The progression of the gastric pre-cancerous lesions, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in superficial gastritis, gastric erosion, erosive gastritis and gastric ulcer was strongly related to H pylori infection. In depth studies are needed to evaluate whether eradication of H pylori infection will really diminish the risk of gastric cancer.

BackgroundLower serum uric acid (UA) levels have been reported as a risk factor in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the results have been inconsistent so far.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to clarify the potential relationship of uric acid with PD.MethodsComprehensive electronic search in pubmed, web of science, and the Cochrane Library database to find original articles about the association between PD and serum uric acid levels published before Dec 2015. Literature quality assessment was performed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random-effects model was used to estimate the standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity across studies was assessed using I2 and H2 statistics. Sensitivity analyses to assess the influence of individual studies on the pooled estimate. Publication bias was investigated using funnel plots and Egger’s regression test. Analyses were performed by using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 11.0.ResultsThirteen studies with a total of 4646 participants (2379 PD patients and 2267 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. The current results showed that the serum UA levels in PD patients were significantly lower compared to sex and age-matched healthy controls (SMD: -0.49, 95% CI: [-0.67, -0.30], Z = 5.20, P < 0.001) and these results showed no geographic regional (Asia: SMD = −0.65, 95% CI [−0.84, −0.46], Z = 6.75, p <0.001; Non-Asia: SMD = −0.25, 95% CI [−0.43, −0.07], Z = 2.70, p = 0.007) and sex differences (women: SMD = −0.53, 95% CI [−0.70, −0.35], z = 5.98, p <0.001; men: SMD = −0.66, 95% CI [−0.87, −0.44], z = 6.03, p <0.001). Serum UA levels in middle-late stage PD patients with higher H&Y scales were significantly lower than early stage PD patients with lower H&Y scales (SMD = 0.63, 95% CI [0.36,0.89], z = 4.64, p <0.001).ConclusionsOur study showed that the serum UA levels are significantly lower in PD and the level is further decreased as the disease progresses. Thus it might be a potential biomarker to indicate the risk and progression of PD.

Several recent studies showed that α-syn might be a potential diagnostic biomarker for PD in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but the results were inconsistent. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the diagnostic and differential diagnosis efficacy of CSF α-syn in PD. Studies which measured CSF α-syn or α-syn oligomers in patients with PD and met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Results of the meta-analysis indicated that mean concentration of CSF α-syn was significantly lower in PD compared to controls and significantly higher in PD compared to multiple system atrophy (MSA). No significant difference in mean concentration of CSF α-syn was found between PD and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Mean concentration of CSF α-syn was slightly decreased in PD compared to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Mean concentration of CSF α-syn oligomers was significantly higher in PD than control. These results support the findings that CSF α-syn may be a potential diagnostic and differential diagnosis biomarker in PD compared to control and MSA but not DLB. Furthermore, α-syn oligomer may represent a better biomarker for diagnosis of PD.

Rate of H pylori infection, glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia in gastric ulcer were higher than in chronic gastritis in all-different age -groups. Distribution of H pylori colonization is pangastric in the younger patients. It is highest in corpus, lower in antrum and lowest in angulus in the older age groups. Progression of glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia seem to have a key role in the distribution of H pylori colonization. H pylori appears to be the most important risk factor for the development of glandular atrophy and intestinal metaplasia, but it is not the only risk.

Argininosuccinate synthase (ASS1) is a ubiquitous enzyme in mammals that catalyzes the formation of argininosuccinate from citrulline and aspartate. ASS1 genetic deficiency in patients leads to an autosomal recessive urea cycle disorder citrullinemia, while its somatic silence or down-regulation is very common in various human cancers. Here, we show that ASS1 functions as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer, and the pesticide spinosyn A (SPA) and its derivative LM-2I suppress breast tumor cell proliferation and growth by binding to and activating ASS1. The C13-C14 double bond in SPA and LM-2I while the Cys97 (C97) site in ASS1 are critical for the interaction between ASS1 and SPA or LM-2I. SPA and LM-2I treatment results in significant enhancement of ASS1 enzymatic activity in breast cancer cells, particularly in those cancer cells with low ASS1 expression, leading to reduced pyrimidine synthesis and consequently the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Thus, our results establish spinosyn A and its derivative LM-2I as potent ASS1 enzymatic activator and tumor inhibitor, which provides a therapeutic avenue for tumors with low ASS1 expression and for those non-tumor diseases caused by down-regulation of ASS1.