AIM: To prepare the model of diabetic retinopathy(DR)on the basis of the model of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)in rats, observe the preventive and protective effect of metformin on DR in T2DM rats and the effect on serum Cystatin C(Cys C), and discuss its mechanism.METHODS: A total of 120 male SD rats were selected and 30 rats were randomly divided into blank control group A(10 rats), T2DM group(10 rats)and metformin intervention group A(10 rats). The remaining 90 rats were randomly divided into three groups: blank control group B(30 rats), DR group(30 rats)and metformin intervention group B(30 rats). Except for blank control groups A and B, T2DM models were constructed in all other groups. After modeling, rats in metformin intervention group A were given metformin by gavage, and rats in blank control group A and T2DM group were given normal saline by gavage. After 3mo of intervention, fasting blood glucose(FBG)and fasting serum insulin(FINS)indexes of the three groups were measured respectively, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)was calculated and analyzed; The serum Cys C, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), the levels of Interleukin-8(IL-8), vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and reactive oxygen species(ROS)were measured, and we observed the retinal tissue and vascular morphology of rats by FFA, HE staining and transmission electron microscopy; rats in metformin intervention group B began to give metformin by gavage 3mo after the course of T2DM, and other rats were given normal saline. According to the length of intervention, 10 rats were taken from each group and observed at 4, 5 and 6mo respectively. Serum levels of Cys C, TNF-α, IL-8, VEGF and ROS were measured in each group. We observed the retinal tissue and vascular morphology of rats by FFA, HE staining and transmission electron microscopy.RESULTS: The expressions of serum FBG, FINS, HOMA-IR, Cys C, TNF-α, IL-8, VEGF and ROS were statistically significant among the blank control group A, T2DM group and metformin intervention group A(P<0.05), which were the highest in T2DM group, and the metformin intervention group A were lower than T2DM group; The expression of Cys C, TNF-α, IL-8, VEGF and ROS of rat serum were statistically significant among the blank control group B, DR group and metformin intervention group B within the same age groups at 4, 5 and 6mo respectively(P<0.05), and were all the highest in DR group. The expressions of metformin intervention group B were lower than those of the DR group. With the prolongation of DR course, the expression of Cys C, TNF-α, IL-8, VEGF and ROS also increased further; FFA results showed that compared with the corresponding blank control group, the retinal blood vessels of each model group were tortuous, and microaneurysms and fluorescence leakage were visible with the prolongation of the disease course; HE staining results showed that compared with the corresponding blank control group, the retinal cells of each model group were arranged disorderly, and abnormal dilated blood vessels were visible with the prolongation of the disease course; Transmission electron microscopy results showed that compared with the corresponding blank control group, the retinal capillaries in each model group were seriously damaged; However, compared with the corresponding model group, the results of FFA, HE and transmission electron microscopy of rats in each metformin intervention group had different degrees of improvement.CONCLUSIONS: Metformin can improve retinal tissue lesions by down-regulating serum Cys C-mediated levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, thus playing a preventive and therapeutic role in the retinopathy in T2DM rats.

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of internal carotid artery (ICA) embolization technology in endoscopic salvage surgery for recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (rNPC) invading the ICA. Methods: From January 2016 to March 2021, 83 patients with rNPC who invaded the ICA and underwent endoscopic extended nasopharyngectomy were retrospectively collected from the Eye & ENT Hospital in Fudan University, including 60 males and 23 females. The age of the patients ranged from 27 to 77 years. The standard of ICA invasion was that the distance from the lesion to the ICA on enhanced MRI was ≤ 1.8 mm. The clinical characteristics, ICA management strategy and survival prognosis of patients were analyzed, and the effectiveness of ICA embolization was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the survival rate and Log-rank test was used to compare the difference. Results: In 83 patients with rNPC, there were 13 patients with rT2, 38 patients with rT3, 32 patients with rT4, and 16 patients had lymph node metastasis. A total of 37 patients (44.6%) underwent ICA coil embolization before surgery, of which 2 cases underwent external carotid-middle cerebral artery artery bypass grafting and ICA embolization due to positive balloon occlusion test (BOT). Patients with positive surgical margin accounted for 24.1% (20/83). Among them, patients with rT4 and patients without ICA embolization had a higher positive rate of surgical margin (P value was 0.001, 0.043, respectively). The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) rate of all patients was 46.5% and 26.7%, respectively. In addition, the 3-year OS and PFS of patients with ICA embolization was significantly higher than those without ICA embolization, respectively (69.1% vs 27.8%, P=0.003; 33.9% vs 18.9%, P=0.018). Only 2 patients (2/37, 5.4%) had cerebral infarction complications after coil embolization of the affected ICA due to negative BOT. Conclusion: Preoperative ICA embolization can be used to treat patients with rNPC invading the ICA, improve the total removal rate and survival rate of patients, which is an effective salvage treatment.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Salvage Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/surgery* ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To compare the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, and evaluate the effectiveness of their prevention and control measures. Methods Data of COVID-19 cases reported in Guangzhou and Wenzhou as of 29 February, 2020 were collected. The incidence curves of COVID-19 in two cities were constructed. The real time reproduction number ( R t ) of COVID-19 in two cities was calculated respectively. Results A total of 346 and 465 confirmed COVID-19 cases were analysed in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, respectively. In two cities, most cases were aged 30-59 years (Guangzhou: 54.9%; Wenzhou: 70.3%). The incidence curve peaked on 27 January, 2020 in Guangzhou and on 26 January, 2020 in Wenzhou, then began to decline in both cities. The peaks of imported COVID-19 cases from Hubei occurred earlier than the peak of COVID-19 incidences in two cities, and the peak of imported cases from Hubei occurred earlier in Wenzhou than in Guangzhou. In early epidemic phase, imported cases were predominant in both cities, then the number of local cases increased and gradually took the dominance in Wenzhou. In Guangzhou, the imported cases was still predominant. Despite the different epidemic pattern, the R t and the number of COVID-19 cases declined after strict prevention and control measures were taken in Guangzhou and in Wenzhou. Conclusion The time and scale specific differences of imported COVID-19 resulted in different epidemic patterns in two cities, but the spread of the disease were effectively controlled after taking strict prevention and control measures.

