Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy for surgical treatments among patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis in Gansu Province from 2006 to 2023, so as to provide insights into optimization of the diagnosis and treatment strategies against hepatic cystic echinococcosis. Methods The demographic and clinical data of all echinococcosis cases included in central government fiscal transfer payment program for echinococcosis control and undergoing surgical treatments in Gansu Province from 2006 to 2023 were captured. Hepatic cystic echinococcosis patients with complete medical records and follow-up data were included in the study, and patients’ characteristics, including hospital where patients received diagnosis and treatment, methods of case identification, year of surgery, classification of lesions, number of lesions, size of lesions, course of disease, surgical methods, and post-surgical follow-up data. The cure and recurrence of hepatic cystic echinococcosis were evaluated according to the Guidelines for Management of Echinococcosis Patients in the Central Government Fiscal Transfer Payment Program, and the cure and recurrent rates were calculated. Results Data were collected from 1 686 surgical patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1 222 hepatic cystic echinococcosis patients undergoing surgical treatments were included during the period from 2006 to 2022, including 1 166 cured patients (95.42%) and 88 patients with postsurgical recurrence (7.20%), and the cure rate of surgical treatments appeared a tendency towards a rise among patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis from 2008 to 2022 (χ²_trend = 19.39, P < 0.05). The cure rates of hepatic cystic echinococcosis were 100% (177/177), 94.81% (128/135) and 94.62% (861/910) among patients detected through regular physical examinations, screened by the central government fiscal transfer payment program for echinococcosis control, and those who passively sought healthcare services, respectively (χ² = 9.95, P < 0.05). The cure rates of hepatic cystic echinococcosis were 95.96% (1 046/1 090) among patients with a disease course of 2 years and less and 90.90% (120/132) among patients with a disease course of over 2 years (χ² = 6.87, P < 0.05), and there were significant differences in the cure rates among patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis in terms of number of lesions (χ² = 24.44, P < 0.05) and surgical methods (P < 0.05). The cure rate of hepatic cystic echinococcosis patients was significantly higher following initiation of the central government fiscal transfer payment program for echinococcosis control (96.06%, 1 096/1 141) than before the program (86.42%, 70/81) (χ² = 16.06, P < 0.05), and the cure rate of hepatic cystic echinococcosis patients was significantly higher in designated hospitals (96.48%, 741/768) than in non-designated hospitals (93.37%, 366/392) (χ² = 5.78, P < 0.05). The median follow-up period was 4 (interquartile range, 7) years among 1 222 hepatic cystic echinococcosis patients undergoing surgical treatments. The recurrent rate of hepatic cystic echinococcosis appeared a tendency towards a decline from 2008 to 2022 (χ²_trend = 36.86, P < 0.05), with a reduction from 23.08% (9/39) in 2008 to 1.85% (1/54) in 2021, and the post-surgical recurrence rate of hepatic cystic echinococcosis was lower following initiation of the central government fiscal transfer payment program for echinococcosis control (5.87%, 67 / 1 141) than before the program (25.93%, 21/81) (χ² = 45.51, P < 0.05). In addition, the post-surgical recurrence rate of hepatic cystic echinococcosis was higher in non-designated hospitals (10.46%, 41/392) than in designated hospitals (5.60%, 43/768) (χ² = 9.12, P < 0.05), and there was a significant difference in the post-surgical recurrence rate among patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis in terms of surgical methods (P < 0.05), with the highest recurrence rate (11.54%) seen among patients undergoing percutaneous fine-needle aspiration of cyst fluids-based surgical procedures (P < 0.05). Conclusion Since the initiation of the central government fiscal transfer payment program for echinococcosis control in Gansu Province in 2006, an increase in the surgical cure rate and a reduction in the recurrence of hepatic cystic echinococcosis had been found among patients with hepatic cystic echinococcosis, indicating a high overall therapeutic efficacy.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of cinobufagin tablets combined with thalidomide/dexamethasone （TD） regimen in the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma （NDMM） with phlegm and stasis obstruction. MethodsThe clinical data of 50 patients with NDMM of phlegm and stasis obstruction who were hospitalized at the Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine from June 1st， 2015 to July 31th， 2019 were retrospectively analyzed， and they were divided into a control group （bortezomib/dexamethasone-containing regimen， 27 cases） and an observation group （cinobufagin tablets combined with TD regimen， 23 cases）. The clinical efficacy and safety were compared between the two groups after two or three courses of treatment. The primary outcomes were clinical remission rate including overall response rate and deep remission rate， one-year and two-year overall survival rate， and adverse effects. The secondary outcomes were the proportion of plasma cells in bone marrow， hemoglobin， β2-microglobulin， lactate dehydrogenase， serum creatinine， blood urea nitrogen， bone pain score， and KPS functional status score （KPS score） before and after treatment. ResultsIn terms of clinical efficacy， there was no statistically significant difference （P＞0.05） in the overall response rate ［the observation group 69.57%（16/23） vs the control group 70.37% （19/27）］ and deep remission rate ［the observation group 56.52% （13/23） vs the control group 55.56% （15/27）］ between groups after the treatment. The one-year overall survival rates of the observation group and the control group were 90.9% and 92.4%， and the two-year overall survival rates were 81.8% and 80.9% respectively， with no statistically significant differences between groups （P＞0.05）. During the treatment， no renal function injury occurred in both groups. The incidence of peripheral nerve injury in the observation group was 8.70%， which was lower than 48.15% in the control group （P＜0.01）. After the treatment， the proportion of myeloma plasma cells， β2-microglobulin， serum creatinine level， and bone pain score decreased， while the hemoglobin level and KPS score increased in both groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared between groups after treatment， the bone pain score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group， while the KPS score was higher than that of the control group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionThe clinical efficacy of cinobufagin tablets combined with TD in the treatment of NDMM is equivalent to bortezomib/dexamethasone-containing regimen， but the former is more helpful in relieving the pain and improving the quality of life， and has better safety.

BACKGROUND:Autophagy and ferroptosis play important roles in the development of chronic kidney disease,but the molecular mechanisms and gene targets related to autophagy and ferroptosis in renal tissue of chronic kidney disease are still unclear. OBJECTIVE:To screen differentially expressed genes in chronic kidney disease-related datasets based on bioinformatics,and to explore potential key biomarkers suitable for screening renal function progression in patients with chronic kidney disease. METHODS:(1)The GSE137570 dataset was obtained from GEO database to screen the differentially expressed genes by Networkanalyst database analysis.Ferroptosis and autophagy related targets were obtained by OMIM,GENECARD,FerrDb and HAMdb databases.The respective data were intersected to obtain autophagy-ferroptosis related differentially expressed genes in chronic kidney disease for parallel enrichment analysis.The STRING website was used to construct the protein-protein interaction network of differentially expressed genes,which was imported into Cytoscape software and analyzed by MCODE and Cytohubba plug-in to screen potential core targets.Enrichment analysis was performed to obtain the functions of these potential core targets.(2)In the in vitro experiment,mouse renal tubular epithelial cells were divided into two groups:the control group received no intervention,while the model group was stimulated with 5 ng/mL transforming growth factor β1 for 24 hours to induce mesenchymal transformation of renal tubular epithelial cells.Flow cytometry was used to measure the levels of reactive oxygen species and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential in the cells.RT-PCR was employed to assess ferroptosis,autophagy-related markers,and the mRNA expression of potential core targets in the cells. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After screening the GSE137570 dataset,a total of 480 differentially expressed genes were obtained,including 104 upregulated genes and 376 downregulated genes(log2|(FC)|>1,P<0.05).There were 562 ferroptosis-related targets and 1 266 autophagy-related targets obtained from the OMIM,GENECARD,FerrDb,and HAMdb databases.Intersection of differentially expressed genes with ferroptosis-and autophagy-related targets yielded 15 ferroptosis-related targets and 18 autophagy-related targets,respectively.The enrichment analysis results indicate that ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes are primarily involved in biological processes such as sulfur amino acid metabolism,neutrophil degranulation,and ferroptosis signaling pathways.Autophagy-related differentially expressed genes are mainly enriched in biological processes such as platelet degranulation,extracellular matrix degradation,and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling.After screened by MCODE and CytoHubba,key genes were identified in the protein-protein interaction network,including CD44,ALB,TIMP1,PLG,CCL2,and DPP4.Immune infiltration analysis results indicate that immune cells such as B cells,CD4+ T cells,NK cells,and monocytes show significant differential expression in renal tissue after chronic kidney disease,and the core targets are also significantly correlated with these immune cells(P<0.05).The results of receiver operator characteristic curve analysis further demonstrate that the pathological progression of chronic kidney disease can be effectively diagnosed by CD44,ALB,TIMP1,PLG,CCL2,and DPP4.Single-cell sequencing