Effect of Helicobacter Pylori Infection on Glucose Metabolism, Lipid Metabolism and Inflammatory Cytokines in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients

Objective

To probe into the influence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection on glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory cytokines in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (MASLD).

Methods

A total of 140 MASLD patients admitted to our Hospital between June 2020 and May 2021 were selected as the research objects. Based on the presence or absence of Hp infection, they were divided into the study group (73 cases with infection) and control group (67 cases without infection). Glucose metabolism indicators [fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hPG), fasting insulin (FINS), glycated hemoglobin (HbAlc)], lipid metabolism indicators [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)], and inflammatory indicators [interleukin-37 (IL-37), interleukin-18 (IL-18)] were measured and compared between the two groups.

Results

In terms of glucose metabolism indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of FBG (5.84±0.49 vs 5.40±0.51, t=2.535, P=0.012), 2hPG (7.26±1.30 vs 6.50±1.53, t=3.321, P<0.001), and FINS (11.13±4.13 vs 9.12±3.72, t=3.224, P<0.001), and Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (2.97±0.35 VS 2.13±0.54, t=3.761, P<0.001) and a lower level of HbAlc (5.25±0.56 vs 6.12±0.57, t=5.473, P<0.001) compared to the control group. Regarding lipid metabolism indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of TC (5.64±1.49 vs 5.01±1.32, t=3.332, P<0.001), TG (1.89±0.34 vs 1.32±0.43, t=3.411, P<0.001), and LDL-C (3.31±0.43 vs 2.12±0.29, t=4.142, P<0.001), and a lower level of HDL-C (1.45±0.21 vs 1.78±0.42, t=4.347, P<0.001) compared to the control group. As for the inflammatory indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of IL-37 (45.56±6.02 vs 34.02±3.28, t=9.332, P<0.001) and IL-18 (73.57±5.82 vs 60.34±4.84, t=10.141, P<0.001) compared to the control group.

Conclusion

It is crucial to place appropriate emphasis on the impact of Hp infection on the glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory response in MASLD patients, warranting careful consideration during the treatment of these patients.

Systemic immune-inflammation index is associated with ulcerative plaque in patients with acute ischemic stroke: A single center exploratory study

PURPOSE

This study explored the correlation between inflammatory markers and ulcerative plaques based on carotid doppler ultrasound (CDU) in individuals with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

METHODS

A total of 202 cases diagnosed with AIS associated with atherosclerotic plaque (AP) in the carotid artery were enrolled in this research. Collecting clinical baseline data, laboratory data (such as the complete blood count) and imaging data (CDU and Brain magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]). Then the correlation between Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII, SII = P N/L, where P, N, and L were the peripheral blood platelet, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, respectively), the shape and position of AP, the degree of carotid artery stenosis, and the presence of ulcerative plaques. Cutoff values were determined accordingly.

RESULTS

SII and high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) were independent risk factors for the presence of vulnerable carotid plaques. SII, type A plaque, plaque above carotid bifurcation, and severe carotid stenosis were independent risk factors for the presence of ulcerative plaque. The AUC value, the sensitivity, specificity, the best cutoff value of SII in predicting the presence of ulcerative plaque was 0.895, 93.3%, 89.2%, and 537.4 (109 /L), respectively.

CONCLUSION

SII at admission was found to be independently associated with the presence of AIS with vulnerable plaque, especially ulcerative plaques. Moreover, plaque ulceration was more likely to form when the area of higher plaque thickness was located in the upstream arterial wall of maximum plaque thickness (WTmax), plaque was above the carotid bifurcation and severe carotid stenosis.

Diagnostic value of inflammatory indicators for surgical site infection in patients with breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnostic cancer in women worldwide. The main treatment for these patients is surgery. However, there is a high incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) in breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to identify effective infection-related diagnostic markers for timely diagnosis and treatment of SSI.

Methods

This retrospective study included 263 breast cancer patients who were treated between July 2018 and March 2023 at the Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute. We analyzed differences between the SSI group and control group and differences before and during infection in the SSI group. Finally, we tested the distribution of pathogenic microorganisms and their susceptibility to antibiotics.

