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Abstract Background and aims Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood, characterized by developmentally inappropriate inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. Static and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) studies have revealed brain dysfunction in ADHD. However, few studies have estimated the stability of dynamic functional architecture of children with ADHD. The present study attempted to identify the functional stability (FS) abnormalities associated with ADHD in drug‐naïve children. Materials and methods The resting-state fMRI of 42 children with ADHD and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were collected. Using the sliding window approach, FS of each voxel was obtained by measuring the concordance of dynamic FC over time. Further, the seed based dynamic FC (dFC) was conducted to explore the specific brain regions with dFC alteration related to these brain regions with altered FS. Then, the inter-group comparison and correlation analysis were performed. Results We found that children with ADHD exhibited (1) decreased FS in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and increased FS in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), which both belong to the default mode network (DMN); (2) increased dFC between the bilateral SFG of DMN and the left insula of salience networks (SN) (GRF, voxel-wise p

ObjectiveTo analyze the correlation between susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the severity of clinical symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so as to supplement the clinical significance of gene polymorphism and increase our understanding of the association between genetic mutations and ADHD phenotypes.Methods193 children with ADHD were included in our study from February 2017 to February 2020 in the Children’s ADHD Clinic of the author’s medical institution. 23 ADHD susceptibility SNPs were selected based on the literature, and multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted capture sequencing technology was used for gene analysis. A series of ADHD-related questionnaires were used to reflect the severity of the disease, and the correlation between the SNPs of specific sites and the severity of clinical symptoms was evaluated. R software was used to search for independent risk factors by multivariate logistic regression and the “corplot” package was used for correlation analysis.ResultsAmong the 23 SNP loci of ADHD children, no mutation was detected in 6 loci, and 2 loci did not conform to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Of the remaining 15 loci, there were 9 SNPs, rs2652511 (SLC6A3 locus), rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus), rs3768046 (TIE1 locus), rs223508 (MANBA locus), rs2906457 (ST3GAL3 locus), rs4916723 (LINC00461 locus), rs9677504 (SPAG16 locus), rs1427829 (intron) and rs11210892 (intron), correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms of ADHD. Specifically, rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus) was found to simultaneously affect conduct problems, control ability and abstract thinking ability of children with ADHD.ConclusionThere were 9 SNPs significantly correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms in children with ADHD, and the rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus) may provide a new direction for ADHD research. Our study builds on previous susceptibility research and further investigates the impact of a single SNP on the severity of clinical symptoms of ADHD. This can help improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ADHD.

ObjectiveStroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is a frequent complication in stroke patients. This present study aimed to investigate the association between stress hyperglycemia and SAP.MethodsPatients were screened between February 2013 and August 2020 from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. We divided the blood glucose of the patients at admission by the glycated hemoglobin to calculate the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between SAP and SHR, with the confounders being controlled. Further, subgroup analyses were separately performed for stroke patients with and without diabetes.ResultsA total of 2,039 patients were finally recruited, of which 533 (26.14%) were diagnosed with SAP. SHR were divided into four quartiles in the logistic regression analysis, the highest SHR quartile (SHR ≥ 1.15) indicated a higher risk of SAP (OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.13–2.19, p = 0.01) in total patients. In patients without diabetes, the third quantile (SHR = 0.96–1.14) and the highest quantile (SHR ≥ 1.15) were both related to a higher risk of SAP (both p < 0.05). However, we did not find such an association in diabetic patients.ConclusionSHR was significantly associated with the risk of SAP in patients without diabetes. Adequate attention should be paid to the patients with high SHR levels at admission, especially those without diabetes.

Introduction: Accumulating evidence had demonstrated that females had a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) than males, but the mechanism was still unknown. Vitamin D was found to play an essential role in DVT, and gender may influence the serum vitamin D levels. This study aimed to explore whether vitamin D played a role in the gender difference in DVT.Materials and Methods: A total of 444 patients with acute stroke were recruited, which were divided into the DVT group (n = 222) and the non-DVT group (n = 222). Serum vitamin D levels were measured after admission and were split into three categories, including deficiency (

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed neuropsychiatric disorder in children, which is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI), the alterations of static and dynamic characteristics of intrinsic brain activity have been identified in patients with ADHD. Yet, it remains unclear whether the concordance among indices of dynamic R-fMRI is altered in ADHD.Methods: R-fMRI scans obtained from 50 patients with ADHD and 28 healthy controls (HC) were used for the current study. We calculated the regional dynamic changes in brain activity indices using the sliding-window method and compared the differences in variability of these indices between ADHD patients and HCs. Further, the concordance among these dynamic indices was calculated and compared. Finally, the relationship between variability/concordance of these indices and ADHD-relevant clinical test scores was investigated.Results: Patients with ADHD showed decreased variability of dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) in the left middle frontal gyrus and increased one in right middle occipital gyrus, as compared with the HCs. Besides, ADHD patients showed decreased voxel-wise concordance in the left middle frontal gyrus. Further, lower voxel-wise concordance in ADHD’s left middle frontal gyrus was associated with more non-perseverative errors in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, which reflects worse cognitive control.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that variability and concordance in dynamic brain activity may serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis of ADHD. Further, the decreased voxel-wise concordance is associated with deficit in cognitive control in ADHD patients.

