CAG regimen for refractory or relapsed adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A retrospective, multicenter, cohort study.

Adult patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R-T-ALL) have extremely poor prognosis, representing an urgent unmet medical need. Finding an optimal salvage regimen to bridge transplantation is a priority. The CAG (cytarabine, aclarubicin, and G-CSF) regimen was initially used by one group in China, showing unexpectedly promising results in 11 R/R-T-ALL patients. Here, we report the multicenter results of 41 patients who received the CAG regimen as salvage therapy. After one cycle of the CAG regimen, complete remission and partial remission were achieved in 33 (80.5%) and two (4.9%) patients, respectively. Failure to respond was observed in six patients (14.6%). Early T-cell precursor (ETP) (n = 26) and non-ETP (n = 15) patients had a similar CR rate (80.8% vs 80.0%, P = .95). Among 41 patients, allo-HSCT was successfully performed in 27 (66%) patients (22 in CR and 5 in non-CR). With a median follow-up time of 12 months, the estimated 2-year overall survival and event-free survival were 68.8% (95% CI, 47.3%-83.0%) and 56.5% (95% CI, 37.1%-71.9%), respectively. The CAG regimen was well-tolerated, and no early death occurred. Our multicenter results show that the CAG regimen is highly effective and safe, representing a novel choice for adult patients with R/R-T-ALL and providing a better bridge to transplantation.

Risk factors for syncope in children with severe idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To explore the risk factors for syncope in children with severe idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). Methods: Forty-four patients (age<18 years) with IPAH admitted to the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital between May 2011 and October 2021 were retrospectively included. Patients were devided into syncope group and non-syncope group. Clinical manifestation and hemodynamic parameters including echocardiography, blood tests, right heart catheterization and acute pulmonary vascular expansion test were compared between two groups. Comparisons between groups were performed with unpaired Student t test, or Mann-Whitney U test or chi-square test. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for parameters with statistically significant differences between groups and analyze the statistical correlation. Results: Among the 44 patients, 16 were males, the onset age was (7.2±3.9) years. Twenty-four (55%) children presented with 1 to 11 times of episodes of syncope, and 18 cases of whom induced by physical activity. Syncope group had a larger proportion of New York Heart Association (NYHA) heart function class Ⅲ-Ⅳ (67% (16/24) vs. 25% (5/20), χ2=7.59, P=0.006), higher brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) value ((251±39) vs. (61±40) pg/L, t=-2.18, P=0.035), higher pulmonary-to-aorta diameter ratio (1.6±0.4 vs. 1.4±0.2, t=-2.25, P=0.030) and larger pulmonary vascular resistance index ((22±11) vs. (16±7) WU/m2, t=-2.13, P=0.039) compared with non-syncope group. The proportion of patent foramen ovale (4% (1/24) vs. 45% (9/20), χ2=10.36, P=0.001), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ((68±5)% vs. (72±8)%, t=2.23, P=0.031) and the positive rate of acute pulmonary vascular expansion test (8% (2/24) vs. 35% (7/20), χ2=4.77, P=0.029) of syncope group were significantly lower than those of non-syncope group. Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that NYHA heart function Ⅲ-Ⅳ (OR=6.787, 95%CI 1.445-31.880), pulmonary vascular resistance index (OR=1.247, 95%CI 1.020-1.525) and BNP (OR=1.036, 95%CI 1.007-1.066) were independent risk factors for syncope. The patent foramen ovale (OR=0.010, 95%CI 0.000-0.586) was a protective factor for syncope. Conclusions: NYHA cardiac function grade, pulmonary vascular resistance index and BNP are independent risk factors for syncope. Patent foramen ovale is a protective factor for syncope. Exercise is the main inducement of syncope in children with IPAH.

