 15.8 months, HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.14-1.63, P = 0.238) and Durva + EP groups (12.3 months vs . 4.3 months, HR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.10-0.81, P = 0.018). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 13 (26.5%) and 13 (18.1%) patients, respectively, in the two groups; pneumonitis was mostly low-grade. CONCLUSION Addition of RT after first-line immunochemotherapy significantly improved survival outcomes with manageable toxicity in ES-SCLC.
Humans ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Lung Neoplasms/therapy* ; Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; Immunotherapy/methods* ; Aged, 80 and over

BACKGROUND: Treatment with chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cells has shown promising effectiveness in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL), although the process of preparing for this therapy usually takes a long time. We have recently created CD19 Fast-CAR-T (F-CAR-T) cells, which can be produced within a single day. The objective of this study was to evaluate and contrast the effectiveness and safety of CD19 F-CAR-T cells with those of CD19 conventional CAR-T cells in the management of R/R B-ALL. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 44 patients with R/R B-ALL was conducted. Overall, 23 patients were administered with innovative CD19 F-CAR-T cells (F-CAR-T group), whereas 21 patients were given CD19 conventional CAR-T cells (C-CAR-T group). We compared the rates of complete remission (CR), minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative CR, leukemia-free survival (LFS), overall survival (OS), and the incidence of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with the C-CAR-T group, the F-CAR-T group had significantly higher CR and MRD-negative rates (95.7% and 91.3%, respectively; 71.4% and 66.7%, respectively; P = 0.036 and P = 0.044). No significant differences were observed in the 1-year or 2-year LFS or OS rates between the two groups: the 1-year and 2-year LFS for the F-CAR-T group vs.C-CAR-T group were 47.8% and 43.5% vs. 38.1% and 23.8% (P = 0.384 and P = 0.216), while the 1-year and 2-year OS rates were 65.2% and 56.5% vs. 52.4% and 47.6% (P = 0.395 and P = 0.540). Additionally, among CR patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) following CAR-T-cell therapy, there were no significant differences in the 1-year or 2-year LFS or OS rates: 57.1% and 50.0% vs. 47.8% and 34.8% (P = 0.506 and P = 0.356), 64.3% and 57.1% vs. 65.2% and 56.5% (P = 0.985 and P = 0.883), respectively. The incidence of CRS was greater in the F-CAR-T group (91.3%) than in the C-CAR-T group (66.7%) (P = 0.044). The incidence of ICANS was also greater in the F-CAR-T group (30.4%) than in the C-CAR-T group (9.5%) (P = 0.085), but no treatment-related deaths occurred in the two groups. CONCLUSION Compared with C-CAR-T-cell therapy, F-CAR-T-cell therapy has a superior remission rate but also leads to a tolerably increased incidence of CRS/ICANS. Further research is needed to explore the function of allo-HSCT as an intermediary therapy after CAR-T-cell therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical efficacy of autologous platelet-rich plasma(PRP) in treating Rockwood type Ⅲ acromioclavicular dislocation. METHODS: From January 2019 to July 2021, 32 patients with Rockwood type Ⅲ acromioclavicular dislocation were treated with minimally invasive adjustable titanium plate internal fixation, and were divided into PRP group and control group according to whether PRP treatment was performed, with 16 patients in each group. In PRP group, there were 10 males and 6 females, aged from 28 to 47 years old with an average of (36.75±7.14) years old;the time from injury to surgery ranged from 1 to 31 h with an average of (26.13±3.98) h;5 patients on the left side and 11 patients on the right side;PRP was injected once during operation and the 4th and 8th weeks after operation respectively. In control group, there were 8 males and 8 females, aged from 30 to 52 years old with an average of (38.50±5.48) years old; the time from injury to surgery ranged from 1 to 29 h with an average of (25.48±3.11) h;7 patients on the left side and 9 patients on the right side; minimally invasive surgical treatment was performed. Visual analogue scale(VAS) was used to evaluate pain and Constant-Murley score for shoulder joint function was used to evaluate the recovery of shoulder joint movement function before operation and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation respectively. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 12 to 28 months with an average of (18.3±5.2) months. All incisions patients healed well without adverse events such as infection. Postoperative VAS of PRP group at 1, 3, and 6 months were (5.5±1.2), (3.7±1.6), and (2.4±1.2), respectively, while were lower than those of control group (6.6±1.4), (4.9±1.1), and (3.7±1.3), respectively;and had statistical differences between two groups (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in VAS between two groups before operation and 12 months after operation (P>0.05). Postoperative Constant-Murley scores of PRP group at 1, 3, and 6 months were (64.09±11.61), (73.19±12.89), and (82.61±14.81) points, respectively, which were higher than those of control group were (52.32±17.42), (61.65±14.43), and (72.52±11.04) respectively;and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in Constant-Murley scores at 12 months after operation between two groups (P>0.05). In PRP group, there was no statistically significant difference at 6 months and 12 months after operation (P>0.05), while there were statistically significant differences at the other time points (1 month after operation compared with before operation, 3 months after operation compared with 6 months after operation, and 3 months after operation compared with 1 month after operation) (P<0.05). In control group, there was no statistically significant difference when comparing 1 month and 3 months after operation (P>0.05), while at the other time points (1 month after operation with before operation, 3 months after operation with 6 months after operation, and 6 months after operation with 12 months after operation), the differences were all statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Adjustable titanium plate fixation combined with postoperative injection of PRP for the treatment of Rockwood type III acromioclavicular joint dislocation has effect of promoting the recovery of shoulder joint function and reducing pain.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Platelet-Rich Plasma ; Acromioclavicular Joint/surgery* ; Bone Plates ; Titanium ; Joint Dislocations/therapy* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Qingda Granule (QDG) in ameliorating hypertension-induced cardiac damage and investigate the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: Twenty spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were used to develope a hypertension-induced cardiac damage model. Another 10 Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as normotension group. Rats were administrated intragastrically QDG [0.9 g/(kg•d)] or an equivalent volume of pure water for 8 weeks. Blood pressure, histopathological changes, cardiac function, levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory response markers were measured. Furthermore, to gain insights into the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of QDG against hypertension-induced cardiac injury, a network pharmacology study was conducted. Predicted results were validated by Western blot, radioimmunoassay immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. RESULTS: The administration of QDG resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure levels in SHRs (P<0.01). Histological examinations, including hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson trichrome staining revealed that QDG effectively attenuated hypertension-induced cardiac damage. Furthermore, echocardiography demonstrated that QDG improved hypertension-associated cardiac dysfunction. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and colorimetric method indicated that QDG significantly reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response levels in both myocardial tissue and serum (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Both network pharmacology and experimental investigations confirmed that QDG exerted its beneficial effects in decreasing hypertension-induced cardiac damage by regulating the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)/angiotensin II (Ang II)/Ang II receptor type 1 axis and ACE/Ang II/Ang II receptor type 2 axis.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Hypertension/pathology* ; Renin-Angiotensin System/drug effects* ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Rats ; Inflammation/pathology*

