To describe and compare diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters between patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosed using structuralized ...neuropsychiatric assessments, and investigate potential neuronal substrates related to cognitive performance.
Thirty-five patients with SIVD, 40 patients with AD, and 33 cognitively normal control (NC) subjects matched by age and education level were consecutively recruited and underwent cognitive function assessments and DTI examinations. Comparisons among these three subgroups with regards to cognitive performance and DTI parameters including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values were performed. Partial correlation analysis after controlling for age and education was used to evaluate associations between cognitive performance and DTI parameters.
With regards to cognitive performance, the patients with SIVD had lower total scores in frontal assessment battery (FAB) compared to those with AD (p < 0.05) in the context of comparable Mini-Mental Status Examination and Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument scores. With regards to DTI parameters, there were more regions of significant differences in FA among these three subgroups compared with MD. Compared with NC group, the patients with SIVD had significant global reductions in FA (p < 0.001 ~ 0.05), while significant reductions in FA among the patients with AD were regionally confined within the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, and bilateral forceps major, and the anterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus, and cingulum of the left side (p < 0.01 ~ 0.05). Analysis of FA values within the left forceps major, left anterior thalamic radiation, and genu of the corpus callosum revealed a 71.8% overall correct classification (p < 0.001) with sensitivity of 69.4%, specificity of 73.8%, positive predictive value of 69.4%, and negative predictive value of 73.8% in discriminating patients with SIVD from those with AD. In combined analysis of the patients with SIVD and AD (n = 75), the total FAB score was positively correlated with FA within the bilateral forceps minor, genu of the corpus callosum, left forceps major, left uncinate fasciculus, and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (p = 0.001 ~ 0.038), and inversely correlated with MD within the right superior longitudinal fasciculus, genu and body of the corpus callosum, bilateral forceps minor, right uncinate fasciculus, and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (p = 0.003 ~ 0.040).
Our findings suggest the effectiveness of DTI measurements in distinguishing patients with early-stage AD from those with SIVD, with discernible changes in spatial distribution and magnitude of significance of the DTI parameters. Strategic FA assessments provided the most robust discriminative power to differentiate SIVD from AD, and FAB may serve as an additional cognitive marker. We also identified the neuronal substrates responsible for FAB performance.
Mounting evidence demonstrates that a high-salt diet (HSD) not only affects hemodynamic changes but also disrupts immune homeostasis. The T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) are ...susceptible to hypersalinity. However, research on the influence of sodium on Th2-mediated food allergies remains scarce. We aimed to investigate the effect of dietary sodium on the immune response to food allergies. Mice maintained on an HSD (4% NaCl), low-salt diet (LSD; 0.4% NaCl), or control diet (CTRL; 1.0% NaCl) were orally sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and a cholera toxin (CT) adjuvant, and then subjected to an intragastric OVA challenge. OVA-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG1, IgG2a, and IgE antibodies were significantly higher in the HSD group than in the CTRL group (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively). Mice on HSD had significantly higher interleukin (IL)-4 levels than the CTRL group (p < 0.01). The IL-10 levels were significantly lower in the HSD group than in the CTRL group (p < 0.05). The serum levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), sodium, and chloride did not differ among the three groups. This study indicates that excessive salt intake promotes Th2 responses in a mouse model of food allergy.
Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN) is an autoimmune-mediated glomerulonephritis and a common cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults. There are limited available treatments for MN. We assessed the ...efficacy of resveratrol (RSV) therapy for treatment of MN in a murine model of this disease.
Murine MN was experimentally induced by daily subcutaneous administration of cationic bovine serum albumin, with phosphate-buffered saline used in control mice. MN mice were untreated or given RSV. Disease severity and pathogenesis was assessed by determination of metabolic and histopathology profiles, lymphocyte subsets, immunoglobulin production, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and production of heme oxygenase-1 (HO1).
MN mice given RSV had significantly reduced proteinuria and a marked amelioration of glomerular lesions. RSV also significantly attenuated immunofluorescent staining of C3, although there were no changes of serum immunoglobulin levels or immunocomplex deposition in the kidneys. RSV treatment of MN mice also reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduced cell apoptosis, and upregulated heme oxygenase 1 (HO1). Inhibition of HO1 with tin protoporphyrin IX partially reversed the renoprotective effects of RSV. The HO1 induced by RSV maybe via Nrf2 signaling.
Our results show that RSV increased the expression of HO1 and ameliorated the effects of membranous nephropathy in a mouse model due to its anti-complement, anti-oxidative, and anti-apoptotic effects. RSV appears to have potential as a treatment for MN.
Inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and mineral bone disease are critical factors contributing to morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Physical exercise alleviates inflammation ...and increases bone density. Here, we investigated the effects of intradialytic aerobic cycling exercise on HD patients. Forty end-stage renal disease patients undergoing HD were randomly assigned to either an exercise or control group. The patients in the exercise group performed a cycling program consisting of a 5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of cycling at the desired workload, and a 5-minute cool down during 3 HD sessions per week for 3 months. Biochemical markers, inflammatory cytokines, nutritional status, the serum endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) count, bone mineral density, and functional capacity were analyzed. After 3 months of exercise, the patients in the exercise group showed significant improvements in serum albumin levels, the body mass index, inflammatory cytokine levels, and the number of cells positive for CD133, CD34, and kinase insert domain-conjugating receptor. Compared with the exercise group, the patients in the control group showed a loss of bone density at the femoral neck and no increases in EPCs. The patients in the exercise group also had a significantly greater 6-minute walk distance after completing the exercise program. Furthermore, the number of EPCs significantly correlated with the 6-minute walk distance both before and after the 3-month program. Intradialytic aerobic cycling exercise programs can effectively alleviate inflammation and improve nutrition, bone mineral density, and exercise tolerance in HD patients.
The number of people living with dementia globally is increasing rapidly, and there is no effective therapy. Dietary pattern is one important risk factor for the development and progression of ...dementia. We undertake this study to determine whether Taiwanese vegetarian diet in midlife affects dementia incidence in later years in a prospective cohort. We followed 5710 participants (average age less than 60) in the Tzu Chi Vegetarian Study (TCVS). We started recruiting in 2005 and followed until the end of 2014 when the database changed from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM codes. The incidence of dementia was obtained through linkage to the National Health Insurance Research Database. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the hazard ratio of dementia between vegetarians and nonvegetarians. There were 121 cases of dementia (37 vegetarians and 84 nonvegetarians) diagnosed. Vegetarians were associated with reduced risk of clinically overt dementia compared with nonvegetarians (hazard ratio = 0.671, confidence interval: 0.452−0.996, p < 0.05) after adjusting for gender, age, smoking, drinking, education level, marriage, regular exercise, and comorbidities with stepwise regression.
Background
Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of pediatric chronic liver disease, which is strongly associated with obesity. Transient elastography, together with ...anthropometric values including waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI) z‐scores are a more precise diagnostic method of NAFLD than ultrasonography. Through transient elastography, we investigate the principal anthropometric values associated with pediatric NAFLD.
Methods
Healthy children between the ages of 6–18 years whose BMIs were ≥85% of normal were recruited as the overweight‐and‐obese group, and children whose BMIs ranged between 5%–85% were recruited as the control group. Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease was evaluated via transient elastography. BMI z‐score and WHtR were measured.
Results
A total of 107 (58 overweight‐and‐obese, 49 control) children were recruited. As evaluated by transient elastography, children in the overweight‐and‐obese group had significantly higher controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness measurement values than the control group. To detect fatty liver, WHtR with a cut‐off point of 0.481 and BMI z‐score with cut‐off point of 1.075 had the best sensitivity and specificity. To identify liver stiffness or inflammation, WHtR with cut‐off point of 0.514 and BMI z‐score with cut‐off point of 1.62 had the best sensitivity and specificity. Controlled attenuation parameter demonstrated a fair correlation with WHtR and BMI z‐scores, even in the normal range of these parameters.
Conclusions
Transient elastography together with anthropometric measurements demonstrate that pediatric NAFLD may develop earlier than expected. We present principal anthropometric values associated with pediatric NAFLD.
We report an experimental study on the flow and heat transfer for a single microhole of water spray impingement on an indium tin oxide (ITO) heating plate using a piezoelectric atomizer. A microhole ...of d
j
= 35 µm was used and tested with a volumetric flow rate of 0.22 cm
3
/min for three different spray heights of 10, 20 and 30 mm and five heater initial temperatures of 25 °C, 50 °C, 100 °C, 150 °C, and 200 °C. Through the optical measuring techniques of the microparticle image velocimetry (μPIV) as well as interferometric particle imaging (IPI) and micro laser-induced fluorescence (μLIF), the velocity field, such as spray centerline velocity, droplet impact velocity and impact crater diameter, including impinged liquid film thickness and heat transfer performance (CHF) can be measured and calculated. The effects of the spray height and initial heater temperature on the flow and thermal characteristics are presented and discussed herein. The experimental results show that both the spray centerline velocity and spray droplet impact velocity were significantly influenced by the initial surface temperature as well as by the spray height. As a result, the cooling performance would be, in turn, affected by the aforesaid two parameters.
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