"Leverage pry-off method" for effective prevention of thermal injury during microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To assess the safety and efficacy of"leverage pry-off method"for preventing thermal injury during microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules.@*METHODS@#From July, 2017 to September, 2019, a total of 348 patients with benign thyroid nodules underwent ultrasound-guided microwave ablation. For protecting from thermal injury during the ablation, "hydrodissection technique" was used in 174 of the patients (admitted from July, 2017 to August, 2018) and "leverage pry-off method" in the other 174 patients (admitted from September, 2018 to September, 2019). All the patients were followed up for 1 to 12 months after the operation for observation of severe complications and nodular residues.@*RESULTS@#Ultrasound-guided microwave ablation was completed in all the 348 patients. The most common severe complication associated with the ablation was voice change, occurring in 3 cases (1.7%) in "hydrodissection technique" group and in 4 (2.3%) in the "leverage pry-off method" group, showing no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). During the follow-up, no significant difference was found in the rate of nodular residues between the "hydrodissection technique" group and "hydrodissection technique" group (9.8% vs 10.9% (P>0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The "leverage pry-off method" is simple and effective for preventing thermal injury during microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules.

[Analyais of Toxoplasma gondii infection and related factors among special population in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection and related factors among special population in Changzhou City, so as to provide the evidence for formulating toxoplasmosis prevention measures. METHODS: The venous blood was collected from participants in Changzhou City for detecting IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii by ELISA; and an epidemiological questionnaire investigation was also conducted. RESULTS: Among the total 400 respondents detected, the prevalence of T. gondii infection was 15.0% and the positive rates of IgG and IgM were 15.0% and 0.8%, respectively. The T. gondii infection rates of pregnant women, HIV/AIDS patients, patients with neoplasia, and livestock and poultry breeding and processing workers were 11.0%, 11.0%, 24.0% and 14.0%, respectively. As the age increased, the infection rate of T. gondii showed an upward trend, with the highest infection rate (21.6%) among the group of respondents aged above 50 years. The infection rates of groups with different education levels were statistically different (χ2 = 11.443, P < 0.05), and there was a trend that the infection rate decreased with the increase of education level. The prevalence of T. gondii infection in pregnant women was not significantly associated with the number of pregnancies and gestational age. The infection rate of T. gondii in the live-stock and poultry breeding and processing workers increased with the length of their working years. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of T. gondii infection among the special population in Changzhou City is high. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the health education on the knowledge and information of prevention and control of toxoplasmosis, and to improve the awareness of personal protection, the hygiene practices and diet habits. In addition, more attention should be paid to T. gondii monitoring in the special population.

A preliminary study on the implication of Apaf-1 promoter methylation and the expression of apoptosis inhibitor protein Apollon in adult acute leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of Apaf-1 gene promoter methylation and apoptosis inhibitor protein Apollon in pathogenesis of acute leukemia (AL) and their clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Methylation specific PCR (MSP) was used to detect the methylation status of Apaf-1 gene promoter in 53 AL patients (28 AML, 10 ALL and 15 relapsed) and 10 healthy or nonmalignant blood diseases patients as control. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of Apaf-1 mRNA and immunocytochemistry to detect the expression levels of Apollon protein.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The abnromal methylation of Apaf-1 gene promotor in AL was 18/53(33.9%). No Apaf-1 mRNA was detected in methylation positive patients. Only one case in healthy and nonmalignant individuals was deletion of Apaf-1 mRNA expression without abnormal methylation. The positive methylation rate in AL bone marrow mononuclear cells was significantly higher than that in controls (P < 0.05). The expressin levels of Apollon protein in AL patients was higher than that in control (P < 0.05). The positive methylation ratio and Apollon protein level were higher in white blood cell count > 10 × 10(9)/L than in ≤ 10 × 10(9)/L (P < 0.05). There is a positive correlaiton between positive methylation ratio and Apollon protein expression in AL patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Abnormal methylation of Apaf-1 gene promotor and high expression of Apollon might involved in leukemogenesis.</p>

Study on early fibrinolytic therapy to avoid acute myocardial infarction / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the frequency of aborted AMI and clinical characteristics of the patients received prompt fibrinolytic therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>1120 patients with AMI were divided into two groups, true AMI group and aborted AMI group. Aborted AMI was defined as maximal creatine kinase-MB < or = 2 x upper limit of normal coupled with the presence of resolution of chest pain and 50% of ST-segment deviation within 2 hours after onset of therapy. We compared some characteristic of two groups such as the fibrinolytic time after symptom onset and the frequency of aborted AMI.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The reopening ratio of infarct was 80.5%. 7.1% of the patients escaped myocardial necrosis. Aborted AMI was highest frequency within the first hour (22.0%) than other time groups (P < 0.01); There were no significant differences in the frequency of Aborted AMI in UK group, SK group and rt-PA group (7.0%, 6.7%, 7.1%, P > 0.05); The rate of Killip III/IV, major arrhythmias, angina pectoris and mortality at 30 day in aborted AMI patients compared with those who had true AMI was 3.9% versus 17.1%, 18.0% versus 30.0%, 1.3% versus 8.0%, 0 versus 6.0%, respectively (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Prompt fibrinolytic therapy improved the likelihood of aborted AMI and clinical outcomes. The frequency of aborted AMI has no relationship with fibrinolytic drug, but closely related to the starting time of treatment from symptom onset.</p>