Int J Med Sci
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Objective: The easy liver fibrosis test (eLIFT) is a novel predictor of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD). This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the eLIFT for liver inflammation and fibrosis in CLD patients. Methods: We enrolled 1125 patients with CLD who underwent liver biopsy. ⋯ When discriminating G≥3 inflammation, the AUROC of the eLIFT was comparable to that of the APRI and GPR but superior to that of the FIB-4. There were no significant differences between the four indexes for predicting S≥2 and S4. Conclusion: The eLIFT is a potentially useful noninvasive predictor of liver inflammation and fibrosis in patients with CLD.
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Background: Perineural injection therapy with 5% dextrose water (D5W) is a potential and innovative treatment with long-term efficacy for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, the prognostic factors of this management are lacking; hence, the aim of this retrospective study was to identify the prognostic factors of D5W perineural injection therapy for mild-to-moderate CTS. Methods: A total of 52 patients (52 wrists) diagnosed with mild-to-moderate CTS and treated with a single ultrasound-guided 5cc D5W perineural injection were retrospectively reviewed. ⋯ Results: The treatment outcome was significantly related to body height and sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) (159.1 ± 1.0 vs. 155.0 ± 1.8, p=0.04; 33.6 ± 0.8 vs. 28.3 ± 1.2, p=0.001, good vs. poor outcomes). However, only SNCV remained significantly correlated with the outcomes after conducting stepwise logistic regression (ORs: 1.201; 95% CI 1.05-1.38; p=0.01). Conclusions: SNCV was found to be a significant prognostic factor of treatment outcome for patients with mild-to-moderate CTS 6 months after a D5W perineural injection.
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Observational Study
Analysis of the Relationship between the Expression Levels of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Cytokine Genes in Bone Marrow.
Background: Recently, various associations of NGAL with several hematological cancers have been reported. However, given that the regulation of NGAL gene expression by cytokines is tissue-specific, NGAL expression in relation to those of cytokine genes has not been analyzed in bone marrow (BM) tissue. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between NGAL and 48 cytokine gene expression levels in mononuclear cells (MNCs) of BM at the time of diagnosis of hematological malignancy and to explore the expression pattern of NGAL and related cytokine genes in patients with hematological malignancies and controls. ⋯ In the multiple regression analysis, STAT3 and TLR4 normalized counts showed multicollinearity. NGAL, STAT3, IL5, and TLR4 normalized counts showed similar intergroup patterns. Conclusions: NGAL normalized counts was predicted by a multiple regression model, while they showed similar intergroup patterns to STAT3, IL5, and TLR4 normalized counts.
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Objectives: Comparative analysis of laboratory data in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients presenting with or without ground-glass opacities (GGOs). Methods: This retrospective study examined 61 patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19, as defined by the report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19. All patients were admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases, Wuhan Union Hospital from Dec 28, 2019 to Feb 22, 2020 and classified into a GGO group or a non-GGO group based on CT results. ⋯ Conclusions: There were correlations between GGO in the lungs of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 and the levels of IL-2, IL-4, and INF-γ. IL-2 was a significant and independent risk factor for GGO. These findings provide a basis for studying the mechanism of pulmonary lesions in COVID-19 patients.
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Observational Study
Long noncoding RNAs may impact podocytes and proximal tubule function through modulating miRNAs expression in Early Diabetic Kidney Disease of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients.
Aims: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in the pathophysiology of DKD involving actions of microRNAs (miRNAs). The aims of the study were to establish the involvement of selected lncRNAs in the epigenetic mechanisms of podocyte damage and tubular injury in DKD of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients in relation to a particular miRNAs profile. Methods: A total of 136 patients with type 2 DM and 25 healthy subjects were assessed in a cross-sectional study concerning urinary albumin: creatinine ratio (UACR), eGFR, biomarkers of podocyte damage (synaptopodin, podocalyxin) and of proximal tubule (PT) dysfunction (Kidney injury molecule-1-KIM-1, N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase-NAG), urinary lncRNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), myocardial infarction-associated transcript (MIAT), taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), urinary miRNA21, 124, 93, 29a. ⋯ Conclusions: In patients with type 2 DM lncRNAs exert either deleterious or protective functions within glomeruli and PT. LncRNAs may contribute to DKD through modulating miRNAs expression and activities. This observation holds true independently of albuminuria and DKD stage.