Int J Med Sci
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Background and aim: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is quickly turning into a pandemic. We aimed to further clarify the clinical characteristics and the relationship between these features and disease severity. Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed among moderate, severe and critically ill group patients. ⋯ Through our analysis, the age, comorbidities, lymphocyte count, eosinophil count, ferritin, CRP, LDH, PT and inflammatory cytokines were statistically significant along with the disease severity. Conclusion: We found some clinical characteristic and inflammatory cytokines could reveal the severity of COVID-19 during the outbreak phage. Our research could assist the clinicians recognize severe and critically ill patients timely and focus on the expectant treatment for each patient.
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The use of multipronged measures, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has greatly increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we found the use of TCM and is positively correlated with the regional cure rate in China (R=0.77, P<10-5). We analyzed 185 commonly administered TCM recipes comprised of 210 herbs nationwide to reveal mechanistic insight. Eight out of the 10 most commonly used herbs showed anti-coronavirus potential by intersecting with COVID-19 targets. ⋯ We then analyzed 18 representative remedies based on molecular targets associated with 14 medical conditions over the disease course, e.g., pyrexia, coughing, asthenia, lymphopenia, cytokine storm, etc. The significant level of coherence (SLC) revealed, in part, the potential uses and properties of corresponding TCMs. Thus, herbal plants coordinate to combat COVID-19 in multiple dimensions, casting a light of hope before effective vaccines are developed.
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The scientific community continuously strives to get new disease models, to discover early markers or novel therapeutic approaches, improving the diagnosis and prognosis of several human pathologies. Parkinson's Disease (PD) is characterized by a long asymptomatic phase, characterized by a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. Recently, the human Periapical Cyst-Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hPCy-MSCs) have been differentiated in functional dopaminergic neurons: such oral-derived MSCs and the hPCy-MSCs-derived exosomes may represent a strategic and useful in vitro study-model, as well as intriguing therapeutic carriers. ⋯ This review aims to describe the crosstalk among some aspects of circadian rhythm related to the onset of PD and the exosomes released by cells of PD patients. More in detail: the first part of this article will describe the main characteristics of circadian rhythm and the involvement of the exosomes found to be effective in the pathogenesis of PD. Finally, the authors will suggest how those exosomes derived from dopaminergic neurons, obtained by oral-derived stem cells (hPCy-MSCs) may represent a smart model for the in vitro research on PD, to find new biomarkers, to test new drugs or, fatally, to find new pathways applicable in future therapeutic approaches.
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Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic condition resulting from insulin resistance and insufficient β-cell secretion, leading to improper glycaemic regulation. Previous studies have found that excessive fat deposits in organs such as the liver and muscle can cause insulin resistance through lipotoxicity that affects β-cell function. The relationships between fat deposits in pancreatic tissue, the function of β-cells, the method of visceral fat evaluation and T2DM have been sought by researchers. ⋯ Similarly, after adjustment for sex, age and body mass index, only estimated liver fat was correlated with HOMA-IR and AUCINS. Conclusions: This study suggests no significant correlation between pancreatic fat deposition and β-cell dysfunction in the early stages of T2DM using QCT as a screening tool. The deposits of fat in the pancreas and the resulting lipotoxicity may play an important role in the late stage of islet cell function dysfunction as the course of T2DM progresses.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
The effect of combined Epidural-general Anesthesia on Hemodynamic Instability during Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma Surgery: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of combined epidural-general anesthesia with those of general anesthesia alone on hemodynamic instability (intraoperative hypotension and hypertensive crisis) during pheochromocytoma and sympathetic paraganglioma surgery. Methods: A total of 119 patients' medical records were reviewed who were diagnosed as having pheochromocytoma and sympathetic paraganglioma on the basis of histological findings. Intraoperative hypotension was defined as a mean blood pressure < 60 mmHg or a decrease > 30% in baseline systolic blood pressure after adrenal vein ligation. ⋯ In contrast, an increased attenuation number on unenhanced computed tomography was the only independent predictor of hypertensive crisis (1.087 [1.021-1.158], p = 0.009). Conclusions: The combined epidural-general anesthesia was not effective in attenuating hypertensive responses, but could have exacerbated intraoperative hypotension. These findings should be taken into account before selecting the anesthetic technique in pheochromocytoma and sympathetic paraganglioma surgery.