Objective:To summarize the clinical manifestations, experiences in diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) in children.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, radiological features, treatment and follow-up results was conducted in 11 children diagnosed with ACM at the center of congenital heart disease, Beijing anzhen hospital from May 2010 to March 2022.Results:A total of 11 patients aged 2 to 16 years, including 5 males and 6 females were diagnosed with ACM. The clinical manifestations included decreased activity tolerance (7 patients), heart failure (4 patients), syncope or sudden death (3 patients), palpitation (3 patients), and chest tightness and pain (3 patients). Electrocardiogram showed right bundle branch block in 9 cases, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia in 4 cases, frequent premature ventricular contraction in 4 cases, ventricular pre-excitation in 1 case, left bundle branch block in 1 case, and first degree atrioventricular block in 2 cases. Echocardiography showed enlargement of the right heart, widening of the right ventricular outflow tract, and thinning and bulging of the local wall of the right ventricle with reduced pulsation. Ventricular thrombosis was found in 2 cases. Six children underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, which mainly showed severe enlargement of the right heart, thin free wall of the right ventricle, decreased right heart function, enhanced right ventricular myocardium, and formation of right ventricular aneurysm. Two children underwent myocardial biopsy examination and presented with typical pathological changes of ACM. Genetic tests in five patients revealed DSG2 gene mutation in 2 cases, PKP2 gene mutation in 2 cases, and MYH6 gene mutation in 1 case. All patients received anti heart failure treatment and antiarrhythmic drugs. Two children received anticoagulant treatment due to ventricular thrombosis. Radiofrequency ablation was performed in 2 patients. Glenn procedure was performed in 4 patients, and heart transplantation was performed in 1 patient due to progressive heart failure. The follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 12 years. Two cases died of right heart failure, 6 cases had different degrees of heart failure, 1 case had intermittent chest tightness and pain, and 2 cases were stable.Conclusions:ACM is a progressive genetic cardiomyopathy characterized by decreased activity tolerance, cardiac failure and arrhythmia in pediatric patients. The diagnosis is mainly based on clinical manifestations, electrocardiogram, cardiac imaging changes, and genetic testing. Early detection, diagnosis, and personalized treatment can improve the prognosis.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between cognitive impairment and cortical atrophy in elderly patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 40 consecutive elderly patients with ACAS treated in the Department of Neurology, Northern Jiangsu People′s Hospital from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 (ACAS group), and 40 elderly healthy controls who accepted physical examination during the same period (control group) were included. Cognitive assessment was performed using the Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), and brain magnetic resonance imaging scanning was performed in the ACAS group. The artificial intelligence technique was applied for brain lobe segmentation and cortical volume calculation. The χ2-test, independent sample t-test and Wilcoxon non-parametric test were used to analyze the difference of clinical data and cognitive scores between the two groups. In the ACAS group, the cortical volumes of the side with carotid stenosis was compared with that of the normal side, and Spearman′s correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between cognitive scores and cortical atrophy. Results:Compared with the control group, the ACAS group got significantly lower scores of MMSE and MoCA, as well as lower scores of visuospatial executive function, attention and calculation, language function, abstraction ability and delayed recall [(25.60±2.49) vs (27.18±1.01), (22.05±3.59) vs (25.60±1.43), (2.73±1.04) vs (4.08±0.62), (4.53±0.93) vs (5.03±0.66), 2.00 (0.00) vs 3.00 (0.00), 1.00 (1.00) vs 2.00 (0.00), and (2.95±0.96) vs (3.35±0.62)] (all P<0.05). There was not significant differences in naming and orientation ability between the two groups (both P>0.05). The volume of cortical, temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe and insular lobe on the side with carotid stenosis in the ACAS group were significantly smaller than those on the normal side [186.23 (177.97, 202.53) vs 194.67 (185.65, 204.82) cm 3, 54.74 (50.66, 56.95) vs 55.61 (51.24, 58.49) cm 3, 72.98 (70.76, 78.34) vs 75.27 (72.34, 80.66) cm 3, 53.66 (51.11, 57.86) vs 56.59 (52.80, 60.09) cm 3, 6.57 (6.35, 7.07) vs 6.72 (6.46, 7.34) cm 3] (all P<0.05). The MoCA score in the ACAS group was positively related to the cortical volume ratio of the two sides ( r=0.427, P<0.01). The attention ( r=0.353) and abstraction ( r=0.226) ability scores were positively correlated with the temporal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (both P<0.05). The visuospatial executive ( r=0.187) and language ( r=0.373) ability scores were positively correlated with frontal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (both P<0.05), and visuospatial executive ( r=0.386), naming ( r=0.344), language ( r=0.517), abstraction ( r=0.335) and delayed recall ( r=0.333) ability scores were positively correlated with parietal lobe volume ratios of the two sides (all P<0.05). Conclusion:In elderly patients with ACAS, the cognitive impairment and cortical atrophy on the sides with carotid stenosis are significant and a positive correlation is detected between them.

