Background and Purpose— Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)—a gut derived metabolite—has been shown to be atherogenic. It remains unknown whether TMAO is associated with the risk of first stroke. We aimed to determine the association between serum TMAO levels and first stroke in hypertensive patients without major cardiovascular diseases and examine any possible effect modifiers. Methods— We used a nested case-control design, using data from the CSPPT (China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial), including 622 patients with first stroke and 622 matched controls. The study was conducted from May 2008 to August 2013. The primary outcome was a first stroke. Results— After adjusting for choline, L-carnitine, and other important covariates, including baseline systolic blood pressure and time-averaged systolic blood pressure, during the treatment period, the risk of first stroke increased with each increment of TMAO level (per natural log [TMAO] increment: odds ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.02–1.46). Consistently, compared with participants in the lowest tertile (<1.79 μmol/L) of serum TMAO levels, a significantly higher risk of first stroke was found in those in higher TMAO tertiles (≥1.79 μmol/L; odds ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.00–1.81) or in TMAO tertile 3 (≥3.19 μmol/L; odds ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.02–2.01). In the exploratory analysis, we observed an interaction between TMAO and folate levels (≥7.7 [median] versus <7.7 ng/mL) on first stroke ( P for interaction, 0.030). Conclusions— Higher TMAO levels were associated with increased risk of first stroke in hypertensive patients. Our finding, if further confirmed, calls for a carefully designed clinical trial to further evaluate the role of higher TMAO levels on outcomes in hypertensive patients. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00794885.

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EGCG [(-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate] has shown its antitumor ability and perhaps a potential regimen for cancer patients. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of EGCG on human papilloma virus (HPV) positive cervical cancer cell lines. EGCG inhibited the growth of CaSki (HPV16 positive) and HeLa (HPV18 positive) cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were observed in two cell lines after EGCG exposure. More importantly, we focused on EGCG regulation ability on pivotal genes involved in cervical cancer: viral oncogenes E6/E7, estrogen receptor (ER) and aromatase. Our results suggested that EGCG may be suitable for prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence is frequently suboptimal in adults with chronic diseases, resulting in negative consequences. Traditional interventions to improve adherence are complex and not widely effective. Mobile applications may be a scalable means to support medication adherence. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of mobile apps on medication adherence in adults with chronic diseases. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of any mobile application (app) intervention directed at patients with chronic disease to improve medication adherence in comparison with usual care. A random-effects model was used to pool the outcome data. Risk of bias and quality of study were assessed per Cochrane guidelines.RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included in this systematic review involving 1,785 participants, 940 of whom were randomized to a mobile app intervention group and 845 to the usual care group. The meta-analysis showed that the use of mobile apps was associated with a significant improvement in patient adherence to medication (Cohen's d = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.27-0.52; P < 0.001), with a low quality of GRADE evidence. There was no evidence of publication bias (Egger's test; P = 0.81) or substantial heterogeneity (I 2 = 29%). In the sensitivity analysis, our findings remained robust to change in inclusion criteria based on study quality (Cohen's d = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.33-0.54; P < 0.001). The included apps incorporated 9 features, sorted from high to low based on relative weights (RW): documentation (RW = 0.254), medication reminder (RW = 0.204), data sharing (RW = 0.148), feedback message (RW = 0.104), clinical decision support (RW = 0.097), education (RW = 0.081), customization (RW = 0.049), data statistics (RW = 0.041), and appointment reminder (RW = 0.041). In the subgroup analysis, the effect was not sensitive to study characteristics or app features (0.37 ≤ P ≤ 0.95). App acceptability was reported by participants in the intervention group in 8 studies: 144 of 156 participants (91.7%) were satisfied with all aspects of the apps. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional care, mobile apps are effective interventions to help improve medication adherence in adults with chronic diseases. Although promising, these results should be interpreted with caution given the low level of evidence and short intervention duration. Future research will not only need to identify ideal app features and the costs to providers but also need to improve the apps to make them user friendly, secure, and effective based on patient-centered theory.

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