ObjectivesTo systematically review the prognostic value of plasma soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) level in predicting 28-day mortality in sepsis.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect studies about the prognostic value of plasma sTREM-1 in early 28-day mortality in sepsis from inception to April 16th, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 14.0 software.ResultsA total of 13 studies involving 1 115 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 77%, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and the negative likelihood ratio were 3.4 and 0.28, respectively. The diagnostic ratio was 12. The overall area under the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was 0.80.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that plasma sTREM-1, as a single index, may play a prognostic role in the early 28-day mortality of sepsis in patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
ObjectiveObservational studies have shown that plasma lipids are associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD), but the causal relationship is unclear. This study investigated the causal relationship between 179 liposomes and NDD using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). MethodsA two-sample MR method was used to comprehensively analyze the causal relationship between liposomes and major NDD such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The two sample software package and Phenoscanner database were used to screen for appropriate instrumental variables (TV). In this study, inverse variance weighting (IVW) was used as the primary measure of MR analysis, and various sensitivity tests were performed. ResultsMR-IVW results showed that phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (OR=0.90, 95%CI 0.83 to 0.99, P=0.03), phosphatidylcholine (PC) (OR=0.92, 95%CI 0.85 to 0.99, P=0.02) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) (OR=0.90, 95%CI 0.83 to 0.99, P=0.03) were protective factors for AD. Sterol ester (OR=1.18, 95%CI 1.04 to 1.34, P=0.01) and cholesterol (OR=1.26, 95%CI 1.02 to 1.56, P=0.03) increased the risk of PD. PE (OR=0.79, 95%CI 0.64 to 0.98, P=0.03) and PC (OR=0.83, 95%CI 0.69 to 0.98, P=0.03) reduced the risk of PD. Diacylglycerol (DAG) (OR=1.24, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.54, P=0.04) and sphingomyelin (SM) (OR=1.13, 95%CI 1.08 to 1.58, P=0.01) were the risk factors for MS. PI (OR=0.77, 95%CI 0.62 to 0.95, P=0.02) and PC (OR=0.74, 95%CI 0.88 to 0.95, P=0.02) were protective factors for MS. PI (OR=1.02, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.04, P=0.02) and triglyceride (TG) (OR=1.03, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.05, P=0.02) increased the risk of ALS, PC (OR=0.98, 95%CI 0.97 to 0.99, P=0.03) decreased the risk of ALS. ConclusionThere is a causal relationship between sterol ester, cholesterol, PC, PE, PI, DAG, SM, TG and different NDD, which provides a theoretical basis and support for further clinical studies.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of plasma exchange (PE) versus routine medical therapy (RMT) for patients with chronic liver failure. MethodsWe electronically searched databases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library (Issue 7, 2014), CBM, CNKI, and VIP from inception to August 2014, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials (CCTs) of PE versus RMT for chronic liver failure patients. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0 software. ResultsA total of 7 RCTs and 9 CCTs involving 1 632 patients (822 in the PE group and 810 in the RMT group) were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:compared with the RMT group, the PE group had lower mortality rate (RCT:OR=0.24, 95%CI 0.13 to 0.43; CCT:OR=0.48, 95%CI 0.30 to 0.78) and higher total effective rate (RCT:OR=4.04, 95%CI 2.80 to 5.85; CCT:OR=3.45, 95%CI 2.11 to 5.64). Subgroup analysis based on the stage of liver failure showed that the PE group was superior to the RMT group in early- and intermediate-stage patients with liver failure in total effective rate (early stage:OR=4.78, 95%CI 1.87 to 12.23; intermediate stage:OR=4.43, 95%CI 1.77 to 11.08), but this difference was not found in advanced liver failure patients (OR=1.61, 95%CI 0.35 to 7.38). Seven studies reported 187 cases of adverse reactions (11.46%), and most of them were pruritus and urticaria. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows, compared with the routine medical therapy, the PE therapy could be effective to early- and intermediate-stage liver failure patients, but not be effective to advanced liver failure patients. In addition, patients who received the PE therapy have risks of adverse reactions which mainly are allergic reaction. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To explore the effectiveness of plasma-mediated bipolar radiofrequency ablation debridement (Coblation debridement) in treatment with retention of internal fixation for early postoperative infection of fractures of extremities. Methods Between January 2012 and May 2015, 16 patients (12 males and 4 females) with early postoperative infection of internal fixation for extremity fracture were treated, with an average age of 41.6 years (range, 19-61 years). The fractures included tibia and fibula fracture in 5 cases, femoral fractures in 5 cases, distal humeral fractures in 3 cases, ulna and radius fractures in 2 cases, and patellar fracture in 1 case. Two cases were open fractures and 14 cases were closed fractures. All fractures were fixed non-intramedullarily. Postoperative infection occurred at 5-10 days (mean, 7 days) after operation, with bacteria cultured from wound secretion in all cases. Type EIC5872 70 Coblation knife and Coblator Ⅱ plasma surgery system were conducted to debride the foci of infection in ablating pattern with sterile saline used as the conductive fluid and the magnitude of power from 6 to 9. After pulse irrigating with sterile saline, irrigating tube and draining tube were placed beside the fixation. Postoperative continuous irrigation and drainage and systemic antibiotic therapy would be conducted. The effectiveness was evaluated by bone infection effectiveness evaluation criteria. Results All the 16 patients were followed up 12-36 months (mean, 15 months) after operation. All the infected wounds were cured and healed by first intention without recurrence in all the patients, and the fracture healing time was 3-7 months (mean, 4.8 months) without limb dysfunction or nonunion. Internal fixation was removed at 1-2 years after operation in 4 cases, whom with good fracture healing and without recurrence of infection after operation. Conclusion The effectiveness of Coblation debridement in treatment with retention of internal fixation for early postoperative infection of extremity fractures are satisfactory, which can avoid the second stage operation, infectious nonunion, and osteomyelitis.
To explore the effects of plasma jet (PJ) and plasma activated water (PAW) on the sterilization of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods, so as to provide a basis for plasma treatment of dental caries and to enrich the treatment means of dental caries, an atmospheric pressure plasma excitation system was built, and the effects of PJ and PAW on the sterilization rate of S. mutans and the changes of temperature and pH during treatment were studied under different excitation voltage (Ue) and different excitation time (te). The results showed that in the PJ treatment, the difference in the survival rate of S. mutans between the treatment group and the control group was statistically significant (P = 0.007, d=2.66) when Ue = 7 kV and te = 60 s, and complete sterilization was achieved at Ue = 8 kV and te = 120 s in the PJ treatment. In contrast, in the PAW treatment, the difference in the survival rate of S. mutans between the treatment group and the control group was statistically significant (P = 0.029, d = 1.71) when Ue = 7 kV and te = 30 s, and complete sterilization was achieved with PAW treatment when Ue = 9 kV and te = 60 s. Results of the monitoring of temperature and pH showed that the maximum temperature rise during PJ and PAW treatment did not exceed 4.3 °C, while the pH value after PAW treatment would drop to a minimum of 3.02. In summary, the optimal sterilization parameters for PJ were Ue=8 kV and 90 s < te ≤ 120 s, while the optimal sterilization parameters for PAW were Ue = 9 kV and 30 s<te ≤ 60 s. Both treatment methods achieved non-thermal sterilization of S. mutans, where PJ required only a smaller Ue to achieve complete sterilization, while at pH < 4.7, PAW only required a shorter te to achieve complete sterilization, but its acidic environment could cause some chemical damage to the teeth. This study can provide some reference value for plasma treatment of dental caries.
