Association of metabolic syndrome with erosive esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus in a Chinese population

AbstractBackgroundMetabolic syndrome has been highlighted as a risk factor for several gastrointestinal diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett’s esophagus (BE). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of metabolic syndrome with erosive esophagitis (EE) and BE.MethodsData were retrospectively collected from patients who visited the Medical Screening Center at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan from January 2006 to December 2009. All patients underwent an open-access transoral upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and serum laboratory data were collected. The exclusion criteria included prior gastric surgery, or presence of esophageal varices or peptic ulcers. These patients were assigned to groups according to their endoscopic findings as follows: (1) normal group; (2) EE group; and (3) BE group. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed based on the International Diabetes Federation criteria.ResultsThere were 560/6499 (8.6%) patients, 214/1118 (9.6%) patients, and 19/95 (20%) patients with metabolic syndrome in the normal, EE, and BE groups, respectively. There was a significantly higher percentage of cases with hypertriglyceridemia in the EE group (67%) compared with the other groups. The BE group had significantly higher rates of central obesity (33%) and hypertension (29.5%) compared with rates in the normal and EE groups. After adjusting for confounders, the positive association with metabolic syndrome still existed in both the EE group (adjusted odds ratio=2.43; 95% confidence interval=1.02–3.44) and the BE group (adjusted odds ratio=2.82; 95% confidence interval=2.05–3.88).ConclusionOur research indicated that in fact there is a greater risk of concurrent metabolic syndrome in patients with EE or BE

Consecutive Tumor Lysis Syndrome and Hepatic Failure after Transarterial Chemoembolization for Treatment of Hepatocellular Aarcinoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction: Acute tumor lysis syndrome (ATLS) and hepatic failure are fatal complications that can occur in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).Presentation of Case: We report the case of a 78-year-old man with HCC who had successive ATLS and hepatic failure after the first course of TACE. He succumbed due to rapid deterioration of his condition.Conclusion: We therefore concluded that awareness of the risks of ATLS and hepatic failure before administration of TACE is crucial in patients with HCC

Is having asthma associated with an increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease?:A prospective cohort study of 446 346 Taiwanese adults

Objectives A significant proportion of cardiovascular disease (CVD) cannot be explained by well-known risk factors such as high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. One potential novel risk factor for CVD is asthma. We aimed to investigate the association between asthma and mortality due to CVD. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting A large health check-up programme from 1994 to 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan. Participants 446 346 Taiwanese adults. Each participant answered questions regarding asthma history (yes/no) and current daily use of asthma medications (yes/no). Active asthma was defined as those using current daily medications for asthma. Outcomes The participants were followed for mortality from CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke obtained through linkage to the cause-of-death register until 31 December 2011. Results We found an increased risk of dying from CVD in individuals with active asthma (adjusted HR (aHR) 1.32, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.62). The risk of death from CHD or stroke was increased in a similar manner (aHR 1.16, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.73 and aHR 1.23, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.74, respectively) although the HR estimates were less precise than that of CVD. For deaths from CVD, CHD and stroke, we found stronger associations with active asthma than non-active asthma, and for CVD and stroke stronger associations in men than women. Conclusion Our study suggests that asthma, particularly active asthma, may be associated with adverse cardiovascular consequences

Graphene on Au-coated SiOx substrate: Its core-level photoelectron micro-spectroscopy study

The core-level electronic structures of the exfoliated graphene sheets on a Au-coated SiOx substrate have been studied by synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SR-PES) on a micron-scale. The graphene was firstly demonstrated its visibility on the Au-coated SiOx substrate by micro-optical characterization, and then conducted into SR-PES study. Because of the elimination of charging effect, precise C 1s core-level characterization clearly shows graphitic and contaminated carbon states of graphene. Different levels of Au-coating-induced p-type doping on single- and double-layer graphene sheets were also examined in the C 1s core-level shift. The Au-coated SiOx substrate can be treated as a simple but high-throughput platform for in situ studying graphene under further hybridization by PES

Investigation of spectral conversion of d(TTAGGG)4 and d(TTAGGG)13 upon potassium titration by a G-quadruplex recognizer BMVC molecule

We have introduced a G-quadruplex-binding ligand, 3,6-bis(1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium)carbazole diiodide (BMVC), to verify the major structure of d(T2AG3)4 (H24) in potassium solution and examine the structural conversion of H24 in sodium solution upon potassium titration. The studies of circular dichroism, induced circular dichroism, spectral titration and gel competition have allowed us to determine the binding mode and binding ratio of BMVC to the H24 in solution and eliminate the parallel form as the major G-quadruplex structure. Although the mixed-type form could not be eliminated as a main component, the basket and chair forms are more likely the main components of H24 in potassium solution. In addition, the circular dichroism spectra and the job plots reveal that a longer telomeric sequence d(T2AG3)13 (H78) could form two units of G4 structure both in sodium or potassium solutions. Of particular interest is that no appreciable change on the induced circular dichroism spectra of BMVC is found during the change of the circular dichroism patterns of H24 upon potassium titration. Considering similar spectral conversion detected for H24 and a long sequence H78 together with the G4 structure stabilized by BMVC, it is therefore unlikely that the rapid spectral conversion of H24 and H78 is due to structural change between different types of the G4 structures. With reference to the circular dichroism spectra of d(GAA)7 and d(GAAA)5, we suggest that the spectral conversion of H24 upon potassium titration is attributed to fast ion exchange resulting in different loop base interaction and various hydrogen bonding effects