Cerebral Infarction Caused by a Tortuous Subclavian Artery: a Case Report

Tortuous arteries are common clinical observation. Although mild tortuosity is asymptomatic, severe tortuosity can lead to ischemic attack in several organs. With advances in imaging technology, an increasing number of tortuous vessels have been detected. The purpose of this report is to describe a case of acute cerebral infarction due to tortuous subclavian artery and to review the literature

Guanabenz Acetate Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress–Related Cell Death in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Background Development of chemotherapeutics for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been lagging. Screening of candidate therapeutic agents by using patient-derived preclinical models may facilitate drug discovery for HCC patients. Methods Four primary cultured HCC cells from surgically resected tumor tissues and six HCC cell lines were used for high-throughput screening of 252 drugs from the Prestwick Chemical Library. The efficacy and mechanisms of action of the candidate anti-cancer drug were analyzed via cell viability, cell cycle assays, and western blotting. Results Guanabenz acetate, which has been used as an antihypertensive drug, was screened as a candidate anti-cancer agent for HCC through a drug sensitivity assay by using the primary cultured HCC cells and HCC cell lines. Guanabenz acetate reduced HCC cell viability through apoptosis and autophagy. This occurred via inhibition of growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein 34, increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α, increased activating transcription factor 4, and cell cycle arrest. Conclusions Guanabenz acetate induces endoplasmic reticulum stress–related cell death in HCC and may be repositioned as an anti-cancer therapeutic agent for HCC patients

Prognostic Implications of MicroRNA-21 Overexpression in Invasive Ductal Carcinomas of the Breast

(miR-21) is known to act as an oncogene. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of miR-21 expression level in relation with clinicopathological factors and prognosis in breast cancer. Methods: MicroRNA was extracted from cancer and normal breast tissue of 109 breast cancer patients who underwent surgery from 2002 to 2004 using the Taqman ® MicroRNA Assay. The correlation between miR-21 expression and clinicopathologic features was analyzed and the significance of miR-21 as a prognostic factor and its relationship with survival was determined. Results: MiR-21 expression was higher in cancer tissues than in normal tissues (p<0.0001). High miR-21 expression was associated with mastectomy, larger tumor size, higher stage, higher grade, estrogen receptor (ER) negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive, HER2 positive breast cancer subtype, high Ki-67 expression, and death. On multivariate analysis, prognostic factors for overall survival were ER and miR-21. High miR-21 expression was significantly related to lower overall survival (p = 0.031). Conclusion: This study supports the role of miR-21 as an oncogene and a biomarker for breast cancer with its high expression in cancer tissues and its relationship with other prognostic factors and survival

Rolipram, a Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitor, Stimulates Inducible cAMP Early Repressor Expression in Osteoblasts

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors have been shown to induce the cAMP-mediated signaling pathway by inhibiting cAMP hydrolysis. This study investigated the effect of a PDE4 inhibitor on the expression of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), which is an endogenous inhibitor of CRE-mediated transcription, in osteoblastic cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that rolipram, a PDE4 inhibitor, stimulates the ICER mRNA in a dose dependent manner. The induction of ICER mRNA expression by rolipram was suppressed by the inhibitors of protein kinase A (PKA) and p38 MAPK, suggesting the involvement of PKA and p38 MAPK activation in ICER expression by rolipram. It was previously shown that rolipram induced the expression of TNF-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE, also known as RANKL, ODF, or OPGL) in osteoblasts. This paper provides evidences that a transcriptional repressor like ICER might modulate TRANCE mRNA expression by rolipram in osteoblasts

Genetic structure of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations from East Asia based on microsatellite loci analyses

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background Wild boar, Sus scrofa, is an extant wild ancestor of the domestic pig as an agro-economically important mammal. Wild boar has a worldwide distribution with its geographic origin in Southeast Asia, but genetic diversity and genetic structure of wild boar in East Asia are poorly understood. To characterize the pattern and amount of genetic variation and population structure of wild boar in East Asia, we genotyped and analyzed microsatellite loci for a total of 238 wild boar specimens from ten locations across six countries in East and Southeast Asia. Results Our data indicated that wild boar populations in East Asia are genetically diverse and structured, showing a significant correlation of genetic distance with geographic distance and implying a low level of gene flow at a regional scale. Bayesian-based clustering analysis was indicative of seven inferred genetic clusters in which wild boars in East Asia are geographically structured. The level of genetic diversity was relatively high in wild boars from Southeast Asia, compared with those from Northeast Asia. This gradient pattern of genetic diversity is consistent with an assumed ancestral population of wild boar in Southeast Asia. Genetic evidences from a relationship tree and structure analysis suggest that wild boar in Jeju Island, South Korea have a distinct genetic background from those in mainland Korea. Conclusions Our results reveal a diverse pattern of genetic diversity and the existence of genetic differentiation among wild boar populations inhabiting East Asia. This study highlights the potential contribution of genetic variation of wild boar to the high genetic diversity of local domestic pigs during domestication in East Asia

Building a diverse workforce and thinkforce to reduce health disparities

The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program was congressionally man-dated in 1985 to build research capacity at institutions that currently and historically recruit, train, and award doctorate degrees in the health professions and health-related sciences, primarily to individuals from underrepresented and minority populations. RCMI grantees share similar infrastructure needs and institutional goals. Of particular importance is the professional development of multidisciplinary teams of academic and community scholars (the “workforce”) and the harnessing of the heterogeneity of thought (the “thinkforce”) to reduce health disparities. The purpose of this report is to summarize the presentations and discussion at the RCMI Investigator Development Core (IDC) Workshop, held in conjunction with the RCMI Program National Conference in Bethesda, Maryland, in December 2019. The RCMI IDC Directors provided information about their professional development activities and Pilot Projects Programs and discussed barriers identified by new and early-stage investigators that limit effective career development, as well as potential solutions to overcome such obstacles. This report also proposes potential alignments of professional development activities, targeted goals and common metrics to track productivity and success

Efficacy and Safety of Evogliptin Add-on Therapy to Dapagliflozin/Metformin Combinations in Patients with Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A 24-Week Multicenter Randomized Placebo-Controlled Parallel-Design Phase-3 Trial with a 28-Week Extension

Background This study investigates the long-term efficacy and safety of evogliptin add-on therapy in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) previously received dapagliflozin and metformin (DAPA/MET) combination. Methods In this multicenter randomized placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels 7.0% to 10.5% (n=283) previously used DAPA 10 mg plus MET (≥1,000 mg) were randomly assigned to the evogliptin 5 mg once daily or placebo group (1:1). The primary endpoint was the difference in the HbA1c level from baseline at week 24, and exploratory endpoints included the efficacy and safety of evogliptin over 52 weeks (trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04170998). Results Evogliptin add-on to DAPA/MET therapy was superior in HbA1c reduction compared to placebo at weeks 24 and 52 (least square [LS] mean difference, –0.65% and –0.55%; 95% confidence interval [CI], –0.79 to –0.51 and –0.71 to –0.39; P<0.0001). The proportion of patients achieving HbA1c <7% was higher in the triple combination group at week 52 (32.14% vs. 8.51% in placebo; odds ratio, 5.62; P<0.0001). Evogliptin significantly reduced the fasting glucose levels and mean daily glucose levels with improvement in homeostatic model assessment of β-cell function (LS mean difference, 9.04; 95% CI, 1.86 to 16.21; P=0.0138). Adverse events were similar between the groups, and no serious adverse drug reactions were reported in the evogliptin group. Conclusion Long-term triple combination with evogliptin added to DAPA/MET showed superior HbA1c reduction and glycemic control compared to placebo at 52 weeks and was well tolerated