Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a syndrome characterized by pain and morning stiffness in the neck and shoulder and pelvic girdles, as well as raised acute-phase reactants, with or without systemic symptoms, such as fever. Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a systemic vasculitis of unclear etiology that involves systemic arteries, principally affecting medium- and large-sized arteries with skipped, segmental alterations and granulomatous vasculitis seen on histopathology. In China, epidemiological data describing GCA are still limited; thus, the prevalence might be underestimated. The involvement of vessels in GCA can cause irreversible visual impairment or loss and stroke, which are serious complications. PMR is three times more prevalent than GCA, and other specific diseases should be excluded before the diagnosis is established. PMR symptoms can be present in 40%-60% of patients with GCA. Conversely, GCA can develop in 15% of patients with PMR. Chinese Rheumatology Association, based on the clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines in 2005, utilizing the experience and guidelines of diagnosis and treatment at home and abroad, formulated this specification to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of GCA and PMR and improve the patient′s prognosis.

Child ; Humans ; Class I Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Mutation ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal/genetics*

Objective: To investigate the clinical effects of in situ perforation of preserved split scar matrix in combination with scalp transplantation and vacuum sealing drainage in the treatment of hypertrophic scar in non-functional sites after burns. Methods: A retrospective observational study was used. From June 2017 to June 2019, 33 patients (24 males and 9 females, aged 8-50 years) who met the inclusion criteria with hypertrophic scars in non-functional sites outside the face after burns were treated in General Hospital of TISCO (the Sixth Hospital of Shanxi Medical University). All patients underwent scalp transplantation after perforation of retained split scar matrix in situ (with scar thinning area of 90-500 cm²), and then the vacuum sealing drainage was performed. The hematoma and infection of wounds were observed on the 7^th day after operation. At the same time, the survival rate of skin grafting was observed and calculated. The flatness and thickness of the scar in the operative area were observed in 12 months after operation, and the itching and pain of the patients were recorded. Vancouver Scar Scale was used to score the scar of patients before operation and at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation. The healing time and hair growth of donor site were observed. Data were statistically analyzed with repeated analysis of variance, paired sample t test and bonferroni correction. Results: On the 7^th day after operation, local subcutaneous hematoma appeared in the wound of 2 patients, which healed after dressing change; no infection occurred. On the 7^th day after operation, the survival rate of skin grafting of patients was 94.6%-99.0%(96.8±1.2)%. Scar flatness was well, the thickness of scar was not significantly higher than that of normal skin in 12 months after operation, and the symptoms of itching pain of patients disappeared or significantly relieved. Vancouver Scar Scale scores of patients before operation and at 3, 6, and 12 months after operation were 12.1±2.8, 8.5±1.5, 7.6±1.6, 6.7±1.3, respectively, and the scores of 3, 6, and 12 months after operation were all significantly lower than that before operation (with t values of 4.48, 4.06, and 3.97, respectively, P<0.01). All the donor sites of the head healed well in 4-7 days after operation. By 3-6 months after operation, all patients had good hair growth in the donor site and achieved no scar healing. Conclusions: The treatment of hypertrophic scar in non-functional sites outside the face after burns by in situ perforation of preserved split scar matrix in combination with scalp transplantation and vacuum sealing drainage can effectively improve the appearance of hypertrophic scar in non-functional areas after burn and reduce its degree of hyperplasia, with scar-free donor site healing.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Burns/surgery* ; Child ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic/surgery* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Scalp/surgery* ; Skin Transplantation ; Young Adult

