Mixed medullary­follicular thyroid carcinoma: A case report and literature review.

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) originate from follicular and neuroendocrine parafollicular C cells, respectively. PTC and MTC simultaneously exist in tumors containing both MTC and PTC features in a rare condition known as mixed medullary-follicular thyroid carcinoma (MMFTC). In the present study, a 60-year-old female presented with a small mass on the left side of the neck. Ultrasonography indicated a hyperechoic nodule measuring ~11.9×9.7 mm2 in the left lobe of the thyroid gland. The preoperative calcitonin serum value was elevated and total thyroidectomy and bilateral central compartment lymph node dissection was performed. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis of the tumor demonstrated MMFTC. No metastasis was observed in lymph nodes isolated from the bilateral central compartment. Given the rarity of MMFTC, enhancing understanding and management of such tumors is crucial.

A new treatment strategy for airway obstruction induced by a giant benign goiter: A case report.

Severe respiratory distress induced by airway obstruction requires prompt attention for restoration of normal function in the airway passage. A large benign thyroid goiter that compresses the trachea is a rare occurrence. Emergency thyroidectomy with dyspnea can increase the chance of surgical complications in such cases. Here, a rare case of dyspnea induced by a large goiter is reported and a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for treatment was demonstrated. First, a self-expandable metal stent was placed to relieve airway obstruction. A week later, total thyroidectomy under general anesthesia was performed. After 3 months, the metal stent was surgically removed. The findings of the present case report demonstrated that life-threatening airway obstruction secondary to benign goiter could be effectively treated by placing an airway stent, followed by thyroidectomy.

Updated insight into the role of Th2-associated immunity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with multiple organs involvement, abundant autoantibodies, complement activation, and immune complexes depositions. By regulating inflammation and immune homeostasis, cytokines have been well documented to participate in the pathogenesis of SLE. A number of studies have shown that T helper 2 (Th2)-associated immunity plays an important role in autoimmune diseases, including SLE. Key molecules underlying Th2-related immunity are expected to serve as promising targets for the diagnosis and targeted treatment of SLE. Current progress in SLE pathogenesis and biological treatment strategies has been reviewed, focusing on the latest development in Th2-associated immunity.

Association of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor and Human Leukocyte antigen-C Genotype with HLA-B27 Associated Acute Anterior Uveitis and Idiopathic Acute Anterior Uveitis in a Chinese Han Population.

PURPOSE: whether killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and human leukocyte antigens C (HLA-C) are associated with HLA-B27 associated acute anterior uveitis (B27AAU) and idiopathic AAU (IAAU) remains unclear. METHODS: PCR with sequence-specific primers was used to analyze KIR genes and HLA-C alleles in a Chinese Han population of 196AAU patients and 210 control subjects. RESULTS: The higher frequencies of HLA-C2 and KIR2DL1/HLA-C2 (p = .009 and p = .044, respectively) and the lower frequencies of HLA-C1C1 and HLA-C1 (p = .034 and p = .009, respectively) were observed in B27AAU than control group. The higher frequencies of KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL2/HLA-C1 (p = .009 and p = .044, respectively) and the lower frequencies of KIR2DL3 and KIR2DL3/HLA-C1 (p = .000 and p = .001, respectively) were observed in IAAU than control group. CONCLUSIONS: HLA-C2 and KIR2DL1/HLA-C2, KIR2DL2, and KIR2DL2/HLA-C1 might be susceptible for B27AAU and IAAU, respectively. HLA-C1C1 and HLA-C1, KIR2DL3 and KIR2DL3/HLA-C1 might protect from B27AAU and IAAU, respectively.

Association of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genotypes and Haplotypes in Dry Eye Disease Patients Treated with Restasis and Systane.

