Life threatening biphasic adverse reactions to desmopressin: case report and review of the literature.

Treatment with desmopressin diacetate arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) and its withdrawal are associated with side effects. We present a rare case of severe biphasic adverse reactions induced by DDAVP and its withdrawal in a 63-year-old female patient. A lump in the left axillary region was biopsied, and she received DDAVP after surgery. The following day, she lost consciousness, with foaming at the mouth and seizures. Hypotonic encephalopathy was considered. DDAVP was ceased, and she received electrolytes. On day 1, she displayed low blood pressure and increased urine output. She received DDAVP and dopamine as well as electrolytes. The patient was ambulatory on day 7 and was discharged without brain abnormalities on MRI. In conclusion, severe hyponatremia induced by DDAVP and massive polyuria and hypovolemic shock induced by DDAVP withdrawal are life-threatening conditions. This case underlines the need to be vigilant when administering DDAVP and to monitor for any side effects.

Nanoemulsion based lipid nanoparticles for effective demethylcantharidin delivery to cure liver cancer.

Demethylcantharidin (DEM) is a widely used antitumor drug; however, its poor tumor targeting and serious organotoxicity limit its application. The aim of this study was to develop a new drug delivery system for efficient delivery of DEM. Nanoemulsion based lipid nanoparticles containing demethylcantharidin (DNLNs) were prepared by loading nanoemulsions into lipid nanoparticles. The cells proliferation, apoptosis, cycle, and uptake were investigated by Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, and in situ fluorescence assays, respectively. Then, we established the H22 tumor-bearing mouse model to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of DNLNs and further studied its organ toxicity and distribution. DNLNs significantly inhibited the proliferation and promoted apoptosis of H22 cells, and H22 cells could take up more DNLNs. Compared with DEM, DNLNs had certain tumor-targeting properties, and the tumor inhibition rate increased by 23.24%. Moreover, DNLNs can increase white blood cell count and reduce organ toxicity. This study paves the way for nanoemulsion-based lipid nanoparticle (NLNs)-efficient DEM delivery to treat liver cancer.

Hemimasticatory Spasm with a Single Venous Compression Treated with Microvascular Decompression of the Trigeminal Motor Rootlet.

BACKGROUND: Hemimasticatory spasm is a very rare disorder of the trigeminal motor rootlet that is characterized by a paroxysmal involuntary contraction of the jaw-closing muscles. The mechanisms for hemimasticatory spasm remain unclear, and an efficient treatment strategy still needs to be developed. CASE DESCRIPTION: We report a case of a successful treatment of hemimasticatory spasm with single venous compression via microvascular decompression of the trigeminal motor rootlet. CONCLUSIONS: Our report shows that a single venous compression may be also responsible for idiopathic hemimasticatory spasm which can be cured by microvascular decompression. This is the first report on hemimasticatory compressed by a single vein in the world.

Substrate stiffness regulates apoptosis and the mRNA expression of extracellular matrix regulatory genes in the rat annular cells.

Cells are subjected to static tension of different magnitudes when cultured on substrates with different stiffnesses. It has long been recognized that mechanical stress is an important modulator of the intervertebral disc degeneration. Here we studied the influence of substrate stiffness on cell morphology, apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism of the rat annulus fibrosus (AF) cells which are known to be mechanosensitive cells. Polyacrylamide gel substrates with three different stiffnesses were prepared by varying the concentration of acrylamide and bisacrylamide, and the elastic modulus of the different gel substrates were measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). First-passage rat annular cells were cultured on soft, intermediate, rigid substrates or plastics for 24 or 48 h. The percentages of apoptotic cells were detected by flow cytometry and caspase-3 activity, and morphologic changes were visualized by Hoechst 33258 staining and F-actin staining. In addition, the expression of ECM genes (Col1α1, Col2α1, aggrecan, MMP-3, MMP-13 and ADAMTS-5) were analyzed by RT-PCR. The three different substrates had elastic moduli varying between 1±0.23 kPa (soft, 5% gel with 0.06% bis), 32±2.89 kPa (intermediate, 10% gel with 0.13% bis) and 63±3.45 kPa (rigid, 10% gel with 0.26% bis) with a thickness about 60-70 µm. Most of the rat AF cells appeared small and rounded, and lost most of their stress fibers when cultured on soft substrate. There was a significant increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells in the rat AF cells cultured on soft and intermediate substrates relative to those on plastic surface, with a parallel decrease in the area of cell spreading and nucleus. The AF cells grown on intermediate or rigid substrate had reduced expression of Col1α1, Col2α1 and aggrecan and enhanced expression of MMP-3, MMP-13, and ADAMTS-5 at 24h or 48 h, respectively, relative to those cultured on plastic surface. Conversely, we observed an up-regulation of Col2α1 and aggrecan and no change in the gene expression of MMP-3, MMP-13, and ADAMTS-5 in AF cells on soft substrates. Rat AF cells are sensitive to substrate stiffness which can regulate the morphology, growth, apoptosis and ECM metabolism of rat AF cells, thus indicating the importance of substrate choice for cell transplantation and regeneration for the treatment of disc degeneration using tissue-engineering technique.