Cancer and Atrial Fibrillation Comorbidities Among 25 Million Citizens in Shanghai, China: Medical Insurance Database Study.

BACKGROUND: With population aging, the prevalence of both cancer and atrial fibrillation (AF) have increased. However, there is scarce epidemiological data concerning the comorbid state of cancer and AF in low- and middle-income countries, including China. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the site-, sex-, and age-specific profiles of cancer and AF comorbidities in Chinese populations. METHODS: Data from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission database between 2015 and 2020 were screened, covering all medical records of Shanghai residents with medical insurance. Site-specific cancer profiles were evaluated for the population with AF relative to the age- and sex-adjusted population of residents without AF. The sex distribution and peak age of cancer diagnosis were also assessed. RESULTS: A total of 25,964,447 adult patients were screened. Among them, 22,185 patients presented cancers comorbid with AF (median 77, IQR 67-82 years of age; men: n=13,631, 61.44%), while 839,864 presented cancers without AF (median 67, IQR 57-72 years of age; men: n=419,020, 49.89%), thus yielding a higher cancer prevalence among residents with AF (8.27%) than among those without AF (6.05%; P<.001). In the population with AF, the most prevalent cancer type was lung cancer, followed by colorectal, male genital organ, stomach, breast, liver, bladder, thyroid, leukemia, and esophageal cancers. AF was associated with an average of nearly 1.4-fold (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.37, 95% CI 1.35-1.38) increased prevalence of cancer after adjusting for age and sex. For site-specific analyses, an increased prevalence of cancer in the population with AF was observed in 20 of 21 cancer sites. This increased prevalence was most prominent for nonsolid tumors, including multiple myeloma (PR 2.56, 95% CI 2.28-2.87), leukemia (PR 1.73, 95% CI 1.57-1.90), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (PR 1.59, 95% CI 1.43-1.77); intrathoracic malignancies, including mediastinum (PR 2.34, 95% CI 1.89-2.90), lung (PR 1.64, 95% CI 1.59-1.69), and esophageal cancers (PR 1.41, 95% CI 1.28-1.56); bone and soft tissue neoplasms (PR 1.56, 95% CI 1.37-1.77); and kidney cancer (PR 1.53, 95% CI 1.36-1.72). Cancer prevalence in the population with AF relative to that in the population without AF was higher in men than in women in 14 of 18 cancer sites, and female predominance was only observed for thyroid cancer. The peak age of index cancer diagnosis was lower in the population with AF (age group: 70-74 years) than in that without AF (age group: 75-79 years), especially for specific cancer types, including thyroid, central nervous system, mediastinum, esophageal, bladder, and biliary cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AF are associated with increased prevalence, heightened male predominance, and younger peak age of cancer. Further studies are needed to determine whether early screening of specific cancers is cost-effective and beneficial for patients with AF.

Epidemiology, management, and outcomes of atrial fibrillation among 30 million citizens in Shanghai, China from 2015 to 2020: A medical insurance database study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation(AF) has become a significant public health concern in China, with population aging and urbanization. Methods: Data screening was performed for 30,244,930 subjects with medical insurance in the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission database between 2015 and 2020. Patients diagnosed with AF were identified and further assessed for treatment information and clinical outcomes, as well as sex differences and impact of COVID-19 pandemic on AF managment. Findings: AF prevalence was 0.88% in Shanghai, which increased with age and reached 6.70% at subjects 80 years and over. AF was more prevalent in women compared with men (0.89% vs. 0.88%, p<0.0001), which could be attributed to higher AF burden in women over 80 years. Driven by increased prescription of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants, anticoagulant use increased from 19.46% in 2015 to 56.57% in 2020. The number of left atrial appendage closure increased from 0.16% in 2015 to 1.23% in 2020. Rhythm control strategy was increasingly adopted, as the use of antiarrhythmic drugs doubled and ablation increased by 21% in 2020 compared to 2015. Compared with men, women were less prone to receive rhythm control treatments, including antiarrhythmics, ablation and cardioversion, but more likely to adopt rate control drugs. During the 5.5 years follow-up, the incidences of stroke, transient ischemic attack, systemic embolism, bleeding, myocardial infarction, and in-hospital death were 6.09%, 5.74%, 1.44%, 5.11%, 8.41%, and 12.84% in patients with index diagnosis of AF in 2015, respectively. Interpretation: The burdens of AF and AF-related outcomes in Shanghai are high. Management of AF is markedly improved in recent years, and was not or only slightly impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are sex differences in the prevalence, management, and outcomes of AF. Funding: Shanghai Hospital Development Center, National Natural Science Foundation of China and Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

Abscisic acid employs NRP-dependent PIN2 vacuolar degradation to suppress auxin-mediated primary root elongation in Arabidopsis.

How plants balance growth and stress adaptation is a long-standing topic in plant biology. Abscisic acid (ABA) induces the expression of the stress-responsive Asparagine Rich Protein (NRP), which promotes the vacuolar degradation of PP6 phosphatase FyPP3, releasing ABI5 transcription factor to initiate transcription. Whether NRP is required for growth remains unknown. We generated an nrp1 nrp2 double mutant, which had a dwarf phenotype that can be rescued by inhibiting auxin transport. Insufficient auxin in the transition zone and over-accumulation of auxin at the root tip was responsible for the short elongation zone and short-root phenotype of nrp1 nrp2. The auxin efflux carrier PIN2 over-accumulated in nrp1 nrp2 and became de-polarized at the plasma membrane, leading to slower root basipetal auxin transport. Knock-out of PIN2 suppressed the dwarf phenotype of nrp1 nrp2. Furthermore, ABA can induce NRP-dependent vacuolar degradation of PIN2 to inhibit primary root elongation. FyPP3 also is required for NRP-mediated PIN2 turnover. In summary, in growth condition, NRP promotes PIN2 vacuolar degradation to help maintain PIN2 protein concentration and polarity, facilitating the establishment of the elongation zone and primary root elongation. When stressed, ABA employs this pathway to inhibit root elongation for stress adaptation.

Associations of SUCNR1, GRK4, CAMK1D gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility of type 2 diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension in a northern Chinese Han population.

AIMS: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are both complex diseases that are caused by interactions among multiple genetic and physiological factors. To investigate the association of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SUCNR1, GRK4 and CAMK1D genes with the susceptibility of the two diseases in a northern Chinese Han population. METHODS: 36 SNPs were genotyped in 2304 clinical patients (1152 type 2 diabetes mellitus, 1152 essential hypertension) and 1152 health controls by Sequenom Mass-ARRAY RS1000. RESULTS: In this study, we found that BMI, blood press, pulse pressure, FBG, total cholesterol and triglycerides were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and essential hypertension (EH). Three SNPs (SUCNR1: rs73168929; GRK4: rs1557213; CAMK1D: rs17151584) significantly associated with the susceptibility of T2DM and EH at the same time. Also, the susceptibility genotypes of 3 SNPs were significantly correlated with liver and renal function parameters. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to report that three SNPs (SUCNR1: rs73168929; GRK4: rs1557213; CAMK1D: rs17151584) contributed to the risk of T2DM and EH in a northern Chinese Han population. These results provide a favourable evidence for better understand of the underlying common mechanism of these two diseases.

Economic burden of readmission due to postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak in Chinese patients.

Aim: This real-world data study investigated the economic burden and associated factors of readmissions for cerebrospinal fluid leakage (CSFL) post-cranial, transsphenoidal, or spinal index surgeries. Methods: Costs of CSFL readmissions and index hospitalizations during 2014-2018 were collected. Readmission cost was measured as absolute cost and as percentage of index hospitalization cost. Factors associated with readmission cost were explored using generalized linear models. Results: Readmission cost averaged US$2407-6106, 35-94% of index hospitalization cost. Pharmacy costs were the leading contributor. Generalized linear models showed transsphenoidal index surgery and surgical treatment for CSFL were associated with higher readmission costs. Conclusion: CSFL readmissions are a significant economic burden in China. Factors associated with higher readmission cost should be monitored.

Overexpression of MicroRNA-9a-5p Ameliorates NLRP1 Inflammasome-mediated Ischemic Injury in Rats Following Ischemic Stroke.

The nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) pyrin domain-containing protein 1 (NLRP1) inflammasome has been shown to contribute to brain injury after ischemic stroke. Our previous study showed that microRNA-9a-5p (miR-9a-5p) ameliorates ischemic injury by regulating neuronal autophagy in rats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery. The aims of this study were to investigate whether miR-9a-5p can influence the NLRP1 inflammasome following ischemic stroke and to clarify the mechanism involved. We found that MCAO in rats increased the level of NLRP1 inflammasome proteins, including NLRP1 receptor, ASC and precursor caspase-1, which induced higher levels of cleaved caspase-1, mature interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin-18 (IL-18). Similarly, the levels of the NLRP1 inflammasome proteins, cleaved caspase-1, mature IL-1ß and IL-18 were elevated in SY-5Y cells exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Further investigation showed that NLRP1 was a target of miR-9a-5p and was downregulated by miR-9a-5p overexpression and upregulated by miR-9a-5p inhibition. Moreover, overexpression of miR-9a-5p not only decreased the levels of NLRP1, ASC and precursor caspase-1 but also reduced the levels of IL-1ß and IL-18 in MCAO rats and OGD cells. Therefore, we conclude that miR-9a-5p is involved in NLRP1 inflammasome-mediated ischemic injury, which further suggests that the overexpression of miR-9 may be an effective way to ameliorate brain injury following ischemic stroke.

Associations of BAFF rs2893321 polymorphisms with myasthenia gravis susceptibility.

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune diseases characterized by fatigue and weakness of skeletal muscles. B-lymphocyte-activating factor (BAFF), an essential factor for B cell differentiation and development, is important in the progression of MG. The current study aimed to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphism rs2893321 in BAFF with MG susceptibility in Chinese Han population. METHODS: One hundred forty-nine patients with MG and 148 healthy controls were recruited. Using improved multiple ligase detection reaction technology, the polymorphisms of rs2893321 between groups and among MG subgroups have been compared. RESULTS: A significant differences between the MG group and the healthy control group was observed. Additionally, rs2893321 was found to be associated with gender and age in patients with MG. CONCLUSION: Genetic variations of rs2893321 in BAFF might be associated with susceptibility to MG in the Chinese Han population.