Blood cell counts and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Evidence from Mendelian randomization analysis

BACKGROUND Previous research has highlighted correlations between blood cell counts and chronic liver disease.Nonetheless,the causal relationships remain unknown.AIM To evaluate the causal effect of blood cell traits on liver enzymes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)risk.METHODS Independent genetic variants strongly associated with blood cell traits were extracted from a genome-wide association study(GWAS)conducted by the Blood Cell Consortium.Summary-level data for liver enzymes were obtained from the United Kingdom Biobank.NAFLD data were obtained from a GWAS meta-analysis(8434 cases and 770180 controls,discovery dataset)and the Fingen GWAS(2275 cases and 372727 controls,replication dataset).This analysis was conducted using the inverse-variance weighted method,followed by various sensitivity analyses.RESULTS One SD increase in the genetically predicted haemoglobin concentration(HGB)was associated with aβof 0.0078(95%CI:0.0059-0.0096),0.0108(95%CI:0.0080-0.0136),0.0361(95%CI:0.0156-0.0567),and 0.0083(95%CI:00046-0.0121)for alkaline phosphatase(ALP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase,and gammaglutamyl transferase,respectively.Genetically predicted haematocrit was associated with ALP(β=0.0078,95%CI:0.0052-0.0104)and ALT(β=0.0057,95%CI:0.0039-0.0075).Genetically determined HGB and the reticulocyte fraction of red blood cells increased the risk of NAFLD[odds ratio(OR)=1.199,95%CI:1.087-1.322]and(OR=1.157,95%CI:1.071-1.250).The results of the sensitivity analyses remained significant.CONCLUSION Novel causal blood cell traits related to liver enzymes and NAFLD development were revealed through Mendelian randomization analysis,which may facilitate the diagnosis and prevention of NAFLD.

Relationship between platelet-lymphocyte ratio and carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged and elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective:To investigate the relationship between platelet-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and carotid atherosclerosis(CAS)in middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM.Methods:A total of 420 middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM who were hospitalized in the Endocrinology Department of our hospital from September 2018 to September 2020 and were examined by ultrasound were selected as the subjects.The carotid artery intima-media thickness(CIMT)was examined by color Doppler ultrasonography,including normal CIMT group(n=111),CIMT thickening group(n=103)and CAS plaque group(n=206).The differences of serum PLR levels among the three groups were compared.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between PLR and CAS plaque formation.The receiver operating curve(ROC)was used to evaluate the value of multivariate Logistic regression model(Logit P)in the diagnosis of CAS lesions.Results:The mean value of PLR in CAS plaque group(127.86±48.54)was significantly higher than that in CIMT normal group(109.15±48.35).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for other confounding factors,the increase of PLR was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of CAS plaque.ROC showed that the efficacy of multivariate Logit P model in the diagnosis of CAS plaque was(AUC=0.807,95%CI=0.759-0.858).Conclusions:PLR is one of the important risk factors for the occurrence of CAS lesions.At the same time,the multivariate Logistic regression model established in this study has clinical reference value in predicting CAS lesions in middle-aged and elderly patients with T2DM.

Enhancing cartilage regeneration and repair through bioactive and biomechanical modification of 3D acellular dermal matrix

Acellular dermal matrix(ADM)shows promise for cartilage regeneration and repair.However,an effective decellularization technique that removes cellular components while preserving the extracellular matrix,the transformation of 2D-ADM into a suitable 3D scaffold with porosity and the enhancement of bioactive and biomechanical properties in the 3D-ADM scaffold are yet to be fully addressed.In this study,we present an innovative decellularization method involving 0.125%trypsin and 0.5%SDS and a 1%Triton X-100 solution for preparing ADM and converting 2D-ADM into 3D-ADM scaffolds.These scaffolds exhibit favorable physicochemical properties,exceptional biocompatibility and significant potential for driving cartilage regeneration in vitro and in vivo.To further enhance the cartilage regeneration potential of 3D-ADM scaffolds.we incorporated porcine-derived small intestinal submucosa(SIS)for bioactivity and calcium sulfate hemihydrate(CSH)for biomechanical reinforcement.The resulting 3D-ADM+SIS scaffolds displayed heightened biological activity,while the 3D-ADM+CSH scaffolds notably bolstered biomechanical strength.Both scaffold types showed promise for cartilage regeneration and repair in vitro and in vivo,with considerable improvements observed in repairing cartilage defects within a rabbit articular cartilage model.In summary,this research introduces a versatile 3D-ADM scaffold with customizable bioactive and biomechanical properties,poised to revolutionize the field of cartilageregeneration.

