Background::In the clinic, practitioners encounter many patients with an abnormal pattern of dense punctate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal in the basal ganglia, a phenomenon known as "cheese sign". This sign is reported as common in cerebrovascular diseases, dementia, and old age. Recently, cheese sign has been speculated to consist of dense perivascular space (PVS). This study aimed to assess the lesion types of cheese sign and analyze the correlation between this sign and vascular disease risk factors.Methods::A total of 812 patients from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) dementia cohort were enrolled. We analyzed the relationship between cheese sign and vascular risk. For assessing cheese sign and defining its degree, the abnormal punctate signals were classified into basal ganglia hyperintensity (BGH), PVS, lacunae/infarctions and microbleeds, and counted separately. Each type of lesion was rated on a four-level scale, and then the sum was calculated; this total was defined as the cheese sign score. Fazekas and Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) scores were used to evaluate the paraventricular, deep, and subcortical gray/white matter hyperintensities.Results::A total of 118 patients (14.5%) in this dementia cohort were found to have cheese sign. Age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.090, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.064-1.120, P <0.001), hypertension (OR: 1.828, 95% CI: 1.123-2.983, P = 0.014), and stroke (OR: 1.901, 95% CI: 1.092-3.259, P = 0.025) were risk factors for cheese sign. There was no significant relationship between diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cheese sign. The main components of cheese sign were BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction. The proportion of PVS increased with cheese sign severity. Conclusions::The risk factors for cheese sign were hypertension, age, and stroke. Cheese sign consists of BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

A 28-year-old woman presented with a 4-year history of fatigue and sleepiness and was found to have central hypothyroidism and mood disorder. The patient had normal thyroid volume and did not show any other pituitary axis involvement. Over the course of the disease, her symptom improvement matched with the free thyroxine (FT 4) rebound and the adjustment of antipsychotic medication. The patient′s grandmother had central hypothyroidism, and her mother and uncle had lowered or inappropriately normal thyroid stimulating hormone. Hence, genetic involvement was highly suspected, but whole exon sequencing did not reveal a pathogenic variant. Levothyroxine tablets were prescribed to maintain a normal median level of FT 4, and mood disorder medications were adjusted by specialists. Isolated central hypothyroidism is extremely rare, and we report this case aiming to raise awareness of this condition.

Objective:To investigate the criteria for two-way referral of diabetes in China through systematic review.Methods:According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, articles on two-way referral criteria for diabetes in China were retrieved from databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI and Wanfang from inception to July 15, 2023. The data were extracted, by author′s name, publish year, criteria for rupwards and downwards referral, sample size, study region, study type and main conclusions.Results:A total of 702 relavent articles were retrieved, and 15 of which were included in the analysis. Blood glucose levels were the basic criteria for two-way referral, The criteria for upward referral included fasting blood glucose, 2-h postpradial blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin and random blood glucose, but there were variations in measuement values. The criteria for downward referral included fasting blood glucose, 2-h postpradial blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, with the variation in fasting blood glucose. Lipids and blood pressure were also included in the referral criteria in later literature, with the variation of blood pressure values. There was consensus on the upward referral criteria for patients with special types of diabetes and with newly diagnosed diabetes. In contrast, the referral criteria for diabetic complications were relatively vague, especially with the lack of severity classification for chronic complications.Conclusion:The two-way referral criteria for diabetes mellitus have been constantly developing, while the criteria for downwards referral to the community need to be further improved.

The ApoE gene is a genetic risk determinant for sporadic Alzheimer′s disease (AD). The ApoEε4 allele increases the risk of developing AD relative to the common ApoEε3 allele, whereas the ApoEε2 allele decreases the risk of developing the disease. The 3 alleles encode ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4 protein isoforms, respectively. ApoE4 contributes to the pathogenesis of AD by regulating β-amyloid protein, tau protein, transactive response DNA-binding protein-43, neuroinflammation, and cerebral vascular function. The pathways associated with ApoE also offer new opportunities for the treatment of AD. In addition, studies have shown that ApoE4 also plays a toxic role in other neurological disorders. This article described the biological characteristics of ApoE, as well as the impact of ApoE4 on AD and related dementias, aiming to enhance clinical doctors′ understanding of the involvement of ApoE4 in the pathogenesis of AD and related dementia.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and imaging features of patients with COVID-19-related osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS).Methods:COVID-19-related ODS cases diagnosed in the Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2020 to September 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. And their past medical history, possible triggers, clinical manifestations, imaging manifestations, treatment and prognosis were summarized.Results:A total of 5 patients with COVID-19-related ODS were included. Electrolyte disturbances acted as an inducement of ODS in all patients (5/5),4 of whom with hyponatremia. Four of 5 patients first presented with disturbance of consciousness, followed by predominant dystonia. Imaging of all patients (5/5) showed isolated extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM). With the prolongation of the course of disease, such signal intensity could return to normal, and lesions showed atrophic changes in some patients. The patients′ clinical symptoms were partly relieved within a few days to a few months after treatment.Conclusions:COVID-19-related ODS is mostly associated with hyponatremia, and EPM is more common. COVID-19 should be considered as a risk factor for ODS.

