Tic disorder (TD) is a common childhood-onset disease associated with abnormal development of brain networks involved in the motor and sensory processing. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in TD are still unclear. An involvement of immune mechanisms in its pathophysiology has been proposed. This study investigates the association between the changes of cytokines and the etiology and development of TD. Different expressions of cytokines in a larger number of samples in our study may provide new insights to the field. The levels of cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) were evaluated in 1,724 patients who were clinically diagnosed with TD from 1 to 17.5 years old and 550 were from 6 months to 14.5 years old in the control group. We assessed the levels of cytokines according to the patient's medication status and the severity of the disease. Of the cytokines we investigated, the serum IL-6 concentration of children with TD was significantly higher than that of the control group, while the levels of other cytokines were lower in TD patients. In the patient group whose YTGSS score ranged from 1 to 9, the IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ levels increased in medication group compared to unmedication group. Our data suggested that the cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) may play an important role in the etiology and the severity in TD. Whether drug intervention in the early stage of tic disorder has a better effect on children needs further research.

Cancer is one of the most difficult medical problems in today’s world. There are many factors that induce cancer in humans, and obesity has become an important factor in inducing cancer. This study systematically and quantitatively describes the development trend, current situation and research hotspot of the relationship between cancer and obesity by using document statistics and knowledge graph visualization technology. Through the visualization technology analysis of knowledge graph in this study, the research hotspot and knowledge base source of the relationship between cancer and obesity in the last 20 years have been ascertained. Obesity-related factors, such as immunity, insulin, adiponectin, adipocytokines, nonalcoholic fatty liver and inflammatory reaction, may affect the occurrence of obesity and increase the risk of cancer. Obesity-related cancers include respiratory cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, etc. Our research provides direction and basis for future research in this field, as well as technical and knowledge basis support for experts and researchers in related medical fields.

Background and purpose: Tic disorders (TDs) are childhood onset neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by single or multiple sudden, rapid, recurrent, and motor tics and/ or vocal tics. Several nuclear genes that are involved in mitochondrial functions suggest a potential role of mitochondria in TDs. Methods:To evaluate the association of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants with TDs, we screened the whole mitochondrial genomes in 493 TD patients and 109 age-and sexmatched healthy controls using next generation sequencing technology.

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Breast cancer is one of the most common types of malignant tumors worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. According to the latest report from the World Health Organization, breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer, becoming the most diagnosed cancer globally. Herein, a systematic, quantitative, and visual analysis of the scientific achievements in natural products research and development for breast cancer over the past 30 years is presented. The study utilizes bibliometric and knowledge graph visualization techniques to analyze the trends, co-occurrence of keywords, cooperative networks, cited literature, and research hotspots in the field. The analysis shows that breast cancer natural drug development involves mutual cooperation between multiple countries, with China, the United States, and India being the most active players. Pharmacology is the discipline with the largest number of articles published in nearly 30 years. The study also reveals that the extraction of drugs from organisms and their metabolites is an important direction in the current development of anticancer drugs. The development of natural medicines for breast cancer together with the mining of genetic knowledge play an important role in treating human breast cancer. The research presented here provides insights into the current state of natural product research and development for breast cancer, and highlights the need for strengthening mutual communication and cooperation between countries and scientific research institutions to enhance the development of breast cancer treatment technologies and natural medicines.