[A prospective cohort study on the clinical value of pelvic peritoneal reconstruction in laparoscopic anterior resection for middle and low rectal cancer].

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of pelvic peritoneal reconstruction and its effect on anal function in laparoscopy-assisted anterior resection of low and middle rectal cancer. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Consecutive patients with low and middle rectal cancer who underwent laparoscopy-assisted transabdominal anterior resection at Naval Military Medical University Changhai Hospital from February 2020 to February 2021 were enrolled. Inclusion criteria: (1) the distance from tumor to the anal verge ≤10 cm; (2) laparoscopy-assisted transabdominal anterior resection of rectal cancer; (3) complete clinical data; (4) rectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed by postoperative pathology. Exclusion criteria: (1) emergency surgery; (2) patients with a history of anal dysfunction or anal surgery; (3) preoperative diagnosis of distant (liver, lung) metastasis; (4) intestinal obstruction; (5) conversion to open surgery for various reasons. The pelvic floor was reconstructed using SXMD1B405 (Stratafix helical PGA-PCL, Ethicon). The first needle was sutured from the left anterior wall of the neorectum to the right. Insertion of the needle was continued to suture the root of the sigmoid mesentery while the Hemo-lok was used to fix the suture. The second needle was started from the beginning of the first needle, after 3-4 needles, a drainage tube was inserted through the left lower abdominal trocar to the presacral space. Then, the left peritoneal incision of the descending colon was sutured, after which Hemo-lok fixation was performed. The operative time, perioperative complications, postoperative Wexner anal function score and low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score were compared between the study group and the control group. Three to six months after the operation, pelvic MRI was performed to observe and compare the pelvic floor anatomical structure of the two groups. Results: A total of 230 patients were enrolled, including 58 who underwent pelvic floor peritoneum reconstruction as the study group and 172 who did not undergo pelvic floor peritoneum reconstruction as the control group. There were no significant differences in general data between the two groups (all P>0.05). The operation time of the study group was longer than that of control group [(177.5±33.0) minutes vs. (148.7±45.5) minutes, P<0.001]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of perioperative complications (including anastomotic leakage, anastomotic bleeding, postoperative pneumonia, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, and intestinal obstruction) between the two groups (all P>0.05). Eight cases had anastomotic leakage, of whom 2 cases (3.4%) in the study group were discharged after conservative treatment, 5 cases (2.9%) of other 6 cases (3.5%) in the control group were discharged after the secondary surgical treatment. The Wexner score and LARS score were 3.1±2.8 and 23.0 (16.0-28.0) in the study group, which were lower than those in the control group [4.7±3.4 and 27.0 (18.0-32.0)], and the differences were statistically significant (t=-3.018, P=0.003 and Z=-2.257, P=0.024). Severe LARS was 16.5% (7/45) in study group and 35.5% (50/141) in control group, and the difference was no significant differences (Z=4.373, P=0.373). Pelvic MRI examination 3 to 6 months after surgery showed that the incidence of intestinal accumulation in the pelvic floor was 9.1% (3/33) in study group and 46.4% (64/138) in control group (χ(2)=15.537, P<0.001). Conclusion: Pelvic peritoneal reconstruction using stratafix in laparoscopic anterior resection of middle and low rectal cancer is safe and feasible, which may reduce the probability of the secondary operation in patients with anastomotic leakage and significantly improve postoperative anal function.

[Etiological analysis and surgical method selection of adult megacolon].

Adult megacolon is a rare disease with heterogeneneous etiology. The treatment schemes of megacolon caused by different causes are also different, but surgery is the final and the most effective method. Due to the lack of early understanding of the disease, many patients have not been clearly diagnosed as adult megacolon and have not been properly treated. This article classifies adult megacolon according to the etiology and summarizes its surgical options. For adult Hirschsprung's disease, modified Duhamel, the Jinling procedure, low anterior resection, or pull-through low anterior resection can be used. For patients with idiopathic megacolon, one-stage subtotal colorectal resection can be selected with adequate preoperative preparations. Some patients admitted to the hospital with emergency intestinal obstruction can be treated with conservative treatment or decompression under colonoscopy followed by selective surgery. For patients with aganglionosis, the procedure is subtotal colorectal resection, the same as that of idiopathic megacolon. The procedure is to remove both the dilated proximal intestine and the stenotic distal intestine, then an ileorectal anastomosis or ascending colon rectal anastomosis is performed. For toxic megacolon, colostomy can be done for mild cases, and for severe infections, subtotal colorectal resection is required. Latrogenic megacolon is mostly caused by segmental stenosis or lack of peristalsis, resulting in chronic dilatation of the proximal end and the formation of megacolon. It is necessary to choose a reasonable surgical procedure according to the specific conditions of the patient. The first choice for the treatment of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction syndrome is decompression under colonoscopy. For those with the secondary changes in the intestine, ostomy is still the most effective surgical procedure, but should be performed with caution.

Artemisinin ameliorates the symptoms of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis by regulating the balance of TH1 cells, TH17 cells and Treg cells.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fatigue and muscle weakness. Artemisinin and its derivatives were reported to be experimentally used to treat autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here, we tested the effects of artemisinin on experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). Our data confirmed that artemisinin markedly ameliorated the symptoms of EAMG rats. There was a decreased level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-17+ cells in mononuclear cells (MNCs), and an increased level of transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) and Treg cells in MNCs. These findings indicate that artemisinin may be a new choice for MG treatment.

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci for Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.

As a result of human activities, wild populations of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Cupressaceae) have sharply declined in recent years. The development and implementation of a valid conservation strategy require a clear understanding of the genetic makeup of this species. Eleven polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from samples of 52 individuals from the Provenance Test Plantation in Fenyi, Jiangxi Province, China. Among the loci, 10 were polymorphic and 1-34 (average 18.182) alleles per locus were identified. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 0.750 (mean 0.456) and 0 to 0.968 (mean 0.749), respectively. These microsatellite loci may facilitate further research on the molecular breeding and population genetics of C. lanceolata and its relatives.