Objective To study the changes of the corneal central endothelium density and coefficient of variation in diabetic patients undergoing cataract surgery.Methods The corneal central endothelium density and coefficient of variation of cell were investigated before and three days,one week,one month,and three months after cataract phacoemulsification surgery in 58 eye s of 50 cataract and diabetes patients in diabetic group and 70 eyes of 64 cataract patients with outdiabetes in control group.The data was analyzed between inter2group and within group at different time.Results There was no significant differences in terms of corneal central endothelium density,coefficient of variation,and central thickness between the two groups at any time(P0.05).The postoperative reaction and rehabilitation period of the corneal endothelium in diabetic patients were longer than in the nondiabetic. Conclusion The post-operative changes of corneal endothelium in diabetic patients after cataract phacoemulsification mainly reflect as weakening of reaction and rehabilitation.
Circulating levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, are increased in hypertensive patients. This study was to assess the relationship between plasma ADMA level and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with essential hypertension.
Methods
A total of 182 individuals with never-treated essential hypertension and 182 age-matched healthy controls were studied. All study subjects were examined by B-mode ultrasound to measure the intima–media thickness (IMT) and plaque score in the carotid artery.
Results
Plasma ADMA levels, mean IMT, and plaque score were significantly greater in hypertensive patients than normotensive controls. In all subjects, plasma ADMA was positively correlated with mean IMT (r = 0.44, p < 0.001). On multiple logistic regression analysis, ADMA was a crucial independent predictor of carotid plaque formation (plaque score ≥ 1.1) (odds ratio 2.06, 95% confidence interval 1.49 to 2.85, p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that increased levels of ADMA are associated with the development of carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive patients.
Abstract Background: As a kind of neurodevelopmental disorder, the deficiency of social interaction and communication ability is the core symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, ASD usually has sensory abnormalities, which may be an important influencing factor of social function. Here, the aim of the current study is to explore the abnormal sensory characteristics of ASD children and the correlation between social behavior. And further clarify the predictive effect of sensory expression on ASD social ability. Methods: A case-control study was conducted, with children aged 3 to 10 years including ASD and typical development (TD) as subjects. We used Short Sensory Profile (SSP) questionnaire to evaluate the sensory characteristics in ASD group and TD group. And Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was employed to assess the social function of ASD. The differences of SSP scores between two groups of children were compared, and the correlation between SSP in ASD group and SRS was further analyzed. Furthermore, by constructing random forest classification model and support vector machine classification model, the predictive ability of each perception on social level is discussed. Results: Significant differences were found between ASD children and TD children in the performance of each sensory field. The abnormal sensory rate of children in ASD group is as high as 91.4%, and 74% of them are accompanied by sensory disorders in multiple dimensions.It is worth noting that there is a significant negative correlation between the scores of ASD group children in all dimensions of SSP and the scores of SRS scale. Evaluation and comparison results of full-feature and 7-feature models show that the random forest model and SVM model with all-feature factors have higher sensitivity, while the random forest model with 7-feature factors has the highest specificity. Moreover, the maximum of area value under (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve between the four models up to 0.859, suggest that the good prediction effect of the models. Conclusion: Our results suggest autism children have obvious abnormalities in many sensory fields, and there is a significant correlation between this atypical sensory performance and social function. The social level of this group can be well predicted by their sensory characteristics.
Previous studies that focused on univariate correlations between neuroanatomy and cognition in schizophrenia identified some inconsistent findings. Moreover, antipsychotic medication may impact the brain-behavior profiles in affected individuals. It remains unclear whether unmedicated and medicated individuals with schizophrenia would share common neuroanatomy-cognition associations. Therefore, we aimed to investigate multivariate neuroanatomy-cognition relationships in both groups. A sample of 59 drug-naïve individuals with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and a sample of 115 antipsychotic-treated individuals with schizophrenia were finally included. Multivariate modeling was conducted in the two patient samples between multiple cognitive domains and neuroanatomic features, such as cortical thickness (CT), cortical surface area (CSA), and subcortical volume (SV). We observed distinct multivariate correlational patterns between the two samples of individuals with schizophrenia. In the FES sample, better performance in token motor, symbol coding, and verbal fluency tests was associated with greater thalamic volumes but lower CT in the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. Two significant multivariate correlations were identified in antipsychotic-treated individuals: 1) worse verbal memory performance was related to smaller volumes for the most subcortical structures and smaller CSA mainly in the temporal regions and inferior parietal lobule; 2) a lower symbol coding test score was correlated with smaller CSA in the right parahippocampal gyrus but greater volume in the right caudate. These multivariate patterns were sample-specific and not confounded by imaging quality, illness duration, antipsychotic dose, or psychopathological symptoms. Our findings may help to understand the neurobiological basis of cognitive impairments and the development of cognition-targeted interventions.