Role of Whole-exome Sequencing in Phenotype Classification and Clinical Treatment of Pediatric Restrictive Cardiomyopathy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is the least common cardiomyopathy in which the walls are rigid and the heart is restricted from stretching and filling properly. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) mutation-caused myofibril Ca2+ hypersensitivity has been shown to be associated with impaired diastolic function. This study aimed to investigate the linkage between the genotype and clinical therapy of RCM.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five sporadic pediatric RCM patients confirmed by echocardiography were enrolled in this study. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed for the cohort to find out candidate causative gene variants. Sanger sequencing confirmed the WES-identified variants.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TNNI3 variants were found in all of the five patients. R192H mutation was shared in four patients while R204H mutation was found only in one patient. Structure investigation showed that the C terminus of TNNI3 was flexible and mutation on the C terminus was possible to cause the RCM. Catechins were prescribed for the five patients once genotype was confirmed. Ventricular diastolic function was improved in three patients during the follow-up.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our data demonstrated that TNNI3 mutation-induced RCM1 is the most common type of pediatric RCM in this study. In addition, WES is a reliable approach to identify likely pathogenic genes of RCM and might be useful for the guidance of clinical treatment scheme.</p>

Value of the Ratio of Occluder Versus Atrial Septal Length for Predicting Arrhythmia Occurrence after Transcatheter Closure in Children with Ostium Secundum Atrial Septal Defect / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Transcatheter occlusion has been applied to treat ostium secundum atrial septal defect (OS ASD) since 1997. During the clinical practice, several postoperative complications including arrhythmia have been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the value of the ratio of atrial septal occluder (ASO) versus atrial septal length (ASL) for predicting arrhythmia occurrence after transcatheter closure in children with OS ASD.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Six hundred and fifty-one children diagnosed with OS ASD underwent occlusion procedures after completing routine examinations. The onsets and types of arrhythmia both during and after the occlusion procedures were monitored. Treatments were given based on the individual types of arrhythmia. The binary logistic regression analysis and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used in the analysis of value of the ratio of ASO/ASL for predicting postoperative arrhythmia occurrence.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Transcather occlusions were conducted in 651 children, among whom 7 children had different types and degrees of arrhythmia, with an incidence of 1.1%. The types of arrhythmia included sinus bradycardia, atrial premature beats, bundle branch block, and different degrees of atrioventricular block. Normal electrocardiograph findings were resumed in these 7 patients following active therapies such as corticoids, nutrition, and surgeries. The binary logistic regression and ROC analysis suggested that the ratio of ASO/ASL exhibited an intermediate predictive value for predicting arrhythmia occurrence after occlusion procedures. A cut-off value of 0.576 in the ratio provided a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 76.2% with an area under the ROC curve of 0.791 (95% confidence intervals, 0.655-0.926; P < 0.05) in predicting arrhythmia occurrence after the closure procedures.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The ratio of ASO/ASL might be a useful index for predicting arrhythmia occurrence after closure procedures in children with OS ASD.</p>

Early prediction of acute kidney injury in infants and young children after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in infants and toddlers and evaluate the possibility of predicting AKI with urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin 18 (IL-18), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), microalbumin (MA) and α1-microglobulin (α1-MG) after surgeries for congenital heart diseases with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Fifty-eight children (ages ≤ 3 years) who had undergone surgery for congenital heart diseases with CPB were enrolled. Urinary samples were collected before and 4 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h post CPB to detect the concentration of NGAL, IL-18, NAG, MA and α1-MG.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The AKI group had 29 cases, none AKI group also had 29 cases. Urinary concentration of NGAL 4, 6, and 12 h post CPB were significantly higher in AKI group (2820 µg/g, 905.7 µg/g, 76.1 µg/g separately) than in none AKI group (27.6 µg/g, 19.5 µg/g, 16.0 µg/g separately, P < 0.01). Urinary concentration of IL-18 4, 6, 12 and 24 h post CPB were significantly higher in AKI group than in none AKI group (P < 0.05). Urinary concentration of NAG 4 h and 6 h post CPB were significantly higher in AKI group than in none AKI group (P < 0.01). Urinary concentration of MA/UCr post CPB 4 h, 6 h and 12 h were significantly higher in AKI group than in none AKI group (P < 0.05). Urinary concentration of α1-MG/UCr post CPB 4 h, 6 h and 12 h were significantly higher in AKI group than in none AKI group (P < 0.01). All the five biomarkers had predictive abilities at 4-hour after surgery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Urine biomarkers NGAL, IL-18, NAG, MA and α1-MG were valuable early predictors of AKI after CPB surgery.</p>

