Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits and risks of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in patients with chronic kidney disease. A systematic search of articles in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and reference lists was performed to find relevant literature. All eligible studies assessed proteinuria, the serum creatinine clearance rate, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, or the occurrence of end-stage renal disease. Standard mean differences with 95% confidence intervals for continuous data were used to estimate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on renal function, as reflected by the serum creatinine clearance rate, proteinuria, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, and relative risk. Additionally, a random-effects model was used to estimate the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the risk of end-stage renal disease. Nine randomized controlled trials evaluating 444 patients with chronic kidney disease were included in the study. The follow-up duration ranged from 2 to 76.8 months. Compared with no or low-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, any or high-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, respectively, was associated with a lower risk of proteinuria (SMD: -0.31; 95% CI: -0.53 to -0.10; p=0.004) but had little or no effect on the serum creatinine clearance rate (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: -0.40 to 0.84; p=0.482) or the estimated glomerular filtration rate (SMD: 0.14; 95% CI: -0.13 to 0.42; p=0.296). However, this supplementation was associated with a reduced risk of end-stage renal disease (RR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.99; p=0.047). In sum, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is associated with a significantly reduced risk of end-stage renal disease and delays the progression of this disease

Experimental study on abnormal thyroid function in patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis caused by interference of thyroid hormone autoantibodies

Introduction: Thyroid hormone autoantibody (THAAb) is one of the important factors affecting the measurement of thyroid function. By studying the results of a patient suffered with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, we fully communicated with the clinician, looked for reasons, and achieved the purpose of restoring the truth and sorting out solutions. Material and Methods: During routine examination by ADVIA-Centaur XP system, we found the test of a case was inconsistent with her clinical manifestations, with abnormal elevation of free thyroxine (FT4) that did not conform to the rule of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Then, different platforms and demonstration of THAAbs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation were performed to eliminate the influence of THAAbs. Results: The results showed that the thyroid function of the patient was consistent with the clinical manifestations and conformed to the law of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis at Architect-i2000sr platform and Roche-Cobas-601 system. The content of FT4 was significantly reduced and lower than the normal reference range, after the patients' serum was treated with PEG, which was in line with the clinical practice. The serum THAAb titer of the patients was nearly 100 times higher than that of the control group. Conclusions: Once the thyroid function of the patients do not conform to their own laws and clinical manifestations, laboratory staff should consider the interference of THAAbs. It is necessary to change the detection platform and retest the serum after PEG treatment while communicating with the clinicians, which is of great significance to provide a true and accurate result to clinicians and patients

Nonapotassium trialuminium hexa­phosphate

In the title compound, K9Al3(PO4)6, the anionic substructure is built of inter­linked [PO4] and [AlO4] tetra­hedra. Each O atom of the [AlO4] tetra­hedron is common to a positionally different [PO4] tetra­hedron; thus, each [AlO4] tetra­hedron is surrounded by four positionally different [PO4] tetra­hedra. On the other hand, each [PO4] tetra­hedron shares its two O atoms with two positionally different [AlO4] tetra­hedra; the other two phosphate O atoms are terminal ones coordinated by K atoms. The terminal O atoms are usually closer to the K atoms than the bridging O atoms between the [AlO4] and [PO4] tetra­hedra. There are nine symmetry-independent K atoms in the structure. The coordination numbers of the K atoms are 6 or 7 or 8 up to a distance of 3.31 Å. There are channels in the anionic substructure oriented along the [10] direction that are filled by K atoms

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits and risks of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in patients with chronic kidney disease. A systematic search of articles in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and reference lists was performed to find relevant literature. All eligible studies assessed proteinuria, the serum creatinine clearance rate, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, or the occurrence of end-stage renal disease. Standard mean differences with 95% confidence intervals for continuous data were used to estimate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on renal function, as reflected by the serum creatinine clearance rate, proteinuria, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, and relative risk. Additionally, a random-effects model was used to estimate the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the risk of end-stage renal disease. Nine randomized controlled trials evaluating 444 patients with chronic kidney disease were included in the study. The follow-up duration ranged from 2 to 76.8 months. Compared with no or low-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, any or high-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, respectively, was associated with a lower risk of proteinuria (SMD: -0.31; 95% CI: -0.53 to -0.10; p=0.004) but had little or no effect on the serum creatinine clearance rate (SMD: 0.22; 95% CI: -0.40 to 0.84; p=0.482) or the estimated glomerular filtration rate (SMD: 0.14; 95% CI: -0.13 to 0.42; p=0.296). However, this supplementation was associated with a reduced risk of end-stage renal disease (RR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.99; p=0.047). In sum, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation is associated with a significantly reduced risk of end-stage renal disease and delays the progression of this disease

