Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) plays an important role in the process of mitochondrial fusion, and is involved in regulating mitochondrial function and morphological changes. Studies have found that Mfn2 has a tumor suppressor effect in a variety of malignant tumors and their cell lines, including cervical cancer, hepatocellular cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and bladder cancer. The difference in the expression of Mfn2 in malignant tumor tissues suggests that Mfn2 may play an important role in the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration of malignant tumor cells. As a cancer-related gene, Mfn2 provides new ideas for gene therapy of malignant tumors.

Objective To evaluate early occult brain damage by diffusion tensor imaging in patients with type Ⅱ diabetes mellitus.Methods High resolution three-dimensional T1-weighted fast spoiled gradient recalled echo MRI images and diffusion tensor imaging were obtained from 16 patients with type Ⅱ diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 16 normal controls (NC).Average apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map and fractional anisotropy (FA) map were calculated and analyzed with voxel-based analysis.Analysis of covariance was performed to compare ADC and FA between T2DM and NC.Results Increased ADC values of gray matter were demonstrated in right superior temporal gyrus,middle frontal gyrus,anterior cingulate gyrus,middle cingulate gyrus,inferior occipital gyrus,and left lingual gyrus,operculum orbitale,fusiform gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus in T2DM (voxel numbers in clusters were 176-3125,P ＜ 0.01).And increased ADC values of white matter were demonstrated in the regions of right middle temporal lobe,linual lobe,middle frontal lobe,calcarine gyrus,superior parietal lobe,and left operculum orbitale in T2DM patients compared with NC (voxel numbers in clusters were 200-781,P ＜ 0.01).Decreased FA values of gray natter were mainly located in left thalamus,bilateral caudate nuclei and right cuneus in T2DM(voxel numbers in clusters were 210-1402,P ＜0.01).Decreased FA values of white matter were demonstrated in the regions of right cuneus and the body of corpus callosum in T2DM (voxel numbers in clusters were 206,253,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The occult brain damage is demonstrated as increased ADC values and decreased FA values in regional brain parenchyma in type Ⅱ diabetes mellitus.Voxel-based analysis of diffusion tensor indices may be a simple and effective tool for the evaluation of occult brain damage in type]][diabetes mellitus.

Through several thousand years’ inheritance and development by Chinese people, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has formed its unique theoretic system, whose efficacy has been widely accepted. However, because TCM theory focuses on the relationships among syndromes, treatment and efficacy, instead of the cause-and-effect relationship explored by modern natural science, the scientificity of TCM has always been questioned. In recent years, because virtual-world clinical research mode and the concept of “big data” were emphasized, increasing researchers began to put their research emphasis on the correlativity between intervening measures of diseases and outcome indicators. This change and the advancement of computer data mining and analysis technology, bring great opportunities for the further development of TCM theory and practice. This article concluded data mining technology used in TCM diagnosis and treatment in recent years, such as clustering analysis, decision tree, Bayesian network, neural network and multi-instance learning, which showed how to apply these methods to reveal rules of TCM diagnosis and treatment from a large number of TCM syndrome data, find knowledge hidden in data, and show TCM effectiveness supported by data.

