Search

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of computed tomography (CT)-guided radioactive 125I seeds brachytherapy (RISB) for lung oligometastases (LO) from colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Data for 144 LOs from 70 CRC patients who underwent CT-guided RISB were retrospectively analyzed. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were technical success, local control rate (LCR), and complications. Kaplan–Meier method was used for survival analysis. Cox model was used to identify the independent predictors of poor prognosis. Results: The RISB procedures were successfully performed in all patients, and the success rate was 100%. The median follow-up was 27.8 months. The median PFS was 10.0 months (95% CI: 8.9–11.1) and the 1- and 2-year PFS rates were 32.9% and 5.9%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) ≤ 15 ng/ml (P = 0.048), middle-high differentiated pathological classification (P = 0.015), primary TNM stages I-III (P = 0.001), LO number ≤ 2 (P < 0.001) and cumulative gross tumor volume (GTV) ≤ 40 cm3 (P < 0.001) showed superior PFS. The median OS was 30.8 months (95% CI: 27.1–34.4) and the 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates were 95.7%, 67.4%, and 42.5%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, serum CEA ≤ 15 ng/ml (P = 0.004), middle-high differentiated pathological classification (P < 0.001), primary TNM stages I-III (P < 0.001), LO number ≤ 2 (P < 0.001), cumulative GTV ≤ 40 cm3 (P < 0.001) and system treatments combined with chemotherapy and target therapy (P < 0.001) showed superior OS. The LCR for 3, 6, and 12 months was 97.9%, 91.0%, and 83.6%, respectively. There were 4 cases of pneumothorax at 5.7% that required drainage. Conclusions: RISB for LO from CRC is safe and effective, and serum CEA, TNM stage, LO number, cumulative GTV, and system treatments should be emphasized for long OS. Key points: • CT-guided RISB is a new treatment for lung oligometastases from CRC. • RISB can be an alternative therapy for patients who are unsuitable for surgery, ablation, or SBRT. • Serum CEA, TNM stage, LO number, cumulative GTV, and system treatments are prognostic factors. • RISB is a safe method with a curative effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous biliary drainage (PBD) combined with 125I seed strand brachytherapy (ISSB) for the treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA). Methods: The clinical data of 64 patients with HCCA (median age 62.5, male 29, female 35) treated in our department from April 2017 to April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-four patients in the experimental group (EG) were treated with PBD combined with ISSB, while 30 patients in the control group (CG) were treated with PBD alone. The primary study endpoints were technical success, clinical success and the 2-month local tumor control (LTC) rate. Secondary endpoints were early/late complications, median progression-free survival (mPFS) and overall survival (mOS). Results: The technical and clinical success in the EG and CG showed no significant differences (100 vs. 100%, 94.1 vs. 93.3%, P > 0.05). Both early and late complications showed no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). The 2-month LTC rates were significantly better in the EG versus the CG (94.1% vs. 26.7%, 157.7 ± 115.3 vs. 478.1 ± 235.3 U/ml), respectively (P < 0.05). The mPFS and mOS were 4.3 (95% CI 3.9–4.7) months and 2.8 (95% CI 2.5–3.1) months and 13.5 (95% CI 10.7–16.3) months and 8.8 (95% CI 7.8–9.8) months, respectively, with significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusion: PBD combined with ISSB is a safe and effective treatment for HCCA that can inhibit local tumors and prolong PFS and OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Da-jiang is the traditional soybean fermented food which is popular in the world for a long time. In order to improve the quality and nutritional value of da-jiang, structure and diversity of bacterial communities in the fermentation of da-jiang were analyzed. Illumina MiSeq platforms coupled with bioinformatics approach were used in this study. In the first 28 days, the trends of bacterial abundance were similar in different regions which are increasing firstly, decreasing secondly, and rising again. The quantity of bacteria in post-fermentation is lower than pre-fermentation. In the fermentation of da-jiang, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria are the dominant phyla. The dominant genera in da-jiang from different regions are different: Tetragenococcus (58.1-73.0%) is the dominant genus in da-jiang from Xinmin; Leuconostoc (9.2-25.7%) is the dominant genus in da-jiang from Tieling; Acinetobacter (8.7-25.1%) and Leuconostoc (12.4-22.0%) are the dominant genera in da-jiang from Shenyang. Additionally, Weissella, Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus, Erwinia, and Pseudomonas also were found in da-jiang. It is identified that Leuconostoc steadily existed in all da-jiang samples. These results demonstrate the diversity of microbes in traditional fermented da-jiang, which will probably provide a data basis for choosing starter culture for da-jiang industrial fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have suggested that caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) can induce the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein. We determined whether CAPE has a novel function in improving the homing and engraftment of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) by regulating HIF-1α gene expression in the bone marrow (BM) niche., Methods: For survival experiments, lethally irradiated C57BL/6 mice were injected with a low number of BM mononuclear cells (MNCs) and CAPE according to the indicated schedule. Homing efficiency analysis was conducted using flow cytometry and colony-forming unit (CFU) assays. The influence of intraperitoneal injection of CAPE on short-term and long-term engraftment of HSPCs was evaluated using competitive and non-competitive mouse transplantation models. To investigate the mechanism by which CAPE enhanced HSPC homing, we performed these experiments including Q-PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry and CFU assays after in-vivo HIF-1α activity blockade., Results: CAPE injection significantly increased the survival rate of recipient mice after lethal irradiation and transplantation of a low number of BM MNCs. Using HSPC homing assays, we found that CAPE notably increased donor HSPC homing to recipient BM. The subsequent short-term and long-term engraftment of transplanted HSPCs was also improved by the optimal schedule of CAPE administration. Mechanistically, we found that CAPE upregulated the expression of HIF-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α). The HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478 blocked CAPE-enhanced HSPC homing, which supported the idea that HIF-1α is a key target of CAPE., Conclusions: Our results showed that CAPE administration facilitated HSPC homing and engraftment, and this effect was primarily dependent on HIF-1α activation and upregulation of SDF-1α and VEGF-A expression in the BM niche.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive and debilitating disease, which affects over 2.5 million people in China. PD is characterized clinically by resting tremor, muscular rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. As the disease progresses, additional complications can arise such as non-motor and neurobehavioral symptoms. Pharmacological treatment and surgical intervention for PD have been implemented in China. Until 10 years ago, there was lack of standardization for the management of PD in different regions and among different physicians, leading to different treatment levels in different regions and different physicians. Since then, the Chinese Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society have published three versions of guidelines for the management of PD in China, in 2006, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Correspondingly, the overall level of treatment for PD in China improved., Objectives: To update the treatment guidelines based on current foreign and domestic practice guidelines and clinical evidence, and to improve the treatment options available to physicians in the management of PD., Summary: A variety of treatment recommendations in the treatment guidelines have been proposed, including physical activity and disease-modifying medication, which should be initiated at the early-stage of the disease. The principles of dosage titration should be followed to avoid acute adverse reactions to the drugs, to achieve a satisfactory clinical effect with a low dose and to reduce the incidence of long-term motor complications. Moreover, different treatment strategies should be considered at different stages of the disease. Importantly, treatment guidelines and personalized treatments should be valued equally. A set of treatment recommendations has been developed to assist physicians to improve and optimize clinical outcomes for patients with PD in China.