ObjectiveTo explore the levels of serum glucose and insulin secretion function in people with different educational background of normal glucose tolerance and to investigate its relationship with educational levels. MethodsWe had telephone connections with normal fast glucose people who did health examination from January 2007 to January 2011, then the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was performed and the level of insulin were measured. A total of 340 people with normal glucose tolerance who completed our examination and answered a questionnaire on lifestyle were included in our study. They were divided into three groups according to their educational levels. The levels of plasma glucose and insulin were measured in 92 high educational level participants, 68 middle educational level participants and 70 low educational level participants. We calculated homevstasis model assessment (HOMA)-S, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-β and compared differences between the three groups. ResultsWith the decline of educational levels, fasting plasma glucose, body mass index (BMI), fasting insulin, postprandial insulin, HOMA-β, and HOMA-IR gradually increased, while HOMA-S gradually decreased. The level of BMI, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR in high educational level group were significantly lower than those in low educational level group. The level of BMI, HOMA-IR in middle educational level group were significantly lower than those in low educational level group (P<0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that level of fasting plasma glucose was related to age, BMI, and educational levels. ConclusionWith the decline of educational levels, BMI and HOMA-IR increase, and HOMA-S decreases, which indicates that they already have differences in glucose metabolism and insulin secretion function in people with normal glucose tolerance, presaging that in the future the proportion of development of diabetes in the low educational level may increase.
Objective To detect traces of microRNAs (miRNAs) in plasma and assess the expression stability of two common reference genes by stem-loop and poly A polymerase (PAP) real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, as miRNAs are the new bio-markers of tumor diagnosis and molecular targeted therapy, and its quantitative research is very important. Methods We extracted miRNAs from plasma of adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats’ plasma, and detected the expressions of rno-miR-200b-3p and rno-miR-126-3p with stem-loop and PAP real-time PCR quantitative method, with rno-miR-103a-3p and U6 as internal controls. All the results were evaluated by 2△Ct method. Results Compared with PAP method, the stem-loop method reduced Ct value by 2-4 cycles and improved sensitivity by 10 times. In PAP method, the melting curve showed two peaks, a main peak and a small non-specific peak. Yet the melting curve of stem-loop method demonstrated a single specific peak. Furthermore, we validated the stability of internal references in the two real time PCR methods. U6 presented a more stable Ct value than rno-miR-103 in adult SD rats’ plasma samples. Conclusions Stem-loop real-time PCR is recommended as a major way to detect some samples with a low concentration of miRNAs, owing to its high accuracy and sensitivity. However, if a large number of tissue samples is going to be detected, PAP real-time PCR is more suitable and convenient than stem-loop method. U6 is more stable and repeatable than rno-miR-103a-3p as the reference gene to evaluate the semi-quantitative consequence of miRNAs.
Objective To study the therapeutic effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass （RYGB） on type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） rats and explore the possible mechanism of vaspin in RYGB on T2DM. Methods Twenty SD rats with T2DM and 20 age- and sex-matched normal SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the random digits table：T2DM-RYGB group， T2DM-sham operation （SO） group，RYGB group，and SO group，10 rats in each group. Fasting plasma glucose （FPG） level，serum insulin （INS） level，vaspin level，and homeostasis model of insulin resistance （HOMA-IR） were determined before operation and on week 4，8 after operation，respectively．At the same time，the correlation between vaspin and the indicators （FPG，INS，or HOMA-IR） was analyzed．Results Compared the indicators after operation with before operation，the FPG level，INS level，vaspin level，and HOMA-IR were not significantly different between the T2DM-RYGB group and T2DM-SO group （P＞0.05） or between the RYGB group and SO group （P＞0.05），but the FPG level，INS level，vaspin level，and HOMA-IR in the T2DM-RYGB group and T2DM-SO group were significantly higher than those in the RYGB group （P＜0.05） and SO group （P＜0.05），respectively. On week 4 after operation，the FPG level，INS level，vaspin level，and HOMA-IR decreased in the T2DM-RYGB group，except for the FPG level，the other indexes had no significant differences as compared with the values before operation. On week 8 after operation，the FPG level，INS level，vaspin level，and HOMA-IR further decreased in the T2DM-RYGB group，there were significant differences of these indicators between before operation and on week 8 after operation. Compared the indicators after operation with before operation，the FPG level，INS level，vaspin level，and HOMA-IR were not statistically significant （P＞0.05） in the T2DM-SO group，RYGB group，or SO group. The changes in serum vaspin level correlated positively with those in INS and HOMA-IR before operaion and on week 4，8 after operaion in the T2DM-RYGB group and T2DM SO group rats （P＜0.05），respectively. Conclusions RYGB surgery has a therapeutic effect on T2DM rats，and serum vaspin level decreases and insulin resistance is improved after RYGB surgery，which may be one of the mechanisms of the treatment for T2DM.
