American journal of translational research最新文献

Objective: To investigate the levels of serum ferritin (SF), human neutrophil lipocalin (HNL), procalcitonin (PCT), and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-18, TNF-α, INF-γ, and sCD25) in Kawasaki disease (KD) and their relationship with coronary artery lesions (CAL).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 76 children with KD treated from May 2022 to May 2024. Participants were classified into a lesion group (n=48) and a no-lesion group (n=28) based on CAL status. Additionally, 76 healthy children were included as controls. Patients with CAL were further categorized into three subgroups based on coronary artery dilation: mild dilation (n=21), moderate dilation (n=18) and coronary artery aneurysm (n=9). The correlation between indicator levels and CAL severity, as well as coronary artery diameter at admission, was analyzed. Partial regression was used to identify inflammatory factors associated with CAL.

Results: The lesion group showed significantly higher levels of serum SF, HNL, PCT, and all seven inflammatory cytokines at admission compared to the no-lesion and control groups (all P<0.05). Among patients with CAL, those with coronary artery aneurysms exhibited the highest levels of these indicators compared to the moderate dilation subgroup (P<0.05). Serum levels of SF, HNL, PCT, and inflammatory cytokines were positively correlated with CAL severity and coronary artery diameter. Logistic regression analysis identified these markers as risk factors for CAL in KD. The area under the curve (AUC) for IL-18 was 0.891, with a sensitivity of 0.643 and a specificity of 0.042.

Conclusions: Serum SF, HNL, PCT, IL-17, IL-18, and TNF-α are implicated in CAL development in children with KD and may assist in the early clinical diagnosis of CAL.

The provision of enteral nutrition through a nasogastric tube is a routine procedure in the intensive care unit (ICU), but it can lead to complications from intestinal intolerance, such as aspiration. This case report highlights a rare esophageal bezoar complication in a 43-year-old male paraplegic patient with multiple traumas who developed high paraplegia and lost spontaneous respiration, requiring invasive ventilation and nasogastric tube enteral nutrition. Despite 28 days of nutritional support, the patient experienced regurgitation and esophageal obstruction, which was confirmed on CT and endoscopy to be an esophageal bezoar, leading to worsened energy deficiency and clinical exacerbation. Conclusion: This case illustrates the rare occurrence of an esophageal bezoar formation in a patient with high-level spinal cord injury, resulting in compromised respiratory and gastrointestinal functions. Esophageal bezoars can cause regurgitation and may worsen prognosis.

Objective: To investigate the clinical value of miR-216a-5p and miR-34a in early screening for cervical cancer (CC).

Methods: 99 patients were selected and classified into a cervical cancer group, a precancerous lesion group, and a chronic cervicitis group, with 33 patients in each group. The miR-216a-5p and miR-34a levels in the morning urine samples of patients in the three groups were detected. Additionally, the urine samples of CC patients were analyzed and their cervical tissues examined to confirm the presence of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection. The differences in the levels of miR-216a-5p and miR-34a in CC patients exhibiting varying clinical features and the clinical values of the two biomarkers in identifying CC were analyzed. Patients in the cervical cancer group were divided into a recurrence group and a non-recurrence group, after which their levels of miR-216a-5p and miR-34a were analyzed. These patients were subsequently divided into a high-expression group and a low-expression group with the aforementioned biomarker levels in the non-recurrence group as cutoff values. The progression-free survival was compared between the low- and high-expression groups.

Results: Sensitivity and specificity of the urine sample test for HPV infection were 85.19% and 93.33%, respectively. Compared to chronic cervicitis group and precancerous lesion groups, or the non-recurrence group, the levels of miR-216a-5p and miR-34a in both the cervical cancer group and recurrence group were significantly lower (P < 0.05). CC patients with moderately to poorly differentiated tumor cells, an infiltration depth of the muscle layer > 1/2, lymph node metastasis, parametrial infiltration, or vascular invasion had significantly lower levels of miR-216a-5p and miR-34a than those without these risk factors (P < 0.05). The AUC for the application of the two biomarkers in diagnosing CC individually or in combination, or in forecasting recurrence, was greater than 0.8. Additionally, the cumulative progression-free survival was shorter in the low-expression group compared to the high-expression group.

