Advances in cryoablation for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic carcinoma is a common cancer of the digestive system with a poor prognosis. It is characterized by insidious onset, rapid progression, a high degree of malignancy and early metastasis. Atpresent, radical surgery is considered the only curative option for treatment, however, the majority of patients with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed too late to undergo surgery. The sensitivity of pancreatic cancer to chemotherapy or radiotherapy is also poor. As a result, there is no standard treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Cryoablation is generally considered to be an effective palliative treatment for pancreatic cancer. It has the advantages of minimal invasion and improved targeting, and is potentially safe with less pain to the patients. It is especially suitable in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. However, our initial findings suggest that cryotherapy combined with 125-iodine seed implantation, immunotherapy or various other treatments for advanced pancreatic cancer can improve survival in patients with unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Although these findings require further in-depth study, the initial results are encouraging. This paper reviews the safety and efficacy of cryoablation, including combined approaches, in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Effect of Zn, Cu and Ni addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of ascast Mg-Dy alloys

This paper presents some research information on the effects of Zn, Cu and Ni on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-2Dy(at.%) alloys. The Mg-2Dy alloy is composed of α-Mg and Mg24Dy5 phases. With the addition of 0.5at.%Zn, 0.5at.%Cu and 0.5at.%Ni, respectively, besides α-Mg, the long period stacking order(LPSO) phases containing Zn, Cu, and Ni precipitated in the α-Mg interdentritic boundary. The addition of Ni effectively refined the dendrite arm spacing. The as-cast Mg-2Dy-0.5Ni alloy exhibited the best tensile strengths and elongation. The better mechanical properties were mainly attributed to small secondry dendrite arm spacing(SDAS) and high volume fraction of LPSO phases.

Microstructural evaluation and mechanical properties of 7075 aluminum alloy prepared by controlled diffusion solidification

In the present work, 7075 aluminum alloy(Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) was produced by both conventional casting(CC) and controlled diffusion solidification(CDS) methods. Each sample was subjected to different heat-treatment conditions: as-cast, T4, and T6;and their microstructural and mechanical properties were investigated by optical microscopy(OM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffractometry(XRD). It was found that CDS promoted the formation of non-dendritic primary α-Al phase and reduced shrinkage porosity, thus resulting in improved mechanical properties. In addition, the eutectic phase of the CDS samples mainly consisted of T(Al-ZnMg-Cu) phase, which manifested a well-developed lamellar eutectic structure. However, in the CC samples, the T(Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) phase was composed of rod-like eutectics. Moreover, the θ(Al2 Cu) eutectic contents in the CC samples were greater than those in the CDS samples. Each element in the CC samples had an obvious change in the grain boundary, whereas the change in element content in the CDS samples was gradual. Therefore, the non-dendritic morphology of the primary phase and the presence of rod-like eutectics in the matrix of the CDS samples led to enhanced tensile strength and elongation under different heat treatment conditions.

Influence of irbesartan combined with low dose urokinase on treatment effect and serologic indexes in elderlyisolated systolic hypertension patients

To study the influence of irbesartan combined with low dose urokinase on treatment effect and serologic indexes in elderly isolated systolic hypertension patients. Methods: One hundred and ten cases of elderly isolated systolic hypertension patients in our hospital during January 2013–January 2016 were randomly divided into observation group with 55 cases and control group with 55 cases. Patients in observation group received irbesartan combined with low dose hydrochlorothiazide treatment and those in control group received amlodipine combined with low dose hydrochlorothiazide treatment, each lasted for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks treatment, non-invasive blood pressure and blood pressure variability indexes were measured, serum endothelial function, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress indexes were measured. Results: After 4 weeks treatment, patients systolic blood pressure (SBP), 24 h mean systolic blood pressure (24 h SBP), 24 h systolic blood pressure standard deviation (24 h SSD) were significantly lower in observation group than in control group (P<0.05);serum endothelial function index EF-1 was lower in observation group than in control group, while NO and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were higher in observation group than in control group (P<0.05);serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) contents were lower in observation group than in control group (P<0.05);serum oxidation index such as malondialdehyde (MDA) was lower in observation group than in control group, while antioxidant indexes such as total anti-oxidative capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), GSH were higher in observation group than in control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Irbesartan combined with low dose hydrochlorothiazide can effectively reduce systolic hypertension and blood pressure variability in elderly isolated systolic hypertension patients, while optimizing the systemic inflammation and oxidative stress status.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone combined with magnesium sulfate therapy for infantile epileptic spasms syndrome:a real-world study

Background Infantile epileptic spasms syndrome(IESS)is a serious disease in infants,and it usually evolves to other epilepsy types or syndromes,especially refractory or super-refractory focal epilepsies.Although adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)is one of the first-line and effective treatment plans for IESS,it has serious side effects and is not sufficiently effective.Methods A retrospective study of the clinical outcomes of ACTH combined with magnesium sulfate(MgSO4)therapy for IESS in two hospital centers was conducted.The major outcome of the single and combined treatment was evaluated by changes in seizure frequency and improvements in hypsarrhythmia electroencephalography(EEG).To reduce the confounding bias between the two groups,we used SPSS for the propensity score matching(PSM)analysis.Results We initially recruited 1205 IESS patients from two Chinese hospitals and treated them with ACTH combined with MgSO4 and ACTH alone.Only 1005 patients were enrolled in the treatment(ACTH combined with MgSO4:744,ACTH:261),and both treatment plans had a more than 55%response rate.However,compared to patients treated with ACTH alone,those patients treated with ACTH combined with MgSO4 had better performance in terms of the seizure frequency and hypsarrhythmia EEG.After PSM,the two groups also showed significant differences in responder rate[70.8%(95%confidence interval,CI)=66.7%–74.8%)vs.53.8%(95%CI=47.4%–60.2%),P<0.001],seizure frequency(P<0.001)and hypsarrhythmia EEG resolution(P<0.001).Notably,multivariate analysis revealed that the lead time to treatment and the number of antiseizure medications taken before treatment were two factors that may affect the clinical outcome.Patients with less than 3 months of lead time responded to the treatment much better than those with>3 months(P<0.05).In addition,the overall incidence of adverse reactions in the ACTH combined with MgSO4 group was much lower than that in the ACTH group(31.4%vs.63.1%,P<0.001).During the treatment,only infection(P=0.045)and hypertension(P=0.025)were significantly different between the two groups,and no baby died.Conclusion Our findings support that ACTH combined with MgSO4 is a more effective short-term treatment protocol for patients with IESS than ACTH alone,especially for those patients with short lead times to treatment.