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To investigate the potential correlation between multifidus muscles (MM) fatty atrophy and MR signs of lumbar spine degeneration in patients with low back pain (LBP). Following IRB approval, lumbar spine MRI of 518 patients (278 females and 240 males; age, 10–92 years) with LBP were retrospectively reviewed by two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists. MM fatty atrophy was graded at L4–5 and L5–S1 levels per modified Goutallier classification. Disc degeneration, herniation was graded according to Pfirrmann classification, and facet joint osteoarthritis was graded according to Fujiwara classification. Gender, age and body mass index (BMI) were recorded as well. Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine whether there was a difference in fatty atrophy between woman and man. Kendall’s tau-b coefficient and ordinal multiple logistic regression were used to evaluate relationship between MM fatty atrophy and signs of lumbar spine degeneration. Intra-observer agreement was tested using weighted Kappa. There was significant difference among the grades of fatty atrophy between woman and man. Both at L4–L5 and L5–S1 levels, correlation between MM fatty atrophy with age, disc degeneration, facet joint osteoarthritis was significant (p

Background Neoadjuvant radiotherapy plays a vital role in the treatment of malignant bone tumors, and non-invasive imaging methods are needed to evaluate the response to treatment. Purpose To assess the value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for monitoring early response to radiotherapy in malignant bone tumors. Material and Methods Treatment response was evaluated in a rabbit VX2 bone tumor model (n = 35) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), DKI, and histopathologic examinations. Subjects were divided into three groups: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and control groups. The post-treatment group was subclassified into good response and poor response groups according to the results of histopathologic examination. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and DKI parameters (mean diffusion coefficient [MD] and mean kurtosis [MK]) were recorded. The relationship between ADC, DKI parameters, and histopathologic changes after radiotherapy was determined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The diagnostic performance of these parameters was assessed using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results MD in the good response group was higher after treatment than before treatment ( P Conclusion The correlations between MD, tumor cell density, and apoptosis suggest that MD could be useful for assessing the early response to radiotherapy in rabbit VX2 malignant bone tumors.

Preoperative differentiation between benign parotid gland tumors (BPGT) and malignant parotid gland tumors (MPGT) is important for treatment decisions. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an MRI-based radiomics nomogram for the preoperative differentiation of BPGT from MPGT. A total of 115 patients (80 in training set and 35 in external validation set) with BPGT (n = 60) or MPGT (n = 55) were enrolled. Radiomics features were extracted from T1-weighted and fat-saturated T2-weighted images. A radiomics signature model and a radiomics score (Rad-score) were constructed and calculated. A clinical-factors model was built based on demographics and MRI findings. A radiomics nomogram model combining the Rad-score and independent clinical factors was constructed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The diagnostic performance of the three models was evaluated and validated using ROC curves on the training and validation datasets. Seventeen features from MR images were used to build the radiomics signature. The radiomics nomogram incorporating the clinical factors and radiomics signature had an AUC value of 0.952 in the training set and 0.938 in the validation set. Decision curve analysis showed that the nomogram outperformed the clinical-factors model in terms of clinical usefulness. The above-described radiomics nomogram performed well for differentiating BPGT from MPGT, and may help in the clinical decision-making process. • Differential diagnosis between BPGT and MPGT is rather difficult by conventional imaging modalities. • A radiomics nomogram integrated with the radiomics signature, clinical data, and MRI features facilitates differentiation of BPGT from MPGT with improved diagnostic efficacy.

// Xu Liu 1 , Lianghao You 2 , Ruizhi Zhou 2 , Jian Zhang 2 1 Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning, Shenyang 110001, China 2 Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health, China, Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China Correspondence to: Jian Zhang, email: jzhang@cmu.edu.cn Keywords: microRNA, polymorphism, coronary heart disease, meta-analysis, Pathology Section Received: October 07, 2016 Accepted: November 30, 2016 Published: December 27, 2016 ABSTRACT Molecular epidemiological studies suggest that microRNA polymorphisms may be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the results of these studies were inconsistent and inconclusive. To derive a more precise evaluation, we performed a meta-analysis focused on the associations between microRNA polymorphisms and CHD risk. PubMed, Embase, CNKI and Wanfang databases were searched. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess the association between microRNA-146a rs2910164, microRNA-196a2 rs11614913, microRNA-499 rs3746444 and microRNA-149 rs71428439 polymorphisms and CHD susceptibility. Heterogeneity, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were conducted to measure the robustness of our findings. A total of thirteen related studies involving 8,120 patients and 8,364 controls were analyzed. Significant associations between microRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and CHD risk were observed in the total population, as well as in subgroup analysis. For microRNA-196a2 rs11614913 and microRNA-499 rs3746444, similarly increased risks were also found. In addition, no significant association was detected between microRNA-149 rs71428439 polymorphism and CHD risk. In conclusion, our meta-analyses suggest that microRNA polymorphisms may be associated with increased risk of CHD development.

Jian Zhang,1 Xu Liu,2 Liang-Hao You,1 Rui-Zhi Zhou1 1Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education,ChinaMedicalUniversity, Shenyang,People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China Abstract: HOTAIR, a well-known long non-coding RNA, is involved in carcinogenesis and progression of multiple cancers. Molecular epidemiological studies suggest that HOTAIR polymorphisms may be associated with cancer susceptibility, but the results remain controversial. To derive a more precise evaluation, we performed a meta-analysis focused on the associations between HOTAIR polymorphisms and cancer risk for the first time. PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were searched. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were applied to assess the association between HOTAIR rs920778 C>T, rs4759314 A>G, rs7958904 G>C, and rs1899663 G>T polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility. Analyses were conducted to detect heterogeneity, sensitivity, and publication bias in order to measure the robustness of our findings. Overall, 13 related studies involving 7,151 patients and 8,740 control samples were analyzed. Significant associations between the HOTAIR rs920778 polymorphism and cancer risk were observed (T vs C: OR =1.33, 95% CI =1.17–1.53; TT vs TC + CC: OR =1.55, 95% CI =1.21–2.00; TC + TT vs CC: OR =1.33, 95% CI =1.11–1.59; TT vs CC: OR =2.02, 95% CI =1.31–3.10) in the total population, as well as in subgroup analyses. For rs4759314 A>G polymorphism, a similarly increased risk was found in the gastric cancer group. However, significant decreases in cancer risk were observed both in the overall population and colorectal cancer group for rs7958904 G>C polymorphism. In addition, no significant association was detected between rs1899663 G>T polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. In conclusion, our meta-analyses suggest that HOTAIR polymorphisms may be associated with the risk of cancer development. Keywords: HOTAIR, polymorphism, cancer susceptibility