Objective To study the visfatin level changes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to study the correlation of visfatin level and atherosclerosis in RA.Methods Fifty cases of patients were divided to the plaque group (33 cases) and plaque-free group (17 cases) according to the carotid intima media thickness checked by carotid ultrasonography.In addition, their blood lipid level, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), rheumatoid factors (RFs), anti-CCP, visfatin etc.were measured.Fifty healthy people were set as the control group.The correlation between the visfatin level of RA patients and atherosclerosis was analyzed.The statistical analysis was carried out with independent t-test,analysis of variance, Spearman correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression.Results The serum visfatin level of RA plaques group was obviously higher than that of the plaque-free group [(47±22) μg/L vs (34±19) μg/L, t=4.361, P＜0.01].The serum visfatin level of RA patients was positively correlated to HOMA-IR (r=0.567, P=0.001), RF (r=0.502, P=0.003), anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline, (anti-CCP) (r=0.420, P=0.038) and carotid artery IMT (r=0.596, P=0.001).High-density lipoprotein-C (OR=1.009, P=0.020), HOMA-IR (OR=1.450, P=0.006), anti-CCP (OR=1.005, P=0.014) and visfatin (OR=0.971, P=0.008) were independent relevant factors affecting carotid artery IMT.Conclusion The serum visfatin level of RA patients is closely related to atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is recognized as a common inflammatory skin disease and frequently occurred in Asian and Black individuals. OBJECTIVE: Since the limitation of dataset associated with human severe AD, this study aimed to screen potential novel biomarkers involved in mild AD. METHODS: Expression profile data (GSE75890) were obtained from the database of Gene Expression Omnibus. Using limma package, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between samples from AD and healthy control were selected. Furthermore, function analysis was conducted. Meanwhile, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and transcription factor (TF)-miRNA-target regulatory network were constructed. And quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the expressions patterns of key genes. RESULTS: In total, 285 DEGs including 214 upregulated and 71 downregulated genes were identified between samples from two groups. The upregulated DEGs were mainly involved in nine pathways, such as hematopoietic cell lineage, pertussis, p53 signaling pathway, staphylococcus aureus infection, and cell cycle, while tight junction was the only pathway enriched by the downregulated DEGs. Cyclin B (CCNB)1, CCNB2, cyclin A (CCNA)2, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand (CXCL)10, and CXCL9 were key nodes in PPI network. The TF-miRNA-target gene regulatory network focused on miRNAs such as miR-106b, miR-106a, and miR-17, TFs such as nuclear factor kappa B subunit 1, RELA proto-oncogene, Sp1 transcription factor, and genes such as matrix metallopeptidase 9, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma , and serpin family E member 1. Moreover, the upregulation of these genes, including CCNB1, CCNB2, CCNA2, CXCL10, and CXCL9 were confirmed by qRT-PCR. CONCLUSION CCNB1, CCNB2, CCNA2, and CXCL9 might be novel markers of mild AD. miR-106b and miR-17 may involve in regulation of immune response in AD patients.

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and tolerability of 1-week 1％ terbinafine hydrochloride cream, 1- and 4-week 2％ miconazole nitrate cream in the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis, and to observe the relapse in patients treated with these regimens. MethodsA multi-center, randomized, double-blind and parallel group study was conducted. By using a stratified randomization protocol, patients were divided into 3 groups to apply terbinafine cream twice daily for 1 week and inert cream(placebo) for the next 3 weeks (1week terbinafine group), miconazole cream twice daily for 1 week and inert cream(placebo) for the next 3 weeks (1-week miconazole group), and miconazole cream twice daily for 4 weeks (4-week miconazole group),respectively. Clinical and mycological assessment was made on week 1, 3, 4, 6, 9 and 12 after the initiation of treatment. ResultsA total of 152 patients with positive baseline mycological culture were eligible for the efficacy analysis. After 4-week treatment, the mycological cure rates were 94.7％, 87.8％ and 82.6％, global effective rates 89.5％, 81.6％ and 63.0％, respectively for the 1-week terbinafine group, 4-week miconazole group and 1-week miconazole group. On week 12, the mycological relapse rates in 1-week terbinafine, 4-week miconazole and 1-week miconazole group were 13％, 14％ and 21％ respectively, and the incidence of adverse reaction was 2.38％, 2.38％ and 3.57％, respectively. ConclusionsAs far as the efficacy and recurrence in patients are concerned, the 1-week terbinafine cream regimen is similar to the 4-week miconazole cream regimen for the treatment of interdigital tinea pedis.