Comparison of endoscopic third ventriculostomy versus cerebrospinal fluid shunt procedures for the treatment of pediatric hydrocephalus in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: Pediatric hydrocephalus is the most common cause of surgically treatable neurological disease in children. Controversies exist whether endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt placement is the most appropriate treatment for pediatric hydrocephalus. This study aimed to compare the risk of re-operation and death between the two procedures. METHODS: We performed a retrospective population-based cohort study and included patients younger than 20-years-old who underwent CSF shunt or ETV for hydrocephalus from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. RESULTS: A total of 3,555 pediatric patients from 2004 to 2017 were selected, including 2,340 (65.8%) patients that received CSF shunt placement and 1215 (34.2%) patients that underwent ETV. The incidence of all-cause death was 3.31 per 100 person-year for CSF shunt group and 2.52 per 100 person-year for ETV group, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66-0.94, p = 0.009). The cumulative incidence competing risk for reoperation was 31.2% for the CSF shunt group and 26.4% for the ETV group, with an adjusted subdistribution HR of 0.82 (95% CI = 0.70-0.96, p = 0.015). Subgroup analysis showed that ETV was beneficial for hydrocephalus coexisting with brain or spinal tumor, central nervous system infection, and intracranial hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Our data indicates ETV is a better operative procedure for pediatric hydrocephalus when advanced surgical techniques and instruments are available.

Tonal and orthographic analysis in a Cantonese-speaking individual with nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia.

Clinical understanding of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has been established based on English-speaking population. The lack of linguistic diversity in research hinders the diagnosis of PPA in non-English speaking patients. This case report describes the tonal and orthographic deficits of a multilingual native Cantonese-speaking woman with nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA (nfvPPA) and progressive supranuclear palsy. Our findings suggest that Cantonese-speaking nfvPPA patients exhibit tone production impairments, tone perception deficits at the lexical selection processing, and linguistic dysgraphia errors unique to logographic script writer. These findings suggest that linguistic tailored approaches offer novel and effective tools in identifying non-English speaking PPA individuals.

Case report: primary resistance to osimertinib in erlotinib-pretreated lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR T790 M mutation.

BACKGROUND: Among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with acquired T790 M mutation resistance to first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), 71% are likely to benefit from osimertinib. There have been several reports about the secondary resistance to osimertinib treatment in T790 M-positive patients, while primary resistance to osimertinib has been rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old Asian male never smoker who presented with stage IV EGFR L858R-positive adenocarcinoma developed EGFR T790 M mutation after 14 months of treatment with erlotinib combined with thoracic radiotherapy as first-line therapy. The patient was initiated on osimertinib treatment with T790 M mutation detected (14.4%), but disease progressed 2 months later. CONCLUSION: The mechanism of primary resistance to osimertinib remains unclear. There may be an association between T790 M mutation disappearance, TP53 mutation and radiotherapy, but further researches are needed to confirm this.

Development of a Dual MOS Electronic Nose/Camera System for Improving Fruit Ripeness Classification.

Electronic nose (E-nose) systems have become popular in food and fruit quality evaluation because of their rapid and repeatable availability and robustness. In this paper, we propose an E-nose system that has potential as a non-destructive system for monitoring variation in the volatile organic compounds produced by fruit during the maturing process. In addition to the E-nose system, we also propose a camera system to monitor the peel color of fruit as another feature for identification. By incorporating E-nose and camera systems together, we propose a non-destructive solution for fruit maturity monitoring. The dual E-nose/camera system presents the best Fisher class separability measure and shows a perfect classification of the four maturity stages of a banana: Unripe, half-ripe, fully ripe, and overripe.

The Design and Validation of a Child Developmental e-Screening System.

An effective screening test could significantly impact identification of developmental delays at an early age. However, many studies have shown that delay screenings still use text-based screening survey questionnaires. Unfortunately, the traditional text-based screening method tends to be fairly passive. In addition, the advantages of using an interactive system and animation have been shown to lead to positive effects on learning in medical research. Therefore, a multimedia screening system is necessary. This study constructs a system architecture to develop an e-screening system for child developmental delays. To validate the system after development, this study conducted an experiment and employed a questionnaire to survey users. Five experts and 120 subjects participated in the experiment. After the experiment, the results of the system evaluation revealed excellent agreement between the text-based and multimedia version of Taipei II. A total of 118 (98%) participants preferred the multimedia version or had no preference, and only 2 (2%) preferred the paper version. Regular text-based screening sometimes excludes those with low literacy and those whose native language is different from the text. In addition, text-based screening tools lose users' attention easily. The current study successfully developed a multimedia text-based screening system. Feedback from the participants showed that the e-screening system was well accepted and more easily accessible than the original. In this study, a child developmental delays e-screening system was developed. After the experiment, the subjects indicated that the developmental delay e-screening system increased their comprehension and kept them interested in the screening.

