Quality of life in patients with breast cancer and their rehabilitation needs.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a cross sectional study to investigate the quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer patients after treatment for one year and identify factors which may facilitate improvements in health care for breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 154 patients of breast cancer were collected from The First Affiliated Hospital of Harerbin Medical University during May 2008 and May 2010, and they were divided into three groups. The quality of life was assessed by Functional assessment of cancer therapy- breast (FACT-B) version 4, and a semi-structured interview was used to investigate the information and rehabilitation needs of the breast cancer patients. Results : Group II had the best social well-being, functional well-being and Total FACT-G among the three groups. Group III had the best physical well-being, emotional well-being, breast specific subscales, total FACT-B and TOI among the three groups. Higher PWB scores were significantly correlation with lower tumor stage; increased SWB scores were significantly correlated with education and occupation, and lower EWB scores were correlated with younger aged women and higher tumor stage (< 40 years). The semi-structured investigation showed all of them want to receive tumor markers detection and PET scan to prevent recurrence. 56% of these patients were worried about symptoms. 42% of the patients reported they had restriction in sexual relationship, and 57% wanted to improve their body image and reconstruction surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer patients should be followed up for their quality of life and provided effective therapy for their physical and psychological problems.

Clinical antiviral effects of Peg-IFNa-2a in patients with chronic hepatitis B / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate antiviral effects of Peg-IFNa-2a in patients with chronic hepatitis B.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>92 chronic hepatitis B patients were enrolled to receive the treatment with Peg-IFNa-2a 180 μg subcutaneous injection once weekly. The patients who did not get early response were divided into 3 groups: group 1, extend the treatment to 72 weeks; group 2, combined with nucleus(s)ide analogue (entecavir or adefovir) treatment; group 3, continue the treatment until 48 weeks. HBV DNA and quantitative HBsAg were assessed at baseline, week 12, 24, 36 and after 24 weeks follow-up.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Patients in group 1 had significantly higher SVR rate (78.3%) than patients in group 3 (38.1%, X2=7.33, P<0.05). The mean reduction of HBsAg in group 1 at 24 weeks of post-treatment follow up was higher than that in group 3 (t=2.11, P<0.05). In group 2 the mean reductions of HBV DNA at 24 weeks of post-treatment follow up were (3.9+/-1.1) log10 copy/ml and (3.7+/-1.3) log10 copy/ml respectively with combination of entecavir or adefovir, both of which were significantly higher than that in group 3(t=8.45 and 6.31, P<0.05); the SVR rates in the entecavir group and the adefovir group (83.3% and 85.7%, respectively) were significantly higher than that in group 3 (X2=8.20 and 7.78, P<0.05); the mean reductions of HBsAg in the entecavir group and the adefovir group [(0.8+/-0.5) log10 IU/ml and (0.9+/-0.3) log10 IU/ml, respectively ] were significantly greater than group 3[(0.4+/-0.3) log10 IU/ml, t=3.05 and 4.58, P<0.05]. The level of HBV DNA and C genotype were the main predictors of response.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Individualizing therapy by prolonging the duration of Peg-IFNa-2a treatment to 72 weeks or adding nucleoside analogues such as entecavir and adefovir in patients without early response may substantially increase the SVR rate and lead to the decrease of HBsAg.</p>

Antiviral effects of entecavir in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze antiviral effects of entecavir in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>104 patients of hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis with no previous history of antiviral therapy were treated with entecavir 0.5 mg once daily. 37 patients were taken hepatic histologic examination before and after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mean reductions of serum HBV DNA was 5.1 log10 96 weeks after the treatment, HBV DNA became undetectable in 98.1% patients, and ALT became normal in 80.7% patients; HBeAg seroconversion occurred in 13.9% of the 72 HBeAg positive patients; 61.5% of these patients were infected with genotype C HBV, and 26.9% were infected with genotype B HBV. The genotype of HBV was not associated with the therapeutical effect. Child-pugh score was associated with the progression of the disease: the proportion of patients with disease progression was highest in Child-Pugh C grade patients and lowest in Child-Pugh A grade patients. The level of the HBV DNA load was positively correlated with Knodell HAI score at the baseline and 96 weeks after the treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Entecavir treatment results in suppression of HBV replication and delayed progression of fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis.</p>

Clinical antiviral effects of telbivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze antiviral effects of telbivudine in patients with chronic hepatitis B.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>72 chronic hepatitis B patients without prior history of antiviral therapy were treated with telbivudine 600mg once daily.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At week 4, 37.5% of the patients achieved undetectable HBV DNA, and 33.3% achieved ALT normalization. At week 108, 87.5% of the patients achieved undetectable HBV DNA, and 91.7% achieved ALT normalization. HBeAg seroconversion occurred in 23.9% of the 46 HBeAg positive patients. The rates of undetectable HBV DNA and HBeAg seroconversion at week 108 in the patients with HBV DNA < 3 log(10) copies/ml at week 12 were significant higher than those in patients with HBV DNA >or= 3 log(10) copies/ml. The rate of undetectable HBV DNA at week 108 in the patients with HBV DNA < 3 log(10) copies/ml at week 24 was significantly higher than that in patients with HBV DNA >or= 3 log(10) copies/ml, and the rate of antiviral resistance rate at week 108 in the patients with HBV DNA < 3 log(10) copies/ml at week 24 was significantly lower than that in patients with HBV DNA >or= 3 log(10) copies/ml. Antiviral therapy could significantly improve Child-Pugh score in patients with liver cirrhosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Telbivudine treatment results in suppression of HBV and high HBeAg seroconversion, and improvement of Child-Pugh score in the patients with liver cirrhosis.</p>

