Objective To analyze the sensitivity of ARHGAP8 in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the patients with locally advanced mid-low colorectal cancer and provide accurate evidence for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. Methods The differentially expressed gene ARHGAP8 was screened out by bioinformatics analysis.Cancer tissue and rectal tissue of 68 patients with primary rectal cancer were selected.The rectal cancer tissue samples and the rectal tissue samples were collected for clinical validation of ARHGAP8 expression by quantitative real-time PCR,Western blotting,and immunohistochemistry.The clinical and pathological features such as gender,age,tumor stage,differentiation degree,and pathological type of the patients were collected for functional validation.Forty-four patients with locally advanced mid-low rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were selected for immunohistochemical examination of ARHGAP8 expression.The expression level of ARHGAP8 was compared between before and after chemotherapy and among different efficacy groups. Results The bioinformatics analysis revealed differences in the expression level of ARHGAP8 between the cancer tissue and rectal tissue (P<0.001).The expression level of ARHGAP8 was correlated with tumor stage (P=0.024),lymph node metastasis (P=0.007),and age (P=0.005).Quantitative real-time PCR results showed that the mRNA level of ARHGAP8 in the cancer tissue was higher than that in the rectal tissue (P<0.001).Western blotting and immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that the protein level of ARHGAP8 in the cancer tissue was higher than that in the rectal tissue (P=0.011).The expression of ARHGAP8 was correlated with tumor size (P=0.010) and pathological stage (P=0.005),while it showed no significant association with tumor differentiation degree,lymph node metastasis,liver metastasis,Ki-67,or microsatellite instability expression level.The 44 patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy included 13,8,8,and 15 patients of tumor regression grades 0,1,2,and 3,respectively.Among them,65.91% (29/44) patients showed responses to the treatment.After neoadjuvant chemotherapy,the expression of ARHGAP8 in the cancer tissue was down-regulated in the patients who responded to the chemotherapy (P<0.001).The response rate in the patients with low protein level of ARHGAP8 was 92.86%,which was higher than that (53.33%) in the patients with high protein level of ARHGAP8 (P=0.033). Conclusion ARHGAP8 is highly expressed in the rectal cancer tissue.The patients with locally advanced mid-low rectal cancer and low ARHGAP8 expression are more sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the XELOX protocol.ARHGAP8 can serve as a potential biomarker for the occurrence and development of rectal cancer and an important index for evaluating the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the XELOX protocol in the patients with locally advanced mid-low rectal cancer.
目的 分析ARHGAP8对中低位局部进展期直肠癌新辅助化疗疗效预测的敏感性,为进展期直肠癌的治疗提供精准依据。方法 通过生物信息学分析筛选,获得差异基因ARHGAP8。选取68例原发性直肠癌患者的直肠癌组织及直肠组织标本,应用实时荧光定量PCR、Western blot和免疫组织化学方法分别对ARHGAP8的表达强度进行验证,并收集患者性别、年龄、分期、肿瘤大小、分化程度、病理类型等临床病理特征进行功能验证;选取44例行新辅助化疗的中低位局部进展期直肠癌患者,采用免疫组织化学方法检测新辅助化疗前后ARHGAP8的表达情况,分析ARHGAP8在新辅助化疗前后、不同疗效组之间的表达情况。结果 生物信息学结果显示,ARHGAP8在癌组织及直肠组织中的表达差异有统计学意义(P<0.001),且ARHGAP8的表达水平与肿瘤分期(P=0.024)、淋巴结转移(P=0.007)、年龄(P=0.005)等临床特征相关。 实时荧光定量PCR结果显示,ARHGAP8 mRNA在癌组织中的表达显著高于直肠组织(P<0.001);Western blot和免疫组织化学结果显示,ARHGAP8蛋白在癌组织中的表达显著高于直肠组织(P=0.011);ARHGAP8的表达与肿瘤大小(P=0.010)、病理分期(P=0.005)密切相关,而与肿瘤分化程度、淋巴结转移、肝转移、Ki-67、微卫星不稳定性的表达程度无相关性。44例接受新辅助化疗的患者中TRG 0级13例、1级8例、2级8例、3级15例,其中65.91%(29/44)的患者新辅助化疗有效,新辅助化疗有效患者治疗后ARHGAP8的表达显著下降(P<0.001),ARHGAP8蛋白低表达患者的有效率为92.86%,显著高于ARHGAP8蛋白高表达者(53.33%)(P=0.033)。结论 ARHGAP8在直肠癌组织中高表达,ARHGAP8低表达的中低位局部进展期直肠癌患者对XELOX方案新辅助化疗更为敏感,ARHGAP8可作为直肠癌发生发展的潜在生物学指标,同时可作为中低位局部进展期直肠癌XELOX方案新辅助化疗疗效评估的重要参考指标。.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a novel method for quantifying the efficacy of Bevacizumab (Bev) in treating Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP), and to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a three-dose Bev induction therapy followed by surgical intervention.
