After two decades of development, transcatheter left atrial appendage closure has emerged as a safe and effective intervention for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. In 2024, significant advancements were made in the field of left atrial appendage closure in terms of evidence-based medicine, device research and development, and guideline consensus. The annual report on transcatheter left atrial appendage closure systematically reviews global academic progress in 2024, encompassing newly published clinical evidence, recently developed occlusion devices, and updated international guidelines/consensus statements. In the future, the development direction of transcatheter left atrial appendage closure mainly includes expanding surgical indications, optimizing imaging assistance technology, improving closure device design, and exploring individualized strategies for postoperative antithrombotic therapy.

Objective To investigate the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 135 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tianjin. Methods The clinical and epidemiological data of 135 cases of COVID-19 in Tianjin were collected, and the data were analyzed with descriptive method. The factors influencing the severity of the illness were analyzed. Results Among the 135 COVID-19 cases, 72 were males and 63 were females, the age of the cases was (48.62±16.83) years, and the case fatality rate was 2.22%. Local transmission caused 74.81% of the cases. A total of 33 clusters occurred, involving 85.92% of all COVID-19 cases. The median of the incubation period of COVID-19 was 6.50 days, the average generation interval was 5 days, and the household secondary transmission rate was 20.46%. Fever was the main symptom (78.63%), followed by cough (56.48%). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that age ( OR =1.038, 95% CI : 1.010-1.167) and the number of chronic underlying diseases ( OR =1.709, 95% CI : 1.052-2.777) were the risk factors of severe illness. Conclusions Fever was the main symptom at the early phase of COVID-19 in Tianjin, and the local cluster cases accounted for high proportion in confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Tianjin. Severe illness was prone to occur in people with old age and multi underlying diseases. Strict isolation of close contacts and intensive care of high-risk groups are the main measures to reduce the morbidity and case fatality of COVID-19.

Objective:To estimate the burden of hip fractures and related factors among the Chinese middle-aged and elderly population.Methods:Based on the data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2015, the burden of hip fractures among Chinese middle-aged and elderly population was evaluated as the years lived with disability (YLD) rate. The relationship between gender, age (45-49, 50-59, 60-69 and ≥70 years old), educational level (no education, elementary school, junior high school, high school and above), region (urban, rural), gross domestic production (GDP) per capita (low, medium and high) and geographic area (northern, eastern, south-central, northwest and southwest regions) and the YLD rate of hip fractures were analyzed, respectively.Results:Excluding items with missing basic information and hip fracture data, a total of 17,830 subjects (8,405 males and 9,425 females) were included in the study with average age 61.6±9.8 years (range 45 to 105 years). The average age in male was 61.9±9.6 years, and that in female was 61.2±10.1 years. The prevalence of hip fractures was 2.3% (410/17,830). The total YLD rate was [694/100,000 (95% Uncertainty Interval ( UI): 462/100,000, 989/100,000)]. The YLD rates were similar between male [693/100,000 (95% UI: 461/100,000, 988/100,000)] and female [696/100,000 (95% UI: 463/100,000, 992/100,000)] subgroups. The YLD rate of hip fractures was increasing with age, which reached at maximum of 1,155/100,000 (95% UI: 769/100,000, 1,646/100,000) for participants aged 70 years or above. The rate was gradually decreased with the upgrade of the educational level. The participants with high school education and above reached the lowest of 434/100,000 (95% UI: 289/100,000, 619/100,000). In addition, the YLD rate of hip fractures in rural areas [721/100,000 (95% UI: 480/100,000, 1,027/100,000)] was higher than that in urban areas [650/100,000 (95% UI: 433/100,000, 926/100,000)]. The YLD rate in areas with higher GDP per capita [545/100,000 (95% UI: 363/100,000, 777/100,000)] was lower than that in areas with lower GDP per capita [761/100,000 (95% UI: 506/100,000, 1,084/100,000)]. Moreover, the participants living in the Northwest region were with the highest YLD rate of hip fractures [1,056/100,000 (95% UI: 703/100,000, 1,506/100,000)], followed by the Southwest region [887/100,000 (95% UI: 590/ 100,000, 1,264/100,000)] and the Northeast region [317/100,000 (95% UI: 211/100,000, 452/100,000)]. Conclusion:Hip fractures exerted heavy burdens on the Chinese middle-aged and elderly population. The YLD rate of hip fractures varied according to geographical regions, greater age, rural areas, low educational levels and low GDP per capita. These related factors could affect the disease burden of hip fractures in China.

