Objective:To investigate the association of monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) with the severity of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and its spatial distribution.Methods:Patients admitted to the Department of Neurology, Jiangning Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University due to various chronic diseases or physical examinations between January 2023 and December 2024 were included retrospectively. Past medical history, clinical and imaging data were collected. The Fazekas scale was used to assess the severity of WMHs. According to the scoring results of periventricular WMHs (PVWMHs) and deep WMHs (DWMHs), WMHs were divided into no/mild group (0-1 points) and moderate/severe group (2-3 points). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent correlation factors for the severity of WMHs, PVWMHs, and DWMHs. Results:A total of 357 patients were included, aged 65.42±9.95 years, with 198 males (55.5%). There were 193 patients (54.1%) in the no/mild group and 164 (45.9%) in the moderate/severe group. Univariate analysis showed that the proportion of patients with hypertension, diabetes, history of cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, carotid plaque, and age, serum creatinine, monocyte count and MHR in the moderate/severe group were significantly higher than those in the no/mild group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive correlation between MHR and the severity of WMHs (odds ratio 3.138, 95% confidence interval 1.042-9.451; P=0.042). Further analysis showed a significant positive correlation between MHR and PVWMHs (odds ratio 3.384, 95% confidence interval 1.111-10.305; P=0.032), but no independent correlation with DWMHs. In addition, age and hypertension, diabetes, history of cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage were significantly positively correlated with the severity of WMHs, PVWMHs and DWMHs. Conclusion:MHR is correlated with the severity of WMHs, and higher MHR is significantly associated with PVWMHs, but not with DWMHs.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between body mass index (BMI)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in middle-aged and elderly people.Methods:Consecutive middle-aged and elderly patients (aged ≥40 years) who were hospitalized for chronic disease examinations in the Department of Neurology, Jiangning Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University between February 2022 and May 2024 were included prospectively. According to the overall burden score of CSVD, they were divided into CSVD group (≥1) and non-CSVD group (0). According to age, they divided into middle-aged group (40-59 years old) and elderly group (≥60 years old). The demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent correlation between BMI/HDL-C ratio and CSVD. Forest plot was used to analyze the correlation between BMI/HDL-C ratio and CSVD in different age groups. Results:A total of 710 patients were included, with an age of 66.0±10.0 years and 361 were males (50.8%). There were 261 patients (36.8%) in the CSVD group and 449 (63.2%) in the non-CSVD group. The BMI/HDL-C ratio in the CSVD group was significantly higher than that in the non-CSVD group (23.60±7.00 vs. 20.78±6.40; P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that BMI/HDL-C ratio was an independent risk factor for CSVD in middle-aged and elderly populations (odds ratio 1.046, 95% confidence interval 1.027-1.064; P<0.001). There were 475 patients in the elderly group, of which 198 (41.7%) had CSVD; there were 235 patients in the middle-aged group, of which 63 (26.8%) had CSVD. Forest plot analysis showed that the association between BMI/HDL-C ratio and CSVD still had statistical significance in different age groups, but the effect intensity was higher in the elderly group than in the middle-aged group. Conclusion:The BMI/HDL-C ratio is independently correlated with CSVD in middle-aged and elderly population, particularly significant in the elderly population.

Objective:To investigate the impact of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on the outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods:Patients with AIS visited the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between June 2017 and December 2023 were included retrospectively. At 3 months after onset, the modified Rankin Scale was used to evaluate the outcome, with scores of 0-2 defined as good outcome and >2 defined as poor outcome. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the impact of NAFLD on the outcome of patients with AIS. Results:A total of 143 patients with AIS were enrolled, including 95 males (66.43%), aged 67.79±11.15 years. Ninety six patients (67.13%) had good outcome, and 47 (32.87%) had poor outcome. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, NAFLD was independently associated with the poor outcome in patients with AIS (odds ratio 2.500, 95% confidence interval 1.015-6.161; P=0.046). Conclusion:NAFLD is an independent risk factor for poor outcome in patients with AIS.

Objective To construct a morphological brain network in patients with cerebral small vessel disease(CSVD)and predict it application for cognitive function.Methods A total of 64 eld-erly CSVD patients admitted in our hospital from January 2020 to February 2024 were retrospec-tively recruited.Cognitive function was assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)and Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA).Their clinical data,and results of cognitive function and multi-modal MRI scanning were collected and analyzed.3D T1-weighted imaging based on Kullback-Leibler divergence similarity was used to construct individual morphological brain net-work,and the connectome-based predictive model was employed to construct a cognitive predic-tion model.Results The network,which is significantly and positively correlated with the MMSE and MoCA scores,was mainly located in the default mode network,and could effectively predict individual MMSE and MoCA scores(r=0.795,P=4.436×10-15;r=0.794,P=4.974×10-15,P＜0.01).The connections,which were significantly negatively correlated with MMSE or MoCA scores,were mainly located between the salience/ventral attention network and other networks,and could also effectively predict individual MMSE and MoCA scores(r=0.766,P=1.679× 10-13;r=0.850,P=6.915×10-19,P＜0.01).Combined positive correlation and negative correla-tion networks,the model showed further improved predictive performance(r=0.849,P=7.603 × 10-19;r=0.888,P=1.445 × 10-22,P＜0.01).Conclusion Individual morphological brain network can effectively predict cognitive function in elderly CSVD patients,and can be used as a convenient tool for early warning of cognitive impairment related to CSVD.

