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Assessing the Prognostic Performance of the Child-Pugh, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, and Albumin-Bilirubin Scores in Patients with Decompensated Cirrhosis: A Large Asian Cohort from Gastroenterology Department.
Wan, SZ, Nie, Y, Zhang, Y, Liu, C, Zhu, X
Disease markers. 2020;:5193028
Abstract
UNLABELLED Background and Aim. Various methods, including the Child-Pugh score, the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, the MELD combined with serum sodium concentration (MELD-Na) score, the integrated MELD (iMELD) score, and the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, have been widely used for predicting the survival of decompensated cirrhosis (DeCi) patients. In this study, we defined and compared the prognostic value of these scores to predict mortality in DeCi patients. METHODS We performed a single-center, observational retrospective study and analyzed 456 DeCi patients who were hospitalized in the gastroenterology department. The biochemical examination results and demographic characteristics of the patients were obtained, and five scores were calculated upon admission after 24 hours. All patients were observed until death, loss to follow-up, or specific follow-up times (28 days, 90 days, and 6 months). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the ability of these methods to predict mortality in DeCi patients. RESULTS At 28 days, 90 days, and 6 months, the cumulative number of deaths was 50 (11.0%), 76 (16.6%), and 91 (19.9%), respectively. The scores were significantly higher in nonsurviving patients than in surviving patients. All scores yielded viable values in predicting 28-day, 90-day, and 6-month prognoses for DeCi patients. The areas under the ROC curve (AUROCs) of the ALBI score were higher than those of the other scores, which were only over 0.700 at 28 days. The AUROC of the MELD score was higher than that of the other scores, including the MELD-Na and iMELD scores, at 90 days and 6 months. CONCLUSION All five methods (Child-Pugh score, MELD score, MELD-Na score, iMELD score, and ALBI score) provided a reliable prediction of mortality for both the short-term and long-term prognosis of patients with DeCi. The ALBI score may be particularly useful for assessing short-term outcomes, whereas the MELD score may be particularly useful for assessing long-term outcomes.
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Correlation of Vitamin D3 with the Expression of RORγt and Foxp3 mRNAs in the Peripheral Blood of Myasthenia Gravis Patients.
Huang, P, He, XY, Xu, M
Neuroimmunomodulation. 2020;(2):97-103
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES to investigate the expression levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 in the peripheral blood from patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and to correlate levels with retinoid-related orphan receptor γt (RORγt) and forkhead or winged-helix transcription factor 3 (Foxp3) mRNA expression. METHODS Sixty-seven patients with MG were enrolled in the experimental group, and 50 normal subjects were selected as the control group. The expression levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 and RORγt and Foxp3 mRNAs were measured in the serum of the 2 patient groups and the relationship between factors were correlated with the severity score of MG. The relationship between the levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 and the relative expressions of RORγt and Foxp3 mRNAs was determined. RESULTS There were no differences between groups regarding patient's baseline data. 1,25(OH)2D3 and RORγt and Foxp3 mRNAs are differentially expressed in the MG group and the control group (p < 0.05). QMG score is negatively correlated with the expression level of peripheral blood 1,25(OH)2D3 and Foxp3 mRNA (r = -0.797, -0.543; p < 0.01) and positively correlated with the relative expression level of RORγt mRNA (r = 0.539; p < 0.01). 1,25(OH)2D3 expression level was negatively correlated with the relative expression of RORγt mRNA (r = -0.559; p < 0.01) and positively correlated with the relative expression of Foxp3 mRNA (r = 0.390; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 were shown to be lower in patients with MG compared to normal controls. The observed low levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 may lead to changes in the expression of RORγt and Foxp3 mRNAs involved in MG.
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KCNQ1OT1 accelerates gastric cancer progression via miR-4319/DRAM2 axis.
Wang, J, Wu, F, Li, Y, Pang, L, Wang, X, Kong, G, Zhang, T, Yu, D
International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology. 2020;:2058738420954598
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This work was to explore the connection of KCNQ1 opposite strand/antisense transcript 1 (KCNQ1OT1) and microRNA-4319 (miR-4319), and to investigate the associated underlying mechanisms in gastric cancer (GC) progression. METHODS Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to measure KCNQ1OT1, miR-4319 and DNA-damage regulated autophagy modulator 2 (DRAM2) expression levels in GC cells. Moreover, expression level of KCNQ1OT1 and DRAM2 in GC tissues was analyzed at ENCORI website (http://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/index.php). Cell proliferation, colony formation assay and flow cytometry assays were performed to analyze effects of KCNQ1OT1, miR-4319 and DRAM2 on cell growth and death. Dual-luciferase activity reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay was conducted to verify the interactions of KCNQ1OT1 or DRAM2 and miR-4319. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION We found KCNQ1OT1 level was increased in tumor tissues and cells. Force the expression of KCNQ1OT1 promotes, while knockdown KCNQ1OT1 inhibits GC cell growth. Further studies indicated miR-4319 functioned as a bridge between KCNQ1OT1 and DRAM2. Finally, we showed KCNQ1OT1/miR-4319/DRAM2 axis regulates GC cell growth in vitro and in vivo. lncRNA KCNQ1OT1 promotes GC progression by sponging miR-4319 to upregulate DRAM2, indicating KCNQ1OT1 might be a promising target for GC treatment.
