Role of pyroglutamic acid in cumulus cells of women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

PURPOSE: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex heterogeneous endocrine disorder associated with established metabolic abnormalities and is a common cause of infertility in females. Glutathione metabolism in the cumulus cells (CCs) of women with PCOS may be correlated to the quality of oocytes for infertility treatment; therefore, we used a metabolomics approach to examine changes in CCs from women with PCOS and oocyte quality. METHODS: Among 135 women undergoing fertility treatment in the present study, there were 43 women with PCOS and 92 without. CCs were collected from the two groups and levels of pyroglutamic acid were measured using LC-MS/MS followed by qPCR and Western blot analysis to examine genes and proteins involved in pyroglutamic acid metabolism related to glutathione synthesis. RESULTS: Women with PCOS showed increased levels of L-pyroglutamic acid, L-glutamate, and L-phenylalanine and decreased levels of Cys-Gly and N-acetyl-L-methionine. Gene expression of OPLAH, involved in pyroglutamic synthesis, was significantly increased in women with PCOS compared with those without. Gene expression of GSS was significantly decreased in women with PCOS and synthesis of glutathione synthetase protein was decreased. Expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, involved in resistance to oxidative stress, was significantly increased in women with PCOS. CONCLUSIONS: CCs of women with PCOS showed high concentrations of pyroglutamic acid and reduced glutathione synthesis, which causes oxidative stress in CCs, suggesting that decreased glutathione synthesis due to high levels of pyroglutamic acid in CCs may be related to the quality of oocytes in women with PCOS.

PHLDA3 promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation and invasion via activation of the Wnt signaling pathway.

The PHLDA3 gene encodes a small 127 amino acid protein with a pleckstrin homology (PH)-only domain. The expression and significance of PHLDA3 in lung cancer remain unclear. Here, we investigated the role of PHLDA3 in tumor proliferation and invasion in lung adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting analyses were used to assess PHLDA3 expression in lung cancer tissues, and its correlation with clinicopathological factors in lung cancer. Plasmids encoding PHLDA3 and small interfering RNA against PHLDA3 were used to regulate the expression of PHLDA3 in lung cancer cells. Furthermore, the effects of PHLDA3 on lung cancer cell proliferation and invasion were investigated using the MTS, colony formation, Matrigel invasion, and wound healing assays. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis and inhibitors of both the Wnt signaling pathway and GSK3ß were used to explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying the role of PHLDA3 in lung cancer cells. PHLDA3 was found to be overexpressed in lung cancer tissues, and its expression was correlated with poor outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma patients. PHLDA3 expression promoted the proliferation, invasion, and migration of lung cancer cells. Overexpression of PHLDA3 activated the Wnt signaling pathway and facilitated epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Inhibition of Wnt signaling pathway activity, using XAV-939, reversed the effects of PHLDA3 overexpression in lung cancer cells; moreover, PHLDA3 could bind to GSK3ß. Inhibition of GSK3ß activity, using CHIR-99021, restored the proliferative and invasive abilities of PHLDA3 knockdown cells. Our findings demonstrate that PHLDA3 is highly expressed in lung adenocarcinomas and is correlated with poor outcomes. Furthermore, it promotes the proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells by activating the Wnt signaling pathway.

MiR-616-3p promotes angiogenesis and EMT in gastric cancer via the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Dysregulation of microRNAs has been demonstrated to be involved in a variety of biological events related to cancer, including proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis and immune escape. MiR-616-3p is located on the chromosome region 12q13.3, however, its potential role and clinical implications in gastric cancer remain poorly understood. The current study aimed to investigate the potential role of miR-616-3p in gastric cancer. The results showed that miR-616-3p was up-regulated in cancer tissues. Higher expression of miR-616-3p in tumor tissues also predicted poor prognosis. Furthermore, loss- and gain-of-function in vitro revealed that miR-616-3p promoted angiogenesis and EMT in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, further analysis demonstrated that the effects of miR-616-3p on metastasis and angiogenesis occurred through the down-regulation of PTEN, a direct target of miR-616-3p. We propose that the restoration of PTEN expression may block miR-616-3p-induced EMT and angiogenesis. Collectively, our findings suggest that the miR-616-3p-PTEN signaling axis might be a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

