Age-matched Healthy People Research Articles

The Impact of Serums Calcium 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D, Ferritin, Uric Acid, and Sleeping Disorders on Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Patients.

This study's objective was to identify the factors and impact of serums calcium 25-Hydroxy vitamin D, ferritin, uric acid, and sleeping disorders on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) patients. This is a case and control design study. The consecutive patients' visits (age, older than 25 years) with idiopathic BPPV were recruited in the present study. For each patient, 3:1 sex and age-matched healthy people were assigned as the control. The study comprised 177 patients with BPPV and 656 controls. The study included biochemical, clinical, physical examinations, PSQI sleep quality, supine roll test, and Dix-Hallpike test for the diagnosis of all patients, and pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was used to assess hearing. Univariate and multivariate stepwise regression analyses were used for statistical analysis. The study comprised 833 patients with 295 males (35.4%) and 538 females (64.6%) who were between 25 and 70 years old. Of a total of 833 participants, 177 were BPPV patients, and 656 subject were normal. The results shown that there were significant differences between the BPPV and the normal group in terms of BMI (p = 0.039), physical activity (p = 0.003), cigarette smoking (p = 0.035), nargile-waterpipe use (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.001), hypertension (p < 0.001), congestive heart failure (CHF) (p < 0.001), neurology (p < 0.001), tinnitus (p < 0.001), dizziness (p < 0.001), headache (p < 0.001), vitamin D (p = 0.004), calcium (p = 0.004), magnesium (p < 0.001), potassium (p = 0.019), phosphorus (p < 0.001), haemoglobin (p < 0.001), serum glucose (p < 0.001), HbA1c (p < 0.001), triglyceride (p < 0.001), systolic BP (p = 0.004), diastolic BP (p = 0.008), and microalbuminuria (p = 0.005); ATP III metabolic syndrome (p = 0.038), IDF metabolic syndrome (p = 0.034), and poor sleep (p = 0.033). In terms of the type of BPPV, the posterior canal was the most commonly affected (n = 126, 71.2%), followed by the horizontal (n = 43, 24.3%) and anterior canal (n = 8, 4.5%). The analysis indicated that serum ferritin (p < 0.001), uric acid (p < 0.001), blood pressure (p < 0.001), dizziness (p < 0.001), cigarette-water-pipe smokers (p = 0.004), headaches/migraines (p = 0.005), calcium (p = 0.007), vitamin D deficiency (p = 0.008), sleepiness (p = 0.016), physical activity (p = 0.022), CHF (p = 0.024), and tinnitus (p = 0.025) were considered as risk predictors for BPPV. The results revealed that the serum levels of vitamin D, ferritin, uric acid, and calcium are low among the study population and supplementation could be considered as prevention in BPPV patients.

Parkinson's disease impairs cortical sensori-motor decision-making cascades.

The transformation from perception to action requires a set of neuronal decisions about the nature of the percept, identification and selection of response options and execution of the appropriate motor response. The unfolding of such decisions is mediated by distributed representations of the decision variables-evidence and intentions-that are represented through oscillatory activity across the cortex. Here we combine magneto-electroencephalography and linear ballistic accumulator models of decision-making to reveal the impact of Parkinson's disease during the selection and execution of action. We used a visuomotor task in which we independently manipulated uncertainty in sensory and action domains. A generative accumulator model was optimized to single-trial neurophysiological correlates of human behaviour, mapping the cortical oscillatory signatures of decision-making, and relating these to separate processes accumulating sensory evidence and selecting a motor action. We confirmed the role of widespread beta oscillatory activity in shaping the feed-forward cascade of evidence accumulation from resolution of sensory inputs to selection of appropriate responses. By contrasting the spatiotemporal dynamics of evidence accumulation in age-matched healthy controls and people with Parkinson's disease, we identified disruption of the beta-mediated cascade of evidence accumulation as the hallmark of atypical decision-making in Parkinson's disease. In frontal cortical regions, there was inefficient processing and transfer of perceptual information. Our findings emphasize the intimate connection between abnormal visuomotor function and pathological oscillatory activity in neurodegenerative disease. We propose that disruption of the oscillatory mechanisms governing fast and precise information exchanges between the sensory and motor systems contributes to behavioural changes in people with Parkinson's disease.

