Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a malignant tumor with an extremely poor prognosis， and its pathogenesis is complex and remains unclear. In recent years， more and more studies have focused on the role of bile-gut axis in the development and progression of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Bile-gut axis refers to the complex interaction between bile and gut microbiota， including bile salt metabolism， dynamic changes of microbiota， inflammatory response， and immune system regulation. This article elaborates on the potential mechanisms of bile-gut axis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma， especially gut microbiota dysbiosis， abnormal bile salt metabolism， chronic inflammatory response， and immune system interaction， this article aims to provide new perspectives and possible therapeutic targets for future research and promote the early diagnosis and effective treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of rapamycin-eluting vertebral artery stent in the treatment of severe ostial vertebral artery stenosis(OV AS),and to analyze the incidence of postoperative in-stent restenosis(ISR).Methods A total of 96 patients with severe OVAS,who received stenting angioplasty at authors'hospital between November 2020 and May 2022,were retrospectively collected.The patients were divided into the observation group(n=48)and the control group(n=48).For the patients of the observation group implantation of rapamycin-eluting vertebral artery stent was carried out,while for the patients of the control group implantation of peripheral balloon dilatation bare metal stent(BMS)was performed.The perioperative basic data,the incidence of complications during follow-up period,and the postoperative incidence of ISR were compared between the two groups.Results Successful stent implantation was achieved in all patients of both groups.During perioperative period no complications such as transient ischemia attack(TIA),dropping-off or fracture of the stent,vertebral artery or stent-related stroke occurred.No statistically significant differences in the length and the diameter of the implanted stents,in the preoperative vertebral artery stenosis ratio,and in the postoperative residual stenosis ratio existed between the two groups(all P＞0.05).In both groups,the postoperative residual stenosis ratio was＜20％.The patients were followed up for a mean period of(12.33±5.82)months(range of 6-18 months),the incidence of postoperative vertebral artery or stent-related stroke in the observation group and the control group was 0％and 4.17％respectively,the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant(P＞0.05).The improvement of clinical symptoms such as dizziness,vertigo,etc.was observed in 47 patients of the observation group and in 45 patients of the control group,and no recurrent posterior circulation TIA or stent-related thrombotic event occurred.The incidence of postoperative restenosis in the observation group was 10.42％,which was significantly lower than 29.17％in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Rapamycin-eluting vertebral artery stent can safely and effectively treat severe OVAS and reduce the incidence of postoperative ISR.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,33:275-279)

In recent years,sudden public health events caused by group A streptococcus infections have been emerging,imposing a huge economic burden on society.The development of group A streptococcus vaccines has been an area of great interest to scientists.There is currently a wide range of vaccines in different stages of development.However,no mature and usable vaccines are available so far.This paper reviewed the current research on group A streptococcus vaccines in general and on M-protein recombinant protein vaccines,non-M-protein recombinant protein vaccines,and polysaccharide conjugate vaccines in particular.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of Billroth II anastomosis versus Roux-en-Y anastomosis in laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods:A case-control study was conducted to retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 110 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer at the General Hospital of Huainan Oriental Hospital Group from January 2021 to December 2022. According to the different methods of gastrointestinal reconstruction after distal gastrectomy, the patients were divided into an observation group ( n = 61) and a control group ( n = 49). The observation group was treated with Roux-en-Y anastomosis, while the control group received Billroth II anastomosis. The intraoperative blood loss, operation time, postoperative recovery, early postoperative ambulation time, time to first flatus, food intake, length of hospital stay, and complications were compared between the two groups. Results:The operation time in the control group was (140.0 ± 31.5) minutes, which was significantly shorter than that in the observation group [(180.0 ± 30.5) minutes, t = 6.37, P < 0.05]. There were no statistically significant differences in intraoperative blood loss and early postoperative ambulation time between the two groups (both P > 0.05). In the control group, there were 8 cases of alkaline reflux gastritis (16.3%), 3 cases of afferent loop obstruction (6.1%), and 3 cases of dumping syndrome (6.1%). These proportions were significantly higher than those in the observation group, which reported 2 cases of alkaline reflux gastritis (3.3%), 1 case of afferent loop obstruction (1.6%), and 1 case of dumping syndrome (1.6%) (χ2 = 6.15, 4.54, 4.54, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Using Roux-en-Y anastomosis for gastrointestinal reconstruction in patients undergoing laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer can help prevent against alkaline reflux gastritis, afferent loop obstruction, and dumping syndrome; however, it results in a longer surgical time compared with Billroth II anastomosis.

