Allergic disease and keratoconus: A two-sample univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization study.

Background: There is accumulating evidence that allergy is a risk factor for keratoconus. Nonetheless the association between allergic disease and keratoconus remains controversial. We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to determine the putative causal association of 4 allergic diseases (allergic conjunctivitis, allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis) with keratoconus.

Study on carotid artery stenosis after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: This study investigated carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and associated risk factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) post-radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: The observation group comprised 86 reexamined patients with NPC, divided into Group 1 and Group 2 based on post-radiotherapy duration, alongside 34 newly diagnosed patients with NPC (Group 0). Carotid artery ultrasonography and chi-square analysis were performed.

Effects of concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without Endostar on the regression of retropharyngeal lymph node and prognosis of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a retrospective study.

Background And Purpose: To investigate the effect of combining Endostar with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (ECCRT) compared to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) on the regression rate of retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLNs) and the relationship between regression rate of RLNs and prognosis of patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC).

Methods: A total of 122 LANPC patients with RLNs metastasis were included. Metastatic RLNs were delineated both before and after treatment slice by slice on the magnetic resonance images cross-section.

Prediction of severe radiation-induced oral mucositis in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma using the combined systemic immune-inflammatory index and prognostic nutritional index.

Objective: Severe radiation-induced oral mucositis (sRIOM) can seriously affect patients' quality of life and treatment compliance. This study was to investigate the utility of the systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in predicting sRIOM in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC).

Methods: 295 patients with LANPC were retrospectively screened.

Dickkopf-1 is an immune infiltration-related prognostic biomarker of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Immunotherapy is currently one of the most viable therapies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), characterized by high immune cell infiltration. The Wnt-signaling inhibitor and immune activation mediator, Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), has a strong correlation with tumor growth, tumor microenvironment, and, consequently, disease prognosis. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how DKK1 expression, HNSCC prognosis, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are related.

Current clinical applications of anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography: a review.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a revolutionary in vivo imaging technology that presents real-time information on ocular structures. Angiography based on OCT, known as optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), is a noninvasive and time-saving technique originally utilized for visualizing retinal vasculature. As devices and built-in systems have evolved, high-resolution images with depth-resolved analysis have assisted ophthalmologists in accurately localizing pathology and monitoring disease progression.

Mutation analysis of the TGFBI gene in pedigrees of lattice corneal dystrophy in Eastern China.

Background: To delineate the mutations of the TGFBI gene in Eastern China by whole-exome sequencing (WES) in eight Chinese families with lattice corneal dystrophy (LCD).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included eight families with LCD from Eastern China. Clinical features were examined using slit-lamp examination, anterior segment optical coherence tomography, and in vivo confocal microscopy.

Risk factors associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in COVID-19 patients outside Wuhan: A double-center retrospective cohort study of 197 cases in Hunan, China.

Background: There have been few reports on the risk factors for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and there were obvious differences regarding the incidence of ADRS between Wuhan and outside Wuhan in China.

Aim: To investigate the risk factors associated with ARDS in COVID-19, and compare the characteristics of ARDS between Wuhan and outside Wuhan in China.

Methods: Patients were enrolled from two medical centers in Hunan Province.

Puerarin inhibits the development of osteoarthritis through antiinflammatory and antimatrix-degrading pathways in osteoarthritis-induced rat model.

Puerarin is an isoflavone isolated from the medicinal plant Pueraria lobata. The purpose of this study was to study the antiinflammatory and antimatrix-degrading effects of puerarin in a rat osteoarthritis (OA) model and its protective effects on joints. The rat OA model was established by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) surgery.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severity of COVID-19 outside Wuhan: a double-center retrospective cohort study of 213 cases in Hunan, China.

Aim: To investigate clinical characteristics and identify risk factors for severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia outside of Wuhan, China.

Materials And Methods: We included 213 patients with confirmed COVID-19 who had been discharged or died by 15 March 2020. We retrospectively collected epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, computed tomography imaging and outcome data.

Finding the Best Antiviral Regimen for COVID-19: A Double-Center Retrospective Cohort Study of 207 Cases in Hunan, China.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of 3/4-drugs' group with 1-drug's or 2-drugs' groups in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: We included 207 patients confirmed with COVID-19. We compared the viral clearance rate and discharge rate at day 7, 14, 21 and 28, and median time of viral clearance and length of hospitalization in patients treated with 3/4, 1 or 2 drugs.

Aminoguanidine inhibits IL-1β-induced protein expression of iNOS and COX-2 by blocking the NF-κB signaling pathway in rat articular chondrocytes.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic joint disease which has a serious impact on the health and quality of life of affected humans and animals. As an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), aminoguanidine (AG) displays anti-inflammatory effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of AG on the expression of iNOS and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and the activity of the NF-κB signaling pathway in rat chondrocytes stimulated by interleukin-1β (IL-1β).

Effect of ketamine combined with DHA on lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like behavior in rats.

Depression has become a common mental illness, and studies have shown that neuroinflammation is associated with depression. Ketamine is a rapid antidepressant. In order to obtain better antidepressant effects, it is necessary to explore the efficacy of combination therapy with ketamine and other antidepressants.

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Based on Abraxane/Human Neutrophils Cytopharmaceuticals with Radiotherapy for Gastric Cancer.

Gastric cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers with high incidence and mortality worldwide. The majority of gastric cancer patients are those who have first been diagnosed in advanced stage, in which the standard chemo-radiotherapy produces limited benefit along with severe general toxicity, thus the demand for improved therapeutic efficacy and decreased side effects drives the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Here, a neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on Abraxane/human neutrophils (NEs) cytopharmaceuticals with radiotherapy is presented for effective cancer treatment.

Neutrophil-mediated anticancer drug delivery for suppression of postoperative malignant glioma recurrence.

Cell-mediated drug-delivery systems have received considerable attention for their enhanced therapeutic specificity and efficacy in cancer treatment. Neutrophils (NEs), the most abundant type of immune cells, are known to penetrate inflamed brain tumours. Here we show that NEs carrying liposomes that contain paclitaxel (PTX) can penetrate the brain and suppress the recurrence of glioma in mice whose tumour has been resected surgically.