Objective:To investigate the relationship between adipokines Apelin, adiponectin, Vaspin and susceptibility to coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD) in the aged and their influence on the degree of coronary lesions.Methods:A total of 120 elderly patients with CHD admitted to Huozhou Coal and Power General Hospital from June 2022 to June 2023 were retrospectively selected(CHD group), and 120 elderly healthy physical examination subjects without CHD were selected as the control group in a 1:1 ratio. Baseline data, the levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin of the two groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors of CHD susceptibility, and the levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin in patients with different CHD types, stenosis degree and number of lesions were compared. Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation between Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin with stenosis degree and number of lesions.Results:The levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin in the CHD group were lower than those in the control group: (70.02 ± 13.54) ng/L vs. (86.75 ± 7.40) ng/L, (2.03 ± 0.67) μg/L vs. (2.80 ± 0.29) μg/L, (1.02 ± 0.31) μg/L vs. (2.10 ± 0.28) μg/L, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). The Logistic regression equation was as follows: Logit ( P) = 2.953+1.401 × triglyceride + 1.446× low-density lipoprotein -0.761× Apelin -0.892 × adiponectin - 0.847 ×Vaspin, each coefficient had statistical significance ( P<0.05), it was suggested that with the increase of triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein levels and the decrease of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin levels, the susceptibility to CHD was gradually increased ( P<0.05). The levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin in patients with stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction were decreased successively ( P<0.05). The levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin in patients with mild, moderate and severe stenosis were decreased successively ( P<0.05). The levels of Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin in patients with single, double, 3 or more branches were decreased successively ( P<0.05). The results of Spearman test showed that Apelin, adiponectin and Vaspin were negatively correlated with the degree of stenosis ( r = - 0.728, - 0.808, - 0.779, P<0.05) and the number of lesions ( r = - 0.686, - 0.773, - 0.717, P<0.05). Conclusions:Apelin, adiponectin, and Vaspin are associated with the susceptibility of elderly people to CHD, and all three are negatively correlated with the severity of CHD stenosis and the number of diseased vessels. They are expected to become biomarkers for the onset and severity of CHD, providing a target idea for the prevention and treatment of CHD.

OBJECTIVETo investigate brain activity patterns during acupuncture in stroke patients, and to compare the result with normal subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

METHODSA total of 11 stroke patients with motor weakness and 10 healthy subjects were studied. fMRI was performed during acupuncture on the left side at points Quchi (LI11) and Zusanli (ST36). Data were analyzed using statistical parametric maps of brain activation induced by acupuncture stimulation.

RESULTSThe results showed that stimulation of both LI11 and ST36 produced significantly different brain activation patterns between the two groups. The normal group showed a greater overall activation than the stroke group. In the normal group, parts of the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, sub-lobar, cerebellum and midbrain regions were activated by acupuncture at the left LI11. On the other hand, only the right side of the inferior parietal lobule region was activated in the stroke patients. When the left ST36 was stimulated in the normal group, both sides of the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and sub-lobar, and the left side of occipital lobe, and the right side of cerebellum and midbrain regions were activated. For the same stimulation in the stroke group, only both sides of the inferior parietal lobule and cerebellum regions were activated (P<0.05, cluster level). Deactivation pattern was not noted during any acupuncture stimulation in both groups.

CONCLUSIONBrain signal activations during the same acupuncture were different between the healthy and the stroke patients, and the effects showed a correlation of different acupuncture points.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Brain Mapping ; Case-Control Studies ; Demography ; Female ; Health ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; physiopathology

PURPOSE: To evaluate white matter abnormalities on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: DTI was performed in 21 patients with mild AD, in 13 with MCI and in 16 old healthy subjects. A fractional anisotropy (FA) map was generated for each participant and processed for voxel-based comparisons among the three groups using TBSS. For comparison, DTI data was processed using the VBM method, also. RESULTS: TBSS showed that FA was significantly lower in the AD than in the old healthy group in the bilateral anterior and right posterior corona radiata, the posterior thalamic radiation, the right superior longitudinal fasciculus, the body of the corpus callosum, and the right precuneus gyrus. VBM identified additional areas of reduced FA, including both uncinates, the left parahippocampal white matter, and the right cingulum. There were no significant differences in FA between the AD and MCI groups, or between the MCI and old healthy groups. CONCLUSION: TBSS showed multifocal abnormalities in white matter integrity in patients with AD compared with old healthy group. VBM could detect more white matter lesions than TBSS, but with increased artifacts.
Alzheimer Disease ; Anisotropy ; Artifacts ; Corpus Callosum ; Diffusion ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment