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In order to reveal the pollution and risk level of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in Qiandao Lake, six types of PAEs in 17 sampling points (in Qiandao Lake and its inflowing rivers) in dry and wet seasons were detected. The results showed that six types of PAEs were detected in both dry and wet seasons, with the concentrations of 0.98-5.33 μg·L

We aimed to determine whether NeuroD1/BETA2 and PAX4 polymorphisms were associated with the therapeutic efficacy of repaglinide in Chinese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.Three hundred and sixty-eight T2DM patients and 132 healthy control subjects were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Forty-three patients with various genotypes were randomly selected to undergo 8 weeks of repaglinide treatment (3 mg day(-1)). Fasting plasma glucose, postprandial plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin, fasting and postprandial serum insulin (FINS, PINS), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were determined before and after repaglinide treatment.The allelic frequency of NeuroD1/BETA2 T45 was higher in T2DM patients than in the control subjects [13.45 vs. 6.82%, P0.01, odds ratios = 2.342 (1.365, 4.019), P= 0.002]. Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with the mutated allele of NeuroD1/BETA2 A45T polymorphism showed higher FINS (13.46 ± 12.57 vs. 10.04 ± 7.09 mU l(-1) , P0.05) (11.67, 14.83 vs. 8.38, 11.37) and PINS (52.11 ± 40.93 vs. 68.66 ± 43.87 mU l(-1), P0.05) (44.89, 58.35 vs. 55.35, 88.87) than individuals with the T allele. The PAX4 R121W R allele carriers had higher PINS (52.11 ± 40.93 vs. 68.66 ± 43.87 mU l(-1), P0.05) (44.89, 58.35 vs. 55.35, 88.87) than subjects with the W allele. After repaglinide treatment, patients with the T allele of NeuroD1/BETA2 A45T polymorphisms had attenuated efficacy on fasting plasma glucose (-2.79 ± 2.14 vs.-0.99 ± 1.80 mmol l(-1), P0.01) (-3.53, -1.84 vs.-1.99, -0.13) and postprandial plasma glucose (-6.71 ± 5.90 vs.-2.54 ± 3.39 mmol l(-1), P0.01) (-9.28, -4.62 vs.-4.34, -0.84). Patients with the RR genotype of PAX4 R121W showed better efficacy with respect to the level of postprandial plasma glucose than R/W genotypes (-6.53 ± 6.52 vs.-2.95 ± 1.17 mmol l(-1), P0.05) (-8.20, -4.89 vs.-3.92, -1.20).The NeuroD1/BETA2 and PAX4 polymorphisms were substantially associated with plasma glucose level after repaglinide monotherapy.

1. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the serine racemase (SRR) rs391300 G/A polymorphism with the risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) and to assess the impacts of the polymorphism on the therapeutic efficacy of metformin in Chinese patients. 2. A case-control study of 402 patients with T2DM and 171 healthy controls was conducted. The SRR rs391300 polymorphism was genotyped in all participants using the ABI 3700 automated sequencer. Forty-four recent-onset T2DM patients with different rs391300 genotypes were selected to receive 500 mg metformin orally daily for 12 consecutive weeks as monotherapy. Serum fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting serum insulin (FINS), postprandial serum insulin (PINS), triglycerol (TG), cholesterol (CHO), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and body mass index (BMI) were determined before and after metformin treatment. 3. The distribution frequencies of rs391300 were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P0.05). After treatment with metformin, the values of BMI, FPG, PPG, PINS, HbA1c, CHO, and TG decreased significantly (P0.01), whereas FINS increased (P0.001), in patients with T2DM. Patients with the GA or AA genotype of rs391300 showed better improvements in the levels of FPG, PPG, and CHO (P0.05) than individuals with the GG genotype. 4. The SRR rs391300 polymorphism was associated with the therapeutic efficacy of metformin in Chinese patients with T2DM.

1. In the present study, we investigated the associations of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT)-3186 C/T and -948G/T polymorphisms with the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and their impact on the efficacy of repaglinide in Chinese Han T2DM patients. 2. In all, 170 patients with T2DM and 129 healthy controls were genotyped for NAMPT-948GT and -3186CT polymorphisms. Thirty-five patients with different NAMPT -3186 C/T genotypes and the same organic anion-transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1521) T/C genotype were randomly selected to undergo 8 weeks preprandial repaglinide treatment (1 mg, three times daily). Serum fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial plasma glucose (PPG), glycated haemoglobin (HbAlc), fasting serum insulin (FINS), post-prandial serum insulin (PINS), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (CHO), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined before and after repaglinide treatment. 3. After repaglinide treatment for 8 consecutive weeks, there were significantly decreases in PFG, PPG, HbAlc, CHO and LDL-C, and increases in FINS, HDL-C and the HDL-C : LDL-C ratio, in T2DM patients. The elevated PINS value in patients with CT genotypes was significantly lower than that in patients with the CC and TT genotypes (P0.05) and there were significant differences in CHO between patients with the CT genotype and the CC or TT genotype (P0.05). 4. The data suggest that the NAMPT -3186CT polymorphism is significantly associated with plasma levels of PINS and CHO in Chinese T2DM patients with repaglinide monotherapy.

Thalassemia is a common genetic disorder among the South Chinese. To see if thalassemia would adversely affect the erythrocyte response to recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO, Epogen) in dialysis patients, the response to rHuEPO in 4 dialysis patients with thalassemic traits (thal-t) was compared with that of 4 control patients who were matched for age, sex, mode of dialysis and baseline hemoglobin levels over a 6-month period. Patients with thal-t showed a reduced erythrocyte response to rHuEPO compared to control dialysis patients as reflected by a reduced reticulocyte index, a slower rise in hemoglobin or hematocrit levels, requirement of a higher cumulated dose of rHuEPO to achieve a target hemoglobin of 10 g/dl and a higher maintenance dose of rHuEPO. A dialysis patient with hemoglobin H disease (HbHD) was also studied. He failed to respond to rHuEPO despite that the dose was increased to 250 U/kg/week. In contrast, his matched control dialysis patient, despite a lower baseline hemoglobin level (6.1 versus 8.8 g/dl), was able to reach a target hemoglobin level of 10 g/dl by 6 weeks and could be maintained at this level with 50 U/kg/week. The patient with HbHD had splenomegaly and a higher baseline serum erythropoietin level, reticulocyte count, serum bilirubin, serum ferritin and serum iron saturation than control patients and patients with thal-t. It was concluded that thal-t reduces the erythrocyte response to rHuEPO in dialysis patients and that in the presence of active hemolysis and enhanced endogenous erythropoietin secretion, dialysis patients with HbHD are resistant to treatment with rHuEPO.