Background: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm-season C4 grass that is a target lignocellulosic biofuel species. In many regions, drought stress is one of the major limiting factors for switchgrass growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the drought tolerance of 49 switchgrass genotypes. The relative drought stress tolerance was determined based on a set of parameters including plant height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf sheath length, leaf relative water content (RWC), electrolyte leakage (EL), photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (g s), transpiration rate (Tr), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and water use efficiency (WUE)., Results: SRAP marker analysis determined that the selected 49 switchgrass genotypes represent a diverse genetic pool of switchgrass germplasm. Principal component analysis (PCA) and drought stress indexes (DSI) of each physiological parameter showed significant differences in the drought stress tolerance among the 49 genotypes. Heatmap and PCA data revealed that physiological parameters are more sensitive than morphological parameters in distinguishing the control and drought treatments. Metabolite profiling data found that under drought stress, the five best drought-tolerant genotypes tended to have higher levels of abscisic acid (ABA), spermine, trehalose, and fructose in comparison to the five most drought-sensitive genotypes., Conclusion: Based on PCA ranking value, the genotypes TEM-SEC, TEM-LoDorm, BN-13645-64, Alamo, BN-10860-61, BN-12323-69, TEM-SLC, T-2086, T-2100, T-2101, Caddo, and Blackwell-1 had relatively higher ranking values, indicating that they are more tolerant to drought. In contrast, the genotypes Grif Nebraska 28, Grenville-2, Central Iowa Germplasm, Cave-in-Rock, Dacotah, and Nebraska 28 were found to be relatively sensitive to drought stress. By analyzing physiological response parameters and different metabolic profiles, the methods utilized in this study identified drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive switchgrass genotypes. These results provide a foundation for future research directed at understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying switchgrass tolerance to drought.

Objective: To evaluate the non-inferiority of pramipexole extended-release (ER) versus immediate-release (IR) in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study., Methods: Subjects were Chinese patients with idiopathic PD with diagnosis ≥ 2 years prior to trial, age ≥ 30 years old at diagnosis, and Modified Hoehn and Yahr score 2-4 during 'on'-time. Subjects received treatment with pramipexole ER (n=234) or IR (n=239). Non-inferiority was based on the primary endpoint, the change from baseline to end of maintenance (week 18) in the UPDRS (Parts II + III) total score., Results: For the primary endpoint, the adjusted mean changes (standard error) of UPDRS Parts II + III at week 18 were -13.81 (0.655) and -13.05 (0.643) for ER and IR formulations, respectively, using ANCOVA adjusted for treatment and centre (fixed effect) and baseline (covariate). The adjusted mean between group difference was 0.8 for the 2-sided 95% CI (-1.047, 2.566). Since the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI (-1.047) for treatment difference was higher than the non-inferiority margin of -4, non-inferiority between pramipexole ER and IR was demonstrated. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was 68.8% in the ER arm and 73.6% in the IR arm with few severe AEs (ER: 2.1%; IR: 3.8%)., Conclusion: Based on the UPDRS II + III score, pramipexole ER was non-inferior to pramipexole IR. The safety profiles of pramipexole ER and IR were similar. These results were based on comparable mean daily doses and durations of treatment for both formulations.