Cathepsin H increases the risk of diabetic retinopathy: evidence from Mendelian randomization and bioinformatic analysis.

Background: While lysosomal cathepsins are crucial in cellular homeostasis and may contribute to diabetic chronic complications, their precise causal relationships remain insufficiently characterized.

Methods: This study employed comprehensive multidimensional Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to investigate potential causal associations between nine cathepsins (B, E, F, G, H, L2, O, S, and Z) and six diabetic chronic complications encompassing both microvascular (nephropathy, retinopathy, proliferative retinopathy, maculopathy, neuropathy) and macrovascular manifestations (peripheral angiopathy). The analytical framework incorporated generalized summary-data-based MR (GSMR), univariable MR, multivariable MR, summary-data-based MR (SMR), and cis-expression quantitative trait locus (cis-eQTL) MR approaches, utilizing data derived from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Systemic immune-inflammation index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with type 2 diabetes at different stages of diabetic retinopathy.

Aim: To investigate systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) levels in patients with type 2 diabetes at different stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: This retrospective study included 141 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM): 45 without diabetic retinopathy (NDR), 47 with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 49 with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Complete blood counts were obtained, and NLR, PLR, and SII were calculated.

Development and validation of nomograms to intraoperatively predict metastatic patterns in regional lymph nodes in patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Background: An accurate intraoperative prediction of lymph node metastatic risk can help surgeons in choosing precise surgical procedures. We aimed to develop and validate nomograms to intraoperatively predict patterns of regional lymph node (LN) metastasis in patients with esophageal cancer.

Methods: The prediction model was developed in a training cohort consisting of 487 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy with complete LN dissection from January 2016 to December 2016.