Subacute Combined Degeneration: A Retrospective Study of 68 Cases with Short-Term Follow-Up.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, neuroimaging findings, and outcomes in patients diagnosed with subacute combined degeneration (SCD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 68 patients with SCD who had been appropriately treated for no less than 6 months were included in our study. Histories, results of routine blood tests, biochemical indices, serum vitamin B12 levels, and spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings from the patients were studied and analyzed. Clinical signs and symptoms, graded using a functional disability rating scale, were scored at the time of admission and 3 and 6 months after admission. RESULTS: Limb numbness, limb weakness, and gait disturbances were the most common symptoms in patients with SCD. All patients showed clinical improvement to different degrees at the follow-up visits after vitamin B12 treatment. No differences in rating score were found in patients grouped by sex, hemoglobin level, serum vitamin B12, or MRI manifestations at the time of admission or at the follow-up visits. Younger patients and those with shorter disease courses had better rating scores at the short-term follow-up visits. CONCLUSION: Anemia, low levels of serum vitamin B12, and MRI abnormalities in the spinal cord are not expected to be associated with worse clinical manifestations. The age of onset and course of disease are important in evaluating the short-term prognosis of patients with SCD.

Can visceral fat parameters based on computed tomography be used to predict occult peritoneal metastasis in gastric cancer?

BACKGROUND: The preoperative prediction of peritoneal metastasis (PM) in gastric cancer would prevent unnecessary surgery and promptly indicate an appropriate treatment plan. AIM: To explore the predictive value of visceral fat (VF) parameters obtained from preoperative computed tomography (CT) images for occult PM and to develop an individualized model for predicting occult PM in patients with gastric carcinoma (GC). METHODS: A total of 128 confirmed GC cases (84 male and 44 female patients) that underwent CT scans were analyzed and categorized into PM-positive (n = 43) and PM-negative (n = 85) groups. The clinical characteristics and VF parameters of two regions of interest (ROIs) were collected. Univariate and stratified analyses based on VF volume were performed to screen for predictive characteristics for occult PM. Prediction models with and without VF parameters were established by multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean attenuations of VFROI 1 and VFROI 2 varied significantly between the PM-positive and PM-negative groups (P = 0.044 and 0.001, respectively). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of VFROI 1 and VFROI 2 were 0.599 and 0.657, respectively. The mean attenuation of VFROI 2 was included in the final prediction combined model, but not an independent risk factor of PM (P = 0.068). No significant difference was observed between the models with and without mean attenuation of VF (AUC: 0.749 vs 0.730, P = 0.339). CONCLUSION: The mean attenuation of VF is a potential auxiliary parameter for predicting occult PM in patients with GC.

Prevalence and risk factors of stroke in China: a national serial cross-sectional study from 2003 to 2018.

Stroke imposes a substantial burden worldwide. With the rapid economic and lifestyle transition in China, trends of the prevalence of stroke across different geographic regions in China remain largely unknown. Capitalizing on the data in the National Health Services Surveys (NHSS), we assessed the prevalence and risk factors of stroke in China from 2003 to 2018. In this study, data from 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018 NHSS were collected. Stroke cases were based on participants' self-report of a previous diagnosis by clinicians. We estimated the trends of stroke prevalence for the overall population and subgroups by age, sex, and socioeconomic factors, then compared across different geographic regions. We applied multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between stroke and risk factors. The number of participants aged 15 years or older were 154,077, 146,231, 230,067, and 212,318 in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018, respectively, among whom, 1435, 1996, 3781, and 6069 were stroke patients. The age and sex standardized prevalence per 100,000 individuals was 879 in 2003, 1100 in 2008, 1098 in 2013, and 1613 in 2018. Prevalence per 100,000 individuals in rural areas increased from 669 in 2003 to 1898 in 2018, while urban areas had a stable trend from 1261 in 2003 to 1365 in 2018. Across geographic regions, the central region consistently had the highest prevalence, but the western region has an alarmingly increasing trend from 623/100,000 in 2003 to 1898/100,000 in 2018 (P trend<0.001), surpassing the eastern region in 2013. Advanced age, male sex, rural area, central region, hypertension, diabetes, depression, low education and income level, retirement or unemployment, excessive physical activity, and unimproved sanitation facilities were significantly associated with stroke. In conclusion, the increasing prevalence of stroke in China was primarily driven by economically underdeveloped regions. It is important to develop targeted prevention programs in underdeveloped regions. Besides traditional risk factors, more attention should be paid to nontraditional risk factors to improve the prevention of stroke.

