The homocysteine associated variant rs548987 of SLC17A3 confers susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Chinese population.

Ischemic stroke is a common cause of death due to obstructed blood supply of the brain. Despite growing numbers of research, etiology underlying ischemic stroke remains complex and elusive. Elevated plasma homocysteine has been known as a risk factor for ischemic stroke. Recently, a genome-wide association study reported association between rs548987 of SLC17A3 and homocysteine. Given existing relation between homocysteine and ischemic stroke, SLC17A3 was believed to be a promising candidate gene of ischemic stroke. Indeed, its association with ischemic stroke was previously reported in a western population. Herein, we used rs548987 as a candidate genetic variant of ischemic stroke and performed association analysis in a Chinese population with 918 ischemic stroke cases and 979 controls. Although rs548987 failed to show significant association with total ischemic stroke and large vessel disease subtype, the C allele of rs548987 showed significant association with small vessel disease subtype of ischemic stroke (OR=0.68, p=0.004). Our preliminary results suggested different genetic etiology underlying the two most common subtypes of ischemic stroke and provided additional evidence to understand contribution of homocysteine to the disease.

Secular change in cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition of women: the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate secular change of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition during 35 years in a large sample of women enrolled in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline fitness data collected during preventive medical examination of 13,037 women aged 20 to 64 years evaluated at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas, from January 1, 1970, through December 30, 2004, who underwent a body composition assessment and a maximal treadmill exercise test. Women were stratified by examination year (5 years for each group) and age. Analysis of covariance was used to ascertain secular change of CRF and body composition. RESULTS: Adjusted CRF levels, as indicated by maximal metabolic equivalent or relative maximum oxygen consumption, among women in the cohort increased significantly during a 35-year period for both age groups (P<.001). The greatest change occurred during the 1970s to 1980s, with a small decrease in 2000 through 2004 in both age groups. Adjusted body mass index increased 9.05% during the past 35 years (P<.001), but adjusted percentage of body fat was significantly higher in 1980 through 1984 than in the other groups (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of women, the mean CRF has improved during the past 35 years, with a slight decrease in 2000 through 2004. From 1980 through 2004, the increase in body weight was mainly attributable to the increase in fat-free mass.

Effects of insufficient physical activity on mortality and life expectancy in Jiangxi province of China, 2007-2010.

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity remains an under-researched field in terms of studying burden of disease at provincial level, and no studies have examined the effects of inactivity on life expectancy (LE) in China. The purpose of this study was to estimate mortality risk and LE effects associated with insufficient levels of physical activity in Jiangxi province. METHODS/FINDINGS: Prevalence of risk factors and mortality counts were extracted from Chronic Diseases and Risk Factors Surveillance Survey (CDRFSS) and Disease Surveillance Points system (DSP), respectively. Insufficient physical activity (IPA) was defined as less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 60 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, accumulated across work, home, transport and discretionary domains. Population-attributable fractions (PAF) were used to calculate the mortality attributable to risk factors, and life table methods were used to estimate the LE gains and LE shifts. Monte Carlo simulation techniques were used for uncertainty analysis. Overall, 5 885 (95% uncertainly interval (UI), 5 047-6 506) and 8 578 (95% UI, 8 227-9 789) deaths in Jiangxi province were attributable to IPA in 2007 and 2010, respectively. The LE gains for elimination of attributable deaths were 0.68 (95% UI, 0.61-076) in 2007, and increased to 0.91 (95% UI, 0.81-1.10) in 2010. If the prevalence of IPA in 2010 had been decreased by 50% or 30%, 3 678 (95% UI, 3 220-4 229) or 2 090 (95% UI, 1 771-2 533) deaths would be avoided, and 0.40 (95% UI, 0.34-0.53) or 0.23 (95% UI, 0.16-0.31) years of LE gained, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Adults in Jiangxi province of China have a high and increasing prevalence of IPA. Due to the deaths and potential LE gains associated with IPA, there is an urgent need to promote physical activity, one of the most modifiable risk factors, within China's health care reform agenda.

Elevated serum thymidine kinase 1 predicts risk of pre/early cancerous progression.

BACKGROUND: Serological thymidine kinase 1 (STK1) is a reliable proliferation marker for prognosis, monitoring tumour therapy, relapse and detection of malignancies. In this study we investigate the use of STK1 in health screening. METHODS: The concentration of STK1 was determined by a sensitive dot blot ECL assay in 8,135 persons participating in a health screening program. RESULTS: The frequency of persons with elevated STK1 (<2.0 pM) was 1.1%, representing diseases linked to pre/early cancerous progression. One person with malignancy (gastric carcinoma) was found among persons with elevated STK1, but none of persons with normal STK1 values. There was a significantly higher frequency of persons with moderate/severe type of hyperplasia of breast and prostate expressing elevated STK1, compared to persons with normal STK1 values. No significant difference was found concerning mild hyperplasia. Of persons with elevated STK1, 89.2% had diseases linked to risk for pre/early cancerous progression, compared to 41.2% of persons with normal STK1 values. Among the persons with elevated STK1 values, one developed liver carcinoma after 13 months and five persons showed progression in their disease within 19 months (breast and prostate hyperplasia, HBV infection). CONCLUSION: Serological TK1 may be a reliable marker for risk assessment of pre/early cancerous progression.