Bmc Med
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Recent studies found associations between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the causal nature of this association is still uncertain. ⋯ Our study suggests that genetically predicted NAFLD was associated with a higher risk of developing PCOS but less evidence for vice versa. Fasting insulin and sex hormones might mediate the link between NAFLD and PCOS.
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After ischemic stroke (IS), peripheral leukocytes infiltrate the damaged region and modulate the response to injury. Peripheral blood cells display distinctive gene expression signatures post-IS and these transcriptional programs reflect changes in immune responses to IS. Dissecting the temporal dynamics of gene expression after IS improves our understanding of immune and clotting responses at the molecular and cellular level that are involved in acute brain injury and may assist with time-targeted, cell-specific therapy. ⋯ Altogether, the identified genes and pathways are critical for understanding how the immune and clotting systems change over time after stroke. This study identifies potential time- and cell-specific biomarkers and treatment targets.
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To assess the association between the reproductive factors of age at menarche, age at menopause, and reproductive span and the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke (IS). ⋯ This study demonstrated different patterns of association between age at menarche and incidence of MI and IS: a linear association for MI versus a U-shaped association for IS. Female reproductive factors in addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors should be considered when assessing overall cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women.
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Naming a newly discovered disease is a difficult process; in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the existence of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), which includes long COVID, it has proven especially challenging. Disease definitions and assignment of a diagnosis code are often asynchronous and iterative. The clinical definition and our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of long COVID are still in flux, and the deployment of an ICD-10-CM code for long COVID in the USA took nearly 2 years after patients had begun to describe their condition. Here, we leverage the largest publicly available HIPAA-limited dataset about patients with COVID-19 in the US to examine the heterogeneity of adoption and use of U09.9, the ICD-10-CM code for "Post COVID-19 condition, unspecified." ⋯ This work offers insight into potential subtypes and current practice patterns around long COVID and speaks to the existence of disparities in the diagnosis of patients with long COVID. This latter finding in particular requires further research and urgent remediation.