A Multimedia Child Developmental Screening Checklist: Design and Validation.

BACKGROUND: Identifying disability early in life confers long-term benefits for children. The Taipei City Child Development Screening tool, second version (Taipei II) provides checklists for 13 child age groups from 4 months to 6 years. However, the usability of a text-based screening tool largely depends on the literacy level and logical reasoning ability of the caregivers, as well as language barriers caused by increasing numbers of immigrants. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to (1) design and develop a Web-based multimedia version of the current Taipei II developmental screening tool, and (2) investigate the measurement equivalence of this multimedia version to the original paper-based version. METHODS: To develop the multimedia version of Taipei II, a team of experts created illustrations, translations, and dubbing of the original checklists. The developmental screening test was administered to a total of 390 primary caregivers of children aged between 4 months and 6 years. RESULTS: Psychometric testing revealed excellent agreement between the paper and multimedia versions of Taipei II. Good to excellent reliabilities were demonstrated for all age groups for both the cross-mode similarity (mode intraclass correlation range 0.85-0.96) and the test-retest reliability (r=.93). Regarding the usability, the mean score was 4.80 (SD 0.03), indicating that users were satisfied with their multimedia website experience. CONCLUSIONS: The multimedia tool produced essentially equivalent results to the paper-based tool. In addition, it had numerous advantages, such as it can facilitate active participation and promote early screening of target populations. CLINICALTRIAL: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02359591; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02359591 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6l21mmdNn).

[External therapy of plasma cell mastitis by jiuyi powder using partial least-squares discriminant analysis: a safety analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and the clinical value of external use of jiuyi Powder (JP) in treating plasma cell mastitis using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA). METHODS: Totally 50 patients with plasma cell mastitis treated by external use of JP were observed and biochemical examinations of blood and urine detected before application, at day 4 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Blood mercury and urinary mercury were detected before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, at day 1 and 14 after discontinuation. Urinary mercury was also detected at 28 after discontinuation and 3 months after discontinuation. The information of wound, days of external application and the total dosage of external application were recorded before application, at day 1, 4, and 7 after application, as well as at day 1 after discontinuation. Then a discriminant model covering potential safety factors was set up by PLSDA after screening safety indices with important effects. The applicability of the model was assessed using area under ROC curve. Potential safety factors were assessed using variable importance in the projection (VIP). RESULTS: Urinary ß2-microglobulin (ß2-MG), urinary N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), 24 h urinary protein, and urinary α1-microglobulin (α1-MG) were greatly affected by external use of JP in treating plasma cell mastitis. The accuracy rate of PLSDA discriminate model was 74. 00%. The sensitivity, specificity, and the area under ROC curve was 0. 7826, 0. 7037, and 0. 8084, respectively. Three factors with greater effect on the potential safety were screened as follows: pre-application volume of the sore cavity, days of external application, and the total dosage of external application. CONCLUSIONS: PLSDA method could be used in analyzing bioinformation of clinical Chinese medicine. Urinary ß2-MG and urinary NAG were two main safety monitoring indices. Days of external application and the total dosage of external application were main factors influencing blood mercury and urine mercury. A safety classification simulation model of treating plasma cell mastitis by external therapy of JP was established by the two factors, which could be used to assess the safety of external application of JP to some extent.

Baicalein, an active component of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, prevents lysophosphatidylcholine-induced cardiac injury by reducing reactive oxygen species production, calcium overload and apoptosis via MAPK pathways.