Objective:To conduct a nationwide physician survey to better understand clinicians’ disease awareness, treatment patterns, and experience of Waldenstr?m macroglobulinemia (WM) in China.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2022 to July 2022 by recruiting clinicians with WM treatment experience from hematology, hematology-oncology, and oncology departments throughout China. Quantitative surveys were designed based on the qualitative interviews.Results:The study included 415 clinicians from 219 hospitals spread across thirty-three cities and twenty-two provinces. As for diagnosis, the laboratory tests prescribed by physicians for suspected WM patients were relatively consistent (92% -99% recommendation for laboratory, 79% -95% recommendation for pathology, 96% recommendation for gene testing, and 63% -83% recommendation for imaging examination). However, from a physician's perspective, there was 22% misdiagnosis occurred in clinical practice. The rate of misdiagnosis was higher in lower-level hospitals than in tertiary grade A hospitals (29% vs 21%, P<0.001). The main reasons for misdiagnosis were that WM was easily confused with other diseases, and physicians lacked the necessary knowledge to make an accurate diagnosis. In terms of gene testing in clinical practice, 96% of participating physicians believed that WM patients would require gene testing for MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations because the results of gene testing would aid in confirming diagnosis and treatment options. In terms of treatment, 55% of physicians thought that the most important goal was to achieve remission, while 54% and 51% of physicians wanted to improve laboratory and/or examination results and extend overall survival time, respectively. Among patients with treatment indications, physicians estimated that approximately 21% of them refused to receive treatment, mainly owing to a lack of affordable care and disease awareness. When selecting the most appropriate treatment regimens, physicians would consider patient affordability (63% ), comorbidity (61% ), and risk level (54% ). Regimens containing Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) were most widely recommended for both treatment-na?ve and relapsed/refractory patients (94% for all patients, 95% for treatment-na?ve patients, and 75% for relapsed/refractory patients), and most physicians recommended Ibrutinib (84% ). For those patients who received treatment, physicians reported that approximately 23% of patients did not comply with the treatment regimen due to a lack of affordability and disease awareness. Furthermore, 66% of physicians believe that in the future, increasing disease awareness and improving diagnosis rates is critical. Conclusions:This study is the first national physician survey of WM conducted in China. It systematically describes the issues that exist in WM diagnosis and treatment in China, such as a high rate of misdiagnosis, limited access to gene testing and new drugs, and poor patient adherence to treatment. Chinese doctors believe that improving doctors’ and patients’ understanding of WM is one of the most urgent issues that must be addressed right now.

Objective:To compare the efficacy, adverse reactions and skin cosmetic effects between simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy and whole-breast intensity-modulated radiotherapy with sequential electronic boost radiotherapy for early breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery.Methods:The clinical data of 96 early breast cancer patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from December 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed, and the patients were divided into simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy group (observation group, 52 cases) and whole-breast intensity-modulated radiotherapy with sequential electronic boost radiotherapy group (control group, 44 cases) according to the postoperative radiotherapy method. In the observation group, the dose division scheme was 50 Gy/25 fractions (2 Gy/fraction) for the whole breast, while 60 Gy/25 fractions (2.4 Gy/fraction) was used in the tumor bed concomitantly, with a total treatment course of 33-35 d. In the control group, the dose division scheme was 50 Gy/25 fractions (2 Gy/ fraction) for the whole breast followed by tumor bed boost of 10 Gy/5 fractions (2 Gy/fraction), with a total treatment course of 40-42 d.Results:Median follow-up time of all patients was 70 months, the 5-year overall survival rates of the observation and control groups were 100.0% and 97.7%, the 5-year local recurrence-free survival rates were 98.1% and 95.5%, the 5-year disease-free survival rates were 98.1% and 93.2%, and the differences between the two groups in terms of overall survival, recurrence-free survival and disease-free survival were not statistically significant ( χ2 = 1.18, P = 0.277; χ2 = 0.44, P = 0.509; χ2 = 1.24, P = 0.265). The incidence of grade 1 and 2 acute radiation dermatitis was 63.5% (33/52) and 19.2% (10/52) in the observation group, and 50.0% (22/44) and 38.6% (17/44) in the control group, there was 1 case (2.3%) of grade 3 acute radiation dermatitis, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( Z = -2.15, P = 0.032). The differences in the incidence of acute and late radiation lung injury between the two groups were not statistically significant (both P > 0.05). Except for 1 patient (2.3%) in the control group with poor cosmetic results, the rest of the patients in both groups achieved average or excellent cosmetic results ( P > 0.05). The radiotherapy time of the observation group was shorter than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.001). Conclusions:Early breast cancer patients who received simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy or whole-breast intensity-modulated radiotherapy with sequential electronic boost radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery could obtain good survival benefit, and the cosmetic results are all good without serious adverse effects. The treatment time of simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy is shorter and patient compliance is better.

