Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly. It damages brain cells and nerves, and disturbs the storage and transmission of information in the brain. It is even potentially fatal without timely intervention. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, more than 9.9 million new cases of dementia are diagnosed worldwide every year, of which about 60% to 70% are classified as AD.¹ Although scientists agree that the disease is associated with abnormalities of certain specific proteins (beta-amyloid and tau) in the brain, unfortunately the cause of AD is still unclear, and about 70% of the risks are considered hereditary. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is usually recognized as the prodromal stage of AD. Annually, MCI patients tend to convert to AD with a clinical conversion rate higher than 10%, while it is only 1% to 2% in healthy controls.^2,3 In amnestic MCI (aMCI), the conversion rate is even higher. Therefore, early identification of MCI is crucial for timely intervention of potential AD patients. More importantly, with the acceleration of aging, professional doctors for AD are in short supply, so fast and economical screening methods suitable for large population are increasingly needed.

Background: Individuals suffering from short-term insomnia disorder (SID) experience difficulties in falling or staying asleep, often leading to daytime fatigue and impaired concentration. However, the underlying mechanisms of SID remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the alterations in brain activation patterns and functional connectivity in patients with SID.Methods: The study enrolled a total of 31 adults diagnosed with SID and 31 healthy controls (HC). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was utilized to assess the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) and functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortex of each participant while performing the verbal fluency test (VFT) task.Results: In the VFT task, no significant difference was found between the SID group and the HC group in terms of integral values, centroid values, and mean Oxy-Hb variations. These findings suggest that both groups exhibit similar hemodynamic responses. However, the functional connectivity analysis revealed significant differences in inter-channel connectivity strength between the two groups. The SID group showed significantly lower average inter-channel connectivity strength compared to the HC group. Moreover, six channel pairs (right frontopolar cortex – left frontopolar cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex – left temporopolar cortex, left temporopolar cortex – left frontopolar cortex, left frontopolar cortex-Ch38, left frontopolar cortex – right pre-motor and supplementary motor cortex, and left frontopolar cortex – right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) exhibited significantly higher connectivity strength in the HC group compared to the SID group (FDR corrected, p < 0.05). Specifically, channel 27 exhibited the highest frequency of significant connectivity across different channel pairs, occurring five times in total. The channel pair Ch27-Ch39, representing left frontopolar cortex and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, exhibited a negative correlation with PSQI scores (r = −0.422, p = 0.018).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that patients with SID may exhibit altered brain connectivity during the VFT task, as measured by fNIRS. These results provide valuable insights into the functional brain differences associated with SID. Further research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings.

Background: Increasing evidence has suggested a strong association of Q223R (rs1137101) and K109R (rs1137100) polymorphisms in leptin receptor (LEPR) gene with susceptibility of breast cancer (BC), but inconsistent results were obtained. To provide a quantitative assessment of this association, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Methods: A literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure was collected. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Results: A total of 20 case-control studies for Q223R polymorphism and 8 case-control studies for K109R polymorphism were included. Significant association between Q223R polymorphism and BC risk was not found in total, Asian or Caucasian population, but in African population: allelic model, OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.60-0.86, p < 0.001; recessive model, OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.52-0.87, P = 0.003; dominant model, OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.15-2.17, p = 0.004; homozygous model, OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.36-0.78, p < 0.001. Significant association between K109R polymorphism and BC risk was not found in total or Caucasian population, but in Asian population: dominant model, OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.07-0.84, p = 0.03; heterozygous model, OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.07-3.26, p = 0.03. Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that Q223R polymorphism may be significantly associated with BC risk in African population. K109R polymorphism may be significantly associated with BC risk in Asian population.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is generally considered to have a high risk of progression to Alzheimer’s disease. Our study aimed to investigate the abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in prefrontal cortex (PFC) in patients with MCI and explore the relationship between the observed changes and cognitive function.Methods: Sixty-seven patients with MCI and 71 healthy individuals were recruited for this study. All participants underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) examinations.Results: Compared with healthy controls (HC), the patients with MCI exhibited significantly lower MoCA scores (p < 0.001). Through FC analysis, an enhanced subnetwork was observed in the right prefrontal cortex of the MCI group, covering four pairs of channel connections: CH12-CH15, CH12-CH16, CH13-CH15, and CH13-CH16. Moreover, the FC values of these four channel pairs and the education duration were significantly correlated with MoCA scores. Subsequently, a multiple linear regression model was performed to observe the independent factors of cognition decline, serving the education duration and the average FC values of subnetwork as independent variables and the MoCA scores as the dependent variable. The regression model showed a total of 25.7% explanation power (adjusted R² = 0.257, F = 24.723, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Our study suggested that the enhanced subnetwork within the right PFC may be involved in the pathophysiology of MCI and serve as a potential target for the treatment of MCI.

Background: To explore the characteristics of resting-state functional connectivity in patients with different outcomes of prolonged disorders of consciousness (pDoC) by studying resting-state near-infrared imaging in patients with pDoC.Methods: 60 patients with pDoC were processed with resting-state near-infrared imaging and divided into unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state (UWS/VS) group, minimally conscious state (MCS) group and escape minimally conscious state (EMCS) group according to the post-treatment state of consciousness, to analyze the difference of resting-state functional connectivity in patients with different outcomes of patients with pDoC.Results: Functional connectivity (FC) between frontal lobe and left occipital lobe, frontal lobe and right occipital lobe, and left and right occipital lobes decreased in the UWS/VS group compared with the MCS group; functional connectivity between frontal lobe and left occipital lobe, frontal lobe and right occipital lobe, and left and right occipital lobes decreased in the UWS/VS group compared with the EMCS group; functional connectivity did not show any significant difference between the EMCS and MCS groups; and functional connectivity was more centralized in the MCS group and EMCS group.Conclusion: Different outcomes of patients with pDoC have different degrees of decline in functional connectivity between frontal lobe and occipital lobe and between occipital lobe, resting-state functional near-infrared spectroscopy has a certain reference significance for the prognosis of patients with pDoC, and it is helpful for exploring the exploration of the conscious residual brain areas.