Medicine
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Steroid therapy has been an important reason of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Steroids are metabolized by hepatic cytochrome P4503A, a low endogenous activity of this enzyme can contribute to the pathogenesis of ONFH. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of polymorphisms of cytochrome P4503A4 (CYP3A4) gene with steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese patients. ⋯ These findings suggested that polymorphisms of CYP3A4 gene may be associated with susceptibility to steroid-induced ONFH.
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Review Case Reports
A case report of children's divergent dislocation of the elbow and review of literature.
The divergent dislocation of the elbow is not common in children, and the imaging is difficult and challenging. This often leads to misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment. The literature has reported a total of 19 cases currently. ⋯ Therefore, through the treatment of this case and the literature review, we believe that for children, most divergent dislocations of the elbow may achieve a better clinical result with closed reduction, and we also believe that after surgery or closed reduction, in the follow-up, proper function exercise is an important condition for the rehabilitation of children. For such patients, correct diagnosis and timely treatment can help to avoid joint dysfunction of elbow.
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Direct antiviral agent (DAA) has been the standard of care for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Twelve weeks of paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir plus dasabuvir (PROD) with or without ribavirin has shown to have a sustained virological response at post-treatment 12 weeks (SVR12) rate of >90% in HCV genotype 1 (HCV-1) patients. ⋯ The finding may shed light for possible response-guided-therapy for so-called ultra-super-responders in the DAA era. Whether the dengue virus, the Flaviviridae family as with HCV, enhanced the HCV clearance remains unclear and needs further exploration.
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Observational Study
The cross-reactivity of binding antibodies with different interferon beta formulations used as disease-modifying drugs in multiple sclerosis patients.
Interferon beta (IFNb) preparations are commonly used as first-line therapy in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). They are, however, characterized by limited efficacy, partly due to the formation of anti-IFNb antibodies in patients. In this pilot study, we assessed with the ELISA method the presence of the binding antibodies (BAbs) against interferon beta after 2 years of therapy with subcutaneous interferon beta 1a (Rebif) in 49 RRMS patients. ⋯ The levels of BAbs remain significant in the clinical context, and their assessment is the first choice screening; however, methods of BAbs evaluation can be crucial for further decisions. More studies are needed to confirm our results; specifically it would be of interest to evaluate methods of neutralizing antibodies identification, as we only assessed the binding antibodies. Nevertheless, our results support the concept that in interferon nonresponders, that are positive for binding antibodies, switching the therapy to alternative disease-modifying agent (for example glatiramer acetate, fingolimod, or natalizumab) is justified, whereas the switch to another interferon formulation will probably be of no benefit.
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To investigate the relationship between excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1)-4533/8092, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-238/308 polymorphisms, and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Guangxi Zhuang population of China. ⋯ The genetic polymorphisms of ERCC1-8092 and TNF-α-308 are associated with the risk of HCC in Guangxi Zhuang population of China.