Results

Compared with preoperative inflammatory indicators, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils (NEU), absolute neutrophil count to the absolute lymphocyte count (NLR), D2 polymers (D-Dimer) and fibrinogen (FIB) were significantly increased, while lymphocytes (LYM), albumin (ALB) and prealbumin (PA) were significantly decreased in the SSI group. Compared with uninfected patients, WBC, NEU, NLR and FIB were significantly increased, ALB and PA were significantly decreased in SSI patients, while LYM and D-Dimer did not differ significantly. The distribution of infection bacteria in SSI patients showed that the proportion of patients with Staphylococcus aureus infection was as high as 70.41%; of those patients, 19.33% had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The area under the curves (AUCs) of the receiver operating curves (ROCs) for WBC, NEU, NLR, FIB, ALB and PA were 0.807, 0.811, 0.730, 0.705, 0.663 and 0.796, respectively. The AUCs for other inflammatory indicators were not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in antibiotic resistance for Staphylococcus aureus when compared to that of gram-positive bacteria. The resistance of gram-positive bacteria to ceftriaxone (CRO), cefoxitin (FOX), chloramphenicol (CHL), minocycline (MNO) and tetracycline (TCY) was lower than that of gram-negative bacteria, while the resistance to gentamicin (GEN) was higher.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that WBC, NEU, NLR, FIB and PA have good predictive value for identifying patients at risk of SSI. The cut-off values of inflammatory indicators can be helpful in the prevention and diagnosis of SSI.

The impact of enhanced recovery after surgery on inflammatory indicators and prognosis related to complex appendicitis in children

Objective

To explore the application effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) perioperative plan in the treatment of complex appendicitis in children, and further enrich the implementation plan of ERAS in the field of pediatric surgery.

Method

This study selected 122 children who underwent laparoscopic complex appendectomy at Inner Mongolia Maternal and Child Health Hospital and Baotou Fourth Hospital from August 2018 to July 2022, and randomly divided them into a traditional surgery group (TS) and an enhanced recovery surgery group (ERAS). The changes of white blood cell (WBC), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), pro Calcitonin (PCT) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) before and after surgery were compared. The degree of pain, recovery time of intestinal function, length of hospital stay, hospital costs, postoperative complications and parental satisfaction were compared between the two groups.

Result

The WBC and CRP levels in the ERAS group at 6 h after surgery, as well as the IL-6 levels on the 3rd day after surgery, were lower than those in the TS group. Meanwhile, the analgesic effect of ERAS group at 3 h and 6 h after surgery was better than that of TS group. And the ERAS group had a shorter postoperative first exhaust time, fewer overall hospital stays, and lower hospitalization costs. In addition, the ERAS group had high parental satisfaction during hospitalization. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative complications between the two groups of children.

Conclusion

ERAS can promote postoperative recovery of children, reduce surgical stress, save family medical expenses, alleviate the pain of children, and improve parental satisfaction. It is a safe and effective method for treating complex appendicitis in children.

A hospital-based retrospective study: early recognition of neuronal surface antibodies by clinical manifestations and CSF inflammation indicators in patients with unexplained epilepsy

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of actual and comprehensive data on the detection rate of neuronal surface antibodies in patients with unexplained epilepsy in China. Thus, we attempted to analyze the differences in clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) characteristics, seizure types and other aspects of antibody-positive and negative patients, to identify suspected antibody-positive epilepsy patients.

METHODS

In total, 137 inpatients with unexplained epilepsy were consecutively included, and neuronal surface antibodies (NSAbs) were detected by serological and/or CSF evaluations. The clinical features and seizure characteristics were analyzed between the NSAb-positive and negative patients. In addition, patients were divided into four groups based on CSF and blood antibody titers. CSF cell count and protein content were analyzed in relation to antibody titers.

RESULTS

There were 45 (32.8%) patients tested positive for antibodies. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, mental status changes or memory deterioration, CSF protein, CSF cell count, treatment, days of hospitalization, outcome, duration of symptoms before hospitalization, status epilepticus, and number of antiepileptic drugs were significantly associated with the NSAb-positive group and changes in inflammatory indicators in routine CSF analysis were associated with antibody titers.

CONCLUSIONS

A relatively high proportion of patients with unexplained epilepsy have positive NSAbs. Patients with the above clinical characteristics need to be highly suspected of NSAbs positivity and should be tested for antibodies in time to assist treatment. The decrease of CSF cell count and protein content has suggestive value for the decrease of antibody titer, which should be evaluated in the follow-up.

Association of Inflammatory Indicators and Clinical Signs and Itch in Atopic Dermatitis Patients Treated with Simiao Pill Combined with Halomethasone Cream

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by symptoms such as itchiness, scaling, and erythema. Previous studies have suggested that inflammatory indicators obtained from peripheral blood cell count can serve as markers for atopic dermatitis pruritus and severity. The objective of this study was to investigate whether these indicators are associated with treatment efficacy in AD patients who received a combination of halomethasone cream and Simiao pill (SMP).