results show that,except for PLG,the expression of target genes in the renal tissue of mice in each model group is generally consistent with the results of this experiment.RT-PCR results demonstrate that,for the validation of autophagy and ferroptosis phenotypes,compared with the control group,the model group shows a significant decrease in mRNA expression of LC3B,Nrf2,and SLC7A11(P<0.05),and a significant increase in P62 mRNA expression(P<0.05).Regarding the validation of potential core targets,compared with the control group,the model group exhibits a significant decrease in mRNA expression of ALB and PLG(P<0.05),and a significant increase in TIMP1 and CCL2 mRNA expression(P<0.05).Overall,these findings indicate that,through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation,CD44,ALB,TIMP1,PLG,and CCL2 are abnormally expressed in the renal tissue of patients with chronic kidney disease,closely correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate and tubulointerstitial fibrosis,and maybe play a predictive role in the progression of chronic kidney disease.

Objective:To investigate the clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of infantile epileptic spasm syndrome caused by BRWD3 gene mutation. Methods:Clinical data of a child with BRWD3 related infantile epileptic spasm syndrome who was admitted to Department of Pediatric Neurology of Linyi People′s Hospital on August 2, 2019 were collected and followed up, whole exome sequencing technology and Sanger sequencing were applied to verify the child and his parents, and the pathogenicity of mutation site was analyzed. The studies till June 2023 were searched with keywords of " BRWD3" in both English and Chinese databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and PubMed. The clinical phenotype and genetic characteristics of patients with BRWD3 related epilepsy were summarized. Results:The patient was a 4 years and 4 months old boy, with a clinical phenotype including severe global development delay, focal seizures (the onset age was 4 months), epileptic spasm (the onset age was 6 months), autism, megacephaly, high forehead as well as hypsarrhythmia. The whole exome sequencing results showed a de novo and frameshift variation c.4318_4319del(p.Q1441Efs*20)(NM_153252) in the BRWD3 gene, and the variation was interpreted as pathogenic (PVS1+PS2+PM2) according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics variant classification criteria and guidelines. A total of 7 English literature articles were retrieved reporting 16 cases of BRWD3 gene related epilepsy in children (including 1 case of infantile epileptic spasm syndrome), and there has been no report in China yet. Totally there were 17 cases of BRWD3 gene related epilepsy including this case. All the cases showed X chromosome dominant inheritance, of whom 15 cases showed minor variations, including 7 missense variations, 3 frameshift variations, 3 splicing variations, 2 nonsense variations, and the remaining 2 cases showed large segment deletions. A total of 15 different variants were found. The phenotypes of the 17 patients mainly included epileptic seizures (17/17), intellectual disability (10/17), motor development disorder (7/17), speech impairment (9/17), megacephaly (8/17), facial malformation (8/17), autism (4/17) and hypotonia (4/17). The common seizure types were found to be focal seizures, occasionally epileptic spasm seizures and tonic seizures. Conclusions:BRWD3 gene variation related epilepsy is an X chromosome dominant genetic disease with a wide clinical phenotype spectrum. BRWD3 gene mutation c.4318_4319del(p.Q1441Efs *20) could cause infantile epileptic spasm syndrome, manifested as severe global developmental delay, epileptic spasm, focal seizures, autism, craniofacial malformation and hypsarrhythmia. This research enriches BRWD3 gene mutation spectrum.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of neuroendoscopic resection in recurrent or residual sellar and clivus tumors and the prevention and treatment of operative complications.Methods:A retrospective study was performed. Clinical data of 49 patients with residual or recurrent sellar and clivus tumors after neuroendoscopic resection in Department of Neurosurgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from November 2021 to October 2023 were collected; 45 patients were with pituitary adenoma, 3 were with craniopharyngioma, and 1 patient was with clivus chordoma; their surgical efficacy and complications were summarized and analyzed.Results:Total resection was achieved in 29 patients (59.2%), subtotal resection in 12 (24.5%), and partial resection in 8 (16.3%). Two patients (4.1%) had intraoperative internal carotid artery rupture and were given emergency laminar stenting, discharging with good recovery, but one of them left with unilateral motor nerve palsy. During 1-24 months of follow-up, 97.2% patients (35/36) had headache relief and visual acuity improvement, and no patient had permanent diabetes insipidus or cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea. Residual tumors increased in 3 patients (6.1%); no tumor recurrence after total resection was noted.Conclusion:Endoscopic resection of recurrent or residual sellar and clivus tumors is safe and effective; attention should be paid to the internal carotid artery during the operation.