METHODS: Twenty-one RRP patients treated with a three-dose Bev regimen were included. A novel efficacy evaluation method using ImageJ software was developed to calculate the standardized lesion volume from laryngoscopic images. This was compared with the Derkay score. Clinical outcomes, including reduction rate, cumulative reduction rate, efficacy grading, recurrence, and adverse reactions, were analyzed.
RESULTS: In the study cohort, the reduction rate was significantly higher after the first treatment compared with subsequent treatments. The overall response rate increased from 75% after the first treatment to 100% after the third. Among patients with localized lesions who underwent surgery, 76% experienced recurrence with a mean recurrence time of 114.23 days. Most recurrent lesions were smaller than at baseline. Adverse reactions included increased blood pressure in seven patients, which resolved without intervention. The new method showed a significant positive correlation with the Derkay score.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, based on the above findings, systemic Bev treatment for RRP is a safe and effective therapeutic approach, though further research is needed. Moreover, the new efficacy evaluation method we developed can significantly aid in studying the effectiveness of Bev treatment for RRP.
METHODS: 2 Laryngoscope, 2024.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and habit reversal training (HRT) have shown application potential in addressing tic symptoms and comorbid psychiatric conditions. Despite their theoretical potential, empirical evidence on their combined efficacy remains limited.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of CBT combined with HRT on anxiety disorders in children with Tourette\'s syndrome (TS).
METHODS: Clinical data of children with TS admitted to our hospital from January 2022 to June 2023 were collected, and the patients were grouped into the conventional therapy (control) group and the CBT combined with HRT group. Baseline characteristics, anxiety scores, tic severity scores, treatment adherence, and parental satisfaction were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using t-tests, chi-square tests, and correlation analysis.
RESULTS: A total of 136 patients, including 65 patients in the control group and 71 patients in the CBT combined with HRT group, were included. The CBT combined with HRT group showed remarkable improvements compared with the control group. Post-intervention assessment revealed a decrease in anxiety scores from 63.52 ± 1.81 to 40.53 ± 1.64 (t = 2.022, P = 0.045), and the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale total score decreased from 22.14 ± 5.67 to 16.28 ± 4.91 (t = 2.288, P = 0.024). Treatment adherence was significantly higher in the CBT combined with HRT group (85.47 ± 7.62%) compared with the control group (82.32 ± 6.54%; t = 2.596, P = 0.010). Parental satisfaction scores were also higher in the CBT combined with HRT group (8.69 ± 1.77) compared with the control group (7.87 ± 1.92; t = 2.592, P = 0.011).
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that CBT combined with HRT significantly reduces anxiety symptoms and tic severity in children with TS, with higher treatment adherence and parental satisfaction. These findings support the potential application of this comprehensive therapeutic approach for TS treatment.

There is a lack of effective therapeutic drugs for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive cardiovascular system protective effects of the new peptide ACTY116. However, its stability in ordinary aqueous solution injections is poor and its half-life in the body is short, which has hindered the development of preparations. This study aimed to prepare in situ forming implants (ISFIs) of the peptide ACTY116 and investigate its impact on pulmonary arterial hypertension. We prepared ISFIs using NMP/TA as a solvent and PLGA as a polymer. These ISFIs exhibited low viscosity, low toxicity and sustained release properties. In a mouse model of pulmonary hypertension induced by SU5416/hypoxia, both ISFIs and ACTY116 peptides effectively reduced pulmonary hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and pulmonary blood vessel wall thickness. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of ACTY116 as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension and suggests that incorporating it into an in-situ gel implant could be a promising option.

