Serum Levels of Follistatin Are Positively Associated With Serum-Free Thyroxine Levels in Patients With Hyperthyroidism or Euthyroidism

Follistatin is a glycoprotein with various biologic functions that plays a role in adipocyte differentiation, muscle stimulation, anti-inflammation, and energy homeostasis. Thyroid hormones influence energy expenditure, glucose, and lipid metabolism. The association between serum follistatin level and thyroid function statuses has seldom been evaluated.The objectives of this study were to compare serum follistatin concentrations in different thyroid function statuses and to evaluate the associations between serum follistatin and free thyroxine (fT4) levels.In this study, 30 patients with hyperthyroidism (HY group) and 30 euthyroid individuals (EU group) were recruited. The patients of HY group were treated with antithyroid regimens as clinically indicated, whereas no medication was given to EU group. The demographic and anthropometric characteristics, biochemical data, serum levels of follistatin, and thyroid function of both groups at baseline and at the 6th month were compared. Data of all patients were pooled for the analysis of the associations between the levels of follistatin and fT4.At baseline, the HY group had significantly higher serum follistatin levels than the EU group (median [Q1, Q3]: 1.81 [1.33, 2.78] vs 1.13 [0.39, 1.45] ng/mL, P < 0.001). When treated with antithyroid regimens, the follistatin serum levels in HY group decreased to 1.54 [1.00, 1.88] ng/mL at the 6th month. In all patients, the serum levels of follistatin were positively associated with fT4 levels at baseline (β = 0.54, P = 0.005) and at the 6th month (β = 0.59, P < 0.001). The association between follistatin and fT4 levels remained significant in the stepwise multivariate regression analysis, both initially and at the 6th month.In comparison to the EU group, patients with hyperthyroidism had higher serum follistatin levels, which decreased after receiving antithyroid treatment. In addition, the serum follistatin concentrations were positively associated with serum fT4 levels in patients with hyperthyroidism or euthyroidism.     

Detection of Platelet-Monocyte Aggregates by the ADAM? Image Cytometer

Background: Inappropriate platelet activation is known to be associated with various thrombotic disorders. Platelet-monocyte aggregates (PMAs), whose formation is mediated by platelet surface P-selectin (CD62P), can be used as a reliable marker to detect platelet activation. Previous studies have generally detected PMAs through flow cytometry-based approaches. Recently, the ADAM^® image cytometer (Nanoentek Inc., Seoul, Korea) was developed for image-based cellular analysis. In this study, we detected PMAs with the ADAM^® cytometer, evaluated the reproducibility of the measurements made by the ADAM^® cytometer, and compared the abilities of the ADAM^® cytometer and a flow cytometric assay to detect PMAs.Methods: Whole blood samples were collected from patients. Within 5 minutes of collection, anticoagulated whole blood samples were fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde and 5% glyoxal. Nineteen clinical specimens were collected; each was analyzed three times with the ADAM^® cytometer in order to assess the reproducibility of its measurements. To compare the ability of the ADAM^® cytometer with that of a flow cytometer to detect PMAs, each cytometer was used for 23 clinical samples and the correlation of the measurements was determined.Results: The PMA measurements made by the ADAM^® cytometer showed good reproducibility (CV < 10% for all specimens). Moreover, the PMA measurements made by the ADAM^® cytometer exhibited a high correlation with those made by a flow cytometric assay (R = 0.944).Conclusions: The ADAM^® cytometer is a suitable alternative method to the flow cytometry-based assays. Since the ADAM cytometer does not need specialized instrument knowledge or software proficiency (unlike flow cytometry), the ADAM^® cytometer can be used as a rapid and reliable POCT device to measure platelet activation in peripheral blood. This, in turn, will provide valuable information regarding patient propensities to thrombotic diseases.     

腹腔镜右半结肠癌根治术解剖学基础与规范化手术

腹腔镜手术现已广泛应用于结肠癌的手术治疗,其中的腹腔镜右半结肠癌根治术是难度较大的术式,术中需结扎处理的血管较多,且相关血管存在较多变异。完成规范化的腹腔镜右半结肠切除术,还需对淋巴结清扫范围及完整结肠系膜切除术有充分认识。本文结合国内外文献及我科腹腔镜右半结肠癌根治术的多年经验,对腹腔镜右半结肠癌根治术所需掌握的相关外科解剖做简要综述,探讨淋巴结清扫范围,并介绍我科规范化的腹腔镜右半结肠切除术操作流程供同道参考。     

基质金属蛋白酶1和3多态性与类风湿性关节炎易感性的Meta分析

目的探讨基质金属蛋白酶1(MMP-1)(-1607 1G/2G)和基质金属蛋白酶3(MMP-3)(-1171 5 A/6A)多态性与风湿性关节炎发病风险的关系。方法本组搜索Pub Med、Medline、Embase、谷歌学术搜索、中国生物医学文献数据库和万方知识服务平台,所有发表的病例对照研究MMP-1(-1607 1 G/2G),MMP-3(-1171 5 A/6A)多态性和风湿性关节炎风险的Meta分析。采用固定或随机效应模型计算优势比(OR)和95%置信区间(CI)对MMP-1(-1607 1G/2G)多态和MMP-3-1171(5 A/6A)多态与RA易感性的关系进行总体评估。所有分析均使用STATA 12.0统计学软件进行处理。结果共有5项独立的研究被纳入当前的Meta分析。在所有五个模型没有发现MMP-1(-1607 1 G/2G)和MMP-3(-1171 5A/6A)多态性与类风湿性关节炎(RA)易感性的明显关联,在白种人和亚洲人的亚组分析中也发现了相同的结论。结论该Meta分析表明,MMP-1和MMP-3多态性与类风湿性关节炎发病无显著相关性。