Supplementary Material for: Effects of Perfluorocarbon Use during Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Surgery on Postoperative Outcomes

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL) affects the rate of retinal re-attachments after an initial attachment by vitrectomy in eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: This was a retrospective, observational, multicenter study of 3,446 eyes registered in the Japanese vitreoretinal surgery treatment information database. Of these, 2,648 eyes had undergone vitrectomy as the first surgery for RRD. The re-attachment rates after the primary vitrectomy with or without PFCL were evaluated. In addition, the significance of factors affecting the re-detachments was determined by univariate and multivariate analyses. The measured outcomes were the rates of re-attachments after the primary vitrectomy with or without the use of PFCL. Results: A total of 2,362 eyes in the database were analyzed: 325 had and 2,037 did not have PFCL injected into the vitreous cavity during the vitrectomy. The rate of re-attachments was 91.5% in the PFCL group and 93.2% in the non-PFCL group (p = 0.46, χ2 test). Although there were several risk factors associated with the re-detachments in eyes without PFCL (p t tests, and Fisher’s exact tests), they were not associated in eyes with PFCL use. However, multivariate analyses showed that there was no significant association between the use and the non-use of PFCL in the rate of re-detachments (β = −0.08, p = 0.46). Conclusions: The use of PFCL during the initial vitrectomy for RRD does not affect the rate of re-attachments

Supplementary Material for: Identification of potential blood-based biomarkers for frailty by using an integrative approach

Introduction: Although frailty is a geriatric syndrome that is associated with disability, hospitalization, and mortality, it can be reversible and preventable with the appropriate interventions. Additionally, as the current diagnostic criteria for frailty include only physical, psychological, cognitive and social measurements, there is a need for promising blood-based molecular biomarkers to aid in the diagnosis of frailty. Methods: To identify candidate blood-based biomarkers that can enhance current diagnosis of frailty, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of clinical data, messenger RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), and aging-related factors using a total of 104 older adults aged 65–90 years (61 frail subjects and 43 robust subjects) in a cross-sectional case-control study. Results: We identified two candidate biomarkers of frailty from the clinical data analysis, nine from the RNA-seq analysis, and six from the aging-related factors analysis. By using combinations of the candidate biomarkers and clinical information, we constructed risk-prediction models. The best models used combinations that included skeletal muscle mass index measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (adjusted p = 0.026), GDF15 (adjusted p = 1.46E-03), Adiponectin (adjusted p = 0.012), CXCL9 (adjusted p = 0.011), or Apelin (adjusted p = 0.020) as the biomarker. These models achieved a high area under the curve of 0.95 in an independent validation cohort (95% confidence interval: 0.79–0.97). Our risk prediction models showed significantly higher areas under the curve than did models constructed using only basic clinical information (Welch’s t-test p < 0.001). Conclusion: All five biomarkers showed statistically significant correlations with components of the frailty diagnostic criteria. We discovered several potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of frailty. Further refinement may lead to their future clinical use

Supplementary Material for: Osteopontin Plays a Critical Role in Interstitial Fibrosis but Not Glomerular Sclerosis in Diabetic Nephropathy

<i>Background/Aims:</i> Osteopontin (OPN) has been implicated in the pathology of several renal conditions. The aim of this study was to clarify the roles of OPN in diabetic nephropathy. <i>Methods:</i> Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced in wild-type (WT) and OPN knockout (KO) mice by injecting streptozotocin. The mice were killed 20 weeks after induction of DM and their kidneys removed. <i>Results:</i> Renal mRNA expression of OPN was increased in WT-DM mice compared to WT-sham mice. Immunohistochemistry showed high levels of OPN expression in the proximal tubules of WT-DM mice. Kidney weight and urinary albumin excretion increased to similar levels in the WT-DM and KO-DM mice. Interstitial fibrosis was increased in WT-DM mice compared to KO-DM mice. However, there were no differences in the degree of mesangial expansion or glomerular hypertrophy between the two groups. F4/80-positive cells (macrophages) and FSP-1-positive cells (fibroblasts) showed significantly higher infiltration in WT-DM mice than in KO-DM mice. Renal mRNA expression of NADPH oxidase subunits and urinary 8-isoprostane excretion were also increased in WT-DM mice. <i>Conclusions:</i> These results indicated that OPN is a key molecule that induces interstitial fibrosis in the diabetic kidney, but does not induce glomerular sclerosis