Glycyrrhiznatis ameliorates rabbit myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through P38MAPK pathway / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of p38MAPK pathway in the protective effect of glycyrrhiznatis against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in rabbits.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty rabbits were randomly divided into control group, I/R group, and glycyrrhiznatis group. In the latter two groups, the left anterior descending branch of the coronary artery was ligated for 40 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion, and in glycyrrhiznatis group, glycyrrhiznatis was given intravenously at 2.5 mg/kg before the occlusion. Blood samples were taken to measure the plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-8 at 20 min before (T(0)) and 20 min (T(1)) and 40 min (T(2)) after the occlusion, and at 1 h (T(3)) and 2 h (T(4)) after the reperfusion. At the end of the reperfusion, the infarct size and the area at risk were defined by Evams and TTC staining. The heart was harvested and the levels of the p38 MAPK measured by Western blotting. The ultrastructures of the cardiac myocytes were observed under electron microscope.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The p38MAPK activity and the plasma levels of the inflammatory factors were significantly lower in gtycyrrhiznatis group than in I/R group (P<0.05). Glycgrrhiznatis significantly reduced the infarct size as compared with that in I/R group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>lycyrrhiznatis can reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting p38MAPK activity and modulating the cytokine expression.</p>

Helicobacter pylori infection enhances atherosclerosis in high-cholesterol diet fed C57BL/6 mice / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the impacts of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on atherosclerosis and plasma lipid levels in high-cholesterol diet fed C57BL/6 mice.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 12 each): fed with normal chow diet (A), infected with H. pylori (B), fed with high-cholesterol diet (C) and infected with H. pylori and fed with high-cholesterol diet (D). After 52 weeks, plasma levels of lipids were measured and aortic atherosclerosis was observed. The ureA, ureC, cagA and vacA DNA were also detected by PCR in the aortic arteries.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>(1) Prevalence of atherosclerosis was similar between group C and D (91.6% vs. 100%, P > 0.05) while there was no atherosclerosis in group A and B. H. pylori infected mice showed more obvious inflammation in gastric mucosa than mice without H. pylori infection. (2) The plasma levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL were higher and HDL was lower in group B, C and D than those in group A and in group D than in group C (all P < 0.05). (3) Roberts & Thompson scores and number of foam cells in plaques were significantly higher in group D compared with those in group C (all P < 0.05). (4) ureC DNA was detected in 5 out of 12 aortic arteries of mice in group D but not in group A, B and C.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our results suggested that H. pylori infection might enhance the atherosclerotic lesion formation in this mouse model.</p>

Investigation on the incidence of diabetes in chronic hepatitis C patients and their HCV genotypes / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and its relation to HCV genotypes, and to confirm whether diabetes is an exohepatic manifestation of CHC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sandwich hybridization microplate assays and fluorescence quantification PCR technology were used to detect HBV DNA, HCV RNA and HCV genotypes of 308 chronic hepatitis C patients and 305 chronic hepatitis B patients. The incidence of diabetes in these patients was compared and analyzed with that in 310 controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The incidence of diabetes in patients with chronic hepatitis C was 32.79%, higher than that in patients with chronic hepatitis B (9.84%) and in the control group (8.39%). Serum levels of ALT and TBIL in hepatitis C patients with diabetes were higher than those without diabetes. Infection rate of HCV 1b in hepatitis C patients with diabetes was the highest (40.59%), and when compared with that of those without diabetes the difference was very significant.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Incidence of diabetes mellitus in patients with chronic hepatitis C is high, especially those infected with HCV 1b, and the liver functions of these patients are more severely damaged.</p>

Effects of HCV genotypes and HLA-DRB alleles on the response of chronic hepatitis C patients to interferon alpha and libavilin / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To study the effects of HCV genotypes and HLA-DRB alleles on the response of chronic hepatitis C patients to interferon alpha and libavilin.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genotypes of HCV in 113 patients with HCV infection treated with interferon alpha and libavilin were investigated. Gene chips were used to analyze the frequency of HLA-DRB alleles in 25 patients of them. The response to interferon alpha and libavilin therapy were discussed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The response rates in the four HCV types were different, HCV-IV/2b the highest (57.78%), HCV-I/1a and -III/2a lower (46.15% and 47.62%), and HCV-II/1b the lowest (11.76%). The response rate to IFN and libavilin therapy in patients with DRB1*07 positive was higher, while in patients with DRB1*04 positive was lower. Sex, HCV genotypes and HLA-DRB alleles were all related to the response. Female, patients with HCV-IV/2b and HLA-DRB1*07 presented almost complete response, but male, patients with HCV-II/1b and HLA-DRB1*04 usually appeared non-response. DRB1*07 allele and HCV-IV/2b were the closest factors related to the response.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Not only virus but also host playes an important role in the curative effect of anti-virus therapy. It is necessary to view from the angle of host, adjusting the host's immune status to accelerate the clearance of HCV.</p>