Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is an emergency that causes permanent hearing loss if timely treatment is not provided. However, the evidence supporting the effect of intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) starting time on hearing outcome is limited. ⋯ Earlier ITSI treatment is associated with a higher hearing recovery rate. Comorbidities and post-ITSI complications were nonsignificant independent risk factors.
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Artificial intelligence has demonstrated a promising potential for diagnosing complex medical cases, with Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 4 (GPT-4) being the most recent advancement in this field. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of the GPT-4 in comparison with that of its predecessor, GPT-3.5, using 81 complex medical case records from the New England Journal of Medicine. The cases were categorized as cognitive impairment, infectious disease, rheumatology, or drug reactions. ⋯ GPT-4 demonstrated the highest performance in infectious diseases and drug reactions, whereas it underperformed in cases of cognitive impairment. These findings indicate that GPT-4 can provide reasonably accurate diagnoses, comprehensive differential diagnoses, and appropriate investigations. However, its performance varies across subspecialties.
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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have garnered significant attention in the field of cell-based therapy owing to their remarkable capabilities for differentiation and self-renewal. However, primary tissue-derived MSCs are plagued by various limitations, including constrained tissue sources, arduous and invasive retrieval procedures, heterogeneous cell populations, diminished purity, cellular senescence, and a decline in self-renewal and proliferative capacities after extended expansion. Addressing these challenges, our study focuses on establishing a robust differentiation platform to generate mesenchymal stem cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iMSCs). ⋯ In conclusion, the establishment of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) presents a significant advancement in overcoming the limitations associated with primary tissue-derived MSCs. The remarkable stability and multilineage differentiation potential exhibited by iMSCs offer a strong foundation for their application in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This breakthrough paves the way for further research and development in harnessing the full therapeutic potential of iMSCs.
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Multicenter Study
The long-term outcome of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Pulmonary endarterectomy and balloon pulmonary angioplasty.
The long-term outcome on patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has not been ideal after standard medical treatment. However, good outcome for patients with CTEPH after interventions such as pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) and balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has been reported recently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PEA or BPA on long-term outcomes for CTEPH patients in Han-Chinese population. ⋯ This multicenter prospective case-control study demonstrated that intervention such as PEA and BPA increased the long-term survival rate for patient with CTEPH significantly. Intervention was an independent factor in long-term outcome for patients with CTEPH, including all-cause mortality and CTEPH mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Far infrared stimulation of neiguan acupoints improves heart rate variability and ameliorate fatigue in hemodialysis patients: A randomized trial.
In 2018, 84 615 patients in Taiwan received hemodialysis, of which about 62% to 97% suffered from fatigue. Fatigue caused by hemodialysis may be mental or physical. However, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate whether far-infrared stimulation of the Neiguan acupoint (P6) could effectively reduce fatigue and improve heart rate variability (HRV) in hemodialysis patients. ⋯ Far-infrared stimulation of the Neiguan acupoints effectively reduces fatigue and increases autonomic nervous system activity in hemodialysis patients.