Journal of Investigative Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of vitamin B12 levels among severe obese and obese adolescents.","authors":"Mehmet Semih Demirtas, Cengizhan Kilicaslan, Huseyin Erdal","doi":"10.1177/10815589231225180","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589231225180","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Obesity, whose prevalence is increasing globally, is malnutrition that causes micro/macronutrients and vitamin deficiencies in adolescents. Vitamin B12 plays a prominent role in the body systems such as remethylation, deoxidation, and DNA synthesis. We aimed to examine the relationship between severe obese/obese adolescents and vitamin B12 levels in this study. This study was conducted as a case-control study consisting of 44 obese and 40 healthy control adolescents aged 11-17 years. Obesity was diagnosed using body mass index (BMI) charts defined by the World Health Organization according to age and gender. Vitamin B12 deficiency was found to be 34.1% in the patient obesity group, while it was 12.5% in the control group (p = 0.02). Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance levels were found to be 3.09 (1.9-5.29) higher in the severely obese group (p < 0.001). The median level of vitamin B12 in the obese group was 173 (122.5-220.7) in the severe obese group, 197 (146.5-302.7) in the obese group, and 252.5 (192.8-302) in the control group (p = 0.021). We found that obesity has a 1.6-fold decreasing effect on vitamin B12 levels. This study shows the clinician the importance of monitoring BMI and vitamin B12 levels in obese adolescents, given the effects of vitamin B12 on neuronal migration, metabolic reactions, and many systems in the body. Further researches are needed to investigate the pathophysiology and effect of low vitamin B12 levels in obese adolescents.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"319-325"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139040133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antimicrobial effect of chamomile-containing over-the-counter ear and eye drops.","authors":"Soroush Farsi, Shahrukh Chaudhry, Ahmed Khan, Joshua Gardner, Morgan Ogwo, Brendon Ofori, Mehrdad Hosseini, Jorge Cervantes","doi":"10.1177/10815589231223201","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589231223201","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chamomile (<i>Matricaria chamomilla</i>) is a plant with known antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties. Homeopathic drops containing chamomile extract are often used for ear pain and chronic ear infections. We aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of over-the-counter eardrops containing chamomile against organisms causing bacterial conjunctivitis and otitis externa. Liquid cultures of <i>Streptococcus aureus</i> and <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> were exposed to increasing concentrations of eardrops containing chamomile extract. Liquid cultures of <i>S. aureus</i> and <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> were exposed to increasing concentrations of chamomile eye drops for 5, 10, 15, and 45 min. Colony forming units (CFUs) were assessed after 18 h. Viability assays for these organisms were performed using the resazurin microdilution assay. We observed a reduction in the number of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> CFUs when the bacteria were exposed to any of the three concentrations of the chamomile drops as early as 5 min, with maximal reduction upon exposure to the 30% concentration at 45 min. Reduction in <i>S. aureus</i> CFUs, on the other hand, was observed for all three concentrations as maximal in the 5 min of exposure. We observed a marked reduction in the number of <i>S. aureus</i> CFUs upon exposure to any of the three preparations of chamomile-containing eye drops, which was almost immediate at 10% concentration. <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> reduction happened at 5 min and continued through the 45-min observation period for all three concentrations. Our findings suggest that over-the-counter ear drops containing chamomile extract could potentially be used as a non-prescription treatment for mild cases of otitis externa and bacterial conjunctivitis.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"305-311"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139032399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel predictive model based on pericarotid adipose tissue and lumen stenosis for stroke risk in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis.","authors":"Ying Liu, Yinan Zhao, Zhongping Guo, Yonggang Zhang, Chongchang Miao, Yan Gu","doi":"10.1177/10815589241226728","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589241226728","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study aimed to investigate the predictive value of clinical characteristics, major computed tomography angiography (CTA) indexes of carotid AS (carotid lumen stenosis and plaque burden), and inflammatory pericarotid adipose tissue for acute stroke risk in patients with a moderate or higher degree of carotid stenosis. In all, 119 patients with unilateral carotid stenosis who underwent head and neck computed tomography angiography were included and assigned to the stroke group or non-stroke group according to magnetic resonance imaging. Pericarotid adipose tissue attenuation value, net enhancement value in the base phase and the enhancement phase, and atherosclerotic features (plaque burden and lumen stenosis) were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and the operating characteristic curve (ROC) were performed to establish a predictive model for the presence of acute ischemic stroke. ROC analysis showed that pericarotid adipose tissue attenuation value and lumen stenosis were predictive factors for stroke. The AUC of pericarotid adipose tissue attenuation (PCAT) attenuation, lumen stenosis, the novel prediction model independently constructed based on PCAT attenuation, and lumen stenosis resulted in 0.838 (95% CI 0.759-0.899), 0.700 (95% CI 0.826-0.944), and 0.942 (95% CI 0.884-0.977), respectively. The model had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.909 and 0.893, respectively, when the cutoff value was 0.388. We found that the risk model combining pericarotid adipose tissue attenuation value and lumen stenosis has significant predictive