Objective To explore the correlation between serum beta 2-microglobulin(B2M)level and cerebral microbleeds(CMB)in the elderly.Methods A retrospective analysis of 636 elderly patients with chronic diseases admitted to the Department of Neurology of our hospital from Janu-ary 2020 to November 2022 was made.On the second day after admission,venous blood samples were collected to detect the serum B2M level,and brain magnetic resonance susceptibility weigh-ted imaging was performed.Then these patients were assigned into CMB group(82 cases)and CMB-free group(554 cases).Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the inde-pendent risk factors for CMB.Results Binary logistic regression analysis showed that serum B2M level was an independent risk factor for CMB in elderly patients(Model 1:β=0.179,OR=1.196,95％CI:1.017-1.407,P=0.031;Model 2:β=0.215,OR=1.240,95％CI:1.048-1.468,P=0.012)after adjusting confounding factors.ROC curve analysis indicated that the optimal cutoff value of serum B2M level in diagnosing CMB was 1.805 mg/L,with a sensitivity of 70.7％and a specificity of 52.5％,and an AUC value of 0.657(95％CI:0.595-0.719,P＜0.01).Conclusion The increment of serum B2M level is closely related to CMB in the elderly population,so the pro-tein can be used as one of indicators for prediction of CMB in the population.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between serum lipoprotein (a) [LP(a)] and the severity of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in the middle-aged and elderly people in the community.Methods:Consecutive middle-aged and elderly residents residing in the community underwent physical examinations in the Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2016 to August 2021 were retrospectively collected. Fasting venous blood was collected on the next day of admission to detect the level of Lp(a). During hospitalization, cranial MRI examination was performed and the severity of WMHs was graded using the Fazekas visual scoring method. Ordinal multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent related factors for the severity of WMHs.Results:A total of 1 752 patients were included in the analysis. There were 969 males (55.31%) and 783 females (44.69%). Their age was 66.18±10.32 years old. There were 1 167 patients (66.61%) in the mild WMHs group, 407 (23.23%) in the moderate WMHs group, and 178 (10.16%) in the severe WMHs group. Ordinal multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, a higher serum Lp(a) level was independently related to the severity of WMHs (with the first quartile as a reference, the third quartile: odds ratio 1.441, 95% confidence interval 1.050-1.976, P=0.023; the fourth quartile: odds ratio 1.717, 95% confidence interval 1.252-2.354, P=0.001). Conclusion:Serum Lp(a) is independently correlated with the severity of WMHs.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between global burden of small vessel disease(CSVD) on MRI and impaired spatial navigation in patients with CSVD.Methods:Patients with CSVD admitted to the Department of Neurology, Nanjing Jiangning Hospital from November 2020 to June 2022 were selected as the research subjects. The global burden of CSVD was scored according to the head MRI findings, and was divided into mild group (0-1 points), moderate group (2 points), and severe group (3-4 points). All patients were tested for spatial navigation function. Multivariate linear regression model was used to analyze the correlation between the global burden of CSVD and the spatial navigation function.Results:A total of 101 patients with CSVD were enrolled, including 37 patients in the mild group (36.6%), 28 in the moderate group (27.7%), and 36 in the severe group (35.6%). Age, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and creatinine, as well as the proportions of hypertension, diabetes, previous stroke or transient ischemic attack in the moderate group and the severe group were significantly higher than those in the mild group, while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower than that in the mild group (all P<0.05). The spatial navigation function test showed that the environment + self-navigation, self-navigation and environment navigation functions of the moderate group and the severe group decreased significantly compared with the mild group (all P<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, previous stroke or transient ischemic attack history and years of education, the global burden of CSVD and environment + self-navigation ( β=0.518, P<0.001), self-navigation ( β=0.481, P<0.001) and environmental navigation ( β=0.699, P<0.001) function had significant correlation. Conclusion:The global burden of CSVD is correlated with spatial navigation functions.

Objective To evaluate the application of Addenbrooke′s cognitive examination revised(ACE?R)scale to evaluate cognitive function in patients with chronic kidney disease(CKD). Methods We used ACE?R scale to evaluate the cognitive function on 205 cases of CKD patients received outpatient and inpatient treatment in renal Department of four hospitals in Nanjing. One?way ANOVA analysis ,receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curve and other statistical methods were adopted to compare differences. Results (1)There is significant difference of ACE?R scale scores among group NC?NCDs(89.18 ± 4.80),group Mild?NCDs(77.28 ± 5.80)and group Major?NCDs(55.90 ± 10.90)(F = 292.28,P < 0.01). There is significant difference between any two groups(all P<0.01).(2)(ACE?R)scale(AUC=0.944,P<0.01)showed significantly higher sensitivity than mini?mental state examination(MMSE)scale(AUC = 0.777,P < 0.01)on identifying Mild?NCDs patients with chronic kidney disease(P < 0.01);(3)The optimal cut?off value of total ACE?R score between group NC?NCDs and group Mild?NCDs was 83/84,(sensitivity 88.00%,specificity 85.90%,Youden index 0.739),the optimal cut?off value between group Mild?NCDs and group Major?NCDs was 83/84(sensitivity 89.70%,specificity 96.10%, Youden index 0.858). Conclusion ACE?R possesses a good ability in distinguishing different severity of cognitive impairment in patients with CKD. ACE?R can effectively identify early mild cognitive impairment ,which is suitable for clinical application as a tool to evaluating and studying of cognitive function in patients with CKD.