Objective To investigate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukin (IL)-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in elderly patients with refractory depression. Methods A total of 58 elderly patients diagnosed with refractory depression between January 2015 and December 2016 were divided randomly into two groups: 29 patients who received rTMS and 29 controls without rTMS. Thirty healthy individuals were also enrolled and all received rTMS. Serum levels of BDNF, IL-1β, and TNF-α were measured before the study (0 days), and at 48 hours and 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after the first TMS treatment. Results BDNF levels gradually increased with treatment duration in the rTMS group and were significantly higher compared with the control group. In contrast, IL-1β and TNF-α levels gradually decreased and were significantly lower than in the control group. None of the serum factors were affected by rTMS in the healthy individuals. BDNF levels were negatively correlated and IL-1β and TNF-α levels were positively correlated with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-24 scores. Conclusion These results suggest that rTMS may increase BDNF and decrease IL-1β and TNF-α serum levels in elderly patients with refractory depression.

Summary Background Intranasal procedural sedation using dexmedetomidine is well described in the literature. The combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine and ketamine is a novel approach for which there are little data on the rate of successful sedation or adverse events. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of successful sedation and adverse events of intranasal procedural sedation using a combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine for diagnostic examination in children. Methods This was a retrospective study and data were collected after ethics approval. A total of 17 948 pediatric patients (7718 females, 10 230 males) in a tertiary hospital in China were evaluated. Patients received a combination of 2 μg kg−1 of dexmedetomidine and 1 mg kg−1 of ketamine intranasally for procedural sedation. The level of sedation and recovery was assessed by the Modified Observer Assessment of Alertness/Sedation scale and the Modified Aldrete Score. Results The rate of intranasal sedation success was 93% (16691/17948), intranasal sedation rescue was 1.8% (322/17948), and intranasal sedation failure was 5.2% (935/17948). Sedation success was defined as successful completed the diagnostic examination and obtained adequate diagnostic‐quality images and reports. Intranasal sedation success, rescue and failure were respectively defined as sedation success with intranasal a single dose, additional bolus dose and the need for intravenous (IV) medications/inhalation agents. Median sedation time was 62 min (interquartile range: 55‐70 min), median time for onset of sedation was 15 min (interquartile range: 15‐20 min), and median sedation recovery time was 45 min (interquartile range: 38‐53 min). Incidence of adverse events was low (0.58%; 105/17948), with major and minor adverse event being reported in 0.02% (4/17948) and 0.56% (101/17948) patients, respectively. Postoperative nausea and vomiting was the most common (0.3%; 53/17948) minor adverse event. Conclusion Procedural sedation using a combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine and ketamine is associated with acceptable effectiveness and low rates of adverse events.

Refractive change and incidence of myopia among a group of highly selected senior high school students in China: a prospective study in an aviation cadet prerecruitment class.

Purpose To determine the differences in mean ocular dimensions between urban and rural children and identify possible influencing factors. Methods This work uses previously published data from the Shandong Children Eye Study, which was based on a random cluster sampling applied to a cross‐sectional school‐based study design in the rural Guanxian County and Weihai city. All children underwent auto‐refractometry and biometry under cycloplegia. Results The study included 3290 children (aged 9.35 ± 2.93 years), consisting of 888 pairs of boys and 757 pairs of girls matched by sex, age and refractive error (each pair matching one child from urban cohort with one from the rural cohort). Overall urban children were significantly taller and heavier than rural children (t‐test; p < 0.001), which was confirmed for all age groups for weight. Urban ocular axial lengths were significantly longer by 0.23 mm compared to the rural population (t‐test; p < 0.001), mostly in younger children and boys. Meanwhile, corneal curvatures were flatter in the urban cohort by 0.08 mm (p < 0.001). This association of axial length with urban vs rural region was reduced in magnitude by 69.7% after accounting for height. Conclusions For the same, matched refractive error, children from urban regions had significantly longer eyes and flatter corneal curvature than rural children. Since corneal curvature is defined during the first 2 years of life, early environmental factors may be the source of these differences in ocular dimensions.