Conclusion: Use of morning urine samples for testing HPV infection shows high sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, the miR-216a-5p and miR-34a levels were closely associated with the progression and recurrence of CC.

Objectives: To investigate the expression of FUT8, STX4, and calpain2 in ovarian tumor tissues and their association with clinicopathological characteristics.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the expression of FUT8, STX4, and calpain2 in ovarian tumor samples from patients treated at Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Hospital between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2017. The association between marker expression and histopathological features was evaluated. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the diagnostic value of these markers in malignant ovarian tumors.

Results: The expression of FUT8, STX4, and calpain2 was significantly higher in malignant ovarian tumors compared to benign tumors (all P < 0.05). A positive correlation was observed among the expressions of FUT8, STX4, and calpain2 (all P < 0.001). FUT8 expression was associated with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (P = 0.013), STX4 expression was related to patient age (P = 0.012) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.019). Patients with high co-expression of all three markers had a significantly higher likelihood of having malignant ovarian tumors compared to those with low expression of at least one marker (P = 0.002).

Conclusions: Simultaneous detection of FUT8, STX4, and calpain2 expression in ovarian tumor tissues provides valuable diagnostic insights for malignant ovarian tumors.

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing inadequate enteral nutrition (EN) after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer and its impact on clinical outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 212 gastric cancer patients who underwent radical surgery and received EN at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they achieved 60% of their caloric needs by the sixth postoperative day. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with inadequate EN.

Results: Inadequate EN was observed in 26.89% of the patients. Key factors associated with insufficient EN included delayed initiation of nutrition, increased intra-abdominal and central venous pressures, use of sedatives, and delayed early mobility (all P<0.05). Patients with inadequate EN had longer hospital stays, delayed bowel recovery, higher postoperative complication rates, and lower overall and disease-free survival rates (all P<0.05).

Conclusion: Inadequate enteral nutrition is an independent risk factor for poor clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients after radical gastrectomy. Early and adequate nutritional support is essential to improve recovery and long-term survival.

Objective: To investigate a correlation between cardiac electrophysiological characteristics and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with arrhythmia, and to identify indicators for predicting CVD onset.

Methods: We enrolled 100 arrhythmia patients treated at West China Hospital of Sichuan University between May 2021 and May 2023. The incidence of CVD was assessed during hospitalization and within one year post-discharge. We compared baseline characteristics, biochemical markers, and electrocardiogram parameters between patients who developed CVD and those who did not. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to explore linear relationships between indicators and CVD incidence. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to identify associations between variables and CVD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive power of individual and combined risk factors.

Results: Of the 100 patients, 31 (31%) developed CVD. The CVD group exhibited significantly higher BMI, hypertension prevalence, triglycerides (TG), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and QT/QTc intervals compared to the non-CVD group. HDL-C levels were significantly lower in the CVD group (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed positive correlations between BMI, hypertension, TG, hs-CRP, BNP, QT, and QTc with CVD (r = 0.243, 0.563, 0.384, 0.514, 0.238, 0.355, 0.327, all P < 0.05). Conversely, HDL-C showed a negative correlation with CVD (r = -0.200, P < 0.05). QTc correlated significantly with BMI, hypertension, TG, and hs-CRP (r = 0.263, 0.221, 0.255, 0.200, all P < 0.05). Multi-factor logistic regression identified BMI, TG, hs-CRP, and QT/QTc intervals as significant risk factors for CVD (all P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the combined assessment of BMI, TG, hs-CRP, QT, and QTc yielded an AUC of 0.951, with sensitivity of 92.7% and specificity of 86.4%, outperforming individual tests.