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and feasibility of coronary artery calcium score ( CACS) on virtual non-contrast scan ( VNC) images obtained from coronary artery CT angiography ( CCTA) scan with dual －layer spectral detector CT (SDCT) ． Methods : The data of 197 patients who underwent CCTA scan in hospital were analyzed retrospectively，and 88 patients with CACS ＞0 were further analyzed． Linear regression analysis of CACS and coronary artery calcium volume ( CACV) of true non-contrast (TNC) images and VNC images ( CACS-TNC， CACS-VNC，CACV-TNC，CACV-VNC) was performed to obtain linear regression equation and correction coefficients λ 1AVG and λ2AVG ．CACS-VNC and CACV-VNC were corrected by the corresponding regression equation and recorded as CCACS-VNC and CCACV-VNC，respectively．Spearman correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis and Bland-Altman plot was used for consistency test．Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the difference between the two groups. Results : For the total coronary artery，there was a strong correlation between CACS- TNC and CACS-VNC (rs = 0. 952，P ＜0. 001 ，λ 1AVG = 2. 19 ) ，CACV-TNC and CACV-VNC ( rs = 0. 954，P < 0. 001，λ2AVG = 1. 93) ．The results of Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference between CACS-TNC and CCACS-VNC or between CACV-TNC and CCACV-VNC，and the Bland-Altman plot showed good consistency between CACS-TNC and CCACS-VNC ，CACV-TNC and CCACV-VNC． Conclusion VNC images based on SDCT can accurately measure CACS and be used for cardiovascular risk classification，which is expected to replace TNC scan and reduce the radiation dose of patients.

Objective:To analyze the clinical phenotypes and pathogenic gene of a Han Chinese family with enhanced S-cone syndrome (ESCS).Methods:The method of pedigree investigation was adopted.A suspected ESCS Han Chinese family including 8 members of 3 generations was recruited in Henan Eye Hospital from June to September 2021.There was one patient in the family.A thorough ophthalmic examination of the proband was carried out to evaluate the phenotypes, including visual acuity, degree of strabismus, anterior segment and fundus, autofluorescence imaging, fluorescein fundus angiography, full-field electroretinogram (ERG), multifocal ERG, optical coherence tomography.DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples from the proband and family members.The pathogenic gene and variation were screened by whole exome sequencing (WES).The variation and co-segregation were verified by Sanger sequencing.The deleteriousness of the variation was analyzed by SIFT, Polyphen2 and MutationTaster.The pathogenicity of the variation was evaluated in accordance with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Standards and Guidelines.The analysis of amino acid sequence conservation was performed by SIFT.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECKY-2017[6]).Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Results:This pedigree was consistent with autosomal recessive inheritance.The proband had clinical features such as night blindness, hyperopia, accommodative esotropia, peripheral retinal pigmentation, retinoschisis, and photopic ERG responses dominated by large-amplitude waves.Variations including a compound heterozygous variation, c.671C>T: p.S224L on exon 5 and c. 955G>A: p.E319K on exon 6 of NR2E3 were identified by WES.The variations were confirmed to be consistent with co-segregation.The both loci were missense variations, the variation frequency of which was 0 in the East Asian population via the gnomAD database.The variations were predicted to be deleterious by SIFT, Polyphen2 and MutationTaster.The c.671C>T variation was recorded with unknown significance in ClinVar database, and the c.955G>A variation was an unreported new locus.According to the ACMG Standards and Guidelines, the both variations were labeled as with uncertain clinical significance, and the corresponding amino acid sequences were highly conservative across multiple species. Conclusions:This family has the clinical characteristics of ESCS and meets the genetic diagnosis criteria.Two novel variations in NR2E3 gene, c.671C>T: p.S224L and 955G>A: p.E319K, are found.

