Prediction of cerebral infarction after bypass surgery in adult moyamoya disease: using pulsatility index on TCD.

BACKGROUND: At present, the most effective treatment for symptomatic moyamoya disease (MMD) is surgery. However, the high incidence of postoperative complications is a serious problem plaguing the surgical treatment of MMD, especially the acute cerebral infarction. Decreased cerebrovascular reserve is an independent risk factor for ischemic infarction, and the pulsatility index (PI) of transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a common intuitive index for evaluating intracranial vascular compliance. However, the relationship between PI and the occurrence of ischemic stroke after operation is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the PI in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) could serve as a potential predictor for the occurrence of ischemic infarction after bypass surgery in MMD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 71 patients who underwent combined revascularization surgery, including superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis and encephalo-duro-myo-synangiosis (EDMS). The patients were divided into two groups according to the median of ipsilateral MCA-PI before operation, low PI group (MCA-PI < 0.614) and high PI group (MCA-PI ≥ 0.614). Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to explore risk factors affecting the occurrence of postoperative cerebral infarction. RESULTS: Among the 71 patients with moyamoya disease, 11 patients had cerebral infarction within one week after revascularization. Among them, 10 patients' ipsilateral MCA-PI were less than 0.614, and another one's MCA- PI is higher than 0.614. Univariate analysis showed that the lower ipsilateral MCA-PI (0.448 ± 0.109 vs. 0.637 ± 0.124; P = 0.001) and higher Suzuki stage (P = 0.025) were linked to postoperative cerebral infarction. Multivariate analysis revealed that lower ipsilateral MCA-PI was an independent risk factor for predicting postoperative cerebral infarction (adjusted OR = 14.063; 95% CI = 6.265 ~ 37.308; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: A lower PI in the ipsilateral MCA may predict the cerebral infarction after combined revascularization surgery with high specificity. And combined revascularization appears to be safer for the moyamoya patients in early stages.

The efficacy of STA-MCA double anastomosis comparing to single anastomosis in chronic internal carotid artery occlusion patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of STA-MCA double-anastomosis and single-anastomosis in patients with cerebral hypoperfusion caused by chronic internal carotid artery occlusion(CICAO). METHODS: In this retrospective study, data were collected from 19 patients with CICAO who underwent STA-MCA anastomosis at our hospital between January 2016 and January 2022, and they were divided into single anastomosis group and double anastomosis group according to the surgical method. The study collected general clinical data from both groups, including age, sex, lipid levels, blood pressure, glucose levels, smoking and alcohol consumption. Additionally, pre- and postoperative neurological function, cerebral hemodynamic parameters, and postoperative ischemic events were also recorded. By combining our study findings with the existing literature, a comparative analysis of the efficacy of single- and double-anastomosis in patients with CICAO was conducted. RESULTS: Prior to surgical treatment，there were no statistically significant differences in cerebral hemodynamic parameters, including rob (0.65 ± 0.09 VS. 0.62 ± 0.04), rut (1.73 ± 0.40 VS. 1.99 ± 0.53), and rTMax (2.02 ± 0.49 VS. 1.72 ± 0.46), as well as neurofunctional scores, including modified Rankin Scale (MRS) (2.8 ± 1.03 VS. 2.4 ± 0.88) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (9.1 ± 5.08 VS. 8.3 ± 4.09) between the two groups. After operation, rCBF (single: 0.65 ± 0.09 VS.0.84 ± 0.08, p = 0.007; double: 0.62 ± 0.04 VS.1.08 ± 0.20, p = 0.001) were significantly increased in both groups, but the rMTT (1.99 ± 0.53 VS.1.27 ± 0.42, p = 0.0447) and rTMax (1.72 ± 0.46 VS.1.16 ± 0.16, p = 0.038) showed significant differences postoperatively only in the double-anastomosis group. The MRS (single: 1.8 ± 1.23, double: 1.7 ± 0.9) in both groups and the NIHSS (7.2 ± 5.11) in single-anastomosis group were not improved after surgery, while the NIHSS (8.3 ± 4.09 VS.4.4 ± 3.08, p = 0.037) in double-anastomosis group was improve significantly. In summary, the double-anastomosis group showed better improvement in rCBF and NIHSS scores compared to the single-anastomosis group.(ΔrCBF: 0.19±0.09 VS. 0.45±0.18, p=0.02, ΔNIHSS: 1.9±0.56 VS. 4±1.73, p=0.002). The cases were followed up for 20.3 ± 18.6 months, and there were no ischemic events in either group during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: STA-MCA revascularization can improve CBF in patients with hypoperfusion caused by CICAO, and prevent the reoccurrence of ischemic stroke effectively. Compared with single-anastomosis, double-anastomosis can provide more CBF and improve neurologic dysfunction.