Objective To study the CT and MRI findings of adenoid cystic carcinoma(ACC) of the head and neck.Methods All 16 cases of ACC were verified by histopathology.Imaging data were analyzed retrospectively.Results The lesion mainly occurred in maxillary sinus in 5 cases,in middle ear and in the floor of mouth in 3 cases respectively,in nasopharynx and parotid in 2 cases respectively,in nasal cavity in 1 case.On CT,the lesion showed ill defined and irregular-shaped soft mass in 6 cases and associated with osteolytic bony destruction in 3 cases.On MR T1WI,the lesion showed isointensity compared to the muscle in 14 cases and slightly hypointensity in 2 cases.On T2WI,the lesion showed isointensity in 6 cases,hyperintensity in 10 cases,heterogeneous intensity in 9 cases.Postcontrast MR imagings demonstrated obvious enhancement in 15 cases,moderate enhancement in 1 case.Lesion with short T2 septum in 7 cases,all of them showed no enhancement.Conclusion CT is the optimal modality in showing osteolytic bony destruction.MRI can demonstrate the invaded extent of the lesions clearly.Combined imaging modalities can provide more comprehensive information in diagnosis and therapy of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background Idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor (IOIP) is a commom orbital disease,with serious eye symptoms and replase tendency,and its pathogenesis is still unclear.Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-related proteins participate in many important pathophysiological process,however,whether NF-κB plays a role in the IOIP process is worthy of attention.Objective This study was to explore the roles of NF-κB pathway in IOIP pathogenesis.Methods Twenty-four IOIP specimens were collected during surgery in Beijing Tongren Hospital from September 2010 to May 2016.The histopathological characteristics of IOIP were examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining.The expression and location of NF-κB/p65,p-p65,p50 and inhibitor of κB (IκB-ot) were detected by immunohistochemistry and verified by immunocytochemistry and Western blot assay.Results The histopathological features of IOIP were numerous small lymphocyte infiltraion and fibrous tissue proliferation,and a lot of epithelioid cells were seen in lacrimal gland-involved specimens.NF-κB/p65 was positively expressed in the cytoplasm of all 24 specimens and the nucleus in 15 specimens with the expressing rate of 62.5％.p50 was expressed in the cytoplasm in 22 specimens with the expressing rate of 91.7％ and in the nucleus in 17 specimens with the expressing rate of 70.8％.The positive expression of p-p65 was found in 22 specimens with the expressing rate of 91.7％,and IκB-α was expressed in the cytoplasm of 11 specimens with the expressing rate of 45.8％.These results were confirmed by immunocytochemistry and Western blot assay.Conclusions NF-κB pathway is activiated during IOIP process,and NF-κB pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of IOIP.

OBJECTIVETo elucidate the volume changes of cortical and subcortical reward circuitry in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

METHODSHigh-resolution three-dimensional T1-weighted fast spoiled gradient recalled echo MRI images were obtained from 16 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 16 normal controls, and 11 type 2 diabetic patients also received the same MRI scans after insulin therapy for 1 year. Volumetric analysis was performed and analysis of covariance and paired t test were applied.

RESULTSA decreased volume was found in the left insular lobe, left nucleus accumbens area, right hippocampus, putamen and amygdala in type 2 diabetic patients compared with normal controls (P<0.05). After insulin therapy for 1 year, an increased volume of bilateral cortical reward structures was observed (left, 33.65∓3.66 ml; right, 33.35∓4.25 ml) compared the baseline level (left, 31.45∓2.90 ml; right, 31.12∓2.97 ml) in diabetic patients (P<0.05). No significant volume change in the bilateral basal ganglia structures was found after insulin therapy for 1 year (P>0.05), and bilateral ventral diencephalon area showed an increased volume after the treatment (left, 3.26∓0.68 ml; right, 3.20∓0.78 ml) compared with the baseline (left, 2.96∓0.76 ml; right, 2.82∓0.90 ml)(P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONType 2 diabetic patients have a decreased volume of the cortical and subcortical reward circuitry, and insulin therapy can reverse such changes and improve the damage of reward circuitry.

Aged ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Entorhinal Cortex ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nucleus Accumbens ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the structural connectivity between visual cortex and auditory cortex in healthy adults.

METHODSDiffusion tensor imaging was performed to examine the brain of 21 healthy adult subjects. The structural connectivity was calculated based on fractional anisotropy (FA) value of the visual and auditory cortices, and fiber tracking was performed between the visual cortex and auditory cortex.

RESULTSPositive structural connectivity was demonstrated between the bilateral visual cortices, and between the bilateral auditory cortices. Ipsilateral primary auditory cortex presented a negative structural connectivity with the ipsilateral visual cortex, and a positive structural connectivity with the contralateral visual cortex. A positive connectivity was demonstrated between the secondary auditory cortex and visual cortex. Tracking analysis showed fiber connectivity between the bilateral visual cortices, and between the ipsilateral auditory and visual cortices.

CONCLUSIONIntrinsic structural connectivity is present between the visual cortex and auditory cortex in the brain of healthy adults.

