Combined Assessment of Serum Alpha-Synuclein and Rab35 is a Better Biomarker for Parkinson’s Disease

Hung-Li Wang,Chin-Song Lu,Tu-Hsueh Yeh,Yu-Ming Shen,Yi-Hsin Weng,Ying-Zu Huang,Rou-Shayn Chen,Yu-Chuan Liu,Yi-Chuan Cheng,Hsiu-Chen Chang,Ying-Ling Chen,Yu-Jie Chen,Yan-Wei Lin,Chia Chen Hsu,Huang-Li 대한신경과학회 2019 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.15 No.4

Background and Purpose It is essential to develop a reliable predictive serum biomarker for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Te accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) and up-regulated expression of Rab35 participate in the etiology of PD. Te purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a useful predictive biomarker for PD. Methods Serum levels of αSyn or Rab35 were determined in serum samples from 59 sporadic PD patients, 19 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients, 20 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, and 60 normal controls (NC). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of αSyn or/and Rab35 in discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients. Results The levels of αSyn and Rab35 were increased in PD patients. The serum level of Rab35 was positively correlated with that of αSyn in PD patients. Compared to analyzing αSyn or Rab35 alone, the combined analysis of αSyn and Rab35 produced a larger area under the ROC curve and performed better in discriminating PD patients from NC, MSA patients, or PSP patients. When age was dichotomized at 55, 60, 65, or 70 years, the combined assessment of αSyn and Rab35 for classifying PD was better in the group below the cutof age than in the group above the cutof age. Conclusions Combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a better biomarker for discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients, and is a useful predictive biomarker for younger sporadic PD patients.

Outcomes of limited period of adalimumab treatment in moderate to severe Crohn’s disease patients: Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study

( Wei-chen Lin ),( Jen-wei Chou ),( Hsu-heng Yen ),( Wen-hung Hsu ),( Hung-hsin Lin ),( Jen-kou Lin ),( Chiao-hsiung Chuang ),( Tien-yu Huang ),( Horng-yuan Wang ),( Shu-chen Wei ),( Jau-min Wong ) 대한장연구학회 2017 Intestinal Research Vol.15 No.4

Background/Aims: In Taiwan, due to budget limitations, the National Health Insurance only allows for a limited period of biologics use in treating moderate to severe Crohn’s disease (CD). We aimed to access the outcomes of CD patients following a limited period use of biologics, specifically focusing on the relapse rate and remission duration; also the response rate to second use when applicable. Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study and we enrolled CD patients who had been treated with adalimumab (ADA) according to the insurance guidelines from 2009 to 2015. Results: A total of 54 CD patients, with follow-up of more than 6 months after the withdrawal of ADA, were enrolled. The average period of treatment with ADA was 16.7±9.7 months. After discontinuing ADA, 59.3% patients suffered a clinical relapse. In the univariate analysis, the reason for withdrawal was a risk factor for relapse (P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, current smoker became an important risk factor for relapse (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.2-14.8; P=0.044) and male sex was another risk factor (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1-8.6; P=0.049). For those 48 patients who received a second round of biologics, the clinical response was seen in 60.4%, and 1 anaphylaxis occurred. Conclusions: Fifty-nine percent of patients experienced a relapse after discontinuing the limited period of ADA treatment, and most of them occurred within 1 year following cessation. Male sex and current smoker were risk factors for relapse. Though 60.4% of the relapse patients responded to ADA again. (Intest Res 2017;15:487-494)

Performance Improvement of Offline Phase for Indoor Positioning Systems Using Asus Xtion and Smartphone Sensors

Sheng-Cheng Yeh,Yih-Shyh Chiou,Huan Chang,Wang-Hsin Hsu,Shiau-Huang Liu,Fuan Tsai 한국통신학회 2016 Journal of communications and networks Vol.18 No.5

