Elevated Lactic Acid During Ketoacidosis: Pathophysiology and Management. J Transl Int Med. 2019;7:115-117. [PMID: 31637182 PMCID: PMC6795052 DOI: 10.2478/jtim-2019-0024]

Post-translational protein lactylation modification in health and diseases: a double-edged sword

As more is learned about lactate, it acts as both a product and a substrate and functions as a shuttle system between different cell populations to provide the energy for sustaining tumor growth and proliferation. Recent discoveries of protein lactylation modification mediated by lactate play an increasingly significant role in human health (e.g., neural and osteogenic differentiation and maturation) and diseases (e.g., tumors, fibrosis and inflammation, etc.). These views are critically significant and first described in detail in this review. Hence, here, we focused on a new target, protein lactylation, which may be a "double-edged sword" of human health and diseases. The main purpose of this review was to describe how protein lactylation acts in multiple physiological and pathological processes and their potential mechanisms through an in-depth summary of preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies. Our work aims to provide new ideas for treating different diseases and accelerate translation from bench to bedside.

Crosstalk between lactic acid and immune regulation and its value in the diagnosis and treatment of liver failure

Liver failure is a common clinical syndrome of severe liver diseases, which belongs to one of the critical medical conditions. Immune response plays a leading role in the pathogenesis of liver failure. Lactic acid as a target for the treatment and prediction of liver failure has not attracted enough attention. Since the emergence of the concept of "histone lactation," lactic acid has shown great promise in immune response and escape. Therefore, targeted lactic acid may be a reliable agent to solve immune and energy metabolism disorders in liver failure. Based on the relationship between lactic acid and immune response, the cross-talk between lactic acid metabolism, its compounds, and immune regulation and its significance in the diagnosis and treatment of liver failure were expounded in this article to provide new ideas for understanding and treating liver failure.

Is it time to reconsider the administration of thiamine alone or in combination with vitamin C in critically ill patients? A meta-analysis of clinical trial studies

Background

Although the effect of thiamine alone or in combination with vitamin C has been studied in multiple trials (RCT and interventional studies), their results are inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to assess impact of thiamine administration alone, thiamine in combination with vitamin C, and co-administration of low-dose hydrocortisone, vitamin C and thiamine (HVT) on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients.

Methods and materials

After electronic searches on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases, initially 3367 papers were found, and 20 interventional studies were included in our analysis. We assessed the risk-difference between treatment and control (standard treatment) groups by pooling available data on ICU length of stay, number of ventilator free days, mortality, and changes in Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores.

Results

The results of present studies revealed no significant effect of thiamine in combination with vitamin C, and HVT on number of free days of ventilation. Thiamine alone supplementation was associated with high mortality percentage (WMD: 5.17%; 95% CI: 2.67, 7.67). Thiamine in combination with vitamin C had no significant impact on mortality rate. In contrast, HVT could decrease mortality rate (WMD: − 7.23%; 95% CI: − 10.31, − 4.16; I-square: 0.0%). There was no significant effect of thiamine alone, co-administration of thiamine and vitamin C, and HVT on ICU length of stay. The results of the meta-analysis showed that thiamine alone and HVT supplementation had no significant effect on SOFA score. Interestingly, co-supplementation of thiamine and vitamin C had a significant decreasing effect on SOFA score (WMD: − 0.73; 95% CI: − 1.29, − 0.17; I-square: 0.0%).

Conclusion

In contrast to HVT, thiamine supplementation alone was associated with increased mortality rate in ICU. However, co-supplementation of thiamine and vitamin C had a significant decreasing effect on SOFA score.

Thiamine, co-supplementation of thiamine and vitamin C and co-administration of hydrocortisone, vitamin C and thiamine (HVT) had no significant effect on free days of ventilation and ICU length of stay.

HVT could decrease and thiamine supplementation could increase mortality rate in ICU.

Co-supplementation of thiamine and vitamin C could decrease SOFA score.

Effect of hospital discharge plan for children with type 1 diabetes on discharge readiness, discharge education quality, and blood glucose control

BACKGROUND

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. The number of type 1 diabetes patients in China still ranks fourth in the world. Therefore, children with type 1 diabetes in China are a group that needs attention. The management of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) involves many aspects of daily life. It is extremely challenging for children and their families. T1DM children have complex medical care needs. Despite the continuous development of therapeutic medicine and treatment technologies, blood glucose control in children with T1DM is still not ideal. They and their parents need to acquire more knowledge and skills before being discharged.

AIM

To explore the influence of hospital discharge plan based on parental care needs of children with T1DM on discharge readiness, quality of discharge education and blood glucose control level.

METHODS

In total, 102 parents of children with type 1 diabetes were divided into control group and intervention group according to admission time. Fifty cases from February to June 2019 were selected as the control group, and 52 cases from July to October 2019 were selected as the intervention group to implement the discharge plan. The Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale, Hospital Discharged Education Quality Scale and children's blood glucose metabolism indicators were used to compare the differences in discharge preparation, discharge education quality and blood glucose control between the two groups of children and their parents.

RESULTS

On the day of discharge, the two groups of children had the following scores of readiness for discharge: The intervention group score was 225.34 ± 32.47, and the control group score was 208.68 ± 29.31. The P value was 0.007, and the difference was statistically significant. The discharge education quality scores were as follows: The intervention group score was 135.11 ± 19.86, the control group score was 124.13 ± 15.56, the P value was 0.002 and the difference was statistically significant. Three months after discharge, the blood glucose metabolism indicator showed that the glycosylated hemoglobin value of the two groups was (7.45% ± 1.04%), and that of the control group was (8.04% ± 1.27%), P = 0.012. Therefore, the improvement of parents' readiness for discharge, quality of discharge education and blood glucose metabolism indicators (glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose) in the intervention group were better than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and the difference was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The discharge plan for children with T1DM can help the children and their families realize the transition from hospital care to home self-management and improve the parents' readiness for discharge, thereby improving children’s blood glucose control levels.

D-Lactic Acid as a Metabolite: Toxicology, Diagnosis, and Detection

Two enantiomers of lactic acid exist. While L-lactic acid is a common compound of human metabolism, D-lactic acid is produced by some strains of microorganism or by some less relevant metabolic pathways. While L-lactic acid is an endogenous compound, D-lactic acid is a harmful enantiomer. Exposure to D-lactic acid can happen by various ways including contaminated food and beverages and by microbiota during some pathological states like short bowel syndrome. The exposure to D-lactic acid cannot be diagnosed because the common analytical methods are not suitable for distinguishing between the two enantiomers. In this review, pathways for D-lactic acid, pathological processes, and diagnostical and analytical methods are introduced followed by figures and tables. The current literature is summarized and discussed.