Is gut microbiota of patients with ALS different from that of healthy individuals?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Several studies have shown that alterations of microbiota increase the risk of neurodegenerative disorders. We aimed to reveal whether there is a difference in the gut microbiota of patients with ALS. The participants are divided into three groups. Group 1 comprised patients with ALS. Healthy family members living in the same house of the patients formed Group 2. Lastly, sex- and age-matched healthy people were included in Group 3. Fecal samples were collected in 15-mL falcon tubes and stored at -80 °C. Genomic DNA isolation was performed on samples. Bacterial primers selected from the 16S rRNA region for the bacterial genome and ITS1 and ITS4 (internal transcribed spacer) were used for the identification of DNA. Next generation sequence analysis (NGS) and taxonomic analyses were performed at the level of bacterial phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Alpha and beta diversity indexes were used. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size method (LEfSe) was applied to identify a microbial taxon specific to ALS disease. The relative abundances of the Succinivibrionaceae and Lachnospiraceae families were significantly lower in patients. The dominant families among patients were Streptococcaceae and Ruminococcaceae, while the dominant families among healthy controls were Bacteroidaceae and Succinivibrionaceae. The LEfSe analysis revealed that four families (Atopobiaceae, Actinomycetaceae, Erysipelatoclostridiaceae, Peptococcacceae) differed significantly between the patients and healthy controls (LDA values> 2.5, p < 0.05). Comparison with family members living in the same house is the strength of this study. We found that there were changes in the microbiota of the patients, consistent with the literature. Studies that analyze the composition of the gut microbiota in the predisease period may be needed to understand whether dysbiosis is caused by the mechanisms inherent in the disease or whether it is dysbiosis that initiates the disease.

Effects of brain atrophy and altered functional connectivity on poststroke cognitive impairment

Background and PurposeBrain atrophy and disrupted functional connectivity are often present in patients with poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). This study aimed to explore the relationship between remote brain atrophy, connectional diaschisis and cognitive impairment in ischemic stroke patients to provide valuable information about the mechanisms underlying cognitive function recovery. MethodsForty first-time stroke patients with basal ganglia infarcts and twenty-nine age-matched healthy people were enrolled. All participants underwent T1-weighted and functional MRI scans, comprehensive cognitive function assessments at baseline, and 3-month follow-up. Brain volumes were calculated, and the atrophic regions were regarded as regions of interest in seed-based functional connectivity analyses. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships among cognitive performance, brain atrophy, and functional connectivity alterations. ResultsCompared with healthy participants, stroke patients had worse cognitive performance at baseline and the 3-month follow-up. Worse cognitive performance was associated with smaller bilateral thalamus, left hippocampus, and left amygdala volumes, as well as lower functional connectivity between the left thalamus and the left medial superior frontal gyrus, between the right thalamus and the left median cingulate and paracingulate gyri, between the right hippocampus and the left medial superior frontal gyrus, and between the left amygdala and the right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus. ConclusionsIn patients with basal ganglia infarction, connectional diaschisis between remote brain atrophy and the prefrontal lobe plays a significant role in PSCI. This finding provides new scientific evidence for understanding the mechanisms of PSCI and indicates that the prefrontal lobe may be a target to improve cognitive function after stroke.

Increased ILT2+ natural killer T cells correlate with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Numerous immune cell types, such as B and T lymphocytes, natural killer cells (NK), and NKT cells, are related to the pathogenesis of diseases in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Our goal in this investigation is to examine the phenotype of NK cells and NKT cells alterations in individuals with SLE. Typically, 50 SLE patients and 24 age-matched healthy people had their PBMCs obtained. Employing flow cytometry, the phenotype of NK and NKT cells and immunoglobulin-like transcript 2 (ILT2) expressions were identified. ELISA was utilized to evaluate the amounts of interleukin-15 (IL-15) and sHLA-G in the serum. The frequencies of the circulating NK and NKT cells in individuals with SLE were decreased compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, ILT2 expression was significantly increased in NKT cells, but showed no obvious change in NK cells. Clinical severity and active nephritis were substantially associated with ILT2+ NKT cell frequencies. The correlation study showed that the upregulation of ILT2 expression was related to sHLA-G in plasma but not to IL-15. ILT2+ NKT cells have a vital function in the immune abnormalities of SLE, which can also supply a viable goal for therapeutic intervention. Key Points •ILT2 expression was significantly increased in NKT cells in SLE patients. •ILT2+ NKT cell frequencies were associated with clinical severity which may be used as an indicator for evaluating disease activity in patients with SLE.

Characteristics of uneven surface walking in stroke patients: Modification in biomechanical parameters and muscle activity

BackgroundStroke patients have difficulty walking in outdoor environments, including uneven surfaces, reducing their opportunities for social participation. Changes in stroke patients’ gait while walking on even surfaces have been reported; however, gait alterations on uneven surfaces remain unclear. Research questionTo what extent do biomechanical parameters and muscle activity during even and uneven surface walking differ between stroke patients and healthy people? MethodsTwenty stroke patients and 20 age-matched healthy people walked on a 6 m even and uneven surfaces. Data on gait speed, root mean square (RMS) of trunk acceleration as a measure of gait stability, maximum joint angle, average muscle activity, and muscle activity time were quantified using accelerometers attached to the trunk, video camera images, and electromyography of lower extremities. A two-factor mixed-model analysis of variance was used to test the effects of group, surface, and group × surface interactions. ResultsGait speed decreased (p < 0.001) on the uneven surface in stroke patients and healthy people. RMS showed an interaction (p < 0.001), and the post-hoc test revealed an increase in stroke patients in the mediolateral direction during the swing phase on the uneven surface. The hip extension angle during the stance phase showed an interaction (p = 0.023), and the post-hoc test revealed a decrease in stroke patients on the uneven surface. The soleus muscle activity time showed an interaction during the swing phase (p = 0.041), and the post-hoc test revealed an increase in stroke patients compared to healthy people only on the uneven surface. SignificanceWhile walking on an uneven surface, stroke patients showed decreased gait stability, decreased hip extension angle during stance phase, and increased ankle plantar flexor activity time during swing phase. These changes may result from impaired motor control and compensatory strategies used by stroke patients on uneven surfaces.

MRNA Expression Profiles and Molecular Biomarkers Involved in Inflammatory Response for Essential Hypertension in Kazakh Population From Xinjiang

Abstract Background To identify hypertensive inflammation-related mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with essential hypertension (EH) of Kazakh Chinese population in Xinjiang, and offer theoretical foundation for further understanding the immune mechanisms that contribute to EH in Kazakh and provide specific molecular biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and targeted-specific treatments of this disorder. Methods Thirty Kazakh patients with EH and 30 age-matched healthy Kazakh people were divided into EH group and control group. After performing blood pressure measurement and determination of serum lipids and blood glucose, total RNA was isolated from PBMCs of hypertensive Kazakh patients and healthy Kazakh subjects, and differentially expressed mRNA in 6 randomly selected samples from each group were identified with human lncRNA/mRNA V4.0 microarray. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), disease process, the Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed mRNA were carried out using R language and ClusterProfiler software package. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the differential expression pattern of inflammation-related genes in the mRNA microarray data and results of bioinformatics analysis. Results The average blood pressure was significantly higher in the EH group than those in the control group (P &amp;lt; 0.01), while there was no statistical significance for the levels of serum lipids and blood glucose between the 2 groups. Compared with healthy Kazakh controls, a total of 522 mRNA were significantly differentially expressed from PBMCs of hypertensive Kazakh patients with fold change of ≥1.5 and P value &amp;lt;5% in expression. Among them, 411 were upregulated and 111 were downregulated. GO enrichment analysis of upregulated mRNA identified numerous inflammation-related biological processes and molecular functions. Many of these processes and molecular function were mainly involved in immune response-regulating signaling pathway, immune response-activating signal transduction, antigen binding, immunoglobulin receptor binding and peptide antigen binding, etc. GSEA and KEGG pathway analysis for the upregulated mRNA indicated several positively enriched gene sets and pathways related to inflammatory response, such as focal adhesion, cell adhesion molecules, chemokine signaling pathway, leukocyte transendothelial migration, cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, and B-cell receptor signaling pathway. qRT-PCR validation results of 14 mRNA related to inflammatory response were consistent with the microarray data. Conclusions This is the first study to identify gene expression profile involved in hypertensive inflammation in Kazakh Chinese population in Xinjiang with EH, and not only provides specific molecular biomarkers for predicting and diagnosing progression of EH, but also will provide targeted-specific treatments of this disorder in Kazakh Chinese population in Xinjiang.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate-elevating agents inhibit amyloid-beta internalization and neurotoxicity: their action in Alzheimer's disease prevention.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate-elevating agents inhibit amyloid-beta internalization and neurotoxicity: their action in Alzheimer's disease prevention.

