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BACKGROUND: Recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with persistent AF even after multiple ablation procedures. His-Purkinje conduction system pacing (HPCSP) combined with atrioventricular node ablation (AVNA) is effective in managing patients with AF and heart failure. This study aimed to determine whether HPCSP combined with AVNA can improve quality of life and alleviate symptoms in older patients with symptomatic persistent AF refractory to multiple ablation procedures, as well as evaluate the feasibility and safety of this therapy. METHODS: Older patients (≥ 65 years) with symptomatic persistent AF refractory to at least two ablation procedures were treated with combined HPCSP and AVNA. The success rates and complications were recorded. Pacing parameters, European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) scores, and Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-Life (AFEQT) scores obtained perioperatively were compared with those recorded at the 6-month follow-up examination. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were enrolled; of those, only thirty patients were eventually treated with AVNA because one patient developed a complete atrioventricular block following the withdrawal of the His bundle pacing lead. The success rates were 100% for HPCSP (22 cases with His bundle pacing, and 9 cases with left bundle branch pacing) and 93.3% (28/30) for AVNA, respectively. By the 6-month follow-up examination, EHRA scores improved significantly (3.00 ± 0.73 vs. 2.44 ± 0.63, P = 0.014) and AFEQT scores increased markedly (49.6 ± 20.6 vs. 70.9 ± 14.0, P = 0.001). No severe complications developed. CONCLUSIONS: When used in older patients with symptomatic persistent AF refractory to multiple ablation procedures, HPCSP combined with AVNA significantly alleviated symptoms and improved quality of life during short-term follow-up. This therapy was proved to be safe and effective in this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application, approval, production management, labeling, specification, advertising, and supervision of functional food have been put on the right track in China since the enforcement of ''Measures of Functional Food Administration'' on June 1, 1996. The recent article describes the current status and prospect of functional food with respect to the following six aspects: (1) the concept and definition of functional food; (2) the requirement for examination of functional food; (3) the evaluation and testing of functional food; (4) the extension of functional food to Chinese medicine prescriptions; (5) the steady development of functional food products; and (6) the trend and prospect of functional food development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]