Objective:To analyze the risk factors of intracranial hemorrhage after implanting 125-iodine seeds for brain tumors.Methods:A total of 234 patients with intracranial tumors receiving treatment of 125-iodine seeds from March, 2013 to November, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into bleeding group and non-bleeding group according to whether postoperative intracranial hemorrhage was reported. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed by logistic regression to determine the independent risk factors of intracranial hemorrhage.Result:A total of 22 cases (9.4%) reported postoperative intracranial hemorrhage in 234 patients treated with 125-iodine seeds. Univariate analysis showed that the type of tumor and the history of anti-angiogenic drug within one month were possible risk factors ( P<0.1). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that anti-angiogenic drug within one month was the independent risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The application of anti-angiogenic drugs within one month is the independent risk factor of intracranial hemorrhage with 125-iodine seeds for the treatment of brain tumors.

Over the preceding decades, there have been substantial advances in our knowledge of the pathophysiology of stroke. One such advance has been an increased understanding of the multifarious crosstalk in which the nervous and immune systems engage in order to maintain homeostasis. By interrupting the immune-nervous nexus, it is thought that stroke induces change in both systems. Additionally, it has been found that both innate and adaptive immunosuppression play protective roles against the effects of stroke. The release of danger-/damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) activates Toll-like receptors (TLRs), contributing to the harmful inflammatory effects of ischemia/reperfusion injury after stroke; the Tyro3, Axl, and MerTK (TAM)/Gas6 system, however, has been shown to suppress inflammation via downstream signaling molecules that inhibit TLR signaling. Anti-inflammatory cytokines have also been found to promote neuroprotection following stroke. Additionally, adaptive immunosuppression merits further consideration as a potential endogenous protective mechanism. In this review, we highlight recent studies regarding the effects and mechanism of immunosuppression on the pathophysiology of stroke, with the hope that a better understanding of the function of both of innate and adaptive immunity in this setting will facilitate the development of effective therapies for post-stroke inflammation.

Domestic and foreign literatures related to the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 and the re-positive cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 were reviewed, and the characteristics and infectivity of the re-positive cases were analyzed to provide scientific evidence for the improvement of case management and the development of measures to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Existing studies have shown that re-positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 ranged from 2.4% to 19.8%, the median of interval between re-positive detection and discharge was 4-15 days. Following the second course of the disease, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM, IgG and IgA positive rates of the cases were 11.11%-86.08%, 52.00%-100.00% and 61.54%-100.00% respectively, the total antibody and neutralizing antibody positive rates were 98.72% and 88.46%. The viral load of the re-positive cases was lower than that in the initial infection. At least 3 380 re-positive cases have been reported globally. SARS-CoV-2 strains were isolated from the samples of 3 re-positive cases (1 immunodeficiency case and 2 cases with abnormal pulmonary imaging). There were close contacts that were infected by an asymptomatic case taking immunosuppressive agents. In conclusion, the infectivity of re-positive cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 is generally very low. Rare re-positive cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 might cause further transmission. The management approach for the re-positive cases can be based on the assessment of the individual transmission risk according to the pathogen detection results.
Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Antibodies, Viral ; COVID-19 ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; SARS-CoV-2

Over the preceding decades, there have been substantial advances in our knowledge of the pathophysiology of stroke. One such advance has been an increased understanding of the multifarious crosstalk in which the nervous and immune systems engage in order to maintain homeostasis. By interrupting the immune-nervous nexus, it is thought that stroke induces change in both systems. Additionally, it has been found that both innate and adaptive immunosuppression play protective roles against the effects of stroke. The release of danger-/damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) activates Toll-like receptors (TLRs), contributing to the harmful inflammatory effects of ischemia/reperfusion injury after stroke; the Tyro3, Axl, and MerTK (TAM)/Gas6 system, however, has been shown to suppress inflammation via downstream signaling molecules that inhibit TLR signaling. Anti-inflammatory cytokines have also been found to promote neuroprotection following stroke. Additionally, adaptive immunosuppression merits further consideration as a potential endogenous protective mechanism. In this review, we highlight recent studies regarding the effects and mechanism of immunosuppression on the pathophysiology of stroke, with the hope that a better understanding of the function of both of innate and adaptive immunity in this setting will facilitate the development of effective therapies for post-stroke inflammation.

