[Advances in clinical significance and detection methods research of high density lipoprotein subfractions]

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is an important biochemical index of clinical cardiovascular disease. Many new studies have demonstrated abnormalities of plasma HDL subfractions in patients with this disease,and their clinical significance is greater than the overall abnormalities of HDL. Therefore,the HDL subfraction as an important factor in cardiovascular disease has attracted extensive research and attention. This article summarizes current research on HDL subfractions,their measurements and their relationships with atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.

Association between Accelerometer-Measured Light-Intensity Physical Activity and Cognitive Function in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate whether accelerometer-measured light physical activity (LPA) is associated with cognitive function and whether engaging in ≥3 h/day of LPA can reduce the chance of cognitive impairment among a sample of older adults in Taiwan.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

An outpatient department in a medical center.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older who were able to walk independently from September 2020 to March 2021.

MEASUREMENTS

A tri-axial accelerometer was used to measure LPA for 7 consecutive days, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale was used to assess the chance of cognitive impairment. Multiple linear regression model and binary logistic regression model were performed to examine the association between LPA and MMSE scores.

RESULTS

145 older Taiwanese adults (51.7% men; 81.2±6.8 years; 6.9% at chance of cognitive impairment) were included. After adjusting for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and wear time, we found that there was a significant association between LPA and cognitive function (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64-1.65; P<0.001), and further found that those who engaged in LPA ≥3 h/day were at reduced chance of cognitive impairment compared with people who engaged in LPA <3 h/day (odds ratio [OR]: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.03-0.80; P=0.025).

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that engaging in LPA ≥3 h/day could be viewed as a protective factor for maintaining cognitive function in older adults. We recommend further longitudinal research to elucidate the association between intensity-specific LPA and cognitive function.

[The analyze the epidemic trend and predict the incidence trend of occupational diseases in Guangdong province]

Objective: This study was aimed to analyze the epidemic trend and predict the incidence trend of occupational diseases during 2006-2015 in Guangdong province, which may provide the theoretical foundation for occupational disease risk assessment and precise control and prevention. Methods: We analyzed the number of reported occupational disease cases, the constituent ratio, the average age and working-age of patients. We also performed the linear-by-linear association test of new incidence, median age and median working-age by curve-fitting method, of which the diagnostic year was set as the independent variable. Meanwhile, we designed an ARIMA model to predict the variation tendency of occupational diseases in 2017-2020. Results: (1) During 2006-2015, the total reported cases of occupational disease is 5289, including 2101 cases of occupational pneumoconiosis (39.7%) , 1363 cases of occupational poisoning (25.8%) , and 864 cases of occupational otolaryngological and stomatological disease (16.3%) . (2) The number of occupational diseases and pneumoconiosis have a straight upward trend (R(2)=0.851, R(2)=0.856) , while the number of occupational otolaryngological and stomatological disease and occupational tumor have a exponential trend (R(2)=0.914, R(2)=0.696) . The constituent ratio of occupational poisoning is decreasing, and the constituent ratio of occupational otolaryngological and stomatological disease is increasing. (3) The average onset age is 40 (33, 46) years old, and the average onset working-age is 6 (3, 11) years. Both of them have a straight upward trend (R(2)=0.954、R(2)=0.792) . The onset age of pneumoconiosis, occupational poisoning and occupational otolaryngological and stomatological disease have a upward trend. In addition, the onset working-age of occupational poisoning and pneumoconiosis have a upward trend. (4) The number of occupational diseases in 2017-2020 is predicted to be between 902-1231. Conclusion: Occupational diseases in Guangdong province showed a trend of high incidence. The age and working-age of occupational diseases showed an extended trend. Therefore, our work of occupational epidemic trend may provide some bases for the occupational disease risk assessment and precise control and prevention.