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The effect of early oral stimulation with breast milk on the feeding behavior of infants after congenital cardiac surgery.
Yu, XR, Huang, ST, Xu, N, Wang, LW, Wang, ZC, Cao, H, Chen, Q
Journal of cardiothoracic surgery. 2020;(1):309
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of early oral stimulation with breast milk on the feeding behavior of infants after congenital cardiac surgery. METHODS Infants with congenital heart disease were randomly divided into the breast milk oral stimulation group (n = 23), physiological saline oral stimulation group (n = 23) and control group (n = 23). Debra Beckman's oral exercise program was used with breast milk and physiological saline in the breast milk oral stimulation group and the physiological saline oral stimulation group, respectively. The time oral feeding and total oral nutrition were started, the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and hospital stay, weight and the complications at discharge were recorded for each group and statistically analyzed. RESULTS The time oral feeding and total oral nutrition were started and the length of ICU stay and hospital stay were significantly less in the breast milk oral stimulation group and physiological saline oral stimulation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in other indicators between the breast milk oral stimulation group and the physiological saline oral stimulation group, except for the time total oral nutrition began (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in weight or complications at discharge among the three groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Early oral stimulation exercises with breast milk can help infant patients quickly recover total oral nutrition and reduce the length of ICU and hospital stay after cardiac surgery.
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Pulmonary route of administration is instrumental in developing therapeutic interventions against respiratory diseases.
Jin, X, Song, L, Ma, CC, Zhang, YC, Yu, S
Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society. 2020;(12):1655-1665
Abstract
Pulmonary route of drug delivery has drawn significant attention due to the limitations associated with conventional routes and available treatment options. Drugs administered through pulmonary route has been an important research area that focuses on to developing effective therapeutic interventions for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, lung cancer etc. The intravenous route has been a natural route of delivery of proteins and peptides but associated with several issues including high cost, needle-phobia, pain, sterility issues etc. These issues might be addressed by the pulmonary administration of macromolecules to achieving an effective delivery and efficacious therapeutic impact. Efforts have been made to develop novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) such as nanoparticles, microparticles, liposomes and their engineered versions, polymerosomes, micelles etc to achieving targeted and sustained delivery of drug(s) through pulmonary route. Further, novel approaches such as polymer-drug conjugates, mucoadhesive particles and mucus penetrating particles have attracted significant attention due to their unique features for an effective delivery of drugs. Also, use of semi flourinated alkanes is in use for improvising the pulmonary delivery of lipophilic drugs. Present review focuses on to unravel the mechanism of pulmonary absorption of drugs for major pulmonary diseases. It summarizes the development of interventional approaches using various particulate and vesicular drug delivery systems. In essence, the orchestrated attempt presents an inflammatory narrative on the advancements in the field of pulmonary drug delivery.
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Application of Inorganic Nanocomposite Hydrogels in Bone Tissue Engineering.
Han, X, Xu, H, Che, L, Sha, D, Huang, C, Meng, T, Song, D
iScience. 2020;(12):101845
Abstract
Bone defects caused by trauma and surgery are common clinical problems encountered by orthopedic surgeons. Thus, a hard-textured, natural-like biomaterial that enables encapsulated cells to obtain the much-needed biophysical stimulation and produce functional bone tissue is needed. Incorporating nanomaterials into cell-laden hydrogels is a straightforward tactic for producing tissue engineering structures that integrate perfectly with the body and for tailoring the material characteristics of hydrogels without hindering nutrient exchange with the surroundings. In this review, recent developments in inorganic nanocomposite hydrogels for bone tissue engineering that are of vital importance but have not yet been comprehensively reviewed are summarized.
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Predictions of Drug-Protein Interactions and Study of Magnetically Assisted Release Dynamics of 5-Fluorouracil from Soya Protein-Coated Iron Oxide Core-Shell Nanoparticles.