Assessing the impact of MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy on brain activity and connectivity in patients with essential tremor.

Although magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) at the ventral intermediate (VIM) thalamic nucleus is a novel and effective treatment for medication-refractory essential tremor (ET), it is unclear how the ablation lesion affects functional activity. The current study sought to evaluate the functional impact of MRgFUS thalamotomy in patients with ET, as well as to investigate the relationship between neuronal activity changes and tremor control. This study included 30 patients with ET who underwent MRgFUS thalamotomy with a 6-month follow-up involving MRI and clinical tremor rating. Additional sex- and age-matched healthy people were recruited for the healthy control group. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and regional homogeneity were used to identify functional alteration regions of interest (ROIs). To investigate changes after treatment, ROI- and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed. Patients with ET had significantly increased fALFF in the right postcentral gyrus (PoCG; ROI 1), regional homogeneity in the left PoCG (ROI 2), and regional homogeneity in the right PoCG (ROI 3, cluster-level p value family-wise error [pFWE] < 0.05), which were recovered and normalized at 6 months after MRgFUS thalamotomy. FCs between ROI 2 and the right supramarginal gyrus, ROI 2 and the right superior parietal gyrus, and ROI 3 and the left precentral gyrus were also found to be increased after treatment (cluster-level pFWE < 0.05). Furthermore, changes in fALFF, regional homogeneity, and FC values were significantly correlated with tremor relief (p < 0.05). Preoperative FC strengths were found to be inversely related to the postoperative tremor control ratio (p < 0.05). In patients with ET, the VIM lesion of MRgFUS thalamotomy resulted in symptom-related regional functional recovery associated with sensorimotor and attention networks. Preoperative FC strengths may reflect the postoperative tremor control ratio, implying that this metric could be a useful neuroimaging biomarker for predicting symptom relief in patients with ET following thalamotomy.

Transcriptomics analysis of key genes and signaling pathways in sepsis-related exogenous acute respiratory distress syndrome

To analyze the differentially expressed gene (DEG) in rats with sepsis-induced exogenous acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and explore the early diagnosis and protective mechanism of sepsis-induced ARDS at the transcriptome level. Twelve 6 to 8 weeks old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced sepsis-induced ARDS model group (model group, intraperitoneal injection of LPS 15 mg/kg) and control group (intraperitoneal injection of the same volume of normal saline), with 6 rats in each group. RNA was extracted from the left lung tissue of the two groups, and the paired-end sequencing mode of the illumina Hiseq sequencing platform was used for high-throughput sequencing. The DESeq2 software was used to screen DEG with |log2 (fold change, FC)| ≥ 3 and P < 0.001. Gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed on DEG. STRING and CytoScape software were used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and screen key genes. The peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of 20 septic patients admitted to the emergency and critical care medical department of Lianyungang First People's Hospital from March to November 2021 and 20 age-matched healthy people in the same period were isolated and extracted, and the key genes were verified by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). A total of 286 DEG were screened, including 202 up-regulated genes and 84 down-regulated genes. GO enrichment analysis showed that DEG was mainly involved in biological processes such as neutrophil chemotaxis migration, antibacterial humoral response, host immune response, and humoral immune response. KEGG analysis showed that DEG mainly played a biological role through interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, and chemokine signaling pathway. In PPI analysis, a total of 262 node proteins were screened, and the interaction relationship was 852 edges. The first 15 key genes were IL-6, TNF, IL-10, IL-1β, chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1), CXCL10, chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3), CXCR2, CXCL9, chemokine ligand 7 (CCL7), CXCL11, CCL1, CXCL13, CCL12, and CCL22. Five representative key genes were performed on PBMC of blood samples from septic ARDS patients and healthy controls by RT-qPCR. The results showed that their expression was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls [IL-6 mRNA (2-ΔΔCt): 2.803±1.081 vs. 0.951±0.359, TNF mRNA (2-ΔΔCt): 2.376±0.799 vs. 1.150±0.504, CXCL10 mRNA (2-ΔΔCt): 2.500±0.815 vs. 1.107±0.515, CXCR3 mRNA (2-ΔΔCt): 1.655±0.628 vs. 0.720±0.388, CCL22 mRNA (2-ΔΔCt): 1.804±0.878 vs. 1.010±0.850, all P < 0.05], and the trends were consistent with the RNA-Seq results. Biological processes such as chemotactic migration and degranulation of inflammatory cells, cytokine immune response, and signal pathways such as CXCL10/CXCR3 and IL-17 play important roles in the occurrence and development of sepsis-related exogenous ARDS, which would provide new ideas and targets for further study of lung injury mechanisms and clinical prevention and treatment.

Gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities in Parkinson's disease: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity among other symptoms. With a 70% cumulative prevalence of dementia in PD, cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms are frequent. In this study, we looked at anatomical brain differences between groups of patients and controls. A total of 138 people with PD were compared to 64 age-matched healthy people using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). VBM is a fully automated technique that allows for the identification of regional differences in gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) allowing for an objective comparison of brains of different groups of people. We used statistical parametric mapping for image processing and statistical analysis. In comparison to controls, PD patients had lower GM volumes in the left middle cingulate, left lingual gyrus, right calcarine and left fusiform gyrus, also PD patients indicated lower WM volumes in the right middle cingulate, left lingual gyrus, right calcarine, and left inferior occipital gyrus. Moreover, PD patients group demonstrated higher CSF in the left caudate compared to the controls. Physical fragility and cognitive impairments in PD may be detected more easily if anatomical abnormalities to the cingulate gyrus, occipital lobe and the level of CSF in the caudate are identified. Thus, our findings shed light on the role of the brain in PD and may aid in a better understanding of the events that occur in PD patients.

A Wearable Gait Analysis and Recognition Method for Parkinson's Disease Based on Error State Kalman Filter.

For the purpose of quantitative analysis, this paper proposes a wearable gait analysis method for Parkinson's disease (PD) to evaluates the motor ability. The error state Kalman filter (ESKF) is used for attitude estimation, and the gait parameters are modified by phase segmentation and zero velocity update (ZUPT) algorithm. In addition, this study uses gait parameters as classifier features to recognize abnormal gait, and compares the recognition effect with statistical features. The effect of our gait system is verified by comparison with the OptiTrack system, and the mean absolute error (MAE) of step length and foot clearance are 2.52 ±3.61 cm and 0.96 ±1.24 cm respectively. Forty Parkinson's patients and forty age-matched healthy people are recruited for gait comparison, the analysis results showed significant differences between the two groups. The abnormal gait recognition results show that gait features have stronger generalization ability than statistical features in leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) validation. The method proposed in this study can be applied to the gait analysis and objective evaluation of PD.

Phonemes based detection of parkinson’s disease for telehealth applications

Dysarthria is an early symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) which has been proposed for detection and monitoring of the disease with potential for telehealth. However, with inherent differences between voices of different people, computerized analysis have not demonstrated high performance that is consistent for different datasets. The aim of this study was to improve the performance in detecting PD voices and test this with different datasets. This study has investigated the effectiveness of three groups of phoneme parameters, i.e. voice intensity variation, perturbation of glottal vibration, and apparent vocal tract length (VTL) for differentiating people with PD from healthy subjects using two public databases. The parameters were extracted from five sustained phonemes; /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/, recorded from 50 PD patients and 50 healthy subjects of PC-GITA dataset. The features were statistically investigated, and then classified using Support Vector Machine (SVM). This was repeated on Viswanathan dataset with smartphone-based recordings of /a/, /o/, and /m/ of 24 PD and 22 age-matched healthy people. VTL parameters gave the highest difference between voices of people with PD and healthy subjects; classification accuracy with the five vowels of PC-GITA dataset was 84.3% while the accuracy for other features was between 54% and 69.2%. The accuracy for Viswanathan’s dataset was 96.0%. This study has demonstrated that VTL obtained from the recording of phonemes using smartphone can accurately identify people with PD. The analysis was fully computerized and automated, and this has the potential for telehealth diagnosis for PD.

