Advances in Medicine最新文献

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common diseases that seriously threaten human life and health. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) combined with adriamycin (ADM) on human hepatocellular carcinoma and developed a platform to assess the function if Chinese herbal ingredients combined with chemotherapy drugs have synergistic antitumor effects in vivo.

Methods: Established animal model of human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cell in nude mice. Mice were divided into model control group, Tan IIA group, ADM group, and Tan IIA + ADM group. The changes from general condition, weight, tumor volume, and inhibition rate were observed. The data were gathered from serum AST level and histopathological changes. The content and activity of cytochrome P450 were determined by spectrophotometric analysis. CYP3A4 protein expression was analyzed by western blotting. The binding model crystal structure of Tan IIA and ADM with pregnane X receptor (PXR) was evaluated by Discovery Studio 2.1.

Results: A combination of Tan IIA with ADM could improve life quality by relieving ADM toxicity, decreasing tumor volume, declining serum AST level, and improving liner pathological section in tumor-bearing mice. The inhibitory rates of Tan IIA, ADM, and cotreatment were 32.77%, 60.96%, and 73.18%, respectively. The Tan IIA group significantly enhanced the content of cytochrome b5, P450, and erythromycin-N-demethylase activity. CYP3A4 protein expression was enhanced obviously by the Tan IIA + ADM group. Virtual molecular docking showed that both Tan IIA and ADM could be stably docked with the same binding site of PXR but different interactions.

Conclusions: Tan IIA in combination with ADM could improve the life quality in tumor-bearing mice and enhance the antitumor effect. The Tan IIA group increased the concentration of cytochrome P450 enzymes and activity. Combined Tan IIA with ADM could upregulate the CYP3A4 protein expression and make relevant interaction with protein PXR by virtual docking.

Background: Osteoporosis and hypertension are frequent and often coexisting diseases among the elderly. Recent studies suggested that both diseases may share the same etiopathology. Moreover, the treatment of hypertension can affect the bone mineral density and worsen osteoporosis. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of low bone mass and osteoporosis in postmenopausal Syrian women and investigate their relationship with hypertension and antihypertensive drugs.

Methods: 813 postmenopausal women were involved in this cross-sectional study, aged between 40 and 96 yrs. Their menopause duration ranged between 1 and 43 yrs. Bone mineral density was measured using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the total lumbar spine (L1-L4) and left hip. T-score values were used to determine the diagnosis of osteoporosis. The existence of HTN was defined as blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg or a history of hypertension medication.

Results: Using the world health organization criteria, 24% had osteoporosis and 45.2% had low bone mass. The incidence of osteoporosis and low bone mass significantly increased with age and menopause duration and decreased with BMI. Prevalence of hypertension was almost equal among the women who had or did not have osteoporosis. However, hypertensive women who used thiazides or beta blockers had higher values of total lumbar BMD compared with the women who did not.

Conclusion: Hypertension in postmenopausal Syrian women aged over 40 was not found to be associated with osteoporosis. However, the mean total lumbar BMD of the hypertensive women who took thiazide diuretics or beta blocker was found to be increased significantly comparing to the women who did not take either.

Objectives: The objectives of this proof of concept study were to (a) examine the temporal changes in fatigue and diversity of the gut microbiome over the course of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in adults with rectal cancers; (b) investigate whether there are differences in diversity of the gut microbiome between fatigued and nonfatigued participants at the middle and at the end of CRT; and (c) investigate whether there are differences in the relative abundance of fecal microbiota at the phylum and genus levels between fatigued and nonfatigued participants at the middle and at the end of CRT.

Methods: Stool samples and symptom ratings were collected prior to the inception of CRT, at the middle (after 12-16 treatments) and at the end (after 24-28 treatments) of the CRT. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test were computed for fatigue. Gut microbiome data were analyzed using the QIIME2 software.

Results: Participants (N = 29) ranged in age from 37 to 80 years. The median fatigue score significantly changed at the end of CRT (median = 23.0) compared with the median score before the initiation of CRT for the total sample (median = 17.0; p ≤ 0.05). At the middle of CRT, the alpha diversity (abundance of Operational Taxonomic Units) was lower for fatigued participants (149.30 ± 53.1) than for nonfatigued participants (189.15 ± 44.18, t(23) = 2.08, p ≤ 0.05). At the middle of CRT, the alpha diversity (abundance of Operational Taxonomic Units) was lower for fatigued participants (149.30 ± 53.1) than for nonfatigued participants (189.15 ± 44.18, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla for fatigued participants, and Escherichia, Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, and Oscillospira were the most abundant genera for fatigued participants.

Conclusion: CRT-associated perturbation of the gut microbiome composition may contribute to fatigue.

