The medulla oblongata,situated at the caudal portion of the brainstem,serves as a critical regulatory center responsible for maintaining fundamental vital functions including respiratory and cardiovascular homeostasis.As a pivotal hub within the autonomic nervous system,it orchestrates the coordinated control of afferent and efferent neural pathways.Dysfunction of this region may precipitate life-threatening cardiorespiratory arrest,associated with substantial mortality rates.This case report presents a patient who developed acute extensive anterior myocardial infarction during treatment with dual antiplatelet therapy and moderate-intensity statins following acute medullary infarction.It is hypothesized that the pathogenesis may involve the acceleration of plaque erosion by the stroke-heart syndrome.This clinical case provides valuable insights into the complex neurocardiac interplay,particularly highlighting the imperative for enhanced recognition of brain-heart axis interactions in cerebrovascular pathology.

Objectives:To describe the use of antihypertensive, antidiabetic and lipid-lowering drugs, and evaluate the effects on blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids controls required by Chinese Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (the guideline) in a community-based cohort of individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease. To analyze the association of the uses of antihypertensive, antidiabetic and lipid-lowering drugs, and the comprehensive control of blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids with cardiovascular disease. Methods:From the CHinese Electronic health Records Research in Yinzhou (CHERRY), those who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease and aged 40-75 years as of January 1, 2013 in in Yinzhou District of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province were selected as study subjects. The information about their antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering drug uses between 2013 and 2015 was collected, and blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid measurements were conducted during the follow-up. The study constructed two kinds of comprehensive scores: the comprehensive medication score based on the guideline requirement for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, dividing the study participants into the compliancy group and non-compliancy group; and the comprehensive control score based on the guideline requirement for blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipids control, dividing the study participants into better control group, moderate control group, and poor control group. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the association of the comprehensive medication score and comprehensive control score with cardiovascular disease. The incidence data of cardiovascular disease were collected from January 1, 2015 (baseline time) to August 31, 2020 (follow up end time).Results:A total of 79 734 participants at high risk for cardiovascular disease were included in the study, in whom 68.4%, 27.4%, and 4.2% had 1, 2, or 3 cardiometabolic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia), respectively. In the participants with hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia from 2013 to 2015, the proportions of those who had two years of medication compliancy records were 66.0%, 67.4%, and 13.9%, respectively. In the hypertension patients, 59.2% had better blood pressure control, in the diabetes patients, 28.7% had better blood glucose control, and in the patients with hyperlipidemia, 27.4% had better blood lipid control. After a median follow-up of 5.66 years, 4 088 cardiovascular disease cases or deaths occurred. After multivariate adjustment, compared with the non-compliancy group, the compliancy group had lower risk for cardiovascular disease ( HR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96). Compared with the better control group, the poor control group had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease ( HR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.53-1.81). In the moderate control group, the risk increased significantly in the diabetes patients ( HR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.07-1.56), while no additional risk for cardiovascular disease was observed in non-diabetes patients ( HR=1.06, 95% CI: 0.97-1.16). Conclusions:Compliancy to the medication required by the guideline is associated with lower risk for cardiovascular disease. However, it is still necessary to improve the medication compliancy in people at high risk in primary prevention, especially in the patients with hyperlipidemia, due to their low taking rate of lipid-lowering drugs. Additionally, as the requirement of the guideline becomes more stringent, the management of disease has met more challenges. Notably, diabetes patients who have not met the guideline requirement are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, to whom the disease management should be strengthened.

The medulla oblongata,situated at the caudal portion of the brainstem,serves as a critical regulatory center responsible for maintaining fundamental vital functions including respiratory and cardiovascular homeostasis.As a pivotal hub within the autonomic nervous system,it orchestrates the coordinated control of afferent and efferent neural pathways.Dysfunction of this region may precipitate life-threatening cardiorespiratory arrest,associated with substantial mortality rates.This case report presents a patient who developed acute extensive anterior myocardial infarction during treatment with dual antiplatelet therapy and moderate-intensity statins following acute medullary infarction.It is hypothesized that the pathogenesis may involve the acceleration of plaque erosion by the stroke-heart syndrome.This clinical case provides valuable insights into the complex neurocardiac interplay,particularly highlighting the imperative for enhanced recognition of brain-heart axis interactions in cerebrovascular pathology.

