Annals of Medicine

AIMS: To investigate the association between overweight/obesity and fatty liver index (FLI) on the odds of incident prediabetes/type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in 2020 participants after 10 years follow up. METHODS: At baseline (in 2001) 2020 participants, males and females, aged 24-39 years, were stratified according to body mass index (BMI), normal weight (<25 kg/m2 ), overweight (≥25-<30 kg/m2 ), or obese (≥30 kg/m2 ) and FLI (as high FLI ≥60 or low FLI <60)...

BACKGROUND: The main risk factor for uterine scar dehiscence is a previous caesarean section. Better characterisation of the ultrasonographic features of uterine scar dehiscence may improve preoperative diagnostic accuracy in pregnant women with a caesarean scar. This study aimed to evaluate the ultrasonographic features of uterine scar dehiscence in pregnant women and maternal and neonatal outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective review of the records of 23 women with a previous caesarean section found to have uterine scar dehiscence during surgery...

INTRODUCTION: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are highly heritable tumours, with up to 40% of cases carrying germline variants. Current guidelines recommend genetic testing for all patients with PPGLs. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables accurate, fast, and inexpensive genetic testing. This study aimed to compare the costs related to PPGL genetic testing between the sequential testing using the decisional algorithm proposed in the 2014 Endocrine Society guidelines and targeted NGS gene panels...

BACKGROUND: Conflicting data suggest that statins could cause chronic liver disease in certain group of patients, while improving prognosis in those with chronic viral hepatitis (CVH). PURPOSE: To quantify the potential protective role of statins on some main liver-related health outcomes in clinical studies on CVH patients. Data Sources: The search strategy was explored by a medical librarian using bibliographic databases, from January 2015 to April 2020. Data synthesis: The results showed no significant difference in the risk of mortality between statin users and non-users in the overall analysis...

INTRODUCTION: Primary hyperhidrosis is a disorder that involves excessive sweat production, which has a negative impact on the quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy (VATS) for treating primary axillary hyperhidrosis (PAH) and determine which level of ganglion resection offers the best outcome. METHOD: This was a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis of observational studies...

This study aimed to validate the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Population Screener (COPD-PS) questionnaire as a screening tool in a cohort of Chinese subjects who underwent a health examination, and to summarise its overall performance through a meta-analysis. We enrolled 997 subjects aged ≥40 years who underwent a health examination, both lung function and COPD-PS data were collected. The screening performance of COPD-PS was evaluated with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, using the area under the curve (AUC) to assess the screening accuracy...

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains one of the most common causes of death. There is a scarcity of evidence concerning the prevalence of bacteraemia in cardiac arrest patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). We aimed to determine the prevalence of bacteraemia in OHCA patients presenting to the ED, as well as study the association between bacteraemia and in-hospital mortality in OHCA patients. In addition, the association between antibiotic use during resuscitation and in-hospital mortality was examined...

BACKGROUND: Eosinophils in peripheral blood are one of the emerging biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, when analysing the relationship between peripheral eosinophilia and COPD prognosis, highly variable results are obtained. The aim of our study is to describe the serum eosinophilia levels in COPD patients and to analyse their relationship to prognosis following hospital admission. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2018 in the following Spanish centres: Salnés County Hospital in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Arquitecto Marcide Hospital in Ferrol and the University Hospital Complex in Santiago de Compostela...

BACKGROUND: This paper uses a SEIR(D) model to analyse the time-varying transmission dynamics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Korea throughout its multiple stages of development. This multi-stage estimation of the model parameters offers a better model fit compared to the whole period analysis and shows how the COVID-19's infection patterns change over time, primarily depending on the effectiveness of the public health authority's non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). METHODS: This paper uses the SEIR(D) compartment model to simulate and estimate the parameters for three distinctive stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in Korea, using a manually compiled COVID-19 epidemic dataset for the period between 18 February 2020 and 08 February 2021...

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a revision to its 1990 recommendations on gestational weight gain (GWG). The objective of this review is to update a previous systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in achieving recommended GWG. METHODS: We conducted updated literature searches in MEDLINE® (2012 through 2019), Web of Science (2012 to 6 February 2017), Embase (2016 through 2019), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2012 through 2019)...

