ABSTRACT
This paper summarized the current status of the commonly used quality of life assessment scales of bronchiectasis （BE） at home and abroad， and compared the characteristics and differences of each scale from the basic framework， domain， item pool， application status and quality assessment， so as to provide a basis for the development and application of scales based on the mode of combination of disease and syndrome. There are currently 12 assessment tools for evaluating the quality of life in BE with good reliability， validity， and responsiveness， but only quality of life - bronchiectasis （QOL-B） and bronchiectasis health questionnaire （BHQ） are specifically developed for BE patients. The development process of these scales is mostly rooted in western culture and modern medicine， making it difficult to highlight the characteristics and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. The content of the scales lacks the outcome indicators that BE patients are most concerned about， and cannot fully reflect the subjective feelings of patients. The development and assessment of scales lacks clinical research data and methodological support. Under the guidance of TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment， the development of scales based on the mode of combination of disease and syndrome can emerge the characteristics of TCM， reflect the true feelings of patients， and make up for the limitations of the existing scales of BE. Therefore， based on domestic and international scales， factors of China's national conditions and cultural characteristics of TCM should be considered to develop the scale suitable for Chinese people， which requires the construction of a theoretical model for the combination of disease and syndrome， by taking patients as the center and evaluating the performance and quality of the scale.
ABSTRACT
Context: Owing to the increasing age of the population, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the elderly is increasing annually. Aims: This study aims to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with low-dose apatinib for unresectable HCC treatment in elderly patients (≥65 years). Settings and Design: The clinical data from 61 elderly patients with unresectable HCC who were retrospectively analyzed. Subjects and Methods: Of these 61 patients, 27 received TACE combined with low-dose (250 mg/qd) apatinib (experimental group), and 34 patients received the standard TACE treatment (control group). The short-term efficacy was evaluated according to the mRECIST1.1 standards, and the mid- and long-term efficacy and safety in the two groups of patients were evaluated. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (version 20.0; SPSS). Results: Both the objective response rate and disease control rate of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of control group (P < 0.05). The 6-month and 12-month survival rates of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of control group too (P < 0.05). The median survival in the experimental group was longer than in the control group (26.0 months vs. 20.0 months). The adverse reactions related to the intake of apatinib were higher in the experimental than the control group, but were generally alleviated after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions: TACE combined with low-dose apatinib provides an alternative treatment option for elderly patients with unresectable HCC. Our clinical study has proven its safety and efficacy.
ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the characteristics and applicability of the quality of life (QOL) evaluation scale for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Methods The IPF-QOL evaluation scales at home and abroad were retrieved and analyzed comprehensively and deeply in terms of fields, number of items, scoring methods, applicability and correlation. Results In the literature area of IPF-QOL evaluation scale, the contents mainly included symptoms,daily activity ability, psychological activity, social activity, economic status, curative effect, etc, and the IPF health-related quality of life, dyspnea, cough and other symptoms were evaluated; the number of related items was between 5-74, and Likert 5 grade scoring method was mostly adopted,with scoring results of 0-100 points; the classical scoring theory such as reliability, validity, responsiveness, feasibility, etc were mainly used to analyze the scale assessment, lacking the application of modern measurement theory; mostly, the studies were concentrated in foreign countries,and relatively few in China, especially lack of the development of the evaluation scale for the combination of disease and symptoms based on Chinese culture. Conclusion The development of IPF-QOL evaluation scale has become a research hotspot, and in clinical application, it is necessary to base on the different characteristics of the scale to improve the accuracy of the evaluation results; in the scale development process, the standardization, comprehensiveness of assessment, and the rationality of scoring results should be strengthened in order to obtain an effective tool which can be provided and suitable for IPF-QOL evaluation.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Previous studies have found the lincRNAs play important roles in the occurrence and development of lung adenocarcinoma, but their regulated mechanims are still unclear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between DNA methylation and lincRNA expression, and the effect of prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma.@*METHODS@#The whole genome Illumina Methylation 450 DNA methylatiuon data and RNAseq for lung adenocarcinoma were download from TCGA. DNA methylation around lincRNA and their relationship to gene expression were analyzed. Their contribution to lung adenocarcinoma were further analyzed by comparing DNA methylation and lincRNA expression in tumor and adjacent tissues.@*RESULTS@#The methylation level in promoter region was lower than other positions in lincRNA, and was negatively correlated with gene expression. There were 427 lincRNA genes showed differential DNA methylation in their promoter regions in tumor and adjacent tissues. Among these, 15 lincRNA genes showed differential gene expression and negatively correlated with DNA methylation, including FENDRR (a tumor progression and metastasis gene) whose high methylation in its promoter showed poor survival in lung adenocarcinoma.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The expression of lincRNA can be regulated by DNA methylation in their promoter regions, and the level of DNA methylation is related to patient prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma.
Subject(s)
Humans , Adenocarcinoma , Diagnosis , Genetics , Adenocarcinoma of Lung , Computational Biology , DNA Methylation , Lung Neoplasms , Diagnosis , Genetics , Prognosis , Promoter Regions, Genetic , Genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding , Genetics , Survival AnalysisABSTRACT
Objective To explore the value of serum microRNA-155-5p and -133a-3p (miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p) expression for the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of sepsis. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted. 105 sepsis patients admitted to emergency intensive care unit (EICU) of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2015 to January 2016 were enrolled. They were divided into three groups according to the severity: 35 patients with sepsis, 35 with severe sepsis, and 35 with septic shock. At the same time, 35 healthy persons were selected as the control group. According to the prognosis, the patients were divided into improved group (n = 70) and in-hospital death group (n = 35). The clinical data of all the subjects were collected. The mRNA expressions of miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to evaluate their clinical value for the diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis. The binary logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting the prognosis of sepsis patients. Results ① The mRNA expressions of serum miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p were gradually increased with the aggravation of sepsis. The mRNA expression of miR-155-5p (2-ΔCt) in sepsis, severe sepsis, sepsis shock groups was 1.89±0.48, 2.21±0.41, 2.79±0.73 (F = 23.737, P = 0.000), and the mRNA expression of miR-133a-3p (2-ΔCt) was 1.38±0.31, 1.74±0.65, 2.08±0.47, respectively (F = 27.710, P = 0.000). It was shown by ROC curve analysis that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of serum miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p for the diagnosis of sepsis was 0.855 [95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.761-0.949] and 0.769 (95%CI = 0.666-0.872) respectively. The cut-off value of miR-155-5p for the diagnosis of sepsis was 1.64, the sensitivity was 85.3%, and specificity was 80.6%. While the cut-off value of miR-133a-3p was 0.82, the sensitivity and specificity were 97.9% and 54.8% respectively. ② Compared with improved group, the patients of in-hospital death group were more serious, and procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, lactic acid (Lac), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score, and the mRNA expressions of miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p were significantly increased (all P 0.05). It was shown by binary logistic regression analysis that Lac [odds ratio (OR) = 0.514, 95%CI = 0.260-0.893, P = 0.024], sepsis severity (OR = 0.039, 95%CI = 0.023-2.955, P = 0.016), SOFA score (OR = 0.668, 95%CI = 0.474-0.825, P = 0.001), serum miR-155-5p expression (OR = 0.117, 95%CI = 0.020-0.530, P = 0.007) were the risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with sepsis. Conclusions The expression of serum miR-155-5p and miR-133a-3p may be used as specific indicators for the diagnosis of sepsis. And the expression of miR-155-5p can be used as independent impact factor for the estimation of sepsis prognosis.