Background: Previous studies have established that diabetes mellitus (DM) markedly raises the risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED). Despite extensive investigations, the risk factors associated with ED in diabetic men have yet to be unequivocally determined, owing to incongruent and inconclusive results reported in various studies.Objective: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the risk factors for ED in men with DM.Methods: A comprehensive systematic review was conducted, encompassing studies published in the PubMed, Scopus and Embase databases up to August 24th, 2023. All studies examining the risk factors of ED in patients with DM were included in the analysis. To identify significant variations among the risk factors, odds ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were employed. The risk of bias was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale(NOS) for longitudinal studies and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Scale(AHRQ) for cross-sectional studies.Results: A total of 58 studies, including a substantial participant pool of 66,925 individuals diagnosed with DM, both with or without ED, were included in the meta-analysis. Mean age (OR: 1.31, 95% CI=1.24-1.37), smoking status (OR: 1.32, 95% CI=1.18-1.47), HbA1C (OR: 1.44, 95% CI=1.28-1.62), duration of DM (OR: 1.39, 95% CI=1.29-1.50), diabetic neuropathy (OR: 3.47, 95% CI=2.16-5.56), diabetic retinopathy (OR: 3.01, 95% CI=2.02-4.48), diabetic foot (OR: 3.96, 95% CI=2.87-5.47), cardiovascular disease (OR: 1.92, 95% CI=1.71-2.16), hypertension (OR: 1.74, 95% CI=1.52-2.00), microvascular disease (OR: 2.14, 95% CI=1.61-2.85), vascular disease (OR: 2.75, 95% CI=2.35-3.21), nephropathy (OR: 2.67, 95% CI=2.06-3.46), depression (OR: 1.82, 95% CI=1.04-3.20), metabolic syndrome (OR: 2.22, 95% CI=1.98-2.49), and diuretic treatment (OR: 2.42, 95% CI=1.38-4.22) were associated with increased risk factors of ED in men with DM.Conclusion: Our study indicates that in men with DM, several risk factors for ED have been identified, including mean age, HbA1C, duration of DM, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic foot, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, microvascular disease, vascular disease, nephropathy, depression, metabolic syndrome, and diuretic treatment. By clarifying the connection between these risk factors and ED, clinicians and scientific experts can intervene and address these risk factors, ultimately reducing the occurrence of ED and improving patient management.

Objective We aimed to investigate the relationship between serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) and grip strength using data from the 2013–2014 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Design Secondary analysis of cross-sectional, population-based data. Setting NHANES sample, 2013–2014. Participants We studied 1925 participants aged 20–75 years. Outcome measures and analysis We applied a multivariable generalised linear regression model, adjusted for several potential confounders, and restrictive cubic spline models to evaluate the association between serum NfL and grip strength. Subgroup analyses were conducted using stratified multivariable linear regression analysis. Results We included 1925 participants (average age: 44.8±0.44 years) from the NHANES database. Participants with higher serum NfL levels had a significantly higher prevalence of medical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disorder, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cancer) compared with those with lower NfL levels (all p<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a negative association between serum NfL and grip strength (β=−2.07; 95% CI −3.47, −0.67; p=0.007). In addition, significant interactions were found between NfL and grip strength stratified by age, physical activity and CKD (p value for interaction=0.002, 0.023 and 0.006). The results of the restricted cubic splines (RCS) analysis showed no evidence against a linear association of serum NfL levels with grip strength. (p for non-linearity=0.334). Conclusion Our study demonstrates a strong, negative and linear correlation between elevated serum NfL levels and grip strength. Notably, our findings indicate that individuals aged between 60 and 75 years, those with physical inactivity and those with CKD exhibit a more pronounced reduction in grip strength with increasing serum NfL levels.

Accurate structural and functional imaging is vital for the diagnosis and prognosis of the urinary system diseases. Near-infrared region (NIR) II fluorescence imaging has shown advantages of high sensitivity, high safety, and fast feedback compared to the conventional imaging methods but limited to its clinical applicability. Herein, we first report that in vivo NIR-II fluorescence imaging of the urinary system enabled by clinically approved and renal-clearable NIR dye methylene blue, which can not only achieve clear invasive/non-invasive urography but also noninvasively detect renal function. These results demonstrate that MB assisted NIR-II fluorescence imaging holds great promise for invasive/noninvasive structural imaging of the urinary system clinically and investigation of renal function in animal models preclinically.

Background: While peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase B (PPIB) has been implicated in tumorigenesis and RNA metabolism, its specific function in prostate cancer is poorly understood. Methods: PPIB expression was assessed in clinical prostate adenocarcinoma samples and the TCGA-PRAD cohort. In PC-3 cells, stable PPIB knockdown was achieved via lentiviral shRNA. Subsequent in vitro assays measured proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion, and tumor growth was evaluated in nude mouse xenograft models. We conducted strand-specific RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and PPIB-associated alternative splicing events (ASEs), followed by functional enrichment analyses (GO, KEGG, and GSEA). In addition, an shRNA-resistant PPIB cDNA carrying synonymous substitutions within the sh-PPIB-275 target sequence was re-expressed in PPIB-depleted cells, followed by Transwell rescue assays. Results: TCGA-PRAD analysis showed significantly higher PPIB mRNA expression in tumors. In the paired IHC cohort, an exploratory ROI-level comparison showed higher PPIB H-scores in tumor regions than in adjacent non-tumor regions (P < 0.05). Because multiple ROIs were obtained from the same patients, patient-level inference was based on ROI-averaged paired values; the mean tumor H-score was higher, but the paired difference was not statistically significant. PPIB knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and xenograft tumor growth. A modest increase in apoptotic cells was observed after PPIB depletion. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 570 differentially expressed genes and 873 altered splicing events, with enriched pathways involving DNA repair, the cell cycle, and amino acid metabolism. Integrating DEG and ASE data identified 22 overlapping genes, including the metabolic regulators PHGDH and SHMT2. Re-expression of shRNA-resistant PPIB significantly reversed the reductions in migration and invasion caused by PPIB knockdown. Conclusions: PPIB promotes prostate cancer progression and is associated with broad transcriptional and alternative splicing alterations. These results indicate a role for PPIB in prostate cancer progression and establish a foundation for investigating its post-transcriptional functions.