Methods

131 adult patients diagnosed with AD between January 2020 to August 2022 and treated with topical halometasone ointment combined with oral Simiao pill for a month were recruited and clinical dates of patients were collected. Inflammatory indicators included Eosinophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (ELR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), serum leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and clinical indexes for assessing eczema area and severity index (EASI) and peak pruritus-numerical rating scale (PP-NRS). Relationship of baseline and changes of these Inflammatory indicators and that of clinical indexes were analyzed.

Results

ELR, NLR, LTB4, and TSLP levels have positive association with EASI before treatment, and baseline ELR and LTB4 levels have positive relationship with PP-NRS. ELR, NLR, LTB4, and TSLP showed a significant decrease at week 2 and the low levels were maintained until week 8 after treatment, while no significant changes were observed in levels of MLR and PLR. There was a significant correlation between the decrease of ELR and the decreases of EASI and PP-NRS at weeks 2, 4 and 8 of the treatment.

Conclusion

ELR may serve as an effective and convenient indicator in assessing the disease severity and efficacy of SMP therapy for AD.

A Novel and Validated Inflammation-Based Prognosis Score (IBPS) Predicts Outcomes in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Purpose

We aimed to create a novel prognostic score, the inflammation-based prognosis score (IBPS). In addition, we attempted to establish and validate a nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with DLBCL.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively investigated the data of 213 patients with DLBCL diagnosed and treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University and used these data to develop nomograms. At the same time, 89 patients diagnosed and treated in Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University from January 2015 to June 2021 were collected as an external validation cohort. We developed IBPS through the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression method was used to develop the nomogram. We used the concordance index (C-index), calibration chart, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, decision curve analysis (DCA), and the Kaplan-Meier curve were used to assess the nomogram.

Results

The systemic immune inflammation index (SII), prognostic nutrition index (PNI), and modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) were used to construct IBPS. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), IBPS, response to treatment, and whether accept surgery were used to construct the nomogram to predict the OS of DLBCL patients. The C-index in the training and validation cohorts were 0.844 and 0.828, respectively. According to the time-dependent ROC curve and DCA, the nomogram has good predictive accuracy and clinical net benefit. The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that according to the nomogram score, patients in the training and validation cohorts could be classified into three risk groups.

Conclusion

In patients with DLBCL, baseline IBPS was a reliable predictor of OS. The survival probability of DLBCL patients can be precisely predicted using the prognosis nomogram based on IBPS.

Analysis of complete blood count and derived inflammatory indicators for bipolar disorder patients with different states

Purposes

This study aimed to analyze the predictive ability of the complete blood count and derived inflammatory indicators for BD patients with different states to identify potential biomarkers.

Methods

We collected the data of BD in-patients from January 2021 to March 2023. The complete blood count and derived inflammatory indicators were computed by univariate analysis, logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results

In terms of BD patients, the levels of MON (p<0.0001), hs-CRP (p = 0.018), and NLR (p = 0.002) were independent risk factors in logistic regression analysis, as well as the cut-off values were 0.405 109/L, 2.600 mg/L, and 2.321, respectively. Regarding BD-M patients, the levels of MON (p<0.0001), hs-CRP (p = 0.012), and NLR (p = 0.002) were predictors in logistic regression analysis, and the cut-off values were, respectively, 0.505 109/L, 2.600 mg/L, and 2.620. Additionally, the levels of NLR (p = 0.006) and MHR (p<0.0001) were important indicators for BD-D and the cut-off values were 1.735 and 0.487, respectively. Furthermore, our findings showed that the level of MON (p = 0.001) was related to BD-mixed and the cut-off value was 0.340 109/L. Notably, MON+hs-CRP + NLR, MON+hs-CRP + NLR, and NLR + MHR had the highest diagnostic accuracy to predict BD, BD-M, and BD-D patients, respectively.

Conclusion

Our findings showed that distinct inflammatory indicators were closely associated with BD and its different states. Additionally, we also identified their cut-off values and optimal combined predictive indicators in different states of BD, helping us improve diagnostic accuracy and better assess them to manage early targeted interventions.

Risk factors and new inflammatory indicators of deep vein thrombosis after adult patella fractures

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the association between new inflammatory indicators at admission and the occurrence of preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with patella fractures.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients aged 18 years or older who underwent surgical treatment for unilateral closed patella fractures at our hospital between August 2016 and August 2020. The incidence of preoperative DVT was detected by Duplex ultrasound (DUS). Partial blood routine and biochemical indexes were collected at admission, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) of inflammatory indexes were also calculated. ROC was used to analyze the cut-off value NLR, MLR, and PLR for predicting preoperative DVT, and univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors for preoperative DVT of patella fractures, and to verify whether other risk factors affecting the relationship between validation indexes and preoperative DVT.

