Symptom management in adult brain tumours: A literature review.

AIM: To review the literature related to symptom management, clinical significance and related theoretical framework systems in adult patients with brain tumours. BACKGROUND: As understanding of symptoms or symptom clusters and underlying biologic mechanisms has grown, it is apparent that symptom science is moving forward. Although some progress has been made in the symptom science of solid tumours such as breast and lung neoplasms, insufficient attention has been paid to symptom management for patients suffering from brain tumours. Further research is needed to achieve effective symptom management for these patients. DESIGN: A literature review with a systematic search of symptom management in adult brain tumours. METHODS: Electronic data bases were searched to obtain relevant published literature on symptom management in adults with brain tumours. This was then analysed and a synthesis of relevant findings is presented. FINDINGS: Four significant general themes relating to symptom management of brain tumours in adults were identified: (1) The potential theoretical foundation related to symptom management was revealed. (2) Widely accepted validated scales or questionnaires for the assessment of single symptoms or symptom clusters were recommended. (3) Several symptom clusters and the underlying biologic mechanisms have been reported. (4) Specific symptom interventions for adults with brain tumours were collected and classified as evidence-based or insufficient evidence. CONCLUSION: There are still many challenges in the effective management of symptoms in adults with brain tumours. The guiding role of theoretical frameworks or models related to symptom management should be utilized in future research. Using the concept of symptom clustering for research into symptoms found in patients with brain tumours, exploring common biological mechanisms for specific symptom clusters and making full use of modern big data resources to build a strong evidence base for an effective intervention or management program may inform the management of symptoms among these patients leading to better results. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This is a literature review. IMPLICATIONS FOR SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT: The ultimate goal is obviously not only improving the survival rate of patients with brain tumours, but also enhancing their quality of life. Several important findings from our review include the theoretical foundations, validated assessment tools, the assessment of symptom clusters and the underlying biologic mechanism, and the identification of the evidence base for symptom interventions. These are of relevance for managers, researchers and practitioners and may function as a reference to help the effective symptom management for adults with brain tumours.

A Retrospectively Study: Diagnosis of Pathological Types of Malignant Lung Tumors by Dual-layer Detector Spectral Computed Tomography.

Object: By retrospectively analyzing the energy spectrum of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and pulmonary metastases that underwent dual-layer detector spectral computed tomography (DLCT) 3-phase scan of the chest, we explored the value of a multiparameter energy spectrum in the assessment of pathological types of lung tumors. Methods: Cases of squamous cell carcinoma (n = 20), adenocarcinoma (n = 24), SCLC (n = 26), and metastases (n = 14) were collected. Then the largest cross-sectional area (LCA) of the lesion, computed tomography (CT) values in the plain scan phase, arterial and venous phases (HU, HUa, and HUv), iodine concentration, and effective atomic number in the arterial and venous phases (ICa, ICv, Zeff[a], and Zeff[v]) were measured and compared among the nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), SCLC and metastases, and other 3 groups of SCLC, squamous cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. Results: Only the LCA is statistically different among SCLC, NSCLC, and metastases (P < .05). And the treated subgroup analysis did not show significant differences among the groups. However, the untreated subgroup analysis showed that there was a significant difference between NSCLC and metastases in LCA, SCLC and metastases in ICa, NSCLC and SCLC in HUv, NSCLC and SCLC in Zeff(v) (P < .05). Conclusion: The energy spectrum parameters of DLCT have a certain clinical value in distinguishing NSCLC from SCLC in the Zeff(v) and distinguishing SCLC from metastases in the ICa.

[Seasonal Variation, Source Identification, and Health Risk of PM2.5-bound Metals in Xinxiang].

This study analyzed the seasonal variation, sources, and source-specific health risks of PM2.5-bound metals in Xinxiang city, Henan province. A total of 112 daily PM2.5 samples were collected over four consecutive seasons during 2019-2020. In total, 19 elements were identified using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The annual concentrations of PM2.5 and 11 heavy metals were calculated to be (66.25±35.73) µg·m-3 and (1.32±0.84) µg·m-3, respectively. Strong seasonal variations were observed in PM2.5 concentrations and the concentrations of associated metal elements, with the lowest concentrations all occurring in summer. The highest concentrations of dust-related elements (e.g., Al, Ca, Fe, Mg,and Ti) were recorded in spring, differing significantly from other elements, which all exhibited the highest mass concentrations in winter. The results apportioned from positive matrix factorization (PMF) and potential source contribution function (PSCF) models showed that the major sources of PM2.5-bound elements were Ni-and Co-related emissions (5.8%), motor vehicles (13.7%), Cd-related emissions(5.1%), combustion emissions (18.2%), and dust (57.3%). Health risk models showed that there were no obvious non-carcinogenic risks associated with these metals, because their hazard quotient (HQ) values were all below 1. Lifetime carcinogenic risks of the five apportioned sources were all higher than the acceptable level (1×10-6). Of these five sources, combustion emissions were the largest contributors to cancer risk (8.74×10-6, 36.9%) and non-cancer risk (0.60, 25.6%). This study suggests that control strategies to mitigate exposure risk in Xinxiang should emphasize reducing the sources of combustion emissions.