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome-based efficacy is an evaluation index which is unique to TCM and can reflect the advantages of TCM. The development of the methods and measurement tools for evaluating TCM syndrome-based efficacy can provide objective and quantitative evidence for the clinical efficacy evaluation of TCM and the development of new Chinese medicine preparations, being the exploration direction of innovative methods and technologies for evaluating TCM efficacy. The conventional evaluation methods are subjective and limited to the mitigation of symptoms and the improvement of physical signs, which make it difficult to form a unified evaluation standard. In addition, the evaluation methods lack unity, objectivity, and quantitative research. The scientific connotation, evaluation ideas and methods, and key technologies of the evaluation for the therapeutic effect on syndromes remain unclear, which leads to diverse evaluation modes, methods, and indexes. The syndrome-based efficacy scale provides a new idea for the objective quantification and standardization of TCM syndromes. This review systematically summarizes the methods and problems, introduces the research progress in the evaluation scales, and puts forward some thoughts on the characteristics of TCM syndrome-based efficacy evaluation, aiming to provide insights for the research in this field.

UNASSIGNED: This study assesses the efficacy of rituximab in the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD).
UNASSIGNED: The study initially included 40 patients with NMOSD diagnosed, after excluding patients who did not meet the complete inclusion criteria. Patients in the conventional group received routine clinical treatment, while patients in the study group received additional treatment with rituximab on the basis of the conventional treatment. Baseline data and clinically relevant indicators were collected for all patients, and the efficacy was compared between the two groups.
UNASSIGNED: Baseline data were comparable between the two groups (p > 0.05). The EDSS scores after clinical treatment in the study group were lower than those in the conventional group, and the difference in EDSS scores before and after treatment was higher than that in the conventional group (p < 0.05). The difference in visual acuity correction before and after treatment was not significant between the two groups (p > 0.05). Laboratory indicators in the study group after clinical treatment were superior to those in the conventional group (all p < 0.05). The recurrence rate after clinical treatment in the study group was significantly lower than that in the conventional group (p < 0.05). Adverse reactions after clinical treatment in the study group were less than those in the conventional group (p < 0.05).
UNASSIGNED: This study found that rituximab demonstrated significant efficacy in the acute attacks and recurrence prevention of NMOSD, emphasizing its relatively good safety and tolerability. It highlights the potential of rituximab in treating NMOSD and provides valuable insights for future disease management.

UNASSIGNED: Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) ventilation perfusion imaging is the main imaging method for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, and its application in the diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has been paid more and more attention. In recent years, with the development of computer software technology, ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) imaging quantitative analysis technology has become more and more mature. The objective of this study was to investigate the utility of quantitative analysis of pulmonary V/Q scintigraphy in evaluating the efficacy of balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in patients with CTEPH.
UNASSIGNED: In this retrospective analysis, we collected data of patients diagnosed with CTEPH who underwent BPA at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital from April 2018 to September 2020. The sample consisted of 23 males and 28 females, with an average age of 55.1±12.7 years. All patients underwent V/Q scintigraphy within one week before surgery, and we reviewed the pulmonary angiography within 1-3 months following the last BPA procedure. We repeated V/Q scintigraphy within 1 week before or after the pulmonary angiography, at the time of collecting clinical and hemodynamic parameters of these patients. We divided the patients into two groups based on the presence of residual pulmonary hypertension post-surgery and compared the pre- and post-operative quantitative pulmonary perfusion defect percentage scores (PPDs%) using the t-test.
UNASSIGNED: In all, 102 V/Q scintigraphy scans were performed in 51 patients. The quantitative PPDs% were positively correlated with the hemodynamic indexes mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and mean right ventricular pressure (RVP) (r=0.605, 0.391, and 0.464, respectively, all P<0.001) and negatively correlated with the 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) (r=-0.254, P=0.010). The average preoperative quantitative PPDs% were (49.0±15.6)% which significantly decreased to (33.5±13.9)% after surgery (t=11.249, P<0.001). The preoperative quantitative PPDs% were (54.7±15.7)% and (44.0±13.8)% in the residual pulmonary hypertension group and the non-residual pulmonary hypertension group, respectively (t=2.599, P=0.012). The postoperative quantitative PPDs% were (41.5±12.5)% and (26.3±11.0)%, in the residual pulmonary hypertension group and the non-residual pulmonary hypertension group, respectively (t=4.647, P<0.001).