Objectives:To describe the use of antihypertensive, antidiabetic and lipid-lowering drugs, and evaluate the effects on blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids controls required by Chinese Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (the guideline) in a community-based cohort of individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease. To analyze the association of the uses of antihypertensive, antidiabetic and lipid-lowering drugs, and the comprehensive control of blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids with cardiovascular disease. Methods:From the CHinese Electronic health Records Research in Yinzhou (CHERRY), those who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease and aged 40-75 years as of January 1, 2013 in in Yinzhou District of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province were selected as study subjects. The information about their antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and lipid-lowering drug uses between 2013 and 2015 was collected, and blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipid measurements were conducted during the follow-up. The study constructed two kinds of comprehensive scores: the comprehensive medication score based on the guideline requirement for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, dividing the study participants into the compliancy group and non-compliancy group; and the comprehensive control score based on the guideline requirement for blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood lipids control, dividing the study participants into better control group, moderate control group, and poor control group. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the association of the comprehensive medication score and comprehensive control score with cardiovascular disease. The incidence data of cardiovascular disease were collected from January 1, 2015 (baseline time) to August 31, 2020 (follow up end time).Results:A total of 79 734 participants at high risk for cardiovascular disease were included in the study, in whom 68.4%, 27.4%, and 4.2% had 1, 2, or 3 cardiometabolic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia), respectively. In the participants with hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia from 2013 to 2015, the proportions of those who had two years of medication compliancy records were 66.0%, 67.4%, and 13.9%, respectively. In the hypertension patients, 59.2% had better blood pressure control, in the diabetes patients, 28.7% had better blood glucose control, and in the patients with hyperlipidemia, 27.4% had better blood lipid control. After a median follow-up of 5.66 years, 4 088 cardiovascular disease cases or deaths occurred. After multivariate adjustment, compared with the non-compliancy group, the compliancy group had lower risk for cardiovascular disease ( HR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96). Compared with the better control group, the poor control group had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease ( HR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.53-1.81). In the moderate control group, the risk increased significantly in the diabetes patients ( HR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.07-1.56), while no additional risk for cardiovascular disease was observed in non-diabetes patients ( HR=1.06, 95% CI: 0.97-1.16). Conclusions:Compliancy to the medication required by the guideline is associated with lower risk for cardiovascular disease. However, it is still necessary to improve the medication compliancy in people at high risk in primary prevention, especially in the patients with hyperlipidemia, due to their low taking rate of lipid-lowering drugs. Additionally, as the requirement of the guideline becomes more stringent, the management of disease has met more challenges. Notably, diabetes patients who have not met the guideline requirement are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, to whom the disease management should be strengthened.

Aim To systematically investigate the ac-tive components,targets,and regulatory pathways of Po-lygonum capitatum in intervening atherosclerosis(AS)through network pharmacology,molecular docking and animal experiments.Methods Active components of Polygonum capitatum and AS-related targets were screened and identified through database searches.Protein-protein interaction(PPI)network analysis was performed using the STRING database,followed by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses via the David plat-form.Molecular docking validation was conducted with AutoDock.An AS model was established in Syrian golden hamsters fed a high-fat diet.Predicted pathways and targets were validated using qPCR,ELISA,and histopathological assessment of aortic and hepatic tis-sues via HE staining.Results Network pharmacology identified 27 potential active components of Polygonum capitatum(primarily flavonoids such as quercetin and luteolin)and 110 drug-disease intersection targets,in-cluding core targets MMP-9,ALB,and AKT1.GO and KEGG analyses enriched 593 and 125 pathways,re-spectively,with the NF-κB inflammatory pathway,TNF signaling pathway and lipid metabolism/atherosclerosis pathways highlighted as key mechanisms.Animal ex-periments demonstrated that Polygonum capitatum im-proved serum lipid profiles(reduced TC,TG,LDL-C)in AS hamsters,suppressed the MMP-9/NF-κB signa-ling pathway(downregulated MMP-9,p65 phosphoryla-tion,TNF-α,and IL-6),and inhibited VSMC synthetic phenotypic transformation(upregulated α-SMA and myocardin)by downregulating MCPIP1.Additionally,Polygonum capitatum ameliorated aortic lesions and he-patic lipid deposition in AS hamsters.Conclusions Polygonum capitatum alleviates AS by synergistically regulating the MMP-9/NF-κB/MCPIP1 axis through flavonoid components,suppressing vascular inflammato-ry cascades and maintaining VSMC contractile pheno-types.This reflects Polygonum capitatum's multi-com-ponent,multi-pathway,and multi-target characteristics in combating AS.

