Arch Med Sci
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Review
Association of the MMP-3, MMP-9 and MMP-12 gene polymorphisms with COPD risk: a meta-analysis.
Given the evidence that the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a number of case-control studies have attempted to assess the relationship between genetic polymorphisms in MMP genes and COPD risk. However, reliable measures of these results are lacking. ⋯ The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that there is a risk of COPD associated with the MMP-9 rs3918242 and MMP-12 rs2276109 polymorphisms in certain ethnic groups.
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microRNAs (miRs) have been reported as blood-based noninvasive indicators for the diagnosis of various diseases. However, the utility of whole blood-based miRs in the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is still not clear. The present study aimed to examine miR expression profiling in the peripheral whole blood of IA patients and healthy controls. ⋯ miR-21 combined with miR-92 could be considered as a potential biomarker for IA screening.
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The latest evidence revealed that dupilumab, an interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) blocker, significantly reduces the exacerbation risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The efficacy of dupilumab compared with conventional inhaled drugs remains incompletely determined. This study aimed to investigate the comparative efficacy of dupilumab and conventional inhaled drugs in patients with stable COPD. ⋯ The incremental use of combinations of conventional and novel drugs contributed to the long-term benefits in acute exacerbation but not death in COPD. The optimal drug combination in terms of acute COPD exacerbation was ICS/LABA/LAMA/dupilumab.
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The use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in newly diagnosed breast cancer has been increasing. However, the value of MRI applied to women with newly diagnosed breast cancer remains controversial. Therefore, this study focused on the association between preoperative MRI and surgical outcomes, which include mastectomy rate, breast conservation rate, and re-excision rate. ⋯ There was no significant association between preoperative MRI and surgical outcomes. This study suggested that the use of preoperative MRI should be selective. The results showed that the application of preoperative MRI did not improve the prognosis of breast cancer patients. More randomized trials are needed for further study due to limited randomized trials.