Objective To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of safflor yellow for unstable angina. Methods Relevant studies of safflor yellow for unstable angina were collected from databases including CENTRAL (Issue 4, 2012), MEDLINE, EMbase, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM from January, 2007 to December, 2012. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the quality of the included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.1 software. Results A total of 6 RCTs involving 533 patients were included, which were of low quality. The results of meta-analysis showed: compared with conventional treatment alone, safflor yellow plus routine biomedical treatment significantly improved the symptoms f angina (excellence: OR=2.34, 95%CI 1.79 to 4.87; effectiveness: OR=1.23, 95%CI 0.86 to 1.76). Besides, it significantly improved ECG outcomes (excellence: OR=1.85, 95%CI 1.29 to 2.64; effectiveness: OR=1.43, 95%CI 1.00 to 2.05), obviously improved the hemorheology index and blood lipid, reduced plasma homocysteine concentration, and increased the decreasing of nitroglycerin stop amount. No damage of the liver and kidney were reported. Conclusion Current evidence showed that, safflor yellow plus routine biomedical treatment is effective in the treatment of unstable angina, which is superior to routine biomedical treatment alone. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality, double blind, randomized controlled trials are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of spironolactone for diabetic nephropathy. Methods We electronically searched CENTRAL (issue 3, 2008), MEDLINE (1950 to August 2008), EMbase (1984 to August 2008), CNKI (1994 to September 2008), and VIP (1989 to August 2008). We also checked the reference lists of all papers identified for further trials. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs were identified and analyzed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Results Three RCTs were included. Meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity. Trials showed that spironolactone might decrease urinary albumin excretion, but could scarcely play an important role on kidney function and blood pressure. Conclusion Affirmative assessment cannot be made about the effectiveness and safety of spironolactone for diabetic nephropathy according to the limited existing trials. Large-scale, high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm or refuse the available evidence.
Objective We searched the best available evidence to provide a basis for the medical or palliative surgical treatment of a patient suffering from terminal colon cancer, complicated by intestinal obstruction (malignant intestinal obstruction), so as to improve the patient’s quality of life and alleviate her clinical symptoms. Methods We formed the clinical question according to the PICO principle. We searched for systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials in The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2007), MEDLINE (PubMed, January 1950 to March 2007) and ACP Journal Club (January 1991 to March 2007), and evaluated the evidence retrieveds.?Results We found that both scopolamine and octreotide could alleviate nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, but that octreotide was superior to scopolamine in reducing the secretion of gastric acid. Metoclopramide was effective in relieving fatigue, vomiting and intestinal obstruction associated with advanced cancer. A nasogastric tube may be used to drain the secretions before the administration of medical treatment, but long-term use tubes may make patients intolerable and induced side effects, such as necrosis of nasal mucous membrane and infection. At present, empirical palliative surgery was used for the management of malignant intestinal obstruction. This varied in different regions, and so the patients’ clinical condition should be taken into consideration. Being informed of the advantages and disadvantages of different treatment regimens, the patient and her family made the final decision.Conclusion The current evidence suggests that medical treatment can improve quality of life and alleviate clinical symptoms for a patient suffering from terminal colon cancer complicated with intestinal obstruction. However, the effect of palliative surgical treatment remains to be proved, and the decision about the appropriate treatment needs to consider the patients’ condition and the doctors’ clinical experiences.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tripterygium for diabetic nephropathy. Methods All randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials (RCTs or quasi-RCTs) of tripterygium for biabetic nephropathy were collected from The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2010), MEDLINE (1996 to March 2010), CNKI (1994 to March 2010), and CBM (1978 to March 2010). Two reviewers evaluated the quality of the trials and extracted the data independently. RevMan 5.0 software was used for meta-analyses. Results A total of 12 RCTs involving 862 patients were identified. The methodology of the included trials was poor and potential publication bias existed. The meta-analyses results showed: (1) Compared with the conventional treatment, the tripterygium showed more effects in reducing the 24-hour urinary protein (Clinical phase: WMD= –0.49, 95%CI –0.63 to –0.34, No phase: WMD= –0.60, 95%CI –0.96 to –0.24), and the urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) (WMD= –148.75, 95%CI –238.01 to –59.48) was higher than that of the conventional treatment. (2) There were no significant differences between the two groups in the effect on the serum creatinine (Clinical phase: WMD= –8.43, 95%CI –18.15 to 1.29, No phase: WMD= –0.66, 95%CI –2.12 to 0.79) and creatinine clearance rate (WMD= 1.74, 95%CI –6.34 to 9.83). (3) Without enough data, it was uncertain to define the effect of tripterygium on lipids, blood pressure of the DN patients. (4) No severe adverse events or allergic reactions were reported. Conclusion Tripterygium may be a kind of medicine relatively safe and effective for diabetic nephropathy. However, the evidence is not b enough because of some low-quality trials and publication bias. Rigorously-designed, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trials of tripterygium for diabetic nephropathy are needed to further assess the effect.
Objective To explore the characteristics and the related factors of the lipid profiles in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Sixty AS patients and 60 healthy controls were included retrospectively from January 2005 to January 2015. Information including general data, physical examination, and blood sample were collected; triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed. Results TG increased in 46.7% (28/60) patients, and HDL-C decreased in 50.0% (30/60). Compared with the control group, AS patients had lower levels of HDL-C, TC and LDL-C, and higher levels of TG, VLDL-C, VLDL-C/LDL-C ratio, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, and TC/HDL-C ratio; the differences above were all statistically significant (P<0.01). Spearman correlation test demonstrated that HDL-C level was correlated negatively with serum CRP (rs=–0.359, P=0.005). Multiple linear regression model demonstrated that CRP was associated with HDL-C in AS patients (P=0.019). Conclusions Dyslipoproteinemia is a common feature in AS patients. The main characteristic is the increase of TG and decrease of HDL-C, related with inflammation. It suggests a high risk of atherosclerosis.
