Patterns of liver fibrosis evolution in Chinese HIV/HBV co-infected adults following 5-year antiretroviral treatment: a longitudinal study using non-invasive APRI and Fib-4 scores.

The long-term effects of combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) on liver fibrosis patterns in adults living with HIV and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) are not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the trajectories of liver fibrosis and identify the associations of baseline variables with different patterns of liver fibrosis evolution. A total of 333 individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection and undergoing long-term ART were enrolled in this study.

Cytokines and lymphocyte subsets are associated with disease severity of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). Previous studies have indicated that SFTS patients have a high mortality rate, which may be related to cytokine storm and immune dysfunction. In our study, we analyzed differences in cytokines and lymphocyte subsets between severe and non-severe SFTS patients, with the aim of identifying predictors of severity.

Ruxolitinib plus standard of care in severe hospitalized adults with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS): an exploratory, single-arm trial.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease, and its morbidity and mortality are increasing. At present, there is no specific therapy available. An exacerbated IFN-I response and cytokine storm are related to the mortality of patients with SFTS.

The presence of foci of infection in China.

China is not considered as an endemic area of , so there is no routine clinical way to diagnose this infection. This study aims to determine whether 2 febrile patients who had a tick bite in East China were indeed infected with The citrate synthase gene () was amplified with universal rickettsial primers by real-time fluorescent PCR from the patients' blood samples. Nested PCR was used to amplify the outer membrane protein A gene () for positive specimens.

Investigation of predictors for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome.

Patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) had been confirmed to have immune dysfunction and were prone to invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), which was directly related to the increased mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors for IPA in SFTS patients, and the results were expected to be helpful for early identification of IPA and initiation of anti-fungal therapy. The study was performed to review laboratory confirmed SFTS patients in two tertiary hospitals in Shandong province (Qilu Hospital of Shandong University and Shandong Public Health Clinical Center) from April 2021 to August 2022.

Myocarditis Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Prospects.

Under physiological conditions, immune checkpoint molecules downregulate the activation and effector function of myocardial antigen-reactive T cells through an immunosuppressive pathway, thus enabling myocardial T cells to maintain immune homeostasis under the action of central and peripheral tolerance mechanisms. The PD-1/PD-L1 signalling pathway is particularly important for limiting the ability of T cells to attack the heart. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) specifically block this PD-1/PD-L1-mediated restriction of T cell activation and other immunosuppressive pathways by targeting immune checkpoints.

Polyethylene glycol combined with linaclotide is an effective and well-tolerated bowel preparation regimen for colonoscopy: an endoscopist-blinded, randomized, controlled trial.

Background And Aim: Bowel preparation is an important determinant of the quality of colonoscopy. The traditional split-dose regimen of 4 L polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions for bowel preparation is effective but poorly tolerated. The aim of this was to study the efficacy and tolerability of using linaclotide as an adjunctive agent with low-volume PEG for bowel preparation.

Endoscopic resection of benign esophageal schwannoma: Three case reports and review of literature.

Background: Esophageal schwannomas are uncommon esophageal submucosal benign tumors and are usually treated with surgery.

Case Summary: Here, we report three cases of middle/lower thoracic esophageal schwannoma treated successfully with endoscopic resection. These lesions were misdiagnosed as leiomyoma on preoperative imaging.