Objective: Genetic variation, especially polymorphism of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4), has been linked to deficits in self-regulation and executive functions and to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and is related to the structural and functional integrity of the default mode network (DMN), the executive control network (ECN) and the sensorimotor network (SMN). The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the 2-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene on brain network connectivity and behaviors in children with ADHD.Methods: Using independent component analysis (ICA) and dimension analyses, we examined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data obtained from 52 Asian medicine-naive children with ADHD (33 2-repeat absent and 19 2-repeat present).Results: We found that individuals with 2-repeat absent demonstrated increased within-network connectivity in the right precuneus of the DMN, the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) of the SMN compared with individuals with 2-repeat present. Within the ECN, 2-repeat absent showed decreased within-network connectivity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the left anterior cingulate cortex. A deeper study found that connectivity strength of the left IFG was directly proportional to the Stroop reaction time in 2-repeat absent group, and as well as the right MFG in 2-repeat present group.Conclusion: Polymorphisms of the DRD4 gene, specifically 2-repeat allele, had effects on the ECN, the SMN and the DMN, especially in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) circles. ADHD children with DRD4 2-repeat allele have aberrant resting-state within-network connectivity patterns in the left IFG and the right MFG related to dysfunction in inattention symptom. This study provided novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of DRD4 2-repeat allele on ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disease featuring executive control deficits as a prominent neuropsychological trait. Executive functions are implicated in multiple sub-networks of the brain; however, few studies examine these sub-networks as a whole in ADHD. By combining resting-state functional MRI and graph-based approaches, we systematically investigated functional connectivity patterns among four control-related networks, including the frontoparietal network (FPN), cingulo-opercular network, cerebellar network, and default mode network (DMN), in 46 drug-naive children with ADHD and 31 age-, gender-, and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls (HCs). Compared to the HCs, the ADHD children showed significantly decreased functional connectivity that primarily involved the DMN and FPN regions and cross-network long-range connections. Further graph-based network analysis revealed that the ADHD children had fewer connections, lower network efficiency, and more functional modules compared with the HCs. The ADHD-related alterations in functional connectivity but not topological organization were correlated with clinical symptoms of the ADHD children and differentiated the patients from the HCs with a good performance. Taken together, our findings suggest a less-integrated functional brain network in children with ADHD due to selective disruption of key long-range connections, with important implications for understanding the neural substrates of ADHD, particularly executive dysfunction.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of Peony seed oil (PO) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and the underlying mechanism of action. Methods: A mouse model of NAFLD was established using high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. Serum levels of triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), glucose and free fatty acids (FFAs) were determined. Activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) were assayed in liver homogenates, while mRNA and protein expressions of GRP78, x-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and phosphorylated inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (p-IRE1α) were assayed in liver tissue using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting, respectively. Expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were also determined by qRT-PCR. Results: HFD diet led to significant increases in body weight as well as serum TG, TC, glucose and FFA levels. However, treatment with PO significantly reversed the effect of HFD on these parameters (p < 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of TNF- α, IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly higher in HFD control group than in normal control group, but were significantly reduced after PO treatment (p < 0.05). The protein expression levels of GRP78, XBP-1 and p-IRE1α significantly increased in the liver of NAFLD group, when compared with normal control rats, but were significantly downregulated by treatment with PO (p < 0.05). Conclusion: PO attenuates HFD-induced NAFLD via inactivation of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway. Thus, PO has potentials for the treatment of NAFLD but further studies are required to ascertain this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disease featuring executive control deficits as a prominent neuropsychological trait. Executive functions are implicated in multiple sub-networks of the brain; however, few studies examine these sub-networks as a whole in ADHD. By combining resting-state functional MRI and graph-based approaches, we systematically investigated functional connectivity patterns among four control-related networks, including the frontoparietal network (FPN), cingulo-opercular network, cerebellar network, and default mode network (DMN), in 46 drug-naive children with ADHD and 31 age-, gender-, and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls (HCs). Compared to the HCs, the ADHD children showed significantly decreased functional connectivity that primarily involved the DMN and FPN regions and cross-network long-range connections. Further graph-based network analysis revealed that the ADHD children had fewer connections, lower network efficiency, and more functional modules compared with the HCs. The ADHD-related alterations in functional connectivity but not topological organization were correlated with clinical symptoms of the ADHD children and differentiated the patients from the HCs with a good performance. Taken together, our findings suggest a less-integrated functional brain network in children with ADHD due to selective disruption of key long-range connections, with important implications for understanding the neural substrates of ADHD, particularly executive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]