Efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure on subcutaneous adipose tissue in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: It remains inconclusive whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy can significantly reduce subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to evaluate the impact of CPAP treatment on SAT in patients with OSA. METHODS: We searched Pubmed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase for RCTs, which investigated the effectiveness of CPAP treatment in reducing SAT among patients with OSA. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we extracted information on the study and patient characteristics, and pre- and post-CPAP measures of SAT. We then calculated the overall effects using the standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 5 RCTs (comprising 153 patients) met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. We found that the SAT did not change before and after CPAP treatment in patients with OSA (SMD = - 0.02, 95% CI - 0.25 to 0.2, z = 0.19, p = 0.85). Subgroup analyses indicated that the outcome was not affected by age, CPAP therapy duration, baseline body mass index, and measure utilized. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis of RCTs suggests that CPAP therapy does not significantly decrease the level of SAT among patients with OSA. Further large-scale, and high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to better address this issue.

Comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs in mice with kidney injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia.

Background: miRNAs have been reported to participate in various diseases. Nevertheless, the expression patterns of miRNA in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)-induced kidney injury remain poorly characterized. In the current study, miRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) was conducted to investigate miRNA expression profiles in a chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH)-induced renal injury mouse model. Methods: The mouse model of chronic intermittent hypoxia was established. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) were detected using miRNA-seq technology. The sequencing data were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses using a bioinformatics approach. RT-qPCR was further used to evaluate the sequencing results. Finally, we created a network for clarifying the relationship between the miRNAs and target genes. Results: In total, nine miRNAs were identified to be upregulated and nine to be downregulated in a mouse model of renal injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that the Wnt signaling pathway was involved in the development of chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced renal injury. Subsequently, eight DEmiRs, namely, mmu-miR-486b-3p, mmu-miR-215-5p, mmu-miR-212-3p, mmu-miR-344-3p, mmu-miR-181b-1-3p, mmu-miR-467a-3p, mmu-miR-467 d-3p, and mmu-miR-96-5p, showed a similar trend of expression when verified using RT-qPCR. Finally, five selected DEmiRs were used to construct a miRNA-mRNA network. Conclusion: In conclusion, a total of 18 DEmiRs were identified in the mouse model of chronic intermittent hypoxia-induced renal injury. These findings advance our understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea-associated chronic kidney disease.

Clinical efficacy and safety of robot assisted surgery for choledochal cysts excisions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and therapeutic effect of Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) for choledochal cysts (CCs) excisions. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM were searched from database inception to 1 May 2022. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) was used to conduct quality assessments, and RevMan (Version 5.4) was used to perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: In all, 9 studies, involving 623 patients, were analyzed. RAS compared with LAS was associated with less intraoperative blood loss, shorter time to start solid diets, shorter postoperative hospital stay, and lower complications. There was no significant difference in operative time between the two groups, but the total costs were higher in RAS. Our subgroup analysis showed that RAS had significant advantages over LAS in the child group: minor bleeding, shorter length of hospital stay, and fewer postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence indicates that the RAS system has the advantages of less intraoperative blood loss, minor tissue damage, quick recovery, and sound healing in treating choledochal cyst, which proves that the RAS is safely feasible. Especially in children, RAS tends to be a better choice.

Effect of interfering IGF-1R by siRNA on cell cycle and apoptosis of hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@# Objective: To explore the effect of interfering insulin-like growth factors-1 receptors (IGF-1R) by small interfering RNA (siRNA) on cell cycle and apoptosis of hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Methods: The hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma model was established via cobalt chloride treatment. Three siRNAs targeting IGF1R gene and one negative control siRNA were designed and synthesized. They were transfected into hypoxic HepG2 cells, and 24 h later, the transfection efficiency was detected by fluorescent microscopy. The protein expression of IFG-1R was detected with Western blotting (WB) to screen the siRNA with highest transfection efficacy. The selected siRNA was used to transfect hypoxic HepG2 cells. The proliferation of hypoxic HepG2 cells was determined by MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by Flow cytometry. WB was performed to detect the proteinexpressionsofCDK1,CDK2andCaspase-3inHepG2cells. Results: The hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma model was successfully established. IGF-1R-siRNA-2 showed the most effective interference efficiency and the most significant knockdown of IGF-1R (all P<0.01). The proliferation of HepG2 cells transfected with IGF-1R siRNA-2 was significantly suppressed (P<0.05 or P<0.01), the cell cycle was blocked at G0/G1 phase (P<0.05), and the apoptosis rate was increased up to (25.3±1.3)% P<0.01). In the meanwhile, the expressions of CDK1 and CDK2 were decreased and the expression of Caspase-3 was increased in hypoxic HepG2 cells after IGF-1R knockdown (P<0.05). Conclusion: Interfering IGF-1R by siRNA inhibits the malignant biological behaviors of hypoxic HepG2 cells via regulating cell cycle and apoptosis-related proteins. IGF-1R may be a potential target for the treatment of HCC.