Risk factors for intraocular metastasis of primary liver cancer in diabetic patients:Alpha-fetoprotein and cancer antigen 125

BACKGROUND In rare instances,primary liver cancer can be associated with intraocular metastasis(IOM).AIM To investigate the correlation between a diverse range of clinical characteristics and IOM in diabetic patients with primary liver cancer,and to determine potential risk factors in predicting IOM.METHODS We recruited a total of 722 diabetic patients with primary liver cancer.The differences between the IOM and non-intraocular metastasis(NIOM)groups in these patients were assessed using the chi-squared test and Student’s t-test.Binary logistic regression analysis was subsequently used to determine risk factors.Finally,the diagnostic value of IOM in this cohort with primary liver cancer was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.RESULTS In all,13 patients had IOM.There were no remarkable intergroup differences with respect to age,sex,histopathological sub-types,or blood biochemical parameters.However,the IOM group had significantly higher alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)and cancer antigen 125(CA125)values than the NIOM group.Binary logistic regression identified AFP and CA125 to be significant risk factors for IOM in diabetic patients with primary liver cancer.ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve values for AFP and CA125 were 0.727 and 0.796,with the cut-off values of 994.20 ng/mL and 120.23 U/mL,respectively.The sensitivity and speci
city for AFP were 92.3%and 59.9%,while those for CA125 were 84.6%and 70.1%,respectively.CONCLUSION Elevated AFP and CA125 represent significant risk factors for IOM in diabetic patients with primary liver cancer.

Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with diabetic optic neuropathy:A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study using regional homogeneity

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a common chronic disease.Given the increasing incidence of diabetes,more individuals are affected by diabetic optic neuropathy(DON),which results in decreased vision.Whether DON leads to abnormalities of other visual systems,including the eye,the visual cortex,and other brain regions,remains unknown.AIM To investigate the local characteristics of spontaneous brain activity using regional homogeneity(ReHo)in patients with DON.METHODS We matched 22 patients with DON with 22 healthy controls(HCs).All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.The ReHo technique was used to record spontaneous changes in brain activity.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were applied to differentiate between ReHo values for patients with DON and HCs.We also assessed the correlation between Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores and ReHo values in DON patients using Pearson correlation analysis.RESULTS ReHo values of the right middle frontal gyrus(RMFG),left anterior cingulate(LAC),and superior frontal gyrus(SFG)/left frontal superior orbital gyrus(LFSO)were significantly lower in DON patients compared to HCs.Among these,the greatest difference was observed in the RMFG.The result of the ROC curves suggest that ReHo values in altered brain regions may help diagnose DON,and the RMFG and LAC ReHo values are more clinically relevant than SFG/LFSO.We also found that anxiety and depression scores of the DON group were extremely negatively correlated with the LAC ReHo values(r=-0.9336,P<0.0001 and r=-0.8453,P<0.0001,respectively).CONCLUSION Three different brain regions show ReHo changes in DON patients,and these changes could serve as diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers to further guide the prevention and treatment of DON patients.

Decreased retinal microvasculature densities in pterygium

AIM:To investigate the retinal vascular network alterations in eyes of patients with pterygium.METHODS:Totally 18 left eyes from 18 female pterygium patients and 18 left eyes from 18 female healthy control subjects were enrolled.Optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)images were generated of the superficial retinal layer and deeper retinal layer of the macular retina for each eye.The microvascular(MIR)and macrovascular(MAR)densities were calculated and MIR,MAR,and total microvascular(TMI)density was compared in the healthy control and pterygium groups.RESULTS:In pterygium group,in the superficial retinal layer,the vascular density in superficial MIR,superior right(SR),inferior right(IR),right(R),superficial central annuli(SC)1,SC2,and SC3 decreased significantly in the macular area(P<0.05).Furthermore,the vascular density in all those decreased regions except R,was significantly and negatively correlated with the disease course(r=-0.6038 to-0.7762,P=0.0008),and the area size of pterygium(r=-0.6043 to-0.9508,P<0.05).For the deeper retinal layer,the density of deep total microvessel(DTMI),deeper MIR,SR,IR,R,DC2,and DC3 decreased significantly in macular area of pterygium patients(P<0.05).Furthermore,the vascular density in all those decreased regions was significantly and negatively correlated with the disease course(r=-0.6901 to-0.7795,P=0.0015),and the area size of pterygium(r=-0.6043 to-0.9563,P<0.05).No statistically significant differences and correlation was found in other region density(|r|<0.47,P>0.05).CONCLUSION:OCTA findings suggest that pterygium patients present with decreased retinal MIR density,and the major vascular alterations occurr mainly on the bitamporal side.The vascular density of the superficial SC1,SC2,SC3 adjacent to the foveal and deep layer of DC2,DC2 regions,significantly decreased.

Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in patients with hyperthyroidism exophthalmos using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation:a resting-state fMRI study

AIM:To assess changed spontaneous brain activity in hyperthyroid exophthalmos(HE)patients by the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation(ALFF)method,and to analyze the correlation between brain activity and ALFF values in these patients.METHODS:Totally 18 HE and 18 hyperthyroid nonexophthalmos(HNE)patients were enrolled.The participants were tested by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging,and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were generated to classify the ALFF values of the study population.Pearson’s correlation analysis was utilized to evaluate the relationship between the ALFF values obtained from different brain areas and clinical manifestations.RESULTS:Contrary to HNE patients,we observed lower ALFF values in the left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex(LCFSC)in HE patients.In the ROC curve analysis of the LCFSC,the area under the curve reflected a high degree of accuracy.In addition,there was positive correlation between mean ALFF values of the LCFSC and the bestcorrected visual acuity of the affected eyes.CONCLUSION:The study displays abnormal brain activity in LCFSC in patients with HE,which might suggest pathological mechanism of visual impairment of HE patients.