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Prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) often leads affected families to experience psychological stress. Pediatric cardiology consultation is important in providing parents with sufficient information and reducing their anxiety to make an informed pregnancy decision. Involving a fetal nurse coordinator may optimize fetal anomaly care. Our study aimed to identify factors associated with parental decision-making for choosing to use pediatric cardiology consultations and pregnancy termination. From September 2017 to December 2018, all fetal CHD cases diagnosed in the second trimester from a primary screening clinic in Taiwan were included (n = 145). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to analyze maternal, fetal, and medical factors for predictors of parental decisions for consultation use and pregnancy termination. Acceptance for fetal nurse coordinator care and pediatric cardiology consultation were 84.8% (n = 123) and 83.4% (n = 121), respectively. Predictors for termination of pregnancy included the following: multiple anomalies (OR: 10.6; 95% CI: 3.6–35.7), chromosomal/genetic abnormalities (OR: 20.2; 95% CI: 3.1–395.8), severe CHDs (OR: 9.8; 95% CI: 4.3–23.4), CHDs that required surgery (OR: 32.4; 95% CI: 11.4–117.8), and physiological single-ventricle (OR: 47.3; 95% CI: 12.4–312.5). Parents who had pediatric cardiology counseling were less likely to terminate the pregnancy (OR: 0.1; 95% CI: 0.0–0.7). Parents with fetal diagnosis having multiple anomalies (OR: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1–0.7) or chromosomal/genetic abnormalities (OR: 0.1; 95% CI: 0.03–0.9) were less likely to make use of cardiology consultation. Parents who accepted fetal nurse coordinator care were more likely to have pediatric cardiology consultation before pregnancy decision (OR: 149.5, 95% CI: 37.8–821.5). Anomaly complexity appeared to be a strong predictor for termination of pregnancy beyond non-acceptability of prenatal cardiology consultation. Prenatal cardiology counseling may help support the parental decision to continue with the pregnancy. Incorporation of a fetal nurse coordinator care into the multidisciplinary fetal medicine team improved the acceptability of prenatal consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Ankylosing spondylitis ( AS) is a chronic rheumatic disorder with gender differences. The aim of study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms of the androgen receptor ( AR) gene and the susceptibility to AS in Taiwanese men of Han Chinese descent. Methods We conducted a case-control study with 92 male AS patients and 108 healthy controls. Trinucleotide ( CAG and GGC) repeats and seven single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) rs962458, rs6152, rs1204038, rs5918757, rs2361634, rs6624304 and rs1337080 in the AR gene were genotyped. Results We found that only one patient had polymorphic SNPs of the AR gene. None of the genotyped SNPs in the AR gene, originally found in Caucasians, was polymorphic in the Taiwanese men. Neither CAG nor GGC repeat lengths in the AR gene had a significant relationship with human leukocyte antigen ( HLA)- B27 positivity or disease severity in AS. Conclusion There were no differences in CAG and GGC lengths in the AR gene between AS and the controls. None of the genotyped SNPs in AR gene are detected to be polymorphic in male Taiwanese, which indicates that the effect of AR gene on AS may be ethnic-specific and may be conserved in East Asians compared to Caucasian populations. Still, additional studies using large sets of subjects deserve further attention, since our sample size was small with limited statistical power and supporting evidence for association between the AR gene and AS risk in the Japanese population exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: The relationship between sarcopenia and interleukin-23 (IL-23) has not been reported. We designed this study to investigate this relationship and the association of sarcopenia and interleukin-23 with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer., Methods: We used the %FINDCUT SAS macro to determine the cutpoints of the skeletal muscle index (SMI) to define sarcopenia in colorectal cancer patients. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect high and low IL-23 expression in cancer samples. Clinicopathological features were also recorded. The prognosis of the 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival were analyzed using univariate and multivariate methods., Results: A total of 114 patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled. The mean age was 63.2 years. Forty-six (40%) patients were female. Sarcopenia was defined as less than 50 cm 2 /m 2 for men and 32 cm 2 /m 2 for women and 52(46%) patients were defined as having sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was significantly associated with poor 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival (p = 0.003 and p = 0.001, respectively). Multivariate adjustment demonstrated that sarcopenia was an independent predictor of the 5-year disease-free survival (hazard ratio = 1.827, p = 0.024) and overall survival (hazard ratio = 3.669, p < 0.001). A lower SMI was detected in patients with high IL-23 expression (p = 0.045). After grouping the patients with sarcopenia and IL-23 expression, the patients with sarcopenia and high IL-23 expression had the worst disease-free survival (p = 0.013) and overall survival (p = 0.007)., Conclusions: This is the first study to explore the significant association between IL-23 expression and sarcopenia in colorectal cancer. Sarcopenia combined with IL-23, as an inflammatory marker, significantly predicted poor survival., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None declared., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the genes encoding the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL) and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal Taiwanese., Materials and Methods: Five ESR1 SNPs and three RANKL SNPs in 467 women were genotyped. Results of genotyping were correlated with BMD that had been adjusted for body mass index (BMI), age, and years after menopause., Results: Those with the ESR1 Crs1884054 allele were found to have a lower BMD at LS2-4/Lateral view (p = 0.005 and permutated p = 0.046), and those with the ESR1 haplotype Trs2234693-Ars922996 had a higher risk for low BMD also at LS2-4/Lat (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1-2.9). In addition, women without the RANKL haplotype Grs2148072-Crs2200287-Grs922996 had a higher risk for low BMD at LS1-4/AP (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.21 ∼ 3.64). Stratification analyses revealed that those with ESR1 AArs1884054 and RANKL Ars2148072 (p = 0.032) or RANKL Trs2200287 (p = 0.007) had a lower BMD at LS1-4/AP., Conclusion: Genotypes of these SNPs of ESR1 and RANKL may help us predict the osteoporosis risk in menopausal women., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.)