Objective To systematically review the prognostic and clinicopathological value of plasma fibrinogen in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Methods An electronic search of the PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 5, 2016), CNKI, CBM and WanFang Data databases was performed to collect cohort studies about the prognostic value of plasma fibrinogen in RCC from inception to May 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 3 744 RCC patients from 7 cohort studies were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the lower plasma fibrinogen expression group was superior to the higher expression group in overall survival (HR=2.13, 95%CI 1.74 to 2.61,P<0.00 001) and cancer-specific survival (HR=3.12, 95%CI 2.19 to 4.44,P<0.00 001). Subgroup analysis showed that plasma fibrinogen expression was higher in stage Ⅲ to Ⅳ than stage ⅠtoⅡ (OR=0.27, 95%CI 0.13 to 0.55,P=0.000 3) and was higher in Fuhrman grading G3+G4 than grading G1+G2 (OR=0.49, 95%CI 0.40 to 0.59,P<0.000 01). However, the level of plasma fibrinogen was not found to be associated with gender (OR=0.85, 95%CI 0.69 to 1.05,P=0.14). Conclusion Current evidence shows plasma fibrinogen expression is associated with the prognostic and clinicopathological value of RCC. Due to limited quantity and quality of included studies, the above conclusions are still needed to be verified by more high quality studies.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the visual improvement of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for refractory optic neuritis (ON) patients in acute phase.MethodsSeventy-five affected eyes from 44 refractory ON patients with severe visual defect or resistance to high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) therapy, who were admitted to The Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2015 and August 2016, were recruited and received TPE therapy. Among these patients, 11 were male and 33 were female; the average age was 39.1±13.9; 31 patients had two affected eyes, 13 patients had one affected eye. The course of the disease on the group of patients were more than 2 weeks, and the visual acuity worsened for more than 10 days and continued to deteriorate. TPE treatment was performed on all of the patients. BCVA was recorded before and 24 h after treatment, and the visual function was scored using visual outcome scale (VOS). At the same time, the adverse reactions of TPE treatment were observed. The paired t-test was used to compare the VOS before and after treatment. The correlation between VOS before and after treatment was analyzed by Linear-by-Linear correlation analysis.ResultsAmong 75 affected eyes, the post-therapy VOS 3.89±2.13 was significantly improved from pre-therapy VOS 5.56±1.69 (t=6.77, P＜0.001). Forty-eight of 75 eyes were improved at lease 1 score of VOS, the overall rate of visual improvement was 64.0%. Especially among the eyes with initial vision of light perception, an improved rate of 82.4% was presented. 75.0% in those eyes with initial vision of count fingers and 67.7% in no light perception. Linear-by-Linear correlation analysis showed a significant linear correlation between the scores of VOS before and after TPE treatment (r=0.398, P=0.01). During the course of TPE treatment, 5 patients had mild adverse reactions such as low calcium reaction and allergic reaction and were well controlled after treatment.ConclusionUsing TPE to treat refractory ON in acute phased can improve the visual function of patients.