Effects of hypertonic saline solution on body weight and serum creatinine in patients with acute decompensated heart failure

AIM To test the safety and effectiveness of hypertonic saline solution(HSS + F) as a strategy for weight loss andprevention of further deterioration of renal function.METHODS Patients admitted with acute decompensated heart failure(ADHF) who received HSS + F were included in the study. After a period of a standard ADHF treatment, our patients received an intravenous infusion of furosemide(250 mg) combined with HSS(150 mL of 3% NaCl) twice a day for a mean duration of 2.3 d. Our primary outcomes were weight loss and a change in serum creatinine per day of treatment. The parameters of the period prior to treatment with HSS + F were compared with those of the period with HSS + F. RESULTS A total of 47 patients were included. The mean creatinine on admission was 155 μmol/L ± 65 μmol/L, the ejection fraction was 40% ± 17%. The experimental treatment(HSS + F) resulted in greater weight loss per day of treatment than the standard treatment(-1.4 kg/d ± 1.4 kg/d vs-0.4 kg/d ± 1.0 kg/d, P = 0.0168). Importantly, the change in creatinine was not significantly different.CONCLUSION This study supports the effectiveness of HSS + F on weight loss in patients with ADHF. The safety profile, particularly with regard to renal function, leads us to believe that HSS + F may be a valuable option for those patients presenting with ADHF who do not respond to conventional treatment with intravenous furosemide alone.

Generation of functional oligopeptides that promote osteogenesis based on unsupervised deep learning of protein IDRs

Deep learning(DL)is currently revolutionizing peptide drug development due to both computational advances and the substantial recent expansion of digitized biological data.However,progress in oligopeptide drug development has been limited,likely due to the lack of suitable datasets and difficulty in identifying informative features to use as inputs for DL models.Here,we utilized an unsupervised deep learning model to learn a semantic pattern based on the intrinsically disordered regions of~171 known osteogenic proteins.Subsequently,oligopeptides were generated from this semantic pattern based on Monte Carlo simulation,followed by in vivo functional characterization.A five amino acid oligopeptide(AIB5P)had strong bone-formation-promoting effects,as determined in multiple mouse models(e.g.,osteoporosis,fracture,and osseointegration of implants).Mechanistically,we showed that AIB5P promotes osteogenesis by binding to the integrinα5 subunit and thereby activating FAK signaling.In summary,we successfully established an oligopeptide discovery strategy based on a DL model and demonstrated its utility from cytological screening to animal experimental verification.

Translational perspective on bone-derived cytokines in inter-organ communications

OSTEOKINES IN INTER-ORGAN COMMUNICATIONS The concept of“organic wholeness”permeates all the fields of traditional Chinese medicine,which is also widely accepted by modern medicine.The wealth of knowledge regarding inter-organ communications generated in the latest decades provided solid evidence that human physiology and pathophysiology involve systematic interactions between multiple organs or tissues.Therefore,advancing our understanding of the inter-organ communication process is believed to provide a new perspective for treating various human diseases.

轻型缺血性卒中或短暂性脑缺血发作的早期双联抗血小板治疗

王拥军及同事探讨了应用双联抗血小板治疗预防卒中复发或短暂性脑缺血发作的最新证据。轻型缺血性卒中和短暂性脑缺血发作(TIA)患者在头几周内有较高的卒中及其他血管事件的复发风险(5%~11.7%严。双联抗血小板治疗,包括氯吡格雷和阿司匹林,是减少卒中复发的有效治疗策略Magic Group的专家小组(http://magicproject.org/)最近在The BMJ中发表了一个强烈的快速推荐建议,即对于轻型缺血性卒中和TIA患者应在症状出现24小时内开始双联抗血小板治疗,并持续10~21天3。