The Role of Whole Body DWI in the Evaluation of Bone Disease in Multiple Myeloma

To explore the characteristics of ADC value changes in DWI of newly diagnosed symptomatic MM patients and its correlation with R-ISS stage. The data of 148 newly diagnosed symptomatic MM patients treated by whole-body DWI scan at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from June 2016 to June 2019 were selected and retrospectively analyzed and 30 cases of age-matched healthy people were selected as controls. The differences of ADC values between the patients in normal control group, DWI- group and DWI+ group were compared, and the relationship between ADC values and R-ISS stage in MM patients was compared. The plasma cell percentage of the patients in DWI+ group was higher than those in DWI- group. ADC values of vertebra, sternum, rib, pectoral girdle, pelvic girdle of the patients in DWI+ group were significantly higher than those in DWI- group and normal control group. The ADC values of each part of the patients in DWI- group were higher than those in normal control group. ADC values of sternum, rib and pectoral girdle in the patients at R-ISS stage III were higher than those at R-ISS stage I and II, while, there was no statistical difference between R-ISS stage I and II groups. And there was no significant difference in ADC values of other bone parts such as vertebra and pelvic girdle in patients at R-ISS stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ. DWI+ in MM patients is related to higher tumor invasion. The ADC values of the DWI+ group are higher than those of the DWI- group; the bone ADC values of the DWI- patients are still higher than the normal ones. And there is a certain relationship between ADC value and R-ISS stage.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor and apolipoprotein A 5, myocardial infarction biomarkers in plasma-derived exosomes

ObjectivesMyocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of death around the world, displays a complex pattern of inheritance. Previously, rare mutations in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) genes and apolipoprotein A V (APOA5) have been shown to contribute to MI risk in individual families. Exosomes provide a potential source of biomarkers for MI. This study is to determine the role of LDLR and APOA5 as biomarkers for early diagnosis of MI. MethodsIn this study, we detected the levels of LDLR, APOA5, and cardiac troponin T in plasma-derived exosomes in MI patients and age-matched healthy people by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and observed the morphology and number of exosomes using transmission electron microscope and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) method was used to induce MI in H9C2 cardiomyocytes to explore the effect of exosomes. ResultsWe found that the levels of LDLR and APOA5 in plasma-derived exosomes in MI patients were significantly decreased. Furthermore, exosomes of MI patients were significantly larger in size and the concentration of exosomes was higher than that of age-matched non-MI people. In vitro experiments showed that OGD treatment induced apoptosis of myocardial cells and decreased the expression of LDLR and APOA5, while addition of exosomes isolated from healthy people rescued these phenotypes. ConclusionExosomal APOA5 and LDLR are intimately associated with MI, and thereby have the potential to function as diagnostic markers of MI.

Assessment of the Kinematic Adaptations in Parkinson's Disease Using the Gait Profile Score: Influences of Trunk Posture, a Pilot Study.

Introduction: Postural abnormalities are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and lead to gait abnormalities. Relationships between changes in the trunk posture of PD patients and gait profile score (GPS) and gait spatiotemporal parameters are poorly investigated. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between trunk posture, GPS, and gait spatiotemporal parameters, in patients with PD. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three people with PD and nineteen age-matched healthy people participated in this study. A 3D gait kinematical analysis was applied to all participants using the Plug-In Gait Full BodyTM tool. Trunk and limb kinematics patterns and gait spatio-temporal parameters of patients with PD and the control group were compared. Additionally, correlations between trunk kinematics patterns, gait spatio-temporal parameters, and GPS of the PD group were tested. Results: Cadence, opposite foot off, step time, single support, double support, foot off, gait speed, trunk kinematics, and GPS showed significant differences between the two groups (p ≤ 0.05). Posture of the trunk during gait was not related to the spatio-temporal parameters and gait profile score in the PD group. The trunk flexor pattern influenced GPS domains, mainly of the ankle and the knee. Discussion and Conclusions: Flexed posture of the trunk in patients with PD seems to influence both ankle and knee movement patterns during the gait. The GPS analysis provided direct and simplified kinematic information for the PD group. These results may have implications for understanding the importance of considering the positioning of the trunk during gait.

