Medicine
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Testing for antibody against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) is a low-cost diagnostic method worldwide; however, an optimal screening test for HCV in patients with cancer has not been established. We sought to identify an appropriate screening test for HCV infection in patients with hematologic malignancies and/or hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT). Patients in our center were simultaneously screened using serological (anti-HCV) and molecular (HCV RNA) assays (February 2019-November 2019). ⋯ The positive percentage agreement was 66.7% (95% CI: 20.8-93.9), and the negative percentage agreement was 100.0% (95% CI: 98.2-100.0). Cohen kappa coefficient was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.41-1.00, P < .0001). The diagnostic yield of screening for chronic HCV infection in patients with cancer is similar for serologic and molecular testing.
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Hyperhidrosis is clinical symptom of various diseases and is an important clinical feature of paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH). Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to be most common condition associated with PSH, and PSH has been mainly reported in moderate and severe TBI. However, very little has been reported on PSH or hyperhidrosis in mild TBI patients. ⋯ By contrast, the apparent diffusion coefficient values for both sides of the hypothalamus were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (P < .05). In conclusion, we detected hypothalamic injuries in patients who showed hyperhidrosis after mild TBI. Based on the results, it appears that hyperhidrosis in patients with mild TBI is related to hypothalamic injury.
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The present study aimed to explore the signaling pathways involved in development of early steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) and identify diagnostic biomarkers regulating peripheral blood in SONFH patients. We downloaded transcriptome data and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the R software. We used ClusterProfiler to perform enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and analyzed protein-protein interactions using the STRING database. ⋯ Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction results were consistent with findings from protein-protein interaction network analysis. Several genes, including peroxiredoxin 2, haptoglobin, matrix metallopeptidase 8, formyl peptide receptor 2, and integrin subunit alpha X, promote SONFH occurrence by regulating the redox, inflammatory response, and osteoblast and osteoclast structure and function pathways. They may be important targets for designing approaches for early diagnosis and treatment of SONFH.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is known to display a high risk of metastasis and recurrence. The main objective of our investigation was to shed more light on CRC pathogenesis by screening CRC datasets for the identification of key genes and signaling pathways, possibly leading to new approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC. We downloaded the colorectal cancer datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database site. ⋯ Survival analysis demonstrated that the AURKA, CCNB1, and CCNA2 genes were strongly associated with the survival rate of CRC patients. In addition, CCNB1, CCNA2, CDK1, CKS2, MAD2L1, and DLGAP5 could be correlated to pathological CRC staging. In this research, we identified key genes that may explain the molecular mechanism of occurrence and progression of CRC but may also contribute to an improvement in the clinical staging and prognosis of CRC patients.