Cutaneous leukocytoklastic vasculitis in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis: A case report.

Extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are common and most extra-articular manifestations such as acute iritis and inflammatory bowel disease are positively correlated with disease activity of AS. Vasculitis is an extra-articular manifestation of AS. However cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis (CLV) is uncommon in AS patients. In this article, we report a case of a 66-year-old female patient who has had AS for long time. Although the patient's articular manifestations were stable, the aortic aneurysm and CLV continued to occur sequentially. This article reminds clinicians that even AS patients with stable articular manifestations should be followed up regularly. All extra-articular manifestations of AS patients should be taken seriously and treated as soon as possible under the guidance of rheumatoid immunologists.

Recent therapeutics in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor of hepatocytes. It is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system that often has initially hidden presentation followed by rapid progression. There are no obvious symptoms in the early stage of HCC. When diagnosed, most patients have locally advanced tumor or distant metastasis; therefore, HCC is difficult to treat and only supportive and symptomatic treatment is adopted. The prognosis is poor and survival time is short. How to effectively treat HCC is important clinically. In recent years, advances in medical technology have resulted in comprehensive treatment methods based on surgery.

Photodynamic and Photothermal Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver tumor. It is ranked the sixth most common neoplasm and the third most common cause of cancer mortality. At present, the most common treatment for HCC is surgery, but the 5-year recurrence rates are still high. Patients with early stage HCC with few nodules can be treated with resection or radiofrequency ablation (RFA); while for multinodular HCC, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been the first-line treatment. In recent years, based on medical engineering cooperation, nanotechnology has been increasingly applied to the treatment of cancer. Photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy are effective for cancer. This paper summarizes the latest progress of photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy for HCC, with the aim of providing new ideas for the treatment of HCC.

The diagnostic value of platelet distribution width in patients with mild COVID-19.

COVID-19 has a worldwide distribution; however, there is no effective diagnosis marker, especially for the mild-type COVID-19. The purpose of the current study was to identify parameters for mild-type COVID-19. We retrospectively analyzed a single-center data of patients with mild COVID-19. Forty patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were enrolled. Peripheral blood indices between the admission and discharge times were collected and analyzed. The platelet distribution width (PDW) was shown to be an indicator of significant change. The receiver operating characteristic curve for PDW was 0.7; the sensitivity and specificity for PDW were 82.5% and 55.0%, respectively. Therefore, a potential diagnostic value of PDW for mild-type COVID-19 was demonstrated.

Clinical features and outcomes of tetanus: a retrospective study.

Background: Tetanus is a serious disease resulting in muscle spasm, and even death. Methods: A retrospective, single-center study was conducted by analyzing demographic and clinical parameters. Results: The study included 12 males (70.6%) and 5 females (29.4%). The mean age of the patients was 56.71±9.05 years. Patient occupations included farming (47.0%), retired (23.5), homebound (23.5), and workers (6.0%). The causes of patient injuries were as follows: metal injury (52.9%), deep injury (29.4%), electrical injury (5.9%), maxillofacial region and knee injury (5.9%), and skin ulceration (5.9%). The disease duration ranged from 3 to 36 days, and the mean incubation period was 12.65±10.17 days. Four patients had co-morbidities. The infected patients were given tetanus antitoxin (TAT) and antibiotics treatment. One patient was given continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) and only one patient died. Conclusions: In our department, although tetanus is a serious disease, with effective treatment, patients have reasonable cure and low death rates.

Notch1 regulates the JNK signaling pathway and increases apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Notch1-induced pathways are involved in cell growth, apoptosis, motility, and invasion in many cancers. In the present study, the expression of Notch1 and NICD1 was detected in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues using in-vitro assays. And then, we explored cell biology and signaling pathways using Notch1 siRNA or plasmids. Here, the expression of Notch1 and NICD1 was significantly decreased in HCC tissues. In-vitro, Notch1 plasmids inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but enhanced apoptosis of HepG2 and Hep3B cells. Conversely, si-Notch1 enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasion, but inhibited apoptosis of HepG2 and Hep3B cells. Mechanically, Notch1 decreased the expression of cyclin D1, MMP-9 and Bcl-2, but increased the expression of p-JNK, Bax and cleaved caspase 3 in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. Besides, si-JNK or JNK inhibitor SP600125 affected the activation of Notch1 signaling pathway, and prevents cell apoptosis. In conclusion, Notch1 regulates the JNK signaling pathway and increases apoptosis in HCC. Because patients with HCC have a poor prognosis, Notch1 pathway may provide a novel treatment strategy.

The Relationship of Mean Platelet Volume/Platelet Distribution Width and Duodenal Ulcer Perforation.

BACKGROUND: Duodenal ulcer perforation (DUP) is a severe acute abdominal disease. Mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) are two platelet parameters, participating in many inflammatory processes. This study aims to investigate the relation of MPV/PDW and DUP. METHODS: A total of 165 patients were studied retrospectively, including 21 females and 144 males. The study included two groups: 87 normal patients (control group) and 78 duodenal ulcer perforation patients (DUP group). Routine blood parameters were collected for analysis including white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil ratio (NR), platelet count (PLT), MPV and PDW. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was applied to evaluate the parameters' sensitivity. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between the control group and DUP group in age and gender. WBC, NR and PDW were significantly increased in the DUP group (P<0.001, respectively); PLT and MPV were significantly decreased in the DUP group (P<0.001, respectively) compared to controls. MPV had the high sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested a potential association between MPV/PDW and disease activity in DUP patients, and high sensitivity of MPV.