Influences of personality characteristics and coping modes on anxiety in primary glaucoma patients.

AIM: To examine the influences of personality characteristics and coping modes on the anxiety of primary glaucoma patients. METHODS: A total of 200 individuals, including 50 with primary angle-closure glaucoma, 60 with primary open angle glaucoma and 90 control participants, filled out the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire. Sociodemographic information was also collected. Data were analyzed via the Spearman rank correlation test and stepwise regression. RESULTS: The personality and coping variables are predictive and jointly account for a significant amount (45.3%-54.2%) of variance across the two subscales of anxiety measures. Notably, neuroticism seems to be most closely related to anxiety disturbances in glaucoma patients. The level of resignation is positively linked to anxiety scores. CONCLUSION: Some personality factors and coping modes help to predict the process of anxiety disorders in primary glaucoma patients. Recognizing the predictive role of these variables in the patients may further enrich clinical research in glaucoma and help to design more effective interventions involving both ophthalmology and psychiatry.

Decreased expression of sestrin 2 predicts unfavorable outcome in colorectal cancer.

Sestrin 2 is a conserved antioxidant protein that is involved in p53­dependent antioxidant defenses and protects cells against oxidative stresses. The present study was conducted to examine the expression of sestrin 2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and investigate a possible relationship between sestrin 2 expression and prognosis in CRC. The expression of sestrin 2 in human CRC tissues and cell lines was evaluated by immunohistochemical or immunofluorescent staining and western blot analysis. The correlations between sestrin 2 expression in human CRC tissues and clinicopathological variables, including overall survival (OS) and disease­free survival (DFS), were analyzed. Both human CRC tissues and cell lines showed a decreased expression of sestrin 2. Furthermore, a low expression of sestrin 2 was significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage, lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion and liver metastasis. Survival analysis showed that patients with low sestrin 2 staining had a significantly worse DFS and OS. Additionally, early or advanced stage CRC patients with a low expression of sestrin 2 had a shorter survival. In univariate analysis, the patients with low sestrin 2 expression, advanced tumor stage, lymphatic invasion, lymphatic node metastasis, vascular invasion, liver metastasis and peritoneal metastasis had shorter OS and DFS. In multivariate analysis, only low sestrin 2 expression, advanced tumor stage, lymphatic node metastasis, vascular invasion and liver metastasis remained as independent prognostic factors of poor OS and DFS. The findings suggested that a decreased expression of sestrin 2 is associated with an unfavorable prognosis, which suggests that it is a novel and crucial predictor for CRC metastasis.

High expression of CASK correlates with progression and poor prognosis of colorectal cancer.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase (CASK), which localizes at cell-cell adhesion sites and binds to the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-2, is involved in cell proliferation, cytoskeletal remodeling, and cell migration. To demonstrate the role of CASK in colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis, we examined the expression of CASK and its binding protein syndecan-2 in human CRC tissues. The expression of CASK was measured in CRC specimens and the controls from adenomas and normal mucosae by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis. Syndecan-2 protein level was tested in CRC samples and the controls by Western blot analysis. The correlations between CASK expression and clinicopathological variables, including disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), were analyzed. Compared to the controls, both CASK and syndecan-2 expression were enhanced in CRC tissues. Furthermore, high expression of CASK and syndecan-2 was significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage, lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, liver metastasis, and unresectable metastatic CRC. Survival analysis showed that patients with low CASK staining had a significantly better survival compared to patients with high CASK staining. In multivariate analysis, CASK overexpression, advanced tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, vasvular invasion, and liver metastasis were independent prognostic factors of poor DFS and OS. Our present study indicates that CASK overexpression is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. CASK is an independent prognostic factor for CRC, which suggests that it is a novel and crucial predictor for CRC metastasis.