BACKGROUND: Lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC), a metabolite from membrane phospholipids, accumulates in the ischemic myocardium and plays an important role in the development of myocardial dysfunction ventricular arrhythmia. In this study, we investigated if baicalein, a major component of Huang Qui, can protect against lysoPC-induced cytotoxicity in rat H9c2 embryonic cardiomyocytes. METHODS: Cell viability was detected by the MTT assay; ROS levels were assessed using DCFH-DA; and intracellular free calcium concentrations were assayed by spectrofluorophotometer. Cell apoptosis and necrosis were evaluated by the flow cytometry assay and Hoechst staining. Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs), which included the ERK, JNK, and p38, and the apoptotic mechanisms including Bcl-2/Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9 and cytochrome c pathways were examined by Western blot analysis. The activation of MAPKs was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: We found that lysoPC induced death and apoptosis of H9c2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Baicalein could prevent lysoPC-induced cell death, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and increase of intracellular calcium concentration in H9c2 cardiomyoctes. In addition, baicalein also inhibited lysoPC-induced apoptosis, with associated decreased pro-apoptotic Bax protein, increased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein, resulting in an increase in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Finally, baicalein attenuated lysoPC-induced the expression of cytochrome c, casapase-3, casapase-9, and the phosphorylations of ERK1/2, JNK, and p38. LysoPC-induced ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 activations were inhibited by baicalein. CONCLUSIONS: Baicalein protects cardiomyocytes from lysoPC-induced apoptosis by reducing ROS production, inhibition of calcium overload, and deactivations of MAPK signaling pathways.

Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy for ICU patients with severe brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To sum up our experience in percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) in ICU patient with severe brain injury. METHODS: Between November 2011 and April 2014, PDTs were performed on 32 severe brain injury patients in ICU by a team of physicians and intensivists. The success rate, efficacy, safety, and complications including stomal infection and bleeding, paratracheal insertion, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, tracheal laceration, as well as clinically significant tracheal stenosis were carefully monitored and recorded respectively. RESULTS: The operations took 4-15 minutes (mean 9.1 minutes ± 4.2 minutes). Totally 4 cases suffered from complications in the operations: 3 cases of stomal bleeding, and 1 case of intratracheal bloody secretion, but none required intervention. Paratracheal insertion, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, tracheal laceration, or clinically significant tracheal stenosis were not found in PDT patients. There was no procedure-related death occurring during or after PDT. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrats that PDT is a safe, highly effective, and minimally invasive procedure. The appropriate sedation and airway management perioperatively help to reduce complication rates. PDT should be performed or supervised by a team of physicians with extensive experience in this procedure, and also an intensivist with experience in difficult airway management.

Disparities in Survival Outcomes Between Locally Advanced Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma Treated with Chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: To determine the disparities in survival outcomes between stage IIB-IVA cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) treated with chemoradiotherapy. Methods: Patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were retrospectively included from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results databases. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used in this study. The primary endpoints were cervical cancer-specific survival (CCSS) and overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 2752 patients were identified, including 87.5% (n=2408) were SCC and 12.5% (n=344) were AC. Patients with AC had inferior 5-year CCSS (67.5% vs 54.8%, P<0.001) and OS (58.4% vs 47.2%, P<0.001) compared to those with the SCC subtype. The hazard curve of cervical cancer-related death in AC peaked at 2 years (19%) and still small peaks in the 7 and 11 years of follow-up. Regarding SCC, cervical cancer-related deaths peaked at 2 years (15%) and the hazard rate was 2.0% during the six years of follow-up. The multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that histology was an independent prognostic factor associated with survival outcomes. Patients with AC had significantly poor CCSS (P<0.001) and OS (P<0.001). Similar results were found after PSM. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a significantly better prognosis for cervical SCC patients compared to those with cervical AC undergoing chemoradiotherapy. These results highlight the importance of histological subtyping in predicting treatment outcomes and tailoring therapeutic strategies.

Salpingectomy for ectopic pregnancy reduces ovarian cancer risk-a nationwide study.

Recent studies propose fallopian tubes as the tissue origin for many ovarian epithelial cancers. To further support this paradigm, we assessed whether salpingectomy for treating ectopic pregnancy had a protective effect using the Taiwan Longitudinal National Health Research Database. We identified 316 882 women with surgical treatment for ectopic pregnancy and 3 168 820 age- and index-date-matched controls from 2000 to 2016. In a nested cohort, 91.5% of cases underwent unilateral salpingectomy, suggesting that most surgically managed patients have salpingectomy. Over a follow-up period of 17 years, the ovarian carcinoma incidence was 0.0069 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.0060 to 0.0079) and 0.0089 (95% CI = 0.0086 to 0.0092) in the ectopic pregnancy and the control groups, respectively (P < .001). After adjusting the events to per 100 person-years, the hazard ratio (HR) in the ectopic pregnancy group was 0.70 (95% CI = 0.61 to 0.80). The risk reduction occurred only in epithelial ovarian cancer (HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.63 to 0.86) and not in non-epithelial subtypes. These findings show a decrease in ovarian carcinoma incidence after salpingectomy for treating ectopic pregnancy.

