The effect of an early short-term home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on ventricular function in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is not yet clear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of our CR program on the improvement of myocardial function using three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) in AMI patients.

Benign adult familial myoclonic epilepsy (BAFME) is a non-progressive monogenic epilepsy syndrome. So far, the structural and functional brain reorganizations in BAFME remain uncharacterized. This study aims to investigate gray matter atrophy and related functional connectivity alterations in patients with BAFME using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Eleven BAFME patients from a Chinese pedigree and 15 matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Optimized voxel-based morphometric and resting-state functional MRI approaches were performed to measure gray matter atrophy and related functional connectivity, respectively. The Trail-Making Test-part A and part B, Digit Symbol Test (DST), and Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) were carried out to evaluate attention and executive functions.The BAFME patients exhibited significant gray matter loss in the right hippocampus, right temporal pole, left orbitofrontal cortex, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. With these regions selected as seeds, the voxel-wise functional connectivity analysis revealed that the right hippocampus showed significantly enhanced connectivity with the right inferior parietal lobule, bilateral middle cingulate cortex, left precuneus, and left precentral gyrus. Moreover, the BAFME patients showed significant lower scores in DST and VFT tests compared with the healthy controls. The gray matter densities of the right hippocampus, right temporal pole, and left orbitofrontal cortex were significantly positively correlated with the DST scores. In addition, the gray matter density of the right temporal pole was significantly positively correlated with the VFT scores, and the gray matter density of the right hippocampus was significantly negatively correlated with the duration of illness in the patients.The current study demonstrates gray matter loss and related functional connectivity alterations in the BAFME patients, perhaps underlying deficits in attention and executive functions in the BAFME.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by left ventricular dilation, and is associated with systolic dysfunction and increased action potential duration. Approximately 50% of DCM cases are caused by inherited gene mutations with genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity. Next generation sequencing may be useful in screening unknown mutations in such cases.A family was identified with DCM, in which the affected family members developed heart failure, arrhythmia, and sudden death. Probands and 4 affected family members underwent whole exome sequencing (WES), bioinformatics methods, and gene annotation to identify potentially causative variants. The Sanger sequencing method was used to verify the candidate mutation.WES yielded 2,238,831 variations. KCNJ12 (p.Glu334del) was identified as a candidate mutation, and the heterozygous mutation was verified by Sanger sequencing.Our study emphasizes the application of WES in identifying causative mutations in DCM. This report is the first to describe the KCNJ12 gene as a cause of DCM in patients.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is an uncommon mesenchymal tumor that is most common in the pleura. However, according to previous studies, the SFT of the pancreas is extremely rare; only 20 cases have been reported so far. Here, we conduct a literature review and report the first case of atypical/malignant SFT of the pancreas with spleen vein invasion.

The aim of the study was to explore the association between mucin 5ac expression and cancer prognosis. A systematically comprehensive search was performed through PubMed, the Web of Science, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The prognostic value of mucin 5ac expression in cancer patients was evaluated. The overexpression of mucin 5ac was found to be significantly associated with a poor prognosis in cancer patients (pooled HR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.158-2.028, P = 0.003). This association was also detected in a biliary subgroup (pooled HR: 1.83, 95%CI: 1.269-2.639, P = 0.001) and a gastrointestinal subgroup (pooled HR: 1.44, 95%CI: 1.069-1.949 P = 0.017). In the geography subgroup analysis, a statistical association was found in the Asian subgroup (pooled HR: 1.69, 95%CI: 1.200-2.384, P = 0.003). In the clinical characteristics analysis, a statistical association was found between the hyper expression of mucin 5ac and lymphatic metastasis. We indicated that mucin 5ac is a promising prognostic predictor for cancer, especially for biliary and gastrointestinal cancer, and is more suitable for predicting cancer prognoses in Asians.

Refractory hypoxemia episodes are characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients with OSA suffer from oxidative stress in all systems. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of arrhythmia that may be induced by OSA. In this study, we explored the dose-response relationship between OSA and AF. Our research provides the basis for a novel approach to AF prevention.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent gastrointestinal disorder. Histamine H2 antagonists (H2RAs) are the pharmacological treatment option for FD, but no potent evidence has been found for the efficacy of these drugs in the condition. Therefore, this systematic review protocol aims to examine the efficacy and safety of H2RAs in the treatment of FD.

Many studies have been done to reported the value of SRY-related HMG-box Gene 2 (SOX2) in prognosis of solid tumors. But results were not particularly consistent among these studies because of the limitations of the small sample data.

To evaluate the feasibility, local control, and survival after computed tomography (CT)-guided cryoablation for adrenal metastases.This study included 31 consecutive patients with adrenal metastases who were treated by CT-guided cryoablation in our center from July 2011 to October 2017. The technical success rate, local progression rate, local progression-free survival (LPFS), systemic progression-free survival (SPFS), and overall survival were assessed. The predictors of survival were determined using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.The primary and secondary technical success rates were 90.3% and 100%, respectively. None of the patients experienced a hypertensive crisis. The local progression rate during follow-up was 19.4%. Systemic progression was found in 9 patients. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year LPFS rates were 80.6%, 37.8%, and 18.4%, respectively. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year SPFS rates were 77.4%, 31.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 83.9%, 45.0%, and 30.0%, respectively. The existence of an extra-adrenal tumor was a significant independent predictor of worse overall survival (P = .012). The mean overall survival durations were significantly different between patients with and without an extra-adrenal tumor (16.6 ± 2.4 vs 50.9 ± 4.5 months, P <.001).Our findings support that CT-guided cryoablation is a safe and effective method for controlling adrenal metastases and imply that this approach may improve the survival of patients with adrenal metastases.