RESULTS

A total of 500 patients were included, of which 39 patients (7.8%) developed preoperative DVT. After univariate and multivariate analysis, preoperative time (in each day delay), male (vs. female), D-dimer > 0.6 mg/L, total cholesterol (TC) > 5.6 mmol/L, and PLR > 189.8 were the risk factors for preoperative DVT in patients with patella fracture. Inflammation index PLR combined with the other four risk factors significantly improved the predictive efficacy of preoperative DVT compared with PLR (P = 0.009).

CONCLUSION

Inflammatory index PLR is a risk factor for preoperative DVT in patients with patella fracture, and the efficacy of PLR in predicting DVT can be significantly improved when other risk factors (male, D-dimer > 0.6 mg/L, TC > 5.6 mmol/L, and PLR > 189.8 of preoperative time in each day delay) are combined. These data are useful for the clinical identification of patients at high risk of preoperative DVT in patella fractures.

Clinical analysis of the epidemiology and changes in inflammatory indexes of Mycoplasma pneumonia in acute and recovery stage pediatric patients

BACKGROUND

As Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is on the rise in children and adolescents, this work explored the clinical analysis of epidemiological and inflammatory changes in children with MPP during the acute and convalescent phases, and analyzed their relationship with clinical manifestations.

METHODS

One hundred and twenty MP patients (experimental group) and 100 healthy children (control group) were selected as the research objects. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the changes in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and procalcitonin (PCT).

RESULTS

The proportion of children aged 3-7 years was significantly higher than that of other age groups (0-1, 1-3, and 7-14 years old) (P<0.05). The serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and PCT in children with MP were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Changes in pulmonary fibrosis and serum and pleural fluid TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and PCT concentrations on chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) in children with MP with pleural effusion significantly higher than that in children without pulmonary fibrosis (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MPP was more common in children aged 3-7 years. In addition, the changes of inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and PCT in serum and pleural effusion of children with MP were of great value for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of the disease.

Prognostic Value of Inflammatory Indicators in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Significant Liver Fibrosis: A Multicenter Study in China

Diagnosis of significant liver fibrosis is essential to facilitate the optimal treatment decisions and improve prognosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to evaluate the value of inflammatory indicators and construct a nomogram that effectively predicts significant liver fibrosis among CHB patients. 563 CHB patients from two centers in China from 2014 to 2019 were divided into three cohorts (development, internal validation, and independent validation cohorts), assigned into cases with significant fibrosis (liver fibrosis stages ≥2) and those without. Multiple biochemical and serological inflammatory indicators were investigated. Inflammatory indicators, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), were significantly associated with significant liver fibrosis in CHB patients but limited predictive performance, and then we combined them with prothrombin time activity percentage (PTA) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Based on these factors, we constructed the nomogram with excellent performance. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for the nomogram in the development, internal validation, and independent validation cohorts were 0.860, 0.877, and 0.811, respectively. Our nomogram based on ALT and AST that had excellent performance in predicting significant fibrosis of CHB patients were constructed.

25(OH)-Vitamin D alleviates neonatal infectious pneumonia via regulating TGFβ-mediated nuclear translocation mechanism of YAP/TAZ

Neonatal infectious pneumonia (NIP) is a common infectious disease that develops in the neonatal period. The purpose of our study was to explore the potential roles of 25(OH)-Vitamin D (25-OH-VD) and its anti-inflammatory mechanism in NIP. The results showed that serum 25-OH-VD level was negatively correlated with the severity of NIP, whereas Spearman’s correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the severity of NIP and the levels of pneumonia markers procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) was down-regulated, while the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), nuclear YAP, and TAZ were up-regulated in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of neonates with severe pneumonia. Neonates with 25-OH-VD deficiency were associated with an increased risk of NIP. In BEAS-2B cells, down-regulation of nuclear YAP and TAZ was found in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) + VD group relative to the LPS-induced group. Additionally, positive rate of nuclear YAP, as detected by immunocytochemistry (ICC), and the nuclear translocation of nuclear YAP/TAZ by IFA in the LPS+VD group showed an intermediate level between that of the control and LPS-induced groups. Furthermore, the expressions of VDR and CYP27B1 were significantly increased in the LPS+VD group as compared to those in the LPS-induced group. The anti-inflammatory mechanism in NIP was achieved due to the 25-OH-VD mediating TGFβ/YAP/TAZ pathway, which suggested that using 25-OH-VD might be a potential strategy for NIP treatment.