Clinical Observation on Treatment of Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia by Point Penetrating Injection plus Ear Pressing

Objective： To investigate the therapeutic effect of primary refractory trigeminal neuralgia. Methods： Twenty-eight cases of primary trigeminal neuralgia were treated by point penetrating injection plus ear pressing, controlled by 28 cases treated only by acupuncture, Results： The total effective rate was 96,43% in observation group and 78.57% in control group. There wasa significant difference in the total effective rate between the two groups （P〈0.05）. Results： Point penetrating injection plus ear pressing is the effective method in treating primary trigeminal neuralgia.

Serum Levels of RBP4 Might Not Be Determined by Diabetes Mellitus but by Kidney Function and Renal Replacement Therapy

It has been reported that retinol-binding protein 4(RBP4) is associated to adiposity,insulin resistance,and type 2 diabetes.Meanwhile,circulating RBP4 levels are also affected by renal function.The aim of the present study is to investigate whether serum levels of RBP4 are primarily associated with different stages of chronic kidney disease(CKD) or type 2 diabetes,if there is more potential relevance between RBP4 and renal replacement therapy.The serum levels of RBP4 were assessed by commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)kit in 212 patients with the CKD stages 1—5 and in 24 healthy controls,while its correlation with clinical and metabolic parameters was analyzed.The serum level of RBP4 had a strong correlation with estimated glomerular filtration rate(e GFR)(P < 0.001).Stratified by e GFR and treatment,no more differences in RBP4 serum concentration were detected between type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic subjects [CKD stages 1—5,non-dialysis(ND),hemodialysis(HD) and peritoneal dialysis(PD);P > 0.05 for all].The elevation of RBP4 become higher in HD than in PD and ND in CKD5 patients(P = 0.008 and P = 0.04,respectively),while there was no significant difference between PD and ND groups.Multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated three independent predictors of e GFR(β =-0.676,P < 0.001),C-reactive protein(CRP)(β =-0.573,P < 0.001) and creatine(β = 0.509,P = 0.024) in the study population.The study results demonstrated that the serum level of RBP4 was negatively related to the e GFR,whether diabetes mellitus(DM) affected the blood concentration of RBP4 or not.And the serum level of RBP4 exhibited significant difference in different renal replacement therapies.

Graphdiyne-Related Materials in Biomedical Applications and Their Potential in Peripheral Nerve Tissue Engineering

Graphdiyne(GDY)is a new member of the family of carbon based nanomaterials with hybridized carbon atoms of sp and sp',including a,β,γ,and(6,6,12)-GDY,which difer in their percentage of acetylene bonds.The unique structure of GDY provides many attractive features,such as uniformly distributed pores,highlyπconjugated structure,high thermal stability,low toxicity,biod egradabilty,large specific surface area,tunable electrical conductivity,and remarkable thermal conductivity.Therefore,GDY is widely used in energy storage,catalysis,and energy fields,in addition to biomedical fields,such as biosensing,cancer therapy,drug delivery,radiation protection,and tissue engineering.In this review,we first discuss the synthesis of GDY with different shapes,including nanotubes,nanowires,nanowalls,and nanosheets.Second,we present the research progress in the biomedical field in recent years,along with the biodegradability and biocompatibility of GDY based on the existing literature.Subsequently,we present recent research results on the use of nanomaterials in peripheral nerve regeneration(PNR).Based on the wide application of nanomaterials in PNR and the remarkable properties of GDY,we.predict the prospects and current challenges of GDY-based materials for PNR.