A survey on the safety of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine among a population with stroke risk in China.

Background: The safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in patients at stroke risk is poorly understood. Methods: A survey was conducted on risk factors related to stroke and adverse reactions to vaccines. The participants were divided into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups, according to the stroke risk scorecard recommended by the Stroke Prevention and Control Engineering Committee of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Factors associated with adverse reactions were analyzed. Reasons for non-vaccination and the aggravation of underlying diseases after vaccination were investigated. Results: 1747 participants participated (138 unvaccinated) and 36.8, 22.1, 41.1% of the vaccinated participants had low, medium, high risk of stroke, respectively. The incidence of adverse reactions after the first and second injection was 16.6, 13.7%, respectively. There was no difference in the incidence of adverse reactions among different risk groups. Sex, vaccine type, sleep quality, worry of adverse reactions, age, and education level were significantly related to adverse reactions to vaccination. The most popular reason for non-vaccination for medium- or high risk-participants was the aggravation of the existing disease. Only 0.3% of vaccinated participants reported slight changes in blood pressure, sugar levels, and lipid levels. No aggravation of stroke sequelae, atrial fibrillation, or transient ischemic attack was reported. Conclusions: Vaccination against COVID-19 (inactive virus) is safe for people at risk of stroke when the existing disease condition is stable. It is suggested to strengthen vaccine knowledge and ensure good sleep before vaccination.

Serum essential trace elements and toxic metals in Chinese diabetic retinopathy patients.

Trace elements are essential for the proper functioning of proteins, enzymes, and transcriptional factors. However, toxic metals will compete with essential trace elements, and damage enzymatic activities and various physiological functions. We aimed to investigate the status of serum essential trace elements and toxic metals in Chinese diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients, and to analyze their associations.This retrospective study included 33 normal subjects (normal group), 44 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) patients with DR (DR group), and 58 T2D patients without DR (diabetes mellitus [DM] group). Serum levels of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), and cesium (Cs), were measured for all participants using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.The serum concentrations of Mn (0.0226 µg/L) and Zn (98.162 µg/L) were significantly lower in DR group, compared with both the DM group and normal group (P < 0.05). In contrast, the serum levels of Cs (0.0354 µg/L) and Cd (0.0149 µg/L) were significantly higher in DR group, compared with the normal group (Cs: z = 3.136, P = .002; Cd: z = 3.766, P < .0001). Similarly, the serum Cs level in the DM group was 0.0323 µg/L, which was significantly higher than that in the normal group (0.0167 µg/L, z = 2.692, P = .007). Moreover, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve values of Mn (0.753 [95% confidence interval, CI 0.635-0.872, P = .002]), and Cd (0.797 [95% CI 0.643-0.952, P = .003]) were significantly greater than those of Zn and Cs, for DR identification.Our results suggest that deficient essential trace elements and accumulated toxic metals were highly associated with the presence of DR.