Providing a customer with tailored location-based ser-vices (LBSs) is a fundamental problem. For location-estimationtechniques with radio-based measurements, LBS applications arewidely available for mobile devices (MDs), such as smartphones,enabling users to run multi-task applications. LBS information notonly enables obtaining the current location of an MD but also pro-vides real-time push-pull communication service. For indoor envi-ronments, localization technologies based on radio frequency (RF)pattern-matching approaches are accurate and commonly used. However, to survey radio information for pattern-matching ap-proaches, a considerable amount of time and work is spent in in-door environments. Consequently, in order to reduce the system-deployment cost and computing complexity, this article proposesan indoor positioning approach, which involves using Asus Xtionto facilitate capturing RF signals during an offline site survey. Thedepth information obtained using Asus Xtion is utilized to estimatethe locations and predict the received signal strength (RF informa-tion) at uncertain locations. The proposed approach effectively re-duces not only the time and work costs but also the computing com-plexity involved in determining the orientation and RF during theonline positioning phase by estimating the user’s location by usinga smartphone. The experimental results demonstrated that morethan 78% of time was saved, and the number of samples acquiredusing the proposed method during the offline phase was twice asmuch as that acquired using the conventional method. For the on-line phase, the location estimates have error distances of less than2.67 m. Therefore, the proposed approach is beneficial for use invarious LBS applications.

Performance Improvement of Offline Phase for Indoor Positioning Systems Using Asus Xtion and Smartphone Sensors

Yeh, Sheng-Cheng,Chiou, Yih-Shyh,Chang, Huan,Hsu, Wang-Hsin,Liu, Shiau-Huang,Tsai, Fuan The Korea Institute of Information and Commucation 2016 Journal of communications and networks Vol.18 No.5

Providing a customer with tailored location-based services (LBSs) is a fundamental problem. For location-estimation techniques with radio-based measurements, LBS applications are widely available for mobile devices (MDs), such as smartphones, enabling users to run multi-task applications. LBS information not only enables obtaining the current location of an MD but also provides real-time push-pull communication service. For indoor environments, localization technologies based on radio frequency (RF) pattern-matching approaches are accurate and commonly used. However, to survey radio information for pattern-matching approaches, a considerable amount of time and work is spent in indoor environments. Consequently, in order to reduce the system-deployment cost and computing complexity, this article proposes an indoor positioning approach, which involves using Asus Xtion to facilitate capturing RF signals during an offline site survey. The depth information obtained using Asus Xtion is utilized to estimate the locations and predict the received signal strength (RF information) at uncertain locations. The proposed approach effectively reduces not only the time and work costs but also the computing complexity involved in determining the orientation and RF during the online positioning phase by estimating the user's location by using a smartphone. The experimental results demonstrated that more than 78% of time was saved, and the number of samples acquired using the proposed method during the offline phase was twice as much as that acquired using the conventional method. For the online phase, the location estimates have error distances of less than 2.67 m. Therefore, the proposed approach is beneficial for use in various LBS applications.

Ginsenoside compound K reduces the progression of Huntington's disease via the inhibition of oxidative stress and overactivation of the ATM/AMPK pathway

Kuo-Feng Hua,A-Ching Chao,Ting-Yu Lin,Wan-Tze Chen,Yu-Chieh Lee,Wan-Han Hsu,Sheau-Long Lee,Hsin-Min Wang,Ding-I. Yang,Tz-Chuen Ju 고려인삼학회 2022 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.46 No.4

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion oftrinucleotide CAG repeat in the Huntingtin (Htt) gene. The major pathogenic pathways underlying HDinvolve the impairment of cellular energy homeostasis and DNA damage in the brain. The protein kinaseataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is an important regulator of the DNA damage response. ATM isinvolved in the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), suggesting that AMPK plays acritical role in response to DNA damage. Herein, we demonstrated that expression of polyQ-expandedmutant Htt (mHtt) enhanced the phosphorylation of ATM. Ginsenoside is the main and most effectivecomponent of Panax ginseng. However, the protective effect of a ginsenoside (compound K, CK) in HDremains unclear and warrants further investigation. Methods: This study used the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of HD and performed behavioral tests,survival rate, histological analyses, and immunoblot assays. Results: The systematic administration of CK into R6/2 mice suppressed the activation of ATM/AMPK andreduced neuronal toxicity and mHTT aggregation. Most importantly, CK increased neuronal density andlifespan and improved motor dysfunction in R6/2 mice. Conversely, CK enhanced the expression of Bcl2protected striatal cells from the toxicity induced by the overactivation of mHtt and AMPK. Conclusions: Thus, the oral administration of CK reduced the disease progression and markedlyenhanced lifespan in the transgenic mouse model (R6/2) of HD.