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Background: Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), visceral adiposity index (VAI), triglyceride glucose index (TyG), TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC have been reported as markers of insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, little is known about the associations between the aforementioned markers and the risk of prediabetes and diabetes in first-degree relatives (FDRs) of T2DM patients.Methods: 1544 FDRs of T2DM patients (635 men and 909 women) were enrolled in the initial cross-sectional study and all of them finished corresponding examinations. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to compare and identify the associations of the six parameters (BMI, WC, VAI, TyG, TyG-BMI and TyG-WC) with the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes. Subsequently, 452 of them were followed-up for an average of 5 years. Cox proportional hazard regression model was applied to confirm the predictive value of the optimal marker.Results: Among the indices, TyG-WC was more strongly associated with the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes. Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of TyG-WC, the adjusted odds ratio and 95 % CIs for prediabetes and diabetes was 11.19 (7.62-16.42) for those in the top quartile of TyG-WC. Moreover, the largest AUC was also observed in TyG-WC (0.765, 95 % CIs 0.741-0.789, P < 0.001). The robust predictive value of TyG-WC was further confirmed in the follow-up study (HR: 7.13, 95 % CIs 3.41-14.90, P < 0.001).Conclusions: TyG-WC is a novel and clinically effective marker for early identifying the risks of prediabetes and diabetes in FDRs of T2DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While sarcopenia has been found to be associated with increased risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), evidence exploring sex-related differences remains insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the differences in how often sarcopenia occurs in each sex, as determined by skeletal muscle area (SMA) in chest CT images, and its association with CVD common risk factors., Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1,340 inpatients from the Department of Geriatrics of Renji Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine. Data on age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, disease history, and clinical parameters were collected. Sarcopenia was defined using chest CT images with a cut-off value of T12-SMA/height 2 <25.75 cm 2 /m 2 in male patients and <20.16 cm 2 /m 2 in female patients. Cardiovascular risk was assessed using the Framingham risk score (FRS). The association between T12-SMA/height 2 -defined sarcopenia and CVD risk factors by sex was evaluated using a multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: The overall prevalence of T12-SMA/height 2 -defined sarcopenia (<25.75 cm 2 /m 2 for male patients, <20.16 cm 2 /m 2 for female patients) was 54.03%, with 48.09% in male patients and 63.19% in female patients. The proportion of male patients with high CVD risk was greater than that of female patients. The multivariate analysis revealed that T12-SMA/height 2 -defined sarcopenia was independently associated with age (in male patients only), systolic blood pressure (SBP), cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) among the six FRS cardiovascular risk indices., Conclusion: Our results suggest that T12-SMA/height 2 -defined sarcopenia was more prevalent in male patients than in female patients. Sarcopenia was associated with higher levels of SBP and HDL-C and lower levels of cholesterol. Increasing age had a more significant effect on CVD risk in male patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Zhu, Cao, Zuo, Chen, Weng, Jiang and Hu.)

Background: Isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type (WT) glioblastoma (GBM) accounts for 90% of all GBMs, yet only 27% of isocitrate dehydrogenase WT-GBMs have p53 mutations. However, the tumor surveillance function of WT-p53 in GBM is subverted by mechanisms that are not fully understood., Methods: We investigated the proteolytic inactivation of WT-p53 by asparaginyl endopeptidase (AEP) and its effects on GBM progression in cancer cells, murine models, and patients' specimens using biochemical and functional assays. The sera of healthy donors (n = 48) and GBM patients (n = 20) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, effects of AEP inhibitors on GBM progression were evaluated in murine models (n = 6-8 per group). The statistical significance between groups was determined using two-tailed Student t tests., Results: We demonstrate that AEP binds to and directly cleaves WT-p53, resulting in the inhibition of WT-p53-mediated tumor suppressor function in both tumor cells and stromal cells via extracellular vesicle communication. High expression of uncleavable p53-N311A-mutant rescue AEP-induced tumorigenesis, proliferation, and anti-apoptotic abilities. Knock down or pharmacological inhibition of AEP reduced tumorigenesis and prolonged survival in murine models. However, overexpression of AEP promoted tumorigenesis and shortened the survival time. Moreover, high AEP levels in GBM tissues were associated with a poor prognosis of GBM patients (n = 83; hazard ratio = 3.94, 95% confidence interval = 1.87 to 8.28; P < .001). A correlation was found between high plasma AEP levels and a larger tumor size in GBM patients (r = 0.6, P = .03), which decreased dramatically after surgery., Conclusions: Our results indicate that AEP promotes GBM progression via inactivation of WT-p53 and may serve as a prognostic and therapeutic target for GBM., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: Lipid metabolism disturbance can result in insulin resistance and glucose intolerance; however, the features of glucose metabolism are still elusive in different dyslipidemia. Our study intended to explore the characteristics and molecular mechanisms of glucose metabolism abnormal in hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia models., Methods: Two mouse models were used in this study, one was lipoprotein lipase gene-deleted (LPL(+/-)) mice, and the other was high fat dietary (HFD) mice. Levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterin (HDL-c) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterin (LDL-c) in serum were measured by full-automatic biochemical analyzer. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed to evaluate insulin sensitivity and β-cell function. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) levels in serum were measured by colorimetric determination. mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2a) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) in liver, skeletal muscle, visceral fat and subcutaneous fat were measured by Real-Time PCR., Results: Compared with HFD mice, the levels of serum TG were significantly higher in LPL(+/-) mice, whereas the levels of TC, HDL-c, LDL-c were significantly lower. The plasma glucose levels were increased at each time point of intra-peritoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) in both groups. Furthermore, the level of serum fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment index-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) increased with a decreased ISI in both groups. In addition, the plasma MDA of HFD group was higher than that of lipoprotein lipase-deficiency (LPL(+/-)) group, while the activity of T-SOD in HFD group was lower than that in LPL(+/-) group. Real-Time PCR revealed that the expressions of SOD1, CAT and Gpx1 in liver and subcutaneous fat were lower in HFD group than those in LPL(+/-) group, but higher in skeletal muscle and visceral fat., Conclusions: There are different in glucose metabolism between high TG mice and high TC mice. Impaired insulin sensitivity is more serious in HFD mice than that in LPL(+/-) mice. Oxidative stress could contribute to insulin resistance in hyperlipidemia mice.

Objective: To evaluate the effects and safety of 300-600 mg α-lipoic acid (ALA) given i.v. for diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN)., Methods: We searched the databases of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane central register of Controlled Trials and Chinese biological medicine for clinical trials of ALA in the treatment of DPN. Data were extracted to examine methodological quality and describe characteristics of studies. The primary outcomes were efficacy, median motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), median sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV), peroneal MNCV, and peroneal SNCV. Secondary outcomes were adverse events., Results: Fifteen randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. The treatment group involved the administration of ALA 300-600 mg i.v. per day. And the control group used the same interventions except for ALA. Compared with the control group, nerve conduction velocities increased significantly in the treatment group. The weighted mean differences in nerve conduction velocities were 4.63 (95% confidence interval 3.58-5.67) for median MNCV, 3.17 (1.75-4.59) for median SNCV, 4.25 (2.78-5.72) for peroneal MNCV, and 3.65 (1.50-5.80) for peroneal SNCV in favor of the treatment group. The odds ratio in terms of efficacy was 4.03 (2.73-5.94) for ALA. Furthermore, no serious adverse events were observed during the treatment period., Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis provide evidence that treatment with ALA (300-600 mg/day i.v. for 2-4 weeks) is safe and that the treatment can significantly improve both nerve conduction velocity and positive neuropathic symptoms. However, the evidence may not be strong because most of the studies included in this meta-analysis have poor methodological quality.