Association between Genetic Variants of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Susceptibility of Pneumoconiosis: A Meta-analysis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) and gene variants have been extensively studied in various human diseases. For example, TGF-β1 polymorphisms were associated with fibrosis and pneumoconiosis, but the data remained controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the association between TGF-β1 -509 C>T [rs1800469], +869 T>C [rs1800470], and +915 G>C [rs1800471] polymorphisms and pneumoconiosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A comprehensive literature search was conducted through searching in PubMed, Embase, the Chinese Biomedical Database, and the Wei Pu (Chinese) Database by the end of April 2016. Eleven publications with 21 studies were included in this meta-analysis, covering a total of 4333 patients with pneumoconiosis and 3478 controls. Study quality was assessed, and heterogeneity and publication bias were measured. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 12.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The data showed significant associations between TGF-β1 -509 C>T polymorphism and the risk of pneumoconiosis development (T vs. C, odds ratio [OR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00-1.81, P = 0.046); between TGF-β1 +915 G>C polymorphism and the pneumoconiosis risk (C vs. G, OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.19-2.40, P = 0.004; CG vs. GG, OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.23-2.60, P = 0.002; CC+CG vs. GG, OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.24-2.61, P = 0.002). In addition, the subgroup analysis of ethnicity versus pneumoconiosis types indicated a significant association of silicosis among Asian populations but not that of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in Caucasian populations. In contrast, no significant association was exhibited between TGF-β1 +869 T>C polymorphism and risk of pneumoconiosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The polymorphisms of both TGF-β1 -509 C>T and +915 G>C are associated with increased risk of pneumoconiosis.</p>

Clinical application of pancreatic exocrine function examination / 第二军医大学学报

Pancreatic exocrine function examination is mainly divided into direct examination and indirect examinationmethods. Direct examination methods include secretin test, secretin-caerulein test, endoscopic pancreatic function test, secretin-stimulated magnetic resonance pancreatography, Lundh test, etc. Indirect examination methods are comprised of routine serological testing, fecal fat detection, fecal enzyme detection, breath test, urine analysis of specific substances and so on. Direct examination has higher accuracy than indirect examination, but it is more invasive and cumbersome than noninvasive indirect examination. In this review, we summarized the clinical application and progress of pancreatic exocrine function examination.