Exploration of DNA methylation markers for diagnosis and prognosis of patients with endometrial cancer.

The accurate diagnosis of endometrial cancer (EC) holds great promise for improving its treatment choice and prognosis prediction. This work aimed to identify diagnostic biomarkers for differentiating EC tumors from tumors in other tissues, as well as prognostic signatures for predicting survival in EC patients. We identified 48 tissue-specific markers using a cohort of genome-wide methylation data from three common gynecological tumors and their corresponding normal tissues.

Surgical outcomes of nephrectomy for elderly patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: The feasibility of curative surgery for elderly patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains controversial and under discussion. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term benefits of curative surgery as a treatment for RCC in elderly patients.

Methods: We retrospectively considered 672 patients with RCC who underwent partial nephrectomy or radical nephrectomy between January 2004 and July 2014.

Establishment of a nine-gene prognostic model for predicting overall survival of patients with endometrial carcinoma.

Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is the most common malignant tumor of the female genital tract in developed countries. The prognosis of early stage EC is favorable, but a subset faces high risk of cancer progression or recurrence. EC has a poor prognosis upon progression to advanced or metastatic stages.

Altered connection properties of important network hubs may be neural risk factors for individuals with primary insomnia.

Primary insomnia (PIs) is highly prevalent and can lead to adverse socioeconomic impacts, but the underlying mechanism of its complex brain network impairment remains largely unknown. Functional studies are too few and diverse in methodology, which makes it difficult to glean general conclusions. To answer this question, we first used graph theory-based network analyse, together with seed-based functional connectivity approach, to characterize the topology architecture of whole-brain functional networks associated with PIs.

Aberrant regional brain activities in alcohol dependence: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Objective: Whether moderate alcohol consumption has health benefits remains controversial, but the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption on behavior and brain function are well recognized. The aim of this study was to investigate alcohol-induced regional brain activities and their relationships with behavioral factors.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 29 alcohol-dependent subjects (9 females and 20 males) and 29 status-matched healthy controls (11 females and 18 males) were recruited.

Long noncoding RNA MALAT1 regulates autophagy associated chemoresistance via miR-23b-3p sequestration in gastric cancer.

Background: Chemoresistance has long been recognized as a major obstacle in cancer therapy. Clarifying the underlying mechanism of chemoresistance would result in novel strategies to improve patient's response to chemotherapeutics.

Methods: lncRNA expression levels in gastric cancer (GC) cells was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR).

Case-control pharmacogenetic study of HCN1/HCN2 variants and genetic generalized epilepsies.

Epilepsy is a common complex neurological disorder, and some forms are resistant to drug treatment. The HCN1/HCN2 genes encode hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, which play important roles in the electrophysiology of neurons. We investigated the association between HCN1/HCN2 variants and drug resistance or the risk of genetic generalized epilepsies (GGEs).

Clinical features and genetic diagnosis of hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia 3.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a rare inherited autosomal dominant progressive neurological disorder, which results from a CAG‑repeat expansion in the gene encoding the deubiquitinating enzyme, ataxin‑3. At present, no effective treatment is available for this fatal disorder; however, certain studies have suggested that reducing the levels of mutant ataxin‑3 protein may reverse or halt the progression of disease in patients with SCA3. In the present study, clinical examinations were performed on a patient with SCA3 who exhibited disease features including coughing, expectoration and was bedridden with mobility limitation.

Breviscapine attenuatted contrast medium-induced nephropathy via PKC/Akt/MAPK signalling in diabetic mice.

Contrast medium-induced nephropathy (CIN) remains a major cause of iatrogenic, drug-induced renal injury. Recent studies reveal that Breviscapine can ameliorate diabetic nephropathy in mice. Yet it remains unknown if Breviscapine could reduce CIN in diabetic mice.

Molecular genetic analysis of patients with sporadic and X-linked infantile nystagmus.

Objectives: Infantile nystagmus (IN) is a genetically heterogeneous condition characterised by involuntary rhythmic oscillations of the eyes accompanied by different degrees of vision impairment. Two genes have been identified as mainly causing IN: FRMD7 and GPR143. The aim of our study was to identify the genetic basis of both sporadic IN and X-linked IN.

Gender Differences in Regional Brain Activity in Patients with Chronic Primary Insomnia: Evidence from a Resting-State fMRI Study.

Study Objectives: To explore the regional brain activities in patients with chronic primary insomnia (PCPIs) and their sex differences.

Methods: Forty-two PCPIs (27 females, 15 males) and 42 good sleepers (GSs; 24 females, 18 males) were recruited. Six PCPIs (3 males, 3 females) were scanned twice by MRI to examine the test-retest reliability.

Connectivity pattern differences bilaterally in the cerebellum posterior lobe in healthy subjects after normal sleep and sleep deprivation: a resting-state functional MRI study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique to explore the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) differences of the bilaterial cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL) after normal sleep (NS) and after sleep deprivation (SD).

Methods: A total of 16 healthy subjects (eight males, eight females) underwent an fMRI scan twice at random: once following NS and the other following 24 hours' SD, with an interval of 1 month between the two scans. The fMRI scanning included resting state and acupuncture stimulation.

A Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Pneumatic Lithotripsy and Holmium Laser for Management of Middle and Distal Ureteral Calculi.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety between pneumatic and holmium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser in the treatment of patients with ureteral stones located in the middle and distal ureter.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a prospective study in recruiting 982 eligible patients from 2009 to 2012. Patients were randomly divided into two groups-the pneumatic lithotripsy (PL) group or the Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy (LL) group.

Long noncoding RNA GHET1 promotes the development of bladder cancer.

In spite of the advances in the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer, the prognosis of bladder cancer remains relatively poor. As a result, it is vital to identify novel diagnostic and prognostic marker of bladder cancer. A growing volume of literature has implicated the vital role of long noncoding RNA in the development of cancer.