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion leads to white matter injury (WMI), which plays a significant role in contributing to vascular cognitive impairment. While 13-docosenamide is a type of fatty acid amide, it remains unclear whether it has therapeutic effects on chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. In this study, we conducted bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) surgery to simulate chronic cerebral hypoperfusion-induced WMI and cognitive impairment. Our findings showed that 13-docosenamide alleviates WMI and cognitive impairment in BCAS mice. Mechanistically, 13-docosenamide specifically binds to cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) in oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). This interaction results in an upregulation of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 33 (USP33)-mediated CNR1 deubiquitination, subsequently increasing CNR1 protein expression, activating the phosphorylation of the AKT/mTOR pathway, and promoting the differentiation of OPCs. In conclusion, our study suggests that 13-docosenamide can ameliorate chronic cerebral hypoperfusion-induced WMI and cognitive impairment by enhancing OPC differentiation and could serve as a potential therapeutic drug.
Animals ; Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells/metabolism* ; Mice ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Male ; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Ubiquitin Thiolesterase/metabolism* ; Ubiquitination/drug effects* ; Carotid Stenosis/complications* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/drug therapy*

Objective To investigate the significance of spread through air spaces (STAS) in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing either sublobar resection or lobectomy by pooling evidence available, and to assess the accuracy of frozen sections in determining types of resection among patients with suspected presence of STAS. Methods Studies were identified by searching databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library from inception to July 2022. Two researchers independently searched, screened, evaluated literature, and extracted data. Statistical analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 and STATA 15.0. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of the study. Results A total of 26 studies involving 23 surgical related studies (12 266 patients) were included, among which, 11 compared the outcomes of lobectomy with sublobar resection in the STAS-positive patients. NOS score≥6 points. Meta-analysis indicated that presence of STAS shortened patients' survival in both lobectomy group and sublobar resection group (RFS: HR=2.27, 95%CI 1.96-2.63, P＜0.01; OS: HR=2.08, 95%CI 1.74-2.49, P＜0.01). Moreover, lobectomy brought additional survival benefits to STAS-positive patients compared with sublobar resection (RFS: HR=1.97, 95%CI 1.59-2.44, P＜0.01; OS: HR=1.91, 95%CI 1.47-2.48, P＜0.01). Four studies were included to assess the accuracy of identifying presence of STAS on intraoperative frozen sections, of which the pooled sensitivity reached 55% (95%CI 45%-64%), the pooled specificity reached 92% (95%CI 77%-97%), and the pooled area under the curve was 0.68 (95%CI 0.64-0.72) based on the data available. Conclusion This study confirms that presence of STAS is a critical risk factor for patients with early-stage NSCLC. Lobectomy should be recommended as the first choice when presence of STAS is identified on frozen sections, as lobectomy can prolong patients' survival compared with sublobar resection in STAS-positive disease. The specificity of identifying STAS on frozen sections seems to be satisfactory, which may be helpful in determining types of resection. However, more robust methods are urgently in need to make up for the limited sensitivity and accuracy of frozen sections.

