Medicine
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Taiwan is an aging society, and the number of people with dementia is rapidly increasing. Due to a decline in cognitive and physical function, older adults with dementia not only gradually lose the ability to complete daily living tasks on their own, but are also at a higher risk of falls and injurious falls. It is important to develop interventions that combine cognitive and exercise training for older adults with dementia to promote or maintain their cognitive and physical functions and reduce their risk of falls. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effect of cognitive-based board games and multi-component exercise interventions on cognitive function, physical fitness, and fall risk in older adults with dementia. ⋯ The cognitive-based board game and multi-component exercise interventions used in this study are beneficial for improving cognitive function and physical fitness in older adults with dementia. These interventions are feasible and suitable for promotion among community-dwelling and institution-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia to delay the decline in cognitive and physical function.
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Observational Study
Triglyceride-glucose-alanine aminotransferase index: A noninvasive serum predictor for identifying the severity of pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
We hypothesized that the triglyceride-glucose (TyG)-alanine aminotransferase (ALT) index, which combines the TyG index with ALT, may enhance sensitivity and specificity in detecting the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A total of 131 NAFLD patients with a mean age of 11.5 ± 2.29 years were enrolled, and severity was assessed by ultrasound fatty liver index (US-FLI) scoring. The TyG-ALT index was defined as ln(fasting triglyceride [mg/dL] × fasting glucose [mg/dL] × ALT [IU/L]/2). ⋯ The area under the curve values, listed in the order of ALT, TyG index, and TyG-ALT index, were as follows: 0.737 (P < .001), 0.599 (P = .055), and 0.704 (P < .001) at US-FLI ≥ 4 points; 0.717 (P < .001), 0.720 (P < .001), and 0.775 (P < .001) at US-FLI ≥ 5 points; and 0.689 (P < .05), 0.748 (P < .01), and 0.775 (P < .001) at US-FLI ≥ 6 points. The TyG-ALT index is associated with US-FLI score and superior to both ALT and the TyG index in predicting NAFLD severity. These findings indicate the potential of the TyG-ALT index in the management of pediatric NAFLD progression.
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Uncertainty exists regarding the association between diet and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. Dietary factors served as exposures, including intake of alcohol, beef, non-oily fish, fresh fruit, oily fish, dried fruit, coffee, salad/raw vegetable, cereal, tea, water, salt, cooked vegetable, cheese, poultry, pork, Lamb/mutton, bread, and processed meat were extracted from the UK Biobank. Acute tubulointerstitial nephritis served as the outcome extracted from the FinnGen biobank. ⋯ According to the IVW method, processed meat intake (OR = 0.485; P = .00152), non-oily fish intake (OR = 0.396; P = .0454), oily fish intake (OR = 0.612; P = .00161), and dried fruit intake (OR = 0.536; P = .00648) reduced the risk of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. Other dietary factors were not shown to be causally related to acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. This study revealed that intake of processed meat, non-oily fish, oily fish, and dried fruit all decreased the risk of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis.
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There has been significant interest in the changes in menstrual cycles following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection or vaccination. This study aimed to investigate the evidence for such changes and their potential risk factors. We used a descriptive study design and gathered data by sharing an online survey questionnaire on social media platforms. ⋯ However, neither COVID-19 infection nor vaccination resulted in significant changes in the menstrual cycle characteristics (P > .05). Other sociodemographic variables, such as age, body mass index, and smoking, were not significantly associated with menstrual cycle changes(P > .05). The study findings suggest that educational level and anxiety may play a role in menstrual irregularities, whereas COVID-19 infection or vaccination itself may not directly affect menstrual cycle.
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As chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Crohn disease (CD) are closely associated and display a significant positive correlation. However, the underlying mechanisms and disease markers responsible for their cooccurrence remain unknown and have not been systematically studied. Therefore, this study aimed to identify key molecules and pathways commonly involved in both RA and CD through bioinformatic analysis of public sequencing databases. ⋯ The study has further confirmed that inflammation and immune response play a central role in the development of both RA and CD. Interestingly, the study has highlighted hsa-miR-31-5p as a potential key player in the common mechanism of both diseases, representing a new direction in research and a potential therapeutic target. These shared genes, potential mechanisms, and regulatory networks offer new opportunities for further research and may provide hope for future treatment of patients with both RA and CD.