values for the presence of symptomatic stroke among patients with a moderate or higher degree of carotid stenosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"270-278"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139106149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risk factors and mortality in dialysis patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm: A retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Gabriela Duchesne, Di Xia, Jennifer L Waller, Wendy B Bollag, Azeem Mohammed, Sandeep Padala, Mufaddal Kheda, Varsha Taskar, Neal L Weintraub, Lufei Young, Stephanie L Baer","doi":"10.1177/10815589241226729","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589241226729","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the general population, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is synonymous with vascular disease and associated with increased mortality. Vascular disease is common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis, but there is limited information on AAA in this population. To address this issue, we queried the United States Renal Data System for risk factors associated with a diagnosis of AAA as well as the impact of AAA on ESRD patient survival. Incident dialysis patients from 2005 to 2014 with AAA and other clinical comorbidities were identified using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. Time to death was defined using the time from the start of dialysis to the date of death or to December 31, 2015. Cox proportional hazards (CPH) modeling was used to determine the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for death. From a total cohort of 820,826, we identified 21,631 subjects with a diagnosis of AAA. When compared to patients without AAA, AAA patients were older and more likely to be of white race and male gender, have a higher mean Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), have hypertension as the ESRD etiology, and use tobacco. Although a bivariate CPH model showed that AAA patients had an increased mortality risk compared to patients without the diagnosis, in the final CPH model, AAA patients had a decreased risk of mortality (aHR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.81-0.84) due to confounding with age. These results suggest that AAA is not associated with increased risk of death in ESRD patients after controlling for various demographic and clinical risk factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"287-293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139106150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chamomile tea decreases <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> viability.","authors":"Bo-Young Hong, Morgan Ogwo, Mehrdad Hosseini, Brendon Ofori, Jorge Cervantes","doi":"10.1177/10815589231225181","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589231225181","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"312-314"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139040132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thrombospondin-1 associated with carotid intima-media thickness among individuals with hypertension.","authors":"Hsiu-Fen Lin, Meng-Ni Wu, Chien-Yuan Chen, Kelly Lim, Suh-Hang Hank Juo, Cheng-Sheng Chen","doi":"10.1177/10815589241228589","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589241228589","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is involved in atherosclerotic pathogenesis. However, the role of TSP-1 in clinical atherosclerosis remains unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between TSP-1 and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and examined whether it interacts with conventional cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 587 participants were enrolled from February 2018 to December 2021. TSP-1 was dichotomized based on median value. Carotid IMT was measured bilaterally in each segment, and the average value was taken as the overall IMT variable. Analysis of covariance models were used to ascertain the main and interaction effects of cardiovascular risk factors and circulating TSP-1 levels on carotid IMT. Those with high TSP-1 (n = 294) had significantly higher carotid IMT than did those with low TSP-1 (n = 293; 0.74 ± 0.12 vs 0.72 ± 0.11 mm; p = 0.011). After the combined effects of TSP-1 and vascular risk factors on carotid IMT were evaluated, an interaction effect on IMT was observed between TSP-1 and hypertension (adjusted F = 8.760; <i>p</i> = 0.003). Stratification analysis revealed that individuals with hypertension and high TSP-1 had significantly higher IMT than did those with low TSP-1 (adjusted p = 0.007). However, this difference was not observed in normotensive individuals (adjusted <i>p</i> = 0.636). In conclusion, this is the first study to provide clinical data supporting the correlation between TSP-1 and atherosclerosis. TSP-1 may be a crucial marker of increased susceptibility to atherosclerosis in individuals with hypertension.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"279-286"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139466783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A National Meeting for the American Federation for Medical Research: Decades in the Making.","authors":"Sidharth Mahapatra","doi":"10.1177/10815589241229812","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589241229812","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"259-261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139741212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In-hospital outcomes of septal myectomy vs. alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with outflow tract obstruction: An update and insights from the national inpatient sample from 2011 to 2019.","authors":"Karla Inestroza, Ivan Mijares-Rojas, Carlos Matute-Martínez, Ian Ergui, Michael Albosta, Carlos Vergara-Sanchez, Michael Dangl, Rafael Jaciel Hernandez, Bertrand Ebner, Louis T Vincent, Jennifer Maning, Carlos Alfonso, Rosario Colombo","doi":"10.1177/10815589241226959","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589241226959","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Septal Myectomy (SM) and Alcohol Septal Ablation (ASA) improve symptoms in patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with outflow tract obstruction (oHCM). However, outcomes data in this population is predominantly from specialized centers. The National Inpatient