Aliskiren attenuates proteinuria in mice with lupus nephritis by a blood pressure-independent mechanism

This study revealed that low-dose aliskiren treatment could attenuate proteinuria by interrupting the renin-angiotensin system in mice with lupus nephritis, and the beneficial effect was beyond blood pressure control. An in and ex vivo fluorescence imaging (using a non-invasion in vivo imaging system) showed intense labeling of renin in the kidneys of female MRL/lpr mice. In the study, Alzet mini-osmotic pumps were implanted into 6-week-old female MRL/lpr mice. Pumps were filled with either phosphate-buffered saline or a solution of aliskiren dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline (20 mg/kg/day) and replaced at 28-day intervals. Mice were sacrificed at four and eight weeks. To label cells for DNA synthesis, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally an hour prior to sacrifice. The level of renin inhibition was adequate, as aliskiren-treated mice demonstrated higher renal renin mRNA expression than controls (p < 0.05). Although there were no significant differences in the systolic blood pressure (control versus aliskiren-treated: 127.20 ± 4.44 mmHg versus 103.80 ± 7.40 mmHg, p > 0.05) and heart rate (control versus aliskiren-treated: 680.50 ± 11.71 versus 647.80 ± 13.90, p > 0.05) of both groups after eight weeks, there was significant reduction of inflammatory cytokines (transforming growth factor-beta1, regulated on activation normal T cell expressed, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and osteopontin, p < 0.05), reduction of innate immunity (toll-like receptor 7, p < 0.05), as well as a reduction of glomerular proliferation and inflammation (BrdU-, CD45-, CD3- and F4/80-positive glomerular cells, p < 0.01) after aliskiren infusion, which might translate into an improvement in proteinuria (control versus aliskiren-treated: 493.7 versus 843.7 mg/g, p < 0.01) or weight gain (control versus aliskiren-treated: 5.65 ± 1.61 versus 8.67 ± 0.97%, p < 0.05).

Relationship between serum uric acid and cerebral white matter lesions in the elderly

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Recent evidence suggests that hyperuricemia might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular risk factors are well recognized to be associated with cerebral white matter lesion (WML). We hypothesized that hyperuricemia is related to higher grade of WML in both men and women.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 108 men and 123 women were enrolled from those who signed up for the annual Health Examination for the Elderly Program in Taipei from 2006 to 2008. Information in interview data, clinical and laboratory examinations were collected. Hyperuricemia was defined by uric acid ≥458.0 μmol/L in men and ≥392.6 μmol/L in women. Two types of WML including periventricular hyper-intensity (PVH) and deep white matter hyper-intensity (DWMH), ascertained by cranial magnetic resonance imaging, were graded. Association between hyperuricemia and high grade WML was evaluated by using multiple logistic regression analysis. The prevalences of hyperuricemia were 13.9% and 17.9% for men and women, respectively. The prevalences of moderate-to-severe PVH among men and women were 16.7% and 7.3%; while the prevalences of moderate-to-severe DWMH for men and women were 19.4% and 11.4%, respectively. Hyperuricemia was related to moderate-to-severe DWMH in men, after controlling for age, education years, smoking, alcohol consumption, metabolic Z score, silent infarct, and the use of anti-hypertensives, lipid-lowering and anti-diabetic agents, the association remained significant. The relationship was not evident among women. We did not find an association between hyperuricemia and PVH.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperuricemia was positively associated with high grade DWMH in older men, but not in women.

Elevated serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate level correlates with increased risk for metabolic syndrome in the elderly men

BACKGROUND

The previous studies regarding the association between endogenous dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) sulphate level and metabolic syndrome are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate such relationship in elderly Taiwanese men.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Five hundred and eighty-five elderly Taiwanese men (mean age 68.7 +/- 8.3 years) were enrolled as the baseline cohort population in 2000. In addition to a questionnaire, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, lipids, albumin and serum DHEA-S levels were measured for each participant. Metabolic syndrome was based on the definition by the America Heart Association/National Heart Lung Blood Institute.