Performances of full-scale biological nitrogen pre-treatment process for drinking water source: Seasonal variations and microbial community.

This study investigated the performance of the full-scale unit over a two-year period to enhance nitrification efficiency and provide operational strategies. Results indicated that raw water quality from Donggan River was notably influenced by seasonal variations, particularly during dry and wet seasons, impacting the nitrification efficiency of the biological pretreatment process. Factors such as influent concentrations of ammonia and total Kjeldahl nitrogen were found to have significant effects on nitrification, with temperature and conductivity also showing correlations. The specific rate of ammonia removal was calculated to be approximately 0.1 kg-N/m3/d under the existing operational setup. Moreover, elevating dissolved oxygen levels above 4 mg/L was proposed to potentially boost ammonia oxidation based on findings from experiments conducted in lab-scale bioreactors. In times of increased influent ammonia levels, the elimination of about 1-3 mg-N/L of total nitrogen signified the activation of denitrification processes. This observation was corroborated by results from next-generation sequencing techniques, verifying the existence of denitrifying microorganisms. The real-time PCR analysis results indicated that the abundance of comammox amoA gene was comparable with the abundance of the AOB amoA gene, indicating the presence of comammox Nitrospira and their potential role on nitrification in the system.

Photonic crystal enhanced immunofluorescence biosensor integrated with a lateral flow microchip: Toward rapid tear-based diabetic retinopathy screening.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) has accounted for major loss of vision in chronic diabetes. Although clinical statistics have shown that early screening can procrastinate or improve the deterioration of the disease, the screening rate remains low worldwide because of the great inconvenience of conventional ophthalmoscopic examination. Instead, tear fluid that contains rich proteins caused by direct contact with eyeballs is an ideal substitute to monitor vision health. Herein, an immunofluorescence biosensor enhanced by a photonic crystal (PhC) is presented to handle the trace proteins suspended in the tear fluid. The PhC was constructed by self-assembled nanoparticles with a thin layer of gold coated on top of it. Then, the PC substrate was conjugated with antibodies and placed in a microchannel. When the capillary-driven tear sample flew over the PC substrate, the immunoassay enabled the formation of a sandwich antibody-antigen-antibody configuration for PhC-enhanced immunofluorescence. The use of PhC resulted in a concentration enhancement of more than tenfold compared to non-PhC, while achieving an equivalent signal intensity. The limit of detection for the target biomarker, lipocalin-1 (LCN-1), reached nearly 3 µg/ml, and the turnaround time of each detection was 15 min. Finally, a preclinical evaluation was conducted using ten tear samples. A clear trend was observed, showing that the concentrations of LCN-1 were at least twofold higher in individuals with chronic diabetes or DR than in healthy individuals. This trend was consistent with their medical conditions. The results provided a direct proof-of-concept for the proposed PhC biosensor in rapid tear-based DR screening.

The landscape of investigator-initiated oncology trials conducted in mainland China during the past decade (2010-2019).

