Cumulative exposure to AHA Life's Essential 8 is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a large cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We aimed to explore the associations of baseline and cumulative cardiovascular health with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development and regression using the new Life's Essential 8 score. METHODS: From a health screening database, participants who underwent at least 4 health examinations between 2012 and 2022 were recruited and categorized into two cohorts: (a) the NAFLD development cohort with no history of NAFLD prior to Exam 4 and (b) the NAFLD regression cohort with diagnosed NAFLD prior to Exam 4. The LE8 score was calculated from each component. The outcomes were defined as newly incident NAFLD or regression of existing NAFLD from Exam 4 to the end of follow-up. RESULTS: In the NAFLD development cohort, of 21,844 participants, 3,510 experienced incident NAFLD over a median follow-up of 2.3 years. Compared with the lowest quartile of cumulative LE8, individuals in the highest quartile conferred statistically significant 76% lower odds (hazard ratio [HR] 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.28) of NAFLD incidence, and corresponding values for baseline LE8 were 42% (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.65). In the NAFLD regression cohort, of 6,566 participants, 469 experienced NAFLD regression over a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Subjects with the highest quartile of cumulative LE8 had 2.03-fold (95% CI, 1.51-2.74) higher odds of NAFLD regression, and corresponding values for baseline LE8 were 1.61-fold (95% CI, 1.24-2.10). CONCLUSION: Cumulative ideal cardiovascular health exposure is associated with reduced NAFLD development and increased NAFLD regression. Improving and preserving health behaviors and factors should be emphasized as an important part of NAFLD prevention and intervention strategies.

Not only baseline but cumulative exposure of remnant cholesterol predicts the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIM@#Remnant cholesterol (remnant-C) mediates the progression of major adverse cardiovascular events. It is unclear whether remnant-C, and particularly cumulative exposure to remnant-C, is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to explore whether remnant-C, not only baseline but cumulative exposure, can be used to independently evaluate the risk of NAFLD.@*METHODS@#This study included 1 cohort totaling 21,958 subjects without NAFLD at baseline who underwent at least 2 repeated health checkups and 1 sub-cohort totaling 2,649 subjects restricted to those individuals with at least 4 examinations and no history of NAFLD until Exam 3. Cumulative remnant-C was calculated as a timeweighted model for each examination multiplied by the time between the 2 examinations divided the whole duration. Cox regression models were performed to estimate the association between baseline and cumulative exposure to remnant-C and incident NAFLD.@*RESULTS@#After multivariable adjustment, compared with the quintile 1 of baseline remnant-C, individuals with higher quintiles demonstrated significantly higher risks for NAFLD (hazard ratio [HR] 1.48, 95%CI 1.31-1.67 for quintile 2; HR 2.07, 95%CI 1.85-2.33 for quintile 3; HR 2.55, 95%CI 2.27-2.88 for quintile 4). Similarly, high cumulative remnant-C quintiles were significantly associated with higher risks for NAFLD (HR 3.43, 95%CI 1.95-6.05 for quintile 2; HR 4.25, 95%CI 2.44-7.40 for quintile 3; HR 6.29, 95%CI 3.59-10.99 for quintile 4), compared with the quintile 1.@*CONCLUSION@#Elevated levels of baseline and cumulative remnant-C were independently associated with incident NAFLD. Monitoring immediate levels and longitudinal trends of remnant-C may need to be emphasized in adults as part of NAFLD prevention strategy.

Effect of butylphthalide on blood-brain barrier after cerebral hemorrhage in SD rats and the mechanisms / 中南大学学报(医学版)

To investigate the alteration in Golgi and blood-brain barrier after cerebral hemorrhage in SD rats, and to evaluate the effect of butylphthalide on blood-brain barrier. 
 Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into 4 groups: a control group, a sham group, an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) group, and a butylphthalide group. Brain tissue was collected at 48 h after the blood brain barrier permeability was examined. Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) were conducted to explore the change of GM130, Cdc42 and tight junction protein and mRNA expression in rat brain after ICH. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to explore the distribution of ZO-1 and Occludin in the cerebral vascular endothelial cells around the hematoma.
 Results: The Evans blue (EB) extravasation in the ICH group were much greater than that in the sham group (P<0.05). Butylphthalide treatment significantly decreased Evans blue extravasation compared to the ICH group (P<0.05). Results of Western blotting and real-time PCR showed that GM130, Cdc42, ZO-1/Occludin were decreased (P<0.05). The intervention of butylphthalide significantly upregulated the expressions of Cdc42 as well as ZO-1/Occludin (P<0.05), but exerted no effect on GM130 (P<0.05). Immunofluorescent staining showed that GM130 was co-localized with Cdc42 and administration of butylphthalide improved the expression of Cdc42 around the hematoma without affecting the expression of GM130. IHC showed that expressions of occludin and ZO-1 around the hematoma were significantly decreased in the ICH group (P<0.05), whereas butylphthalide treatment elevated the expressions of ZO-1 and occludin around the hematoma compared with the ICH group (P<0.05).
 Conclusion: Morphology of Golgi apparatus is altered and the blood-brain barrier is destroyed after ICH. The application of butylphthalide can alleviate neurological impairment and blood-brain barrier disruption, which is related to the up-regulation of Cdc42, but not GM130.

Mutation analysis of ERG 11 gene in Candida albicans isolates from patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between the mutation of ERG11 gene,a target of azole antifungal drugs (fluconazole,itraconazole,voriconazole),and azole-resistance in Candida albicans isolates from patients with AIDS.Methods Ninety-three Candida albicans strains were isolated from patients with AIDS.DNA was extracted from these isolates,and ERG11 gene was amplified by PCR followed by bidirectional sequencing.DNAman software was used to compare the resultant sequence with the reference sequence of ERG11 gene (GenBank accession no.X13296).Then,different base sequences were translated into amino acid sequences to determine whether missense mutations occured.Results A total of 40 mutation sites were identified in these isolates,including 27 silent mutations and 13 missense mutations.One or no missense mutation was detected in Candida albicans strains resistant to 1 antifungal agent,while those resistant to 2 or 3 antifungal agents simultaneously harbored 2 or 3 missense mutations.Conclusion The missense mutations in ERG11 gene are probably connected with azole resistance in Candida albicans.

Genotyping of Trichophyton violaceum isolated from children with tinea capitis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by PCR-RFLP analysis / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective To analyze the genotypic characteristics of T. violaceum, and offer evidence for molecular epidemiological study of causative agents of pediatric tinea capitis, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Methods The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphisim (RFLP) of the nontranscribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA-NTS) was assessed by using 5 restriction enzymes, including HaeⅢ, Bgl Ⅰ,MspⅠ, DdeⅠ and MboⅠ, for 30 clinical isolates of T. violaceum from children with tinea capitis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Nine strains of T. violaceum from Beijing and 2 strains from Taiwan served as the control.Results All the 41 strains of T. violaceum were classified into 12 genotypes with the restriction enzyme Ddel.Ten genotypes were revealed in the 30 strains from Xinjiang; among them, 17 strains showed 7 different genotypes (D, F, G, H, I, J and K) with a high intraspecies diversity in comparison with the Beijing and Taiwan isolates; the remaining 13 strains from Xinjiang showed 3 genotypes, which were shared by the Beijing and Taiwan isolates. Conclusions The T. violaceum isolates from children with tinea capitis in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have unique genotypes, but also show genetic homogeneity with the strains from Beijing and Taiwan, hinting the genetic diversity of T. violaceum.