Photophobia and Visual Triggers in Vestibular Migraine.

INTRODUCTION: Vestibular migraine (VM) is a prevalent vestibular disorder characterized by episodic vertigo. However, the relationship between photophobia and visual triggers in VM remains unexplored. We investigated the correlation of photophobia during the VM attack with interictal photosensitivity and visually triggering dizziness in patients with VM. METHODS: We enrolled patients diagnosed with VM, with or without photophobia, across seven specialized vertigo and headache clinics in China. Healthy individuals were also included as a control group. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected data related to light intensity and dizziness frequency triggered by flicker, glare, and eyestrain using the Headache Triggers Sensitivity and Avoidance Questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 366 patients were recruited. The photosensitivity and frequency of dizziness induced by flicker, glare, and eyestrain observed in patients with VM and photophobia were significantly elevated compared with those in patients without photophobia and control participants (P < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was observed between photosensitivity levels and dizziness frequency triggered by flicker, glare, and eyestrain in patients with VM and photophobia (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study unequivocally established a positive association of ictal photophobia with interictal photosensitivity and visually triggering dizziness, strongly advocating the need for further research on exposure-based therapies for managing VM. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier, NCT04939922, retrospectively registered, 14th June 2021.

Mitochondria Transplantation from Stem Cells for Mitigating Sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is defined as the age-related loss of muscle mass and function that can lead to prolonged hospital stays and decreased independence. It is a significant health and financial burden for individuals, families, and society as a whole. The accumulation of damaged mitochondria in skeletal muscle contributes to the degeneration of muscles with age. Currently, the treatment of sarcopenia is limited to improving nutrition and physical activity. Studying effective methods to alleviate and treat sarcopenia to improve the quality of life and lifespan of older people is a growing area of interest in geriatric medicine. Therapies targeting mitochondria and restoring mitochondrial function are promising treatment strategies. This article provides an overview of stem cell transplantation for sarcopenia, including the mitochondrial delivery pathway and the protective role of stem cells. It also highlights recent advances in preclinical and clinical research on sarcopenia and presents a new treatment method involving stem cell-derived mitochondrial transplantation, outlining its advantages and challenges.

Positive Relationship Between Paroxysmal Vertigo and Right-to-Left Shunt: A Large Observational Study.

Background: The association between paroxysmal vertigo and right-to-left shunt (RLS) is rarely reported. This study investigates the prevalence and correlation of RLS in patients with different paroxysmal vertigo diseases. Methods: Patients with paroxysmal vertigo from seven hospitals in China were included in this observational study between 2017 and 2021. Migraine patients within the same period were included for comparison. Demographic data and medical history were collected; contrast transthoracic echocardiography was performed; and the clinical features, Dizziness Handicap Inventory, and incidence of RLS in each group were recorded. Results: A total of 2,751 patients were enrolled. This study's results demonstrated that the proportion of RLS in patients with benign recurrent vertigo (BRV) and vestibular migraine (VM) was significantly higher than that in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Meniere's disease, and vestibular paroxysmia (P < 0.05). No statistical difference was shown between the frequency of RLS in patients with BRV and those with migraine and VM. A positive correlation was shown between the RLS grade and Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores of patients with VM and BRV (P < 0.01) after effectively controlleding the effect of confounding variables. Conclusions: RLS was significantly associated with BRV and VM. RLS may be involved in the pathogeneses of BRV and VM and may serve as a differential reference index for the paroxysmal vertigo. Trial Registration: CHRS, NCT04939922, registered 14 June 2021- retrospectively registered, https://register.clinicaltrials.gov.

Prediction of Bedridden Duration of Hospitalized Patients by Machine Learning Based on EMRs at Admission.