The number of clinical trials conducted in mainland China, including investigator-initiated trials (IITs), has increased rapidly in recent years. However, there are few data on the characteristics of cancer-related IITs. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the landscape of cancer-related IITs in mainland China in the past decade. All cancer-related IITs registered on two clinical trial registries in the United States (www.clinicaltrials.gov, CT.gov) and mainland China (www.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR) from 2010 to 2019 were identified. IITs were reviewed manually to validate classification, subcategorized by cancer type, and stratified by design characteristics to facilitate comparison across cancer types and with other specialties. A total of 8199 cancer-related IITs were identified. The number of trials registered annually increased over time, especially in the last 5 years. Although interventional studies were predominant, randomized double-blind studies accounted for only 8% of IITs. In the past decade, the trend for interventional studies conducted with different drugs increased year on year, although the increase in hormonal therapy IITs was not significant. Additionally, cancer-related IITs were unevenly geographically distributed, with half concentrated in the economically developed cities Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong. We also found an increase in registration before participant enrollment (64.9% for trials in conducted in 2015-2019 vs. 40.2% in 2010-2014, p < 0.001) and data monitoring committee use (44.5% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.001) and a decrease in randomization (51.5% vs. 62.7%, p < 0.001) and funding (36.4% vs. 56.3%, p < 0.001) between these periods. We also observed changes in intervention type (decrease in cytotoxic drug therapy [34.8% vs. 48.9%, p < 0.001]; increase in targeted therapy [17.8% vs. 14.2%, p = 0.004], immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy [6.6% vs. 0.0%, p < 0.001], and immune cell therapy [9.6% vs. 4.5%, p < 0.001]). Details of cancer-related IITs conducted during the past decade illustrate the merits of oncology research in mainland China. Although the increased quantity of IITs is encouraging, limitations remain regarding the quality of clinical trials, regional imbalances, and funding allocation.

Genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing reveals epigenetic features and potential biomarkers of Sjögren syndrome.

AIM: Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a slowly progressive, inflammatory, autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to construct the DNA methylation profiles of whole blood of SS patients and healthy controls (HC), and to explore the role of differentially methylated genes in the pathogenesis of the disease. METHODS: Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing was performed on three SS patients and four HC. The biological function of genes associated with differentially methylated regions (DMRs) was investigated using Gene Ontology functional analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, using network-based key driver analysis (KDA) to find KDA genes. In clinical samples of SS patients and controls, the expression levels of KDA genes were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis. Moreover, the diagnostic value of KDA genes for SS was confirmed using receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: We identified 322 DMRs, annotated as 162 associated genes. Six genes were selected via the number of networks of KDA genes. Differential expression of genes such as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I, ADAR, and OAS2 was observed in patients' peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the minor salivary glands, which can be used as potential diagnostic biomarkers for SS. CONCLUSION: Clinical sample validation suggested that HLA class I, ADAR, and OAS2 might play a role in the development of SS. Our study shows epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and potential disease markers associated with SS, which in turn will enable us to identify new therapeutic targets.

Antioxidant and Antityrosinase Activity of Flemingia macrophylla and Glycine tomentella Roots.

The antioxidant and antityrosinase activities of the water extract of Flemingia macrophylla root (WEFM) were investigated. The results showed that WEFM exhibited radical scavenging and reducing activities, as well as ferrous ion chelating property. In addition, WEFM also protected phospholipids against oxidation, indicating that WEFM could protect biomolecules from oxidative damage. Meanwhile, in the range of 50-100 µg/mL, the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of WEFM increased with an increase in sample concentration and was superior to that of the water extract of Glycine tomentella root (WEGT). A high performance liquid chromatography analysis was used to determine the phenolic components, revealing that daidzin, daidzein, genistin, and genistein were present in WEFM and WEGT. Acting as an antioxidant and a tyrosinase inhibitor, these bioactive constituents could contribute to the protective effects of WEFM. Overall, the results showed that WEFM might serve as a natural antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitor.

Risk Factors for Postischemic Stroke Epilepsy in Young Adults: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Taiwan.

Background: The incidence of ischemic stroke has been increasing in the young population over the past 20 years. Poststroke epilepsy (PSE) is a common complication after stroke. However, few population-based studies with sufficient follow-up have investigated factors associated with PSE, especially factors related to comorbidities and unhealthy lifestyles in the modern young population. Accordingly, this study aimed to determine the long-term incidence and these risk factors for PSE young adults. Methods: This cohort study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2002 to 2018. All patients aged between 19 and 44 years and diagnosed with ischemic stroke from 2002 to 2015 were retrospectively enrolled with a follow-up of at least 3 years. Multivariable Cox regression models were performed to identify predictors of PSE, including patients' demographics, baseline conditions, stroke severity, etiologies, comorbidities, and unhealthy behaviors. Results: Among 6,512 ischemic stroke patients, 402 cases (6.2%) developed PSE who were with a mean follow-up period of 8.3 years (SD = 4.3 years). During the overall follow-up, stroke severity and manifestations were associated with PSE, including National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≥10 (aHR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.50-2.61), seizure at first stroke admission [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 57.39; 95% confidence interval (CI), 43.02-76.55], length of hospital stay ≥14 days (aHR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.26-2.02), recurrent stroke (aHR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.85-2.90), aphasia (aHR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.20-2.60), and malignancy (aHR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.30-3.24). Furthermore, stroke patients with drug abuse were 2.90 times more likely to develop PSE than those without (aHR, 2.90; 95% CI, 1.53-5.50). By contrast, statin use (aHR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.48-0.80) was associated with a lower risk of PSE. The risk factors at 1-year and 5-year PSE were similar to that of an overall follow-up. Conclusions: Stroke severity, aphasia, malignancy, and drug abuse were associated increased risk of PSE and statin use may protect against PSE in young adults. Reducing the severity of stroke, statin use and controlling unhealthy behaviors might be able to decrease the development of PSE. Since PSE is associated with poor outcomes, early identification or intervention of PSE based on the risk factors might reduce the harmful effects of PSE.

