Associations between cold spells of different time types and coronary heart disease severity.

Limited evidence showed the association between cold spells and the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD). This study was to investigate the association between cold spells with their different time types and CHD severity. We collected data on CHD patients admitted to the Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan, China from 2016 to 2021. CHD severity was quantified using the SYNTAX score and transformed into a binomial variable. Daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature were collected during the study period. We first used daily mean temperature to find the optimum definition among multiple thresholds and durations. The daily maximum and minimum temperatures were used to define different types of cold spells (daytime, nighttime and compound) based on the optimum definition. Annual cold spell days were included to assess individual exposure to cold spells. Logistic regression models were performed to fit the association between cold spell days and CHD severity stratified by different tertiles of PM2.5 and NDVI. In this study, 1937 CHD patients were included. The cold spell defined as at least four consecutive days with daily mean temperature below the 5th percentile exhibited the optimum model. We found that a 4-day increase in cold spell days was associated with more severe CHD (OR = 1.170, 95% CI: 1.074, 1.282). Such an association was more pronounced under higher levels of PM2.5 by OR = 1.270 (1.086, 1.494) and lower levels of greenness by OR = 1.240 (1.044, 1.476). Compared with daytime and compound cold spells, nighttime cold spells showed the strongest association with CHD severity by OR = 1.141 (1.026, 1.269). This study showed that exposure to cold spells was positively associated with CHD severity, especially the nighttime cold spells. The association between cold spells and CHD severity was more significant in high levels of PM2.5 and low levels of greenness.

Comparison of the value of various complex indexes of blood cell types and lipid levels in coronary heart disease.

Background: Inflammation and lipid infiltration play crucial roles in the development of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the association between various complex indexes of blood cell types and lipid levels with the severity of coronary artery stenosis and their predictive value in coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: The retrospective study was conducted on 3,201 patients who underwent coronary angiography at the Department of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. The patients were divided into two groups: CHD group and non-CHD group. The CHD group was further classified into three subgroups (mild, moderate, severe) based on the tertiles of their Gensini score or SYNTAX score I. Various complex indexes of blood cell types and lipid levels were compared between the groups. Results: It revealed a positive correlation between all complex indexes and the severity of coronary artery stenosis. The systemic inflammation-response index/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol count (SIRI/HDL) exhibited the strongest correlation with both severity scores (Gensini score: r = 0.257, P < 0.001; SYNTAX score I: r = 0.171, P < 0.001). The monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) was identified as a stronger independent risk factor for CHD. However, SIRI/HDL had higher diagnostic efficacy for CHD (sensitivity 66.7%, specificity 60.4%, area under curve 0.680, 95% CI: 0.658-0.701). Notably, the pan-immune-inflammation value multiplied by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol count (PIV × LDL) exhibited the highest sensitivity of 85.2%. Conclusion: All complex indexes which we investigated exhibited positive correlations with the severity of coronary artery stenosis. SIRI/HDL demonstrated higher diagnostic efficiency for CHD and a significant correlation with the severity of coronary artery stenosis.

On the correlation between serum Cystatin C and Parkinson's disease in the Chinese population: a promising biomarker?

As there is no clear biomarker to diagnose Parkinson's disease, this meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluates the correlation between serum Cystatin C levels and Parkinson's disease in the Chinese population by the meta-analysis method. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, China national knowledge infrastructure, and China WanFang databases were systematically searched on the correlation between serum Cystatin C and Parkinson's disease. The results showed that Cystatin C level in Parkinson's disease patients compared with the control group, the standardized mean difference = 1.78 (95% CI: 1.33~2.24, P < 0.05). The level of Cystatin C in the late Parkinson's disease stage compared with that in the mid-term of Parkinson's disease, the standardized mean difference was = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.08~1.49, P < 0.05). The Cystatin C level in the mid-term of Parkinson's disease compared with that in the early Parkinson's disease stage, the standardized mean difference was 1.24 (95% CI: 0.35~2.12, P < 0.05). The level of Cystatin C in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment compared with Parkinson's disease without mild cognitive impairment, the standardized mean difference was 1.29 (95% CI: 0.47~2.10, P < 0.05). The differences were all statistically significant. In conclusion, a high level of serum Cystatin C may be involved in the occurrence and development of Parkinson's disease, whose level is higher in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment than that in Parkinson's disease without mild cognitive impairment. Therefore, Cystatin C in serum is a promising biomarker for diagnosing Parkinson's disease.

An Evidence-Based Meta-Analysis on the Roles of Functional Interleukin-6 Polymorphisms in Coronary Artery Disease.

Recently, the relationship between functional interleukin-6 (IL-6) polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD) was extensively studied, with controversial findings. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to better elucidate the relationship between these polymorphisms and the risk of CAD. A total of 57 case-control studies were finally included. The overall analyses showed that IL-6 -174G>C and -572G>C polymorphisms were significantly associated with the risk of CAD, the C allele of -174G>C (G versus C, odds ratio [OR] = 0.82, confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.75-0.89) and -572G>C polymorphisms (G versus C, OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.74-0.92) conferred an increased susceptibility to CAD. Further subgroup analyses yielded similar positive results for -174G>C polymorphism in Asian and Caucasian populations, and for -572G>C polymorphism in Asian and African populations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that IL-6 -174G>C and -572G>C polymorphisms may serve as potential genetic markers of CAD.