Glial cells and neurologic autoimmune disorders.

Neurologic autoimmune disorders affect people's physical and mental health seriously. Glial cells, as an important part of the nervous system, play a vital role in the occurrence of neurologic autoimmune disorders. Glial cells can be hyperactivated in the presence of autoantibodies or pathological changes, to influence neurologic autoimmune disorders. This review is mainly focused on the roles of glial cells in neurologic autoimmune disorders and the influence of autoantibodies produced by autoimmune disorders on glial cells. We speculate that the possibility of glial cells might be a novel way for the investigation and therapy of neurologic autoimmune disorders.

Reconfiguration of Functional Dynamics in Cortico-Thalamo-Cerebellar Circuit in Schizophrenia Following High-Frequency Repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness characterized by a disconnection between brain regions. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive brain intervention technique that can be used as a new and safe treatment option for patients with schizophrenia with drug-refractory symptoms, such as negative symptoms and cognitive impairment. However, the therapeutic effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation remain unclear and would be investigated using non-invasive tools, such as functional connectivity (FC). A longitudinal design was adopted to investigate the alteration in FC dynamics using a dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) approach in patients with schizophrenia following high-frequency repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with the target at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Two groups of schizophrenia inpatients were recruited. One group received a 4-week high-frequency rTMS together with antipsychotic drugs (TSZ, n = 27), while the other group only received antipsychotic drugs (DSZ, n = 26). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychiatric symptoms were obtained from the patients with schizophrenia twice at baseline (t1) and after 4-week treatment (t2). The dynamics was evaluated using voxel- and region-wise FC temporal variability resulting from fMRI data. The pattern classification technique was used to verify the clinical application value of FC temporal variability. For the voxel-wise FC temporary variability, the repeated measures ANCOVA analysis showed significant treatment × time interaction effects on the FC temporary variability between the left DLPFC and several regions, including the thalamus, cerebellum, precuneus, and precentral gyrus, which are mainly located within the cortico-thalamo-cerebellar circuit (CTCC). For the ROI-wise FC temporary variability, our results found a significant interaction effect on the FC among CTCC. rTMS intervention led to a reduced FC temporary variability. In addition, higher alteration in FC temporal variability between left DLPFC and right posterior parietal thalamus predicted a higher remission ratio of negative symptom scores, indicating that the decrease of FC temporal variability between the brain regions was associated with the remission of schizophrenia severity. The support vector regression (SVR) results suggested that the baseline pattern of FC temporary variability between the regions in CTCC could predict the efficacy of high-frequency rTMS intervention on negative symptoms in schizophrenia. These findings confirm the potential relationship between the reduction in whole-brain functional dynamics induced by high-frequency rTMS and the improvement in psychiatric scores, suggesting that high-frequency rTMS affects psychiatric symptoms by coordinating the heterogeneity of activity between the brain regions. Future studies would examine the clinical utility of using functional dynamics patterns between specific brain regions as a biomarker to predict the treatment response of high-frequency rTMS.

Capecitabine plus bevacizumab versus capecitabine in maintenance treatment for untreated characterised KRAS exon 2 wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: a retrospective analysis in Chinese postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Capecitabine plus bevacizumab (CAP-B) maintenance treatment after 6 cycles of capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and bevacizumab (CAPOXB) has demonstrated clinical activity and failure to compromise quality of life in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCC) in a previous phase 3 CAIRO3 study. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CAP-B versus CAP in maintenance treatment after 6-cycle CAPOXB induction therapy in Chinese postmenopausal women with untreated characterised KRAS exon 2 wild-type MCC. METHODS: During 2012-2016, prospectively maintained databases were reviewed to evaluate cohorts with untreated characterised KRAS exon 2 wild-type MCC and stable disease or better after 6-cycle CAPOXB induction treatment. After induction treatment, all patients received either CAP-B or capecitabine (CAP) as maintenance treatment. Median progression-free survival (mPFS) and median overall survival (mOS) were the primary endpoints. Safety was the secondary endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 263 women with untreated characterised KRAS exon 2 wild-type MCC and stable disease or better after 6-cycle CAPOXB induction treatment were included for the evaluation of efficacy and safety (CAP-B-treated cohort, n = 130 and CAP-treated cohort, n = 133). The mPFS was 11.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6-17.4) and 9.2 months (95% CI, 3.6-14.8) for the CAP-B-treated and CAP-treated cohorts, respectively (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.32~0.85; P = 0.013). The mOS was 16.2 months (95% CI, 11.4-18.7) and 12.4 months (95% CI, 10.6-15.5) for the CAP-B- and CAP-treated cohorts, respectively (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.51~0.94; P = 0.022). The CAP-B-treated cohort experienced significantly more grade 3 or 4 diarrhoea (P < 0.001) than the CAP-treated cohort. CONCLUSIONS: CAP-B maintenance treatment after 6-cycle CAPOX-B in Chinese postmenopausal women with untreated KRAS exon 2 wild-type MCC is poorer tolerated but has a more modest, if any, benefit compared with that of CAP maintenance treatment.

Beraprost sodium versus clopidogrel for preventing vascular thromboembolic events of arteriovenous fistula in uraemic patients: a retrospective study with a mean 3-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of beraprost sodium (BPS) or clopidogrel (CL) using vascular thromboembolic events (VTEs) of arteriovenous fistula as a primary endpoint in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing arteriovenous fistula surgery. METHODS: We performed a multicentre, retrospective cohort study from August 2012 to August 2016. We studied patients with ESRD who underwent arteriovenous fistula surgery and received peroral administration of 40 µg BPS, three times per day, for 1 month, or 75 mg CL (initial dose of 300 mg), one time per day, for 1 month. The time to first on-study VTE was the primary endpoint. RESULTS: The BPS-treated cohort had a significantly delayed time to first VTE compared with the CL-treated cohort (hazard ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.18-0.56). An increased incidence of VTEs was detected in the 1-month follow-up, with rates of 2.4% and 8.7% for BPS and CL, respectively. This difference persisted over time, with rates of 8.0% and 18.1% at the final follow-up, respectively. CONCLUSION: CL-treated patients with ESRD have a greater risk of VTEs compared with BPS-treated patients. CL-treated patients also tend to experience a VTE within the first month after cessation of oral administration.

Cyclophosphamide versus cyclosporine A therapy in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome: a retrospective study with a mean 5-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of cyclophosphamide (CTX) and cyclosporine A (CSA) in initial treatment of children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). METHODS: Prospectively maintained databases were reviewed to retrospectively compare two cohorts with SRNS that received peroral administration of 2 to 2.5 mg/kg/d CTX for 3 to 6 months or 1 to 5 mg/kg/d CSA for 2 years until the primary analysis cut-off date during 2007 to 2011. The time to first on-study relapse of SRNS was the primary endpoint. The effective rate was the second endpoint. RESULTS: A total of 127 children with SRNS were included (CTX-treated cohort: n = 62; CSA-treated cohort: n = 65), with a mean 5-year follow-up. CTX-treated children showed a significantly delayed time to first on-study relapse of SRNS compared with CSA-treated children (hazard ratio 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.32-1.75). The relapse rate (rate/year) in CTX-treated children (1.1 ± 0.1) at the 24-month follow-up was significantly higher than that with CSA (0.4 ± 0.2). This difference persisted until the final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: CSA is associated with a significantly lower relapse rate and significantly higher effective rate compared with CTX, especially in children with minimal change disease.