A Prospective Evaluation of Quick Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone Assay at the Time of Skin Closure in Predicting Clinically Relevant Hypocalcemia after Thyroidectomy

BACKGROUND: Post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia is a major contributing factor in delayed hospital discharge and dissuading surgeons from ambulatory thyroidectomy. We prospectively evaluated the accuracy and reliability of quick parathyroid hormone level measurement at skin closure (PTH-SC) in predicting clinically relevant hypocalcemia (i.e., patients requiring calcium +/- calcitriol supplements on hospital discharge). METHODS: Of the 117 patients who underwent a total or completion total thyroidectomy and PTH-SC, 17 (14.5 %) had hypocalcemic symptoms or adjusted calcium 1 pmol/L) had a higher specificity (95.0 %) and AUC (0.887) than serial calcium monitoring or PTH-D1 alone. Although 3/98 of patients with PTH-SC >1 pmol/L required calcium supplements on discharge, they required only the minimum amount to maintain normocalcemia. CONCLUSION: PTH-SC is an accurate and reliable means of predicting clinically relevant hypocalcemia. It would be reasonable to discharge those with PTH-SC >1 pmol/L on the same operative day as the risk of life-threatening hypocalcemia would seem unlikely.published_or_final_versio

Recent translational research: stem cells as the roots of breast cancer

Common phenotypes of cancer and stem cells suggest that breast cancers arise from stem cells. Breast epithelial cells with stem cell phenotypes have been shown to be more susceptible to immortalization and neoplastic transformation. Breast tumor stem cells with CD44(+)/CD24(-/low)Lineage(- )markers have been isolated. The role of these cells in tumor progression and clinical outcome is not clear. The relationship between breast stem cell and tumor stem cell may be elucidated by further studies of carcinogenesis of nonadherent mammosphere cells with stem cell features and by derivation of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low )cells from an adherent breast epithelial stem cell type

Assessing risk of breast cancer in an ethnically South-East Asia population (results of a multiple ethnic groups study)

10.1186/1471-2407-12-529BMC Cancer12-BCMA

Assessing trends and predictors of tuberculosis in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Variety of environmental and individual factors can cause tuberculosis (TB) incidence change. The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics of TB trends in the period 2004 - 2008 in Taiwan by month, year, gender, age, temperature, seasonality, and aborigines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The generalized regression models were used to examine the potential predictors for the monthly TB incidence in regional and national scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that (<it>i</it>) in Taiwan the average TB incidence was 68 per 100,000 population with mortality rate of 0.036 person^-1yr^-1, (<it>ii</it>) the highest TB incidence rate was found in eastern Taiwan (116 per 100,000 population) with the largest proportion of TB relapse cases (8.17%), (<it>iii</it>) seasonality, aborigines, gender, and age had a consistent and dominant role in constructing TB incidence patterns in Taiwan, and (<it>iv</it>) gender, time trend, and 2-month lag maximum temperature showed strong association with TB trends in aboriginal subpopulations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The proposed Poisson regression model is capable of forecasting patterns of TB incidence at regional and national scales. This study suggested that assessment of TB trends in eastern Taiwan presents an important opportunity for understanding the time-series dynamics and control of TB infections, given that this is the typical host demography in regions where these infections remain major public health problems.</p

The Extrachromosomal EAST Protein of Drosophila Can Associate with Polytene Chromosomes and Regulate Gene Expression

The EAST protein of Drosophila is a component of an expandable extrachromosomal domain of the nucleus. To better understand its function, we studied the dynamics and localization of GFP-tagged EAST. In live larval salivary glands, EAST-GFP is highly mobile and localizes to the extrachromosomal nucleoplasm. When these cells are permeabilized, EAST-GFP rapidly associated with polytene chromosomes. The affinity to chromatin increases and mobility decreases with decreasing salt concentration. Deleting the C-terminal residues 1535 to 2301 of EAST strongly reduces the affinity to polytene chromosomes. The bulk of EAST-GFP co-localizes with heterochromatin and is absent from transcriptionally active chromosomal regions. The predominantly chromosomal localization of EAST-GFP can be detected in non-detergent treated salivary glands of pupae as they undergo apoptosis, however not in earlier stages of development. Consistent with this chromosomal pattern of localization, genetic evidence indicates a role for EAST in the repression of gene expression, since a lethal east mutation is allelic to the viable mutation suppressor of white-spotted. We propose that EAST acts as an ion sensor that modulates gene expression in response to changing intracellular ion concentrations