Construction and Validation of a Protein-associated Prognostic Model for Gastrointestinal Cancer.

Background Gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) is a prevalent and lethal malignant tumor. It is obligatory to investigate innovative biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis. Proteins play a crucial role in regulating the occurrence and progression of GIC. However, the prognostic value of proteins is unclear in GIC. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to identify the hub prognosis-related proteins (PAPs) and construct a prognosis model for GIC patients for clinical application. METHODS: Protein expression data of GIC was obtained from The Cancer Proteome Atlas (TCPA) and downloaded the clinicopathological data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Besides, hub proteins were filtrated via univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Moreover, survival analysis and nomogram were used to predict overall survival (OS). We used the calibration curves to assess the consistency of predictive and actual survival rates. The consistency index (C-index) was used to evaluate the prognostic ability of the predictive model. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis and protein co-expression of PAPs were used to explore their roles in GIC. RESULTS: Finally, a prognosis model was conducted based on ten PAPs (CYCLIND1, DVL3, NCADHERIN, SYK, ANNEXIN VII, CD20, CMET, RB, TFRC, and PREX1). The risk score calculated by the model was an independent prognostic predictor. Compared with the high-risk subgroup, the low-risk subgroup had better OS. In the TCGA cohort, the area under the curve value of the receiver operating characteristic curve of the prognostic model was 0.692. The expression of proteins and risk score had a significant association with the clinicopathological characteristics of GIC. Besides, a nomogram based on GIC clinicopathological features and risk scores could properly predict the OS of individual GIC patients. The C-index is 0.71 in the TCGA cohort and 0.73 in the GEO cohort. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the risk score is an independent prognostic biomarker and is related to the malignant clinical features of GIC patients. Besides, several PAPs associated with the survival and clinicopathological characteristics of GIC might be potential biomarkers for GIC diagnosis and treatment.

Nephropathy 1st inhibits renal fibrosis by activating the PPARγ signaling pathway.

Renal fibrosis is a manifestation of kidney injury. Nephropathy 1st is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used as a therapy for kidney disease, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of Nephropathy 1st on the progression of kidney disease. In the present study, unilateral ureteral obstruction was performed to establish the renal fibrosis rat model. By hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining analysis, the severity of renal fibrosis was evaluated in vivo. Serum creatinine (CREA) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured by ELISA. The expression levels of Col-I, FN, PPARγ, and Klotho were measured by Western blot in rat NRK-49F cells and in fibrotic rats. GW9662 was used to inhibit PPARγ signaling. Metabonomic analysis showed metabolic differences among groups. Nephropathy 1st administration alleviated the progression of rat renal fibrosis and reduced serum creatinine (Scr) and BUN levels. Mechanistically, Nephropathy 1st promoted the expression of PPARγ and thus activated PPARγ signaling, thereby reducing the pro-fibrotic phenotypes of fibroblasts. The therapeutic effect of Nephropathy 1st was abrogated by the PPARγ inhibitor GW9662. Moreover, Nephropathy 1st normalized the dysregulated lipid metabolism in renal fibrosis rats. In conclusion, Nephropathy 1st alleviates renal fibrosis development in a PPARγ-dependent manner.

Metabolism-associated genes in occurrence and development of gastrointestinal cancer: Latest progress and future prospect.

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. The occurrence and progression of GI cancer involve multiple events. Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer and is intricately related to tumorigenesis. Many metabolic genes are involved in the occurrence and development of GI cancer. Research approaches combining tumor genomics and metabolomics are more likely to provide deeper insights into this field. In this paper, we review the roles of metabolism-associated genes, especially those involved in the regulation pathways, in the occurrence and progression of GI cancer. We provide the latest progress and future prospect into the different molecular mechanisms of metabolism-associated genes involved in the occurrence and development of GI cancer.