Medicine
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Observational Study
Association of serum high mobility group box 1 levels with disease activity and renal involvement in patients with systemic vasculitis.
High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a kind of proinflammatory mediator that acts as an alarmin when released by dying, injured or activated cells. Previous studies have reported that HMGB1 are closely linked to antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). The present study aimed to evaluate whether serum HMGB1 levels were associated with systemic vasculitis (VAs). ⋯ More interestingly, serum HMGB1 were significantly higher in patients with PAN compared with AAV and TA patients (all P < .05). Furthermore, there was positive correlation between serum HMGB1 levels and Hs-CRP, Scr, and 24-hour proteinuria in patients with PAN (all P < .05). Serum HMGB1 levels are increased in patients with VAs compared with HC and EH and can reflect the disease activity and renal involvement.
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Observational Study
Prognostic value of serum albumin for patients with acute aortic dissection: A retrospective cohort study.
Serum albumin (SA) is associated with inflammation and thrombosis, which are involved in acute aortic dissection (AAD). Our aim was to investigate the effect of SA level on survival in patients with AAD. We analyzed 777 patients with AAD. ⋯ Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that survival was significantly lower in patients with hypoalbuminemia compared to those without, regardless of AAD type (type A: log-rank χ = 14.71; P <.001; Type B: log-rank χ = 10.42; P = .001). After adjusting for confounding factors, hypoalbuminemia was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with either type A (HR, 2.492; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.247-4.979; P = .010) or type B (HR, 8.729; 95% CI, 1.825-41.736; P = .007). SA is independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality in both type A and B AAD.
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Gout occurs mainly in joints, but rarely in the spine. In the spine, urate crystals can cause intervertebral space instability but rarely lead to retrolisthesis. Here, we present an extremely rare disease with gout invaded the intervertebral disc with lumbar retrolisthesis. ⋯ Gouty spondylodiscitis can cause intervertebral space instability. Sagittal imbalance and degeneration of disc with decreasing of segmental disc height are considered as the main factors of retrolisthesis. The appearance may lead to misdiagnose a patient with gout history with a destruction of the intervertebral space. Surgery is a compromise method for gouty spondylodiscitis patients with urgent neurological symptoms.
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Apatinib (Jiangsu HengRui Medicine Co. Ltd), a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been proven to be safe and to significantly prolong survival in advanced chemotherapy-refractory gastric cancer. This study aimed to assess and compare the efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with chemotherapy with that of chemotherapy alone as second- or higher-line treatment in patients with advanced and metastatic gastric or those with metastatic gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (mGC). ⋯ Moreover, the incidence of Grade 3 to 4 hand-foot syndrome, proteinuria, and hypertension was significantly different between the 2 groups. Combined therapy (P = .040) and metastatic sites <2 (P = .008) were the independent prognostic factors for disease progression. Compared with chemotherapy alone, the addition of apatinib to chemotherapy could better improve PFS and DCR with an acceptable safety profile for mGC refractory to 1 or more line of prior chemotherapy.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. However, the precise mechanisms of the development and progression of HCC remain unclear. The present study attempted to identify and functionally analyze the differentially expressed genes between HCC and cirrhotic tissues by using comprehensive bioinformatics analyses. ⋯ The present study identified a series of key genes and pathways that may be involved in the tumorigenicity and progression of HCC, providing a new understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis in HCC.