Risk factors associated with symptomatic cholelithiasis in Taiwan: a population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cholelithiasis has become a major health problem in Taiwan. The predominant type of gallstone found in Asian populations differs from that in the West, indicating possible differences in the etiology and risk factors for cholelithiasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk factors for cholelithiasis using data representative of the general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a population-based, case-control study in which we analyzed medical data for 3725 patients newly diagnosed with cholelithiasis and 11175 gender- and age-matched controls with no history of cholelithiasis, using information obtained from the 2005 Registry for Beneficiaries of the National Health Insurance Research Database. Coexisting medical conditions were included in the analysis. Relative risks were estimated by adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using a multivariate logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After controlling for the other covariates, multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the following as risk factors for cholelithiasis (in descending order of contribution): Among all patients - hepatitis C (OR = 2.78), cirrhosis (OR = 2.47), hepatitis B (OR = 2.00), obesity (OR = 1.89), and hyperlipidemia (OR = 1.54); Among women - hepatitis C (OR = 3.05), cirrhosis (OR = 1.92), obesity (OR = 1.91), menopause (OR = 1.61), hepatitis B (OR = 1.54), and hyperlipidemia (OR = 1.49). Diabetes mellitus appeared to have a marked influence on the development of cholelithiasis but was not identified as a significant independent risk factor for cholelithiasis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The risk factors for cholelithiasis were obesity, hyperlipidemia, hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection, and cirrhosis in both genders, and menopause in females. Despite differences in the predominate type of gallstone in Asian versus Western populations, we identified no unique risk factors among the population of Taiwan.</p

Genome-wide trans-ancestry meta-analysis provides insight into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes susceptibility.

To further understanding of the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility, we aggregated published meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including 26,488 cases and 83,964 controls of European, east Asian, south Asian and Mexican and Mexican American ancestry. We observed a significant excess in the directional consistency of T2D risk alleles across ancestry groups, even at SNPs demonstrating only weak evidence of association. By following up the strongest signals of association from the trans-ethnic meta-analysis in an additional 21,491 cases and 55,647 controls of European ancestry, we identified seven new T2D susceptibility loci. Furthermore, we observed considerable improvements in the fine-mapping resolution of common variant association signals at several T2D susceptibility loci. These observations highlight the benefits of trans-ethnic GWAS for the discovery and characterization of complex trait loci and emphasize an exciting opportunity to extend insight into the genetic architecture and pathogenesis of human diseases across populations of diverse ancestry

Nationwide epidemiological study of severe gallstone disease in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our study aimed to assess the nationwide trends in the incidence of severe gallstone disease in Taiwan among adults aged ≥20.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted using Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database collected during 1997–2005. Patients with incident severe gallstone disease (acute cholecystitis, biliary pancreatitis, acute cholangitis) and gallstone-related procedures (elective and non-elective cholecystectomy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography [ERCP]) that led to hospital admission were identified using ICD-9-CM diagnostic and procedure codes. Annual incidence rates of gallstone-related complications and procedures were calculated and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated assuming a Poisson distribution.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The hospital admission rate for severe gallstone disease increased with advancing age and the age-standardized rate (95% CI) per 1000 population was 0.60 (0.59–0.60) for men and 0.59 (0.59–0.60) for women. Men had a higher rate of acute cholecystitis, probably due to the substantially lower rate of elective cholecystectomy among men than women. For those aged 20–39, hospital admissions for all gallstone-related complications and procedures increased significantly. For those aged ≥60, incidences of biliary pancreatitis, acute cholangitis, and hospital admission for gallstone receiving ERCP increased significantly without substantial change in the incidence of acute cholecystitis and despite a decreased rate of elective cholecystectomy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This population-based study found a substantial increase in the rate of admission for severe gallstone disease among those aged 20–39. Concurrently, the incidences of biliary pancreatitis and acute cholangitis have risen among those aged ≥60.</p

Dengue Virus Targets the Adaptor Protein MITA to Subvert Host Innate Immunity

Dengue is one of the most important arboviral diseases caused by infection of four serotypes of dengue virus (DEN). We found that activation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) triggered by viral infection and by foreign DNA and RNA stimulation was blocked by DEN-encoded NS2B3 through a protease-dependent mechanism. The key adaptor protein in type I interferon pathway, human mediator of IRF3 activation (MITA) but not the murine homologue MPYS, was cleaved in cells infected with DEN-1 or DEN-2 and with expression of the enzymatically active protease NS2B3. The cleavage site of MITA was mapped to LRR↓96G and the function of MITA was suppressed by dengue protease. DEN replication was reduced with overexpression of MPYS but not with MITA, while DEN replication was enhanced by MPYS knockdown, indicating an antiviral role of MITA/MPYS against DEN infection. The involvement of MITA in DEN-triggered innate immune response was evidenced by reduction of IRF3 activation and IFN induction in cells with MITA knockdown upon DEN-2 infection. NS2B3 physically interacted with MITA, and the interaction and cleavage of MITA could be further enhanced by poly(dA:dT) stimulation. Thus, we identified MITA as a novel host target of DEN protease and provide the molecular mechanism of how DEN subverts the host innate immunity