OBJECTIVE To explore the mechanisms of the flavonoids from new "Zhe Eight Flavors" Quzhou Fructus Aurantii(PTFC) against hepatocellular carcinoma based on the prediction of network pharmacology and experimental verification. METHODS From TCMSP, TCMID, ETCM, BATMAN-TCM and SwissTargetPrediction databases, the potential target proteins of PTFC, including naringin, narirutin and neohesperidin were collected. Based on the GeneCards, CTD, Disgenet, and OMIM databases, a set of target proteins for hepatocellular carcinoma was constructed. Taking the intersection of potential target proteins of PTFC and target proteins of hepatocellular carcinoma, key target proteins were obtained and a protein-protein interaction network was established. Besides, GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on the core target proteins was performed and a Compounds-Targets-Pathways-Disease network was constructed. Through proliferation, cloning, wound healing, and migration experiments, the effects of PTFC on the viability of HepG2 liver cancer cells were analyzed. Using fluorescence probe staining the impacts of PTFC on the mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis of HepG2 were observed. Finally, the validation of the regulatory effect of PTFC on the key predicted target PRKCA were carried out through RT-qPCR. RESULTS Based on network pharmacology, a total of 217 potential target proteins for PTFC were screened, with 59 intersecting target proteins related to diseases, including ALB, ESR1, PRKCA, and others. GO functional and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the PTFC target proteins were involved in 193 biological processes and 13 cancer-related signaling pathways. Experimental results demonstrated that PTFC could impact the proliferation, cloning, wound healing, and migration abilities of liver cancer cells, leading to a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and promoting cell apoptosis. The results of RT-qPCR confirmed a significant downregulation of PRKCA expression by PTFC, validating the predictions made by network pharmacology analysis. CONCLUSION This study has revealed the potential molecular mechanism of PTFC treating hepatocellular carcinoma via the PRKCA target, laying the foundation for clinical application of PTFC.

The research focus of diabetes, a common chronic metabolic disease, has shifted from individual factors to environmental factors at the population level. Epidemiological studies suggest an association between exposure to environmental pollutants and the risk of diabetes. Major environmental pollutants include organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, phthalates and their metabolites, and arsenics, which primarily enter the human body through the skin, respiratory tract, and digestive system. Long-term exposure to these pollutants can affect the pathology of diabetes through various mechanisms, such as promoting insulin resistance, causing insulin secretion deficiencies, inducing oxidative stress-induced glucose metabolism disorders, and affecting DNA methylation. However, the potential damaging mechanism of the impact of environmental pollutants on diabetes remain unclear. Limitations such as insufficient sample sizes, uncertainties regarding exposure time and dosage, and differences between single and co-exposures. In the future, it is necessary to focus on exploring and analyzing the mechanisms of environmental pollutant exposure on diabetes to develop effective prevention strategies, control and reduce the incidence and development of diabetes, and provide new insights into its diagnosis and treatment.

