His bundle pacing versus left bundle branch pacing on ventricular function in atrial fibrillation patients referred for pacing:a prospective crossover comparison

BACKGROUND His bundle pacing(HBP)and left bundle branch pacing(LBBP)both provide physiologic pacing which maintain left ventricular synchrony.They both improve heart failure(HF)symptoms in atrial fibrillation(AF)patients.We aimed to assess the intra-patient comparison of ventricular function and remodeling as well as leads parameters corresponding to two pacing modalities in AF patients referred for pacing in intermediate term.METHODS Uncontrolled tachycardia AF patients with both leads implantation successfully were randomized to either modality.Echocardiographic measurements,New York Heart Association(NYHA)classification,quality-of-life assessments and leads parameters were obtained at baseline and at each 6-month follow up.Left ventricular function including the left ventricular endosystolic volume(LVESV),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and right ventricular(RV)function quantified by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion(TAPSE)were all assessed.RESULTS Consecutively twenty-eight patients implanted with both HBP and LBBP leads successfully were enrolled(69.1±8.1 years,53.6% male,LVEF 59.2%±13.7%).The LVESV was improved by both pacing modalities in all patients(n=23)and the LVEF was improved in patients with baseline LVEF at less than 50%(n=6).The TAPSE was improved by HBP but not LBBP(n=23).CONCLUSION In this crossover comparison between HBP and LBBP,LBBP was found to have an equivalent effect on LV function and remodeling but better and more stable parameters in AF patients with uncontrolled ventricular rates referred for atrioventricular node(AVN)ablation.HBP could be preferred in patients with reduced TAPSE at baseline rather than LBBP.

Human umbilical cord blood stem cells and brainderived neurotrophic factor for optic nerve injury: a biomechanical evaluation

Treatment for optic nerve injury by brain-derived neurotrophic factor or the transplantation of human umbilical cord blood stem cells has gained progress, but analysis by biomechanical indicators is rare. Rabbit models of optic nerve injury were established by a clamp. At 7 days after injury, the vitreous body received a one-time injection of 50 μg brain-derived neurotrophic factor or 1 × 10^6 human umbilical cord blood stem cells. After 30 days, the maximum load, maximum stress, maximum strain, elastic limit load, elastic limit stress, and elastic limit strain had clearly improved in rabbit models of optical nerve injury after treatment with brain-derived neurotrophic factor or human umbilical cord blood stem cells. The damage to the ultrastructure of the optic nerve had also been reduced. These findings suggest that human umbilical cord blood stem cells and brain-derived neurotrophic factor effectively repair the injured optical nerve, improve biomechanical properties, and contribute to the recovery after injury.

Gemcitabine and cisplatin combined with the Chinese herbal medicine compound Fuzhenggubenfang improve quality of life and progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Objective： To assess the role of chemotherapy combined with the compound Chinese herbal medicine,Fuzhenggubenfang （FZGBF）, for treating advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Methods： A total of 84 eligible patientswere enrolled from October 2013 to July 2016. Patients were randomized to receive either chemotherapy alone as thecontrol group or chemotherapy combined with FZGBF as the experimental group. The primary endpoint of the study wasquality of life （QOL） and progression-free survival （PFS）. Secondary endpoints were tumor response rate, toxicity,dropout rate, and univariate and multivariate analyses of clinicopathologic factors for QOL and PFS. Results： There wasa significant improvement in QOL, including better overall health （P 〈 0.001）, physical function （P 〈 0.001）, rolefunction （P 〈 0.001）, emotional function （P 〈 0.001）, cognitive function （P 〈 0.001）, and social function （P = 0.031）.Less fatigue, nausea or vomiting, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, and alopecia were noted （All P 〈 0.001） whenFZGBF was combined with chemotherapy in comparison to chemotherapy alone. The experimental group had a betterPFS compared with the control group （P = 0.032）. There was no significant difference in tumor response rate. FZGBFsignificantly reduced chemotherapy-induced anemia （P 〈 0.001）, neutropenia （P = 0.023）, nausea and vomiting （P 〈0.001）. The use of Chinese herbal compounds had only mild side effects. In this study, factors influencing QOL were theuse of the Chinese herbal compounds （P 〈 0.001）, performance status score （P = 0.027）, clinical staging of cancer （P =0.009）, and sex （P = 0.044）. Use of traditional Chinese medicine （P = 0.043） and the number of previous chemotherapysessions （P = 0.003） were the factors influencing PFS in this study. Conclusion： FZGBF could improve QOL,compliance to treatment, relieved chemotherapy-related toxicities of patients, and consequently improved PFS, which isa promising drug combination in complementary medicine for the treatment of advanced NSCLC.

Chinese herbal protocol anti-fibrosis 1 improves radiation induced fibrosis and its related dysfunctions

Objective: Radiotherapy is the main modality for treatment of malignancies, but radiation fibrosis is a severe side effect of radiotherapy which may cause severe dysfunction of patients. We design a new tr aditional Chinese her bal pr otocol, which is named as Anti-fibrosis 1, and use it in patients with severe radiation fibrosis. Methods: From Feb 2013 to Feb 2014, 23 patients with severe radiation fibrosis and apparent dysfunction were treated with anti-fib rosis 1. The re were 7 pa ti ents with nasopharyngeal car cinoma, 7 with oral cavity and oral pharyngeal carcinoma, 2 with pharyngeal carcinoma, 2 with breast carcinoma, 2 with esophageal carcinoma and 3 patients with pelvic malignancies. All patients received radiothe rapy at least 0.5-8 years ago, and 22 pa ti ents with complete response, but all patients suffered with severe radiation fibrosis. The radiation dosage was among 50-74Gy/25-37f/35-70d. Patients status of fibrosis and recovery of tissue and organ were evaluated after 0.5, 1.5 and 3 months of herbal treatment. Results: 22 of 23 patients were head and neck car cinoma, 20 pati ents had got par tial r elief afte r 15 days medication with anti-fib rosis 1, nea rly all pa ti ents had got appa rent r elief afte r 1.5 month of medication. But, there was no apparent difference between 1.5 month and 3 months group. There were no apparent side effects after the herbal treatment. Conclusions: The traditional Chinese herbal protocol anti-fibrosis 1 is an effective and safe modality for radiation fibrosis. And the apparent effect occurred after 1.5 month of herbal medication.