ABSTRACT
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of cardiovascular risk factors; however, the high prevalence and heterogeneity impede effective clinical management. We conducted unsupervised clustering on individuals from UK Biobank to reveal endotypes. Five MetS subgroups were identified: Cluster 1 (C1): non-descriptive, Cluster 2 (C2): hypertensive, Cluster 3 (C3): obese, Cluster 4 (C4): lipodystrophy-like, and Cluster 5 (C5): hyperglycemic. For all of the endotypes, we identified the corresponding cardiometabolic traits and their associations with clinical outcomes. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were conducted to identify associated genotypic traits. We then determined endotype-specific genotypic traits and constructed polygenic risk score (PRS) models specific to each endotype. GWAS of each MetS clusters revealed different genotypic traits. C1 GWAS revealed novel findings of TRIM63, MYBPC3, MYLPF, and RAPSN. Intriguingly, C1, C3, and C4 were associated with genes highly expressed in brain tissues. MetS clusters with comparable phenotypic and genotypic traits were identified in Taiwan Biobank.
ABSTRACT
The advent of total mesorectal excision (TME) together with minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopic colorectal surgery and robotic surgery has improved surgical results. However, the incidence of bladder and sexual dysfunction remains high. This may be particularly distressing for the patient and troublesome to manage for the surgeon when it does occur. The increased use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant radiotherapy is also associated with poorer functional outcomes. In this review, we evaluate current understanding of the anatomy of pelvic nerves which are divided into the areas of the inferior mesenteric artery pedicle, the lateral pelvic wall and dissection around the urogenital organs. Surgical techniques in these areas are discussed. We also discuss the results in functional outcomes of the various techniques including open, laparoscopic and robotic over the last 30 years.
