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Research has shown that locoregional and/or systemic treatments can reduce the tumor stage, enabling radical surgical resection in patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. This is referred to as conversion therapy. Patients who undergo conversion therapy followed by curative surgery experience a significant survival benefit compared to those who receive chemotherapy alone, those who are successfully downstaged with conversion therapy but not treated with surgery, or those who are treated with upfront surgery. Several treatments have been studied as conversion therapy. However, the success rate of conversion varies greatly, ranging from 0.8% to 60%. Combined locoregional plus systemic conversion therapy has demonstrated significant clinical advantages, with a conversion rate of up to 60%, an objective remission rate of 96% for patients, and a disease control rate of up to 100%. However, patients who underwent conversion therapy experienced significantly more complications than those who underwent direct LR without conversion therapy. Conversion therapy can cause hepatotoxicity, bone marrow suppression, local adhesions, increased fragility of blood vessels and liver tissues, and hepatic edema, which can increase the difficulty of surgery. In addition, criteria need to be established to evaluate the efficacy of conversion therapy and subsequent treatment. Further clinical evidence in this area is urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One important challenge for global development is aging. China is one of the world's countries with the highest elderly population and the most rapid aging; in 2022, the percentage of the population over 65 was 14.9%; by 2050, it is expected to rise to 26.1%. China's health security, elderly care, and healthcare services are facing serious challenges as a result of this aging trend. With 80% of provinces including medical and elderly care in national basic public health care programs, China has adopted a proactive national plan to combat population aging. Moreover, geriatric departments have been established at 69.3% of public general hospitals at secondary and higher tiers, 48% of provinces have devises preventive interventions for disability and dementia in the elderly, 48 percent of provinces are serving as test regions for medical care related to rehabilitation, and 49 cities are involved in long-term care insurance (LTCI) trials that encompass 170 million people. There are 4,259 medical and health care facilities that provide hospice care services, 152 hospice care pilot regions, and 87,000 pairs of contracts between medical and health care facilities and elderly care providers. These developments provide a strong basis, but there are still major obstacles to overcome. The Chinese Government is urged to adopt early preventive measures, offer more ongoing, practical, and cost-effective diagnostic and treatment services, allocate resources equitably, and use intelligent technologies to enhance elderly care. The ultimate goals are to lessen the financial burden, enhance the health of the elderly, and offer a vital global resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has been a topic of interest since a pandemic struck in 2019. The morbidity of influenza tended to decrease due to the measures to prevent COVID-19. Indeed, influenza seems to be "ignored" in this era of COVID-19. However, influenza has not disappeared from the scene. Presented here are two examples of recent influenza epidemics in China and Australia. Possible interactions between COVID-19 and influenza are discussed. Measures against COVID-19 may reduce contact with influenza, subsequently reducing adaptive immunity against influenza in the general population. Influenza might not be center stage right now, but insufficient adaptive immunity in the population may potentially trigger a future influenza pandemic. Coinfection with COVID-19 and influenza might potentially be a thorny problem. Hence, influenza cannot be ignored. Governments around the world should take measures to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrent screening has been proven to provide a comprehensive approach for management of congenital deafness and prevention of ototoxicity. The SLC26A4 gene is associated with late-onset hearing loss and is of great clinical concern. For much earlier detection of newborns with deafnesscausing mutations in the SLC26A4 gene, the Beijing Municipal Government launched a chip for optimized genetic screening of 15 variants of 4 genes causing deafness based on a chip to screen for 9 variants of 4 genes, and 6 variants of the SLC26A4 gene have now been added. To ascertain the advantage of a screening chip including 15 variants of 4 genes, the trends in concurrent hearing and genetic screening were analyzed in 2019 and 2020. Subjects were 76,460 newborns who underwent concurrent hearing and genetic screening at 24 maternal and child care centers in Beijing from January 2019 to December 2020. Hearing screening was conducted using transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), or the automated auditory brainstem response (AABR). Dried blood spots were collected for genetic testing and 15 variants of 4 genes, namely GJB2, SLC26A4, mtDNA 12S rRNA, and GJB3, were screened for using a DNA microarray platform. The initial referral rate for hearing screening decreased from 3.60% (1,502/41,690) in 2019 to 3.23% (1,124/34,770) in 2020, and the total referral rate for hearing screening dropped form 0.57% (236/41,690) in 2019 to 0.54% (187/34,770) in 2020, indicating the reduced false positive rate of newborn hearing screening and policies to prevent hearing loss conducted by the Beijing Municipal Government have had a significant effect. Positivity according to genetic screening was similar in 2019 (4.970%, 2,072/41,690) and 2020 (4.863%,1,691/34,770), and the most frequent mutant alleles were c.235 del C in the GJB2 gene, followed by c.919-2 A > G in the SLC26A4 gene, and c.299 del AT in the GJB2 gene. In this cohort study, 71.43% (5/7) of newborns with 2 variants of the SLC26A4 gene were screened for newly added mutations, and 28.57% (2/7) of newborns with 2 variants of the SLC26A4 gene passed hearing screening, suggesting that a screening chip including 15 variants of 4 genes was superior at early detection of hearing loss, and especially in early identification of newborns with deafness-causing mutations in the SLC26A4 gene. These findings have clinical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]