Epilepsy is a common chronic disease of the nervous system, which has certain adverse effects on the cognitive, psychological and social functions of the patients. To date, anti-seizure medications (ASMs) remain the first-line treatment option for epilepsy, but many patients with epilepsy still do not have effective seizure control when multiple ASMs are used in combination. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new target and mechanism ASMs to bring about new treatment options and hope for patients with intractable epilepsy. Perampanel, a new third-generation ASMs, whereas second-generation ASMs tend to exert anti-seizure effects mainly by regulating ion channels or enhancing related mechanisms such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) effects, perampanel exerts its effects mainly by targeting the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Perampanel is the first selective α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) receptor antagonist and the first selective inhibitory ASMs for excitatory postsynaptic function. Because of its unique target and mechanism, it has been approved by many countries in the world for adjuvant additive therapy and monotherapy for patients with focal and general epilepsy. In addition, with the discovery of the neuroprotective, antioxidant, neurotransmitter regulation effects of perampanel, it also provides a new potential choice for the treatment of other diseases. This article mainly reviews the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, clinical trials and treatment of other diseases other than epilepsy of perampanel.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety tolerance of perampanel in the treatment of Chinese adult epilepsy patients. Methods Clinical data of adult epileptic patients treated with perampanel in Department of Neurology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University from January 2020 to December 2022 were analyzed retrospectively by self-control method, including demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, changes of epileptic seizures before and after perampanel treatment and adverse events during the treatment of perampanel. To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of perampanel in Chinese adult epileptic patients. Results A total of 69 adult epileptic patients with complete follow-up data were included. The dosage range of perampanel was 2 ~ 8 mg. The total effective rate was 68.1%, and the seizure-free rate was 17.4%. The most common adverse reactions were mood change and dizziness, the incidence of adverse reactions was 52.2%, and the incidence of serious adverse reactions was 0.0%. In terms of analysis of influencing factors of efficacy, the results showed that single drug therapy or combination therapy, type of combined antiepileptic drug and treatment time of perampanel did not affect the efficacy (P>0.05), while dosage was an important factor affecting the efficacy of perampanel (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in efficacy between the focal epilepsy group and the general epilepsy group (P>0.05). In terms of the analysis of factors related to the occurrence of adverse reactions, the results showed that the occurrence of adverse reactions was related to the dosage of perampanel (P<0.05), and was independent of whether it was monotherapy, the addition time of perampanel and the type of combined antiepileptic agents (P>0.05). Conclusion Perampanel has good efficacy and safety tolerance in the treatment of epilepsy in Chinese adults. Both monotherapy and additive therapy can effectively control seizures, and has a good effect on different seizure types. The most common adverse events during treatment were mood changes and dizziness, which could be alleviated and tolerated by most patients with prolonged treatment.
On December 11, 2023, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) promulgated the Standards of Care in Diabetes (2024). For a long time, the ADA promulgated the Standards of Care in Diabetes had been regarded as the international guide in the field of diabetes, which has a great reference value for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in various countries. The new standard continues to emphasize the transformation of the diagnosis and treatment model from the glucose reduction to the patients, highlighting the importance of reasonable control of glucose, weight management, and improvement of cardiac and renal prognosis as the comprehensive management of diabetes patients, meanwhile continues to affirm the advantages of new hypoglycemic drugs such as glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist and metabolic surgery in the comprehensive management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Objective To investigate the effect of sarcopenia on postoperative complications in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy（PD）. Methods The data of 225 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy in the Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (Nanjing First Hospital) from March 2012 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The total area of the skeletal muscle was measured by CT images at the level of the third lumbar vertebra for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. The patients were divided into sarcopenia group and non-sarcopenia group. The clinical data and surgical complications were compared between the two groups to explore the relationship between sarcopenia and postoperative complications. Results Compared with the non-sarcopenia group, the patients in the sarcopenia group were older and had lower hemoglobin concentration, lower serum albumin concentration, and higher total bilirubin levels (P<0.05). The incidences of clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (grade B and C fistula), pulmonary infection, atelectasis and hypoxemia in the sarcopenia group were significantly higher than those in the non-sarcopenia group (P<0.05). The length of ICU stay and perioperative mortality in the sarcopenia group were significantly higher than those in the non-sarcopenia group (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that sarcopenia, preoperative total bilirubin level, pancreatic duct diameter and pancreatic texture were independent risk factors for clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (P<0.05). Sarcopenia, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative abdominal infection were independent risk factors for pulmonary complications after PD (P<0.05). Conclusions Sarcopenia is an independent risk factor for increased incidence of clinically relevant pancreatic fistula and pulmonary complications after PD. Strengthening perioperative nutritional therapy and rehabilitation exercise in patients with sarcopenia is of great significance to reduce postoperative complications of PD.
Objective To review the latest research progress of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), to thoroughly understand different functions of HO-1 and its influence on osteogenesis and angiogenesis of stem cells, and to analyze HO-1 application in bone tissue engineering. Methods Domestic and international literature on HO-1 in recent years was extensively reviewed and analyzed. Results The activity of HO-1 and its enzymatic products not only have the properties of anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, and cytoprotection, but also can promote angiogenesis combined with other growth factors and protect the vessel which already exist. Moreover, HO-1 has an effect on the proliferation, paracrine signaling, osteoblastic differentiation, and anti-apoptosis of stem cells. Conclusion HO-1 can be used as a multi-function growth factor in bone tissue engineering, but more investigation should emphasis on synergistic effect of each function so as to improve bone repair.