Search

Background and Aims: Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a clinical condition arising from stroke and causes significant changes to memory, thinking, and behavior. Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), the metabolite produced by gut microbiota, has mechanistic relevance to atherosclerotic diseases. This study aimed to investigate whether an association existed between elevated plasma TMAO levels and PSCI.Methods: Consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke were prospectively enrolled during Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2017. TMAO concentration was measured within 24 h after admission. PSCI was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score after 1 year and defined as MMSE score ≤ 26. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of TMAO level in the prediction of PSCI.Results: Of the 256 patients studied (age, 67.1 ± 11.0 years; male, 54.3%), 86 (33.6%) patients were diagnosed as PSCI. The mean TMAO level was 5.6 ± 2.4 μM, with quartile level as follows: < 3.9 μM (first quartile), 3.9-5.1 μM (second quartile), 5.2-7.4 μM (third quartile), and > 7.4 μM (fourth quartile). After controlling for potential confounders, multivariable logistic analysis showed that higher level of plasma TMAO was an independent predictor for cognitive impairment in post-stroke patients (the quartile 1 was used as reference, the quartile 4 odds ratio, 3.304; 95% confidence intervals, 1.335-8.178; P = 0.010).Conclusions: This study demonstrated that increasing plasma level of TMAO may be associated with PSCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the accuracy of neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) in Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnosis using a meta-analysis method. In PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar, the literatures were searched for the diagnostic value of neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging in PD. The literatures were screened in the light of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Data analysis was processed by Stata 12.0 software to obtain meta-analysis, heterogeneity analysis, and publication bias. Meta-analysis results showed by using NM-MRI observed substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) on PD, the pooled diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.74-0.87) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73-0.89), respectively. And the pooled positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were 4.58 (95% CI, 3.08-6.82) and 0.22 (95% CI, 0.16-0.31), respectively. Moreover, subgroup analysis according to the measurement criteria of SNpc showed the SNpc volume should be used as good a marker for diagnosing PD. Finally, Fagan test demonstrated that when PLR was equal to 5, the posterior probability is significantly enhanced to 53%, compared with prior probability (20%). As for NLR (0.22), the prior probability is 20%, while the posterior probability remarkably dropped to 5%. In conclusion, SNpc signal detected by NM-MRI exhibited high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of PD, which was a high-performance imaging diagnostic method for PD. We recommend NM-MRI imaging technology to be widely used in Parkinson's diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The above article was published online with incorrect author name. The right spelling should be Xiangming Wang instead of Xiangmin Wang. The correct name is presented here. The original article has been corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]