Increase in age at onset of moyamoya disease in China over 25 years.

Background: To explore whether the age at onset (AAO) of Chinese patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) increased over time due to a reduced exposure to leptospiral infection.

Methods: We performed an independent, multicenter, retrospective study based on data from patients with MMD who initially attended four tertiary hospitals in Hubei, China, from 1996 to 2020. After stratifying the year of MMD onset into five periods (1996-2000, 2001-2005, 2006-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2020), we analyzed the temporal trends in AAO and compared different classes of AAO (early-onset, < 20 years; intermediate-onset, 20-49 years; late-onset, ≥ 50 years) in each period.

Changes in Corneal Morphology with Age in Asian Population: A Multicenter Study of 30,618 Cases.

Introduction: To evaluate normal reference ranges for corneal morphological parameters and investigate age-related changes in these parameters in Asian subjects with healthy eyes in order to provide reference data for preoperative evaluation of corneal refractive surgery and the early differential diagnosis of subclinical and asymptomatic keratoconus.

Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter, observational study was conducted in five provinces of China, from January 2014 through October 2019. It is a retrospective analysis.

Two different treatment regimens of ranibizumab 0.5 mg for neovascular age-related macular degeneration with or without polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in Chinese patients: results from the Phase IV, randomized, DRAGON study.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of monthly and pro re nata (PRN, guided by visual acuity stabilization and disease activity criteria) ranibizumab regimens in Chinese patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Methods: This double-masked study randomized nAMD patients (1:1) to ranibizumab monthly from baseline to Month (M) 11 to a PRN regimen from M12 to M23 (monthly group, n = 167) versus ranibizumab three monthly doses followed by a PRN regimen up to M23 (PRN group, n = 166). Subgroups were assessed based on the presence/absence of PCV (indicated by indocyanine green angiography).

Risk Factors of Angiographic Recurrence After Endovascular Coil Embolization of Intracranial Saccular Aneurysms: A Retrospective Study Using a Multicenter Database.

Endovascular therapy of intracranial aneurysms has a high recurrence rate. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors of recurrence after endovascular coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms. From January 2014 to May 2015, 504 patients with 558 intracranial aneurysms who were treated by endovascular therapy were recruited from four high-volume centers.

Surgical Treatment of Tracheal Lipoma after Multiple Bronchoscopy Interventions and Placements of a Tracheal Stent.

 The majority of adult primary tracheal tumors are malignant; however, as one type of benign tumors, lipoma is extremely uncommon.  We report a case where lipoma was first misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma, followed by sudden aggravation of dyspnea after trauma, and computed tomography (CT) examination of the neck and chest confirmed a tracheal tumor. Through multiple bronchoscopy interventions and placements of a tracheal stent, little therapeutic benefit was discovered, and resection of the tracheal tumor combined with tracheal end-to-end anastomosis was performed to ultimately achieve a cure.

XueBiJing Injection Versus Placebo for Critically Ill Patients With Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To investigate whether XueBiJing injection improves clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Setting: Thirty-three hospitals in China.

CRKL regulates alternative splicing of cancer-related genes in cervical cancer samples and HeLa cell.

Background: Aberrant spliced isoforms are specifically associated with cancer progression and metastasis. The cytoplasmic adaptor CRKL (v-crk avian sarcoma virus CT10 oncogene homolog-like) is a CRK like proto-oncogene, which encodes a SH2 and SH3 (src homology) domain-containing adaptor protein. CRKL is tightly linked to leukemia via its binding partners BCR-ABL and TEL-ABL, upregulated in multiple types of human cancers, and induce cancer cell proliferation and invasion.

Long non-coding RNA MIR205HG function as a ceRNA to accelerate tumor growth and progression via sponging miR-122-5p in cervical cancer.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been associated with cervical cancer (CC), but molecular mechanisms behind the specific correlation with cervical carcinogenesis have not been fully understood. In this study, the expression level of lncRNA MIR205HG in CC cells was determined by qRT-PCR. In vitro functional assays (CCK-8 assay, EdU incorporation assay, apoptotic assays, Transwell assay, wound-healing assay) were performed to investigate the biological effects of MIR205HG ectopic expression on CC cells.

