Publications by authors named "Tzu-Jung Fang"
Background: Older patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are highly susceptible to adverse drug reactions due to age-related physiological changes and the presence of multiple comorbidities, polypharmacy, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs).
Objective: This study aimed to develop a predictive model to identify the use of PIMs in older patients with CVD.
Methods: Data from 2012 to 2021 from the Changhua Christian Hospital Clinical Research Database (CCHRD) and the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital Research Database (KMUHRD) were analyzed.
Large cohort studies have disclosed the association between obesity and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk. The sarcopenia prevalence in RA patients can be up to 31%. However, there is little information linking adipokines to sarcopenia in RA, so this study aimed to investigate whether adipokines were indeed involved in secondary sarcopenia in RA with a focus on non-obese females.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The relationship among physiologic reserve, intrinsic capacity, and physical resilience has not been examined, and a conceptual model that includes these key determinants of healthy ageing is needed. This study aimed to test a conceptual model using real-world data to determine the relationships among physiologic reserve, intrinsic capacity, physical resilience, and clinical outcomes.
Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted at a 1,343-bed tertiary-care medical centre.
Article Synopsis
- NLRP3 inflammasome activation contributes to autoimmune diseases by stimulating cytokines, and this study focuses on its association with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS).
- Data from 239 RA patients, 285 primary SS patients, and 170 healthy controls were analyzed for NLRP3 gene polymorphisms using DNA extracted from blood and various immunoassays.
- Findings suggest that specific polymorphisms, like the T allele of rs4612666 CT, increase RA susceptibility, while other alleles show varied associations with autoantibody levels in both RA and primary SS patients.
Background And Aims: Obese children are more prone to becoming obese adults, and excess adiposity consequently increases the risk of many complications, such as metabolic syndromes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, etc. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of multi-strain probiotics on the gut microbiota and weight control in obese children.
Methods: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was carried out on overweight and obese children.
Liver fibrosis is a key pathophysiology process in chronic liver disease. It is still unclear whether the impact of liver fibrosis is not fully realized in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the factors affecting nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or liver stiffness also remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the determinants of liver fibrosis and in T2D patients with NAFLD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith 16.15% of its total population aged 65 or above, Taiwan is already an aging society. Frailty is a natural consequence of aging, which may decrease physical strength and deteriorate physiological functioning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/purpose: Recent studies showed that Histone deacetylases 6 (HDAC6) inhibitors could improve arthritis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rodent models, whereas lower HDAC6 expression was observed in RA patients' synovial fibroblasts, raising the concerns to use HDAC6 inhibitors to treat RA patients. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of HDAC6 mRNA expression and promoter methylation in RA.
Methods: The DNA and RNAs were extracted from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 138 RA patients and 102 healthy controls.
Background: With a rapidly aging population, there is an increasing need for do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and advance care planning (ACP) discussions. This study investigated the factors associated with signing DNR documents of older patients in the geriatric ward.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a geriatric ward in a tertiary hospital in Southern Taiwan.
Aims: F11R gene encodes junctional adhesion molecule-A protein (JAM-A), which is expressed in various types of cells and is involved in leukocyte extravasation during inflammation. Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that involves lymphocytes invasion of exocrine glands. F11R has been studied in autoimmune diseases, but any association between F11R and SS has not yet been investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The number of people aged greater than 65 years is growing in many countries. Taiwan will be a superaged society in 2026, and health care utilization will increase considerably. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the geriatric integrated outpatient clinic model for reducing health care utilization by older people.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAfter acute hip surgery, the 1-year mortality rate is high. Therefore, this study evaluated the risk factors for 1-year mortality. The purposes of this study was first to examine the effect of integrated care on 1-year mortality in surgical patients and secondly to explore magnitude of comorbidity and complication on mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of methylation in the histone deacetylases 6 (HDAC6) promoter and HDAC6 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Method: Direct bisulfite-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing was performed to detect the HDAC6 promoter methylation in 33 patients with SLE and 35 healthy controls. The HDAC6 mRNA expression was measured in 93 SLE patients and 84 healthy controls by using the method of quantitative real-time PCR.
Aim: Although F11 receptor (F11R), also named junctional adhesion molecular A (JAM-A), participates in leukocyte migration, its role in autoimmune diseases has not been specifically disclosed. In this study, we examined the association of F11R expression with the development and clinical manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Method: RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and DNA from the peripheral blood in RA patients and a healthy control group were extracted.
Objectives: To investigate the associations of DNA methylation levels and mRNA expressions of DNA cytosine-5-methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and methyl CpG-binding domain 2 (MBD2) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods: The global methylation status of DNA was measured in 65 patients with RA and 64 healthy controls by the ELISA method. DNMT1 and MBD2 mRNA were also detected in 177 RA patients and 95 controls using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method.
Previous hepatitis a virus infection is related to slower psychomotor speed in elderly adults.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
October 2009
Background: Patients with chronic viral hepatitis are at a higher risk for cognitive dysfunction. Little is known about the association between hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection and cognitive function.
Methods: From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002, we selected study participants (> or =60 years, n = 1,529) without hepatitis B, C, or D virus infection; without previous hepatitis A vaccination; and without abnormal liver function.
Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage is a lethal cause of acute abdomen that is most frequently related to drugs, coagulopathy and intra-abdominal tumors. In patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis, acute abdomen is attributed to intestinal vasculitis causing ischemia, ulceration or perforation. Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage, however, has rarely been reported in patients with polymyositis.
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