Metabolic syndrome and its components with neuron-specific enolase: a cross-sectional study in large health check-up population in China

Rethinking weight loss treatments as cardiovascular medicine in obesity, a comprehensive review

The global escalation of obesity has made it a worldwide health concern, notably as a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Extensive evidence corroborates its association with a range of cardiac complications, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and heightened vulnerability to sudden cardiac events. Additionally, obesity contributes to the emergence of other cardiovascular risk factors including dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and sleep disorders, further amplifying the predisposition to CVD. To adequately address CVD in patients with obesity, it is crucial to first understand the pathophysiology underlying this link. We herein explore these intricate mechanisms, including adipose tissue dysfunction, chronic inflammation, immune system dysregulation, and alterations in the gut microbiome.Recent guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology underscore the pivotal role of diagnosing and treating obesity to prevent CVD. However, the intricate relationship between obesity and CVD poses significant challenges in clinical practice: the presence of obesity can impede accurate CVD diagnosis while optimizing the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments or cardiac procedures requires meticulous adjustment, and it is crucial that cardiologists acknowledge the implications of excessive weight while striving to enhance outcomes for the vulnerable population affected by obesity. We, therefore, sought to overcome controversial aspects in the clinical management of heart disease in patients with overweight/obesity and present evidence on cardiometabolic outcomes associated with currently available weight management interventions, with the objective of equipping clinicians with an evidence-based approach to recognize and address CVD risks associated with obesity.

Relationship between Neuron-specific Enolase Serum Levels with Lesion Volume and Clinical Outcome in Acute Stroke Patients

BACKGROUND: Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is released in the cerebrospinal fluid and bloodstream in response to brain damage. Serum NSE levels can be used as a marker of brain nerve cells either in ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, associated with lesion volume and functional outcome. AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between NSE serum level with lesion volume and functional outcome in acute stroke patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 29 patients with ischemic stroke and 29 hemorrhagic strokes admitted to Haji Adam General Hospital. All the subjects were assessed with the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, modified Rankin scale (mRS), and assessment of lesion volume. RESULTS: Subjects consist of 27 male (46.4%) and 31 female (53.4%), with mean age of 61.67 ± 12.26 years. The mean serum NSE levels in stroke patients were 19.79 ± 8.88 ng/ml and lesion volume was 25.09 ± 24.52 ml. There was a significant positive correlation of increase in serum NSE levels with infarct volume (r = 0.863 and p < 0.001) and hemorrhagic volume (r = 0.644 and p < 0.001) and clinical outcome assessed by NIHSS score (r = 0.761 and p < 0.001) and mRS score (r = 0.762 and p < 0.001) in ischemic stroke and NIHSS score (r = 0.525 and p = 0.003), and mRS score (r = 0.468 and p = 0.010) in hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSION: High NSE serum levels in the acute phase were associated with lesion volume and poor outcomes in stroke patients.

A Stress Syndrome Prototype Reflects Type 3 Diabetes and Ischemic Stroke Risk: The SABPA Study

Type 3 diabetes (T3D) accurately reflects that dementia, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, represents insulin resistance and neurodegeneration in the brain. Similar retinal microvascular changes were observed in Alzheimer's and chronic stressed individuals. Hence, we aimed to show that chronic stress relates to T3D dementia signs and retinopathy, ultimately comprising a Stress syndrome prototype reflecting risk for T3D and stroke. A chronic stress and stroke risk phenotype (Stressed) score, independent of age, race or gender, was applied to stratify participants (N = 264; aged 44 ± 9 years) into high stress risk (Stressed, N = 159) and low stress risk (non-Stressed, N = 105) groups. We determined insulin resistance using the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR), which is interchangeable with T3D, and dementia risk markers (cognitive executive functioning (cognitiveexe-func); telomere length; waist circumference (WC), neuronal glia injury; neuron-specific enolase/NSE, S100B). Retinopathy was determined in the mydriatic eye. The Stressed group had greater incidence of HOMA-IR in the upper quartile (≥5), larger WC, poorer cognitiveexe-func control, shorter telomeres, consistently raised neuronal glia injury, fewer retinal arteries, narrower arteries, wider veins and a larger optic cup/disc ratio (C/D) compared to the non-Stressed group. Furthermore, of the stroke risk markers, arterial narrowing was related to glaucoma risk with a greater C/D, whilst retinal vein widening was related to HOMA-IR, poor cognitiveexe-func control and neuronal glia injury (Adjusted R2 0.30; p ≤ 0.05). These associations were not evident in the non-Stressed group. Logistic regression associations between the Stressed phenotype and four dementia risk markers (cognitiveexe-func, telomere length, NSE and WC) comprised a Stress syndrome prototype (area under the curve 0.80; sensitivity/specificity 85%/58%; p ≤ 0.001). The Stress syndrome prototype reflected risk for HOMA-IR (odds ratio (OR) 7.72) and retinal glia ischemia (OR 1.27) and vein widening (OR 1.03). The Stressed phenotype was associated with neuronal glia injury and retinal ischemia, potentiating glaucoma risk. The detrimental effect of chronic stress exemplified a Stress syndrome prototype reflecting risk for type 3 diabetes, neurodegeneration and ischemic stroke.

Expression patterns and clinical significances of ENO2 in lung cancer: an analysis based on Oncomine database

Background

Lung cancer is a heterogeneous malignant tumor involving more than 50 histological subtypes. Currently, molecularly targeted drugs have been shown to have promising applications in the clinical treatment of lung cancer. This study aims to explore the expression patterns and prognostic potential of enolase 2 (ENO2) in lung cancer.

Methods

Differential expressions of ENO2 in lung cancer cases were analyzed using the Oncomine database. Meanwhile, the prognostic potentials of ENO2 in lung cancer were assessed by deploying the Kaplan-Meier plotter database.

Results

Forty-one studies reported a significant difference in ENO2 expression between tumors and the normal healthy control tissues. Among all the studies, there was an upregulation of ENO2 in 29 studies, and downregulation in 12 studies. 9/41 studies revealed upregulated ENO2 in distinct types of tumor tissues, including cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, sarcoma, and lung cancer. Furthermore, upregulated ENO2 was identified in 365 cases of lung cancer (P<0.05). By analyzing the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database, the ENO2 level was negatively correlated to the overall survival of lung cancer patients (P<0.05). Subsequently, subgroup analysis revealed that the prognostic potential of ENO2 was much more pronounced in lung adenocarcinoma patients (P<0.05).

Conclusions

ENO2 is upregulated in lung cancer tissues and linked to the prognosis. It can be used as a therapeutic target for developing lung cancer drugs.