Association of COVID-19 patient's condition with fasting blood glucose and body mass index: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2019 and rapidly spread across the globe. Most of the severe and dead cases are middle-aged and elderly patients with chronic systemic diseases. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the association between fasting blood glucose (FPG) and body mass index (BMI) levels in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) under different conditions. METHODS: Experimental-related information (age, gender, BMI, and FPG on the second day of admission) from 86 COVID-19 cases (47 males and 39 females) with an average age of (39 ± 17) years was collected in April and November 2020. These cases were divided into three groups according to the most severe classification of each case determined by the clinical early warning indicators of severe-critically illness, the degree of progression, and the treatment plan shown in the diagnosis and treatment plan of COVID-19 pneumonia. Statistical models were used to analyze the differences in the levels of FPG and BMI, age, and gender among the three groups. RESULTS: 1. Experimental group: 21 patients with asymptomatic or and mild symptoms (group A), 45 patients with common non-progression (group B), and 20 patients with common progression and severe symptoms (group C). 2. The age differences among the three groups were statistically significant and elderly patients had a higher risk of severe disease (t= 4.1404, 3.3933, 9.2123, P= 0.0001, 0.0012, 0.0000). There was a higher proportion of females than males in the normal progression and severe disease cases (χ2= 5.512, P= 0.019). 3. The level of FPG was significantly higher in group C than in group A (t= 3.1655, P= 0.0030) and B (t= 2.0212, P= 0.0475). The number of diabetes or IFG in group C was significantly higher than in group A (χ2= 5.979, P= 0.014) and group B (χ2= 6.088, P= 0.014). 4. BMI was significantly higher in group C than in groups A (t= 3.8839, P= 0.0004) and B (t= 3.8188, P= 0.0003). The number of overweight or obese patients in group C was significantly higher than in groups A (χ2= 8.838, P= 0.003) and B (χ2= 10.794, P= 0.001). 5. Patients' age, gender, and FPG were independent risk factors for COVID-19 disease progression (ß= 0.380, 0.191, 0.186; P= 0.000, 0.034, 0.045). CONCLUSION: The levels of FPG and BMI were significantly increased in the population with common progressive and severe COVID-19. FPG and age are independent risk factors for the progression of COVID-19.

Reliability and Validity of the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Scale in Evaluation of Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Han Population.

Introduction: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and Alzheimer's disease are the most common cognitive impairment diseases in the elderly. This study aimed to apply the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scale to evaluate VCI in elderly patients and analyze its reliability and validity. Methods: We enrolled 278 VCI patients admitted to our hospital, from June 2017 to June 2018. The basic clinical information of each patient was documented, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the RBANS scales were suggested to complete. Results: We found significant correlations between the RBANS total score and age, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and years of education. The internal consistency of the RBANS scale Cronbach αsuggested a good agreement with the total score and the single score at two time points. Moreover, the RBANS total score and the score of each dimension in the RBANS scale were positively correlated with the MMSE immediate memory, calculation ability, delayed memory, commanding ability, reading comprehension ability, command execution, sentence making, and pattern duplicating ability. Conclusion: In conclusion, the RBANS has good reliability and validity for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in elderly VCI patients. It can be used as a routine clinical and research tool, for the simplicity in operation and superior acceptance.

Pipeline Embolization Device for Salvage Treatment of a Willis Covered Stent Prolapse Into the Aneurysmal Sac.

The Willis covered stent (WCS) may prolapse into the aneurysmal sac due to device migration or foreshortening. We present a useful salvage strategy that can reorient a prolapsed WCS into a more suitable alignment. An intra-procedural prolapse of a WCS into a large cavernous aneurysm occurred in a 70-year-old female patient. A pipeline embolization device (PED) was used to retrieve the WCS and successfully accomplish flow diversion. Maintaining proximal access and ensuring that the microwire is securely held within the central axis of the herniated stent are critical until the entire parent vessel can be reconstructed. This salvage technique may help to regain proximal access and reposition the flow diversion constructs following WCS prolapse.