Database was queried from 2011 to 2019 for relevant international classification of diseases (ICD)-9 and -10 diagnostic and procedural codes. We compared baseline characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of patients with oHCM who underwent SM vs ASA. A p-value  < 0.001 was considered statistically significant. We identified 15,119 patients with oHCM who underwent septal reduction therapies, of whom 57.4% underwent SM, and 42.6% underwent ASA. Patients who underwent SM had higher all-cause mortality (OR: 1.8 (1.3-2.5)), post-procedure ischemic stroke (OR: 2.3 (1.7-3.2)), acute kidney injury (OR: 1.4 (1.2-1.7)), vascular complications (OR: 3.6 (2.3-5.3)), ventricular septal defect (OR: 4.4 (3.2-6.1)), cardiogenic shock (OR: 1.7 (1.3-2.3)), sepsis (OR: 3.2 (1.9-5.4)), and left bundle branch block (OR: 3.5 (3-4)), compared to ASA. Patients who underwent ASA had higher post-procedure complete heart block (OR: 1.3 (1.1-1.4)), right bundle branch block (OR: 6.3 (5-7.7)), ventricular tachycardia (OR: 2.2 (1.9-2.6)), supraventricular tachycardia (OR: 1.6 (1.4-2)), and more commonly required pacemaker insertion (OR: 1.4 (1.3-1.7)) (p < 0.001 for all) compared to SM. This nationwide analysis evidenced that patients undergoing SM had higher in-hospital mortality and periprocedural complications than ASA; however, those undergoing ASA had more post-procedure conduction abnormalities and pacemaker implantation. The implications of these findings warrant further investigation regarding patient selection strategies for these therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"262-269"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139377803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rosiglitazone improves insulin resistance but does not improve exercise capacity in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance: A randomized clinical study.","authors":"Layla A Abushamat, Irene E Schauer, Cecilia C Low Wang, Stacey Mitchell, Leah Herlache, Mark Bridenstine, Roy Durbin, Janet K Snell-Bergeon, Judith G Regensteiner, Jane Eb Reusch","doi":"10.1177/10815589231225183","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10815589231225183","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dysmetabolic states, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), characterized by insulin resistance (IR), are associated with fatty liver, increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and decreased functional exercise capacity (FEC). Rosiglitazone (RO) improves exercise capacity and IR in T2D. However, the effects of RO on FEC and other markers of CVD risk in prediabetes are unknown. We hypothesized that insulin sensitization with RO would improve exercise capacity and markers of CVD risk in participants with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Exercise performance (peak oxygen consumption and oxygen uptake kinetics), IR (homeostasis model assessment of IR and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index), and surrogate cardiovascular endpoints (coronary artery calcium (CAC) volume and density and C-reactive protein (CRP)) were measured in participants with IGT after 12 and 18 months of RO or placebo (PL). RO did not significantly improve exercise capacity. Glycemic measures and IR were significantly lower in people on RO compared to PL at 18 months. CAC volume progression was not different between PL and RO groups. RO did not improve exercise capacity during an 18-month intervention despite improved IR and glycemia in people with IGT. Future studies should explore why effects on FEC with RO occur in T2D but not IGT. Understanding these questions may help in targeting therapeutic approaches in T2D and IGT.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"294-304"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139040134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"EXPRESS: Effectiveness of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on inflammation and metabolic markers in the US-Mexico border Hispanic population.","authors":"Phong T Nguyen, Vishwajeet Singh, Vikram Thakur, Alok Kumar Dwivedi, Munmun Chattopadhyay","doi":"10.1177/10815589241234962","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10815589241234962","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are commonly used for dyslipidemia management to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is an emerging systematic low-grade inflammatory marker associated with atherosclerotic CVD development. Despite racial/ethnic disparities in the use and response of statins and the anti-inflammatory effects of statins, the effectiveness of statins on inflammation and metabolic markers is unknown among Hispanics. We performed a retrospective cohort study using 150 adult patients scheduled for an annual physical exam at a family medicine clinic between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. Effect size with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated using adjusted regression analyses. Among 150 patients, 52 (34.67%) received statins. Patients who received statins had significantly reduced median hs-CRP (1.9 vs. 3.2, p=0.007), mean low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) (101.18 vs. 124.6, p<0.001), and total cholesterol (172.6 vs. 194.5, p<0.001) concentrations compared to those who did not receive statins. In the propensity-scores matched analysis, lower concentrations of log-transformed hs-CRP (regression coefficient [RC], -0.48; 95%CI: -0.89, -0.07), LDL-C (RC, -19.57; 95%CI: -33.04, -6.1), and total cholesterol (RC, -23.47; 95%CI: -38.96, -7.98) were associated with statin use. In addition, hepatic steatosis (adjusted relative risk [aRR]=0.25; 95%CI: 0.08, 0.78, p= 0.017) was significantly lower among patients with the use of statins. Our study suggests that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors may help reduce inflammation among Hispanic patients with dyslipidemia and hypertension. These findings have useful implications for preventing risk and disparities associated with cardiovascular and other inflammatory-induced diseases among the fastest-growing US Hispanic minorities.</p>","PeriodicalId":16112,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Investigative Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"10815589241234962"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139900091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}