Primary clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue in the posterior cervical spine invading the medulla oblongata: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a rare and highly malignant soft tissue tumor, usually occurring in the deep soft tissues of the distal tendons and aponeurosis of the extremities, especially the feet and knees. CCS originating in the head and neck is extremely rare. The clinical manifestations of CCS in the head and neck are not typical, and the imaging manifestations have certain characteristics, but the diagnosis still depends on pathological examination and genetic testing. CASE SUMMARY: A 33-year-old male patient had paroxysmal headache for more than 4 years, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, which could be relieved after rest. Computed tomography angiography showed a left paraspinal soft tissue mass. Contrast-enhanced imaging showed obvious uneven enhancement with adjacent bone lytic destruction. Magnetic resonance imaging examination showed isosignal on T1-weighted images, slightly high signal on T2-weighted images (T2WI), high signal on Tirm fat suppression sequence, significantly high signal on diffusion weighted imaging, and obvious and uneven enhancement. The lesion invaded the anterior medulla oblongata through the left atlantoaxial foramen and compressed the cervical spinal cord on T2WI. Primary CCS of soft tissue was diagnosed by pathology and genetic examination. CONCLUSION: CCS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of soft tissue tumors of the head and neck, and their diagnosis depends on pathological examination and genetic testing.

Corrigendum: The association between metabolic disturbance and cognitive impairments in early-stage schizophrenia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.599720.].

Application of computed tomography-based radiomics in differential diagnosis of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma at the esophagogastric junction.

BACKGROUND: The biological behavior of carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (CEGJ) is different from that of gastric or esophageal cancer. Differentiating squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (SCCEG) from adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) can indicate Siewert stage and whether the surgical route for patients with CEGJ is transthoracic or transabdominal, as well as aid in determining the extent of lymph node dissection. With the development of neoadjuvant therapy, preoperative determination of pathological type can help in the selection of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy regimens. AIM: To establish and evaluate computed tomography (CT)-based multiscale and multiphase radiomics models to distinguish SCCEG and AEG preoperatively. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the preoperative contrasted-enhanced CT imaging data of single-center patients with pathologically confirmed SCCEG (n = 130) and AEG (n = 130). The data were divided into either a training (n = 182) or a test group (n = 78) at a ratio of 7:3. A total of 1409 radiomics features were separately extracted from two dimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D) regions of interest in arterial and venous phases. Intra-/inter-observer consistency analysis, correlation analysis, univariate analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and backward stepwise logical regression were applied for feature selection. Totally, six logistic regression models were established based on 2D and 3D multi-phase features. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI), and the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used for assessing model discrimination performance. Calibration and decision curves were used to assess the calibration and clinical usefulness of the model, respectively. RESULTS: The 2D-venous model (5 features, AUC: 0.849) performed better than 2D-arterial (5 features, AUC: 0.808). The 2D-arterial-venous combined model could further enhance the performance (AUC: 0.869). The 3D-venous model (7 features, AUC: 0.877) performed better than 3D-arterial (10 features, AUC: 0.876). And the 3D-arterial-venous combined model (AUC: 0.904) outperformed other single-phase-based models. The venous model showed a positive improvement compared with the arterial model (NRI > 0, IDI > 0), and the 3D-venous and combined models showed a significant positive improvement compared with the 2D-venous and combined models (P < 0.05). Decision curve analysis showed that combined 3D-arterial-venous model and 3D-venous model had a higher net clinical benefit within the same threshold probability range in the test group. CONCLUSION: The combined arterial-venous CT radiomics model based on 3D segmentation can improve the performance in differentiating EGJ squamous cell carcinoma from adenocarcinoma.