The feasibility of two anthropometric indices to identify metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and inflammatory factors in obese and overweight adults.

Objectives: A body shape index (ABSI) and body roundness index (BRI) were reported to predict diabetes and hypertension in general population, but their validity was regularly questioned. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether ABSI and BRI are the best anthropometric indices to reflect metabolic syndrome (MetS), insulin resistance (IR), and inflammatory factors in obese and overweight Chinese adults.

Methods: Cross-sectional data on sociodemographic, lifestyle, anthropometric indices, clinical characteristics, and biochemical measurements were collected for 1442 Chinese obese and overweight adults.

Distribution and Trends in Corneal Thickness Parameters in a Large Population-Based Multicenter Study of Young Chinese Adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize corneal thickness from multiple regions and determine accurate reference values in young adults for diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted from January 2008 through October 2016 using examiner-blinded clinical measurements and included 37,375 healthy eyes from young adults who exhibited normal corneal morphology, had no history of eye surgery or trauma, had stopped wearing soft contact lenses for ≥2 weeks (rigid contact lenses for ≥4 weeks), and had undergone topographies of both eyes on same day. Keratoconus and subclinical keratoconus were excluded.

Identification of cervical cancer using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy coupled with principal component analysis and support vector machine.

Cervical cancer is one of the most widespread diseases in women. Traditional cancer diagnosis is extremely complicated and relies on subjective interpretation of biopsy material. In this work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used in cervical cancer recognition.

Mitofusin 2 Exerts a Protective Role in Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Through Increasing Autophagy.

Background/aims: Autophagy is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and the survival of terminally differentiated cells as neurons. In this study, we aim to investigate whether mitofusin 2, a mitochondrial fusion protein, mediates autophagy in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Methods: Primary cultured neurons were treated with oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion to mimic cerebral I/R injury in vitro.

Small dense low density lipoprotein-cholesterol and cholesterol ratios to predict arterial stiffness progression in normotensive subjects over a 5-year period.

Background: Small dense low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (sdLDL-C), cholesterol ratios and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) impart risk for all-cause morbidity and mortality independently of conventional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. This study was designed to identify feasible indicators for predicting arterial stiffness progression.

Methods: We followed up 816 normotensive participants without diabetes or CVD for nearly 5.

MicroRNA-105 is involved in TNF-α-related tumor microenvironment enhanced colorectal cancer progression.

TNF-α is a central proinflammatory cytokine contributing to malignant tumor progression in tumor microenvironment. In this study, we found the upregulation of miR-105 in colorectal cancer was associated with aggressive phenotype, and the enhanced expression of miR-105 was required for TNF-α-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The expression of miR-105 was remarkably stimulated by TNF-α in a time-dependent manner using real-time qPCR analysis.

COPS5 and LASP1 synergistically interact to downregulate 14-3-3σ expression and promote colorectal cancer progression via activating PI3K/AKT pathway.

Overexpression of LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1) is required for colorectal cancer (CRC) development and progression. Here, C-Jun activation domain-binding protein-1 (Jab1), also known as COP9 signalosome subunit 5 (COPS5), was verified as a new LASP1-interacting protein through yeast two-hybrid assay. The role of COPS5 in LASP1-mediated CRC progression remains unknown.

Autoantibodies against AT and α-adrenergic receptors predict arterial stiffness progression in normotensive subjects over a 5-year period.

Arterial stiffness is an independent indicator of cardiovascular risk. Autoantibodies (AAs) against angiotensin AT receptor (AT-AAs) and α-adrenergic receptor (α-AAs) are important in the pathogenesis of hypertension. We identified the types of AT-AAs and α-AAs in normotensive subjects, with the aim of determining whether these antibodies predict aortic stiffness progression.

Enhanced recovery after surgery for radical cystectomy with ileal urinary diversion: a multi-institutional, randomized, controlled trial from the Chinese bladder cancer consortium.

Purpose: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has played an important role in recovery management for radical cystectomy with ileal urinary diversion (RC-IUD). This study is to evaluate ERAS compared with the conventional recovery after surgery (CRAS) for RC-IUD.