Anti-tumor traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of clinic application, in which the star molecules have always been the hotspot of modern drug research, but they are limited by the solubility, stability, targeting, bioactivity or toxicity of the monomer components of traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules and other pharmacokinetic problems, which hinders the traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules for further clinical translation and application. Currently, the nanosystems prepared by supramolecular technologies such as molecular self-assembly and nanomaterial encapsulation have broader application prospects in improving the anti-tumor effect of active components of traditional Chinese medicine, which has attracted extensive attention from scholars at home and abroad. In this paper, we systematically review the research progress in preparation of supramolecular nano-systems from anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine, and summarize the two major categories and ten small classes of carrier-free and carrier-based supramolecular nanosystems and their research cases, and the future development direction is put forward. The purpose of this paper is to provide reference for the research and clinical transformation of using supramolecular technology to improve the clinical application of anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine.

Endometriosis is a common chronic gynecological disease with endometrial cell implantation outside the uterus.Angiogenesis is a major pathophysiology in endometriosis.Our previous studies have demon-strated that the prodrug of epigallocatechin gallate(ProEGCG)exhibits superior anti-endometriotic and anti-angiogenic effects compared to epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG).However,their direct binding targets and underlying mechanisms for the differential effects remain unknown.In this study,we demonstrated that oral ProEGCG can be effective in preventing and treating endometriosis.Additionally,1D and 2D Proteome Integral Solubility Alteration assay-based chemical proteomics identified metadherin(MTDH)and PX domain containing serine/threonine kinase-like(PXK)as novel binding targets of EGCG and ProEGCG,respectively.Computational simulation and BioLayer interferometry were used to confirm their binding affinity.Our results showed that MTDH-EGCG inhibited protein kinase B(Akt)-mediated angiogenesis,while PXK-ProEGCG inhibited epidermal growth factor(EGF)-mediated angiogenesis via the EGF/hypoxia-inducible factor(HIF-1a)/vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)pathway.In vitro and in vivo knockdown assays and microvascular network imaging further confirmed the involvement of these signaling pathways.Moreover,our study demonstrated that ProEGCG has superior therapeutic effects than EGCG by targeting distinct signal transduction pathways and may act as a novel anti-angiogenic therapy for endometriosis.

Objective To investigate the effects of neuronal pentraxin 2(Nptx2)on complement system,microglia activation and synaptic density in mice with Alzheimer's disease(AD).Methods Six-months-old APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice were divided into model group(intracerebroventricularly injected with AAV-Veh 1 × 1010 GC)and model+AAV-Nptx2 group(intracerebroventricularly injected with AAV-Nptx2 1 × 1010 GC),6-months-old wild-type mice were divided into control group(intracerebroventricularly injected with AAV-Veh 1 × 1010 GC)and control+AAV-Nptx2 group(intracerebroventricularly injected with AAV-Nptx2 1 x 1010 GC),with 12 mice in each group.One month later,the cognitive function of mice in each group was evaluated by Morris Water Maze test.The expression levels of Nptx2 and Iba1 proteins were measured by Western blot,the contents of complement related proteins were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,and the synaptic plasticity was evaluated by Golgi staining.Results The resident time in the platform quadrant of control,control+AAV-Nptx2,model and model+AAV-Nptx2 groups were(44.72±10.92),(53.32±10.29),(21.92±3.80)and(36.47±6.41)s;the number of crossing the platform were 10.08±2.64,9.58±3.09,2.25±1.29 and 5.92±1.38;the relative expression levels of Nptx2 protein were 0.33±0.06,0.63±0.10,0.09±0.03 and 0.57±0.22;the relative expression levels of Iba1 protein were 0.17±0.06,0.23±0.08,0.97±0.16 and 0.40±0.14;the synaptic densities were 22.75±4.27,29.25±4.78,8.25±2.99 and 23.75±4.86.Compared with the model group,the differences of above indexes in the model+AAV-Nptx2 and control groups were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Overexpression of Nptx2 protein can inhibit the activation of complement system,reduce the activation of microglia,and increase the synaptic density to alleviate cognitive impairment in AD mice.