The Association between the Severity of Distal Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy and Increased Carotid Atherosclerosis in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: Diabetes contributes to a spectrum of complications encompassing microvascular and macrovascular disorders. This study aimed to explore the correlation between distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) severity and heightened carotid atherosclerosis among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Method: Participants underwent comprehensive assessments including nerve conduction studies (NCS), Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score (TCNS) evaluations, assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors, and carotid sonography studies covering dynamic and morphological parameters. The resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), peak systolic velocity (PSV), and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) in both the common carotid artery (CCA) and internal carotid artery (ICA), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and carotid plaque score (CPS) were also measured.

Baroreflex Sensitivity as a Surrogate Biomarker for Concurrently Assessing the Severity of Arterial Stiffness and Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

This study aimed to investigate whether baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) could serve as a reliable metric for assessing cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) and concurrently act as a surrogate biomarker for evaluating the severity of arterial stiffness and CAN in individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Participants underwent brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as well as autonomic function evaluations encompassing the Sudoscan-based modified composite autonomic scoring scale (CASS), baroreflex sensitivity, and heart rate variability in time domains and frequency domains. Linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of independent variables on baPWV and modified CASS.

Prognostic factors and treatment responses among patients with gross residual disease in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Background: Various postoperative staging systems were developed to assess the outcome of differentiated thyroid cancer from initial risk after surgery to dynamic changing prognosis during follow-up. The objective of our retrospective cohort study was to identify risk factors contributing to macroscopic positive surgical margin (R2 resection) and parameters in discriminating the treatment responses and prognosis among R2 patients.

Methods: In total, 242 differentiated thyroid cancer patients with extrathyroidal extension who underwent a thyroidectomy at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between January 2013 and July 2018, were included.

Hypocalcemia Is a Common Risk Factor for Osteoporosis in Taiwanese Patients with Cushing's Syndrome.

Background: Osteoporosis is a cardinal manifestation of Cushing’s syndrome. There is a lack of relevant research on risk factors for osteoporosis among patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS) in Taiwan. Thus, this study was designed to explore the possible risk factors of osteoporosis.

Recombinant human thyrotropin versus thyroid hormone withdrawal preparation for radioiodine ablation in differentiated thyroid cancer: Experience in a South Taiwanese medical center.

This retrospective study was designed to compare the treatment response of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) prepared for radioiodine ablation (RIA) with thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) or recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) stimulation. Patients with DTC were followed-up retrospectively between 2013 and 2018 in Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. We compared the excellent response ratios between THW (49.

Analysis of overall survival in differentiated thyroid cancer patients with double primary malignancy.

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) survivors are at increased risk of developing double primary malignancy (DPM). The aim of this study was to investigate clinicopathological characteristics and survival in DTC patients diagnosed with DPM. A total of 975 patients with DTC diagnosed between 2013 and 2017, treated, and followed at a medical center in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed.

Association between Pro12Ala polymorphism and albuminuria in type 2 diabetic nephropathy.

Aims/introduction: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a complication of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by the gradual loss of kidney function, which results in increased levels of albumin in the urine. The Pro12Ala polymorphism in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 gene has been confirmed to improve insulin sensitivity, but its association with susceptibility to DN in patients with type 2 diabetes remains inconclusive.

Materials And Methods: To examine whether the Pro12Ala polymorphism leads to the development of DN, a case-control study was carried out in 554 patients with type 2 diabetes.

The spatial-verbal difference in the n-back task: an ERP study.

The spatial-verbal dichotomy of working memory tasks was investigated using event-related potentials. Using an n-back task with three levels of n (0-, 1-, and 2-back), participants either matched words presented at a fixed screen position (verbal task) or matched the locations of non-word symbols presented at various positions across the screen (spatial task). Therefore, these two conditions were separated without confound of location and stimulus.

Distinctions between spatial and verbal working memory: a study using event-related potentials.

Background: The main manifestation of dementia is a defect in working memory. N-back tasks are frequently used in research on working memory. Researchers can study differences between different loadings by controlling N factors.

Sub-processes of working memory in the N-back task: an investigation using ERPs.

Objective: The N-back task is frequently used in working memory studies. N-parameters allow experimental psychologists to analyze the sub-processes of N-back tasks in addition to general processing. However, previous imaging studies have not closely scrutinized these sub-processes.

Interference from the irrelevant domain in n-back tasks: an ERP study.

Selective attention and interference from the irrelevant domain are frequently neglected factors in working memory experiments. Here identical stimuli were employed in n-back tasks under spatial and verbal task instructions to test whether information in the irrelevant domain was really irrelevant. The results reveal interference from the irrelevant domain in the replacement sub-process of the n-back task, and highlight the importance of taking cross-domain interference into account when drawing conclusions from neuropsychological experiments.

Maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD) syndrome: a clinical and molecular genetic study of a Taiwanese family.

We report on a case of a 48-year-old woman presenting with maternally inherited diabetes mellitus and deafness (MIDD) syndrome. Molecular genetic analysis and clinical evaluation were conducted in the patient and her 4 children to investigate the interrelation between an MIDD-associated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation and clinical manifestations. Various symptoms and markers of MIDD, including seizures, migraines, short stature, mental retardation, and stroke-like episodes, were reviewed.