Objective:To explore whether left ventricular interstitial fibrosis is associated with left atrial enlargement and left atrial dysfunction in patients of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM) with preserved ejection fraction.Methods:From October 2018 to September 2021, 59 HCM including 30 with enlarged maximal left artrial volume index (LAVI max), 29 with normal LAVI max and 28 age-and gender-matched controls were retrospectively enrolled. Imaging protocol included cine sequence, late gadolinium enhancement and T 1 mapping.The relationships between left ventricular mass index (LVMI), quantitative myocardial fibrosis and left atrial-related indexes were analyzed. One-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc correction or Kruskal-Wallis was performed for continuous variables. Categorical variables were assessed using the Chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test. Pearson or Spearman analysis was used for linear or monotonic nonlinear correlations. Results:The left ventricular end-diastolic volume index, left ventricular end-systolic volume index, left ventricular cardiac output and LVMI of HCM with enlarged LAVI max group were higher than HCM with normal LAVI max group and control group( P<0.05).Correlation analysis showed that LVMI correlated positively with LAVI max( r=0.780, P<0.001) and minimal left artrial volume index (LAVI min) ( r=0.816, P<0.001), extracellular volume correlated positively with LAVI max( r=0.462, P<0.001) and LAVI min( r=0.483, P<0.001),%LGE was correlated positively with LAVI max( r=0.311, P<0.05) and LAVI min( r=0.327, P<0.05),left ventricular index interstitial volume was correlated negatively with left atrial ejection fraction of reservoir ( r=-0.669, P<0.001),left atrial ejection fraction of conduit ( r=-0.472, P<0.001),left atrial ejection fraction of pump ( r=-0.518, P<0.001)and left atrial expansion index( r=-0.626, P<0.001). Conclusion:There is association between LVMI and fibrosis and left atrial enlargement and phases dysfunction in HCM with preserved ejection fraction.

Objective:To observe the imaging features of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in peripheral retinal abnormalities of high myopia (HM).Methods:A retrospective series of case studies were conducted. From March 2019 to March 2021, 38 cases (50 eyes) in high myopia with peripheral retinal abnormalities who were confirmed to Henan Eye Hospital were enrolled in the study. There were 21 eyes in 17 males and 29 eyes in 21 females, age was 39.58±15.29 years, diopter was (-9.10±2.44) D. All patients underwent wide-angle fundus photography and OCT examination. According to wide-angle fundus photography and OCT, HM with peripheral retinal abnormalities were classified into white-without-pressure, black-without-pressure, lattice degeneration, peripheral pigmented degeneration, retinoschisis and retinal holes. OCT imaging features of peripheral abnormalities in high myopia was observed.Results:In 50 eyes, 65 peripheral retinal abnormalities were observed by OCT. In 6 white-without-pressure, intense hyperreflectivity was shown at the level of the ellipsoid zone that abruptly transitions to relative hyporeflectivity at the dark border of the lesion. In 16 black-without-pressure, reflectivity of the ellipsoid zone decreased. In 10 sites of lattice degeneration, cystoid degeneration, local thinning, retinal tear at the posterior edge and boundary of the lesion was shown, whcih may be accompanied by local vitreous condensation and traction. In 4 peripheral pigmented degeneration, retinal interlayer hyperreflectivity was shown. In 12 retinoschisis, neuroepith-elial separation was connected by vertical bridge or columnar light bands, of which 3 were accompanied with localized retinal detachment and 2 with splitting-related retinal vascular abnormalities. In 17 retinal holes, full layer of neuroepithelium lost, that 12 zones were accompanied with retinal detachment with vitreous adhesion or traction.Conclusion:OCT manifestations of peripheral retinal abnormalities in HM varies.