Retinal microcirculation changes in prediabetic patients with short-term increased blood glucose using optical coherence tomography angiography.

Background: Retinal microcirculation alterations are early indicators of diabetic microvascular complications. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a noninvasive method to assess these changes. This study analyzes changes in retinal microcirculation in prediabetic patients during short-term increases in blood glucose using OCTA.

Construction of Exosomes that Overexpress CD47 and Evaluation of Their Immune Escape.

Our general purpose was to provide a theoretical and practical foundation for the use of exosomes (EXOs) that have high levels of CD47 as stable and efficient drug carriers. Thus, we prepared EXOs from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADMSCs) that had high levels of CD47 (EXOs) and control EXOs (without CD47), and then compared their immune escape and their resistance to phagocytosis . Nanoflow cytometry was used to determine the CD47 level in these EXOs, and the amount of EXOs that remained in rat plasma at 3 h after intraperitoneal injection.

Curcumin induced the cell death of immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT) through caspase-independent and caspase-dependent pathways.

Curcumin is a diketone compound found in turmeric. It is used as food additives and spices, and has anti-proliferation and anti-cancer properties. However, the effect of curcumin on human keratinocytes (KCs) is still unclear.

New advances in the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism.

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common form of endocrine hypertension. The diagnostic process of PA includes a screening test, confirmatory test, and subtype classification. In this review, we have summarized the latest advances in the diagnosis of PA with regard to screening and confirmatory tests and provided some recommendations to improve clinical practice.

Neurological manifestations of atrial myxoma: A retrospective analysis.

Atrial myxoma is the most common type of primary cardiac tumor and it is closely associated with stroke in adults. Early diagnosis and treatment of atrial myxomas is essential for the prevention of embolic events. The aim of the present study was to assess neurological complications associated with atrial myxoma.

Liquid L-thyroxine versus tablet L-thyroxine in patients on L- thyroxine replacement or suppressive therapy: a meta-analysis.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of liquid L-T4 (L-thyroxine) and tablet L-T4 in patients on L-T4 replacement or suppressive therapy.

Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify relevant articles. All prospective or randomized controlled studies (RCTs) comparing liquid L-T4 and tablet L-T4 in patients on L-T4 replacement or suppressive therapy were included in the analysis.

Long-term efficacy and safety of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 monoclonal antibodies: A meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials.

Background: Monoclonal antibodies targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) have been shown to significantly reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of PCSK9 antibodies.

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.

The effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy with different sizes of bougie calibration: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to compare the influence of different calibrating bougie sizes on clinical outcomes in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) for patients with obesity.

Materials And Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed using the key words: "laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy", "bougie size", "calibration", "obesity", and "obese" for searches of electronic databases up to October 2017. Clinical characteristics such as, the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL), overall complications, gastrointestinal leaks, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were pooled by meta-analysis.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery suppresses hypothalamic PTP1B protein level and alleviates leptin resistance in obese rats.

The present study aimed to explore the effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery on protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) expression levels and leptin activity in hypothalami of obese rats. Obese rats induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) that underwent RYGB (n=11) or sham operation (SO, n=9), as well as an obese control cohort (Obese, n=10) and an additional normal-diet group (ND, n=10) were used. Food efficiency was measured at 8 weeks post-operation.

Efficacy and Time Sensitivity of Amniotic Membrane treatment in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are complex chronic wounds which have a major long-term impact on the morbidity, mortality and quality of patients. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and time sensitivity of human amnion/chorion membrane treatment in patients with chronic DFUs.

Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases were systematically searched to identify relevant articles up to 10 April 2017.

Nucleophosmin Regulates Intracellular Oxidative Stress Homeostasis via Antioxidant PRDX6.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play both deleterious and beneficial roles in cancer cells. Nucleophosmin (NPM) is heavily implicated in cancers of diverse origins, being its gene over-expression in solid tumors or frequent mutations in hematological malignancies. However, the role and regulatory mechanism of NPM in oxidative stress are unclear.

Relocation of NPM Affects the Malignant Phenotypes of Hepatoma SMMC-7721 Cells.

Nucleophosmin(NPM), heavily implicated in diverse solid tumors, is an important multifunctional protein mainly located in the nucleolus. Our previous study confirmed that NPM can also localize and accumulate in the cytoplasm of liver cancer cells. However, the role of cytoplasmic NPM (NPMc +) is unclear.