Cancer is one of the most devastating diseases worldwide and definitive therapeutics for treating cancer are not yet available despite extensive research efforts. The key challenges include limiting factors connected with traditional chemotherapeutics, primarily drug resistance, low response rates, and adverse side-effects. Therefore, there is a high demand for novel anti-cancer drugs that are both potent and safe for cancer prevention and treatment. Gallic acid (GA), a natural botanic phenolic compound, can mediate various therapeutic properties that are involved in anti-inflammation, anti-obesity, and anti-cancer activities. More recently, GA has been shown to exert anti-cancer activities via several biological pathways that include migration, metastasis, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, angiogenesis, and oncogene expression. This review discusses two aspects, one is the anti-cancer potential of GA against different types of cancer and the underlying molecular mechanisms, the other is the bibliometric analysis of GA in cancer and tumor research. The results indicated that lung cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, and colon adenocarcinoma may become a hot topic in further research. Overall, this review provides evidence that GA represents a promising novel, potent, and safe anti-cancer drug candidate for treating cancer.
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy* ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Gallic Acid/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Male

In this study, the antioxidant property changes in fermented Ziziphi Spinosae Semen(FZSS) with Poria cocos were analyzed by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP methods. Then the content determination of active ingredients and ~1H nuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR) spectroscopy were also used to investigate the mechanism of FZSS with P. cocos in enhancing the antioxidant activity. The results showed that the content of active ingredients such as total phenols, total saponins and total polysaccharides were significantly increased during the fermentation time. The results of ~1H-NMR metabonomics showed that the contents of amino acids such as leucine, lysine, valine and alanine, nitrogen compounds such as creatine, creatinine, and betaine, and secondary metabolites, for instance, jujuboside A and spinosin were higher after fermentation, and above components showed positive correlation with antioxidant capacity in Pearson correlation analysis. Therefore, it was inferred that the enhancement of antioxidant activity of FZSS may be the result of the joint action of various chemical components. This study preliminarily clarified the mechanism of FZSS in enhancing the antioxidant activity, and provided new research ideas for the product development and utilization of FZSS.
Antioxidants ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Poria ; Semen ; Wolfiporia ; Ziziphus

Objective:To investigate the risk factors for anterior circulation and posterior circulation symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (sICAS).Methods:The clinical data of patients admitted to Hebei General Hospital for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and diagnosed with sICAS by digital subtraction angiography from May 2019 to May 2020 were retrospectively included. The patients were divided into anterior circulation group and posterior circulation group according to the stenosis sites, and the distribution of sICAS and its risk factors were analyzed.Results:A total of 134 patients with sICAS were enrolled, including 82 males (61.2%) and 52 females (38.8%). Their age was 60.28±11.46 years; 115 (85.8%) had ischemic stroke and 19 (14.2%) had TIA. There were 92 patients (68.7%) in the anterior circulation group and 42 (31.3%) in the posterior circulation group. Body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, as well as the proportion of patients with hypertension, diabetes, smoking and drinking in the posterior circulation group were significantly higher than those in the anterior circulation group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher BMI (odds ratio [ OR] 1.191, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.029-1.379; P=0.019), hypertension ( OR 4.073, 95% CI 1.135-14.616; P=0.031) and diabetes ( OR 2.783, 95% CI 1.149-6.738; P=0.023) were independently correlated with the posterior circulation sICAS. Conclusions:Compared with anterior circulation, high BMI, hypertension and diabetes are the independent risk factors for posterior circulation sICAS.

