Background Aquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presents a challenge to medical researchers because of its unique pathological and clinical picture. The clinical data, particularly autopsy ...evidence, from China have failed to provide enough pathological and etiological evidence for AIDS diagnosis, which impairs the reliability of the diagnosis and our full understanding of the occurrence and development of AIDS complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the imaging and pathologic characteristics of AIDS. Methods Autopsy, imaging and pathological data from 8 cases of AIDS were retrospectively analyzed. Routine CT scanning of different body parts was performed during their periods of hospitalization. Transverse CT scanning was conducted from the skull to the pelvis immediately after the occurrence of death. After routine formalin fixing, 7 cardevers were cross sectioned for autopsy in freezing state and 1 for gross autopsy. Tissues were obtained from each section and organs for pathological examinations. Results The autopsy data indicated the presence of parasitic infections, bacterial infections, fungal infections, and virus infections in AIDS patients. Pneumocystis pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, coccobacteria pneumonia, Aspergillus pneumonia, cytomegaJovirus pneumonia, toxoplasma encephalitis, lymphoma and cerebrovascular diseases were found in these patients. Conclusions During the course of AIDS progression, the concurrent multiple infections as well as tumor development may resuJt in multiple organ pathological changes and clinically complex symptoms that further complicate the imaging and pathological manifestations, thus resulting in difficult differential diagnosis. A combination of imaging data and autopsy data can help to clarify the diagnosis.
The Chinese Society of Hepatology developed the current guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis based on the published evidence and the panelists' consensus. The ...guidelines provided recommendations for the diagnosis and management of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) including minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and overt hepatic encephalopathy, emphasizing the importance on screening MHE in patients with end-stage liver diseases. The guidelines emphasized that early identification and timely treatment are the key to improve the prognosis of HE. The principles of treatment include prompt removal of the cause, recovery of acute neuropsychiatric abnormalities to baseline status, primary prevention, and secondary prevention as soon as possible.
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been widely recommended as a first-line antiviral agent to treat chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Qingzhong and Viread, formulations of TDF commercialized by Jiangsu ...Chia-tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Co Ltd and GlaxoSmithKline, respectively, have both been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration, China. This study analyzed the efficacy and safety of these 2 TDF agents in Chinese patients with CHB.
In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, noninferiority phase 3 clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02287857), 330 Chinese patients with CHB hepatitis B envelope antigen-positive (HBeAg) (+): 232 were randomly assigned to receive Qingzhong (group A: 161 patients) or Viread (group B: 169 patients) 300 mg once daily for 48 weeks. Subsequently, all patients were administered Qingzhong 300 mg once daily from week 49 to week 240. The primary end point was the degree of decline of plasma hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels at week 48 and the secondary endpoints were viral suppression, normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)/HBeAg loss or seroconversion, and virological breakthrough.
Among patients with CHB who were HBeAg (+), the mean HBV DNA titer decreased similarly between the groups at week 48. The percentages of patients who achieved undetectable HBV DNA were similar between the groups (85.11% and 82.35% in groups A and B, respectively) and similar losses of HBeAg and HBeAg seroconversion rates were achieved. Moreover, for patients with CHB who were HBeAg (-), reductions in HBV DNA were similar. Among all patients with CHB, the rates of normalization of ALT and the loss of HBsAg were similar. The overall incidence of adverse events was comparable between the groups.
In conclusion, the 48-week administration of Qingzhong showed noninferior efficacy and safety profiles compared to Viread in Chinese patients with CHB.
Aquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presents a challenge to medical researchers because of its unique pathological and clinical picture. The clinical data, particularly autopsy evidence, from ...China have failed to provide enough pathological and etiological evidence for AIDS diagnosis, which impairs the reliability of the diagnosis and our full understanding of the occurrence and development of AIDS complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the imaging and pathologic characteristics of AIDS.
Autopsy, imaging and pathological data from 8 cases of AIDS were retrospectively analyzed. Routine CT scanning of different body parts was performed during their periods of hospitalization. Transverse CT scanning was conducted from the skull to the pelvis immediately after the occurrence of death. After routine formalin fixing, 7 cardevers were cross sectioned for autopsy in freezing state and 1 for gross autopsy. Tissues were obtained from each section and organs for pathological examinations.
The autopsy data indicated the presence of parasitic infections, bacterial infections, fungal infections, and virus infections in AIDS patients. Pneumocystis pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, coccobacteria pneumonia, Aspergillus pneumonia, cytomegalovirus pneumonia, toxoplasma encephalitis, lymphoma and cerebrovascular diseases were found in these patients.
During the course of AIDS progression, the concurrent multiple infections as well as tumor development may result in multiple organ pathological changes and clinically complex symptoms that further complicate the imaging and pathological manifestations, thus resulting in difficult differential diagnosis. A combination of imaging data and autopsy data can help to clarify the diagnosis.
BACKGROUNDTenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a prodrug of a nucleotide analogue. As an antiviral drug, TDF has been proposed in the first-line treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Qingzhong, a ...brand name of TDF, commercialized by Jiangsu Chia-tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Co Ltd., and Viread, another brand name of TDF, commercialized by GlaxoSmithKline, have both been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration, China. AIMTo investigate the efficacy and safety of the two TDF agents in the treatment of Chinese CHB patients. METHODSThis trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier number of NCT02287857. A total of 330 Chinese CHB patients, among which 232 were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive, were included in this 5-year-long, multicenter, double-blinded, double-dummy, randomized-controlled, non-inferiority phase III trial. The participants were initially randomized into two groups: Group A (n = 161), in which the participants received 300 mg Qingzhong once a day for 48 wk; and Group B, in which the participants received 300 mg Viread once a day for 48 wk. Starting from week 49, all the participants in Groups A and B received 300 mg Qingzhong once a day until the 96th week. In this study, the primary endpoint was the decrease in plasma level of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA at the 96th week, while the secondary endpoints were suppression of HBV replication, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization, HBeAg loss, and HBeAg seroconversion rates. RESULTSFor the participants with HBeAg-positive CHB, the decrease in mean HBV DNA level relative to the baseline value was comparable between Groups A and B (5.77 vs 5.73 log10 IU/mL, P > 0.05) at the 96th week. In addition, similar percentages of HBeAg-positive participants in the two groups exhibited undetectable levels of HBV DNA, HBeAg loss, and HBeAg seroconversion (71.05% vs 77.97%, 31.00% vs 27.27%, and 20.22% vs 15.79%, respectively, in Group A vs Group B; P > 0.05). For the participants with HBeAg-negative CHB, the decrease in mean HBV DNA level relative to the baseline value was also comparable between Groups A and B (4.46 vs 4.70 log10 IU/mL, P > 0.05) at the 96th week. In addition, similar percentages of HBeAg-negative participants in the two groups exhibited undetectable levels of HBV DNA (87.23% vs 94.12% in Group A vs Group B, respectively; P > 0.05). Finally, similar percentages of CHB patients (HBeAg-positive or HBeAg-negative) in the two groups exhibited normalization of ALT (80.14% vs 84.57% in Group A vs Group B, respectively; P > 0.05), and similar incidences of adverse events were observed (106 vs 104 in Group A vs Group B, respectively; P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONBoth Qingzhong and Viread are effective and safe in the treatment of Chinese CHB patients according to the results of our clinical trial.
This contains selected and peer-reviewed papers from the 4th Annual International Conference on Material Science and Environmental Engineering (MSEE), December 16-18 2016, in Chengdu, China. ...Interactions of building materials, biomaterials, energy materials and nanomaterials with surrounding environment are discussed. With abundant case studies, it is of interests to material scientists and environmental engineers.