Aging Us
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Previous observational studies have reported an association between impaired glucose metabolism and Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to examine the causal association of glycemic traits with Alzheimer's disease. We used a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to evaluate the causal effect of six glycemic traits (type 2 diabetes, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1c, homeostasis model assessment- insulin resistance and HOMA-β-cell function) on Alzheimer's disease. ⋯ The Mendelian randomization analysis showed that 1-standard deviation higher fasting glucose and lower HOMA-β-cell function (indicating pancreatic β-cell dysfunction) were causally associated with a substantial increase in risk of Alzheimer's disease (odds ratio=1.33, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.68, p=0.02; odds ratio=1.92, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-3.21, p=0.01). However, no significant association was observed for other glycemic traits. This Mendelian randomization analysis provides evidence of causal associations between glycemic traits, especially high fasting glucose and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, and high risk of Alzheimer's disease.
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Letter
Comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and its receptor ACE2 with evolutionarily related coronaviruses.
The pandemic COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is spreading very rapidly worldwide. To date, the origin and intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear. ⋯ The ACE2 gene sequences closest to that of humans in evolution include those from Nannospalax galili (Upper Galilee mountains blind mole rat), Phyllostomus discolor (pale spear-nosed bat), Mus musculus (house mouse), Delphinapterus leucas (beluga whale), and Catharus ustulatus (Swainson's thrush). We conclude that SARS-CoV-2 may have evolved from a distant common ancestor with the common coronaviruses but not a branch of any of them, implying that the prevalent pandemic COVID-19 agent SARS-CoV-2 may have existed in a yet to be identified primary host for a long time.
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In this retrospective study we assessed the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in patients with critical or severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We enrolled 181 patients admitted to Huoshenshan Hospital (Wuhan, China) with confirmed COVID-19 between January 2020 and February 2020. Ninety-two patients were treated with tocilizumab, and 89 patients were treated conventionally. ⋯ In addition, tocilizumab relieved fever, cough, and shortness of breath with no reported adverse drug reactions. These findings suggest tocilizumab improves clinical outcomes and is effective for treatment of patients with critical or severe COVID-19. However, future clinical trials are needed to better understand the impact of tocilizumab interference with IL-6 and provide a therapeutic strategy for treatment of COVID-19.
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Observational Study
Clinical course and characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan, China: a single-centered, retrospective, observational study.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the extensive studies aiming to understand the pathology of COVID-19, the clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 remain mostly unclear. In this study, we assessed the clinical course and features of COVID-19 patients. ⋯ We analyzed data from 109 confirmed COVID-19 cases. We compared the clinicopathological characteristic of patients stratified according to age and underlying diseases, as well as assessed the detection rates of different diagnostic methods.
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With the aging of the world population, and improvements in medical and health technologies, there are increasing numbers of elderly patients undergoing anaesthesia and surgery. Perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction has gradually attracted increasing attention from academics. Very recently, 6 well-known journals jointly recommended that the term perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction (defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition) should be adopted to improve the quality and consistency of academic communications. ⋯ Increasing evidence shows that the gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in neuropsychiatric diseases, and in central nervous system functions via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. We recently reported that abnormalities in the composition of the gut microbiota might underlie the mechanisms of postoperative cognitive dysfunction and postoperative delirium, suggesting a critical role for the gut microbiota in perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction. This article therefore reviewed recent findings on the linkage between the gut microbiota and the underlying mechanisms of perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction.