Comparable long-term outcomes after endoscopic therapy and gastrectomy of early adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Current guidelines recommend consideration of endoscopic therapy (ET) when treating selected early gastric cancers. However, clinical decision-making on ET versus gastrectomy for early adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEGJ) remains challenging because of uncertain long-term outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 2004 to 2017 of early AEGJ patients underwent ET or gastrectomy. Multivariate models were used to compare cancer-specific survival (CSS). RESULTS: Of 881 included early AEGJ patients, 227 (36.2%) patients underwent ET and 654 (63.8%) patients underwent gastrectomy. Early AEGJ patients who underwent ET experienced a similar hazard of cancer-specific death compared with those underwent gastrectomy in both multivariate Cox regression (HR [hazard ratio], 0.93; 95% CI [confidence interval], 0.55-1.56; P = 0.78) and the multivariate competing risk model (subdistribution HR [SHR], 0.86; 95% CI 0.50-1.45; P = 0.56). Propensity score matching was used, 210 patients underwent ET were matched with 210 patients underwent gastrectomy. Patients underwent ET experienced a similar hazard of cancer-specific death compared with those underwent gastrectomy in both multivariate Cox regression (HR, 0.97; 95% CI 0.53-1.77; P = 0.92) and the multivariate competing risk model (SHR, 0.96; 95% CI 0.52-1.77; P = 0.89). CONCLUSION: Early AEGJ patients who received ET or gastrectomy had comparable long-term outcomes, which lend support to the role of ET in the treatment of these patients.

Epidemiology, clinical presentation, treatment, and follow-up of chronic mercury poisoning in China: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: There are no reports on the incidence of chronic mercury poisoning in a large population in China. This study investigated the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, treatment, and follow-up of Chinese patients with chronic mercury poisoning. METHODS: Data for 288 mercury poisoning patients were collected at our hospital from July 2014 to September 2019, including sex, age, admission time, blood mercury content, urine mercury content, creatinine, urinary mercury/creatinine ratio, 24-h urinary protein levels, electromyography (EMG) findings, renal biopsy, and follow-up. Patient characteristics were evaluated by statistical and correlation analyses. RESULTS: First, mercury poisoning in China mainly occurred through occupational exposure and the inappropriate use of mercury-containing cosmetics and Chinese folk remedies (CFRs). Second, the most common symptoms were nervous system (50.3 %), kidney (16.4 %) and breathing (8.0 %). Mercury poisoning-induced Nephrotic syndrome (NS) and peripheral neuropathy are common long-term complications. The complications of occupational and cosmetics-induced mercury poisoning are consistent with international belief. However, the NS caused by CFRs is mainly membranous nephropathy and the probability of peripheral neuropathy caused by CFRs is higher than other pathogens. Third, follow-up data shows that 13 patients with EMG-confirmed neurological injury, 10 showed full recovery after 38.50 ± 8.03 months. Furthermore, among 18 patients with NS, 15 had normal urine protein and serum albumin levels after 22.67 ± 10.26 months. CONCLUSIONS: Regulation of skin-lightening cosmetic products, safety surveillance of CFRs, and prevention and control of occupational exposure must be improved to decrease the incidence of mercury poisoning in China.

TRPV4 Regulates Soman-Induced Status Epilepticus and Secondary Brain Injury via NMDA Receptor and NLRP3 Inflammasome / 神经科学通报·英文版

Nerve agents are used in civil wars and terrorist attacks, posing a threat to public safety. Acute exposure to nerve agents such as soman (GD) causes serious brain damage, leading to death due to intense seizures induced by acetylcholinesterase inhibition and neuronal injury resulting from increased excitatory amino-acid levels and neuroinflammation. However, data on the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective efficacies of currently-used countermeasures are limited. Here, we evaluated the potential effects of transient receptor vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) in the treatment of soman-induced status epilepticus (SE) and secondary brain injury. We demonstrated that TRPV4 expression was markedly up-regulated in rat hippocampus after soman-induced seizures. Administration of the TRPV4 antagonist GSK2193874 prior to soman exposure significantly decreased the mortality rate in rats and reduced SE intensity. TRPV4-knockout mice also showed lower incidence of seizures and higher survival rates than wild-type mice following soman exposure. Further in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that blocking TRPV4 prevented NMDA receptor-mediated glutamate excitotoxicity. The protein levels of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex and its downstream cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 increased in soman-exposed rat hippocampus. However, TRPV4 inhibition or deletion markedly reversed the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. In conclusion, our study suggests that the blockade of TRPV4 protects against soman exposure and reduces brain injury following SE by decreasing NMDA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity and NLRP3-mediated neuroinflammation. To our knowledge, this is the first study regarding the “dual-switch” function of TRPV4 in the treatment of soman intoxication.

Influence of Tumor Location on Lymph Node Metastasis and Survival for Early Gastric Cancer: a Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: The question that whether the criteria for endoscopic resection of early gastric non-cardia cancer (GNCC) is appropriate for early gastric cardia cancer (GCC) remains unclear. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the influence of tumor location on lymph node metastasis (LNM) and overall survival (OS) for early gastric cancer (GC). METHODS: A total of 5440 early GC patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were identified. Multivariable analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of tumor location on LNM and OS for early GC. RESULTS: The rate of LNM was 17.48% for early GCC patients (232/1327) and 18.62% for early GNCC patients (766/4113). The early GCC patients experienced no significantly different risk of LNM compared with the early GNCC patients (adjusted OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.76-1.12, P = 0.405). The early GC patients were further stratified by node status. Tumor location was not a predictor of OS for node-negative early GC patients (adjusted HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.96-1.21, P = 0.225) but a predictor of OS for node-positive early GC patients (adjusted HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.48-2.20, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor location was not a predictor of LNM for early GC patients. Moreover, tumor location was not a predictor of OS for node-negative early GC patients. Thus, the criteria for endoscopic resection of early GNCC might be appropriate for the treatment of early GCC.

Efficacy analysis of prussian blue or its combination with hemoperfusion in the treatment of acute thallium poisoning / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective@#To investigate the efficacy of prussian blue (PB) or its combination with hemoperfusion (HP) in the treatment of acute thallium poisoning.@*Methods@#Forty-seven patients with acute thallium poisoning with complete data hospitalized in the 307th Hospital of PLA from September 2002 to December 2017 were enrolled, and they were divided into mild poisoning group (blood thallium < 150 μg/L, urinary thallium < 1 000 μg/L) and moderate-severe poisoning group (blood thallium ≥ 150 μg/L, urinary thallium ≥ 1 000 μg/L) according to the toxic degrees. All patients were given symptomatic supportive treatments such as potassium supplementation, catharsis, vital organ protections, neurotrophic drugs, and circulation support. The mild poisoning patients were given PB with an oral dose of 250 mg·kg-1·d-1, while moderate-severe poisoning patients were given PB combined HP continued 2-4 hours each time. The PB dose or frequency of HP application was adjusted according to the monitoring results of blood and urine thallium. Data of gender, age, pain grading (numeric rating scale NRS), clinical manifestations, blood and urine thallium before and after treatment, length of hospitalization and prognosis were collected.@*Results@#Of the 47 patients, patients with incomplete blood and urine test results, and used non-single HP treatment such as plasmapheresis and hemodialysis for treatment were excluded, and a total of 29 patients were enrolled in the analysis. ①Among 29 patients, there were 20 males and 9 females, median age of 40.0 (34.0, 49.0) years old; the main clinical manifestations were nervous system and alopecia, some patients had digestive system symptoms. There were 13 patients (44.8%) in the mild poisoning group with painless (grade 0) or mild pain (grade 1-3) with mild clinical symptoms, the length of hospitalization was 17.0 (14.2, 21.5) days. There were 16 patients (55.2%) in the moderate-severe poisoning group with moderate pain (grade 4-6) or severe pain (grade 7-10) with severe clinical symptoms, the length of hospitalization was 24.0 (18.0, 29.0) days. ② After treatment, the thallium concentrations in blood and urine in the mild poisoning group were significantly lower than those before treatment [μg/L: blood thallium was 0.80 (0, 8.83) vs. 60.00 (40.00, 120.00), urine thallium was 11.30 (0, 70.10) vs. 370.00 (168.30, 610.00), both P < 0.01], the thallium concentrations in blood and urine in the moderate-severe poisoning group were also significantly lower than those before treatment [μg/L: blood thallium was 6.95 (0, 50.50) vs. 614.50 (245.00, 922.00), urinary thallium was 20.70 (1.95, 283.00) vs. 5 434.00 (4 077.20, 10 273.00), both P < 0.01]. None of the 29 patients died, and their clinical symptoms were improved significantly. All the 27 patients had good prognosis without sequela in half a year follow-up, and 2 patients with severe acute thallium poisoning suffered from nervous system injury.@*Conclusion@#In the acute thallium poisoning patients, on the basis of general treatment, additional PB in mild poisoning group and PB combined with HP in moderate-severe poisoning group can obtain satisfactory curative effects.