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Objective To survey the prevalence of sarcopenia in the elderly and investigate their diet quality in a rural area of Chengdu in order to provide scientific basis for nutrition management for the elderly population with sarcopenia. Methods Elderly people aged 60 and above living in a rural area of Chengdu City were sampled and then divided into sarcopenia group (n=450) and non-sarcopenia group (n=1 412) according to the 2019 Asian Sarcopenia Working Group Consensus (AWGS) diagnostic criteria. Dietary quality was evaluated based on the Dietary Balance Index (DBI-16). Results For the 1 862 elderly participants, there were 450 suffering from sarcopenia, with a prevalence of 24.17%. The subjects from the non-sarcopenia group had significantly higher intakes of proteins (P < 0.001), carbohydrates (P < 0.001) and energy (P=0.032), and intakes of grains (P=0.006), vegetables (P < 0.001), fruits (P < 0.001) and meat (P=0.001) than those from the sarcopenia group. The diet quality distance (DQD) was obviously higher in the sarcopenia group than the non-sarcopenia group (P=0.049). The total score of DBI-16 was negative in both groups, and the total score of the sarcopenia group was notably lower than that of the non-sarcopenia group (P < 0.001). Conclusion The prevalence of sarcopenia in elderly in this area is quite high, and the dietary imbalance is more serious. Targeted health education should be carried out to improve the dietary quality for the elderly in the region.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a high prevalent chronic disease that may lead to many complications, and cause great potential harm to health. Epidemiological studies have showed that OSA is closely related to the development of various cardiovascular diseases. There are about 66 million patients with moderate to severe OSA in China, but 80% of potential OSA patients have not been diagnosed and treated in time. OSA is mainly diagnosed and treated in a hospital-based sleep center currently, as the process is time-consuming and laborious, which may be lead to a delay in diagnosis and treatment of many patients. Supported by the development of Internet of Things, Internet technologies and other emerging technologies, remote medicine has been increasingly used in the diagnosis and management of chronic diseases owing to its advantages of easy access, interactivity, high efficiency, resource sharing, service continuity and without space-time constraints. Our center has initially built a management system for remote diagnosis and treatment of OSA, but its clinical efficacy and economic value need to be further verified. We designed a randomized controlled trial protocol to assess whether the clinical benefits of the low-cost remote healthcare model are similar to those of the traditional healthcare model by comparing them in terms of clinical efficacy and health economic benefits, hoping to provide a reference for the efficient use of medical resources and further promotion of remote diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases.

The mechanisms underlying stimuli-induced dynamic structural remodeling of RNAs for the maintenance of cellular physiological function and survival remain unclear. Here, we showed that in MGMT promoter–methylated glioblastoma (GBM), the RNA helicase DEAD-box helicase 46 (DDX46) is phosphorylated by temozolomide (TMZ)–activated checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1), resulting in a dense-to-loose conformational change and an increase in DDX46 helicase activity. DDX46-mediated tertiary structural remodeling of LINC01956 exposes the binding motifs of LINC01956 to the 3′ untranslated region of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). This accelerates recruitment of MGMT mRNA to the RNA export machinery and transportation of MGMT mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, leading to increased MGMT abundance and TMZ resistance. Using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) and tumor organoid models, we found that treatment with the CHK1 inhibitor SRA737abolishes TMZ-induced structural remodeling of LINC01956 and subsequent MGMT up-regulation, resensitizing TMZ-resistant MGMT promoter–methylated GBM to TMZ. In conclusion, these findings highlight a mechanism underlying temozolomide-induced RNA structural remodeling and may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for patients with TMZ-resistant MGMT promoter–methylated GBM. Editor's summary: Glioblastomas are usually treated with temozolomide (TMZ), but up-regulation of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) leads to resistance. MGMT promoter–methylated glioblastomas show reduced MGMT expression and increased sensitivity to TMZ, although resistance can occur through unclear mechanisms. Here, Liao and colleagues showed that in resistant MGMT promoter–methylated glioblastoma, TMZ activates checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1), which then activates an RNA helicase that alters the tertiary structure of the long noncoding RNA LINC01956. LINC01956 can then bind to MGMT, resulting in increased MGMT export from the nucleus and ultimately TMZ resistance. Administration of a CHK1 inhibitor prevents the structural remodeling of LINC01956, thereby blocking up-regulation of MGMT and restoring sensitivity to TMZ in vitro and in mouse models of disease, suggesting a potential treatment option to resensitize resistant MGMT promoter–methylated glioblastoma to TMZ. —Melissa L. Norton [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low‐FODMAPs diet on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Western China has not been reported. We aimed to investigate the effect of low‐FODMAPs diet on IBS patients in the area and whether low‐FODMAPs diet‐induced alterations of microbiota could be improved through probiotics. IBS patients were randomized to the control group, low‐FODMAPs diet group, probiotics group, or combined group. IBS Symptom Severity Score questionnaire (IBS‐SSS) and IBS Quality of Life Score questionnaire (IBS‐QOL) were completed at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks to evaluate the severity of symptoms. Fresh feces were collected for analyses of gut microbiota and short‐chain fatty acids at baseline and 4 weeks after intervention. Seventy‐three patients were included in the per protocol analysis. After intervention, there was significant improvement in IBS‐SSS in the low‐FODMAPs group (37.5%, 44.2%), probiotics group (51.4%, 62.0%), and combined group (34.1%, 40.4%) at both 2 weeks and 4 weeks, compared with the baseline (p <.05). In the low‐FODMAPs group, the abundance of several microbiota (Lachnoclostridium, Enterococcus, etc.) was significantly decreased. Furthermore, after the supplementation of probiotics in the combined group, the abundance of Genus_Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, Acidaminococcus, Ruminiclostridium, Akkermansia, Eggerthella, and Oxalobacter was significantly increased, which was associated with the improvements of symptoms score in the Pearson correlation analysis. Our study confirmed the effectiveness and safety of short‐term low‐FODMAPs diet in IBS symptoms based on the Chinese diet in Western China. The combination of low‐FODMAPs and probiotics plays a beneficial role in gut microbiota in IBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]