1.
Relationship of cardiac biomarkers with white matter hyperintensities in cardioembolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation and/or rheumatic heart disease.
Wei, C, Zhang, S, Liu, J, Yuan, R, Liu, M
Medicine. 2018;(33):e11892
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Abstract
White matter hyperintensities (WMHs), which are common in elderly people and contribute to age-related disability, can coexist with cardiac injury. It remains unclear whether cardiac biomarkers are associated with WMHs.To investigate this question, we prospectively recruited patients with cardioembolic stroke due to atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Four cardiac biomarkers were measured: myoglobin, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), creatine kinase-MB, and terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. WMHs in periventricular and deep white matter were assessed separately.In the entire sample of 171 patients, 120 (70.2%) presented with WMHs, of whom 18 (10.5%) presented with moderate to severe deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) and 55 (32.2%) presented with moderate to severe periventricular hyperintensities (PVH). Risk of moderate to severe PVH, after adjusting for confounders, was 2.460-fold higher in patients with high myoglobin levels than in those with low levels, and the risk was 2.608-fold higher in patients with high hs-cTnT levels than in those with low levels. There were no significant associations between any of the 4 cardiac biomarkers and moderate to severe DWMH.This prospective observational study provides new evidence of the potential relationship of cardiac biomarkers with WMHs in patients with cardioembolic stroke due to AF and/or RHD. We found that elevated myoglobin levels and high hs-TnT levels were independently associated with the presence of moderate to severe PVH. Further studies are required to test our findings and explore whether cardiac biomarkers contribute directly to WMHs pathogenesis.
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Elevated Serum Levels of NSE and S-100β Correlate with Increased Risk of Acute Cerebral Infarction in Asian Populations.
Li, K, Jia, J, Wang, Z, Zhang, S
Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research. 2015;:1879-88
Abstract
BACKGROUND We investigated the clinical value of serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and human soluble protein-100β (S-100β) in acute cerebral infarction (ACI) patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS A literature search of electronic databases identified relevant case-control studies that examined the correlations between NSE and S-100β serum levels, and ACI. The retrieved studies were screened based on our strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, and high-quality studies were subsequently selected for meta-analysis. STATA software (Version 12.0, Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA) was utilized for statistical analysis. RESULTS A total of 13 case-control studies, containing 911 ACI patients and 686 healthy controls, were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that serum levels of NSE and S-100β in ACI patients were significantly higher than the control group. Subgroup analysis based on ethnicity revealed that the serum levels of NSE and S-100β in ACI patients were significantly higher than the control group in Asian population. In Caucasian population, the serum levels of NSE in case group was significantly higher than the control group, but no significant differences in serum levels of S-100β were observed between ACI patients and the control group. CONCLUSIONS Based on our results, we conclude that serum levels of NSE and S-100β strongly correlate with ACI in Asian population, and may be important clinical markers for diagnosis and treatment of ACI.
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Dietary amelioration of Helicobacter pylori infection: design criteria for a clinical trial.
Fahey, JW, Muñoz, A, Matsuzaki, Y, Suzuki, H, Talalay, P, Tauchi, M, Zhang, S, Hurt, C, Yanaka, A
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 2004;(10):1610-6
Abstract
The longitudinal stability of the urea breath test (UBT), which measures urease as a biomarker for infection with Helicobacter pylori (a major risk factor for gastric cancer), was evaluated in the environs of Tsukuba, Japan. 13C-UBT measurements were monitored at four time points in 46 free-living, H. pylori-infected, asymptomatic volunteers over a period of 7 weeks. Subjects were asked to refrain from eating cruciferous vegetables, which might confound interpretation of results. Their compliance was monitored using both dietary records and direct biochemical testing of overnight urine. There was large between-subject UBT variation in this population (logUBT mean, 3.34; SD, 0.67). Within-subject (longitudinal) UBT values were remarkably stable in about one-quarter of the subjects (coefficients of variations for these individuals were <21%), whereas coefficients of variations in the highest quartile of variability ranged from 40% to 80%. About half of the sequential UBTs (63 of 138 such measurement pairs) changed >10 per thousand "delta over baseline" between measurements. This study provides the elements to optimize the design of a clinical trial in this population to examine the efficacy of a dietary intervention to reduce H. pylori infection. The number of subjects required to detect a 30% difference in average UBT value is highly dependent on the baseline stability of UBT measurements. For the least variable quartile, as few as 12 subjects would be needed; for the most variable quartile, at least 147 subjects would be required in each arm.