Time Trends in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Incidence from 2002 to 2016 in Taiwan: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that is associated with morbidity and a poor quality of life. However, studies on the trends of psoriatic disease incidence are limited. We examined trends in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis from 2002 to 2016 in Taiwan and distinguished the effects of age, period, and cohort on those trends. METHODS: Data from the National Health Insurance Research Database were analyzed for the annual incidence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. An age-period-cohort model was designed in order to investigate the effects of each age, period, and birth cohort on the incidence. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2016, the incidence of psoriasis significantly decreased from 43.33 to 23.14 per 100,000 persons. The incidence of psoriatic arthritis significantly increased from 3.57 to 5.22 per 100,000 persons. In the age-period-cohort analysis, the net age effect on the incidence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis increased with advancing age (6-fold and 7.7-fold difference, respectively). CONCLUSION: The age-period-cohort analysis revealed that the incidence of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is associated with older age and early birth cohorts. Elderly individuals in Taiwan may be at a higher risk of developing new-onset psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Cardioprotective effect of Chinese herbal medicine for anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in cancer patients: A meta-analysis of prospective studies.

BACKGROUND: To assess the benefits and harmful effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulations in preventing anthracyclines (ANT)-induced cardiotoxicity. METHOD: The Cochrane Library, Pubmed and EMBASE databases were electronically searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published till December 2021 in English or Chinese-language, in addition to manual searches through the reference lists of the selected papers, and the Chinese Conference Papers Database. Data was extracted by 2 investigators independently. RESULT: Seventeen RCTs reporting 11 different CHMs were included in this meta-analysis. The use of CHM reduced the occurrence of clinical heart failure (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.60, P < .01) compared to the control group. Data on subclinical heart failure in terms of LVEF values showed that CHM reduced the occurrence of subclinical heart failure (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.62, P < .01) as well. CONCLUSION: CHM is an effective and safe cardioprotective intervention that can potentially prevent ANT-induced cardiotoxicity. However, due to the insufficient quality of the included trials, our results should be interpreted with cautious.

Valacyclovir-associated neurotoxicity among patients on hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: A nationwide population-based study.

Whether valacyclovir-associated neurotoxicity (VAN) occurs more frequently in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis is unknown. This is the first population-based study to examine the risk of VAN associated with ESRD patients on dialysis. Among 2,284,800 patients diagnosed as having herpes zoster from 2002 to 2016, patients with ESRD on dialysis and individuals with normal renal function were enrolled in this study. Following propensity score matching, we compared the risk of altered mental status between valacyclovir users and non-users in the ESRD and normal renal function cohorts over a 30-day follow-up period. In the ESRD cohort, the incidence of altered mental status was 1.68 and 0.52 per 1,000 person-day in valacyclovir users and non-users, respectively, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 3.22 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.04-4.99, P < 0.001). The incidence of altered mental status of valacyclovir users on hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) was higher than that of non-users. The adjusted HR was 3.20 (95% CI: 1.98-5.15, P < 0.001) for those on HD and 3.44 (95% CI: 1.13-10.49, P = 0.030) for those with PD. However, altered mental status was not observed in patients on HD receiving ≤500 mg of valacyclovir three times per week or in those on PD receiving ≤500 mg of valacyclovir per day. The findings demonstrate that adjusting the valacyclovir dosage and monitoring VAN in patients with HD and PD who have herpes zoster is crucial.