Purpose: whether the Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes and haplotypes are associated with the improvement in dry eye disease (DED) patients treated with Restasis and Systane (RS) remain unclear.Methods: Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) was used to analyze KIR genes in a Chinese Han population of 198 severe DED patients treated with RS.Results: The higher frequencies of KIR genotype M, AF, AJ and haplotype 2 and 8 (P = .001, P = .03, P = .004, P = .000 and P = .023, respectively) and the lower frequencies of genotype AG and haplotype 1 (P = .000 and P = .000, respectively) were observed in complete responders (CR) than those in null or partial responders (NPR) of DED patients treated by RS.Conclusions: The patients with KIR genotype M, AF and AJ might be of advantage to therapy with RS, which are useful for improving novel personalized precise therapy strategy in DED patients.

miR-181c expression in neuroblastoma children and proliferation of neuroblastoma M17 cells.

Expression level of miR-181c in neuroblastoma children and its effect on proliferation of neuroblastoma M17 cells were investigated. Fifty-seven neuroblastoma patients admitted to Weifang People's Hospital from January 2013 to December 2017 were selected and their cancer tissues and normal adjacent tissues were obtained. The expression level of miR-181c in the tissues of neuroblastoma patients was measured. The association of miR-181c expression level with the clinical and pathological features was analyzed. Neuroblastoma M17 cells were cultured in vitro, and cells were transfected and divided into miR-181c and blank groups. MTT assay was used to observe the proliferation of cells at 24, 48 and 72 h. The results of RT-qPCR detection showed that the expression level of miR-181c was significantly lower in neuroblastoma cancer tissues than that in adjacent tissues, with a statistically significant difference (t=18.570, P<0.001). The expression of miR-181c was not associated with sex (P=0.632), but associated with age, differentiation degree, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group Staging System (INRGSS), with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Following transfection of miR-181c into M17 cells, the results of MTT assay showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the proliferation of M17 cells at 24 h (P>0.05). After 48 h, differences between the two groups were recorded. Proliferation of M17 cells was significantly lower in the miR-181c group than that in the blank group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Age, differentiation degree, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and INRGSS staging were independent risk factors for neuroblastoma (P<0.05). miR-181c has certain clinical significance in evaluating pathogenesis, early diagnosis and treatment of patients with neuroblastoma.

Correlations between serum hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B core antibody titers and liver fibrosis in treatment-naïve CHB patients.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have revealed that quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis B core antibody (qAnti-HBc) levels can be used as predictors of treatment response in both interferon-α and nucleoside analogue therapies. Few data have been published regarding the relationship between quantitative HBsAg or Anti-HBc levels and liver fibrosis stages in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of treatment-naïve CHB patients. A total of 624 CHB patients were recruited. We assessed the serum HBsAg and qAnti-HBc levels, HBV DNA levels, HBV genotypes, BCP/PC mutations, histological fibrosis staging by Scheuer classification. RESULTS: In HBeAg (+) patients, the S0-1 subjects had significantly higher serum HBsAg and lower qAnti-HBc levels than the S2-4 subjects (both p < 0.001). A moderate inverse correlation was present between serum HBsAg levels and fibrosis scores (r = -0.381, p < 0.001), and a moderate positive correlation was found between qAnti-HBc levels and fibrosis scores (r = 0.408, p < 0.001). In the HBeAg (-) patients, the S0-1 subjects also had significantly lower qAnti-HBc levels than the S2-4 subjects (p < 0.001); however, no significant difference in the HBsAg levels was observed between the S0-1 and S2-4 subjects (p > 0.05). Serum qAnti-HBc levels showed a moderate positive correlation with fibrosis scores (r = 0.383, p < 0.001), while serum HBsAg levels exhibited a low inverse correlation with fibrosis scores (r = -0.171, p < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the parameters for predicting significant fibrosis (S ≥ 2) included age, PLT, qAnti-HBc levels, HBV genotype and BCP/PC mutations in HBeAg (+) group, and age, PLT, qAnti-HBc levels in HBeAg (-) group (all p < 0.05). The AUC of qAnti-HBc levels associated with the diagnosis of significant fibrosis abnormalities in HBeAg (+) and HBeAg (-) patients were 0.734 (95%CI 0.689 to 0.778) and 0.707 (95%CI 0.612 to 0.801), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study found an association between high serum qAnti-HBc levels and significant fibrosis in both HBeAg (+) and HBeAg (-) treatment-naïve CHB patients. However, low serum HBsAg levels were correlated with moderate to severe fibrosis in HBeAg (+) subjects only.