Visual field impairment predicts recurrent stroke after acute posterior circulation stroke and transient ischemic attack.

AIMS: To evaluate whether visual field impairment (VFI) can predict stroke recurrence in patients with vertebral-basilar (VB) stroke. METHODS: A total of 326 patients were eligible for a VFI evaluation within 1 week of stroke onset. One-year follow-up data were obtained after VB stroke and other vascular events. All predictors were determined using Cox regression models. RESULTS: The overall incidence of recurrent VB stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) was 29% (n = 92). After multivariate adjustment, severe and moderate VFI were predictors of recurrent VB stroke and TIA. CONCLUSIONS: VFI is an independent predictor of recurrent VB stroke and TIA.

Association of PON1, P2Y12 and COX1 with Recurrent Ischemic Events in Patients with Extracranial or Intracranial Stenting.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Short-term combined use of clopidogrel and aspirin improves cerebrovascular outcomes in patients with symptomatic extracranial or intracranial stenosis. Antiplatelet non-responsiveness is related to recurrent ischemic events, but the culprit genetic variants responsible for the non-responsiveness have not been well studied. We aimed to identify the genetic variants associated with poor clinical outcomes. METHODS: Patients with symptomatic extracranial or intracranial stenosis scheduled for stenting and receiving dual antiplatelets (clopidogrel 75 mg and aspirin 100 mg daily) for at least 5 days before intervention were enrolled. Ischemic events including recurrent transient ischemic attack, stroke, myocardial infarction, and vascular-related mortality within 12 months follow-up were recorded. We examined the influence of genetic polymorphisms on treatment outcome in our patients. RESULTS: A total of 268 patients were enrolled into our study and ischemic events were observed in 39 patients. For rs662 of paraoxonase 1 (PON1), allele C was associated with an increased risk of ischemic events (OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.03-2.62, P = 0.029). The A-allele carriers of rs2046934 of P2Y12 had a significant association with adverse events (OR = 2.01, 95%CI = 1.10-3.67, P = 0.041). The variant T-allele of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX1) rs1330344 significantly increased the risk of recurrent clinical events (OR = 1.85, 95%CI = 1.12-3.03, P = 0.017). The other single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) had no association with ischemic events. CONCLUSIONS: PON1, P2Y12 and COX1 polymorphisms were associated with poorer vascular outcomes. Testing for these polymorphisms may be valuable in the identification of patients at risk for recurrent ischemic events.

Salidroside attenuates beta amyloid-induced cognitive deficits via modulating oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators in rat hippocampus.

Beta amyloid (Aß)-induced oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in the brain are considered to be responsible for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Salidroside, the major active ingredient of Rhodiola crenulata, has been previously shown to have antioxidant and neuroprotective properties in vitro. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of salidroside on Aß-induced cognitive impairment in vivo. Rats received intrahippocampal Aß1-40 injection were treated with salidroside (25, 50 and 75 mg/kg p.o.) once daily for 21 days. Learning and memory performance were assessed in the Morris water maze (days 17-21). After behavioral testing, the rats were sacrificed and hippocampi were removed for biochemical assays (reactive oxygen species (ROS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), acetylcholine (ACh)) and molecular biological analysis (Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, GPx, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), inhibitor of κB-alpha (IκBα), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)). Our results confirmed that Aß1-40 peptide caused learning and memory deficits in rats. Further analysis demonstrated that the NADPH oxidase-mediated oxidative stress was increased in Aß1-40-injected rats. Furthermore, NF-κB was demonstrated to be activated in Aß1-40-injected rats, and the COX-2, iNOS and RAGE expression were also induced by Aß1-40. However, salidroside (50 and 75 mg/kg p.o.) reversed all the former alterations. Thus, the study indicates that salidroside may have a protective effect against AD via modulating oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators.