Alterations in nasal microbiota of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Links between alterations in gut microbiota composition and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have previously been reported. This study aimed to examine the microbiota in the nasal cavity of ALS.@*METHODS@#Sixty-six ALS patients and 40 healthy caregivers who live in close proximity with patients were enrolled. High throughput metagenomic sequencing of the 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) gene V3-V4 region of nasal microbiota was used to characterize the alpha and beta diversity and relative abundance of bacterial taxa, predict function, and conduct correlation analysis between specific taxa and clinical features.@*RESULTS@#The nasal microbiome of ALS patients showed lower alpha diversity than that of corresponding healthy family members. Genera Gaiella , Sphingomonas , Polaribacter _1, Lachnospiraceae _NK4A136_group, Klebsiella , and Alistipes were differentially enriched in ALS patients compared to controls. Nasal microbiota composition in ALS patients significantly differed from that in healthy subjects (unweighted UniFrac P = 0.001), while Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis indicated that Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominated healthy nasal communities at the phylum level, whereas Actinobacteria was the predominant phylum and Thermoleophilia was the predominant class in ALS patients. Genus Faecalibacterium and Alistipes were positively correlated with ALS functional rating scale revised (ALSFRS-R; rs = 0.349, P = 0.020 and rs = 0.393, P = 0.008), while Prevotella -9 and Bacteroides operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were positively associated with lung function (FVC) in ALS patients ( rs = 0.304, P = 0.045, and rs = 0.300, P = 0.048, respectively). Prevotella -1 was positively correlated with white blood cell counts (WBC, rs = 0.347, P = 0.021), neutrophil percentage (Neu%, rs = 0.428, P = 0.004), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR, rs = 0.411, P = 0.006), but negatively correlated with lymphocyte percentage (Lym%, rs = -0.408, P = 0.006). In contrast, Streptococcus was negatively associated with Neu% ( rs = -0.445, P = 0.003) and NLR ( rs = -0.436, P = 0.003), while positively associated with Lym% ( rs = 0.437, P = 0.003). No significant differences in nasal microbiota richness and evenness were detected among the severe and mild ALS patients.@*CONCLUSIONS@#ALS is accompanied by altered nasal microbial community composition and diversity. The findings presented here highlight the need to understand how dysbiosis of nasal microbiota may contribute to the development of ALS.

Expression and its significance of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To observe the expression level change of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), and to explore the relationships of VEGF expression with OSAHS, OSAHS related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods Polysomnography (PSG) was used to conduct sleep apnea monitoring in 24 OSAHS patients from 6OSAHS popular families and 48 healthy controls with normal physical examination results. The expression of VEGF mRNA was examined by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, meanwhile, the level of VEGF in plasma was measured VEGF mRNA in PBMC were significantly higher in simple OSAHS group [plasma levels: (205.75±2.79) pg/ml; mRNA: 0. 61±0. 02] than in control group [(168.72±4.64) pg/ml; 0. 47±0. 02,cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases group [(288.74 ± 2.73) pg/ml, 1.16 ± 0. 03] than in simple OSAHS group [ ( 205.75 ± 2.79 ) pg/ml, 0. 61 ± 0.02, P ＜ 0. 01]. ( 2 ) There was a positive correlation of the levels of VEGF in plasma and mRNA with AHI as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure in early morning. There was a negative correlation of the level of VEGF in plasma and VEGF mRNA with the lowest saturation of blood oxygen. There was a positive correlation of the level of VEGF mRNA with AHI as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure in early morning.Conclusions The level of VEGF in OSAHS significantly increases, which may play a role in the pathophysiology of OSAHS and OSAHS related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

The research on vascular endothelial dilatation function in elderly patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the vascular endothelial dilatation function in elderly patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods Thirty elderly patients with moderate to severe OSAHS and twenty-eight control subjects were studied. Their blood concentration of nitric oxide (NO) were quantified. Brachial artery diameter was measured with Doppler ultrasound under baseline conditions, during reactive hyperemia (an endothelium-dependent dilatation) and after sublingual administration of nitroglycerin ( an endothelium-independent vasodilator). The dilative rate of brachial artery in different conditions was calculated to evaluate the endothelial function. Subjects with OSAHS were treated by nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) for 4 weeks, and the level of NO in plasma and vascular endothelial function were measured. Results Compared with control group, there was a significant decrease of NO level in elderly patients with moderate to severe OSAHS [(50. 35±8.65)μmol/L vs. (57.31±9.31)μmol/L, t=2.95,P=0.005], and the level of NO in plasma was increased after nCPAP treatment for 4 weeks [(55.77±8.87)μmol/L vs. (50.35± 8.65)μmol/L,t=2.40,P=0.023. The elderly patients with moderate to severe OSAHS had lower endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) compared with control subjects [(9.78± 4.82)%vs. (13.21±5.81)%,t=2.45, P=0.017], and there was no significant difference in endothelium-independent nitroglycerin ( NTG)-induced dilation [( 16.87±6.15)% vs. (14.74 ± 5.82)%,t=1.36,P=0.18]. After nCPAP treatment for 4 weeks, the patients with moderate to severe OSAHS had significant increase in FMD[(14.33±6.13)% vs. (9.78±4.82)%, t=3.20,P= 0.002], whereas there was no significant change in NTG-induced dilation [(14.74±5.82)% vs. (15.15±4.21)%, t=0.31,P=0.76]. Conclusions The elderly patients with moderate to severe OSAHS have abnormal vascular endothelial function, and nCPAP treatment can reverse the dysfunction effectively, which may be associated with the reversal of intermittent hypoxia.