In this study, cancer patients with venous thrombosis associated with the use of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) underwent complete recanalization by the administration of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS), which vary from heparin or urokinase in that they do not have the same risks associated with thrombolysis, including bleeding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the treatment of cancers with PNS to be reported in the literature. Three cancer patients aged 30–50 years old, two females and one male, were subjected to chemotherapy. On the first day of chemotherapy, a PICC was inserted into the right basilic vein with its tip in the superior vena cava. On the third day of chemotherapy, pain, swelling and skin flushing started. In the following days, particularly days 10–13, a Doppler ultrasound examination confirmed a long thrombus along the PICC line in the axillary vein and brachial veins in each patient. The patients rejected the insertion of an inferior vena cava filter, and neither heparin nor urokinase were administered due to contra-indications. An injection of PNS (200 mg) was administered every day. On days 20–28 of chemotherapy, the thrombus in the axillary and brachial veins disappeared in the three patients. It was concluded that PNS promote blood circulation, which prevents blood stasis and reduces the toxicity of cisplatin. The results suggest that PNS are a feasible and effective treatment option for many types of cancer, but have a broader clinical impact on cancer patients with PICC-related venous thrombosis. Therefore, this study is an original case report of particular interest to cancer patients with PICC-related venous thrombosis.
Islet inflammation is the hallmark of all types of diabetes mellitus (DM). 1,2 Accumulated evidence indicates that chronic islet inflammation exerts a strong role in pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, including impaired insulin secretion function and diminished mass of islet β-cells. 3 IL-1β has been identified as a main inflammatory mediator of eliciting islet β-cell injury in diabetes, 4 and animal studies and clinical trials blocking IL-1β signalling pathway have proved to ameliorate β-cell function and improve glucose homeostasis in DM, 5,6 yet the mechanism by which IL-1β impairs islet β-cell biology is not completely understood.
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