This article focuses on a case study of sitosterolemia in a child who initially presented with hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. Sitosterolemia is a rare autosomal recessive lipid metabolism disorder, difficult to diagnose due to its non-typical clinical manifestations. The 8-year-old patient was initially misdiagnosed with pyruvate kinase deficiency. Comprehensive biochemical and molecular biology analyses, including gene sequencing, eventually led to the correct diagnosis of sitosterolemia. This case highlights the complexity and diagnostic challenges of sitosterolemia, emphasizing the need for increased awareness and accurate diagnosis in patients presenting with similar symptoms.

Objective:To explore the application value of real-time vascular quantification stiffness (R-VQS) technique in evaluating carotid artery elasticity and hemodynamic status in type 2 diabetic nephropathy (T2DN).Methods:The clinical data of 86 patients with T2DN treatment in the Fifth People′s Hospital of Zhuhai from March 2020 to March 2022 were collected retrospectively, according to the clinical stage, 44 patients were in the early stage group and 42 patients were in the clinical stage group. All of them underwent R-VQS technique to obtain carotid artery elasticity parameters stiffness index (HC), systolic diameter (Diam), diameter change value (Dist) and hemodynamic indexes pulse conduction velocity (PWV). Among the 86 patients, 21 had atherosclerosis (AS) and 65 did not. The differences of HC, Diam, Dist and PWV between the patients with and without AS were compared, and the value of HC, Diam, Dist and PWV in diagnosing T2DN complicated with AS was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:The HC, Diam and PWV in the clinical phase group were higher than those in the early phase group, and Dist was lower than that in the early phase group: 4.76 ± 0.60 vs. 4.15 ± 0.52, (8.69 ± 1.13) mm vs. (7.21 ± 0.84) mm, (7.42 ± 0.63) m/s vs. (6.84 ± 0.57) m/s, (0.27 ± 0.07) mm vs. (0.35 ± 0.09) mm, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). The HC, Diam and PWV in the patients with AS were higher than those in the patients without AS, and Dist was lower than that in the patients without AS: 4.82 ± 0.63 vs. 4.33 ± 0.51, (8.85 ± 1.18) mm vs. (7.63 ± 1.06) mm, (7.68 ± 0.75) m/s vs. (6.94 ± 0.59) m/s, (0.24 ± 0.05) mm vs. (0.33 ± 0.10) mm, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). ROC curve analysis results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the combined diagnosis of T2DN complicated with AS by HC, Diam, Dist and PWV was 0.921, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 90.48% and 84.62%, respectively. Conclusions:R-VQS technology can detect abnormal changes in carotid elasticity and hemodynamics in patients with T2DN, and can diagnose T2DN complicated with AS. It can provide a reference basis for clinical prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications in T2DN patients.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

Objective:To explore the application effect of preoperative autologous blood localization method in laparoscopic resection of gastric stromal tumors in unfavorable areas of the stomach.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the case data of 40 patients with gastric stromal tumors in unfavorable locations admitted to Jinjiang Hospital from January 2019 to December 2022. The patients were divided into a control group (intraoperative endoscopic localization method) and an autologous blood localization group according to different intraoperative lesion localization methods, with 20 cases in each group. The surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, postoperative exhaust time, and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results:The surgery time of the autologous blood localization group was shorter than that of the control group [(92.30±8.80)min vs (108.20±14.87)min, P<0.05]. There was no statistically significant difference in intraoperative bleeding, hospitalization time, and postoperative exhaust time between the two groups (all P>0.05). Two groups of patients did not show an increase in inflammatory indicators such as white blood cells and C-reactive protein on the day after surgery. Both groups of patients did not experience adverse reactions such as fever, abdominal pain, or postoperative complications. Conclusions:The autologous blood injection localization method provides a safe, simple, and effective method for preoperative localization of gastric stromal tumors in unfavorable areas of the stomach under laparoscopy, and is worthy of clinical promotion and use.