RESULTS

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 33.3%. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses with adjustments for age, smoking, alcohol, physical activities, albumin and BMI, there was a positive relationship between serum DHEA-S level and metabolic syndrome. The highest DHEA-S quartile group had increased risk for metabolic syndrome (odds ratio = 2.68, 95% confidence interval: 1.44-5.01, P < 0.01) compared with the lowest quartile group. The mean serum DHEA-S level increased with increasing number of metabolic syndrome components.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increases with elevated DHEA-S levels among elderly Taiwanese men. Thus, elevated serum DHEA-S level should be treated as an important risk factor for metabolic syndrome in elderly men.

The metabolic syndrome increases cardiovascular mortality in Taiwanese elderly

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is high among the elderly. However, evidence that mortality increases with MetS is rare. In this study, we investigated the relationship between MetS, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all cause mortality in the elderly.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total 10 547 participants, aged 65 years and older, of baseline cohort were recruited from four nationwide Health Screening Centres in Taiwan from 1998 to 1999. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the America Heart Association/National Heart Lung Blood Institute definition. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) of CVD and all cause mortality for those with MetS for up to 8 years of follow-up.

RESULTS

The baseline prevalence of MetS was 50.1% (45.6% in men and 54.4% in women, respectively). A total of 1312 participants died; of these, 300 participants died from CVD. Adjusted for age, gender, smoking, total cholesterol and estimated glomerular filtration rate, the RRs for CVD and all cause mortality among participants with MetS were 1.48 (95% confidence interval = 1.16-1.90) and 1.16 (1.03-1.30), respectively, for participants compared to those without MetS. The mean RRs for CVD, however, ranged from 1.21 to 5.31 among different combinations of MetS components.

CONCLUSION

The elderly with MetS, compared to those without MetS, had a higher CVD and all cause mortality in Taiwan. Furthermore, different combinations of MetS components posed different risks to the mortality, which deserves further research in the future.

Nadph-diaphorase activity in corpus allatum cells of the cockroach, Diploptera punctata

Using the fixation insensitive NADPH-diaphorase reaction as a histochemical marker for the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS), we investigated the possible sites of putatively NOS-related NADPH-diaphorase in the brain and retrocerebral complex of the cockroach, Diploptera punctata. In the cerebral ganglion, NADPH-diaphorase expression was localized in antennal lobes, optic lobes, mushroom bodies and neurosecretory cells. The highest NADPH activity was detected in the corpora allata (CA). Spectrophotometric quantitation indicated that NADPH-diaphorase activity first increased and then decreased (cycled) in the CA of mated females. In addition, during the first ovarian cycle, NADPH-diaphorase activity fluctuated concurrently with cyclic changes in the size of corpus allatum cells. In virgin females, NADPH-diaphorase activity remained at a low level, but it increased if the neural connectives between CA and brain were severed, indicating that the brain inhibited NADPH-diaphorase expression in the CA. Although nerve terminals were abundant in the CA, NADPH-diaphorase was clearly endogenous and synthesized by glandular cells, as was shown by histochemical staining of the cytosol in all dissociated cells of the CA. We have also demonstrated NADPH-diaphorase activity in the CA of the American cockroach Periplaneta americana, the house cricket Acheta domesticus, the lepidopteran Leucania loreyi, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting that NOS occurs in the CA of most, if not all insects. It is therefore possible that corpus allatum cells release NO, along with juvenile hormone, which presumably can function as a messenger molecule.

[Destruction of NA innervation in the rat hippocampus resists the hypoxia-induced corticosterone secretion]

With microinjection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the ventral hippocampus (VHIP) of rats, the effect of 6-OHDA lesion of hippocampal noradrenergic system on the plasma corticosterone (CS) response to acute hypoxia was investigated. It was found that the plasma CS response to inhalation of 10.4% O2 (30 min) was increased markedly; while the plasma CS level and the noradrenaline (NA) contents in hippocampus were decreased (-33.2% and -38.5%, respectively) 2 weeks after microinfusion of 6-OHDA (8 micrograms/2 microliters) into VHIP; however, the CS response to acute hypoxia was unaffected by 6-OHDA lesion of VHIP. The results above suggest that NA in hippocampus may participate in the regulation of the hypoxia-induced increase of plasma CS concentration in rats.