Baiyuan Yang

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern demonstrates benefits beyond blood pressure regulation across multiple diseases, yet its

Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) that negatively impacts quality of life. Although biomarkers of brain structure, function, and neurodegeneration have been studied, their interactions in EDS remain unclear. This study explores the relationship between cortical thickness, functional connectivity (FC), and plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels in PD-EDS.Methods: 36 PD-EDS patients and 100 PD patients without EDS (PD-non-EDS) underwent structural MRI and resting-state FC analysis, with regions of cortical atrophy serving as regions of interest (ROIs). Plasma NfL levels were quantified using high-sensitivity Single Molecule Array (SiMoA™). Mediation analysis was conducted to explore the interplay between NfL levels, neuroimaging markers, and EDS severity, assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).Results: PD-EDS patients exhibited significant cortical thinning in the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and right postcentral region (PoCR), along with weakened FC between the left SMG and left PoCR, and between the right PoCR and left inferior frontal gyrus (all p < 0.05). Plasma NfL levels were significantly higher in PD-EDS patients than in those without EDS (p = 0.004) and mediated the relationship between left SMG thickness and EDS severity.Conclusion: Plasma NfL levels mediate the association between cortical thinning in the left SMG and EDS severity in PD-EDS, suggesting a link between neurodegenerative processes underlying axonal injury and cortical atrophy in key regions associated with EDS in PD. Our findings suggest that combining neuroimaging markers with plasma NfL levels may provide valuable insights into the mechanisms driving EDS progression in PD.

Background Deep-brain stimulation is a well-established, effective treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Recent studies examining rates of suicide attempts and suicides after deep-brain stimulation in the bilateral subthalamic nucleus have reported varying results. Using this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aim to obtain a comprehensive understanding of suicidality in Parkinson’s patients after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. Methods We systematically examined Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases to identify studies published before November 2019 that measured rates of suicidality in Parkinson’s patients who underwent subthalamic nucleus stimulation. A meta-analysis of the data from the included studies was conducted using Stata 12.0. Results A total of 18 studies met the eligibility criteria of this study. We found that the pooled rate of suicidal ideation was 4% (95% CI 0.00–7.2%, range 2–17%). The pooled rate of suicide attempts was 1% (95% CI 1.0–2.0%), while the pooled rate of suicide was 1% (95% CI 0.0–1.0%). Conclusions Our findings indicate a relatively high rate of suicidality among Parkinson’s patients after subthalamic nucleus deep-brain stimulation. It is important for clinicians to carefully monitor psychiatric disorders, especially suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, in Parkinson’s patients before and after subthalamic nucleus deep-brain stimulation.

Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Previous studies trying to find an association between ALS and unc-13 homolog A (UNC13A) gene variants have shown inconsistent results. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of the association between the C allele of rs12608932, a single-nucleotide polymorphism located in an intron of UNC13A, and risk of ALS and patient survival. Methods PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and SinoMed databases were systematically searched for genome-wide association studies or case-control studies published up to January 2019 on the association between this variant in UNC13A and risk and/or prognosis of ALS. Data from eligible studies were extracted and analyzed. Results The pooled data (28,072 patients with sporadic ALS and 56,545 controls) showed that rs12608932(C) was associated with an increased risk of ALS (OR = 1.13, 95%CI 1.07–1.20). Subgroup analysis revealed that rs12608932(C) increased the risk of sporadic ALS in non-Asian individuals, including those from the USA and Europe (OR 1.17, 95%CI 1.10–1.25, P < 0.000), but not in Japanese or Chinese subjects (OR 1.01, 95%CI 0.92–1.10, P = 0.85). The available data demonstrated that the CC genotype decreased the survival time of patients with ALS (OR 1.33, 95%CI 1.19–1.49, P < 0.001). Conclusion The present meta-analysis suggests that rs12608932(C) is associated with increased ALS susceptibility, especially in Caucasian and European subjects, and that the CC genotype of rs12608932 is associated with reduced ALS patient survival.