Possibly propylthiouracil-induced antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis manifested as blood coagulation disorders: A case report.

Background: Propylthiouracil is the most common drug used to treat hyperthyroidism. However, this drug could cause a severe disease, antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), which was usually misdiagnosed.

Methods: We reported a 60-year-old woman of propylthiouracil-induced AAV manifested as blood coagulation disorders.

A meta-analysis of maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy after bariatric surgery.

Background: The effects of bariatric surgery (BS) on outcomes in subsequent pregnancies are unclear.

Objectives: To compare maternal and fetal outcomes among women who become pregnant after BS and obese women who have not undergone BS before pregnancy.

Search Strategy: PubMed and Embase were searched for relevant reports, and the reference lists of identified articles were hand-searched.

Germacrone inhibits the proliferation of glioma cells by promoting apoptosis and inducing cell cycle arrest.

Germacrone is one of the major bioactive components of the traditional Chinese Medicinal plant Curcuma aromatica Salisb. and has been shown to possess anti‑tumor properties. In the present study, the anti‑proliferative effect of germacrone on human glioma cells and the molecular mechanism underlying its cytotoxicity were investigated.

Regulatory role of nucleophosmin during the differentiation of human liver cancer cells.

Nucleophosmin (NPM, also known as B23), mainly localized in the nucleolus, has been reported to be overexpressed in many types of human cancer, including colon, ovarian, prostate and gastric cancer. NPM was identified while screening the differential nuclear matrix proteins during HMBA-induced differentiation of human liver cancer cells. We investigated the aberrant expression and subcellular localization of NPM in clinical liver cancer tissues and a cell line with the aim of providing more evidence for revealing the roles of NPM on regulating liver cancer cell proliferation and differentiation.

microRNAs as a new mechanism regulating adipose tissue inflammation in obesity and as a novel therapeutic strategy in the metabolic syndrome.

Obesity is associated closely with the metabolic syndrome (MS). It is well known that obesity-induced chronic inflammation plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of MS. White adipose tissue (AT) is the primary site for the initiation and exacerbation of obesity-associated inflammation.

Differential expression and regulation of prohibitin during curcumin-induced apoptosis of immortalized human epidermal HaCaT cells.

Prohibitin (PHB), also known as inhibin, is important in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. This protein localizes to the inner membrane of mitochondria, where it acts as a chaperone protein, and is also found in the nucleus, where it negatively regulates transcription. The tumor-suppressive role of PHB in cell proliferation appears to be contradictory.

Efficacy and safety of combination therapy with vildagliptin and metformin versus metformin up-titration in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: study design and rationale of the vision study.

Background And Aim: Limitations of the currently recommended stepwise treatment pathway for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially the failure of monotherapies to maintain good glycemic control, have prompted use of early, more aggressive combination therapies.The VISION study is designed to explore the efficacy and safety of vildagliptin as an add-on to metformin therapy compared with up-titration of metformin monotherapy in Chinese patients with T2DM.

Methods: VISION, a 24-week, phase 4, prospective, randomized, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group study, will include 3312 Chinese T2DM patients aged ≥18 years who are inadequately controlled (6.

Glycemic control among patients in China with type 2 diabetes mellitus receiving oral drugs or injectables.

Background: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing rapidly among Chinese adults, and limited data are available on T2DM management and the status of glycemic control in China. We assessed the efficacy of oral antidiabetes drugs (OADs), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, and insulin for treatment of T2DM across multiple regions in China.

Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional survey of outpatients conducted in 606 hospitals across China.

The lipid accumulation product is highly related to serum alanine aminotransferase level in male adults.

Studies confirm that the lipid accumulation product (LAP), which is based on the waist circumference and fasting serum triglycerides, is highly related to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and closely correlated with the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation. Abdominal obesity and dyslipidemia are the important risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

A rare cause of goiter: Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the thyroid.

Goiter is a very common clinical problem; however, Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) with thyroid involvement that presents as a goiter is very rare. In this article, we report one case of thyroid LCH. An 18-year-old male patient presented with goiter, polyuria, polydipsia, and lymphadenectasis of the neck, and LCH was confirmed by a lymph node biopsy and pathological investigation.