Cumulative effects of excess high-normal alanine aminotransferase levels in relation to new-onset metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in China

BACKGROUND Within the normal range,elevated alanine aminotransferase(ALT)levels are associated with an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD).AIM To investigate the associations between repeated high-normal ALT measurements and the risk of new-onset MAFLD prospectively.METHODS A cohort of 3553 participants followed for four consecutive health examinations over 4 years was selected.The incidence rate,cumulative times,and equally and unequally weighted cumulative effects of excess high-normal ALT levels(ehALT)were measured.Cox proportional hazards regression was used to analyse the association between the cumulative effects of ehALT and the risk of new-onset MAFLD.RESULTS A total of 83.13%of participants with MAFLD had normal ALT levels.The incidence rate of MAFLD showed a linear increasing trend in the cumulative ehALT group.Compared with those in the low-normal ALT group,the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios of the equally and unequally weighted cumulative effects of ehALT were 1.651[95%confidence interval(CI):1.199-2.273]and 1.535(95%CI:1.119-2.106)in the third quartile and 1.616(95%CI:1.162-2.246)and 1.580(95%CI:1.155-2.162)in the fourth quartile,respectively.CONCLUSION Most participants with MAFLD had normal ALT levels.Long-term high-normal ALT levels were associated with a cumulative increased risk of new-onset MAFLD.

Neuroprotective effects of saffron on chronic focal cerebral ischemia through inhibiting glial scar formation in rats

OBJECTIVE To explore the neuro-protective effects of saffron(Crocus satius L.) on chronic focal cerebral ischemia in rats.METHODS SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups:sham control group,MCAO group,edaravone group and saffron 30,100,300 mg·kg^(-1) groups.Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO).Saffron was administered orally by once daily from 2 h to 42 d after ischemia.At 42 d after cerebral ischemia,neurological deficit score,spontaneous activity test,elevated plus maze test,marble burying test and novel objective recognition test were used to evaluate the effects of saffron on the behevioural change.Infarct volume,survival neuron density,activated astrocyte number,and the thickness of glial scar were also detected.GFAP expression and inflammatory cytokine contents in ischemic peripheral region were detected by Western blot and ELISA,separately.RESULTS Saffron(100,300 mg·kg^(-1)) improved the body weight decrease,neurological deficit and spontaneous activity.Saffron(30-300 mg · kg^(-1)) increased the traveled distance ratio and total time in open arm,decreased the buried marble number,which indicated that saffron could ameliorate anxiety-and depression-like behaviors.Saffron(100,300 mg·kg^(-1)) improved the learning and memory function,which manifested by increased discrimination ratio(DR) and discrim.ination index(DI) in T2 test.The results of toluidine blue found saffron treatment(100,300 mg · kg^(-1))decreased the infarct volume and increased the neuron density in cortex and hippocampal.The activated astrocyte number,the thickness of glial scar and GFAP expression in ischemic peripheral region decreased after saffron.Saffron(100,300 mg · kg^(-1)) decreased the contents of IL-6 and IL-1β,increased the content of IL-10 in ischemic peripheral region.CONCLUSION Saffron exerted neuro-protective effects on chronic focal cerebral ischemia,which could be related with inhibiting the activation of astrocyte and glial scar,following with the decrease of inflammatory reaction.

Mesoporous magnetic nanoparticles conjugated aptamers for exosomes capture and detection of Alzheimer’s disease

Exosomes are nanoscale membrane-enclosed extracellular vesicles secreted by various cells,which have enormous potential as disease biomarkers for clinical application.However,the isolation and detection of exosomes remain enormous challenges,which limits their further application.Herein,inspired by immunomagnetic beads,a magnetic nanoparticle conjugated aptamer was repurposed for the effective capture and detection of exosomes.The magnetic nanoparticles,composed of Fe 3 O 4 synthesized by the hydrothermal method as the core and coupled with gold nanoparticles(Fe 3 O 4@Au),provide a large specific surface area,making the resulting composite material an effective platform for exosome capture.Furthermore,the elution of captured exosomes with 1.0 M NaCl made downstream analysis of exosomes possible.The preliminary clinical application value of the composite in exosome analyses of serum from healthy individuals and patients with Alzheimer’s disease(AD)has also been verified,which could provide a promising platform for biomedical and clinical diagnosis.

Arbovirus and seizures

The high prevalence and spread of arthropod-borne viruses(arboviruses)make them an important cause of viral encephalitis in humans.Most epidemic viral encephalitides have an etiology associated with arboviruses.Among various arboviruses,the Japanese encephalitis virus,West Nile virus,Zika virus,Dengue virus and Chikungunya virus can induce seizures.Arboviruses of the genus Flavivirus are usually transmitted by mosquitoes and other host animals.These vector-borne pathogens can cause epidemic viral encephalitis.Seizures may not be the major manifestation in these viral encephalitides,but may predict a poor prognosis.In this article,we discuss the relationships between these viruses and seizures from perspectives of clinical characteristics,pathogenesis,prognosis and treatments of each.

Correction to:Arbovirus and seizures

After publication of this article[1],it is noticed the article contains an error:the section below should be placed between the section headings of‘Pathogenesis’and‘Activated glia’on page 2.Tropism with the brain JEV’s neurotropism is a relevant factor of its pathogenesis.Neurotropism is not synonymous with neurovirulence,but they can be associated with each other in some cases.The JEV typically replicates before it spreads to local lymph nodes.Then the liver,heart,kidney and other organs the blood-brain barrier(Fig.2).To cross the barrier,JEV replicates in endothelial cells inflammatory cells that carry the virus(Fig.3).