UNASSIGNED: In this study, we found that quantitative analysis of SPECT pulmonary V/Q scintigraphy adequately reflected the pulmonary artery pressure and clinical status in patients with CTEPH. Our results demonstrate its definite utility in predicting residual pulmonary hypertension and in evaluating the postoperative efficacy of BPA in patients with CTEPH.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to use an 18F-FDG PET/CT multiparametric quantitative analysis to determine the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally progressive gastric cancer.
METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 34 patients with pathologically identified gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. Chemotherapy regimens were followed and 18F-FDG PET/CT was conducted. We ascertained multiparamaters of the target lesions pre- and post-treatment and determined the ideal cutoff values for the percentage change in biomarkers. Independent factors were evaluated using binary logistic regression. A response classification system was used to explore the association between metabolic and anatomical responses and the degree of pathological remission.
RESULTS: Binary logistic regression analysis showed that Lauren bowel type and change in total lesion glycolysis >45.2% were risk predictors for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy; total lesion glycolysis demonstrated the best predictive efficacy. The categorical variable system of the two-module response (metabolic and anatomical response) group had a higher predictive accuracy than that of the single-module response (metabolic or anatomical response) group.
CONCLUSIONS: Using 18F-FDG PET/CT multiparametric quantitative analysis, Lauren bowel type and change in total lesion glycolysis >45.2% were independent predictors of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Additionally, the dual-module assessment demonstrated high predictive efficacy.

Hyperuricemia (HUA), a severe metabolic disease derived from purine metabolism disorder, will lead to abnormally increased serum uric acid (SUA) levels in the body. Studies have shown that HUA is highly related to gout, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney diseases, and so on. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) shows excellent results in treating HUA because of its unique advantages of multi-metabolites and multi-targets. This article reports on the use of TCM components for uric acid (UA)-lowering activity with excellent efficacy and low side effects based on established HUA models. This work summarizes the advantages and limitations of various HUA disease models for efficacy evaluation. Applications of TCM in HUA treatment have also been discussed in detail. This paper reveals recent research progress on HUA in constructing evaluation models and systematic TCM interventions. It will provide a scientific reference for establishing the HUA model and suggest future TCM-related HUA studies.

Background: Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) is an extraesophageal syndromic manifestation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Despite the increasing incidence of and concern about LPRD, treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is unsatisfactory. Here, LPRD was treated with Tonghua Liyan (THLY) granules in combination with PPIs to evaluate treatment efficacy and possible adverse reactions. Methods: Seventy-six LPRD patients with stagnation of phlegm and qi syndrome (SPQS) were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received THLY granules combined with rabeprazole capsules. The control group received THLY granule placebo combined with rabeprazole capsules. A parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with these two groups. The treatment cycle was 8 weeks. The reflux symptom index (RSI), clinical symptom score, salivary pepsin content, reflux finding score (RFS) and gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GerdQ) were used to evaluate clinical efficacy. The final efficacy rate was evaluated according to the RSI and clinical symptom score. Results: Compared with those at baseline, all the indicators in the experimental group and control group significantly improved (p < 0.01). In terms of the RSI, clinical symptom score, and RFS, the experimental group had a higher degree of improvement (p < 0.05), and the overall efficacy rate was higher (p < 0.05). In terms of the salivary pepsin concentration and GerdQ, there was no significant difference between the test group and the control group (p > 0.05). Both groups of safety indicators showed no abnormalities and did not cause any allergic reactions in the body. Conclusion: Compared with PPIs alone, THLY granules combined with PPIs are more effective in the treatment of LPRD patients with SPQS in terms of symptoms and signs. This combination treatment, because of its higher clinical efficacy and lack of obvious adverse reactions, is worthy of clinical promotion and further in-depth study. Clinical Trial Registration: www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2100046614.