Objective To explore the clinical and inflammatory characteristics and risk factors of severe asthma to improve clinicians' awareness of the disease. Methods The general information of patients with asthma who visited the Department of Respiratory Medicine, the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from May 2018 to May 2021, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, personal history, comorbidities, auxiliary examination, asthma control test (ACT) score were collected. A total of 127 patients were included, including 40 in the severe asthma group and 87 in the mild-to-moderate asthma group. Chi-square test, independent sample t test and logistic regression were used to analyze the clinical characteristics, inflammatory markers and risk factors of severe asthma. Results Compared with the patients with mild to moderate asthma, the patients with severe asthma were more older (51.0±12.0 years vs 40.7±12.8 years, P<0.05), had more smokers (32.5% vs. 14.9%, P<0.05), and more males (67.5% vs. 40.2%, P<0.05). The patients with severe asthma got poor FEV1%pred [(56.1±23.8)% vs. (93.2±18.0)%, P<0.05] and FEV1/FVC [(56.7±13.2)% vs. (75.8±9.0)%, P<0.05)], and more exacerbations in the previous year (2.7±3.1 vs. 0.1±0.4, P<0.05), lower ACT score (14.4±3.7 vs. 18.0±5.0, P<0.05), and higher blood and induced sputum eosinophil counts [(0.54±0.44)×109/L vs. (0.27±0.32)×109/L, P<0.05; (25.9±24.2)% vs. (9.8±17.5)%, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in the proportion of neutrophils in the induced sputum or FeNO between the two groups (P>0.05). Analysis of related risk factors showed that smoking (OR=2.740, 95%CI 1.053 - 7.130), combined with allergic rhinitis (OR=14.388, 95%CI 1.486 - 139.296) and gastroesophageal reflux (OR=2.514, 95%CI 1.105 - 5.724) were risk factors for severe asthma. Conclusions Compared with patients with mild to moderate asthma, patients with severe asthma are characterized by poor lung function, more exacerbations, and a dominant eosinophil inflammatory phenotype, which is still poorly controlled even with higher level of treatment. Risk factors include smoking, allergic rhinitis, and gastroesophageal reflux, etc.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of mucinous breast cancer (MBC). MethodsLiteratures about the recent studies of MBC were reviewed. ResultsMBC was one of special subtype of infiltrating breast cancer. According to the mucus ingredient in the ratio of the mass, MBC was divided into pure mucinous breast cancer (PMBC) and mixed mucinous breast cancer (MMBC). Compared to infiltrating ductal cancer-not otherwise specified (IDC-NOS), MBC showed higher positive expression rates of estrogen receptor (ER) and progestrogen receptor (PR), with reduced lymph node metastasis rate and better prognosis. PMBC had lower lymph node metastasis rate and better outcome than MMBC. ConclusionsThere is significant difference about clinical and pathological characteristics between MBC and IDC-NOS. Researches are generally believed that MBC is an uncommon breast neoplasm which is associated with a good prognosis.
Objective To explore the correlations between nutritional markers and pressure injury (PI) in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted on elderly patients with COPD and PI who were admitted to the geriatric department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University or Dujiangyan People’s Hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. The blood biochemical indicators mainly including nutritional markers were collected, and their correlations with PI risk factor index Braden score and PI severity index PI stage were analyzed. Results A total of 293 patients with COPD and PI were included. Among the five Braden score groups, the differences in the levels of albumin and prealbumin were statistically significant (P<0.05), and the Braden score was positively correlated with albumin (rs=0.241, P<0.001), prealbumin (rs=0.179, P=0.002), and hemoglobin (rs=0.199, P=0.001). Among the six PI stage groups, the differences in the levels of albumin, globulin, red blood cell count, serum sodium, blood chloride and C-reactive protein were statistically significant (P<0.05), and the PI stage was negatively correlated with albumin (rs=−0.192, P=0.001), and positively correlated with serum sodium (rs=0.139, P<0.001), blood chloride (rs=0.184, P<0.001), and C-reactive protein (rs=0.177, P=0.020). Conclusion When PI risk assessment and severity assessment are performed on elderly COPD patients, it is necessary to pay more attention to nutritional markers and assess whether the patients are at risk of protein malnutrition, which will help to improve the accuracy of PI risk assessment and severity prediction, and effectively improve the efficacy of PI prevention and treatment.