Effect of microincisional cataract surgery on inflammatory indicators in tears and corneal endothelial cells in cataract patients

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the effect of microincisional cataract surgery on inflammation in tears and corneal endothelial cells in cataract patients.

METHODS

A total of 103 patients with cataracts in our hospital were enrolled and randomly divided into group A (n=52) and group B (n=51) by a random double-blind lottery. Group A received 1.8 mm coaxial microincision cataract surgery (C-MICS) while group B received 3.0 mm C-MICS, and the efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Average ultrasound energy (AVG), accumulative phaco time (APT), and effective phaco time (EPT) did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). Group A exhibited higher interleukin-2 (IL-2) levels at 5 days postoperatively and lower interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and tumor necrosis factor-β1 (TNF-β1) levels than group B (P < 0.05). The density of corneal endothelial cells, coefficient of variation, and percentage of hexagonal cells showed no significant difference in both groups at 5 days postoperatively (P > 0.05). Group A had higher visual acuity and lower visual acuity loss, visual fatigue, foreign body sensation, tingling, and photophobia scores than group B at 7, 14, and 28 days postoperatively (P < 0.05). The tear film break-up time (TBUT) in group A was longer than that in group B at 7, 14, and 28 days postoperatively, and the tear secretion length (in mm) on the strip in group A was longer than that in group B at 14 and 28 days postoperatively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Compared with other types of similar surgery, C-MICS can significantly control inflammation levels, with less effect on corneal endothelial cells, improve postoperative visual acuity, delay tear film break-up, increase tear secretion, and improve dry eye syndrome.

Clinical observation and analysis on the significance of quick sequential organ failure assessment in 74 non-ICU patients with sepsis

BACKGROUND

Sepsis is an important disease that endangers human health and is the main cause of death in ICU patients, which has been a focus of clinical treatment. This study aims to evaluate the significance of the readily available quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score in clinical cases of sepsis.

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with sepsis treated in the Department of Infectious Diseases, the Affiliated Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2015 to December 2016 was conducted, and the patients were divided into a high-score group (≥2 points) and the low-score group (<2 points) according to the diagnostic criteria for sepsis (Sepsis 3.0). The differences in disease outcome and inflammatory indicators were compared between groups.

RESULTS

A total of 74 patients with sepsis were included in this study. When the cutoff qSOFA score was 2 points, the patients in the high-score group showed a higher mortality rate (71.43%), and the patients in the low-score group showed a higher improvement rate (87.76%). The inflammatory indicators did not show statistically significant differences between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The qSOFA score can better predict the prognoses of non-ICU patients with sepsis compared with traditional inflammatory indicators. Clinicians should raise their awareness about qSOFA and improving its accuracy.

The Sensitivity Prediction of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer

The overall efficacy of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACT) for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) has been recognized. However, the response rate of NACT is limited due to tumor heterogeneity. For patients who are resistant to NACT, not only the operation timing will be postponed, patients will also suffer from the side effects of it. Thus, it is important to develop a comprehensive strategy and screen out patients who may be sensitive to NACT. This article summarizes the related research progress on the sensitivity prediction of NACT for GC in the following aspects: microRNAs, metabolic enzymes, exosomes, other biomarkers; inflammatory indicators, and imageological assessments. The results showed that there were many studies on biomarkers, but no unified conclusion has been drawn. The inflammatory indicators are related to the survival and prognosis of patients under NACT. For imageological assessments such as CT, MRI, and PET, with careful integration and optimization, they will have unique advantages in early screening for patients who are sensitive to NACT.

Effects of Cinnamon Consumption on Glycemic Indicators, Advanced Glycation End Products, and Antioxidant Status in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

The aim of the current study was to determine the effect of a daily intake of three grams of cinnamon over eight weeks on glycemic indicators, advanced glycation end products, and antioxidant status in patients with type 2 diabetes. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial study, 44 patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 57 ± 8 years, were randomly assigned to take either a three g/day cinnamon supplement (n = 22) or a placebo (n = 22) for eight weeks. We measured the fasting blood glucose, insulin, hemoglobinbA1c, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), carboxymethyl lysine, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde levels at the beginning and the end of the study. Thirty-nine patients (20 in the intervention group and 19 in the control group) completed the study. After an eight-week intervention, changes in the level of fasting blood glucose, insulin, hemoglobinbA1c, HOMA-IR, carboxymethyl lysine, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde were not significant in either group, nor were any significant differences between groups observed in these glycemic and inflammatory indicators at the end of the intervention. Our study revealed that cinnamon supplementation had no significant effects on glycemic and inflammatory indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes.