ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to find a new method for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, and to study the efficacy and safety of Bacteroidesfragilis (BF839) in the adjunctive treatment of refractory epilepsy, as well as the improvement of comorbidity.MethodsA prospective, single-arm, open pilot clinical study was designed for the additive treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy using BacteroidesFragilis 839 (BF839). 47 patients with refractory epilepsy, who were admitted to the epilepsy outpatient clinic of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2019 to October 2019, were enrolled and treated with BF839 adjunct treatment. The primary efficacy endpoint was median percent reduction from baseline in monthly (28-day) seizure frequency for the 16-week treatment period. Other efficacy analysis included response rate(proportion of patients with ≥ 50% seizure reduction) in the 16 weeks period, the proportion of patients seizure free and the retention rate after12 months intervention, and the observance of the side effects and comorbidities.ResultsThe median reduction percent of all seizure types was −53.5% (P=0.002). The response rate was 61.1% (22/36). 8.5% (4/47) patients seizure free at 12 months. The retention rate at 12 months was 57.4% (27/47). The side effects were diarrhea 4.3% (2/47) and constipation 4.3% (2/47). 48.9% (23/47) of the patients reported improvement in comorbidities, with cognitive improvement of 21.2% (10/47).ConclusionBF839 can be used as an effective additive therapy to treat drug-resistant epilepsy. It is safe and beneficial to the improvement of comorbidities. This is the first time in the world that a single intestinal strain has been reported to be effective in treating drug-resistant epilepsy. This research has important implications.
Objective To investigate the MRI features of the autoimmune pancreatitis （AlP）. Methods MRI data of 8 patients with AIP were retrospectively analyzed. Results MRI showed that diffuse swelling of the pancreas in 8 cases. T1WI signal intensity homogeneous or inhomogeneous decreased， and T2WI signals intensity homogeneous or inhomogeneous increased. In arterial phase the enhancement of the lesion was not obviously，in portal venous phase there was gradual increase of enhancement. There was coated sample annular enhancement around pancreas， and the degree of enhancement was slightly lower than the pancreatic parenchyma. Pancreatic duct was irregular narrow. Conclusion AIP is a special kind of chronic pancreatitis，MRI features of AIP are helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of AIP．
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy of Bailing capsule for autoimmune antibodies in Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT).MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Bailing capsule in treatment of HT from inception to January 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 428 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the changes of TGAb and TPOAb in Bailing capsule combined with Euthyrox group were higher than that in control group (MD=−228.91, 95%CI −398.61 to −59.20, P=0.008; MD=−158.19, 95%CI −222.44 to −93.94, P<0.000 01); the changes of TGAb and TPOAb in Bailing capsule combined with Iodine modification diet group were higher than that in control group(MD=−499.27, 95%CI −540.39 to −458.15, P<0.000 01; MD=−407.37, 95%CI −448.60 to −366.14, P<0.000 01).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that Bailing capsule combined with other therapies can decrease the levels of TGAb and TPOAb in HT patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To sum up experiences in diagnosis and treatment for Hashimoto′s disease (HD). Methods Clinical records of 78 patients who underwent operations and were diagnosed as Hashimoto′s disease by histologic examination in our hospital from Jan. 1988 to Dec. 1998 were analyzed. Results Seventy females and 8 males, aged 9 to 70 years (average of 41.6 years). HD was coexistent with 10.3% of thyroid gland malignant tumor, 23.1% of adenoma and 30.8% of other thhroid gland diseases. The misdiagnosis rate was 35.9% and missed diagnosis rate was 46.2%. The clinical feature of HD and most common cause of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis have been discussed. Conclusion It is emphasized that patients with diffuse goiter, palpable nodules, lighty color on scintillation scintigraphy, elevation of antimicosomiaux and antithyroglobuline but no finding on Bus should be highly suspected of having Hashimoto′s disease.