Background: Burnout and depression among physician trainees is increasing at an alarming rate. Promoting well-being is of utmost importance for graduate medical education. The primary objective was to determine if spiritual care staff/chaplaincy can assist in building emotional well-being and resiliency within medical residency education.

Methods: For the academic year of July 2017 through June 2018, all graduate medical trainees in our institution were given the option of attending either an individual or group spiritual care session as part of a universal "Call to Wellness" curriculum. A Post-Wellness Survey was administered to measure perceptions about the program.

Results: 49% (N = 258) of residents chose to participate in a spiritual care session. Prior to the session, 51% (N = 132) rated their overall well-being as neutral and 25% (N = 64) rated their overall well-being as slightly positive, positive, or very positive. After their spiritual care session, significant improvement was seen. 25% (N = 64) rated their overall well-being as neutral, and 51% (N = 132) rated their overall well-being as slightly positive, positive, or very positive (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Spiritual care staff/chaplaincy can have a positive influence on emotional well-being for physicians during residency training.

Introduction: Diabetes develops in 4% of all the pregnancies worldwide, and its prevalence ranges from 1 to 14%, and 7% are complicated and results in prenatal morbidity and mortality. The disease affects women and their babies during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. However, little is known about its prevalence, birth outcomes, and associated factors in the study setting.

Method: A facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study was done on all deliveries attended from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017, to determine the prevalence of diabetes and birth outcome. The mothers who had complete data record were identified and consecutively reviewed. The data were entered in EpiData Version 4.2 and exported to SPSS Version 23.0 for analysis.

Results: Of the 14039 women who gave birth during the study period, 2.6% of them had diabetes mellitus, and from reviewed data, 54.6% had gestational diabetes and 45.4% had pregestational diabetes. Out of the diabetic mothers, 57.8% delivered by cesarean section, 39.9% by spontaneous vaginal delivery, and 26% of the pregnancies ended up with pregnancy-induced hypertension. Regarding the fetal outcome, 17.9% were preterm delivery, 17.6% macrocosmic, 9.2% respiratory distress, 10.1% low birth weight, and 65% admitted to neonatal intensive care unit. Class I obesity and history of PIH were associated with adverse maternal outcomes at aOR = 95%CI 3.8 (1.29, 8.319) and aOR = 95%CI 2.1 (1.03, 4.399), respectively. Being a house wife and preterm deliveries were associated with adverse fetal outcomes at aOR = 95%CI 2.117 (1.315, 3.405) and aOR = 95%CI 9.763 (4.560, 20.902), respectively.

Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus delivered in the hospital was 2.6%. Class I obesity and previous history of pregnancy-induced hypertension were significantly associated with adverse maternal outcomes, whereas preterm delivery and being housewife were associated with adverse fetal outcome.

Development on new fast MRI scanners resulted in rising number of prostate examinations. High-spatial resolution of MRI examinations performed on 3T scanners allows recognition of very fine anatomical structures previously not demarcated on performed scans. We present current status of MR imaging in the context of recognition of most important anatomical structures.

Background: Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, has various extraskeletal effects, and several human and animal studies have suggested that vitamin D deficiency may be a contributory factor in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, such studies in the Indian subcontinent are either lacking or have shown conflicting results.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 121 patients with CAD from a tertiary care center and their 80 age-matched healthy controls. Serum vitamin D levels along with serum and urine chemistries were measured in both the groups. The average duration of sun exposure/day and use of sunscreen were also considered in the study cohort using a questionnaire. Serum vitamin D levels were categorized into deficient (<30 nmol/lit), insufficient (30-75 nmol/lit), and sufficient (>75 nmol/lit) groups.

Results: Among the cases, 51.2% of the patients were vitamin D deficient and 44.6% patients had insufficient vitamin D levels, whereas among controls, 40% and 31% of the population had deficient and insufficient levels of vitamin D, respectively. However, the mean value of the serum vitamin D level was not statistically different in the cases as compared to that of the controls (34.06 vs 40.19 nmol/lit) (P=0.08). Corrected serum calcium (9.26 vs 9.59 mg%) (P ≤ 0.0001) and serum albumin levels (4.21 vs 4.75 gm%) (P ≤ 0.0001) were lower in the cases than those of the controls. The average sun exposure/day was higher among the cases than that among the controls (2.93 vs 1.85 hours) (P=0.001).

Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is widely prevalent in Indian population despite abundant sunshine, and the duration of sun exposure is not correlated with serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is not associated with CAD. However, serum calcium is deficient in CAD patients as compared to the controls. Large-scale studies are required to explore the association further to evaluate the benefits of screening and correction of vitamin D deficiency in patients with CAD.