Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of lentinan on immune function in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods We searched MEDLINE (1969-2006), EMBASE (1984-2006), OVID (1969-2006), CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in The Cochrane Library) (Issue 4, 2006), the Chinese Biomedicine Database (1978-2006) and CNKI (1978-2006). We also handsearched relevant journals. Pharmaceutical companies were contacted to identify additional randomized controlled trials. We assessed the identified studies in order to include high quality studies. Results Ten studies (containing 786 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Six trials shown that lentinan+FAM had significant efficacy upon patients with advanced gastric cancer compared with FAM in overall response [Plt;0.01, RR1.70, 95%CI (1.39,2.09)]. In three trials, a significant effect of lentinan+FAM group compared with FAM group in quantity of CD3+ T, T4/T8, NK was found, but lower than FAM group in side- effect of digestive system [RR0.71, 95%CI (0.55,0.91)]. The other trail identified there were fewer side effects in lentinan+FAM group compared with FAM group, though did not discribe the overall response. In case the significant heterogeneity, meta-analysis could not be used for the other three trails included, since the components of chemotherapeutic agents (ATP+Co-A+Vc; DDP+ Epirubicin+5FU; 5FU+CF+VP16) were not the same. In the three trials, overall response was statistically significant better in the lentinan group than in the control group, and lentinan group could significantly increase the quantity of CD3+ T, T4/T8, NK compared with control group. Conclusions The present meta-analysis suggested that addition of lentinan to standard chemotherapy provided a significant advantage over chemotherapy alone in terms of efficacy for patients with advanced gastric cancer. However, most of trials included in the review were of low quality, therefore, it is of necessity to conduct multi-center randomized-controlled trials of high quality.
Objectives To analyze the status quo of projects on pension services funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), with the aim of enlarging the perspective and horizon of related studies, and improving both the quantity and quality of such projects in NSFC. Methods NSFC website was systematically searched to collect information of pension service projects funded by NSFC from 2008 to 2017. SPSS 19.0 software was subsequently applied to analyze the characteristics of the projects in terms of study type, regional distribution, profession and institution, and fund scale, etc. Results A total of 39 projects on pension service were included, among which 12 were focused on related strategies (30.8%), 11 on related models (28.2%), and 6 on the effects of different interventions (15.4%). The 39 projects were unbalanced in terms of geographical distribution, institutions and research types. Conclusions NSFC should facilitate the research of pension service by expanding the related fund scale, increasing the fund support, strengthening the exchange of domestically different regions, and enhancing international cooperation.
In recent years, heart valve disease has been increasing year by year. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become the first-line surgical method for patients with severe aortic stenosis due to the advantages of small surgical trauma and rapid postoperative recovery. In the context of the rapid development of TAVR, the postoperative complications of TAVR seriously affect the surgical success rate and patient prognosis. Therefore, the prevention and nursing of complications after TAVR are particularly important. This article will review the assessment, prevention and care of the complications such as arrhythmia, vascular complications, perivalvular leakage, stroke, and acute renal failure after TAVR in combination with the current situation at home and abroad, in order to enhance the clinical medical workers’ understanding of the complications.
Objective To understand the frailty status and main influencing factors of elderly Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Methods The elderly PD patients who attended the Department of Neurology of Changshu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between November 2023 and March 2024 were selected. The patients’ frailty conditions were investigated using general information questionnaire, Chinese version of Tilburg Frailty Indicator, Hoehn-Yahr Rating Scale, Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form, Movement Disorder Society-Unified PD Rating Scale Part Ⅲ, PD Sleep Scale-2, and Mini-Mental State Examination. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to further determine the influencing factors of the frailty status in elderly PD patients. Results A total of 170 PD patients were included. Among them, 117 cases (68.82%) had frailty, while 53 cases (31.18%) had not frailty. The average score for frailty was (6.48±3.34) points, the average score for nutritional status was (11.89±1.65) points, the average score for motor function was (27.40±13.73) points, the average score for sleep quality was (16.05±7.76) points, and the average score for cognitive status is (26.25±4.51) points. The Pearson correlation analysis results showed that PD patient frailty was positively correlated with motor function and sleep quality (P<0.01), and negatively correlated with nutritional status and cognitive status (P<0.01). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, education, place of residence, course of disease, Hoehn-Yahr Rating, nutritional status, motor function, cognitive status and sleep quality were the influencing factors of frailty in PD patients (P<0.05). Conclusions Elderly PD patients are prone to frailty. Healthcare professionals should pay attention to early screening for frailty in this population and provide timely and effective interventions to prevent or delay the onset of frailty in patients.