Alternative splicing plays an important role in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of autoimmune diseases. Alternative splicing is universal and non-preferred in autoimmune diseases, and exon skipping is the most common type in alternative splicing types. The occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases can be influenced by the 5′ splicing, 3′ splicing, number change of exons, splicing affected by the single nucleotide polymorphism and the variance of gene expression levels. Moreover, different single nucleotide polymorphisms of the same gene can affect the development of various autoimmune diseases. This review summarizes the role of different forms of alternative splicing in various autoimmune diseases, and aims to provide a basis for further study of the conditions in different development stages of autoimmune diseases and the regulatory mechanism of different levels of splicing isoforms.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic value of monitoring 1,3-beta-D-glucan (G test) in patients with autoimmune disease complicated with invasive fungal disease (IFD). MethodsA retrospective study was performed in hospitalized patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou Universisty who were diagnosed as autoimmune disease with lung infection during the immunosuppressive therapy between January 2014 and January 2016. A total of 372 patients were enrolled in this study. All subjects were classified according to the 2006 diagnostic criteria and treatment of invasive pulmonaary fungal infection, with serum 1,3-β-D-glucan results not included in the diagnosis. There were 18 cases with proven IFD, 35 cases with probable IFD, and 70 ceses with possible IFD. Fifty-three patients with proven IFD or probable IFD were as a case group, and another 249 patients with no evidence for IFD were as a control group. The value of the G test for diagnosis of automimmune disease with IFD was analyzed by ROC curve. ResultsThe serum 1,3-β-D-glucan level was significantly higher in the case group when compared with the control group [median (interquartile range): 135.0 (63.1 to 319.0) pg/ml vs. 75.9 (41.2 to 88.1) pg/ml, P<0.05]. When the cut-off value of serum 1,3-β-D-glucan level was set at 93.8 pg/ml, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for diagnosis of autoimmune disease with IFD were 0.65 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.73), 0.87 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.92), 0.70 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.81), and 0.83 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.88), respectively. ConclusionThe 1,3-beta-D-glucan test is a valuable method for diagnosis of IFD in patients with autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune ocular diseases are a type of inflammatory eye condition characterized by the involvement of the immune response. This includes various types disease such as autoimmune uveitis, thyroid-associated eye disease, and primary Sjögren's syndrome. In recent years, breakthroughs have been achieved in inducing transplant tolerance, understanding tumor immune evasion, and preventing autoimmune diseases using immune checkpoint molecules. Negative immune checkpoints effectively control disease progression by inhibiting T cell proliferation, reducing inflammatory cytokine levels, and ultimately regulating autoimmune balance. Therefore, the negative immune checkpoint molecules are expected to be used as a new therapeutic target in the future, and the combination therapy through the combination of negative immune checkpoint drugs is expected to become an important direction to improve the efficacy of the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
ObjectiveTo study the diagnosis value of anti-SSa (including anti-Ro52 and anti-Ro60). MethodsAntibodies of ENA (including Sm, Ro52, Ro60, SSb, RNP, Scl-70, Jo-1 and Rib-P) from 23145 patients with positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) were retrospected from January 2009 to December 2013. The relationship between anti-Ro52, anti-Ro60 and other test results and the diagnosis or symptomatic information of patients was also analyzed. ResultsThe anti-Ro60 positive rate was 35.19% (8 145/23 145), and the anti-Ro52 was 13.16% (3 046/23 145) in 23145 ANA positive cases (P<0.05). The positive percentage of anti-Ro60 was higher in anti-SSb, anti-RNP, anti-Sm and anti-Rib-P positive cases than anti-Ro52 (P<0.05); the results of anti-Ro52 negative and anti-Ro60 positive (Ro52-Ro60+) had a higher percentage in autoimmune diseases, non-autoimmune disease and symptoms groups than anti-Ro52 positive and anti-Ro60 negative (Ro52+Ro60-) results (P<0.05). ConclusionThe anti-Ro60 has higher positive rate than anti-Ro52, and the sensitivity and prediction value of autoimmune diseases of anti-Ro60 are better than anti-Ro52. But both anti-Ro60 and anti-Ro52 have poor specificity for disease diagnosis.
Serum anti-retinal autoantibodies (ARA) are a group of autoantibodies that bind to retinal auto-antigens with significant biological importance in pathological processes such as retinal degeneration, inflammatory microenvironment formation, and tissue destruction. In recent years, the expression of serum anti-retinal antibodies has been found to be upregulated in patients with various blinding retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, autoimmune retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa, closely correlated with the progression of diseases. However, current researches on ARA are incomplete, lacking animal experiments and large randomized controlled clinical trials. As a result, the exact mechanism of ARA is not well understood. Although several studies have demonstrated that serum ARA has an important diagnostic value in hereditary, autoimmune, and degenerative retinal diseases, there still lacks recognized laboratory tests and laboratory indicators with high specificity and sensitivity. Clinical symptoms should be considered when making definitive diagnosis of the diseases. Therefore, clarifying the mechanisms of ARA in retinal dystrophies provides new ideas in early diagnosis and treatments of retinal diseases, which is clinically and scientifically important for the maintenance of visual functions.
【Abstract】Objective To study the relation between iodine and experimental autoimmune thyroiditis(EAT). Methods Establishment of animal model was performed with iodine and thyroglobulin(TG).The rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: normal control group(NC), low iodine group (LI,500 μg/L), high iodine group(HI,500 mg/L), TG+Freund adjuvant group(TG) and TG+Freund adjuvant+HI group(TG+HI). The rats in TG group and TG+HI group were rejected hypodermically with TG emulsified by complete Freund adjuvant, and strengthen immunity was conducted with TG emulsified by incomplete Freund adjuvant on 15 days. After that, strengthen immunity was done weekly till the end of the experiment. Serum TGAb and TPOAb were measured by radioimmunoassay. Observation of the pathological changes of thyroid gland was also done. Results Thyroid follicular destruction and lymphocytic infiltration in the TG+HI group (3.83±1.72) and HI group (3.00±0.89) were significantly higher than that of the NC group(0.67±0.82)，P＜0.05. The results of the TG group were higher compared with the NC group, but there were no significant differences between them（Pgt;0.05）. The levels of TGAb in the TG+HI (4.990±1.505)，HI (3.589±1.240) and TG group (4.883±1.198) were significant higher than those of the NC group (0.642±0.454) and the LI group (0.707±0.240)，P＜0.01. The levels of TPOAb in TG+HI group (1.475±0.523) and TG group (1.316±0.606) were significantly higher than those of the NC group (0.365±0.196) and the LI group（P＜0.01）. Serum TGAb and TPOAb levels were positively correlated with the histological grades of lymphocytic thyroiditis(r=0.9,P＜0.05）. Conclusion Excessive iodine intake may induce the occurrence of EAT. The induction of EAT with excessive iodine and TG may be more efficient.