AIMTo observe the effect of melatonin (MT) on morphine withdrawal syndromes and determine the content of NO in plasma and brain tissue in morphine dependent mice.

METHODSA physical dependent model in mice was established by subcutaneous injection of morphine. MT (15 mg.kg-1, qd x 3) was given by intragastric infusion (ig) for three days. Withdrawal syndromes were induced by intraperitoneal injection of naloxon (5 mg.kg-1). The intensity of withdrawal syndromes was evaluated according to the jumping latency, the jumping times and the body weight loss. The content of NO was detected with Griess method.

RESULTSThe jumping latency of morphine withdrawal reaction was prolonged and the jumping times were reduced obviously by ig MT. The increased NO content in plasma and brain tissue in morphine dependent mice was reduced by ig MT.

CONCLUSIONThe physical withdrawal syndromes and the content of NO in plasma and brain tissue in morphine dependent mice are inhibited by MT.

Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Melatonin ; therapeutic use ; Mice ; Morphine Dependence ; blood ; Nitric Oxide ; blood ; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome ; blood ; prevention & control

Regular physical activity (PA) is a key element in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Participation in regular PA improves blood glucose control and can prevent or delay T2DM and its complications, along with positively affecting lipids, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, mortality, and quality of life. However, most people with T2DM are not active and show poor adherence. This paper reviews the possible barriers to PA and strategies to improve the adherence to PA. Based on the currently available literature, it is concluded that self-efficacy and social support from family, friends, and health care providers play the important role in adoption and maintenance of regular PA. Here we also highlight some new modern and innovative interventions that facilitate exercise participation and improve the adherence.
Adoption ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Friends ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Motor Activity ; Quality of Life ; Self Efficacy

OBJECTIVETo investigate the antithrombin (AT) activity (AT: A) and AT antigen (AT: Ag) level in a Chinese family with type I antithrombin (AT) deficiency, and to explore the molecular mechanism of AT deficiency.

METHODSImmuno-nephelometry and chromogenic assay were used to detect the plasma level of AT: A and AT: Ag, respectively. Genomic DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood, and all the seven exons and exon-intron boundaries of AT gene were amplified by PCR and direct sequencing.

RESULTSThe plasma levels of AT: A and AT: Ag of the proband were 45% and 97 mg/L, respectively, which led to a type I AT deficiency. A heterozygous T to A mutation was found at nucleotide 9833 in exon 5 resulting in a Tyr363Stop nonsense mutation. The sequencing results from the pedigree indicated that four other members also had this mutation.

CONCLUSIONThis heterozygous nonsense mutation of T9833A in exon 5 resulting in venous thrombosis is a novel genetic defect of hereditary AT deficiency, which has not been described before.

Antithrombin III Deficiency ; genetics ; Antithrombins ; genetics ; Blood Coagulation Tests ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

2 in some patients with the loss of high and medium sized vWF multimers in plasma.Eight patients with vWD were identified, wherein two were characterized as type 1,4 as type 2A and 2 as type 3 respectively.Conclusion The panel of tests is suitable for diagnosis and classification of vWD.

GM1 gangliosidosis is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by galactosidase beta1 (GLB1) gene variants which affect the activity of β-galactosidase (GLB). GLB dysfunction causes abnormalities in the degradation of GM1 and its accumulation in lysosome. This article reports the clinical and genetic features of a child with GM1 gangliosidosis. The girl, aged 2 years and 5 months, was referred to the hospital due to motor developmental regression for more than one year. Physical examination showed binocular deflection and horizontal nystagmus, but no abnormality was found on fundoscopy. The girl had increased muscular tone of the extremities, limitation of motion of the elbow, knee, and ankle joints, and hyperactive patellar tendon reflex. Blood biochemical examination showed a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase. The 24-hour electroencephalographic monitoring detected frequent seizure attacks and diffuse θ wave activity, especially in the right hemisphere. Head magnetic resonance imaging showed thinner white matter in the periventricular region and diffuse high T2WI signal with unclear boundary. Three-dimensional reconstruction of white matter fiber tracts by diffusion tensor imaging showed smaller and thinner white matter fiber tracts, especially in the right hemisphere. Genetic analysis showed that the girl had compound heterozygous mutations of c.446C>T (p.Ser149Phe) and c.101T>C (p.Ile34Thr) in the GLB1 gene from her parents, among which c.101T>C (p.Ile34Thr) had not been reported in the literatures. The girl was finally diagnosed with GM1 gangliosidosis. Her conditions were not improved after antiepileptic treatment and rehabilitation training for 2 months.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Female ; Gangliosidosis, GM1 ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant ; Mutation ; Virulence ; beta-Galactosidase ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo adapt the candidate strains of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) purified vaccine to Vero cells and to study their antigenicity and immunogenicity.

METHODSThe viral strains H8207 (Hantaan virus, HTN) and Y86013 (Seoul virus, SEO) were continuously propagated in Vero cell by the terminal dilution method and studied the characteristics of virus multiplication, viral titers and the amounts of virus antigen after serial passages. Three batches of crude monovalent inactivated vaccine were developed using the different passages of these 2 viral strains.

RESULTSThe strains H8207 and Y86013 adapted to Vero cells and stably grew on the cells with high titers. Rabbits immunized with the crude vaccines of H8207 and Y86013 showed 100% sero-conversion and the neutralizing antibody titers of the rabbit immune sera reached 1?10 at 4 weeks after 2 times of immunization.

CONCLUSIONSThe results suggest that these 2 candidate strains had adapted to Vero cells, possessed high titers and good immunogenicity and be feasible to prepare the HFRS purified vaccine in Vero cells.

Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Hantaan virus ; growth & development ; immunology ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; prevention & control ; Mice ; Neutralization Tests ; Rabbits ; Seoul virus ; growth & development ; immunology ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, Inactivated ; immunology ; Vero Cells ; Viral Vaccines ; biosynthesis ; immunology

Background: Prediabetes leads to declines in physical function in older adults, but the impact of prediabetes progression or regression on physical function is unknown. This study assessed this longitudinal association, with physical function objectivelymeasured by grip strength, walking speed, and standing balance, based on the Health and Retirement Study enrolling United States adults aged >50 years. Methods: Participants with prediabetes were followed-up for 4-year to ascertain prediabetes status alteration (maintained, regressed, or progressed), and another 4-year to assess their impacts on physical function. Weak grip strength was defined as <26 kg for men and <16 kg for women, slow walking speed was as <0.8 m/sec, and poor standing balance was as an uncompleted fulltandem standing testing. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed. Results: Of the included 1,511 participants with prediabetes, 700 maintained as prediabetes, 306 progressed to diabetes, and 505 regressed to normoglycemia over 4 years. Grip strength and walking speed were declined from baseline during the 4-year followup, regardless of prediabetes status alteration. Compared with prediabetes maintenance, prediabetes progression increased the odds of developing weak grip strength by 89% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04 to 2.44) and exhibited larger declines in grip strength by 0.85 kg (95% CI, –1.65 to –0.04). However, prediabetes progression was not related to impairments in walking speed or standing balance. Prediabetes regression also did not affect any measures of physical function. Conclusion Prediabetes progression accelerates grip strength decline in aging population, while prediabetes regression may not prevent physical function decline due to aging.

Background: Creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio is recently suggested to be a surrogate marker for sarcopenia. However, little is known about its association with diabetes. This study aimed to fill in this gap based on a large-scale prospective cohort. Methods: A population-based representative sample of 5,055 participants aged ≥45 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study was enrolled between 2011 and 2012 and followed at least once during the subsequent surveys at 2013, 2015, or 2018. Creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio was calculated and normalized by body weight. Incident diabetes was ascertained by plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, self-reported history, or use of anti-diabetic drugs. Logistic regression analysis and mediation analysis were employed. Results: During follow-up, 634 participants developed diabetes. The risk of diabetes was gradually and significantly decreased with increased normalized creatinine–cystatin C ratio. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for diabetes was 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.83 to 0.99) per 1 standard deviation higher of normalized creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio, and this relationship remained significant after controlling for muscle strength. The risk reduction in diabetes was significantly larger in participants with normal-weight and high normalized creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio compared with those with overweight/obesity and high normalized creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio (Pinteraction=0.01). Insulin resistance and inflammation appeared to be key mediators accounting for the observed relationship between normalized creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio and risk of diabetes, with their mediating effect being 93.1% and 22.0%, respectively. Conclusion High normalized creatinine-to-cystatin C ratio is associated with reduced risk of diabetes in middle-aged and older adults.

Objective: Depression was common during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, while the association of perceived stress with depression among vaccinated healthcare workers has not been investigated. This study aimed to address this issue. Methods: We included a total of 898 fully vaccinated healthcare workers during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Delta variant in Nanjing, 2021. Depression was ascertained by Patient Health Questionnaire-9, with a cut-off score of ≥5 indicative of mild-to-severe depression. Perceived stress, resilience, and compassion fatigue were assessed by Perceived Stress Scale-10, Resilience Scale-25, and Professional Quality of Life Scale version-5, respectively. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), along with subgroup and mediation analyses. Results: The prevalence of mild-to-severe depression was 41.1% in vaccinated healthcare workers. The odd of mild-to-severe depression was increased with higher perceived stress. Compared with vaccinated healthcare workers with the lowest tertile of perceived stress, those with the highest tertile had increased odds of mild-to-severe depression by 120% (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.46 to 3.31) after multivariable-adjustment. However, perceived stress was not associated with mild-to-severe depression in vaccinated healthcare workers with strong resilience, but was in those with weak resilience (pinteraction=0.004). Further analysis showed that compassion fatigue mediated the relationship between perceived stress and mild-to-severe depression, with a mediating effect of 49.7%. Conclusion Perceived stress was related to an increased odd of mild-to-severe depression in vaccinated healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic, and this relationship might be explained by compassion fatigue.

Background/Aims: Older adults are vulnerable to central obesity, while the association of changes in central fatness with risk of diabetes and metabolic control has not been investigated among this particular population. This study was aimed to address these issues. Methods: A total of 1,815 adults aged ≥ 60 years without diabetes at baseline were followed for 4 years. Incident diabetes was ascertained based on plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, medical history, and/or the use of anti-diabetic drugs. Central fatness was assessed by waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and body roundness index (BRI). Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of changes in central fatness with risk of diabetes, along with dose-response and mediation analyses. Results: During the 4-year follow-up, 177 participants developed diabetes. The risk of diabetes was increased by 42%, 41%, and 40% per 1 standard deviation increases in WC, WHtR, and BRI, respectively, in multivariable-adjusted models (all p < 0.01). Moreover, these relationships were all linearly-shaped (all pnonlinearity ≥ 0.11). Increases in WC, WHtR, and BRI correlated with increases in hemoglobin A1c, triglycerides-and-glucose index, triglycerides, white blood cell, and C-reactive protein (all p ≤ 0.04). Yet only changes in hemoglobin A1c and triglycerides-and-glucose index were identified as the possible mediators for risk of diabetes, with their mediating effect being about 35% and 21%, respectively. Conclusions Increases in central fatness were related to elevated risk of diabetes, and this association might be partly explained by the worsening of glycemic control and insulin resistance in older adults.