ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study investigates the association between handgrip strength, walking pace, and the incidence of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) using the UK Biobank dataset. METHODS: We analyzed data from 364,716 UK Biobank participants without prior neurological conditions. Handgrip strength was measured with a dynamometer, and walking pace was self-reported. Cox proportional hazards models assessed hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for DCM development. RESULTS: The cohort, with an average age of 56.2 years (SD, 8.1) and 47.4% male, was followed for a median of 12.6 years. During this period, 3,993 participants (1.1%) developed DCM. A significant inverse correlation was found between handgrip strength and DCM incidence (P for trend < 0.001), with decreasing HRs for DCM across quartiles of increasing grip strength: HRs were 0.70 (95% CI: 0.64-0.76), 0.62 (95% CI: 0.57-0.68), and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.54-0.66) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively. Participants with average or brisk walking paces had a lower DCM risk (HR, 0.55; 95% CI: 0.50-0.61 and HR, 0.48; 95% CI: 0.43-0.54) compared to slow walkers. The greatest risk reduction was in those with both higher handgrip strength and faster pace (HR, 0.39; 95% CI: 0.34-0.44). CONCLUSIONS: Handgrip strength and walking pace are inversely associated with DCM incidence, suggesting their potential as cost-effective screening tools for identifying individuals at risk for DCM.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffold is a kind of widely used biomaterial in tissue engineering. However, low hydrophilicity and lack of surface cell recognition site of PLLA hinder its further application. OBJECTIVE:To study the biocompatibility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/PLLA (MWCNTs/PLLA) nanofiber scaffolds with mouse neural stem cells in vitro. METHODS:Mouse neural stem cells were isolated. Then we used electrospinning to fabricate PLLA nanofibers and modified them with multi-walled carbon nanotubes. We assessed their biocompatibility with passage 3 mouse neural stem cells in vitro. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Scanning electron microscope showed that the neural stem cells could survive on both scaffolds. No cytotoxic effects were detected on both scaffolds by Cell Counting Kit-8 detection. The adhesion and proliferation abilities of neural stem cells on the MWCNTs/PLLA scaffold were significantly greater than those on the PLLA scaffold. Neural stem cells were found grow well and have normal morphology on both scaffolds under scanning electron microscope and by Hoechst 33342 staining. Besides, immunofluorescence staining showed MWCNTs/PLLA could promote neural stem cells to differentiate into mature neurons and neurites grew along with the nanofiber scaffold. In conclusion, the MWCNTs/PLLA nanofiber scaffold has better properties than the PLLA for transplanted cells and provides a good growth carrier for neural stem cells to be induced to differentiate into neurons, which is expected to have a great potential of applications in nerve tissue engineering.
