Background: We aimed at investigating causal associations between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and bone mineral density (BMD) by the Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.Methods: From genome-wide association studies of European ancestry, we selected instrumental variables for MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-8, MMP-10, and MMP-12. Accordingly, we retrieved summary statistics of three site-specific BMD, namely, forearm, femoral neck, and lumbar spine. We conducted an inverse variance weighted MR as the primary method to compute overall effects from multiple instruments, while additional MR approaches and sensitivity analyses were implemented. Bonferroni-adjusted significance threshold was set at p < 0.05/18 = 0.003.Results: Totally, there was no evidence for causal effects of genetically-predicted levels of MMPs on BMD measurement at three common sites. MR results indicated that there were no causal associations of circulating MMPs with forearm BMD (all p ≥ 0.023) by the inverse variance weighted method. Similarly, there were no causal effects of MMPs on femoral neck BMD (all p ≥ 0.120) and MR results did not support causal relationships between MMPs and lumbar spine BMD (all p ≥ 0.017). Multiple sensitivity analyses suggested the robustness of MR results, which were less likely to be biased by unbalanced pleiotropy or evident heterogeneity.Conclusion: We found no evidence for the causal relationship between MMPs and BMD in the European population.
BackgroundOsteosarcoma is a common bone sarcoma that occurs in childhood and adolescence. Although research on non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) of osteosarcoma has been developed rapidly in recent years, a specific bibliometric analysis on this topic has not yet been performed. The bibliometric analysis aims to summarize knowledge atlas, research hotspots, and emerging trends and to provide researchers with new perspectives in further studies.MethodsAll publications regarding ncRNAs of osteosarcoma published from 2000 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Quantitative indicators including the number of publications and citations, H-index, and journal citation reports were analyzed by using Excel 2019 and R software. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the cooperation among countries/institutions/journals/authors and the co-occurrence of keywords, keywords bursts, and references.ResultsA total of 3206 publications were extracted. A significant growth trend in the annual number of publications over the past 22 years is revealed (R2 = 0.999). The most prolific country and institution were China (2260) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (134), respectively. Professors Wang W and Liu W contributed the most to this field. The keywords were stratified into six clusters: Cluster 1 (apoptosis and growth), Cluster 2 (cancer and progression), Cluster 3 (microRNAs and downregulation), Cluster 4 (genes and differentiation), Cluster 5 (expression and biological functions), and Cluster 6 (metastasis). The long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs have been considered as an important research hotspot in the near future.ConclusionThis study offers a scientific perspective on ncRNAs of osteosarcoma and provides researchers with valuable information to understand the knowledge structure and to identify emerging trends in this field.
Background: The surgical selection for patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) with
Modic changes (MCs) is still contentious. Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy via a
transforaminal approach (TF-PELD) as a representative minimally invasive spine surgery technique
for LDH has been standardized. However, its efficacy has not been thoroughly described in the
patients with LDH with MCs.
Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess the clinical outcomes of TF-PELD in the
treatment of LDH and MCs.
Study Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Inpatient surgery center.
Methods: From January 2015 to December 2016, 276 patients with LDH showing normal or
MCs signals in their bone marrow in our hospital were enrolled in this retrospective study. All
patients suffered low back and leg pain because of LDH and underwent the TF-PELD procedure.
Clinical outcomes were assessed according to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for back pain and
leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for functional status assessment, and modified MacNab
criteria for patient satisfaction.
Results: A total of 182 patients showed normal intensity, 44 patients showed Modic type 1
signals, and 50 patients showed Modic type 2 signals before surgery. The postoperative VAS
and ODI scores were significantly improved compared with those preoperatively among the
groups. In the Modic type 1 and 2 signals groups, however, the postoperative VAS scores for
back pain and ODI scores showed an upward trend with the follow-up time extending. The
recurrence rates were 4.4%, 9.1%, and 8.0% in the normal, Modic type 1 and 2 signals groups,
respectively. The recurrence rates and satisfaction rates showed no significant difference among
the groups at the final follow-up.
Limitations: This study has a small sample size and the follow-up period was too short. There
is no comparison with other therapeutic options such as fusion surgery or the lack of any other
treatment.
Conclusions: TF-PELD is an option for treatment of patients with LDH even if the patients
show MCs. However, the postoperative back pain and functional status have the trend of
deterioration with the time extending in patients with MCs, especially in the Modic type 1
signals
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