Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and interventional treatment effects of pa-tients with renal arteriovenous fistula in this hospital over the past 10 years.Methods A retrospective analy-sis was conducted on the clinical and imaging data of 40 patients with renal arteriovenous fistula who were treated in this hospital from October 2012 to October 2022.After classifying the fistula type using digital sub-traction angiography(DSA),an individualized embolization plan was developed by a vascular surgery team.Postoperatively,the embolization materials,embolization success rate,clinical success rate,perioperative renal function changes and complications were analyzed.Results A total of 29 cases(72.5%)had acquired renal arteriovenous fistula,while 11 cases(27.5%)had non-acquired renal arteriovenous fistula.Forty-three super-selective transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE)procedures were performed,achieving a technical success rate of 100.0%(40/40)and a clinical success rate of 95.0%(38/40).The mean serum creatinine levels after TAE were(91.39±23.72)mmol/L in the non-acquired group and(105.94±35.51)mmol/L in the acquired group.No statistically significant difference was observed in perioperative serum creatinine changes between the two groups(P=0.095).No severe complications such as renal function deterioration occurred postopera-tively in any patient.Conclusion Gross hematuria serves as the primary clinical manifestation of renal arterio-venous fistula,with abdominal pain being more prevalent in non-acquired renal arteriovenous fistula.The em-bolization approach combining coils with polyvinyl alcohol particles demonstrates favorable safety and efficacy in treating renal arteriovenous fistula.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have indicated that cathepsin K can intervene with the occurrence and development of osteoporosis by regulating bone mineral density in middle-aged and older adults. However,whether there is a causal relationship between the cathepsin family and bone mineral density in other populations remains unknown. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between cathepsin and bone mineral density.METHODS:Genetic loci associated with eight cathepins were extracted from the IEU Open GWAS database as instrumental variables,and bone mineral density values in five age groups acted as an outcome. The causal relationship between cathepin and bone mineral density was assessed by two-way Mendelian randomization analysis. Heterogeneity of the genetic instrumental variables was assessed using Cochran's Q test,pleiotropy was assessed using the MR-Egger intercept test,and the sensitivity of single nucleotide polymorphisms used as instrumental variables to the causal effect of exposure and outcome was assessed using the leave-one-out method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results of the inverse variance weighting method with positive Mendelian randomization showed that cathepin H was negatively associated with bone mineral density in people aged 45-60 years[odds ratio (95％ confidence interval)=0.965(0.94-0.99),P=0.04];cathepin Z was negatively associated with bone mineral density in people aged 30-45 year[odds ratio (95％ confidence interval)=1.06 (1.00-1.11),P=0.03]. The results of sensitivity analysis showed a stable causal relationship,and MR-Egger intercept analysis did not detect potential horizontal pleiotropy. The inverse Mendelian randomization results showed that bone mineral density had no significant inverse effect on cathepin. The above results confirm that cathepin can affect bone mineral density in some age groups,which may increase the risk of osteoporosis and should be given more attention.

Objective To investigate the expression levels of Ubiquitin Carboxy-Terminal Hydrolase-L1(UCH-L1)and Netrin-1 in the serum of patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage(ICH)complicated with cerebral edema,and to analyze their impacts on neurological deficits and prognosis.Methods A retrospec-tive analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 173 patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery,The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from September 2023 to January 2025.The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were measured within 24 hours after the onset.They were divided into three groups according to the size of the cerebral edema volume(CEV):Group A(CEV<10 mL),Group B(CEV 10～30 mL),and Group C(CEV>30 mL).Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum expression levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 with hemorrhage,volume of cere-bral edema,distance of midline shift,Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale(MESSS)score,Modified Rankin Scale(mRS)score,and Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS)score.Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for poor prognosis.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 for poor prognosis.Results Significant differences were observed in the serum levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 among patients with different volumes of cerebral edema(P<0.05).The larger the volume of cerebral edema,the higher the expression levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1.The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group compared to the good prognosis group(P<0.05).The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were positively correlated with MESSS score,hemorrhage volume,cerebral edema volume,distance of midline shift,and mRS score(P<0.05),and negatively correlated with GCS score(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that both UCH-L1 and netrin-1 were independent risk factors for poor neurological prognosis in basal ganglia hemorrhage patients(P<0.05).ROC curve analysis indicated that both markers had important predictive value for poor prognosis.The AUC for serum UCH-L1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.77[95%confidence interval(CI):0.69～0.85,P<0.01],with a sensitivity of 84.9%and a specificity of 50.6%.The AUC for serum Netrin-1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.89(95%CI:0.85～0.94,P<0.01),with a sensitivity of 82.1%and a specificity of 68.7%.Conclusions Serum UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 are differentially expressed in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage complicated with different volumes of cerebral edema.They are independent risk factors for poor prog-nosis and are important predictors of neurological function prognosis in these patients.

Objective To investigate the expression levels of Ubiquitin Carboxy-Terminal Hydrolase-L1(UCH-L1)and Netrin-1 in the serum of patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage(ICH)complicated with cerebral edema,and to analyze their impacts on neurological deficits and prognosis.Methods A retrospec-tive analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 173 patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery,The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University from September 2023 to January 2025.The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were measured within 24 hours after the onset.They were divided into three groups according to the size of the cerebral edema volume(CEV):Group A(CEV<10 mL),Group B(CEV 10～30 mL),and Group C(CEV>30 mL).Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum expression levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 with hemorrhage,volume of cere-bral edema,distance of midline shift,Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale(MESSS)score,Modified Rankin Scale(mRS)score,and Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS)score.Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for poor prognosis.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 for poor prognosis.Results Significant differences were observed in the serum levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1 among patients with different volumes of cerebral edema(P<0.05).The larger the volume of cerebral edema,the higher the expression levels of UCH-L1 and netrin-1.The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group compared to the good prognosis group(P<0.05).The serum levels of UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 were positively correlated with MESSS score,hemorrhage volume,cerebral edema volume,distance of midline shift,and mRS score(P<0.05),and negatively correlated with GCS score(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that both UCH-L1 and netrin-1 were independent risk factors for poor neurological prognosis in basal ganglia hemorrhage patients(P<0.05).ROC curve analysis indicated that both markers had important predictive value for poor prognosis.The AUC for serum UCH-L1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.77[95%confidence interval(CI):0.69～0.85,P<0.01],with a sensitivity of 84.9%and a specificity of 50.6%.The AUC for serum Netrin-1 level predicting poor prognosis was 0.89(95%CI:0.85～0.94,P<0.01),with a sensitivity of 82.1%and a specificity of 68.7%.Conclusions Serum UCH-L1 and Netrin-1 are differentially expressed in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage complicated with different volumes of cerebral edema.They are independent risk factors for poor prog-nosis and are important predictors of neurological function prognosis in these patients.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have indicated that cathepsin K can intervene with the occurrence and development of osteoporosis by regulating bone mineral density in middle-aged and older adults. However,whether there is a causal relationship between the cathepsin family and bone mineral density in other populations remains unknown. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between cathepsin and bone mineral density.METHODS:Genetic loci associated with eight cathepins were extracted from the IEU Open GWAS database as instrumental variables,and bone mineral density values in five age groups acted as an outcome. The causal relationship between cathepin and bone mineral density was assessed by two-way Mendelian randomization analysis. Heterogeneity of the genetic instrumental variables was assessed using Cochran's Q test,pleiotropy was assessed using the MR-Egger intercept test,and the sensitivity of single nucleotide polymorphisms used as instrumental variables to the causal effect of exposure and outcome was assessed using the leave-one-out method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results of the inverse variance weighting method with positive Mendelian randomization showed that cathepin H was negatively associated with bone mineral density in people aged 45-60 years[odds ratio (95％ confidence interval)=0.965(0.94-0.99),P=0.04];cathepin Z was negatively associated with bone mineral density in people aged 30-45 year[odds ratio (95％ confidence interval)=1.06 (1.00-1.11),P=0.03]. The results of sensitivity analysis showed a stable causal relationship,and MR-Egger intercept analysis did not detect potential horizontal pleiotropy. The inverse Mendelian randomization results showed that bone mineral density had no significant inverse effect on cathepin. The above results confirm that cathepin can affect bone mineral density in some age groups,which may increase the risk of osteoporosis and should be given more attention.

Diabetic retinopathy(DR)is a common ocular chronic microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and is the leading blinding fundus disease in people over 40 years of age.Current studies have shown that neuroglial vascular u-nit(NGVU)injury causes a variety of characteristic fundus changes in DR patients,including exudation,cotton wool spots,microangioma,bleeding,and neovascularization.Recent studies have confirmed that retinal NGVU injury in DR pa-tients occurs before retinal microangiopathy and is closely related to impaired visual function,so NGVU is expected to be a potential therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of early DR in the future.In this paper,the research progress on the relationship between NGVU and DR treatment is reviewed,intending to provide new research directions for the pre-vention and intervention of early DR progression.

Heart failure refers to a group of clinical syndromes caused by structural or functional abnormalities of the heart that lead to impaired ejection or filling of the ventricles. The traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） theory of cardiac and renal coordination holds that the kidney governs water and plays a key role in maintaining the balance of fluid metabolism. Therefore， the treatment of water retention in heart failure can start from the heart and kidney. The basic pathogenesis of heart failure is kidney deficiency， blood stasis， and water stagnation， and the therapies including dredging the heart and kidneys， warming yang and excreting water， tonifying kidneys and activating blood， and dredging meridians and collaterals. Aquaporins （AQPs）， the key molecular basis of water metabolism， are involved in the pathogenesis of water retention in heart failure together with the arginine vasopressin system （AVP）， renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system （RAAS）， and diuretic resistance. Studies have shown that herbal medicines that regulate the heart and kidney can alleviate water retention in heart failure by targeting AQPs， thereby delaying or even reversing the progression of heart failure. This paper expounds the TCM name and pathogenesis of heart failure from the theory of cardiac and renal coordination， the role of AQPs in the pathogenesis of water retention in heart failure， and the modern connotation of the therapy of tonifying heart and kidney for heart failure， aiming to provide ideas for the prevention and treatment of water retention in heart failure by TCM.