Being bedridden is a frequent comorbid condition that leads to a series of complications in clinical practice. The present study aimed to predict bedridden duration of hospitalized patients based on EMR at admission by machine learning. The medical data of 4345 hospitalized patients who were bedridden for at least 24 hours after admission were retrospectively collected. After preprocessing of the data, features for modeling were selected by support vector machine recursive feature elimination. Thereafter, logistic regression, support vector machine, and extreme gradient boosting algorithms were adopted to predict the bedridden duration. The feasibility and efficacy of above models were evaluated by performance indicators. Our results demonstrated that the most important features related to bedridden duration were Charlson Comorbidity Index, age, bedridden duration before admission, mobility capability, and perceptual ability. The extreme gradient boosting algorithm showed the best performance (accuracy, 0.797; area under the curve, 0.841) when compared with support vector machine (accuracy, 0.771; area under the curve, 0.803) and logistic regression (accuracy, 0.765; area under the curve, 0.809) algorithms. Meanwhile, the extreme gradient boosting algorithm had a higher sensitivity (0.856), specificity (0.650), and F1 score (0.858) than that of support vector machine algorithm (0.843, 0.589, and 0.841) and logistic regression (0.852, 0.545, and 0.839), respectively. These findings indicate that machine learning based on EMRs at admission is a feasible avenue to predict the bedridden duration. The extreme gradient boosting algorithm shows great potential for further clinical application.

Myosin XI-B is involved in the transport of vesicles and organelles in pollen tubes of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The movement of organelles and vesicles in pollen tubes depends on F-actin. However, the molecular mechanism through which plant myosin XI drives the movement of organelles is still controversial, and the relationship between myosin XI and vesicle movement in pollen tubes is also unclear. In this study, we found that the siliques of the myosin xi-b/e mutant were obviously shorter than those of the wild-type (WT) and that the seed set of the mutant was severely deficient. The pollen tube growth of myosin xi-b/e was significantly inhibited both in vitro and in vivo. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching showed that the velocity of vesicle movement in the pollen tube tip of the myosin xi-b/e mutant was lower than that of the WT. It was also found that peroxisome movement was significantly inhibited in the pollen tubes of the myosin xi-b/e mutant, while the velocities of the Golgi stack and mitochondrial movement decreased relatively less in the pollen tubes of the mutant. The endoplasmic reticulum streaming in the pollen tube shanks was not significantly different between the WT and the myosin xi-b/e mutant. In addition, we found that myosin XI-B-GFP colocalized obviously with vesicles and peroxisomes in the pollen tubes of Arabidopsis. Taken together, these results indicate that myosin XI-B may bind mainly to vesicles and peroxisomes, and drive their movement in pollen tubes. These results also suggest that the mechanism by which myosin XI drives organelle movement in plant cells may be evolutionarily conserved compared with other eukaryotic cells.

Organelle movement and apical accumulation of secretory vesicles in pollen tubes of Arabidopsis thaliana depend on class XI myosins.

F-actin and myosin XI play important roles in plant organelle movement. A few myosin XI genes in the genome of Arabidopsis are mainly expressed in mature pollen, which suggests that they may play a crucial role in pollen germination and pollen tube tip growth. In this study, a genetic complementation assay was conducted in a myosin xi-c (myo11c1) myosin xi-e (myo11c2) double mutant, and fluorescence labeling combined with microscopic observation was applied. We found that myosin XI-E (Myo11C2)-green fluorescent protein (GFP) restored the slow pollen tube growth and seed deficiency phenotypes of the myo11c1 myo11c2 double mutant and Myo11C2-GFP partially colocalized with mitochondria, peroxisomes and Golgi stacks. Furthermore, decreased mitochondrial movement and subapical accumulation were detected in myo11c1 myo11c2 double mutant pollen tubes. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments showed that the fluorescence recoveries of GFP-RabA4d and AtPRK1-GFP at the pollen tube tip of the myo11c1 myo11c2 double mutant were lower than those of the wild type were after photobleaching. These results suggest that Myo11C2 may be associated with mitochondria, peroxisomes and Golgi stacks, and play a crucial role in organelle movement and apical accumulation of secretory vesicles in pollen tubes of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Modification of hydroxypropyl guar gum with ethanolamine.

A new guar gum derivative containing amino group was synthesized through nucleophilic substitution of p-toluenesulfonate activated hydroxypropyl guar gum with ethanolamine. For the preparation of p-toluenesulfonate esters hydroxypropyl guar gum, the results showed that the reaction rate was optimal at 25 °C and the reaction could reach equilibrium state when it was carried out for 10h at 25 °C. For the nucleophilic substitution of tosyl group with ethanolamine, the reaction was completed after 10h reaction at 50 °C. The structures of products were characterized by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The results showed that the p-toluenesulfonate esters can be effectively substituted by ethanolamine to form the hydroxyethyl amino hydroxypropyl guar gum (EAHPG). The content of nitrogen of EAHPG was determined by acid-base titration and element analysis.