Objective To study the changes of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL, an osteoclastogenesis-promoting factor) and osteoprotegerin (OPG, the decoy receptor for RANKL), oxidative stress and bone turnover markers in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), in order to understand the potential mechanisms underlying bone loss in OSAHS patients. Methods Ninety-eight male patients with OSAHS, confirmed by polysomnography (PSG) study, were enrolled. The patients were divided into mild-moderate groups and severe groups. Forty-two male subjects who were confirmed as not having OSAHS served as the controls. The subjects’ bone mineral density (BMD) and T-score were assessed in lumbar spine and femoral neck using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Blood samples were collected from all subjects for measurement of RANKL, OPG, the bone formation marker bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), the bone resorption marker tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRAP-5b), total antioxidant capacity (TAOC). Twenty-eight severe OSAHS patients accepted continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment voluntarily. After 6 months, PSG was conducted, and serum RANKL, OPG, TAOC, TRAP-5b, BAP was measured after six months treatment. Results The BMD, T-score of the femoral neck and the lumbar spine were significantly lower in OSAHS patients as compared to the control group. The level of BAP was significantly decreased in the OSAHS group as compared to the control group, and there was no significant difference in TRAP-5b level between two groups. As compared with the control group, levels of OPG, TAOC and the OPG/RANKL ratio decreased significantly. None of these parameters (BMD, T-score, RANKL, OPG, TRAP-5b, BAP) showed significant difference between patients with mild-moderate and severe OSAHS group. Correlation analysis showed that the apnea hypopnea index and oxygen desaturation index were correlated with TAOC. BAP level was positively correlated with TAOC and lowest pulse oxygen saturation. The serum level of TAOC was lower in the OSAHS group after CPAP therapy, but the levels of RANKL, OPG, TRAP-5b, BAP were not different. As compared with the OSAHS group before CPAP therapy, the BMD of the femoral neck and the lumbar spine were not significant difference. Conclusions In patients with OSAHS, the oxidative stress response is enhanced, and imbalance of OPG/RANKL is shifted, which participates in the occurrence of osteoporosis. The oxidative stress injury of severe OSAHS patients was relieved after non-invasive ventilation treatment, but the effect of oxidative stress response on bone metabolism still needs further evaluation.
ObjectiveTo explore the relationship of platelet-activating factors and vascular endothelial activity markers to lacunar infarction (LI).MethodsA total of 100 inpatients diagnosed with LI in Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital between March 2018 and February 2019 were included, and 100 matched healthy controls were collected. Basic information, clinical baseline data, laboratory examinations, cerebral MRI and treatment data were collected after admission. The platelet-activating factors (platelet membrane glycoprotein Ⅱb/Ⅲa receptor and P-selectin) and vascular endothelial activity markers [von Willebrand factor (vWF), homocysteine (HCY), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)] levels of patients with LI were detected one month and three months after onset, and those of the control group were decteted when they were selected. SPSS 25.0 software was used for statistical analysis.ResultsAt one month after onset, there was no statistically significant difference in the levels of platelet activating factors between the LI group and the control group [platelet membrane glycoprotein Ⅱb/Ⅲa receptor: (2.84±1.00)% vs. (2.59±0.96)%, P=0.065; P-selectin: (3.05±0.63)% vs. (2.98±0.59)%, P=0.419], while the differences in the levels of vascular endothelial activity markers between the two groups were statistically significant [vWF: (141.80±17.60) vs. (124.63±10.65) ng/mL, P<0.001; hsCRP: (5.53±1.37) vs. (2.17±0.55) mg/L, P<0.001; HCY: (18.76±4.07) vs. (15.81±2.63) mmol/L, P<0.001]. At three months after onset, 94 LI patients were followed up. The levels of vWF and hsCRP between the 100 patients one month after onset and the 94 patients three months after onset were statistically different [(vWF: (141.80±17.60) vs. (134.86±13.35) ng/mL, P=0.002; hsCRP: (5.53±1.37) vs. (2.63±0.55) mg/L, P<0.001], but there was no statistically significant difference between the two time points in the levels of HCY or platelet-activating factors (P>0.05).ConclusionChronic platelet activation may not play a core role in LI pathophysiology, and endothelial dysfunction may be one of the pathological mechanisms of LI.