Innovative health risk assessment of heavy metals in Chinese herbal medicines based on extensive data.

In the present study, the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and copper (Cu) in 2245 batches of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). We developed a risk assessment strategy that assessed the heavy metal-associated health risk of CHMs based on our large dataset. Using a combination of the mean and 95th percentile (P95) values of the chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and lifetime cancer risk (CR), the health risks of the average exposure population and the high exposure population were estimated, respectively. To obtain a precise and realistic risk assessment, the exposure frequency and exposure duration were determined using questionnaire data from 20,917 randomly selected volunteers. Additionally, given the specific ingestion characteristics of CHMs, the safety factor and the transfer rates of heavy metals were highlighted as well. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, Hg, and Cu in 2245 batches of CHMs were 1.566, 0.299, 0.391, 0.074, and 8.386 mg/kg, respectively. The mean HI values indicated that consumption of most CHMs would not pose an unacceptable health risk to the average exposure population, except for argy wormwood leaf (1.326), morinda root (2.095), plantain herb (1.540), chrysanthemum flower (1.146), and Indian madder root (2.826). In addition, CR assessment for Pb and As revealed that, for the average exposure population, the risk of developing cancers was lower than the acceptable levels (1 × 10-4) in the clinic. However, the P95 of the HI and CR values indicated that more attention should be paid to the systemic effects of CHMs in terms of both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks for the high exposure population. Furthermore, in order to serve population health better, national and international guidelines have now been established. The risk assessment strategy developed in this study is the first of its kind, and contributed to the risk assessment, guidelines, and safety standards for heavy metals in CHMs.

Role of MicroRNA, LncRNA, and Exosomes in the Progression of Osteoarthritis: A Review of Recent Literature.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common clinical degenerative disease characterized by the destruction of articular cartilage, which has an increasing impact on people's lives and social economy. The pathogenesis of OA is complex and unclear, and there is no effective way to block its progress. The study of the pathogenesis of OA is the prerequisite for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of OA. To define the pathogenesis of OA, this review considers the pathological mechanism of OA that involves microRNA, lncRNA, and exosomes. More and more evidence shows that microRNA, lncRNA, and exosomes are closely related to OA. MicroRNA inhibits the target gene by binding to the 3'- untranslated region of the targets. LncRNA usually competes with microRNA to regulate the expression level of downstream genes, while exosomes, as a carrier of intercellular information transfer, transmit the biological information of mother cells to target cells, and the effect of exosomes secreted by different cells on OA are different. In this review, we emphasized that different microRNA, lncRNA, and exosomes have different regulatory effects on chondrocyte proliferation and apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation and inflammation. Besides, we classified and analyzed these molecules according to their effects on the progress of OA. Based on the analysis of the reported literature, this review reveals some pathogenesis of OA, and emphasizes that microRNA, lncRNA, and exosomes have great potential to assist early diagnosis and effective treatment of OA.

Emodin Exerts an Antiapoptotic Effect on Human Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia K562 Cell Lines by Targeting the PTEN/PI3K-AKT Signaling Pathway and Deleting BCR-ABL.

The BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, is the front-line treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia, but the emergence of imatinib resistance has led to the search for alternative drug treatments. There is a pressing need, therefore, to develop and test novel drugs. Natural products including plants, microorganisms, and halobios provide rich resources for discovery of anticancer drugs. In this article, we demonstrate that emodin inhibited the growth of K562 cells harboring BCR-ABL in vitro and in vivo, and induced abundant apoptosis, which was correlated with the inhibition of PETN/PI3K/Akt level and deletion of BCR-ABL. These findings suggest that emodin is a promising agent to kill K562 cells harboring BCR-ABL.

Refolding and reactivation of calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase with excess magnesium ions.

It is well known that Mg(2+) is an essential component in many biological processes. This research investigated the courses of both the reactivation and the refolding in the absence and presence of Mg(2+) ions. Calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (CIP) was extensively denatured in 3 M guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) solution for 2 h. Under suitable renaturation conditions, about 60-70% of the activity was recovered in the absence and presence of different magnesium ion concentrations. The refolding processes followed two-phase courses, whereas the reactivation processes were monophasic after dilution in proper solutions with or without Mg(2+). The magnesium ions affected both the reactivation and the refolding courses of unfolded CIP. A comparison of rate constants for the refolding of unfolded CIP with those for recovery of enzyme activity at different Mg(2+) concentrations showed that they were not synchronized. The activity recovery was speeded up due to the presence of Mg(2+) ions; while the refolding course of unfolded CIP was somewhat inhibited by the excess Mg(2+).