LB713 Proteomic identification of new diagnostic biomarkers of early-stage Cutaneous Mycosis Fungoides

Primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is responsible for two-thirds of cutaneous lymphoma cases. Mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common subtype of CTCL comprises approximately 60% of CTCLs. Due to the similar clinical features of MF and inflammatory diseases such as eczema and psoriasis2,3, early-stage MF can easily be misdiagnosed as chronic inflammatory dermatoses, posing a diagnostic challenge to the dermatologist. Early-stage MF is characterized by a favorable prognosis with long-term survival similar to or slightly lower than that of age-matched healthy people, with a 5-year survival between 88% and 100%. In contrast, advanced-stage MF shows aggressive progression, and the median survival time of patients with lymph node and visceral involvement is only 13 months. Therefore, it is important to achieve early diagnosis to improve prognosis, yet there are few specific biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of MF. In this study, we described the pathological features of MF during the early and advanced stages through proteomics technology, providing clues for the pathogenesis of MF as well as biomarkers for malignant tumors in the early stage. More importantly, diagnostic biomarkers of early-stage MF were identified by comparing the proteomic characteristics of early-stage MF and inflammatory diseases, with the goal of preventing delayed therapy due to misdiagnosis.

Five years of cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and CAVI0: how close are we to a pressure-independent index of arterial stiffness?

Pulse wave velocity, a common metric of arterial stiffness, is an established predictor for cardiovascular events and mortality. However, its intrinsic pressure-dependency complicates the discrimination of acute and chronic impacts of increased blood pressure on arterial stiffness. Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) represented a significant step towards the development of a pressure-independent arterial stiffness metric. However, some potential limitations of CAVI might render this arterial stiffness metric less pressure-independent than originally thought. For this reason, we later introduced CAVI0. Nevertheless, advantages of one approach over the other are left debated. This review aims to shed light on the pressure (in)dependency of both CAVI and CAVI0. By critically reviewing results from studies reporting both CAVI and CAVI0 and using simple analytical methods, we show that CAVI0 may enhance the pressure-independent assessment of arterial stiffness, especially in the presence of large inter-individual differences in blood pressure.

There is an impairment in time perception of patients with multiple sclerosis

Objective The objective of this study is to examine time perception impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Method The study was performed with 60 MS patients and 60 age-matched healthy people. Estimation and Production Tests were carried out with a standard personal laptop computer and participants were aware to count the seconds by the ‘start’ command and to stop by the ‘stop’ command. The outcome measure was the ratio between the estimated duration and the target (7 s, 32 s, or 58 s) one for the Estimation Test and the Produced duration and the target (7 s, 32 s, or 58 s) one for the Production Test; and each time duration was repeated three times both for Production and Estimation Tests. Results We found a significant difference in the Estimation Test (7 s, 32 s, 58 s), and the Production Test (7 s, 32 s, 58 s) between the MS group and healthy control group (p < .05). It was observed that patients with MS had a higher deviation from the target time compared to the control group. It was found that this difference was statistically significant (p < .05). There was a high and negative correlation between the Estimation and Production Tests in MS patients. Conclusion In conclusion, our data suggests that time estimation and production are disturbed in MS patients, and cognitive rehabilitation is required for most of them.

Plasma exosomes from endometrial cancer patients contain LGALS3BP to promote endometrial cancer progression.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is a common gynaecological cancer worldwide. Exosomes, secreted by living cells and detected in various body fluids, can exchange information between organs and compartments to affect cellular functions, such as proliferation, apoptosis, migration and angiogenesis. We hypothesise that plasma exosomal contents are altered during cancer progression and promote cancer growth and angiogenesis by delivering biomolecules to cancer and vascular endothelial cells. In this study, circulating exosomes derived from EC patients and age-matched healthy people were acquired by commercial kits. Cell counting kit-8, Transwell and Matrigel tube formation assays showed that circulating exosomes from EC patients promote EC cell growth and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) angiogenesis. Next, proteomic analysis and ELISA revealed that plasma exosomal lectin galactoside-binding soluble 3 binding protein (LGALS3BP) increased during EC progression. Moreover, to explore the function of exosomal LGALS3BP, we acquired exosomes containing high levels of LGALS3BP by overexpressing LGALS3BP in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, and we demonstrated that highly contained exosomal LGALS3BP contributed to EC cell proliferation and migration and HUVEC functions via the activation of the PI3K/AKT/VEGFA signalling pathway both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, high LGALS3BP expression was observed in human EC tissue, which indicated a poor prognosis. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis of human EC tissues revealed that LGALS3BP expression was correlated with VEGFA expression and blood vessel density. Hence, we proposed that plasma exosomes containing LGALS3BP contributed to EC growth and angiogenesis during EC progression, which also provided a novel perspective on EC diagnosis and prognosis.