Objective To summarize the characteristics of clinical manifestation of bone flare after the treatment with new endocrine therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in order to evaluate the curative effect of patients properly and determine the reasonable treatment strategy.Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of two patients with mCRPC performed "bone flare" defined as PSA decline and bone metastases progression in the initial treatment with new endocrine therapy in Urology Department of Peking University First Hospital,and analyzed the clinical characteristics and treatment methods with the relative literature.Case 1,a 79-year-old man,presented with frequent urination and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 115.900 ng/ml,was diagnosed as prostate cancer (cT3N0M1) with bone metastasis.After androgen deprivation therapy of 24 months,PSA elevated and multiple bone metastases progressed.The patient was diagnosed with mCRPC and then began the treatment of enzalutamide.Case 2,a 62-year-old man,complained about emaciation and frequent urination,was diagnosed with prostate cancer(cT4N1M1)with bone and lymph metastases.After androgen deprivation therapy of 22 months,PSA elevated and multiple bone metastases progressed.The patient was diagnosed with mCRPC and then began the treatment of abiraterone.Results Case 1 was treated with enzalutamide and 2 months later PSA decreased from 133.400 ng/ml to 5.530 ng/ml,while bone scan showed multiple bone metastases,part of which was newly metastatic lesions.6 months later,the number of metastatic lesions kept stable,and part of lesions presented metabolism decrease.8 months later,the number of metastatic lesions began to decrease.1 year later,the patient started to receive chemical therapy because of the progression of the disease.After 5 cycles of chemotherapy,PSA progression occurred and chemotherapy was stopped.Liver failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation caused death in June 2016.Case 2 was treated with abiraterone and 2 months later PSA decreased from 54.820 ng/ml to 3.580 ng/ml,while bone scan showed multiple bone metastases,part of which was newly metastatic lesions.6 months later,the number of metastatic lesions began to decline.10 months later,the number of metastatic lesions kept stable.The treatment of abiraterone was continued so far and the patient was in a stable condition.Conclusions Enzalutamide and abiraterone,two new endocrine therapy,are determined as preferred methods for the treatment of mCRPC.The bone scanning is required to evaluate the possibility of "bone flare" which is defined as PSA decline and bone metastases progression in the initial treatment.These patients should be evaluated to make appropriate clinical decision.

Objective To study the function of Deptor gene on the regulation of diabetes mellitus in suc-cessfully constructed and identified islet β-cell conditionally DEPTOR knockout mice model. Method By cross-breeding Deptorflox/floxmice with Cre mice expressed conditional specifically in pancreatic β-cell,Deptorflox/+Cre+/-mice were acquired and their genotypic identification was then performed. As the mice model of this study, Deptorflox/floxCre+/-mice were generated by crossing Deptorflox/+Cre+/-mice with Deptorflox/floxmice.Genotypic identifica-tion was performed by PCR at the age of 3 weeks. Tamoxifen was administered through intraperitoneal injection to induce the activation of the Cre recombination in islet beta cells of 8 weeks mice.Double immunofluorescence label-ing was then applied to identify the knockout effect of DEPTOR gene. Results Ten Islets Deptor knockout mice models were successfully acquired after 10-month cross-breeding. Validated genotype by PCR analysis were Deptorflox/floxCre+/- and double immunofluorescence labeling showed a significant difference between knockout mice and rodent controls. Conclusion Our study successfully constructs the islets conditionally Deptor deleted mice model by using Cre-loxp recombination system,providing a promising appliable animal model for study of dia-betes mellitus pathogenetic mechanism.

Objective To explore the role of Foxp3+ T cells (Tregs) in liver injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia. Methods Thirty-two male Wister rats were divided into four groups:control group (A), high-fat diet group (B), intermittent hypoxia group (C), and high-fat diet and intermittent hypoxia group (D). After 4 weeks, blood samples were collected and livers were surgically removed. Using the standard automatic clinical analyzer to test serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL- C), alanina aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartato aminotransferase (AST). The MDA content of liver tissue was measured by colorimetrc method. The levels of TNF-αand IL-1βwere measured by radiommunoassay, and the expression of Foxp3 protein was measured by Western blotting technique. Results Serum levels of TC and LDL-C were significantly higher in B group than those of A, C and D groups, and which were higher in D group than those of A and C groups (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of TC and LDL-C between A group and C group. Serum levels of ALT, AST, MDA, TNF-αand IL-1βwere significantly higher in C group than those of A group, and which were significantly higher in D group than those of A, B and C groups (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in these indicators between A group and B group, and between B group and C group. Foxp3 protein expression in liver was significantly lower in D group than that of other groups (P<0.05). Conclusion Foxp3+T regulatory cells involve in the regulation of hepatic injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia on the basis of a high-fat diet, and which may play an important role in this process of protective immune response.

Objective To study the application of oral motor intervention program in premature infants with oral feeding.Methods Totally 82 cases of premature infants from August 2014 to July 2015 were selected as the research object,and were assigned to the observation group and the control group according to lot method,with 41 cases in each group.Patients in the control group received regular feeding intervention,while patients in the observation group received oral motor intervention.The feeding process,hospitalization time,feeding performance,situation of body weight increasing and adverse reactions were compared between two groups.Results There was no significant difference in gestational age between two groups when infants began to correct the feeding method (P ＞ 0.05).The gestational age and the time of progress in infants with completely oral feeding of the observation group were significantly shorter than that in the control group (P＜ 0.05).The hospitalization time in the observation group was significantly shorter than that in the control group,while the feeding efficiency,feeding effect and the intake of milk were significantly higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05).The situation of body weight in the observation group before discharge was significantly better than that in the control group (P＜0.05).The feeding intolerance,apnea,the rate of blood oxygen saturation reducing adverse reaction were significantly lower than that in the control group (P＜0.05).Conclusions To a certain extent,oral exercise intervention program can improve the oral feeding process of premature infants and reduce the hospitalization time of premature infants.It is advantageous to the rapid growth of body weight in premature infants and the improvement of feed efficiency,and it also can reduce the rate of adverse reactions.

