Background Postmenopausal osteoporosis, a common disease among elderly women, is linked to estrogen deficiency, mechanical loading, and genotype. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are formed through reverse splicing of the splice donor at the 3′ end and the splice accepter at the 5′ end in pre-mRNA and have been shown to be involved in the development of multiple diseases. Based on their high sequence conservation and stability, circRNAs may be useful biomarkers in different diseases. However, the roles of circRNAs in postmenopausal osteoporosis remain incompletely understood. Material/Methods Fifty-three postmenopausal women were assigned to either the postmenopausal osteoporosis group (n=28) or the control group (n=25). Reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis was performed to determine the differential expression of circRNAs between the 2 groups. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the clinical diagnostic value of circRNA. Prediction of the binding sites between circRNA and miRNAs was conducted using miRanda and RNAhybrid. The function of the circRNA in osteoclastogenesis was determined by circRNA overexpression followed by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining and RT-qPCR analysis. Results Among 4 circRNAs previously identified by RNA-sequencing analysis as differentially expressed in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis, only hsa_circ_0021739 showed a significant difference in expression between the groups and was downregulated in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The hsa_circ_0021739 expression level was determined to be correlated with the lumbar vertebra, femur, and forearm T-scores. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0021739 decreased the level of hsa-miR-502-5p and inhibited the differentiation of osteoclasts. Conclusions The circRNA hsa_circ_0021739 is a potential blood biomarker for postmenopausal osteoporosis. In addition, hsa-miR-502-5p is a likely target of hsa_circ_0021739, which acts to regulate the differentiation of osteoclasts.

To investigate the risk factors for leukoaraiosis (LA) and the correlation between risk factors and LA.The study comprised 92 patients with diagnoses of LA (LA group) and 56 non-LA individuals (control group). Data were collected for the following: age, gender, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, and histories of smoking, hypertension, and diabetes. Levels of serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Univariate analysis showed statistical significance between the 2 groups in age, histories of hypertension and smoking, uric acid, creatinine, and levels of serum ADMA (P < 0.05). Binary logistic analysis showed that age (P < 0.0001), hypertension (P = 0.0101), and serum ADMA (P = 0.0206) were related to LA. Pearson correlation analysis showed that levels of serum ADMA correlated with uric acid (r = 0.184, P = 0.025) and creatinine (r = 0.169, P = 0.04).Age, hypertension, and levels of serum ADMA were independent risk factors for LA. Serum ADMA levels may be related to uric acid and creatinine.

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