1.Efficient use of social media during the avian influenza A(H7N9) emergency response
Fung Isaac Chun-Hai ; Wong Karen
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 2013;4(4):1-3
During the 2013 outbreak of human infections of avian influenza A(H7N9), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used official data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese government to keep United States public health officials informed of updates of the outbreak.
3.Cytomegalovirus (CMV) hepatitis: an uncommon complication of CMV reactivation in drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms.
Yu Jun WONG ; Karen Jui Lin CHOO ; Jade Xiao Jue SOH ; Chee Kiat TAN
Singapore medical journal 2018;59(1):112-113
Adult
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Cytomegalovirus
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Cytomegalovirus Infections
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complications
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Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome
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complications
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virology
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Eosinophilia
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complications
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virology
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Fatal Outcome
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Female
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Gout
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drug therapy
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Hepatitis
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complications
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virology
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Humans
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Liver
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physiopathology
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Viremia
4.Comparison of Serum Ketone Levels and Cardiometabolic Efficacy of Dapagliflozin versus Sitagliptin among Insulin-Treated Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Chi-Ho LEE ; Mei-Zhen WU ; David Tak-Wai LUI ; Darren Shing-Hei CHAN ; Carol Ho-Yi FONG ; Sammy Wing-Ming SHIU ; Ying WONG ; Alan Chun-Hong LEE ; Joanne King-Yan LAM ; Yu-Cho WOO ; Karen Siu-Ling LAM ; Kelvin Kai-Hang YIU ; Kathryn Choon-Beng TAN
Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2022;46(6):843-854
Background:
Insulin-treated patients with long duration of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at increased risk of ketoacidosis related to sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i). The extent of circulating ketone elevation in these patients remains unknown. We conducted this study to compare the serum ketone response between dapagliflozin, an SGLT2i, and sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, among insulin-treated T2DM patients.
Methods:
This was a randomized, open-label, active comparator-controlled study involving 60 insulin-treated T2DM patients. Participants were randomized 1:1 for 24-week of dapagliflozin 10 mg daily or sitagliptin 100 mg daily. Serum β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) levels were measured at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after intervention. Comprehensive cardiometabolic assessments were performed with measurements of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), vibration-controlled transient elastography and echocardiography.
Results:
Among these 60 insulin-treated participants (mean age 58.8 years, diabetes duration 18.2 years, glycosylated hemoglobin 8.87%), as compared with sitagliptin, serum BHB levels increased significantly after 24 weeks of dapagliflozin (P=0.045), with a median of 27% increase from baseline. Change in serum BHB levels correlated significantly with change in free fatty acid levels. Despite similar glucose lowering, dapagliflozin led to significant improvements in body weight (P=0.006), waist circumference (P=0.028), HDL-C (P=0.041), CEC (P=0.045), controlled attenuation parameter (P=0.007), and liver stiffness (P=0.022). Average E/e’, an echocardiographic index of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, was also significantly lower at 24 weeks in participants treated with dapagliflozin (P=0.037).
Conclusion
Among insulin-treated T2DM patients with long diabetes duration, compared to sitagliptin, dapagliflozin modestly increased ketone levels and was associated with cardiometabolic benefits.
5.Unexpected guests in the tumor microenvironment: microbiome in cancer.
Abigail WONG-ROLLE ; Haohan Karen WEI ; Chen ZHAO ; Chengcheng JIN
Protein & Cell 2021;12(5):426-435
Although intestinal microbiome have been established as an important biomarker and regulator of cancer development and therapeutic response, less is known about the role of microbiome at other body sites in cancer. Emerging evidence has revealed that the local microbiota make up an important part of the tumor microenvironment across many types of cancer, especially in cancers arising from mucosal sites, including the lung, skin and gastrointestinal tract. The populations of bacteria that reside specifically within tumors have been found to be tumor-type specific, and mechanistic studies have demonstrated that tumor-associated microbiota may directly regulate cancer initiation, progression and responses to chemo- or immuno-therapies. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review of the important literature on the microbiota in the cancerous tissue, and their function and mechanism of action in cancer development and treatment.
6.Pandemic of the aging society - sporadic cerebral small vessel disease.
Alexander Yuk Lun LAU ; Bonaventure Yiu Ming IP ; Ho KO ; Bonnie Yin Ka LAM ; Lin SHI ; Karen Ka Yan MA ; Lisa Wing Chi AU ; Yannie Oi Yan SOO ; Thomas Wai Hong LEUNG ; Adrian WONG ; Vincent Chung Tong MOK
Chinese Medical Journal 2021;134(2):143-150
Age-related sporadic cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) has gained increasing attention over the past decades because of its increasing prevalence associated with an aging population. The widespread application of and advances in brain magnetic resonance imaging in recent decades have significantly increased researchers' understanding in the in vivo evolution of CSVD, its impact upon the brain, its risk factors, and the mechanisms that explain the various clinical manifestation associated with sporadic CSVD. In this review, we aimed to provide an update on the pathophysiology, risk factors, biomarkers, and the determinants and spectrum of the clinical manifestation of sporadic CSVD.
Aged
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Aging
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Brain/diagnostic imaging*
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Cerebral Small Vessel Diseases/epidemiology*
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Humans
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Pandemics