Jain Pancholi, N, Sonker, N, Bajpai, J, Bajpai, AK
ACS applied bio materials. 2020;(5):3170-3186
Abstract
In silico studies were performed using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to explore the efficacy of template docking and facilitate designing of drug nanocarrier systems. The binding of human uridine phosphorylase (huPP1) with 5-FU was found to show the following interactions: (1) hydrogen bonds were alleviated by a network of GLN217 and ARG219, (2) hydrophobic interactions were shown by PHE213, THR141, LEU272, and ILE281 (3) positive electrostatic interactions were shown by PHE213, THR141, LEU272, SER142, GLU248, and GLY143. As an experimental supplementation and validation to the adopted computational approach, 5- FU-loaded soya protein-coated iron oxide (SPCIO) core-shell nanoparticles were prepared following microemulsion and co-precipitation techniques and subsequently characterized by FTIR, particle size and zeta potential studies, TEM, XRD, and DSC techniques. Whereas the FTIR spectra confirm the presence of the soya protein and drug 5-FU in the nanoparticles, the zeta potential was found to be suppressed due to the loading of 5-FU. The XRD study confirmed the crystalline nature of the drug-loaded nanoparticles. TEM analysis suggested that the nanoparticles have sizes up to 200 nm and the morphology and size remain almost the same even after loading of the drug 5-FU onto nanoparticles. The soya protein-coated iron oxide nanoparticles demonstrated zero cytotoxicity against fibroblast cells. The controlled release of 5-FU was studied in vitro, and the effects of pH, chemical composition of nanoparticles, extent of drug loading, and simulated biofluids on the controlled release of 5-FU were studied. The swelling of nanoparticles and release of 5-FU were found to increase with increasing strength of the externally applied magnetic field.
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Association between Rosacea and Cardiovascular Diseases and Related Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Li, Y, Guo, L, Hao, D, Li, X, Wang, Y, Jiang, X
BioMed research international. 2020;:7015249
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rosacea is a common inflammatory skin disorder. Several studies, but not all, have suggested a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in rosacea patients. This study is aimed at investigating the association between rosacea and CVDs and related risk factors. METHODS We performed a literature search through PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, from their respective inception to December 21, 2019. Two reviewers independently screened the articles, extracted data, and performed analysis, following the PRISMA guidelines. Odds ratios (OR) or standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for outcomes. The included studies' quality was evaluated using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS). RESULTS The final meta-analysis included ten studies. The pooled analysis found no association between rosacea prevalence and the incidence of CVDs (OR 0.97; 95% CI 0.86-1.10). Rosacea was found to be significantly associated with several risk factors for CVDs (OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.05-1.31), including hypertension (OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.02-1.35), dyslipidemia (OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.00-1.79), and metabolic syndrome (OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.09-2.72). However, no association was found between rosacea and diabetes mellitus (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.82-1.16). Among the biological parameters, a significant association was found between rosacea and total cholesterol (SMD = 0.40; 95% CI = -0.00, 0.81; p < 0.05), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (SMD = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.56; p < 0.05), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (SMD = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.41; p < 0.05). We found no association between rosacea and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (SMD = 0.00; 95% CI = -0.18, 0.18; p = 0.968) or triglycerides (SMD = 0.10; 95% CI = -0.04, 0.24; p = 0.171). CONCLUSIONS Although no significant association was found between rosacea and CVDs, rosacea was found to be associated with several of related risk factors. Patients with rosacea should pay more attention to identifiable CVD risk factors, especially those related to inflammatory and metabolic disorders.
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RETRACTED: The effect of combined application of pentoxifylline and vitamin E for the treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the jaws: a meta-analysis.
Zhang, Z, Xiao, W, Jia, J, Chen, Y, Zong, C, Zhao, L, Tian, L
Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology. 2020;(3):207-214
Abstract
This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the corresponding author and following a translated comparative examination of the two articles for similarity. It has been concluded that duplicate publication has occurred. The significantly duplicated article of the same title by same research team is: The effect of combined application of pentoxifylline and vitamin E for the treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the jaws: A meta-analysis Chin J Stomatol Res (Electronic Edition). August 2017, Vol.11, No.4. Both articles report on a meta-analysis study and focus on the treatment of osteoradionecrosis of the jaws by pentoxifylline combined with vitamin E, with search timeframe extending 2 years later in the retracted article.
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An analysis of factors related to the development of in-stent restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention.
Zhang, G, Li, S, Lin, P, Chen, Y
Medicine. 2020;(5):e18915
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To investigate the relationship between life style, medication adherence and the development of in-stent restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention.A total of 230 patients with coronary heart disease were recruited and investigated with semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, international physical activity questionnaire, screening tool for psychological and Morisky questionnarie. Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis.Logistic regression analysis revealed that there was positive correlation between Morisky score (OR = 1.503), anger (OR = 1.135) and restenosis; and there was negative correlation between physical activity (OR = 0.346), folate intake (OR = 0.926), Vitamin C ingestion (OR = 0.881) and restenosis.The lifestyle and medication adherence of patients after percutaneous coronary intervention are predictors of restenosis, suggesting that it is necessary to strength intervention program to reduce restenosis.