Compared with the widely used rodents,pigs are anatomically,physiologically,and genetically more similar to humans,making them high-quality models for the study of liver diseases.Here,we review the latest research progress on pigs as a model of human liver disease,including methods for establishing them and their advantages in studying cystic fibrosis liver disease,acute liver failure,liver regeneration,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,liver tumors,and xenotransplantation.We also emphasize the impor-tance of genetic engineering techniques,mainly the CRISPR/Cas9 system,which has greatly enhanced the utility of porcine models as a tool for substantially advancing liver disease research.Genetic engineering is expected to propel the pig as one of the irreplaceable animal models for future biomedical research.

Objective:To discuss the effect of the force feedback perceptual rehabilitation training on finger motor function of the patients with finger motor dysfunction after stroke,and to provide the basis for the clinical application and promotion of the force feedback perceptual rehabilitation training.Methods:A total of 86 patients with hand dysfunction after stroke were randomly divided into experimental group(n=43)and control group(n=43),and 3 cases in each group fell off from the experiment,and 80 cases were ultimately completed.On this basis,the patients in two groups received the conventional rehabilitation training for 40 min.The patients in control group received the conventional hand function training for 20 min,while the patients in experimental group received the force feedback perception rehabilitation training for 20 min,once per day,5 days per week,for a total of 6 weeks.The hand function recovery of the patients were evaluated before and after treatment by Action Research Arm Test(ARAT),grip strength,modified Ashworth scale(MAS),total active motion(TAM),Fugl-Meyer motor function assessment-upper limb(FMA-UL)finger motor part score,and Barthel index(BI).Results:Before treatment,there were no statistically significant differences in ARAT total score,grip strength,MAS grade,TAM,FMA-UL finger motor part score,and BI score of the patients between two groups(P＞0.05).After treated for 6 weeks,the ARAT scores,grip strengths,TAM,FMA-UL finger motor part scores,and BI scores of the patients in two groups were all increased than those before treatment(P＜0.05),while the MAS grades of the patients had no significant differences(P＞0.05).After treated for 6 weeks,compared with control group,the grasp score and grip score in ARAT score,and the difference of total ARAT score of the patients in experimental group were increased(P＜0.05),the TAM after treatment and the differences of grip strength,TAM,and FMA-UL finger motor part score of the patients before and after treatment were increased(P＜0.05),while the pinch scores and gross movement scores in ARAT score,MAS grades,and the differences of BI score before and after treatment had no significant differences(P＞0.05).Conclusion:Force feedback perceptual rehabilitation training is helpful in improving the finger motor function of the patients with finger motor dysfunction after stroke.

Objective:To explore the clinical and genetic characteristics of five children with epilepsies due to variants of SCN8A gene. Methods:Clinical data of five children (four males and one female) admitted to Linyi People′s Hospital due to hereditary epilepsies between August 2015 and August 2022 were collected. Whole exome sequencing was carried out for these children, and candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing.Results:All of the five children were found to harbor variants of the SCN8A gene. Case 1, who had benign familial infantile epilepsy, inherited a known pathogenic c. 4840A>G variant from his father with similar symptoms. Cases 2 to 4 had presented with intermediate epilepsy. Among these, case 2 has harbored a de novo c. 3967G>A variant which was rated as pathogenic (PS1+ PS2+ PM1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP3) based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Cases 3 and 4 were found to respectively harbor a de novo c. 415A>T and a c. 4697C>T variant, which were both rated as likely pathogenic (PS2+ PM1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP3). Case 5, who had early-onset infantile epileptic encephalopathy transformed into Lennox Gastaut-like syndrome, has harbored a de novo c. 5615G>A variant, which was known to be pathogenic. The children had their age of onset ranging from 2 to 14 months, and all had focal seizures and generalized tonic clonic seizures. Four children (cases 1, 2, 3 and 5) had cluster seizures, four (cases 1 to 4) had become seizure-free after single or dual treatment and showed normal growth and development, whilst case 5 was drug-resistant and showed severe developmental retardation. Conclusion:The five children had new features such as cluster seizures, occasional benign seizures in adulthood, and intermediate epilepsy which are prone to relapse after discontinuation of medication, which may be attributed to the pathogenic variants of the SCN8A gene.