The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has continued for 5 years. Sporadic cases continue to occur in different locations. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a high risk of a poor prognosis in patients with COVID-19. Successful control of blood glucose levels can effectively decrease the risks of severe infections and mortality. However, the effects of different treatments were reported differently and even adversely. This retrospective study included 4,922 patients who have been diagnosed as COVID-19 and T2DM from 138 Hubei hospitals. The clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared and calculated their risk for death using multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier curves. After adjustment of age, sex, comorbidities, and in-hospital medications, metformin and alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (AGI) use performed lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24–0.71; p = 0.001 for metformin; 0.53, 0.35–0.80, p = 0.002 for AGIs), while insulin use was associated with increased all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 2.07, 95% CI, 1.61–2.67, p < 0.001). After propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis, adjusted HRs for insulin, metformin, and AGIs associated with all-cause mortality were 1.32 (95% CI, 1.03–1.81; p = 0.012), 0.48 (95% CI, 0.23–0.83, p = 0.014), and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.35–0.98, p = 0.05). Therefore, metformin and AGIs might be more suitable for patients with COVID-19 and T2DM while insulin might be used with caution.

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inheritable arrhythmia syndrome that can lead to sudden cardiac death in patients while the heart structure is normal. However, the genetic background of more than 65% of BrS probands remains unclear. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the variant spectrum in a Chinese cohort with suspected BrS and to analyze their distinct clinical and electrocardiographic features. Methods: Patients with suspected BrS from Tongji Hospital between 2008 and 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 79 probands were included in this study. Patients with type 1 BrS electrocardiogram (ECG) had a prolonged QRS duration compared to patients with type 2/3 BrS ECG. Of them, 59 probands underwent genetic testing. Twenty-five patients (42.37%) showed abnormal genetic testing results, and eight of them (13.56%) carried pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) mutations. Mutation carriers presented much more prominent depolarization and repolarization abnormalities than non-carriers, including a prolonged P-wave duration, QRS duration, QTc interval, decreased QRS amplitude, and deviation of the electrocardiographic axes (T-wave axis and R-wave axis). Furthermore, our study identified four novel P/LP mutations: Q3508X in TTN, A990G in KCNH2, G1220E, and D372H (in a representative pedigree) in SCN5A. Conclusions: Our study showed the variant spectrum of a suspected Chinese BrS cohort, and we identified four novel P/LP mutations in TTN, KCNH2, and SCN5A.

As next-generation sequencing develops, there are significant associations between glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) variants and many diseases, especially metabolic diseases. However, there is a lack of solid descriptions and summaries of how GCKR variants lead to diseases and a lack of successful translations of drugs targeting this molecular variant. We searched literature datasets, mainly including PubMed and Web of Science, with “GCKR” or “GKRP”, “Variants”, “Hypertriglyceridemia”, “NAFLD”, and “Metabolic diseases” as the search terms. Our review firstly introduces the biological function of the GCKR gene and its encoding protein GKRP and then describes the GCKR variants in different diseases, such as hypertriglyceridemia and NAFLD, revealing that GCKR/GKPR is strongly associated with metabolic diseases. GKPR might be a potential target for T2D and other metabolic diseases. One drug for interfering with the GCK-GKRP complex has been developed and has shown its effectiveness in preclinical studies, with some possible side effects. More and more different-structured drugs should be developed to improve side effects, and more clinical trials should be carried out to determine the best intervention window and timing points to improve prognosis. Taken together, these insights show that GCKR/GKRP is significantly associated with many metabolic diseases via its complex metabolism system and is a potential target in many metabolic diseases.

Myocardial injury is both a common complication among hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients and a major predictor of adverse clinical outcomes. However, its long‐term effects remain poorly defined. In this prospective cohort study of 2185 COVID‐19 survivors (531 with myocardial injury), we assessed 1‐year post‐discharge outcomes using Kaplan–Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression before and after propensity score matching. Myocardial injury was associated with higher all‐cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.14) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (aHR 5.22). Long‐term use of angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB) was associated with reduced mortality (aHR 0.44) and MACE (aHR 0.58) in the myocardial injury group. At 1 year, 71.5% of survivors reported persistent symptoms—most commonly fatigue and sleep difficulties—and those with myocardial injury had poorer quality of life. This study provides the prospective evidence from China's Omicron era on the prognostic value of myocardial injury, combining hard clinical endpoints with patient‐reported outcomes and the first analysis of the ACEI/ARB association in this population. These findings highlight the prognostic importance of myocardial injury and the potential role of ACEI/ARB therapy in post‐discharge management, supporting targeted follow‐up strategies for this high‐risk population.