Objective    To investigate the clinical effect of three-port Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of lung cancer. Methods    The clinical data of patients who underwent Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of lung cancer in the Second Department of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from April 2021 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the number of surgical ports, they were divided into two groups: a three-port group (three-port Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of lung cancer), and a four-port group (traditional Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of lung cancer). The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, lymphadenectomy, total thoracic drainage, extubation time, postoperative complications and postoperative pain of the two groups were compared and analyzed. Results    A total of 58 patients were included, including 19 males and 39 females, aged 31-79 years. There were 21 patients in the three-port group, and 37 patients in the four-port group. The visual analogue scores on the first and third day after the operation were 4.33±1.20 points and 2.24±0.77 points in the three-port group, and 5.11±1.22 points and 2.78±1.06 points in the four-port group, and there were statistical differences between the two groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of operation time, intraoperative bleeding, lymph node dissection, postoperative thoracic drainage, time of thoracic tube insertion or postoperative complications (P>0.05). Conclusion    Three-port Da Vinci robot-assisted radical resection of lung cancer can reduce the postoperative pain without increasing the operation difficulty and complications, and can be widely used in  the clinical practice.

Objective:To compare the effects of anterograde elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN-A), retrograde K-wires fixation (KW-R) and retrograde precision shaping of elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN-RPS) in the treatment of fractures of distal radial metaphyseal diaphyseal junction (DRMDJ) in children.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the data of 112 eligible children with DRMDJ fracture who had been treated at Department of Orthopedics, Children's Hospital, Anhui Medical University and Department of Orthopedics, The People's Hospital of Fuyang City,Anhui Medical University, from January 2016 to May 2022. There were 64 males and 48 females, with an age of (8.4±2.3) years. The children were divided into 3 groups according to different surgical fixation methods: group ESIN-A of 36 cases, group KW-R of 52 cases, and group ESIN-RPS of 24 cases. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, fluoroscopy times, alignment rates and residual angulations by the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films immediately after reduction were compared among the 3 groups. The Gartland-Werley evaluation of wrist function and complications were compared at the last follow-up.Results:There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative general data among the 3 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). In the operation time, group KW-R [(71.2±9.2) min] > group ESIN-A [(65.1±13.1) min] > group ESIN-RPS [(51.7±17.1) min]; in the fluoroscopy times, group KW-R [(13.9±6.3) times] > group ESIN-A [(9.0±2.8) times] > group ESIN-RPS [(6.4±2.0) times]; in the alignment rates by the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films immediately after reduction, group ESIN-RPS (93.1%±4.6% and 95.2%±3.3%) > group KW-R (82.1%±11.0% and 88.1%±7.4%) > group ESIN-A (80.4%±9.9% and 86.7%±6.9%); in the residual angulations by the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films immediately after reduction, group ESIN-RPS (3.3°±1.8° and 2.9°±2.1°) < group ESIN-A (5.2°±1.0° and 5.0°±3.2°) < group KW-R (6.6°±1.6°and 7.5°±2.7°). Pairwise comparisons in the above items were statistically significant ( P<0.05). In group ESIN-A, the incision length [(1.8±0.3) cm] was significantlylonger than that in group ESIN-RPS [(1.4±0.2) cm], and the intraoperative blood loss [(8.3±2.2) mL] significantly larger than that in group ESIN-RPS [(5.5±1.6) mL] ( P<0.05). One year after operation, the excellent and good rate by the Gartland-Werley evaluation of wrist function in groups ESIN-RPS, ESIN-A and KW-R, respectively, were 95.8% (23/24), 86.5% (31/36) and 86.1% (46/52), showing no statistically significant difference between the 3 group ( P>0.05), and the major incidence of complications in group KW-R (25.0%, 13/52) and in group ESIN-A (25.0%, 9/36) were significantly higher than that in group ESIN-RPS (4.2%, 1/24) ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of DRMDJ fractures in children, compared with ESIN-A and KW-R, ESIN-RPS is an effective choice due to its advantages of shorter operation time, less intraoperative blood loss, less radiation, better alignment, and fewer complications.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with a long history in China has demonstrated unique advantages in treating a variety of cardiovascular diseases, with promising prospects. We exemplify the TCM advantages with 3 major cardiovascular diseases: coronary heart disease, hypertension, and chronic heart failure. With both national and international guidelines, consensus, systematic reviews, and randomized controlled trials as evidence, we used the modified Jadad and AMSTAR-1 scales to evaluate the evidence quality and then systematically evaluated the clinical effects and benefits of TCM on cardiovascular diseases, aiming to provide fresh insights into the research methodologies and future development directions for TCM-dominant diseases.