The research progress of Aurora-B kinase and its inhibitors / 药学学报

Aurora-B as an important kinase to adjust the cell normal mitosis is a potent target for cancer treatment. Aurora-B is overexpressed in a broad range of tumor and tumor cells are more sensitive while Aurora-B is inhibited. Due to the key role of the Aurora-B in cell mitosis, the development of its inhibitors is becoming more and more important. Several small molecules inhibit with a similar efficacy both Aurora-A and Aurora-B, however, in most cases the effects resemble Aurora-B disruption by genetic methods, indicating that Aurora-B represents an effective therapeutic target. There were several Aurora-B kinase inhibitors which had entered the clinics and displayed good antitumor activity. In this review, we will outline the functions of Aurora kinase B in normal cell division and in malignancy. We will focus on recent preclinical and clinical studies that have explored the mechanism of action and clinical effect of Aurora-B inhibitors in cancer treatment.

Clinical features and long-term prognosis of patients with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital heart anomaly. We aimed to illustrate the clinical features and long-term prognosis of patients with ALCAPA.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty three patients (13 males and 10 females, ages ranging from 2.5 months to 65 years) identified as ALCAPA in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from April 1984 to June 2009 were divided into two groups, based on the age of onset: group 1 (≤ 12 months, n = 16) and group 2 (> 12 months, n = 7).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fifty six point three percent of patients in group 1 had been misdiagnosed as endocardial fibroelastosis (9/16), 18.8% as dilated cardiomyopathy (3/16) and 6.3% as myocardial infarction (1/16). Patients in group 2 were usually diagnosed as coronary heart disease, myocarditis, or patent ductus arteriosus. Electrocardiography in group 1 revealed abnormal Q waves with T wave inversion in leads I, avL, V(4)-V(6), especially in lead avL (deep and wide Q wave); but no specific manifestations in group 2. A higher percentage of patients in group 1 had cardiomegaly on chest radiograph (86.7% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.031), while pulmonary artery protrusion was more common in group 2 (26.7% vs. 83.3%, P = 0.046). Lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was present in group 1 than in group 2 ((48.5 ± 11.5)% vs. (65.0 ± 6.1)%, P < 0.001). Apical ventricular aneurysm (62.5% vs. 0%, P = 0.007), enhanced echogenicity of papillary muscles (87.5% vs. 28.6%, P = 0.011) and endocardial thickening (93.8% vs. 14.3%, P < 0.001) were more frequent in group 1 than in group 2. The ratio of the proximal right coronary artery (RCA) diameter to the aortic root diameter exceeded 0.14 in all cases, more prominent in group 2 (0.26 ± 0.05 vs. 0.33 ± 0.03, P = 0.009). Increased coronary artery collaterals within the interventricular septum were detected in 18 patients (78.3%) by Doppler imaging. Twenty one patients underwent cardiac surgery, including left coronary artery (LCA) ligation (1/21), LCA ligation plus coronary artery bypass grafting (1/21), Takeuchi operation (7/21), and LCA reimplantation surgery (12/21). Four patients underwent concomitant mitral valve repair and one received mitral valve replacement. Aneurysm resection was performed in 3 cases. Six patients died in hospital after surgery, and the rest of the cohort had no overt symptoms during a follow-up period of 6 to 166 months. Their abnormal Q waves gradually regressed or disappeared, and the LVEF and left ventricle size returned to normal range with alleviation of mitral insufficiency.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The accurate diagnosis of ALCAPA can be made with serial diagnostic methods. ALCAPA can be successfully treated with several types of cardiac surgery, and surgeries of establishing two-coronary-artery circulation are the preferred operations nowadays, with good long-term prognosis.</p>