Conclusion: Elevated BMI, TG, hs-CRP, and prolonged QT/QTc intervals are significantly associated with the development of CVD in arrhythmia patients. Combined evaluation of these factors improves the accuracy of CVD risk prediction.

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing the fear of recurrence among craniopharyngioma (CP) patients.

Methods: A total of 152 CP patients from Mianyang Central Hospital were recruited for this survey. The patients completed validated self-report questionnaires, including the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF), Hospital Anxiety and Depressed Scale (HADS), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ).

Results: The average post-surgery FoP-Q-SF score in CP patients was 36.29±5.22 points, with 71.1% of patients scoring above the clinical significance level (cut-off score ≥34). FoP-Q-SF scores differed significantly by type of resection, gender, and tumor size (P<0.001), with lower recurrence fear in patients undergoing total resection, female patients, and those with tumors <2.4 cm. Social support (P<0.001) and positive coping (P<0.001) were associated with a significant reduction in the fear of recurrence, while negative coping was associated with an increased fear of recurrence (P<0.001). Additionally, gender (P<0.001) and tumor size (P<0.001) also showed significant effects on fear of recurrence. The interaction between depression and gender significantly affected fear of recurrence (P<0.001), with female FoP-Q-SF scores increasing as HADS-depression scores rose, while the opposite trend was observed for male patients.

Conclusion: The interaction between gender and depressive mood significantly modulates the fear of recurrence, suggesting that gender differences should be considered in clinical interventions. Social support and positive coping play a positive role in alleviating fear of recurrence, while negative coping may exacerbate the fear. Strengthening psychological assessment and support during postoperative care is recommended.

Objective: Adhesion regulating molecule-1 (ADRM1), a 26S proteasome adaptor protein, plays a crucial role in mediating the growth and differentiation of osteoclasts in osteoporosis (OP). However, its involvement in this osteoanabolic effect remains largely uninvestigated.

Methods: In vitro experiments, including both gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches, were conducted in MC3T3-E1 and C3H10T1/2 cells.

Results: Knockdown of ADRM1 markedly promoted the growth of C3H10T1/2 cells while inhibiting apoptosis. Additionally, this intervention enhanced the expression of osteoblast differentiation markers and key proteins associated with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Notably, silencing ADRM1 promoted osteoblast mineralization and differentiation, as evidenced by increased Alizarin red staining and alkaline phosphatase staining. Conversely, MC3T3-E1 cells overexpressing ADRM1 exhibited results that were diametrically opposed to those observed with ADRM1 knockdown. Furthermore, treatment with ICG-001 (a Wnt/β-catenin pathway antagonist) reversed the effects of ADRM1 knockdown in C3H10T1/2 cells.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that silencing ADRM1 induces osteoblast mineralization and differentiation by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This finding underscores the therapeutic potential of the ADRM1/Wnt/β-catenin axis in treating OP.

Background: Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a challenging condition with limited treatment options. Pembrolizumab, a programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, has emerged as a promising therapy, necessitating a comprehensive analysis of its efficacy and safety.

Methods: Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a thorough search across major electronic databases to compile studies evaluating Pembrolizumab's efficacy and safety in treating advanced NSCLC. Thirteen studies were included based on stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria, focusing on the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse event incidence. Statistical analyses assessed study heterogeneity and effect sizes, employing fixed or random-effects models as appropriate.

Results: The meta-analysis revealed an ORR of 0.46 (95% CI: 0.44-0.49) and a DCR of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.69-0.79), indicating significant tumor control and disease management. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. The overall incidence of adverse events was reported as 36% (95% CI: 32% to 40%), reflecting a manageable safety profile. Publication bias evaluation showed no significant bias, affirming the reliability of the results.

Conclusions: Pembrolizumab exhibits substantial efficacy in reducing tumor burden and controlling disease in patients with advanced NSCLC, alongside a consistent safety profile. These findings support its continued use and further research into optimizing treatment strategies.