Possible association of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor genotypes and haplotypes with dry eye disease in a Han Chinese population.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to explore whether killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes and haplotypes are associated with dry eye disease (DED) in a Han Chinese population. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method was used to genotype KIR genes in 106 patients with DED and 220 healthy controls. RESULTS: Twenty-three KIR genotypes were observed in the DED patient and healthy control groups, ten of which had not been described previously. The genotype G and haplotype 4 were associated with increased risk of DED, and the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were 2.58, 1.10-6.02 and 2.48, 1.31-4.69, respectively; while haplotype 2 appeared to have an inverse association with the disease (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.92). Genotype B/B was also associated with increased risk of DED, and the OR and 95% CI were 2.35 and 1.09-5.10, respectively. KIR haplotypes A and B have distinctive centromeric (Cen) and telomeric (Tel) gene-content motifs, and Cen-B/B was associated with increased risk of DED (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.03-5.49). However, all frequencies of these KIR genotypes and haplotypes were no longer statistically significant between the two groups after the Bonferroni correction was applied for multiple testing. CONCLUSIONS: There was a possible association between certain KIR genotypes and haplotypes with DED in a Han Chinese population. However, additional confirmation is required.

Association of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor and human leukocyte antigen-C genotype with dry eye disease in a Chinese Han population.

Dry eye is one of the most prevalent eye diseases and dry eye disease (DED) is associated with ocular surface inflammation. The interaction between killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) regulates the activation of natural killer (NK) cells and certain T cell subsets in response to inflammation. The objective of this study was to explore whether KIR gene and HLA-C allele polymorphisms were associated with DED in a Chinese Han population. Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers method was used to genotype KIR genes and HLA-C alleles in 106 DED patients and 220 healthy controls. Framework genes KIR2DL4, KIR3DL2, KIR3DL3, and KIR3DP1 were present in all individuals. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of inhibitory KIR genes between the two groups. However, the frequency of KIR2DS2 was significantly higher in severe DED patients than that in healthy controls (p=0.031, odds ratio [OR]=1.828, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.05-3.17). Significantly different distributions of HLA-C allele groups were not observed in severe DED patients and controls. The frequency of the combination of HLA-C1 allele group with KIR2DS2 was significantly higher in severe DED patients compared with controls (p=0.013, OR=2.083, 95% CI=1.16-3.74). These data suggested that this genotype combination was associated with susceptibility to severe DED and that NK cells might have a role in the pathogenesis of DED. The results led to an interesting future research question of whether or not KIR and HLA-C genotypes were involved in the predisposition to or pathogenesis of DED.

Acupuncture plus cupping for treating insomnia in college students.

OBJECTIVE: To observe clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture plus cupping for treating insomnia in college students. METHODS: Ninety two college students suffering from insomnia were randomly divided into a treatment group (52 cases) and a control group (40 cases). Acupuncture plus cupping was used for profiting the brain and tranquilizing the mind in the treatment group, and conventional differentiation of symptoms and signs was used in the control group. Therapeutic effect, number of treatment, self-rating sleeping scaling (SRSS), and subtracted rate were evaluated after one month of treatment. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in effective rate between the two groups (P < 0.05). For the cases with moderate insomnia, the effective rate was obviously better in the treatment group than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and for the cases with slight and moderate insomnia, the average treatment number was remarkably less in the former than that in the latter (P < 0.01). SRSS was reduced in both groups (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The subtracted rate in the former was more than that in the latter (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The therapeutic effect in the treatment group was better than that in the control group, showing superiority in the cases with moderate insomnia with less treatments and more improved and cured rates.