Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore the long-term effects of aerobic training (AT), resistance training (RT), and combined training (AT + RT) on the prevention of T2D incidence in patients with prediabetes. Materials and methods:In this randomised controlled trial, people with prediabetes (fasting glucose ≥5.6 and <7.0 mmol/L and/or 2-h glucose ≥7.8 and <11.1 mmol/L on the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test and/or haemoglobin A 1c ≥5.7% and <6.4%) were randomly assigned to the control group, AT group, RT group, or AT + RT group.Supervised exercise programmes, including AT, RT, and AT + RT, were completed for 60 minutes per day, three non-consecutive days per week for 24 months. The primary outcome was the incidence of T2D; secondary outcomes were blood glucose and lipid levels, including total cholesterol (TC) and standard 2-hour oral glucose tolerance (2hPG).Results: A total of 137 (80%) subjects with a mean age of 59 years (45 men, 92 women) entered the final analysis. After 24 months of intervention, the incidences of T2D adjusted by sex and age were significantly decreased by 74% (95% CI, 38-89), 65% (95% CI, 21-85), and 72% (95% CI, 36-87) in the AT + RT, RT, and AT groups compared with the control group (HR: AT + RT 0.26 [95% CI, 0.11-0.62], RT 0.35 [95% CI, 0.15-0.79], and AT 0.28 [95% CI, 0.13-0.64]). The cumulative T2D incidences were significantly lower in the AT + RT, RT, and AT groups than in the control

The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective effects of chrysophanol (CH) against paraquat (PQ)-induced pulmonary injury. Fifty BALB/C mice were randomized into five groups: (1) control, (2) PQ, (3) PQ + dexamethasone (Dex, 2 mg/kg), (4) PQ + CH (10 mg/kg), and (5) PQ + CH (20 mg/kg). A single dose of PQ (50 mg/kg, i.p.) was intraperitoneally given to induce acute lung injury. Then mice were treated with CH (10 and 20 mg/kg/day, orally) for 7 days. At the end of the experiment, animals were euthanized and then bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissues were collected for histological observation, biochemical analysis, and Western blot analysis. Malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in BALF were determined. The levels of SOD and MDA in the lung were also detected. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) pathway proteins in the lung were determined by Western blot. Histological examination indicated that CH attenuated lung inflammation caused by PQ. Biochemical results showed that CH treatment significantly reduced the levels of MDA, MPO, and inflammatory cytokines and increased the level of SOD, compared to those in the PQ group. Meanwhile, Western Blot results revealed that CH increased PPAR-γ expression and inhibited NF-κB pathway activation after PQ challenge. These findings suggested the potential therapeutic effects of CH which is derived from a natural product on PQ-induced pulmonary injury.

IntroductionInsulin injection is the main treatment in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Even though continuous glucose monitoring has significantly improved the conditions of these patients, limitations still exist. To further enhance glucose control in patients with T1DM, an artificial pancreas has been developed. We aimed to systematically compare artificial pancreas with its control group during a 24-h basis in patients with T1DM.MethodsElectronic databases were carefully searched for English publications comparing artificial pancreas with its control group. Overall daytime and nighttime glucose parameters were considered as the endpoints. Data were evaluated by means of weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) generated by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total number of 354 patients were included. Artificial pancreas significantly maintained a better mean concentration of glucose (WMD − 1.03, 95% CI − 1.32 to − 0.75; P = 0.00001). Time spent in the hypoglycemic phase was also significantly lower (WMD − 1.23, 95% CI − 1.56 to − 0.91; P = 0.00001). Daily insulin requirement also significantly favored artificial pancreas (WMD − 3.43, 95% CI − 4.27 to − 2.59; P = 0.00001). Time spent outside the euglycemic phase and hyperglycemia phase (glucose > 10.0 mmol/L) also significantly favored artificial pancreas. Also, the numbers of hypoglycemic events were not significantly different.ConclusionArtificial pancreas might be considered an effective and safe alternative to be used during a 24-h basis in patients with T1DM.

Ginsenoside extract from ginseng extends lifespan and health span in Caenorhabditis elegans through activating NRF2/SKN-1, SIRT1/SIR 2.1, and FOXO/DAF-16 signaling pathways.

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Objective: The purpose of our study was to compare the quality of life (QOL) of patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for more than 2 years for β-thalassemia major (β-TM) with that of β-TM patients with conventional therapy (blood infusion and iron chelation) and that of the general population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study on the QOL of 225 β-TM patients treated with blood transfusion and iron-chelation therapy, 133 β-TM patients who had undergone HSCT or 270 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals from Guangxi, China. Child-self and parent-proxy reports of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales were used to prospectively evaluate QOL. Results: The incidence of acute GVHD was 14.3% (grade III-IV in 4.5% of patients), and that of chronic GVHD was 3.8%. This was lower than that of previous studies since the inclusion of anti-thymocyte globulin（ATG）ATG. Patients who underwent transplantation from a voluntary donor had higher QOL scores and lower rates of acute GVHD, chronic GVHD and comorbidities than those receiving stem cell sources from an HLA mismatched related donor (haploidentical donor). Transplants with PBSCs or UCBT, PBSCT+BMT, BMT, or BMT+UCBT as stem cell sources did not have any impact on QOL. The QOL of β-TM patients was very similar to that of the general population. More complications (P<0.001), shorter posttransplantation time (P<0.001) and older age at HSCT (P=0.01) were associated with poorer child QOL (P=0.020). Additional analyses investigating QOL β-TM patients receiving conventional treatment with β-TM revealed poorer outcomes than the cohort of transplanted patients. Conclusion: β-TM patients can be cured by HSCT and regain QOL as good as that of the general population. β-TM patients are suggested to undergo HSCT as soon as possible to avoid complications related to iron overload and blood infusion.

IntroductionIn this analysis, we aimed to systematically compare percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) in terms of adverse outcomes utilizing data from a recent (2015–2017) population of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsAn electronic search of recent studies (2015–2017) was carried out using ‘diabetes mellitus,’ ‘coronary artery bypass surgery,’ and ‘percutaneous coronary intervention’ as the main search terms. Uncomplicated T2DM patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), left main CAD, and multi-vessel disease were included. RevMan software (version 5.3) was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsAmong a total of 13,114 T2DM patients, CABG and PCI patients did not differ significantly in their rates of mortality (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.61–1.31; P = 0.57) and cardiac death (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.78–1.30; P = 0.98). However, rates of major adverse events, repeat revascularization, and myocardial infarction were significantly higher in the PCI group. Stroke rates did not significantly differ between the two groups.ConclusionMortality (1–5 years) did not significantly differ between the CABG and PCI patients with T2DM. However, rates of other major adverse events were significantly higher in the PCI patients, suggesting that CABG is more advantageous than PCI in patients with T2DM.