OBJECTIVETo observe the soft tissue regeneration after implantation of two novel citric acid-based biodegradable materials in the skull defects in rats.

METHODSTwo novel citric acid-based biodegradable materials were implanted in the muscular tissues in the thigh and harvested 2 weeks later. Another 40 rats with surgically induced cranial defect were randomized into control group, autograft group, CUPE-HA group, and POC-HA group (n=10), and 3 months after implantation, the materials were harvested for histological and morphometric analyses.

RESULTSSoft tissue regeneration was stimulated by the two biodegradable materials in the muscular tissues. The implants also stimulated angiogenesis and soft tissue regeneration in the cranial defect and accelerated of intramembranous ossification.

CONCLUSIONThe 2 novel citric acid-based biodegradable materials can induce angiogenesis and soft tissue regeneration and accelerate intramembranous ossification in rats with cranial defects.

Absorbable Implants ; Animals ; Citric Acid ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; Osteogenesis ; Rats ; Regeneration ; Skull ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; therapy ; Wound Healing

The present study aims to investigate the kinetic histocytochemical changes of acupoints in different condition. The expression of tryptase (+) mast cells, histamine (HA) , serotonin (5-HT) and nociceptive neuropeptides including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) were observed by immunohistochemistry combined with confocal technology. Mast cells were labeled with anti-mast cell tryptase antibody and simultaneously with HA or 5-HT primary antibodies to observe their co-expression. The results showed that: (1) SP and CGRP were expressed more highly on the cutaneous nerve fibers of "Hegu" (LI 4) after acupuncture stimulation than that of the control. Mast cells aggregated in close proximity to the blood vessels in intra-epidermis and dermis, and some of them with degranulation in the lower dermis and subcutaneous tissue of "Hegu" (LI 4). Both mast cells and their granules appeared with HA (+) and 5-HT (+) expression at stimulated LI 4 sites, while a few intact mast cells with a little expression of 5-HT and HA were distributed in areas of non-stimulated Ll 4. (2) The acupoints in different locations such as Baihui (GV 20), Weishu (BL 21), Zhongwan (CV 12) and LI 4 had the same constituent but the contents were different. (3) The histocytochemical responses of acupoints sensitized by the Gastric mucosa injury (GMI) were also investigated. GMI resulted in neurogenic plasma extravasation by Evans Blue (EB) in the skin of the acupoints over the back and abdomen, which mostly occurred in the T9-T11 dermatomere. The EB extravasation dots just like acupoints sensitization appeared after GMI and disappeared gradually during the natural self-recovery of the gastric mucosa. More SP and CGRP positive nerve fibers were distributed in EB dots than in regions beside EB dots and in the control, mostly distributed in the nerve fibers around both the vessels and root of hair follicle. Mast cells also aggregated and degranulated to release algogenic substances of 5-HT and HA around the vessels in areas of the EB dots. Collectively the acupoints displayed the same histocytochemical responses due to either acupuncture stimulation or GMI. This may potentially be the histocytochemical basis in the local acupoints and acupoints displayed kinetic changes in different condition.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; metabolism ; Gastric Mucosa ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Histocytochemistry ; Humans ; Mast Cells ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Mice ; Rats ; Serotonin ; metabolism ; Skin ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Substance P ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum thyrotrophin(TSH)and dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroid and euthyroid subjects. Methods An epidemiological study on diabetes and thyroid diseases was performed in Dadong community, Shenyang city, in 2007. 110 subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism(SCH)and 1 240 euthyroid subjects were enrolled in the study. Neither history of thyroid diseases nor administration of thyroid-related and lipid-regulating medicines were reported in these subjects. The levels of serum thyroid hormones, lipids, fasting plasma glucose(FPG), and insulin were determined. Results (1)Patients with SCH had significantly lower HDL-C levels than those who were euthyroid.(2)According to the guideline of treatment of adult dyslipidemia in China, the lipid profiles were each categorized. Mean TSH levels were higher in subjects in the dyslipidemia subclass than subjects in the normal subclass. The differences were significant in high LDL-C subclass in overweight individuals. In euthyroid overweight women, mean TSH levels were significantly higher in high LDL-C subclass. In the euthyroid population, TSH was positively associated with total cholesterol in overweight population. The association was not modified by the homestasis model assessment for insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)values.(3)TSH was associated positively with serum triglycerides and negatively with serum HDL-C in women. TSH was positively associated with total cholesterol in overweight population and positively associated with total cholesterol and LDL-C in overweight women after adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index. Conclusion Raised serum TSH seems to be a risk factor of dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroid and euthyroid subjects, which is independent of insulin sensitivity.