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Objective:This study aimed to investigate the relationships between anthropometric parameters and carotid elasticity by real-time vascular quantification stiffness technique (R-VQS), and to identify the predictive value of anthropometric parameters for cardiovascular disease risk.Methods:A total of 563 adults were recruited for this study and were divided into two groups by gender. The anthropometric indices [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), a body shape index (ABSI), body round index (BRI), and visceral adiposity index (VAI)] were calculated. R-VQS technique was used to assess the parameters of carotid elasticity: pulse wave velocity (PWV). The correlations between the anthropometric indices and PWV were analyzed. Linear regression was used to analyze the predictive factors of PWV.Results:⑴ The BMI, WC, ABSI, BRI, VAI and PWV were higher in men than those in women ( P<0.05); ⑵ In men and women, all the anthropometric parameters positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ( P<0.05); ⑶ diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension history were predictors of PWV in men ( β=0.110, 0.101, respectively, P<0.05); DM, hypertension history and smoking status were predictors of PWV in women ( β=0.061, 0.095, 0.067, respectively, P<0.05); ⑷ After adjusting for diabetes, hypertension and smoking, ABSI and VAI were predictors of PWV in men ( β=0.078, 0.068, P<0.05); BMI, WC, ABSI, BRI and VAI were predictive factors of carotid PWV in women ( β=0.131, 0.123, 0.204, 0.153, 0.196, P<0.05). Conclusions:Among the anthropometric indexes, ABSI and VAI have good correlations with carotid elasticity in wen and women, represented by PWV. These results suggest that ABSI and VAI may be convenient, highly cost-effective and simple parameters for obesity and are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in clinical practice. R-VQS is a convenient, real-time and rapid technique for the early assessment of the carotid elasticity.
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Objective:To investigate the application of post-mortem tissue sampling under ultrasonography guidance in the autopsy of COVID-19 cases.Methods:Ultrasound-guided post-mortem tissue sampling of heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen were performed in 24 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from Feb 20 to Mar 28, 2020. Seventeen males and seven females aged 39-91(66.6±10.6) years old were enrolled. The total time required for each post-mortem sampling was recorded, and the size of the samples collected from each organ was measured. The success rate of ultrasound-guided post-mortem tissue sampling for each organ was calculated.Results:Ultrasound images could clearly show the needle path and enabled accurate placement of the needle within the target organs, including heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen. The total time required for sampling was about 32-54 (39.8±5.7)min. The lengths of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissues collected by ultrasound-guided sampling were 10(8, 14)mm, 13(12, 15)mm, 14(13, 15)mm, 13(11, 15)mm, 14(13, 15)mm, respectively. The success rates of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissue sampling under ultrasound guidance were 87.5% (21/24), 91.7%(44/48), 100%(24/24), 89.6%(43/48) and 83.3%(20/24), respectively.Conclusions:Post-mortem sampling under ultrasonography guidance may be a rapid and reliable method for collecting of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissues in the autopsy of COVID-19 cases.
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Objective:To explore the correlation of cognitive impairment with abnormal brain regions having low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) by resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) in patients with mild hepatic encephalopathy (MHE).Methods:Fifty-nine patients (28 patients with chronic cirrhosis and 31 patients with MHE, according to results of digital symbol test [DST] scores/digital connection test A [NCT-A] scores) admitted to our hospital from March 2018 to January 2020 were enrolled; 33 healthy control subjects matched in gender, age and years of education were chosen as controls. Resting-state BOLD-fMRI was performed in all subjects, and the original images were processed to obtain ALFF brain map. Statistical methods were used to obtain the brain regions with different ALFF values in the three groups, and the brain regions enjoying correlations between ALFF values and venous blood ammonia content/DST scores/NCFA scores in patients from the MHE group.Results:As compared with the control group, patients in the MHE group exhibited significantly lower ALFF values in the right central posterior gyrus, bilateral cuneiform lobe, left lateral occipital gyrus, left occipital gyrus, and left pars opercularis, and significantly increased ALFF values in the right thalamus, left parahippocampal gyrus and surrounding ventricle (bilateral caudate nucleus head)( P<0.05). Bivariate correlation analysis suggested that ALFF values were negatively correlated with blood ammonia in the left pars opercularis, left margin superior gyrus, bilateral precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus and surrounding area, and right insula ( P<0.05); ALFF values were positively correlated with DST scores in left medial cingulate gyrus and right cerebellar hemisphere; ALFF values in the left frontal lobe and left posterior cerebellar lobe were positively correlated with NCT-A scores, and ALFF values in the left parahippocampal gyrus were negatively correlated with NCT-A scores ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The ALFF differences in multiple brain regions of patients with MHE may be related to cognitive impairment.
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Objective To analyze the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of patients with adult Japanese encephalitis (JE),and to investigate the diagnostic value of MRI for the disease.Methods Thirty-two adult JE patients who underwent cranial MRI at General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University between August 2016 and September 2018 were enrolled.All patients had disease onset between August and September and they aged 17 to 83 years old.The clinical data,laboratory results,MRI signal characteristics of each scanning sequence and the distribution of the brain lesions were retrospectively analyzed.Results Of the 32 adult JE patients,29 (90.6％)cases had acute onset,28 (87.5％) cases had unconsciousness and cognitive impairment,26 (81.2％) cases had intracranial hypertension,3 (9.4％) cases had meningeal irritation,3 (9.4％) cases had Parkinson-like symptoms,10 (31.2％) cases had epilepsy,and 15 (46.9％) cases had decreased muscle strength.Twenty patients were positive for JE virus-specific IgM antibodies.Twenty-eight patients underwent cerebrospinal fluid examination,15 (53.6％) cases showed intracranial pressure ≥180 mmH2O (1 mmH2O =0.009 8 kPa),7 (25％) cases developed lymphocyte reaction,and 16 (57.1％) cases showed mixed cell reaction.Twenty-three cases (71.9％) showed lesions of brain on MRI,including thalamus (17 cases,73.9％),hippocampus (13 cases,56.5％),cerebral peduncle (6 cases,26.1％),cortical and subcortical (4 cases,17.4％),basal ganglia (2 cases,8.7％),brainstem (1 case,4.3％) and splenium of corpus callosum (1 case,4.3％).Positive T1 weight image (T1WI) and T2 weight image (T2WI) results were found in 21 patients,respectively,23 patients had positive T2-fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images,and 20 patients had positive diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) images.Among them,T2-FLAIR and DWI images showed more lesions,wider range of lesions and clearer boundary of cortical involvement range than T1WI and T2WI images.Conclusions Bilateral thalamus and hippocampus are often involved in adult JE.T2-FLAIR and DWI sequences are more sensitive to detect lesions.Combining MRI images with epidemiological characteristics,clinical manifestations,and laboratory tests is of great assistance for early diagnosis of JE.