Association between an indel polymorphism within the distal promoter of EGLN2 and cancer risk: An updated meta‐analysis

Abstract Background The association between a 4‐bp indel polymorphism (rs10680577) within the distal promoter of EGLN2 and cancer risk has been investigated by several case–control studies in recent years, but investigation results were inconsistent. Thus, a systematic assessment of the association was performed based on a literature review and pooled analysis. Methods Two investigators independently retrieved relevant studies from PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Embase, and Google Scholar. The fixed or random effects model was selected to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) based on heterogeneity level. All analyses including heterogeneity assessment, subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias assessment were performed using RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 12.0 software. Results A total of six relevant studies with 3,406 cases and 5,147 controls were included in the final analysis. The overall pooled analysis showed that EGLN2 rs10680577 polymorphism was significantly associated with cancer risk under all genetic models. However, subgroup analysis based on cancer type showed that the polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of digestive system cancer under all genetic models, and with the risk of lung cancer under dominant model, heterozygote comparison model, and allele comparison model. Subgroup analysis based on population sources showed a significant association in Chinese population under all genetic models. Conclusion The present result suggests that EGLN2 rs10680577 polymorphism is associated with cancer risk, and may act as a promising predictive biomarker for cancer risk, especially in Chinese population. However, further well‐designed studies are warranted to confirm these results

Reducing the occurrence rate of catheter dysfunction in peritoneal dialysis: a single-center experience about CQI

To reduce the occurrence rate of peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter dysfunction caused by catheter displacement or plugging, this study screened all patients with peritoneal dialysis catheterization from 2002 to 2015 from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. There were 256 patients before continuous quality improvement (CQI) (from 2002 to 2007) and 813 patients after CQI (from 2008 to 2015). The occurrence rate of catheter dysfunction was 5.9% in the preCQI group: seven cases were associated with peritonitis, six cases were involved in omentum wrapping, one case was blocked by oviduct, and one case was blocked by blood clot. Through PDCA (plan-do-check-act) four-step of CQI, the following measures were adopted: (1) Preoperative: treat complications, enema and urine catheterization (2) Intraoperative: strengthen analgesia, Lower the insert position of catheter to 7.5 ∼ 8.5 cm above the pubic symphysis, extending the straight distance of catheter in rectus abdominis and decrease the times of peritoneal dialysis catheter implantation. (3) Postoperative: strengthen the training of nurses, patients and their families. (4) strengthen anticoagulation therapy during peritonitis treatment. (5) use laparoscopic technology for refractory patients, and so on. The occurrence of catheter dysfunction was 1.5% in the postCQI group (p < 0.05): two cases were associated with peritonitis, ten cases were involved in omentum wrapping. The measures we adopted in CQI reduce the occurrence rate of catheter displacement or plugging in peritoneal dialysis

Preparation and Structural Analysis of Nano-Silver Loaded Poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) Core-Shell Nanospheres with Defined Shape and Composition

A systematic study for the preparation and structural analysis of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) composite nanospheres (PSA) and silver nanoparticles loaded poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) composite nanospheres (nAg@PSA) is reported. Poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) nanospheres were synthesized by soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene (St) and acrylic acid (AA) in water. Ag nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were well-dispersed on the surfaces of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) composite nanospheres by in situ chemical reduction of AgNO3 using NaBH4 as a reducing agent in water. The particle size of PSA nanospheres was uniform. The surfaces of PSA nanospheres were distributed by highly uniform half-sphere arrays. Those half-sphere protruded more with the increase of the feeding amount of AA or the feed ratios of AA and St. The carboxyl groups content of nanospheres was directly proportional to the nanosphere surface area. This relationship and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy images of the PSA nanospheres indicate that the acrylic acid was mainly distributed on the surface of the polystyrene spheres with unnegligible thickness. The number of Ag-NPs depends on immobilized carboxyl groups on the surface of PSA, according to thermogravimetry, ultraviolet-visible, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results