Liver Enzyme Genetics and Health Conditions in East Asians: Genetic Architecture and Causal Insights.

Background: Elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are biomarkers of liver dysfunction and predictors of cirrhosis and liver cancer. While European-ancestry GWAS have identified hundreds of loci influencing these enzymes and driven drug discovery and personalized interventions, comparable genetic studies in Han Taiwanese and other East Asian populations remain lacking.

Methods: We performed GWAS of ALT (n = 137,312) and AST (n = 111,527) in Han Taiwanese to characterize liver enzyme genetics.

Unraveling the genetic link: causal effects and PRS predictions of adiposity-related health conditions in East Asian individuals.

Objective: Although associations of adiposity with metabolic, cardiovascular, and liver diseases are known, the genetic links, causal effects, and polygenic risk score (PRS) predictions for these health conditions in East Asian individuals remain unclear.

Methods: We conducted genome-wide association studies of BMI (n = 95,488) and body fat percentage (BFP; n = 83,448) in Taiwanese individuals from Taiwan Biobank data, followed by cross-trait genetic correlation and bidirectional Mendelian randomization in four East Asian biobanks. BMI and BFP PRS were constructed and validated in the China Medical University Hospital and Biobank Japan databases.

Genetic predisposition to bone mineral density and their health conditions in East Asians.

Osteoporosis, a condition defined by low BMD (typically < -2.5 SD), causes a higher fracture risk and leads to significant economic, social, and clinical impacts. Genome-wide studies mainly in Caucasians have found many genetic links to osteoporosis, fractures, and BMD, with limited research in East Asians (EAS).

Menarche-a journey into womanhood: age at menarche and health-related outcomes in East Asians.

Study Question: Are there associations of age at menarche (AAM) with health-related outcomes in East Asians?

Summary Answer: AAM is associated with osteoporosis, Type 2 diabetes (T2D), glaucoma, and uterine fibroids, as demonstrated through observational studies, polygenic risk scores, genetic correlations, and Mendelian randomization (MR), with additional findings indicating a causal effect of BMI and T2D on earlier AAM.

What Is Known Already: Puberty timing is linked to adult disease risk, but research predominantly focuses on European populations, with limited studies in other groups.

Study Design, Size, Duration: We performed an AAM genome-wide association study (GWAS) with 57 890 Han Taiwanese females and examined the association between AAM and 154 disease outcomes using the Taiwanese database.

Association of combination antiretroviral therapy with risk of neurological diseases in patients with HIV/AIDS in Taiwan: a nested case-control study.

Heterogeneous neurocognitive impairment remains an important issue, even in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), with an incidence ranging from 15% to 65%. Although ART drugs with higher penetration scores to the central nervous system (CNS) show better HIV replication control in the CNS, the association between CNS penetration effectiveness (CPE) scores and neurocognitive impairment remains inconclusive. To explore whether ART exposure is associated with the risk of neurological diseases among patients with HIV/AIDS, this study in Taiwan involved 2,571 patients with neurological diseases and 10,284 matched, randomly selected patients without neurological diseases between 2010 and 2017.

Effect of Chinese herbal medicine therapy on risks of all-cause mortality, infections, parasites, and circulatory-related mortality in HIV/AIDS patients with neurological diseases.

Long-term living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with various adverse effects, including neurocognitive impairment. Heterogeneous neurocognitive impairment remains an important issue, affecting between 15-65% of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients and resulting in work performance, safety, and health-related outcomes that have a heavy economic burden. We identified 1,209 HIV/AIDS patients with neurological diseases during 2010-2017.

Your height affects your health: genetic determinants and health-related outcomes in Taiwan.

Background: Height is an important anthropometric measurement and is associated with many health-related outcomes. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of genetic loci associated with height, mainly in individuals of European ancestry.

Methods: We performed genome-wide association analyses and replicated previously reported GWAS-determined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Taiwanese Han population (Taiwan Biobank; n = 67,452).

Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy on Risks of Overall, Diabetes-Related, and Cardiovascular Diseases-Related Mortalities in Taiwanese Patients With Hereditary Hemolytic Anemias.

Hereditary Hemolytic Anemias (HHAs) are a rare but heterogeneous group of erythrocytic diseases, characterized by intrinsic cellular defects due to inherited genetic mutations. We investigated the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in reducing the overall, diabetes-related, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)-related mortalities among patients with HHAs using a nationwide population database. In total, we identified 33,278 patients with HHAs and included 9,222 non-CHM and 9,222 CHM matched pairs after matching.

Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy Reduces the Risks of Overall and Anemia-Related Mortalities in Patients With Aplastic Anemia: A Nationwide Retrospective Study in Taiwan.

Aplastic Anemia (AA) is a rare but fatal hematologic disease that may occur at any age and especially higher in Asia. We investigated whether Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is beneficial to AA patients as a complementary therapy using a nationwide population-based database in Taiwan between 2000-2016. Patient survival was estimated by Kaplan‒Meier survival analyses and Cox proportional-hazard model.

Effect of on HIV-1 5'-LTR Transcriptional Activity and Viral Reactivation in Latently Infected Cells.

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used in Asian countries. They show multiple pharmacological activities, including antiviral activities. The 5'-long terminal repeat (LTR) region of HIV-1, required for viral transcription, is a potential drug target for HIV-1 reactivation and intrinsic cell death induction of infected or latently infected cells.

Genetic factors of idiopathic central precocious puberty and their polygenic risk in early puberty.