Corrigendum: The association between cognitive deficits and clinical characteristic in first-episode drug naïve patients with schizophrenia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.638773.].

Hemorrhagic transformation after acute ischemic stroke caused by polycythemia vera: Report of two case.

BACKGROUND: Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterized by an increase in red blood cells in the peripheral blood. Previous work has reported the occurrence of thrombosis or hemorrhage arising in the cerebral vasculature secondary to PV. However, hemorrhagic transformation after PV-associated acute ischemic stroke has not been previously described. CASE SUMMARY: We herein present two cases of PV where hemorrhagic transformation occurred after an acute ischemic stroke. Case 1 was a 57-year-old woman with a history of hypertension who was admitted for left-sided weakness. Case 2 was a 68-year-old man who was admitted for a 10-d sudden left arm weakness. Imaging examinations for the two patients revealed hemorrhagic transformation after acute ischemic stroke. Both patients had JAK-2-V617F mutation and received antiplatelet therapy. Both of them had a good prognosis during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: This report suggested that hemorrhagic transformation may occur in acute ischemic stroke caused by PV. Antiplatelet drugs do not seem to influence the long-term outcomes in such patients. Future research should focus on establishing a standard antiplatelet treatment strategy for this condition.

FAM83A Promotes the Proliferative and Invasive Abilities of Cervical Cancer Cells via Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and the Wnt Signaling Pathway.

The family with sequence similarity 83, member A (FAM83A) gene is associated with the occurrence and development of many malignant tumors. Our aim was to explore the role of FAM83A in cervical cancer. FAM83A was overexpressed or knocked down in cervical cancer cells, and the expressions of FAM83A, key proteins involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and Wnt signaling pathway-related proteins were detected by western blot analysis. Cell proliferative and invasive abilities were also examined using cell proliferation, colony formation, and Matrigel invasion assays. Cells were treated with the Wnt pathway inhibitor XAV-939 to determine whether Wnt signaling was necessary for the effect of FAM83A on cervical cancer cells. FAM83A was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and was associated with differentiation, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. Knockdown of FAM83A inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, and invasion of cervical cancer cells. The opposite results were observed in FAM83A-overexpressing cells, and FAM83A overexpression also promoted EMT and Wnt signaling. XAV-939 reversed the activation of Wnt signaling and EMT induced by FAM83A. In conclusion, FAM83A expression was increased in cervical cancers and correlated with poor prognosis of patients. FAM83A overexpression can activate the Wnt signaling pathway, facilitate EMT, and promote the proliferative and invasive abilities of cervical cancer cells.

Computed Tomography Features and Clinical Prognostic Characteristics of Hepatoid Adenocarcinoma of the Stomach.

