The effect of IGF2BP2 gene polymorphisms on pioglitazone response in Chinese type 2 diabetes patients.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies identified that insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) genetic polymorphisms are related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in several populations. This study aimed to investigate whether the IGF2BP2 gene rs1470579 and rs4402960 polymorphisms were associated with T2DM and pioglitazone efficacy in Chinese T2DM patients. METHODS: A total of 281 T2DM patients and 111 healthy volunteers were enrolled to identify the IGF2BP2 gene rs1470579 and rs4402960 polymorphisms; 86 patients were randomly selected and given a 12-week pioglitazone treatment (30 mg/day). Fasting plasma glucose, postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), glycated hemoglobin, serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined before and after pioglitazone treatment. RESULTS: The results showed that the IGF2BP2 gene rs1470579 and rs4402960 polymorphisms were associated with T2DM in a Chinese population (OR = 2.002, 95% CI 1.170-3.426, p < 0.05; OR = 1.879, 95% CI 1.110-3.182, p < 0.05). The effect of pioglitazone on PPG (p < 0.05), TG (p < 0.01) and HDL-C (p < 0.05) was lower in patients with the rs1470579 AC+CC genotypes than in AA genotype carriers. Its effect on PPG level was also lower in patients with the GT+TT genotypes of rs4402960 than in patients with the GG genotype (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The IGF2BP2 gene rs1470579 and rs4402960 polymorphisms were associated with T2DM and therapeutic efficacy of pioglitazone in this Chinese population.

[Effects of metabolic syndrome on multi-vessel lesions of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of metabolic syndrome (MS) on multi-vessel lesions of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis. METHODS: During April 2009 and October 2010, a total of 139 consecutive hospitalized patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis were recruited to undergo magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or/and CT angiography (CTA) or/and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to measure the stenotic degree and numbers of intracranial atherosclerosis. They were divided into 2 groups according to lesion numbers: single and multi-vessel lesions. MS was defined by the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel III to examine the incidences of MS. The risk factors were analyzed for multi-vessel lesions of symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis to explore the relationship between MS and multi-vessel lesions. RESULTS: Among them, 210 intracranial atherosclerotic lesions were documented. Fifty-nine (42.4%) patients had two or more lesions (group with multi-vessel lesions). The incidence of MS was 70.5%. The rates of MS in groups of single and multi-vessel lesions were 56.3% and 89.8% respectively. And statistical significance existed between two groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, the number of MS components increased gradually with the number of lesions (P < 0.001). For the analysis of individual criteria for MS, only abnormal glycemia was found to be associated with multi-vessel lesions (P = 0.002). And multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that MS was associated with multi-vessel lesions of intracranial atherosclerosis (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: MS is an independent predictor for multi-vessel lesions of intracranial atherosclerosis. And its intervention may be an important preventive strategy for intracranial multi-vessel atherosclerosis.

[The deficit of decision-making in Parkinson's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics of decision-making impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. METHODS: A total of 20 individuals with idiopathic PD were compared with matched health controls on the Iowa Gambling Task, A series of battery including the assessment working memory, visual spatial ability and verbal fluency was also administered. The severity of disease was assessed based on the Hohen and Yahr scale. RESULTS: The results showed that PD group impaired on verbal fluency, working memory and decision-making task. In Iowa gambling task, the PD group selected more disadvantageous cards than health controls (51.6 +/- 5.8, 46.8 +/- 8.2 respectively), the difference between two groups is significant (t((38)) = 2.12, P = 0.04). A 2 (group) x 5 (block) ANOVA (analysis of variance) on the scores of advantageous from the gambling task revealed a significant main effect of group (F((1, 38)) = 6.16, P = 0.01). The ANOVA also revealed a significant main effect of block (F((4, 152)) = 2.43, P = 0.04). The results showed that health controls gradually shifted their selections toward the good decks as the game progresses, but the PD group did not exhibit this stable advantageous shift in decision-making. Meanwhile, the study indicated the total number of disadvantageous cards for PD was positive correlation to the degrees of severity to clinical symptom. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that the decision-making impairment might be in early PD. The deficit of decision-making for PD might be attributed to the dysfunction of the orbito-frontal cortex.