Purpose To explore the characteristics of gray matter(GM)volume changes in migraine patients using 7T MRI and voxel-based morphometry(VBM).Materials and Methods This prospective study enrolled 30 migraine patients and 41 age-and gender-matched healthy controls from Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical University between November 2023 and November 2024.All participants underwent 7T MRI with 3D T1-weighted magnetization-prepared two rapid gradient-echo(MP2RAGE)sequences for structural brain imaging.VBM analysis was performed to quantify GM,white matter,cerebrospinal fluid and total brain volumes,followed by calculations of their relative percentages.The difference in GM volume between the two groups was compared to identify brain regions with characteristic GM volume changes in migraine patients.And the correlation between these characteristic GM volume alterations and clinical scales was analyzed.Results Migraine patients exhibited significantly lower total GM volume compared to healthy controls(t=2.096,P=0.040),while no group differences were observed in white matter or cerebrospinal fluid volumes(t=0.980,0.151;P=0.330,0.880).VBM analysis revealed reduced GM volume in the left orbitofrontal cortex(t=4.301,P=0.022),left hippocampus(t=5.226,P=0.006)and left parahippocampal gyrus(t=3.960,P=0.040)in the migraine group.Negative correlations were identified between:left orbitofrontal cortex GM volume and headache duration(r=-0.506,P=0.008),left hippocampal GM volume and patient health questionnaire-9 scores(r=-0.620,P=0.003),and left parahippocampal GM volume and visual analogue scale scores(r=-0.449,P=0.019).Conclusion VBM analysis based on 7T MP2RAGE data demonstrates characteristic GM volume reductions in the left orbitofrontal cortex,left hippocampus and left parahippocampal gyrus in migraine patients,with these structural alterations significantly correlate with depressive symptoms and headache burden.The observed microstructural abnormalities may reflect underlying pathophysiological mechanisms related to pain processing,emotional regulation and long-term disease burden in migraine.

Aim To systematically investigate the ac-tive components,targets,and regulatory pathways of Po-lygonum capitatum in intervening atherosclerosis(AS)through network pharmacology,molecular docking and animal experiments.Methods Active components of Polygonum capitatum and AS-related targets were screened and identified through database searches.Protein-protein interaction(PPI)network analysis was performed using the STRING database,followed by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses via the David plat-form.Molecular docking validation was conducted with AutoDock.An AS model was established in Syrian golden hamsters fed a high-fat diet.Predicted pathways and targets were validated using qPCR,ELISA,and histopathological assessment of aortic and hepatic tis-sues via HE staining.Results Network pharmacology identified 27 potential active components of Polygonum capitatum(primarily flavonoids such as quercetin and luteolin)and 110 drug-disease intersection targets,in-cluding core targets MMP-9,ALB,and AKT1.GO and KEGG analyses enriched 593 and 125 pathways,re-spectively,with the NF-κB inflammatory pathway,TNF signaling pathway and lipid metabolism/atherosclerosis pathways highlighted as key mechanisms.Animal ex-periments demonstrated that Polygonum capitatum im-proved serum lipid profiles(reduced TC,TG,LDL-C)in AS hamsters,suppressed the MMP-9/NF-κB signa-ling pathway(downregulated MMP-9,p65 phosphoryla-tion,TNF-α,and IL-6),and inhibited VSMC synthetic phenotypic transformation(upregulated α-SMA and myocardin)by downregulating MCPIP1.Additionally,Polygonum capitatum ameliorated aortic lesions and he-patic lipid deposition in AS hamsters.Conclusions Polygonum capitatum alleviates AS by synergistically regulating the MMP-9/NF-κB/MCPIP1 axis through flavonoid components,suppressing vascular inflammato-ry cascades and maintaining VSMC contractile pheno-types.This reflects Polygonum capitatum's multi-com-ponent,multi-pathway,and multi-target characteristics in combating AS.

