[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine which is better in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, core stability exercises or conventional exercises. [Subjects and Methods] Forty participants with hemiplegia were recruited in the Department of Neurology of Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang between January 2014 and February 2015 and randomly divided into either an experimental or control group. The patients in the control group performed conventional exercises for six weeks, and those in the experiment group performed core stability exercises for six weeks. The outcomes were evaluated using Modified Barthel Index and Berg Balance Scale. [Results] After treatment, the Modified Barthel Index and Berg Balance Scale were significantly increased in both groups when compared with the baseline. The Modified Barthel Index was significantly lower in the control group compared with the experimental group. The Berg Balance Scale scores in the control group were relatively lower than those in the experimental group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups. [Conclusion] Core stability exercises have a better effect on patients with hemiplegia than conventional exercises.

ObjectiveInvestigative studies report contradictory results of the relationship between serum lipid levels and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). We conducted a meta-analysis of prospective published studies to clarify the relationship between serum lipid and CRC risk.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data SourcesPubMed and Embase from inception until December 2020.Eligibility criteriaWe considered prospective cohort and case–control studies that evaluated differences in serum lipid levels with the risk of developing CRC.Data extraction and synthesisTwo independent reviewers screened and included the studies using standardised electronic data extraction forms. The relative risks of the studies were combined with random-effect and fixed-effect models and were analysed for heterogeneity, publication bias and sensitivity.ResultsTwenty-four prospective studies, including 4 224 317 individuals with 29 499 CRC cases, were included in the meta-analysis. The total pooled risk ratio (RR) for high vs low concentrations of triglyceride (TG) concentrations was reported at 1.21 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.34; I2=46.8%), total cholesterol (TC) was at 1.15 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.22; I2=36.8%), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was 0.86 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.97; I2=28.8%) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was observed at 1.03 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.41; I2=69.4%).ConclusionsThis meta-analysis shows that high levels of serum TG and TC are positively correlated with the incidence rate of CRC, while high levels of serum HDL-C are negatively correlated with CRC incidence rate. Furthermore, no association was found between LDL-C and the risk of developing CRC. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity brought about by comparative methods, demographic differences and pathological differences between the research subjects limits the effectiveness of the overall pooled results.

BackgroundEpithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an essential progress for tumor cell invasion to both epithelial and non-epithelial cancers, and zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1/2 (ZEB1/2) is a well-known promoter of EMT. In glioma cell lines, both ZEB1 and ZEB2 have been demonstrated to facilitate cancer cell proliferation and invasion with experiments in vitro. However, the clinical significance of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in glioblastoma (GBM) is still controversial.Material/MethodsWe detected the expression of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in 91 cases of GBM with immunohistochemistry and investigated the correlation between clinicopathological factors and ZEB family expression with Fisher test. By univariate analysis with Kaplan-Meier test, we explored the prognostic significance of ZEB1/2 expression and the clinicopathological factors in GBM. By multivariate analysis with the Cox regression model, we identified the independent prognostic factors in GBM.ResultsThe percentages of ZEB1 high expression and ZEB2 high expression were 31.9% (29/91) and 41.9% (36/91), respectively. High expression of ZEB2 was significantly associated with lower survival rate of GBM patients (P=0.001). ZEB2, lower KPS score (P=0.004), gross total resection (P<0.001) and higher Ki67 percentage (P=0.001) were notably correlated to worse prognosis of GBM. With multivariate analysis, high expression of ZEB2 was demonstrated to be an independent prognostic factor indicating unfavorable prognosis of GBM (P=0.001, HR=3.86, and 95%CI=1.61–9.23).ConclusionsHigh expression of ZEB2 is an independent prognostic factor predicting unfavorable prognosis of GBM, indicating that ZEB2 or its downstream proteins may be potential drug targets of GBM therapy.