Abstract Background: Decreasing symptom-to-door (S2D) delay is of vital importance for reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The factors associated with S2D delay in STEMI patients have not been well-characterized. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with S2D delay in patients with STEMI. Methods: The PubMed, CINAHL, and Embase databases were searched for data. References from the selected articles and relevant background papers were also manually searched to identify additional eligible studies. The included articles were reviewed and assessed for risk of bias. The level of evidence for each identified factor was evaluated using a semiquantitative synthesis. Results: Twelve (12) papers were included in the review. Factors associated with S2D delay were complex and could be divided into sociodemographic, clinical history, and onset characteristics. The level of evidence regarding female sex and diabetes was strong, and the evidence was moderate regarding older age, smoking, history of hypertension, self-transport, or referral. Conclusions: Female sex, older age, previous diabetes, previous hypertension, smoking, and self-transport are all strong or moderate risk factors for S2D time delay in patients with ST-segment myocardial infarction. More efforts should be made to educate at-risk populations concerning symptoms of STEMI and the importance of seeking early medical assistance.
Perfusion refers to the flow of blood through the capillary network, which enables the transport of oxygen, nutrients, and waste to or from the tissues surrounding each capillary bed. Cerebral perfusion is the process by which blood transports oxygen and nutrients to the brain tissues, where they are utilized for various functions. This process is generally considered equivalent to the blood flow process in the brain. Cerebral perfusion imaging can provide information on cerebral hemodynamics at the level of the microvasculature and is therefore a valuable approach for identifying and monitoring the pathophysiological processes of neurological diseases. Perfusion MRI has been widely used for the evaluation of tumors, cerebrovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Compared to nuclear medicine and computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging studies, the greatest advantage of perfusion MRI is the absence of ionizing radiation, which allows repeat examinations within a short period of time without exposing patients to multiple doses of radiation. Current perfusion MRI techniques can be divided into two categories, based on the type of contrast agent used: (1) techniques involving the intravenous (IV) injection of an exogenous, non-diffusible contrast agent—gadopentetate dimeglumine—to induce dynamic changes in MRI signal intensity that are recorded and analyzed to obtain cerebral perfusion parameters, such as dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging; and (2) techniques involving the use of water in the human body as an endogenous, diffusible contrast agent to perform imaging and obtain cerebral perfusion parameters, such as arterial spin labelling (ASL).
Cerebellar functional dysconnectivity has long been implicated in schizophrenia. However, the detailed dysconnectivity pattern and its underlying biological mechanisms have not been well-charted. This study aimed to conduct an in-depth characterization of cerebellar dysconnectivity maps in early schizophrenia.Resting-state fMRI data were processed from 196 drug-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 167 demographically matched healthy controls. The cerebellum was parcellated into nine functional systems based on a state-of-the-art atlas, and seed-based connectivity for each cerebellar system was examined. The observed connectivity alterations were further associated with schizophrenia risk gene expressions using data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas.Overall, we observed significantly increased cerebellar connectivity with the sensorimotor cortex, default-mode regions, ventral part of visual cortex, insula, and striatum. In contrast, decreased connectivity was shown chiefly within the cerebellum, and between the cerebellum and the lateral prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and dorsal visual areas. Such dysconnectivity pattern was statistically similar across seeds, with no significant group by seed interactions identified. Moreover, connectivity strengths of hypoconnected but not hyperconnected regions were significantly correlated with schizophrenia risk gene expressions, suggesting potential genetic underpinnings for the observed hypoconnectivity.These findings suggest a common bidirectional dysconnectivity pattern across different cerebellar subsystems, and imply that such bidirectional alterations may relate to different biological mechanisms.
Objective To investigate the radiation dose differences of DTS,DR and CT in diagnostic imaging of the skeletal system and analyze the sensitivity and specificity of each modality in skeletal disease diagnosis.Methods 100 relevant patients with skeletal diseases were randomly selected,who were performed with DR,DTS and CT from Feb 2010 to Mar 2012.They were divided into three groups,respectively as the DR group,the DTS group and the CT group.The complete information including DR,DTS,CT data and the final clinical diagnosis were collected and the statistical analysis after comparing radiation dose of DR,DTS and CT examination.Two experienced experts evaluated the image of three examinations and made judgments.ROC curves of reader A and B were made by using the final clinical diagnosis as gold standard.Results The average absorbed dose and effective dose of DR,DTS,CT group were [(1.9±1.8)mGy,(0.03±0.03) mSv)],[(3.5±1.5)mGy,(0.05±0.02) mSv)],[(397.7 ± 106.0) mGy· cm、(5.60 ± 1.50) mSy] respectively.The difference among the three groups was analyzed by one-way ANOVA test(F =1377,P ＜ 0.05) and had statistically significant(P ＜ 0.05).ROC curve was drawn through analyzing lesion detection credibility of three groups.The Az values of reader A and B was (0.870 ± 0.035,0.966 ± 0.018,0.974 ± 0.015) and (0.852 ± 0.038,0.951 ± 0.021,0.959 ±0.019)respectively.Do the Z-test to these examinations' area under ROC curve of lesion detection credibility.Between DR and DTS or DR and CT,there was statistically significant(P ＜ 0.05).While for CT and DTS,there was not statistically significant.The two readers' sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing skeletal lesion with DR,DTS and CT were investigated using the x2 test:CT and DTS were no statistical significance,CT and DR were statistically significant (x2 =4.833,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Radiation dose of DTS only accounts for about 1％ of CT examination.While its sensitivity and specificity can meet the requirements for clinical diagnosis as CT.If the DR diagnosis is unclear or suspected,DTS should be the first recommended modality used for skeletal diagnosis with lower radiation dose.
Key words:
Radiation dose; DTS; DR; CT; Skeletal system
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