The aim of this study was to explore a new way of treating drug addiction by ablating the nucleus accumbens (NA_C), which has a close relationship with drug-induced psychological dependence, using stereotactic surgery, blocking the mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuit, alleviating craving for drugs and lowering the relapse rate after detoxification. On the basis of animal experiments, stereotactic surgery was performed in 28 patients by making a lesion in the NA_C bilaterally to treat opiate drug dependence. Indications, the criterion of therapeutic effect, treatment process and the therapeutic and safety evaluation index of the surgery were formulated particularly. The mean follow-up period was 15 months. Relapse has not occurred in 11 cases up till now. Drug-free time in these patients has been more than half a year in 4 cases (more than a year in 3 cases), and less than half a year in 7 cases. Relapse occurred in 15 cases after surgery. Drug-free time in these patients was more than half a year in 3 cases, between 1 month and half a year in 10 cases and less than 1 month in 2 cases. The therapeutic effect was excellent in 7 cases (26.9%), good in 10 cases (38.5%) and poor in 2 cases (7.7%). Another 7 cases were still under investigation at the time of writing. Relapse rates after surgery were 7.7, 38.5 and 57.5% within 1 month, between 1 month and half a year and after more than half a year, respectively. There were no common complications of surgery such as intracranial hematoma or infection in these patients after operation. Character type was changed slightly in 2 cases, and 4 cases suffered temporary memory loss, which did not affect their daily lives and learning function. They all recovered within 1 month. There were different degrees of effectiveness of treating drug addicts’ psychological dependence by making lesions in the NA_C bilaterally with stereotactic surgery. No particular complications occurred. The operation is safe and feasible. The mean follow-up time in this study was 15 months. The effectiveness was satisfactory. The relapse rate of drug addicts after detoxification was clearly reduced.

Multiple studies have reported that individuals with low birth weights (LBW, <2500 g) have a lower intelligence quotient (IQ) than those with normal birth weights (NBW, ≥2500 g). Based on 57 eligible individual studies including 12,137 participants, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the association between low birth weight and individuals’ IQ scores (IQs). The pooled weight mean difference (WMD) in IQs between NBW and LBW individuals was 10 (95% CI 9.26–11.68). The WMD was stable regardless of age. No publication bias was detected. The mean IQs of the extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1000 g), very low birth weight (VLBW, 1000–1499 g), moderately low birth weight (MLBW, 1500–2499 g) and NBW individuals were 91, 94, 99 and 104, respectively. Additionally, the WMD in IQs with NBW were 14, 10 and 7 for ELBW, VLBW, and MLBW individuals, respectively. Two studies permitted estimates of the influence of social determinants of health to the discrepancy in IQs, which was 13%. Since IQ is inherited and influenced by environmental factors, parental IQs and other factors contribute to residual confounding of the results. As the conclusion was based on population studies, it may not be applicable to a single individual.

Increasing evidence suggests that abnormal synaptic function leads to neuronal developmental disorders and is an important component of the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Neurexins are presynaptic cell-adhesion molecules that affect the function of synapses and mediate the conduction of nerve signals. Thus, neurexins are attractive candidate genes for autism. Since gene families have greater power to reveal genetic association than single genes, we designed this case-control study to investigate six genetic variants in three neurexin genes (NRXN1, NRXN2, and NRXN3) in a Chinese population including 529 ASD patients and 1,923 healthy controls. We found that two SNPs were significantly associated with ASD after false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment for multiple comparisons. The NRXN2 rs12273892 polymorphism T allele and AT genotype were significantly associated with increased risk of ASD (respectively: OR 5 1.328, 95% CI 5 1.133-1.557, P < 0.001; OR 5 1.528; 95% CI 5 1.249-1.868, P < 0.001). The dominant model showed the same association (OR 5 1.495, 95% CI 5 1.231-1.816, P < 0.001). The NRXN3 rs12879016 polymorphism played a significant role in ASD susceptibility under the dominant model (OR 5 0.747, 95% CI5 0.615-0.908, P 5 0.023), with the same trend detected for the G allele and GT genotype (respectively: OR 5 0.811, 95% CI 5 0.699-0.941, P 5 0.036; OR 5 0.755, 95% CI 5 0.615-0.928, P 5 0.035). In conclusion, this study supports the importance of two genetic variants in the neurexin gene family in ASD susceptibility in China. Autism Res 2018, 11: 37-43. V C 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay Summary: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is highly heritable, and studies have found a number of candidate genes that might contribute to ASD. Neurexins are presynaptic cell-adhesion molecules that affect the function of synapses and mediate the conduction of nerve signals, and they play an important role in normal brain development and become candidate genes for autism. The purpose of our study is to explore the association between variants of the neurexins gene family and ASD in a Chinese population through a case-control study.

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Objective: This study aimed to assess whether metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) increases the risk of diabetes and to explore how the occurrence of metabolic disorders affects the risk of diabetes and which factors determine metabolic health. Methods: This study examined 49,702 older people without diabetes via the Binhai Health Screening Program in Tianjin. Results: Compared with individuals with metabolic health and normal weight, the risk of diabetes was increased in older adults with MHO (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.786, 95% CI: 1.407-2.279) but was not significantly increased when metabolic health was characterized by the absence of metabolic abnormalities. The older adults who were initially affected by MHO and then converted to having an unhealthy phenotype had a higher diabetes risk than older individuals with stable and healthy normal weight (HR: 3.727, 95% CI: 2.721-5.105). Waist circumference was an independent predictor of the transition from a metabolically healthy status to an unhealthy status in all BMI categories (odds ratio: 1.059, 95% CI: 1.026-1.032). Conclusions: The MHO phenotype was associated with an increased incidence of diabetes in older adults. The presence of metabolic disorders in the group with MHO was associated with an increased diabetes risk and was predicted by the waist circumference at baseline.