Chronic liver diseases, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), account for approximately two million deaths globally each year. Despite increasing insight into their pathophysiology, substantial heterogeneity in disease progression, and therapeutic response underscores the need for precision hepatology. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small noncoding RNAs of approximately 20–22 nucleotides, have emerged as promising molecular tools owing to their abundant hepatic expression, dynamic regulation across disease stages, and high stability in biological fluids. In this review, we examine the roles of miRNAs across three pillars of precision medicine in liver disease. First, circulating miRNA panels enable noninvasive diagnosis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, significant liver fibrosis, and early-stage HCC, offering a practical alternative to liver biopsy. Second, miRNAs serve as prognostic biomarkers capable of stratifying patients according to fibrosis progression and risk of HCC recurrence. Third, miRNA-based therapeutics―including mimics and antagomirs delivered via lipid nanoparticles or exosomes―have demonstrated promising efficacy in preclinical models. Broader clinical implementation will require standardized protocols, validated quantification platforms, and international regulatory consensus, all of which will be essential for establishing miRNAs as practical tools in precision hepatology.

Understanding the patient’s surgical history and the specifics of previously used implants is crucial in partial revision total hip arthroplasty (THA). The authors report a patient 13 years post-THA who experienced dissociation between the ceramic head and the femoral stem trunnion. This complication was deemed iatrogenic, arising from insufficient information on the original prosthesis and an unclear medical history. This case underscores the need for comprehensive knowledge of the implanted prosthesis during partial revision procedures.Furthermore, it highlights the necessity for a system that facilitates the sharing of medical records across healthcare institutions, especially when obtaining information directly from the patient or their guardians proves challenging. The authors discuss this case in conjunction with a literature review to stress the importance of proper information acquisition and advocate for enhanced mechanisms for medical record sharing.

Several reports of lumbar artery injuries have been published; however, cases of hypovolemic shock associated with relatively safe procedures like intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) and recurrent bleeding through the communicating artery are rare. The authors present a case of a 71-year-old male who developed a retroperitoneal hemorrhage caused by an L4 lumbar artery injury during IDET, leading to hypovolemic shock. The patient was treated with two embolization procedures.

May-Thurner syndrome is a condition in which the venous outflow tract of the left lower extremity is compressed, causing swelling, pain, or thrombus. The authors experienced a case of combined May-Thurner syndrome in an 82-year-old female patient who underwent left hemiarthroplasty for a femoral neck fracture. The authors’ case is thought to be an informative case that should be considered to prevent thrombosis, which can cause fatal consequences, in patients who have undergone trauma and surgical treatment to the lower extremity and have recurrent lower extremity edema that does not improve in a short period of time, and reported along with a literature review.

Emerging evidence suggests that intestinal dysbiosis contributes to systemic inflammation and cardiovascular diseases in dialysis patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation on various inflammatory parameters in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: Twenty-two patients with maintenance HD were enrolled. These patients were treated twice a day with 2.0 ×1010 colony forming units of a combination of Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4 and Bifidobacterium longum BORI for 3 months. The microbiome and fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were analyzed. The percentages of CD14+ CD16+ proinflammatory monocytes and CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs) before and after probiotic supplementation were determined by flow cytometry. Serum levels of calprotectin and cytokine responses upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge were compared before and after probiotic supplementation. Results: Fecal SCFAs increased significantly after probiotic supplementation. Serum levels of calprotectin and interleukin 6 upon LPS stimulation significantly decreased. The anti-inflammatory effects of probiotics were associated with a significant increase in the percentage of CD4+ CD25+ Tregs (3.5% vs. 8.6%, p < 0.05) and also with a decrease of CD14+ CD16+ proinflammatory monocytes (310/ mm2 vs. 194/mm2 , p < 0.05). Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation reduced systemic inflammatory responses in HD patients and this effect was associated with an increase in Tregs and a decrease in proinflammatory monocytes. Hence, targeting intestinal dysbiosis might be a novel strategy for decreasing inflammation and cardiovascular risks in HD patients.

Although atopic dermatitis (AD) is known to be a representative skin disorder, it also affects the systemic immune response. In a recent study, myoblasts were shown to be involved in the immune regulation, but the roles of muscle cells in AD are poorly understood. We aimed to identify the relationship between mitochondria and atopy by genome-wide analysis of skeletal muscles in mice. We induced AD-like symptoms using house dust mite (HDM) extract in NC/Nga mice. The transcriptional profiles of the untreated group and HDM-induced AD-like group were analyzed and compared using microarray, differentially expressed gene and functional pathway analyses, and protein interaction network construction. Our microarray analysis demonstrated that immune response-, calcium handling-, and mitochondrial metabolism-related genes were differentially expressed. In the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology pathway analyses, immune response pathways involved in cytokine interaction, nuclear factor-kappa B, and T-cell receptor signaling, calcium handling pathways, and mitochondria metabolism pathways involved in the citrate cycle were significantly upregulated. In protein interaction network analysis, chemokine family-, muscle contraction process-, and immune response-related genes were identified as hub genes with many interactions. In addition, mitochondrial pathways involved in calcium signaling, cardiac muscle contraction, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidation-reduction process, and calcium-mediated signaling were significantly stimulated in KEGG and Gene Ontology analyses. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the genome-wide transcriptional changes of HDM-induced AD-like symptoms and the indicated genes that could be used as AD clinical biomarkers.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; Calcium ; Calcium Signaling ; Citric Acid ; Citric Acid Cycle ; Cytokines ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Gene Ontology ; Genome ; Metabolism ; Mice ; Microarray Analysis ; Mitochondria ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myoblasts ; Myocardium ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Pyroglyphidae ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell ; Skin

There is growing evidence of poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with panic disorder (PD). However, little is known about the factors affecting HRQOL in patients with PD. The authors examined whether 5-HTTLPR tri-allelic approach and Cathechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val(158)Met polymorphism can predict HRQOL in patients with PD controlling for sociodemographic factors and disorder-related symptom levels. The sample consisted of 179 patients with PD consecutively recruited from an outpatient clinic and age- and gender ratio-matched 110 healthy controls. The SF-36 was used to assess multiple domains of HRQOL. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the independent effect of the 5-HTTLPR and COMT Val(158)Met on the SF-36 in panic patients. Patients with PD showed lowered HRQOL in all sub-domains of the SF-36 compared to healthy controls. The 5-HTTLPR independently and additively accounted for 2.2% of variation (6.7% of inherited variance) of perceived general health and the COMT Val(158)Met independently and additively accounted for 1.5% of variation (5.0% of inherited variance) of role limitation due to emotional problems in patient group. The present study suggests that specific genetic polymorphisms are associated with certain domains of HRQOL and provides a new insight on exploring the factors that predict HRQOL in patients with PD.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; Catechol O-Methyltransferase/*genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Panic Disorder/genetics/*pathology ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; *Quality of Life ; Regression Analysis ; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/*genetics ; Sex Factors