[An observation and analysis of the features of depressive disorder in the incidence and progression of breast cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between depressive disorder and breast cancer, and to study the features of depressive disorder in patients before and after suffering breast cancer. METHODS: Whether 40 breast cancer patients had depressive disorder and their degrees were assessed by filling in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) at Department of Oncology, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The correlation between depressive disorder and the occurrence and progression of breast cancer, as well as its features were studied. RESULTS: The occurrence of general depressive disorder in breast cancer patients before they suffered from breast cancer was 72.5% (29/40 cases). The occurrence of confirmed depression was 2.5% (1/40 cases). The total depressive disorder rate was 75.0% (30/40 cases).They were 60. 0% (24/40 cases), 7.5% (3/40 cases), and 67. 5% (27/40 cases) in breast cancer patients after they suffered from breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Breast cancer patients have depressive disorder to various levels before and after suffering from breast cancer, which should raise clinical attention and corresponding intervention.

Refractory hypokalemia with sexual dysplasia and infertility caused by 17α-hydroxylase deficiency and triple X syndrome: A case report.

The present study reports a patient case with a 17α-hydroxylase deficiency accompanied by triple X syndrome. A 17α-hydroxylase deficiency leads to a very low 17α-hydroxylated steroid synthesis as well as a non-feedback increase in the adrenocorticotropic hormone level. Meanwhile, the progesterone level increases the 17α-hydroxyprogesterone level and decreases the dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level. The patient is characterized by intractable hypokalemia, high urinary potassium, hyperaldosteronemia, hyporeninemia, hypocortisolemia, hypertension, gonadal and secondary sexual dysplasia, a decreased estrogen level, primary amenorrhea, and infertility. The imaging findings indicate a presence of multiple bilateral adrenal gland adenomas, and the sequencing indicates a missense CYP17A1-E7 gene pathogenic variant. The karyotype is a 47, XXX [3]/46, XX [47] low-level chimeric karyotype. The patient's parents are cousins. To our knowledge, this patient is the first case diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by hydroxylase deficiency and triple X syndrome. The uniqueness of this case is that this patient has two very rare genetic diseases, probably due to the marriage of close relatives.

[Effects of oxymatrine injection combined with low-dose paclitaxel on mRNA and protein expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor and CXC chemokine receptor 4 in human gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of oxymatrine injection (OI) combined with low-dose paclitaxel on expressions of mRNAs and proteins of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in human gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells. METHODS: Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was used to examine the effects of OI combined with low-dose paclitaxel on proliferation of SGC-7901 cells. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were employed to measure the expressions of VEGF and CXCR4 mRNAs and proteins in gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells respectively. RESULTS: Except that 20 µg/mL paclitaxel had no influence on expression of VEGF mRNA in SGC-7901 cells (P>0.05), 40 µg/mL OI or low-dose paclitaxel (20 µg/mL) inhibited the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells and reduced the expressions of VEGF and CXCR4 mRNAs and proteins in SGC-7901 cells (P<0.01). The expressions of VEGF and CXCR4 mRNAs and proteins in the OI plus low-dose paclitaxel group were markedly lower than those in the low-dose paclitaxel group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: OI combined with low-dose paclitaxel can inhibit VEGF and CXCR4 of gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells markedly, which may be one of its mechanisms of anti-angiogenic ability.

Predicting asymptomatic coronary artery stenosis by aortic arch plaque in acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease: beyond the cervicocephalic atherosclerosis?

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic coronary artery stenosis (ACAS) ≥50% is common in patients with acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease (AICVD), which portends a poor cardiovascular and cerebrovascular prognosis. Identifying ACAS ≥50% early may optimize the clinical management and improve the outcomes of these high-risk AICVD patients. This study aimed to investigate whether aortic arch plaque (AAP), an early atherosclerotic manifestation of brain blood-supplying arteries, could be a predictor for ACAS ≥50% in AICVD. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, atherosclerosis of the coronary and brain blood-supplying arteries was simultaneously evaluated using one-step computed tomography angiography (CTA) in AICVD patients without coronary artery disease history. The patients were divided into ACAS ≥50% and non-ACAS ≥50% groups according to whether CTA showed stenosis ≥50% in at least one coronary arterial segment. The AAP characteristics of CTA were depicted from aspects of thickness, extent, and complexity. RESULTS: Among 118 analyzed patients with AICVD, 29/118 (24.6%) patients had ACAS ≥50%, while AAPs were observed in 86/118 (72.9%) patients. Increased AAP thickness per millimeter (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18-2.05), severe-extent AAP (adjusted OR: 13.66, 95% CI: 2.33-80.15), and presence of complex AAP (adjusted OR: 7.27, 95% CI: 2.30-23.03) were associated with ACAS ≥50% among patients with AICVD, independently of clinical demographics and cervicocephalic atherosclerotic stenosis. The combination of AAP thickness, extent, and complexity predicted ACAS ≥50% with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.70-0.85, P < 0.001). All three AAP characteristics provided additional predictive power beyond cervical and intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis for ACAS ≥50% in AICVD (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Thicker, severe-extent, and complex AAP were significant markers of the concomitant ACAS ≥50% in AICVD, possibly superior to the indicative value of cervical and intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. As an integral part of atherosclerosis of brain blood-supplying arteries, AAP should not be overlooked in predicting ACAS ≥50% for patients with AICVD.

Efficacy of complementary and integrative medicine on health-related quality of life in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) has been used for improving health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with cancer. The objective of this review is to evaluate the effects of CIMs on the HRQOL of cancer patients. We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving patients with cancer at any stage by retrieving electronic databases from the inception to February 14, 2018 (Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42018091609). The main outcomes were HRQOL scores and related domains such as physical well-being scores. The standardized mean difference was used for the analysis and heterogeneity was assessed with the I 2 statistic. A Bayesian framework was used to estimate the ranking order of efficacy in HRQOL change. Finally, 34 RCTs with 3,010 patients were included. As a whole, the results showed clearly superior efficacy of CIM in improving HRQOL. For different domains of HRQOL, different CIM interventions may play different roles. The ranking order of efficacy in change HRQOL was qigong plus mindfulness, Chinese herbal medicine, multimodal complementary medicine, qigong, nutritional supplement, mindfulness, acupuncture, yoga, and massage, and it was different among different domains. There was no evidence of publication bias. In conclusion, CIM may improve the HRQOL of cancer patients. More studies, especially focusing on male cancer patients, are needed to increase the confidence level of our findings.

Prognostic Role of Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Different BCLC Stages: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The role of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with different Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages remains controversial. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of PLR on HCC prognosis. Five electronic databases were searched for clinical trials focusing on the role of PLR in the prognosis of HCC. A total of 297 potential studies were initially identified, and 9 studies comprising 2449 patients were finally enrolled to evaluate the association between the pretreatment PLR and clinical outcomes of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and event occurrence in patients with HCC in different BCLC stages. An elevated pretreatment PLR indicated unfavorable worse OS (HR = 1.73; 95% CI: (1.46, 2.04); P < 0.00001) and DFS (HR = 1.30; 95% CI: (1.06, 1.60); P = 0.01). Subgroup analysis indicated that high PLR indicated poor OS among BCLC-B/C patients without heterogeneity, while PLR in BCLC-A patients indicated high statistical heterogeneity with I2 value of 78%. As for the correlation between PLR and event occurrence, high PLR was related to poor clinical event occurrence only among BCLC-C patients, though obvious heterogeneity was observed in all different BCLC stages. In conclusion, PLR may be a significant biomarker in the prognosis of HCC in different BCLC stages.