Two replicate, double-blind, 6-week, incomplete-crossover studies (MORACTO 1 and 2) assessed the effects of tiotropium/olodaterol on inspiratory capacity and exercise endurance time in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.For each patient, four of five treatments were administered once daily for 6 weeks, with a 21-day washout between treatments: tiotropium/olodaterol 2.5/5 µg or 5/5 µg, tiotropium 5 µg, olodaterol 5 µg or placebo, all via the Respimat inhaler. Primary outcomes were inspiratory capacity prior to exercise and exercise endurance time during constant work-rate cycle ergometry to symptom limitation at 75% of peak incremental work rate after 6 weeks (2 h post-dose).295 and 291 patients were treated in MORACTO 1 and 2, respectively. Tiotropium/olodaterol 2.5/5 and 5/5 µg provided significant improvements in inspiratory capacity versus placebo and monotherapies (p<0.0001), and significant improvements in exercise endurance time versus placebo (p<0.0001). Intensity of breathing discomfort was reduced following both doses of tiotropium/olodaterol versus placebo (p<0.0001).Once-daily tiotropium/olodaterol yielded improvements in lung hyperinflation versus placebo and statistically significant improvements versus monotherapies. Tiotropium/olodaterol also showed improvements in dyspnoea and exercise tolerance versus placebo but not consistently versus monotherapies.

The role of oxidative stress in skeletal health is unclear. The present study investigated whether a high dietary intake of antioxidant nutrients (vitamins C and E, b-carotene, animal-derived vitamin A, retinol equivalents, Zn and Se) is associated with a reduced risk of hip fracture in elderly Chinese. This 1:1 matched case -control study involved 726 elderly Chinese with hip fracture and 726 control subjects, recruited between June 2009 and May 2013. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to determine habitual dietary intakes of the above-mentioned seven nutrients based on a seventy-nine-item FFQ and information on various covariates, and an antioxidant score was calculated. After adjustment for potential covariates, dose-dependent inverse associations were observed between the dietary intake of vitamin C, vitamin E, b-carotene, and Se and antioxidant score and the risk of hip fracture (P for trend #0·005). The OR of hip fracture for the highest (v. lowest) quartile of intake were 0·39 (95 % CI 0·28, 0·56) for vitamin C, 0·23 (95 % CI 0·16, 0·33) for vitamin E, 0·51 (95 % CI 0·36, 0·73) for b-carotene, 0·43 (95 % CI 0·26, 0·70) for Se and 0·24 (95 % CI 0·17, 0·36) for the antioxidant score. A moderate-to-high dietary intake of retinol equivalents in quartiles 2 -4 (v. 1) was found to be associated with a lower risk of hip fracture (OR range: 0·51 -0·63, P, 0·05). No significant association was observed between dietary Zn or animal-derived vitamin A intake and hip fracture risk (P for trend .0·20). In conclusion, a higher dietary intake of vitamins C and E, b-carotene, and Se and a moderateto-high dietary intake of retinol equivalents are associated with a lower risk of hip fracture in elderly Chinese.

In two large datasets, using different methods to measure HbA(1c), the association of age with higher HbA(1c) levels: was consistent and similar; was both statistically and clinically significant; was unexplained by features of aging; and reduced diagnostic specificity. Age should be taken into consideration when using HbA(1c) for the diagnosis and management of diabetes and prediabetes.

Our findings suggest that the consumption of a healthy or prudent dietary pattern can protect against hip fractures, whereas a high-fat pattern promotes the incidence of such fractures.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancies worldwide. Here we perform a three-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Han Chinese women to identify risk genetic variants for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We scan 900,015 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1,057 EOC cases and 1,191 controls in stage I, and replicate 41 SNPs (P meta o10 À 4 ) in 960 EOC cases and 1,799 controls (stage II), and an additional 492 EOC cases and 1,004 controls (stage III). Finally, we identify two EOC susceptibility loci at 9q22.33 (rs1413299 in COL15A1, P meta ¼ 1.88 Â 10 À 8 ) and 10p11.21 (rs1192691 near ANKRD30A, P meta ¼ 2.62 Â 10 À 8 ), and two consistently replicated loci at 12q14.2 (rs11175194 in SRGAP1, P meta ¼ 1.14 Â 10 À 7 ) and 9q34.2 (rs633862 near ABO and SURF6, P meta ¼ 8.57 Â 10 À 7 ) (Po0.05 in all three stages). These results may advance our understanding of genetic susceptibility to EOC.