Obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism in young and middle-aged men in Guangzhou: A single-centre cross-sectional study.

AIM: Male obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism (MOSH) is becoming a public health issue. We aimed to know MOSH among young and middle-aged men in our hospital, to analyse their sex hormones and other index, and to determine leptin as a risk factor for MOSH. METHODS: In total, 258 men (ages ranging from 20 to 60, mean 38 ± 15) were enrolled in this study, and 242 of these men had their complete data, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and sex hormones retrospectively investigated. The leptin and lipid levels were also evaluated, and comparisons were made between young (20-39 years old) and middle-aged (40-60 years old) men. RESULTS: Among all the participants, 7 were thin, with a BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 , 95 had a normal BMI (18.5 ≤ BMI < 23.9 kg/m2 ), 87 (35.9%) were overweight (24 ≤ BMI ≤ 27.9 kg/m2 ) and 53 (21.9%) were obese (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2 ), 173 (71.5%) had a waist sized ≥ 85 cm. Among the 242 men, 104 (43%) had hypogonadism (TT ≤ 331.412 ng/dL). Compared with the men of normal weight, the level of testosterone of the obese men decreased (P = .006), while the level of serum lipids (including total cholesterol, TG and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, P < .05) was elevated, higher UA, FSH and leptin were also present in the obese men. There were 83 (34.2%) men with MOSH. Compared with middle-aged men with MOSH, the FSH in young men was significantly reduced (P < .05); no significant increase in estradiol was observed in the MOSH group. The leptin levels in the MOSH group were significantly higher than those in the hypogonadism only group (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Obesity increases the prevalence of hypogonadism. The decrease in testosterone levels in young men maybe due to inhibition of the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis. Leptin is an independent risk factor for MOSH.

A Successful Treatment of Coexistent Trigeminal Neuralgia and Ipsilateral Superior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm.

A 71-year-old woman had presented to our clinic with the history of trigeminal neuralgia involving the second and third divisions on the right side. The magnetic resonance tomography angiography examination before operation revealed that the root of the right trigeminal nerve was compressed by the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) artery. During the operation, a fusiform aneurysm was visualized at the distal portion of the SCA. The symptoms of pain disappeared after the surgery of microvascular decompression and the wrapping of the SCA aneurysm. Trigeminal neuralgia coexisting with the aneurysm of the ipsilateral SCA is extremely rare, and it has not been reported before.

Effect of intensive nursing education on the prevention of diabetic foot ulceration among patients with high-risk diabetic foot: a follow-up analysis.

The aim of the study was to discuss the effect of intensive nursing education on the prevention of diabetic foot ulceration among patients at high risk for diabetic foot. One hundred eighty-five diabetes patients at high risk for foot diseases were enrolled in this study and provided with intensive nursing education, including individualized education about diabetes mellitus and diabetic foot diseases, instruction in podiatric care (the right way of washing the foot, the care of foot skin, appropriate choice of shoes and socks, intense examinations and records of feet by patients themselves every day, and the assistant management of calluses). Study subjects were followed up for 2 years. Once the foot ulceration developed, the inducing factors of foot ulceration were inquired about, the ulcers were evaluated, and the incidence of foot ulceration was analyzed before and after the intensive nursing education according to self-paired data. Results showed there were highly statistically significant improvements in the intensive treatment group compared with the control group in plasma glucose, blood pressure, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. More important is that intensive nursing education helps to prevent diabetic foot ulceration and to decrease the rate of amputation among patients at high risk for diabetic foot.

Transgenic nude mouse with green fluorescent protein expression-based human glioblastoma multiforme animal model with EGFR expression and invasiveness.

Previously, we developed an orthotopic xenograft model of human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with high EGFR expression and invasiveness in Balb/c nu/nu nude mice. Now we also developed the same orthotopic xenograft model in transgenic nude mice with green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression. The present orthotopic xenografts labeled by phycoerythrin fluorescing red showed high EGFR expression profile, and invasive behavior under a bright green-red dual-color fluorescence background. A striking advantage in the present human GBM model is that the change of tumor growth can be observed visually instead of sacrificing animals in our further antitumor therapy studies.

[Etiologic factors of erectile dysfunction in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of erectile dysfunction (ED) with blood vessel-, nerve- and androgen-related factors in young and middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in order to provide some clinical evidence for early prevention and treatment of ED. METHODS: We divided 53 male T2DM patients under 50 years into an ED group (IIEF-5 score < or = 21, n = 28) and a non-ED (NED) group (IIEF-5 score > or = 22, n = 25). We detected the levels of blood lipid, glucose, total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), sulfate dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA-S), calculated free testosterone (cFT), and examined the complications of macroangiopathy (MA), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and compared the above indicators between the two groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, diabetes duration, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood lipid and glucose levels (P > 0.05). The incidence rate of DR was significantly higher in the ED than in the NED group (39.3% vs 4.0%, P < 0.05), but no statistically significant differences were found in the levels of TT, cFT, SHBG and DHEA-S and the incidence rates of MA and DPN between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The incidence of ED is closely related to DR in young and middle-aged men with T2DM. Therefore particular attention should be paid to the erectile function of T2DM patients with DR as early as possible.

[Study of foot plantar pressure in Chinese diabetic patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference and distribution of plantar pressure in normal Chinese population and diabetic patients and their influencing factors. METHODS: 1035 diabetic patients and 1022 normal subjects were evaluated by the "first step approach". Each trial included five acceptable separate barefoot walks across the EMED-AT system for each foot. The whole foot was divided into ten "masks", including the heel, midfoot, the first, second, third, fourth, fifth metatarsals, hallux, second toe and the third-to-fifth toes. The mean of maximum peak pressure (MPP) of each mask as calculated. RESULTS: The MPP were 410 +/- 122 and 427 +/- 128 kPa in left and right foot of diabetics while 415 +/- 113 and 428 +/- 116 kPa in left and right foot of normal subjects with P > 0.05. The top three places with the hight MPP value in the in diabetics and normal subjects were hallux > the second metatarsal > the third metatarsals in both left and right foot. The disease course, sex, age, BMI, WHR and history of foot ulcer had few influence on the plantar pressure in diabetics. The MPP in the diabetics with peripheral neuropathy (DPN) was higher than that of normal subjects, with no significant difference compared to that of non-DPN diabetics. CONCLUSION: The plantar pressure in the diabetics is almost the same as that of the normal subjects, but with different distribution is different. Complication with DPN may lead to the increase of plantar pressure in the diabetic. But factors such as disease course, sex, age, BMI and WHR have few influence on MPP.