Activated Two-Photon Near-Infrared Ratiometric Fluorescent Nanoprobe for ONOO- Detection and Early Diagnosis and Assessment of Liver Injury.

Liver injury poses a serious threat to human health and growing evidence suggests that it is closely associated with a biomarker (peroxynitrite, ONOO-). Therefore, considering that the relationship of ONOO- levels with the occurrence and development of liver injury disease remains a challenge, an urgent need exists to develop a reliable and robust tool for its visual rapid diagnosis and assessment. Herein, a two-photon near-infrared (TP-NIR) ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobe (NTC) based on a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) strategy was designed, synthesized, and characterized, which had the advantages of good water solubility, low background interference, deep tissue penetration, and high imaging resolution. Specially, NTC was constructed by self-assembly of an alkynyl group of a small-molecule fluorescent probe (NR) via click chemistry grafting onto azide chitosan (natural polymeric nanomaterial). NR contained acceptor 1 (NIR fluorophore) and donor 3 (D-π-A structure of naphthalimide derivative fluorophore) with outstanding TP properties that could be activated by ONOO- for the ratiometric detection of ONOO-. Furthermore, in the presence of ONOO-, NTC exhibited a short response time (∼10 s) and high selectivity and sensitivity toward ONOO- with an excellent detection limit as low as 15.3 nM over other reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Notably, NTC has been successfully employed for ONOO- detection and imaging in living HepG2 cells, liver injury mice tissues, and mice models with satisfactory results. Thus, the construction of this NTC nanoprobe can provide a robust molecule tool for enabling early diagnosis and assessment of liver injury in the future.

The Impact of Sequence of Therapy for Older Patients With Follicular Lymphoma: SEER-Medicare Analysis.

BACKGROUND: One key clinical challenge remains in how to sequence treatments in follicular lymphoma (FL). The chemoimmunotherapy rituximab cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine (Oncovin), and prednisone (R-CHOP) has been a standard treatment option for two decades. However, there are limited data to suggest in which line R-CHOP should be used for older patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We leveraged population-based surveillance, epidemiology, and end results-medicare data and identified 675 patients aged ≥65 years newly diagnosed with FL from 2000 to 2009 who received R-CHOP in either the first or second line. We estimated restricted mean survival time using Kaplan-Meier curves, propensity scores (PS), and regression models comparing patients who received R-CHOP as a first versus second line. RESULTS: We found that patients who received R-CHOP as first line had significantly longer 9-year RMST than those who received R-CHOP in the second line using Kaplan-Meier curves (P = .01), PS stratification (P = .002), PS matching (P = .005), and the inverse of PS as the treatment weight (P < .0001). The subgroup analyses using linear regression models showed that the 9-year restricted mean survival time of patients who received R-CHOP as the first line was longer in patients aged ≥80 years (P = .002) and with histological grade 1 or 2 (P = .02), compared to those who received R-CHOP as second line. CONCLUSION: R-CHOP given in the first line was associated with longer overall survival compared to R-CHOP given as second line for older patients with FL.

[Impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on quality of life and economic burden in Chinese urban areas].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on the quality of life and economic burden in Chinese urban areas. METHODS: COPD patients (n = 723) were interviewed face-to-face in outpatient departments in 6 large cities in China. The questionnaire included social and demographic information, current health status, quality of life (SGRQ), and medical expenditure on outpatient visit, hospitalization, medicine purchasing in medicine stores in the last 12 months, and other expenditures related with COPD were also collected. All the data were analyzed using descriptive method. RESULTS: Of the 723 COPD patients interviewed, 73% were male and the average age was 67 years old. The average symptom score of SGRQ was 49 +/- 24, activity score 57 +/- 23, impact score 46 +/- 23 and total score 50 +/- 21, which were all higher than scores of the healthy populations. The average direct medical cost (including outpatient cost, inpatient cost, and medicine purchasing cost) was 11 744 RMB yuan annually. The direct non-medical cost (including transportation fee, nutrition fee, and nursing fee) was 1570 RMB yuan. 36% of the patients in work had an average of 17 working days lost in the last 12 months because of COPD, while 17% of their relatives had an average of 14 working days lost for caring the patients. CONCLUSIONS: COPD has a serious impact on the quality of life of Chinese urban patients and places a heavy economic burden on their family and the society. Management of COPD should be improved for patients at stable conditions, so as to reduce the incidence and exacerbation of COPD.