Telomeres play an important role in maintaining genomic stability and cell life. Accumulating studies show that telomeres are closely related to human aging, cardiovascular diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. There are a series of researches about telomeres and atherosclerosis across the world, including studies on the relationship between atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases and telomere length, and on telomere-targeted treatments for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Telomeres may be a risk predictor or a new therapeutic target for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This article reviews the relationship between telomeres and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, introduces the research progress of telomere length and cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and the possible mechanisms of their association, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for exploring new therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis.
Unhealthy diet, habits and drug abuse cause a variety of liver diseases, including steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, which seriously affect human health. The fabrication of highly simulated cell models in vitro is important in the treatment of liver diseases and drug development. This article summarized the common strategies for the construction of liver pathology models in vitro. It introduced four typical cell models in vitro related to liver disease and provided a reference for the study of liver disease models.
Intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs is the main treatment for diabetic macular edema (DME), however, 30% of patients still respond poorly to its treatment. At present, imaging markers that can indicate the prognosis of anti-VEGF drug treatment include ischemic index, deep retinal capillary plexus foveal avascular zone area, number of microaneurysms, blood flow density, disorder of the inner retinal layer, outer membrane and/or the degree of damage to the ellipsoid zone, strong reflex foci, intraretinal cysts, subretinal fluid. Biomarkers include high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, anti-fumarase antibody, intraocular aqueous humor cell adhesion molecule-1, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, etc. Understanding these clinical markers that may predict and evaluate the prognosis of anti-VEGF drug therapy can be beneficial to adjust the treatment plan, and more effectively monitor, treat, and manage DME patients.
The high incidence and mortality of acute kidney injury (AKI) have brought great challenges to global health. In recent years, China has made some achievements in the epidemiology, risk factors and treatment of AKI. However, further prevention and treatment are still facing difficulties. Based on current new ideas and research progress, this paper summarized and analyzed the management throughout the whole course of AKI, including AKI risk assessment, early prevention, early identification, treatment and follow-up. The aim is to make Chinese nephrologists realize the focus of AKI prevention and treatment, standardize the management of AKI, and explore the prevention and treatment strategy suitable for AKI in China.
Although great progress has been achieved in the techniques and materials of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), cardiac surgery under CPB is still one of the surgeries with the highest complication rate. The systemic inflammatory response is an important cause of complications, mainly characterized by activation of innate immune cells and platelets, and up-regulation of inflammatory cytokines. After activation, a variety of molecules on the membrane surface are up-regulated or down-regulated, which can amplify tissue inflammatory damage by releasing cytoplasmic protease and reactive oxygen species, and activate multiple inflammatory signaling pathways in the cell, ultimately leading to organ dysfunction. Therefore, the expression of these cell membrane activation markers is not only a marker of cell activation, but also plays an important role in the process of vital organ injury after surgery. Identification of these specific activation markers is of great significance to elucidate the mechanisms related to organ injury and to find new prevention and treatment methods. This article will review the relationship between these activated biomarkers in the innate immune cells and vital organ injuries under CPB.