Methods: From October 2014 and July 2016, bladder cancer patients scheduled for curative treatment from 25 centers of Chinese Bladder Cancer Consortium were randomly assigned to either ERAS or CRAS group.

Simultaneous determination of metolazone and valsartan in plasma by on-line SPE coupled with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Combination of metolazone (0.5 mg) and valsartan (80 mg) has been verified as a promising therapy treatment for hypertension. In order to facilitate to pharmacokinetic research, it needs a method for the simultaneously determination of metolazone and valsartan in biological samples.

Doxazosin attenuates renal matrix remodeling mediated by anti-α-adrenergic receptor antibody in a rat model of diabetes mellitus.

Diabetic nephropathy is a major complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Recent studies suggest that immunological mechanisms have a key role in the pathogenesis of DM, therefore these mechanisms may be important targets for diabetes therapy. The present study evaluated the effects of anti-α-adrenergic receptor antibody (α-R Ab) mediation and doxazosin treatment in a rat model of DM.

Meta-analysis showing that early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy predicts better survival among cervical cancer patients.

This study was designed to identify the prognostic value of early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for long-term survival of cervical cancer patients. We searched Pubmed and EMBASE for studies published through July 2016 on outcomes of cervical patients that received NACT. Eight studies involving 825 cervical cancer patients were ultimately included in our meta-analysis.

Magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate protects against renal‑ischemia‑reperfusion injury in a rat model via anti‑inflammation, anti‑oxidation and anti‑apoptosis.

The present study aimed to investigate whether magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate protects against renal ischemia‑reperfusion injury (RIRI), and to verify the underlying mechanisms. An RIRI rat model was induced by removing the right kidney, and exposing and clamping the left kidney. RIRI model rats were administered 30 mg/kg magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate for 3 days.

JNK signaling is required for the MIP‑1α‑associated regulation of Kupffer cells in the heat stroke response.

Severe heat stroke (HS) consists of extreme hyperthermia with thermoregulatory failure, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Liver injury is a complication of HS that is associated with inflammatory responses and Kupffer cells (KCs), which are resident macrophages in the liver that serve as a major source of inflammatory cytokines; however, the association and the underlying mechanisms of KC functions in HS‑induced endotoxemia and inflammation require an improved understanding. The important chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein‑1α (MIP‑1α) increases inflammatory responses and the secretion of inflammatory molecules from KCs, including tumor necrosis factor‑α, interleukin (IL)‑1β and IL‑6.

Motivations, challenges and coping strategies for smoking cessation: Based on multi-ethnic pregnant couples in far western China.

The present study aimed to clarify the smoking cessation motivations, challenges and coping strategies among pregnant couples. A qualitative design using a grounded theory approach was applied. Data were collected by individual semi-structured interviews with 39 married individuals (21 non-smoking pregnant women and 18 smoking or ever-smoking men with a pregnant wife) and 3 imams in an ethnically diverse region of far western China.

Association between angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphisms and intracranial aneurysm susceptibility: A meta-analysis.

Various studies have evaluated the association between polymorphisms of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and intracranial aneurysm (IA) risk; however, the results remain inconsistent. The PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang Data databases were systematically searched until January 6th 2016. Case-control studies investigating the association between the ACE polymorphism and IA risk were included.

Neuroprotective effect of combining tanshinone IIA with low-dose methylprednisolone following acute spinal cord injury in rats.

The present study compared the potential neuroprotective effect of tanshinone IIA (TIIA) monotherapy, methylprednisolone (MP) monotherapy and combined treatment in an adult acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) rat model. The current study used the weight-drop method (Allen's Impactor) in the rat model and the mechanical scratch method in primary spinal cord neuron culture to determine whether the combined treatment was able to reduce the required dosage of MP in the treatment of ASCI to produce a similar or improved therapeutic effect. male Sprague Dawley rats (n=60) were randomly divided into 5 groups, of which 12 rats were selected for the sham group and T9-T11 laminectomies, leading to ASCI, were performed on 48 of the 60 rats using a 10 g ×25 mm weight-drop at the level of T10 spinal cord.