Purpose To explore the characteristics of gray matter(GM)volume changes in migraine patients using 7T MRI and voxel-based morphometry(VBM).Materials and Methods This prospective study enrolled 30 migraine patients and 41 age-and gender-matched healthy controls from Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical University between November 2023 and November 2024.All participants underwent 7T MRI with 3D T1-weighted magnetization-prepared two rapid gradient-echo(MP2RAGE)sequences for structural brain imaging.VBM analysis was performed to quantify GM,white matter,cerebrospinal fluid and total brain volumes,followed by calculations of their relative percentages.The difference in GM volume between the two groups was compared to identify brain regions with characteristic GM volume changes in migraine patients.And the correlation between these characteristic GM volume alterations and clinical scales was analyzed.Results Migraine patients exhibited significantly lower total GM volume compared to healthy controls(t=2.096,P=0.040),while no group differences were observed in white matter or cerebrospinal fluid volumes(t=0.980,0.151;P=0.330,0.880).VBM analysis revealed reduced GM volume in the left orbitofrontal cortex(t=4.301,P=0.022),left hippocampus(t=5.226,P=0.006)and left parahippocampal gyrus(t=3.960,P=0.040)in the migraine group.Negative correlations were identified between:left orbitofrontal cortex GM volume and headache duration(r=-0.506,P=0.008),left hippocampal GM volume and patient health questionnaire-9 scores(r=-0.620,P=0.003),and left parahippocampal GM volume and visual analogue scale scores(r=-0.449,P=0.019).Conclusion VBM analysis based on 7T MP2RAGE data demonstrates characteristic GM volume reductions in the left orbitofrontal cortex,left hippocampus and left parahippocampal gyrus in migraine patients,with these structural alterations significantly correlate with depressive symptoms and headache burden.The observed microstructural abnormalities may reflect underlying pathophysiological mechanisms related to pain processing,emotional regulation and long-term disease burden in migraine.

The purpose of this study was to identify the tick species native to Xindi Township,Yumin County,Xinjiang,China.Preliminary morphological identification of parasitic ticks collected from animals in the area was conducted with an ultra-depth of field three-dimensional VHX 600 digital stereo microscope.Total DNA of the ticks was extracted,amplified by PCR based on the COI and ITS2 gene loci,and the posi-tive PCR products were sequenced.The sequence were a-ligned with reference sequences from the NCBI database were aligned with the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool.A genet-ic phylogenetic tree was generated with the neighbor-joining method of MEGA 7.0 software to determine the evolutionary biological characteristics of ticks.Morphological identification showed that the ticks collected from Xindi Township of Yu-min County were consistent with the characteristics of Hya-lomma asiaticum.An evolutionary tree based on the COI and ITS2 gene sequences showed that the ticks collected in this study were clustered with known H.asiaticum sequences.The PCR products of COI and ITS2 were sequenced and compared,which confirmed that the collected tick species were H.asiaticum,in agreement with the morphological and molecular biological results.These findings help to clarify the distribution of ticks in Xindi Township of Xinjiang,and provide basic data for the analysis of tick genetic and evolutionary characteristics,as reference for surveillance and control of ticks in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Discrete event simulation (DES) model is based on individual data, by which discrete events over time are simulated to reflect disease progression. The effects of individual characteristics on disease progression could be considered in the DES model. Moreover, unlike state-transition models, DES model without setting of fixed cycle can contribute to more accurate estimation of event time, especially in the evaluation of the long-term effectiveness of screening strategies for complex diseases in which time dimension needs to be considered. This article introduces the general principles, construction steps, analytic methods and other relevant issues of the DES model. Based on a research case of estimating the cost-effectiveness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms in women aged 65 years and above in the United Kingdom, key points in applications of the DES model in analysis on effectiveness of complex disease screening are discussed in detail, including model construction and analysis and interpretation of the results. DES model can predict occurring time of discrete events accurately by establishing the distribution function of their occurring time and is increasingly used to evaluate the screening strategies for complex diseases in which time dimension needs to be considered. In the construction of DES model, it is necessary to pay close attention to the clear presentation of model structure and simulation process and follow the relevant reporting specification to conduct cost-effectiveness analysis to ensure the transparency and repeatability of the research.
Humans ; Female ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Cost-Effectiveness Analysis ; Disease Progression