Objective,: To investigate the genetic characteristics of idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) and validate its polygenic risk for early puberty.

Design And Methods: A bootstrap subsampling and genome-wide association study were performed on Taiwanese Han Chinese girls comprising 321 ICPP patients and 148 controls. Using previous GWAS data on pubertal timing, a replication study was performed.

Effect of Chinese herbal medicines on the overall survival of patients with muscular dystrophies in Taiwan.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Muscular dystrophies are a rare, severe, and genetically inherited group of disorders characterized by progressive loss of muscle fibers, leading to muscle weakness. The current treatment plan for muscular dystrophies includes the use of steroids to slow muscle deterioration by dampening the inflammatory response.

Aim Of The Study: Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been offered as an adjunctive therapy in Taiwan's medical healthcare plan, making it possible to track CHM usage in patients with muscular dystrophic disease.

Timing, Dosage, and Adherence of Antiretroviral Therapy and Risk of Osteoporosis in Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Taiwan: A Nested Case-Control Study.

The progression of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is delayed in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, long-term ART is associated with adverse effects. Osteoporosis is one of the adverse effects and is a multifactorial systemic skeletal disease associated with bone fragility and an increased risk of fracture.

Chinese Herbal Medicine Usage Reduces Overall Mortality in HIV-Infected Patients With Osteoporosis or Fractures.

The survival of patients with HIV has greatly improved, due to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART). However, long-term HIV survivors often develop serious bone abnormalities, possibly due to the interplay of osteoblasts, osteoclasts, HIV ad ART. We evaluated in a nation-wide study in Taiwan the effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on overall mortality in HIV patients with osteoporosis or fractures.

Timing and dosage of and adherence to hormone replacement therapy and fracture risk in women with menopausal syndrome in Taiwan: A nested case-control study.

Objective: To investigate the association between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the risk of bone fracture in menopausal women in Taiwan.

Study Design: The longitudinal, population-based, nested case-control study in Taiwan involved 5269 women aged > 45 years with fractures and 21,076 matched randomly selected controls without fractures. A conditional logistic regression model of analysis was employed.

Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy on Overall and Cancer Related Mortality in Patients With Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Taiwan.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck cancer involving epithelial squamous-cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx that mainly occurs in individuals from East and Southeast Asia. We investigated whether Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as a complementary therapy offers benefits to these patients. We retrospectively evaluated the Taiwan Cancer Registry (Long Form) database for patients with advanced NPC, using or not using CHM, between 2007-2013.

Complementary Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy Improves Survival in Patients With Pemphigus: A Retrospective Study From a Taiwan-Based Registry.

Pemphigus is a life-threatening and skin-specific inflammatory autoimmune disease, characterized by intraepidermal blistering between the mucous membranes and skin. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been used as an adjunct therapy for treating many diseases, including pemphigus. However, there are still limited studies in effects of CHM treatment in pemphigus, especially in Taiwan.

Genetic risk score constructed from common genetic variants is associated with cardiovascular disease risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) experience a two-fold increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified T2DM susceptibility genetic variants. Interestingly, the genetic variants associated with cardiovascular disease risk in T2DM Han Chinese remain to be elucidated.

Genome-Wide and Candidate Gene Association Analyses Identify a 14-SNP Combination for Hypertension in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: High blood pressure is common and comorbid with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Almost 50% of patients with T2D have high blood pressure. Patients with both conditions of hypertension (HTN) and T2D are at risk for cardiovascular diseases and mortality.

Effects of Chinese herbal medicines on dementia risk in patients with sleep disorders in Taiwan.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Sleep disorders affect an estimated 150 million people worldwide and result in adverse health, safety, and work performance-related outcomes that have important economic consequences. In Taiwan, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a complementary natural medicine and has been widely used as an adjunctive therapy.

Aim Of The Study: This study aimed to investigate the effect of CHM on dementia risk in patients with sleep disorders in Taiwan.

Decreased overall mortality rate with Chinese herbal medicine usage in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis in Taiwan.

Background: Liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of the morbidity and mortality in liver diseases. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has long been used for the clinical treatment of liver diseases. This study was designed to explore the usage frequency and prescription patterns of CHM for patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis and to evaluate the long-term effects of CHM on overall mortality.

Chinese herbal medicine therapy and the risk of overall mortality for patients with liver cancer who underwent surgical resection in Taiwan.

Liver cancer is the sixth most diagnosed cancer globally, and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Surgical resection is a procedure performed to remove cancerous tissue from the liver. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is a complementary natural medicine system widely used for treatment of hepatic diseases in Asian countries.

Protective effects and network analysis of natural compounds obtained from Radix dipsaci, Eucommiae cortex, and Rhizoma drynariae against RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in vitro.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Osteoporosis is one of the most common bone diseases; it is characterized by bone loss and is a risk factor for hip fracture. Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) and their related natural compounds have been used for treating many diseases, including bone diseases, since ancient times in China and are regarded as a cost-effective complementary therapy.

Aim Of The Study: The goal of this study was to investigate the osteoprotective mechanisms of these three Chinese herbs and their related natural compounds.

Effects of Chinese Herbal Medicines on the Risk of Overall Mortality, Readmission, and Reoperation in Hip Fracture Patients.

Hip fracture is a major public health concern, with high incidence rates in the elderly worldwide. Hip fractures are associated with increased medical costs, patient dependency on families, and higher rates of morbidity and mortality. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is typically characterized as cost-effective and suitable for long-term use with few side effects.