Retracted: Obestatin Plays Beneficial Role in Cardiomyocyte Injury Induced by Ischemia-Reperfusion In Vivo and In Vitro.

The Editors of Medical Science Monitor wish to inform you that the above manuscript has been retracted from publication due to concerns with the credibility and originality of the study, the manuscript content, and the Figure images. Reference: Qin Zhang, Xin-wei Dong, Jia-ying Xia, Ke-ying Xu, Zhe-rong Xu. Obestatin Plays Beneficial Role in Cardiomyocyte Injury Induced by Ischemia-Reperfusion In Vivo and In Vitro. Med Sci Monit, 2017; 23: 2127-2136. DOI: 10.12659/MSM.901361.

Calf circumference predicts frailty in older adults: the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey.

BACKGROUND: Although frailty is a common geriatric syndrome in old adults, a simple method to assess the degree of frailty in a person has not yet been established. In this study we have tried to establish the association between calf circumference (CC) and frailty among older Chinese people. METHODS: We used the data obtained from the 2014 edition of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey; 1216 participants aged ≥60 years were included for the study. Body mass index, CC and waist circumference measurement data, and laboratory test results were collected. Frailty status was measured using the frailty index (FI). Participants were then classified into non-frail (FI < 0.25) and frail (FI ≥ 0.25) groups. RESULTS: There were 874 participants (71.9%) in the non-frail group and 342 (28.1%) in the frail group. The CC was significantly different between the two groups (31.54 ± 4.16 versus 28.04 ± 4.53, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that CC (odds ratio = 0.947, 95% confidence interval: 0.904-0.993, P = 0.023) was an independent impact factor associated with frailty. The CC value of 28.5 cm was considered the best cut-off value in women with area under the curve (AUC) was 0.732 (P < 0.001) and 29.5 cm in men with AUC was 0.592 (P = 0.004);We created a simple prediction model for frailty that included age,sex and CC:[Formula: see text]P = elogit(P) /1 + elogit(P), and AUC is 0.849 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: CC is a convenient and predictable marker of frailty in older adults.

Characteristics of hyperuricemia in older adults in China and possible associations with sarcopenia.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the characteristics and epidemiology of hyperuricemia in older adults in China and evaluate possible associations between hyperuricemia and sarcopenia. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-eight study subjects (>60 years old) meeting the inclusion criteria received blood tests and standardized examinations for bone mineral density, muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance. Data including demographic and clinical characteristic and comorbidity were also collected. All data were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: In the study population, higher uric acid levels were significantly correlated with higher muscle mass, grip strength, and bone density, but were unrelated to physical performance. When uric acid levels were separated into quartiles and the population was divided by sex, the correlation of uric acid to muscle mass was retained in some quartiles for both men and women, and the correlation to handgrip was only retained for one quartile for men. The correlation to bone density was retained in women in all analyses. CONCLUSION: In the population as a whole, higher uric acid levels were significantly correlated with higher muscle mass, grip strength, and bone density, but had no relationship to physical performance. Differences between men and women in these relationships need to be studied further.

Obestatin Plays Beneficial Role in Cardiomyocyte Injury Induced by Ischemia-Reperfusion In Vivo and In Vitro.

BACKGROUND Obestatin, primarily recognized as a peptide within the gastrointestinal system, has been shown to benefit the cardiovascular system. We designed this experiment to study the protective role and underlying mechanism of obestatin against ischemia-reperfusion(I/R) injury in myocardial cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS In an In vivo experiment, LAD was ligated for 0.5 h and then opened for reperfusion with obestatin for 24 h. Then, the infarction area was shown with TTC staining, and inflammation factors in serum were analyzed by qRT-PCR. In primary cultured cardiomyocytes, we measured the level of LDH, MDA, GSH, and SOD. Finally, we assessed cells apoptosis using flow cytometry and detected the concentrations of caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 using Western blot analysis. RESULTS TTC staining showed that in the 3 obestatin groups, the infarct area became smaller with the increase of obestatin concentration. Obestatin also inhibited LDH expression in rat serum and decreased mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-6, ICAM-1, and iNOS in rat cardiomyocytes after reperfusion. In primary cultured cardiomyocytes, obestatin decreased LDH content and increased GSH level after I/R injury. Obestatin was also found to antagonize the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot analysis showed that obestatin downregulated the expression of caspase-3 and Bax and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2. CONCLUSIONS Obestatin can protect cardiomyocyte from I/R-induced injury in vitro and in vivo. This beneficial effect is closely related with its properties of anti-inflammation, anti-cytotoxicity, and anti-apoptosis. The protective effect of obestatin might be associated with activation of Bcl-2 and inhibition of caspase-3 and Bax.

The Efficacy of Ginseng-Related Therapies in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Few randomized clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of ginseng in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The current meta-analysis evaluated the ginseng-induced improvement in glucose control and insulin sensitivity in patients with type-2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.Randomized clinical trials comparing ginseng supplementation versus control, in patients with T2DM or impaired glucose tolerance, were hand-searched from Medline, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases by 2 independent reviewers using the terms "type 2 diabetes/diabetes/diabetic, impaired glucose tolerance, and ginseng/ginsenoside(s)." The primary outcome analyzed was the change in HbA1c, whereas the secondary outcomes included fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, fasting insulin, postprandial insulin, insulin resistance Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL).Of the 141 studies identified, 8 studies were chosen for the current meta-analysis. The average number of patients, age, and sex distribution among the groups were comparable. Results reveal no significant difference in HbA1c levels between the ginseng supplementation and the control groups (pooled standardized difference in means = -0.148, 95% CI: -0.637 to 0.228, P = 0.355). Ginseng supplementation improved fasting glucose, postprandial insulin, and HOMA-IR levels, though no difference in postprandial glucose or fasting insulin was observed among the groups. Similarly, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL levels showed significant difference between the treatment groups, while no difference in HDL was seen. In addition, ginseng-related therapy was ineffective in decreasing the fasting glucose levels in patients treated with oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin.The present results establish the benefit of ginseng supplementation in improving glucose control and insulin sensitivity in patients with T2DM or impaired glucose intolerance.