Adult ; Auditory Cortex ; anatomy & histology ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Visual Cortex ; anatomy & histology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate early occult brain functional damage in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODSHigh-resolution three-dimensional T1-weighted fast spoiled gradient recalled echo MRI and resting-state functional MRI images were obtained from 18 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 18 normal control subjects. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) map, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) map, and functional connectivity map of the bilateral hippocampus and posterior cingulate gyrus were calculated and voxel-based analysis was performed using two-sample t-test.

RESULTSIn type 2 diabetic patients, decreased ReHo was deteted in the right thalamus, hippocampus, olfactory cortex and left putamen as compared with the normal controls. The decreased ALFF was found mainly in the left middle frontal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus and middle occipital gyrus in the diabetic patients. The patients showed reduced functional connectivity between the bilateral hippocampus but not between the bilateral posterior gyrus and the other brain regions.

CONCLUSIONThe occult brain damage is featured by decreased ReHo and ALFF in multiple brain regions and reduced functional connectivity between the bilateral hippocampus in type 2 diabetic patients.

Brain ; pathology ; Brain Injuries ; Brain Mapping ; Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; pathology ; Frontal Lobe ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

OBJECTIVETo investigate the age-related changes in resting functional connectivity of the marginal division (MrD) of the neostriatum in healthy adults detected using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

METHODSForty-four healthy volunteers aged between 22 and 44 years (mean 30.36∓6.31 years) and 20 elderly volunteers aged between 48-83 years (mean 61.4∓10.25 years) underwent conventional MRI, 3D structural MRI and rs-fMRI. MrD was defined manually on the structural images for computation of the functional connectivity maps. The single group data were analyzed with independent sample t test, and the data of the two-group were examined by analysis of covariance with gender as the covariance.

RESULTSIn the young volunteers, the brain regions of functional connectivity related with the MrD were located in bilateral middle cingulate gyri, putamen, thalamus and amygdala, as compared with the brain regions of the bilateral putamen, thalamus, amygdala, insular cortex, rolandic operculum and right supramarginal gyrus in the elderly volunteers. Compared with the young volunteers, the elderly volunteers showed decreased functional connectivity related with the MrD in the bilateral middle cingulate gyri, parahippocampal gyri and left hippocampus.

CONCLUSIONAn increased age is associated with alterations in the functional connectivity related with the MrD in healthy adults.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Limbic System ; physiology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neural Pathways ; Rest ; Young Adult

Objective To study the transport risk and factors that influence deaths of very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants.Method All infants transferred to our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by our hospital transport team or local hospital transport team from January 2014 to December 2015 were included in our study.Their clinical data were retrospectively studied.The risks of transport between hospitals were analyzed.The risk factors of deaths within and after 7 days of admission were further analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis.The receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of mortality index for neonatal transportation (MINT),transport related mortality score (TREMS),transport risk index of physiologic stability (TRIPS) for predicting mortality of preterm infants.Result (1) A total of 527 cases of ELBW/VLBW infants were included in our study.There were no deaths during transport.There were 10.2％ (54/527) died within and 8.9％ (42/473) died after 7 days of hospitalization.(2) Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that scleredema of newborn,secondary transport,gastrointestinal malformations,metabolic acidosis,high TREMS score,and high MINT score were risk factors of mortality within 7 days of admission for ELBW/VLBW infants;necrotizing enterocolitis,intraventricular hemorrhage ≥ three degree,high MINT score and low admission weight were risk factors of mortality after 7 days of admission.(3) The area under the ROC curve for MINT,TREMS,and TRIPS score were 0.672,0.655 and 0.665,respectively.The cut-off values for MINT score (cut-off 8,sensitivity 0.444,specificity 0.829),for TREMS score (cut-off 2,sensitivity 0.500,specificity 0.757,for TRIPS score (cut-off 20,sensitivity 0.444,specificity O.829) were selected to predict mortality within 7 days of admission.Conclusion (1) Secondary transport is the transport-related risk factor of mortality within 7 days of admission for ELBW/VLBW infants.(2) High MINT score is the risk factor of mortality within and after 7 days of admission.(3) If MINT ≥ 8,TREMS ≥2,or TRIPS ≥20,it might significantly increase the risk of mortality of ELBW/ VLBW infants within 7 days of admission after transport.