Association of PAI-1 rs1799889 Polymorphism with Susceptibility to Ischemic Stroke: a Huge Meta-Analysis based on 44 Studies

Background: the PAI-1 rs1799889 polymorphism has been reported to be associated with susceptibility to ischemic stroke. However, the results of previous studies have been inconsistent or controversial. Hence, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association of PAI-1 rs1799889 polymorphism with ischemic stroke risk. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, CNKI, and CBD databases up to November 05, 2019. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to access the strength of this association in fixed- or random-effects model. Results: A total of 44 case-control studies with 8,620 cases and 10,260 controls were selected. Pooled data showed a significant association between PAI-1 rs1799889 polymorphism and ischemic stroke risk in the overall populations (GG vs. AA: OR = 0.791, 95% CI 0.633-0.988, p = 0.039; GA vs. AA: OR = 0.807, 95% CI 0.683-0.953, p = 0.012; and GG+GA vs. AA: OR = 0.795, 95% CI 0.637-0.993, p = 0.043). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity revealed a significant association in Asian and Mixed populations, but not in Caucasians. Moreover, stratified analysis by country of origin revealed an increased risk of ischemic stroke in Chinese populations, but not among Dutch (Netherlands) and Swedish. Conclusions: This meta-analysis result suggested that PAI-1 rs1799889 polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, especially in Asian and Mixed populations. Keywords: PAI-1 gene; cerebrovascular accident; ischemic stroke; meta-analysis; polymorphism; rs1799889

A Collect of Recommendations and Guidelines for Management and Treatment of Underlying Malignancies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the main challenges to public health systems worldwide now. Cancer patients are considered as a high risk group during the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the evidence so far, cancer as underlying comorbidities might increase the risk of death in patients with COVID-19. Many cancer patients with increased risk of contracting COVID-19 than the general population regularly visit health facilities for treatment and disease surveillance. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic has a profound impact on cancer care and treatment. Here, we attempted to summarize the current suggestions for handling of cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic. We carried out a integrative literature review using several online bibliographies. A total of 113 papers were accessed for the time frame between October 05 2020 and October 10 2020. After screening of titles and full-texts, 10 publications were selected in this study. In this work some recommendations and guidelines that would help for management and treatment of cancer for the purpose of address the challenges during COVID-19 pandemic were collected. We hope that this collection recommendations and guidelines assist health care providers in management of individuals with underlying malignancy during the COVID-19 pandemic

A possible role for LTBP2 in the etiology of primary angle closure glaucoma

Purpose: To assess the association of LTBP2 mutations with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). Methods: We studied 54 unrelated patients with PACG and one individual with pseudoexfoliation accompanied with angle closure glaucoma; these consisted of 28 female and 27 male subjects aged 27 to 82 (mean, 63) years. The 36 exons and flanking intronic sequences of LTBP2 in all patients were amplified by PCR and sequenced by the Sanger protocol. The sequences were compared to LTBP2 reference sequences. A total of 100 to 400 controls aged at least 60 years old were screened for various variations. Results: Out of 24 observed sequence variations, ten were in amino acid coding regions; of these four created synonymous codons while six caused amino acid changes. Based on allele frequencies, biochemical parameters, absence in control individuals, evolutionary conservation of affected amino acids, and bioinformatic predictions on the effects on protein function, it was concluded that only two mutations causing p. Gln1417Arg and p. Gly1660Trp may contribute to PACG. The p. Gly1660Trp mutation was observed in a patient with both PACG and PEX syndrome. P. Gln1417Arg had previously been reported only in a subject with POAG. Conclusion: LTBP2 may contribute to PACG. This finding emphasizes that there may be an overlap in the etiology of various forms of glaucoma and the overlaps likely contribute to common features in various forms of glaucoma

Serum TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-2 in Schizophrenic Patients Before and After Treatment with Risperidone and Clozapine

ABSTRACT Background: Schizophrenia is a disorder of the executive function of both sensory and central nervous system. Recent studies suggest that immune mechanisms play a role in the pathophysiology of this disease. The variations in cytokine concentrations have been associated with psychopathology and treatment of schizophrenia. Objective: To investigate the changes in serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-2 in schizophrenic patients before and 40 days after treatment. Methods: In a case-control study, 26 schizophrenic patients and 26 healthy individuals were enrolled as the control group. PANSS scale questionnaire was used for diagnosis and assessing the severity of the disease. All patients were then treated with risperidone or clozapine for 40 days. Serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-2 were measured by ELISA before and after treatment in both groups. Paired t-test and Independent t-test were used for comparison of data. Results: Comparison of TNF-α and IL-10 concentrations in patients before and after treatment revealed a significance decrease of TNF-α and increase of IL-10 concentrations (p=0.002, and p=0.008, respectively). Serum concentrations of IL-2 were lower than the detection limit of assay and were not detectable. In comparison with healthy controls, serum concentrations of TNF-α in schizophrenic patients were higher, while IL-10 concentrations were lower before treatment although the differences were not significant (p=0.291 and p=0.375, respectively). There was no correlation between cytokine concentrations and the positive and negative scale (PANSS). Also no significant difference in the admission, relapses, and duration of illness before and after treatment was observed. Conclusions: Increase of TNF-α and decrease of IL-10 may have an important role inpsychopathology of schizophrenia