To determine incidence and clinically relevant risk factors for diabetic amputation in a large cohort study of diabetic foot ulceration patients in China, we investigated a total of 669 diabetic foot ulceration patients, who were assessed at baseline for demographic information, medical and social history, peripheral neuropathy screening, periphery artery disease screening, assessment of nutritional status and diabetic control, physical examination including foot deformity in 15 Grade III-A hospitals. Of the 669 patients, 435 were male and 201 were female, with the mean age being 64.0 years. Of all patients, 110 had neuropathic ulcers, 122 had ischemic ulcers, 276 had neuroischemic ulcers, and 12 cases were unclassified. Wagner classification showed 61 cases were grade I, 216 cases grade II, 159 cases grade III, 137 cases grade IV, and 7 cases grade V. The overall amputation rate among diabetic foot patients was 19.03%, and major and minor amputation rates were 2.14% and 16.88%, respectively. By univariate analysis, statistically significant differences were found in smoking, rest pain, ulcer history, revascularization history, amputation history, gangrene, infection, Wagner grades, duration of diabetes, and postprandial blood glucose, aldehyde, total protein, globulin, albumin, white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin, HbA1c, ulcer property, body mass index, as well as creatinine. Binary logistic regression model showed that increased WBC (odds ratio 1.25) and ulcer history (odds ratio 6.8) were associated with increased risks from diabetic foot ulcer to major amputation; increased duration of diabetes (odds ratio 1.004), WBC (odds ratio 1.102), infection (odds ratio 2.323), foot deformity (odds ratio 1.973), revascularization history (odds ratio 2.662), and decreased postprandial blood sugar (odds ratio 0.94) were associated with increased risks from diabetic foot ulcer to minor amputation. It is of great importance to give better management to diabetic patients at early stages. Following a diagnosis of DFU more intensive surveillance and aggressive care may improve outcome.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has subsequently spread worldwide, causing a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Recent studies have suggested that hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were the most frequent comorbidities in infected patients and are also considered independent risk factors for disease severity and mortality. 1-4 However, hypertension and T2DM are commonly encountered together. Epidemiological

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by progressive memory loss and deteriorated higher cognitive functions. An economical, rapid and noninvasive biomarker for AD has not been identified. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of serum miR-223 and miR-519 in AD. The expressions of miR-223 and miR-519, with previously reported AD-associated miR-29 and miR-125b, were measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in the serum of 84 probable sporadic AD patients (age onset > 65 years) and 62 healthy control populations in China. Analyses were undertaken to assess the specificity and sensitivity of miRNAs to predict AD. In addition, the relationship between miRNAs and mini mental state examination (MMSE) scores in AD patients was also assessed. Serum miR-29, miR-125b and miR-223 were significantly decreased, but serum miR-519 was significantly increased in AD patients compared with healthy blood donors. In addition, serum miR-223 was strongly positively correlated with MMSE score in AD patients but serum miR-519 was not. Importantly, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) result of serum miR-223 for prediction of AD was 0.786, higher than those of serum miR-29 (0.734) or miR-125b (0.726). The combination of serum miR-223 and miR-125b gave improved sensitivity/specificity for AD prediction (area under the ROC curve, 0.879) than either miRNA alone. Our preliminary findings indicate that serum miR-223 might be a potential biomarker for AD evaluation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stroke is a major cerebrovascular disease threatening human health and life with high morbidity, disability and mortality. We aimed to find effective biomarkers for the early diagnosis on stroke. Nine previously reported stroke-associated miRNAs (miR-21, miR-23a, miR-29b, miR-124, miR-145, miR-210, miR-221, miR-223 and miR-483-5p) were measured by quantitative real time-PCR, and plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), the pro-inflammation markers in brain injury, were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 146 acute ischemic stroke patients and 96 healthy blood donors. We found that serum miR-145 was significantly increased within 24 h after stroke onset and serum miR-23a and miR-221 were decreased in patients. Moreover, serum miR-145 was strong positively correlated with plasma hs-CRP and moderate positively correlated with serum IL-6. Meanwhile, serum miR-23a and miR-221 were moderate negatively correlated with plasma hs-CRP but not serum IL-6. Importantly, the combination of hs-CRP and serum miR-145 gained a better sensitivity/spectivity for prediction of acute ischemia stroke (area under receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.794 to 0.896). Conclusively, our preliminary findings indicate that serum miR-145 upregulated in acute ischemic stroke might be a new biomarker for acute ischemia stroke evaluation.