A long-term follow-up study on the clinical treatment of 75 cases with primary endocardial fibroelastosis / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To summarize and analyze the effects of treatment and prognosis of infants with endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) in different states of the illness undergone relevant therapies, and to understand the roles of different treatments for improving the prognosis of the disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Data of 75 cases with EFE admitted into Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from August 1984 to June 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) Of the 75 cases with EFE (40 males and 35 females), with the onset age ranged from 20-days to two years and eight months, 69 cases were treated normally and followed up in the Outpatient Department of the Hospital after discharge, the follow-up rate was 92%, with the follow-up span from six months to 23 years (5.7 years in average). During the follow-up, six cases (8.7%) died. (2) The total curative rate of EFE patients was 46.4% (32/69), while the improvement rate was 40.6% (28/69), the total rate of the cure and improvement was 87%. (3) The average value of ejection fraction (EF) of left ventricle of all the patients returned to normal two years after treatment (EF value was 55.86 ± 2.85), the percentage of patients with normal left ventricle EF at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years after treatment was 42.6% (26/61), 64.4% (29/45), 70.7% (29/41) and 84.6% (22/26), respectively. The average value of cardiothoracic (C/T) ratio became normal three years after treatment through X ray examination (0.50 ± 0.01), however the average value of the LVDD had not been returned to normal 3 years after treatment. At 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years after treatment, the proportion of patients with normal LVDD was 0% (0/61), 13.3% (6/45), 53.7% (22/41) and 84.6% (22/26), respectively. (4) The average value of EF became normal one year after treatment in the glucocorticoid group (EF value 58.44 ± 5.10) in 37 cases scored < 22 at the first visit, while the average value of C/T normalized two years after treatment (0.50 ± 0.00); The average value of EF became normal three years after treatment in the glucocorticoid plus cyclophosphamide group (EF 57.33 ± 3.43) in 29 cases scored < 22 at the first visit, however the average value of the C/T and the LVDD did not return to normal 3 years after treatment. (5) Use of IVIG reduced the percentage of patients who received cyclophos-phamide. (6) The recovery of intimal thickness was slow in EFE patients, the span was four years on the average (1 - 8 years), the percentage of patients whose endocardium became normal 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years after treatment was 9.85% (6/61), 22.2% (10/45), 51.2% (21/41), 100% (29/29).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The long-term continuous normal treatment of patients with EFE showed good therapeutic effects. For severe and refractory cases, immunotherapy must be strengthened and maintained for longer time. For those who clinically recovered, the quantity of activity should be restricted after the treatment is discontinued, and the re-examination should be done timely for further management.</p>

The mRNA expression of alpha1-adrenergic receptor subtypes in the outer lung tissues of hypoxia pulmonary hypertension rats / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>During the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, the quantity of the protein and mRNA of alpha1-adrenergic receptor (alpha1-adrenergic receptor,alpha1-AR) in the lung tissue increased, while no particular reports were found about the change of the alpha1-AR subtypes during that course. The study aimed to understand the quantity and location of alpha1-AR subtypes mRNA expression in control and hypoxia rats,and the effect of phentolamine in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-five male Wistar rats were divided randomly into 5 groups: control group (n = 10), hypoxia 2 weeks (n = 13), hypoxia 4 weeks (n = 10), saline control group (n = 10) and hypoxia 4 weeks plus phentolamine group (n = 12). Semi-quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to examine the mRNA expression of alpha1-AR subtypes in each group. In situ hybridization was also used to detect the location of the alpha1-AR in lungs of normal rats.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The pulmonary artery pressure increased with the extension of hypoxia. (2) The results of RT-PCR showed that the mRNA expression of alpha1A-AR was the most,alpha1B-AR the second and alphaZD-AR was the least in all of the groups. (3) The expression of alpha1A-AR and alpha1B-AR mRNA increased with the extension of hypoxia, and the expressions among groups showed difference. (4) The expression of alpha1D-AR also increased with the extension of hypoxia but no difference was found among groups. (5) No difference was found in mRNA quantity of all three subtypes between phentolamine group and hypoxia saline group. (6) In situ hybridization showed that mRNA of the three alpha1-AR subtypes located mainly in the artery and venous smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study suggested that alpha1-AR subtypes worked in the development of hypoxia pulmonary hypertension. More research on alpha1-AR subtypes may help the clinical treatment of pulmonary hypertension.</p>