Objective:To analyze the characteristics of plasmids in KPC-2-producing Serratia marcescens ( S. marcescens) isolates. Methods:Four carbapenem-resistant S. marcescens strains were isolated from four patients admitted to the hepatobiliary ward of Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University in 2016. BD Phenix-100 was used to identify the strains and detect the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Homology analysis was performed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The modified Hodge test was used to detect the phenotypes of carbapenemase. PCR and gene sequencing were used to detect the types of carbapenem resistance genes. The transferability of plasmids was detected by conjugation test. The characteristics of plasmids were analyzed by genomic alignment method after whole genome sequencing. DNAMAN V9 software was used to compare the amino acid sequences of the replication initiation proteins. A phylogenetic tree was constructed with neighbor-joining method using MEGA7.0. Results:All of the four S. marcescens strains were resistant to carbapenem antibiotics. They were highly homologous according to PFGE. Hodge test results were all positive and the carbapenemase genotype was blaKPC-2. Conjugation test results were positive. The plasmid was a circular DNA of 42 742 bp in length. It had the similar skeleton of incX6 plasmid and the similar amino acid sequence of replication initiation protein. Moreover, it and incX6 plasmid were at the same node in the phylogenetic tree. The blaKPC-2 was located in the core of drug resistance, which was composed of insertion elements including Tn3 family transposons, recombinant enzyme genes, △ISKpn6 and ISKpn27. Conclusions:The plasmid was incX6-like. The blaKPC-2 gene was located in the transposon of △Tn6296. More attention should be paid to the bacteria carrying KPC-2 in incX plasmids.

Objective To explore the prognostic factors for inability to walk independently in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA).Methods A total of 123 patients with clinically confirmed MSA admitted to Navy General Hospital and Dongfang Hospital affiliated to the Second Clinical Medical College of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine , from February 2013 to February 2016, were retrospectively reviewed .Clinical data and all records were collected and all subjects were followed up by a telephone call in February 2016.The second milestone of activities of daily living scale (ADL), defined as inability to walk independently , was taken as the primary outcome .Eight possible prognostic factors were investigated and the survival analysis was performed with Cox proportional hazards model regression .Results Of all the MSA patients, 74 subjects were men and 49 were women with a sex radio of 1.51∶1(M∶F).Seventy cases were diagnosed with MSA-cerebellar type ( MSA-C ) and 53 with MSA-Parkinson type ( MSA-P ) (C∶P=1.32∶1).Mean age at the onset of first symptom was (53 ±8) years old.All patients had severe autonomic nervous dysfunction . At the last follow-up, 56 cases ( 45.5%) were unable to walk independently .The median survival time from the onset of MSA to inability to walk independently was 73 months.The age of onset ≥55 years (HR=1.969, 95%CI 1.095-3.542, P=0.024) and the interval time from disease onset to combined motor and autonomic involvement ≤3 years ( HR =2.308, 95%CI 1.158-4.600, P=0.017) were independent prognostic factors for inability to walk independently ,while gender, MSA clinical subtypes, initial symptoms, alcohol intake, smoking and toxic exposure were not indicators for independent walking (P>0.05).Conclusions The prognostic factors for inability to walk independently in patients with MSA are the age of onset ≥55 years and the interval time from disease onset to combined motor and autonomic involvement≤3 years.Although factors including gender , MSA clinical subtypes , initial symptoms , alcohol intake , smoking and toxic exposure are not the predictive factors for inability to walk independently in our MSA patients , their roles in the prognosis of MSA still need further investigation .

Objective:To sort out cases of suspected medical device adverse events in Subei hospital, analysis for the reasons of adverse events, and propose measures to ensure the safe clinical use of medical devices.Methods: From the National Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre database, 300 cases of suspicious medical device adverse events were selected from cities and provinces. The number of categories of adverse events involving medical devices and the main reasons resulting adverse events were analyzed by SPSS.Results: The main reasons resulting the medical device adverse events were quality-related issues of the product, biological incompatibility existing between the patient and the physical device, and improper operation or use.Conclusion: The enterprises of medical devices should product on the basis of GMP strictly to ensure the quality of product. The medical institutions should ask hypersensitivity of patients actively and operate on the basis of SOP strictly to improve the work of monitoring and reporting.

Objective To establish a suitable evaluation index system to track implementation effect of clinical research program.Methods Delphi method was used to creat the evaluation index system.The weighted average method was adopted to determine the weight of each index.Results After two rounds of expert consultation,twenty seven evaluation indices were selected,including three first-class indices,eight second-class indices and sixteen third-class indices,and the weight of each index was determined.Conclusions The evaluation index system reflects the purpose of tracking clinical research to a certain extent.This index system is simple and easy to be used.