Objective To assess the imported risk of COVID-19 in Guangdong province and its cities, and conduct early warning. Methods Data of reported COVID-19 cases and Baidu Migration Index of 21 cities in Guangdong province and other provinces of China as of February 25, 2020 were collected. The imported risk index of each city in Guangdong province were calculated, and then correlation analysis was performed between reported cases and the imported risk index to identify lag time. Finally, we classified the early warming levels of epidemic by imported risk index. Results A total of 1 347 confirmed cases were reported in Guangdong province, and 90.0% of the cases were clustered in the Pearl River Delta region. The average daily imported risk index of Guangdong was 44.03. Among the imported risk sources of each city, the highest risk of almost all cities came from Hubei province, except for Zhanjiang from Hainan province. In addition, the neighboring provinces of Guangdong province also had a greater impact. The correlation between the imported risk index with a lag of 4 days and the daily reported cases was the strongest (correlation coefficient: 0.73). The early warning base on cumulative 4-day risk of each city showed that Dongguan, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Huizhou have high imported risks in the next 4 days, with imported risk indexes of 38.85, 21.59, 11.67, 11.25, 6.19 and 5.92, and the highest risk still comes from Hubei province. Conclusions Cities with a large number of migrants in Guangdong province have a higher risk of import. Hubei province and neighboring provinces in Guangdong province are the main source of the imported risk. Each city must strengthen the health management of migrants in high-risk provinces and reduce the imported risk of Guangdong province.

Objective::To explore the effect of Tongxie Yaofang on p38 mitogen activated protease(p38 MAPK), mitogen and stress protein kinase 1(MSK1), cyclic adenosine effector response element binding protein(CREB)mRNA and protein expression in colon tissue of diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) rat model with liver depression and spleen deficiency(GYPX), and interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and the content of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum. Method::The 60 SPF Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, with 10 rats in each group. Except the normal group, rats in the other groups were given by gavage with folium sennae and chronic bondage to establish D-IBS with GYPX for 14 days. The low, medium, and high doses Tongxie Yaofang were administered to Tongxie Yaofang(2.25, 4.5, 9 g·kg^-1)gavage respectively. The piveronium bromide group was given piveronium bromide tablets suspension(0.02 g·kg^-1)gavage.The normal group group and model group were given the same volume normal saline for 21 days. After the last gavage for 18 hours, the heart blood was collected and the colon tissue was dissected. Real-time PCR was used to observe the expression of p38 MAPK, MSK1 and CREB mRNA in rat colon. Western blot was used to observe the expression of p38 MAPK, MSK1 and CREB protein. ELISA was used to observe the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in colon. Hydroxylamine was used to observe the T-SOD level in serum, thiobarbituric acid(TBA)was used to observe the MDA content in serum. hematoxyl in-eosin(HE) staining was used to observe the morphological changes of colon tissues. Result::Compared with normal group, the expression of p38 MAPK, MSK1, CREB mRNA and the protein content of p38 MAPK, MSK1 and CREB in the colon tissue of model group rats increased significantly, while the content of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α increased significantly(P<0.05). The level of serum T-SOD decreased significantly, and the content of MDA increased significantly(P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the medium and high dose group of Tongxie Yaofang significantly decreased the expression of p38 MAPK mRNA, content of p38 MAPK, CREB protein and IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α in colon tissue(P<0.05). The level of serum T-SOD increased significantly, and the content of MDA decreased significantly(P<0.05). High dose group of Tongxie Yaofang can significantly decreased the expression of MSK1, CREB mRNA, content of MSK1 protein(P<0.05). Histopathological observation showed that no significant organic lesions were observed in the colonic morphology of each group of rats, which was consistent with the morphological characteristics of IBS. Conclusion::Tongxie Yaofang has a significant dose-effect relationship in the treatment of D-IBS rats with GYPX in a certain range, which may be related to its increases antioxidant stress and inhibit activation of p38 MAPK signaling pathway and reducing the level of downstream inflammatory factors.