Sex-Specific Association between Fasting Plasma Glucose and Serum Selenium Levels in Adults from Southern Mexico

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that by its antioxidant properties has been studied to elucidate its participation in the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the association between cardiometabolic traits and serum Se levels in a sample of adults from southern Mexico. In 96 nondiabetic individuals, anthropometric data and clinical biochemistry measurements were analyzed. Serum total Se levels were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Serum Se level in the whole sample was 10.309 ± 3.031 μg mL−1 and no difference between the women and men was observed (p = 0.09). Additionally, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was significantly associated with serum Se level (β = −0.07 ± 0.03, p = 0.02, analysis adjusted for age, sex and BMI). Furthermore, sex shows significant interaction with FPG on the serum Se levels (p = 0.01). A follow-up analysis revealed the particular association between FPG and Se levels in women (β = −0.10 ± 0.04, p = 0.01). In conclusion, our data evidenced a women-specific association between FPG and serum Se levels in a sample of adults from southern Mexico

Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with Prognosis of B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Background. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia type B (B-ALL) is a neoplastic disorder with high mortality rates. The aim of this study was to validate the expression profile of 45 genes associated with signaling pathways involved in leukemia and to evaluate their association with the prognosis of B-ALL. Methods. 219 samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 73 B-ALL patients were studied at diagnosis, four, and eight weeks after starting treatment. Gene expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results. Normalized delta Cq values of 23 genes showed differences between B-ALL and controls at diagnosis time (P values < 0.05). There were significant associations between B-ALL patients relapse/death and the expression levels of IL2RA, SORT1, DEFA1, and FLT3 genes at least in one of the times evaluated (P values < 0.05 and odds ratio ranges: 3.73–27). The association between FLT3 deregulation and relapse/death was a constant in the times studied and their overexpression significantly increased the odds of relapse/death in a range of 3.73 and 6.05 among study population (P values < 0.05). Conclusions. Overexpression of FLT3 and DEFA1 genes retained independent prognostic significance for B-ALL outcome, reflected as increased risks of relapse/death among the study population

Clinical Characteristics in the Acute Phase of COVID-19 That Predict Long COVID: Tachycardia, Myalgias, Severity, and Use of Antibiotics as Main Risk Factors, While Education and Blood Group B Are Protective

Background: Risk factors for developing long COVID are not clearly established. The present study was designed to determine if any sign, symptom, or treatment of the acute phase, or personal characteristics of the patient, is associated with the development of long COVID. Methods: A cohort study was carried out, randomly selecting symptomatic COVID-19 patients and not vaccinated. The severity of the acute illness was assessed through the number of compatible COVID-19 symptoms, hospitalizations, and the symptom severity score using a 10-point visual analog scale. Results: After multivariate analysis, a severity score ≥8 (RR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1–3.5, p = 0.022), hospitalization (RR 2.1, 95%CI 1.0–4.4, p = 0.039), myalgia (RR 1.9, 95%CI 1.08–3.6, p = 0.027), tachycardia (RR 10.4, 95%CI 2.2–47.7, p = 0.003), and use of antibiotics (RR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1–3.5, p = 0.022), was positively associated with the risk of having long COVID. Higher levels of education (RR 0.6, 95%CI 0.4–0.9, p = 0.029) and type positive B blood group (B + AB, RR 0.44, 95%CI 0.2–0.9, p = 0.044) were protective factors. The most important population attributable fractions (PAFs) for long COVID were myalgia (37%), severity score ≥8 (31%), and use of antibiotics (27%). Conclusions: Further studies in diverse populations over time are needed to expand the knowledge that could lead us to prevent and/or treat long COVID