PURPOSE: Hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (HAS) is a highly malignant and aggressive tumor. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical, computed tomography (CT), and prognostic features of HAS to increase the awareness of this entity and determine its distinguishing features from non-HAS tumors. METHODS: The CT features and clinical data of 47 patients in our hospital with pathologically documented HAS were retrospectively analyzed, and the relevant differences between pure HAS (pHAS) and mixed HAS (mHAS) were determined. In addition, 141 patients with non-HAS tumors in the same T stage in the same period were selected as the control group. The data were compared between the two groups, and factors affecting the prognosis of HAS were analyzed. In addition, we included 9 patients with HAS and 27 patients with non-HAS tumors from another center for external validation. RESULTS: The patients in the HAS group were predominantly men (n = 33), and the tumor location was mostly the cardia or fundus (n = 27). Between the HAS and non-HAS groups, there were observed differences in terms of: sex, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carbohydrate antigen (CA)-125, and CA-724 levels; longest tumor diameter; degree of differentiation; vascular invasion; N stage, M stage, and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage; thickest tumor diameter; plain CT attenuation; arterial-phase CT attenuation; CT attenuation between the venous and arterial phases; enhancement modes; and degrees of enhancement (all P < 0.05). In the data from another center for external validation, there were observed differences in terms of: age, degree of differentiation, vascular invasion, thickest tumor diameter, the ratio of arterial CT attenuation to CT attenuation of the abdominal aorta at the same level (RA), CT attenuation difference between the venous phase and arterial phase (HUv-a) (all P < 0.05). The results of the multivariate analysis revealed that the independent factors for differentiation were serum AFP level (P = 0.001), M stage (P = 0.038), and tumor enhancement on CT (P = 0.014). Among patients in the HAS group, 72.34% had pHAS and 27.66% had mHAS. The thickest tumor diameter and the longest short diameter of the metastatic lymph nodes of the mHAS group were on average 6.39 cm and 1.45 cm, respectively, which were larger than those in the pHAS group. The median progression-free survival time was 18.25 months in the HAS group, which was shorter than that in the non-HAS group (72.96 months; P = 0.001). The median overall survival time in the HAS group was 24.80 months, which was shorter than that in the non-HAS group (67.96 months; P = 0.001). The factors affecting the prognosis of HAS were M stage (P = 0.001), overall TNM stage (P = 0.048), presence of vascular cancer emboli (P = 0.040), and pHAS type (P = 0.046). Multifactorial analysis revealed that M stage (P = 0.027) and pHAS type (P = 0.009) were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of HAS. CONCLUSION: Although HAS is a rare clinical entity, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of gastric tumors. Patients with HAS often have advanced-stage disease at presentation and a worse prognosis than patients with non-HAS tumors. CT findings, combined with laboratory results, can support the diagnosis of HAS. However, the final diagnosis needs to be confirmed with a histopathologic examination. If the postoperative pathologic findings reveal the mHAS type, a rapid clinical intervention and a detailed follow-up with CT are essential.

DEK is highly expressed in breast cancer and is associated with malignant phenotype and progression.

DEK proto-oncogene (DEK) has been demonstrated as an oncogene and is associated with the development of many types of tumor; however, the expression and role of DEK in breast cancer remain unknown. The present study aimed to determine the role of DEK in the progression of breast cancer. The expression of DEK in 110 breast cancer tissues and 50 adjacent normal breast tissues was examined using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, DEK expression was upregulated by DEK transfection or downregulated by DEK shRNA interference in MCF7 cells. Proliferative and invasive abilities were examined in MCF7 cells using MTT assay, colony-formation assay and transwell invasion assays. The results demonstrated that DEK expression level was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues compared with normal breast tissues. Furthermore, high DEK expression was associated with high histological grade, lymph node metastasis, advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage and high Ki-67 index; however, DEK expression was not associated with the expression level of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. High DEK expression indicated poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer. DEK overexpression upregulated the protein expression of ß-catenin and Wnt and increased the proliferative and invasive abilities of breast cancer cells. DEK downregulation had the opposite effect. Taken together, the results from the present study demonstrated that high expression of DEK was common in patients with breast cancer and was associated with progression of the disease and poor prognosis, and that DEK overexpression promoted the proliferative and invasive abilities of breast cancer cells.

Corrigendum: The Association Between Cognitive Deficits and Clinical Characteristic in First-Episode Drug Naïve Patients With Schizophrenia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.638773.].

The Association Between Cognitive Deficits and Clinical Characteristic in First-Episode Drug Naïve Patients With Schizophrenia.

Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disease which characterized by positive symptom, negative symptom, general pathology syndrome and cognitive deficits. In recent years, many studies have investigated the relationship between cognitive deficits and clinical characteristics in schizophrenia, but relatively few studies have been performed on first-episode drug-naïve patients. Methods: Eighty seven first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia patients were assessed for positive symptom, negative symptom, general pathology symptom and cognitive deficits from the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale and MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. Psychotics depression were assessed using the Calgary depressing scale for schizophrenia. The relationship between clinical characteristics and cognitive deficits were assessed using correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of cognitive deficits among the patients in our study was 85.1% (74/87) which was much higher than that in the general population. According to correlation analysis, negative symptom was negatively correlated with speed of processing and social cognition, and general pathology showed a negative correlation with attention/vigilance. In addition, a positive correlation was found between age and speed of processing. No correlation was found between cognitive deficits and positive symptom. Conclusions: This study confirmed that negative symptom is negatively related with some domains of cognitive function in first-episode drug naïve schizophrenia patients. Trail Registration: NCT03451734. Registered March 2, 2018 (retrospectively registered).

TRIP13 promotes the proliferation and invasion of lung cancer cells via the Wnt signaling pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Thyroid hormone receptor interactor 13 (TRIP13) is an ATPase that has been found to be overexpressed in many tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of TRIP13 and its mechanism of action in lung cancer. The expression of TRIP13 was examined in lung cancer tissues and corresponding normal lung tissues by western blotting. TRIP13 was overexpressed or knocked down by transient transfection or siRNA interference in lung cancer cells, respectively. The expression of key proteins associated with the Wnt signaling pathway and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was assessed. The interaction between TRIP13 and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) was examined by co-immunoprecipitation and laser confocal immunofluorescence. Moreover, this study determined the proliferative and invasive ability of cells through colony formation, cell proliferation, and Matrigel invasion assays. The expression of TRIP13 was higher in lung cancer tissues than in normal lung tissues (p = 0.002), and this correlated with poor patient prognosis (p < 0.001). In addition, overexpression of TRIP13 enhanced the levels of active ß-catenin and target proteins of the Wnt signaling pathways (p < 0.05). This study found that TRIP13 can co-localize and bind with LRP6. Furthermore, overexpression of TRIP13 caused the upregulation of N-cadherin, Snail, and vimentin, and the downregulation of E-cadherin (p < 0.05). The aforementioned results were reversed after knocking down the expression of TRIP13 (p < 0.05). TRIP13 is highly expressed in lung cancers, indicating poor prognosis. overexpression of TRIP13 promotes the proliferative and invasive ability of lung cancer cells via the activation of Wnt signaling pathway and EMT.

New method for global alignment of 2 DNA sequences by the tree data structure.

We introduce a new approach to investigate problem of DNA sequence alignment. The method consists of three parts: (i) simple alignment algorithm, (ii) extension algorithm for largest common substring, (iii) graphical simple alignment tree (GSA tree). The approach firstly obtains a graphical representation of scores of DNA sequences by the scoring equation R(0)*R-S(0)*S-T(0)*(a+bk). Then a GSA tree is constructed to facilitate solving the problem for global alignment of 2 DNA sequences. Finally we give several practical examples to illustrate the utility and practicality of the approach.

The Association Between Metabolic Disturbance and Cognitive Impairments in Early-Stage Schizophrenia.

Background: Cognitive impairment is one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia, which is considered to be significantly correlated to prognosis. In recent years, many studies have suggested that metabolic disorders could be related to a higher risk of cognitive defects in a general setting. However, there has been limited evidence on the association between metabolism and cognitive function in patients with early-stage schizophrenia. Methods: In this study, we recruited 172 patients with early-stage schizophrenia. Relevant metabolic parameters were examined and cognitive function was evaluated by using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to investigate the relationship between metabolic disorder and cognitive impairment. Results: Generally, the prevalence of cognitive impairment among patients in our study was 84.7% (144/170), which was much higher than that in the general population. Compared with the general Chinese setting, the study population presented a higher proportion of metabolic disturbance. Patients who had metabolic disturbance showed no significant differences on cognitive function compared with the other patients. Correlation analysis showed that metabolic status was significantly correlated with cognitive function as assessed by the cognitive domain scores (p < 0.05), while such association was not found in further multiple regression analysis. Conclusions: Therefore, there may be no association between metabolic disorder and cognitive impairment in patients with early-stage schizophrenia. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03451734. Registered March 2, 2018 (retrospectively registered).