The present study evaluates different processing and drying methods and investigates their effects on the chemical components in Paeoniae Radix Alba via content determination. The fresh medicinal materials of Paeoniae Radix Alba collected from Bozhou of Anhui province were processed(boiled and peeled) and dried(hot air-dried, infrared-dried, and microwave-dried) at different temperatures(40, 50, 60 and 70 ℃), and the 11 components(monoterpene glycosides, polyphenols, tannin, and benzoic acid) in Paeoniae Radix Alba were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-TQ-MS). Then the compounds in processed and dried samples were analyzed by partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA), and the contribution rates of differential components were evaluated by variable important in projection(VIP). The results indicated that the samples obtained by different processing and drying methods could be distinguished. Albiflorin, gallic acid, 1,2,3,4,6-pentakis-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, and benzoic acid were the common differential components in boiled Paeoniae Radix Alba. Benzoic acid was the common differential component in peeled Paeoniae Radix Alba. Gallic acid was the common differential component in Paeoniae Radix Alba dried by different methods. The samples could not be distinguished after drying at different temperatures due to the lack of common differential components. This study is expected to provide a reference for the selection of processing and drying methods and the optimization of processing parameters.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Paeonia ; Plant Extracts ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective:To investigate the correlation between total MRI burden and serum uric acid level in patients with cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD) and its gender differences.Methods:A total of 217 patients with CSVD were retrospectively included as the research objects, and the clinical data such as serum uric acid value were collected.The imaging findings of patients with CSVD were evaluated by MRI, and the total MRI burden score of CSVD was calculated.According to the total MRI burden score of CSVD, patients with CSVD were divided into mild-to-moderate burden group ( n=133) and severe burden group ( n=84). SPSS 20.0 software was used for data analysis and processing.Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between uric acid and the total MRI burden score of CSVD. Results:The serum uric acid of severe burden group was higher than that of mild-to-moderate burden group((326.94±70.95)μmol/L, (293.42±80.52)μmol/L, P=0.002). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the elevated level of serum uric acid was an independent risk factors for total MRI burden of CSVD ( β=0.005, OR=1.005, 95% CI=1.001-1.009, P=0.019). The patients with CSVD were equally divided into four group based on the serum uric acid concentration.After controlling the confounding factors, with the increase of uric acid level, the risk of aggravating total MRI burden score of CSVD increased, and the difference was statistically significant( P=0.001). Serum uric acid(for each quartile increase)was an independent risk factor for total MRI burden in male patients with CSVD( β=0.482, OR=1.619, 95% CI=1.125-2.330, P=0.010), while there was no significant difference in female patients( P=0.070). Conclusion:Serum uric acid level is a risk factor for increasing the total MRI burden in male patients with CSVD, but this effect is not found in female patients with CSVD.

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has become an effective treatment for acute large vessel occlusive ischemic stroke. Because there are many common etiologies and pathogenesis between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and large vessel disease, patients with large vessel occlusive ischemic stroke are often accompanied by imaging manifestations of CSVD. In recent years, with the wide application of EVT in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, more and more studies have investigated the relationship between CSVD and the outcome of patients treated with EVT. This article reviews the relationship between various imaging phenotypes of CSVD and the outcome of acute ischemic stroke patients treated with EVT and its possible mechanism.

Objective:To investigate the recovery of patients with acute thallium poisoning after 9 years.Methods:A group of 14 patients with familial thallium poisoning who were admitted to our hospital in 2010 were followed up for 9 years.Results:Among the 14 patients with acute thallium poisoning, one patient died on the 14th day after poisoning, and all the other survivors were followed up 9 years later. The general condition of all the patients was significantly better than that of poisoning 9 years ago. The alopecia of all cases disappeared, the newborn hair grew normally, without gastrointestinal symptoms, numbness, pain in the limbs and mental symptoms. All the patients returned to normal intelligence and physical strength and had a normal life. One patient (No. 5) gave birth to 2 children successively after discharge. The first child was 6 years old and the second child was 2 years old. Both growth and intelligence were not different from those of the same age. Currently, the third pregnancy was more than 7 months. No.6 and No.10 patients were poisoned in their teenage and were currently all studying in university. No.6 patient suffered from Hashimoto's thyroiditis 7 years after poisoning, and he has been taking thiamazole tablets for two years. Poisoned infants, No.7, 8 ,11 and 12, were school-age children with normal growth, mental development and excellent academic performance. Among the 13 surviving patients, blood and urine samples from No. 1, No. 3, and No. 4 patients were collected, and no thallium concentration was detected, and biochemical examina-tion and neurological examination were all normal.Conclusions:Patients with acute thallium poisoning have a favorable prognosis according to the follow-up after 9 years. All patients have no obvious sequelae and have normal labor ability. Young women have normal fertility, and children have normal growth and mental development.