CONTEXT: Suppressed glucose metabolism, elevated fatty acid metabolism and lipid deposition within myocardial cells are the key pathological features of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Studies have associated cadmium exposure with metabolic disturbances. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of cadmium exposure on cardiac glucose homeostasis and lipid accumulation in male Wistar rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were treated for 21   days as ( n   =   5): Control, cadmium chloride Cd5 (5   mg/kg, p...

BACKGROUND: Lung ischaemia reperfusion injury (LIRI) is the major cause of primary lung dysfunction after lung transplantation. Lipoxin A4 inhibits the oxidative stress and inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the potential protective effect of lipoxin A4 on LIRI in rats. METHODS: SD (Sprague-Dawley) rats were randomised into the sham, LIRI and LA4 groups. Rats in the sham group received anaesthesia, thoracotomy and intravenous injection of saline, while those in the LIRI or LA4 group received left lung transplantation and intravenous injection of saline or lipoxin A4, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Circulating white blood cell (WBC) counts have been related to lung function impairment, but causal relationship was not established. We aimed to evaluate independent effects and causal relationships of WBC subtypes with lung function. METHODS: The 19,159 participants from NHANES 2011-2012 ( n  = 3570), coke-oven workers (COW, n  = 1762) and Dongfeng-Tongji (DFTJ, n  = 13,827) cohorts were included in the observational studies. The associations between circulating counts of WBC subtypes and prebronchodilator lung function were evaluated by linear regression models and LASSO regression was used to select effective WBC subtypes...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the relevance between YKL-40 and recurrence and progression of bladder cancer, and determine whether YKL-40 can be used as a potential target in patients with bladder cancer. METHODS: We analyzed the invasion and metastasis ability of BIU-87, UMUC3, J82, T24, 5637 and immortalized human bladder epithelial cells SVHUC1 by Transwell method. The YKL-40 expression levels in cell lines were analyzed by Western blot and qPCR. RESULTS: The increase of YKL-40 level, especially in tumour group, was related to tumour pathological stage and tumour invasion and metastasis...

Background: Exosomes-encapsulated microRNAs (miRNAs) have been established to be implicated in the pathogenesis of different diseases. Nevertheless, circulating exosomal miRNAs of thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to explore the effects of exosomal miRNAs associated with TAO on human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs). Methods: The exosomes were isolated from the plasma of TAO patients and normal controls and then were sent for small RNA sequencing. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) were identified by bioinformatics analysis and were confirmed by RT-qPCR...

BACKGROUND: Ischaemia caused by lower extremity artery stenosis is the main cause of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in patients with diabetes. Trimetazidine (TMZ) has traditionally been used as an anti-ischaemic drug for coronary artery disease. The effect of TMZ on PAD in a diabetic animal model and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS: The db/db mice were challenged with femoral artery ligation (FAL), followed by TMZ treatment for 2 weeks...

BACKGROUND: Tripteryguim wilfordii Hook (TWH) has significant anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties and is widely used for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, the multi-target mechanism of TWH on ankylosing spondylitis (AS) remains to be elucidated. METHODS: Active components and their target proteins were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). Meanwhile, AS-related targets were obtained from the Genecards Database...

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep and memory disturbance. There is no definitive cure yet for FM-related health problems. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor's (PPAR's) activation is associated with insulin sensitisation and improved glucose metabolism. PPAR-γ was reported to alleviate FM allodynia. Limited data are discussing its effect on motor disorders. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential effect of PPAR-γ agonists (pioglitazone, as one member of thiazolidinediones (TZD)) on motor dysfunction in reserpine-induced FM in a rat model...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Lower proportions of n-3 PUFAs have been observed in neonates born to diabetic mothers. We aimed to investigate the association between DHA and EPA supplementation during pregnancy complicated with type 1 diabetes on concentration and proportion of fatty acids in maternal and foetal blood. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 111 eligible pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and presented the results of 84 (intervention arm and control arm comprised 42 participants each) of them who successfully finished the trial in an academic hospital...

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia and hypothyroidism are associated with endothelial dysfunction. Iodine deficiency is a risk factor for subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnancy. However, there is a paucity of data on the relationship between iodine nutrition state in pregnancy, the degree of endothelial dysfunction, and the risk of preeclampsia. METHODS: Ninety-five normotensive pregnant women, 50 women with preeclampsia with no severe features, and 50 women with severe preeclampsia were enrolled into the current study from the maternity units of Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital and Mthatha Regional Hospitals in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa...