National Health and Family Planning Commission

About: National Health and Family Planning Commission is a government organization based out in Beijing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Kashin–Beck disease. The organization has 2379 authors who have published 1440 publications receiving 20078 citations. The organization is also known as: Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China.

Germline mutations of multiple breast cancer-related genes are differentially associated with triple-negative breast cancers and prognostic factors.

Abstract: Genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations has become the standard clinical practice. Recent findings suggest the clinical significance of multigene panel testing of BRCA1/2 and other cancer-related genes. However, the clinical features of patients with breast cancer with germline mutations identified using multigene panels remain unclear. In this study, DNA samples from 583 Chinese women with breast cancer were subjected to target sequencing for 54 cancer-related genes using a pre-capture pooling method followed by next-generation sequencing. We identified 79 pathogenic germline mutations in 21 cancer-related genes. Forty-five patients (7.7%) harbored BRCA1/2 mutations, and 38 patients (6.5%) carried pathogenic mutations in the remaining 19 genes. PALB2 was the most commonly (1.2%) mutated gene other than BRCA1/2. Most of the identified pathogenic mutations were novel, suggesting mutation screening by using multigene panel testing is important particularly for non-European populations. Mutations in BRCA1/2 and the other cancer-related genes were differentially associated with clinical features. BRCA1 mutation carriers were strongly associated with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), whereas BRCA2 mutation carriers were not. Tumors in BRCA1-mutation carriers had a high histological grade. Patients with BRCA2-mutated breast cancers were likely to develop E-cadherin-negative tumors with bone metastases. Furthermore, mutations in PALB2 were strongly associated with TNBC. We demonstrated the usefulness of multigene panel testing and observed that a substantial proportion of patients with breast cancer had hereditary risk factors. Identifying differential associations between mutation status and clinical features will advance our understanding regarding the pathologies of this heterogeneous disease.

Targeting Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cells: An Attractive Therapeutic Strategy to Control Inflammation in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially its advanced stage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), has become a threatened public health problem worldwide. However, no specific drug has been approved for clinical use to treat patients with NASH, though there are many promising candidates against NAFLD in the drug development pipeline. Recently, accumulated evidence showed that liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) play an essential role in the occurrence and development of liver inflammation in patients with NAFLD. LSECs, as highly specialized endothelial cells with unique structure and anatomical location, contribute to the maintenance of liver homeostasis and could be a promising therapeutic target to control liver inflammation of NAFLD. In this review, we outline the pathophysiological roles of LSECs related to inflammation of NAFLD, highlight the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects of LSECs, and discuss the potential drug development strategies against NAFLD based on targeting to LSECs.

Local-Migrant Gaps in Healthcare Utilization Between Older Migrants and Local Residents in China.

Abstract: Background Older migrants in China without local resident registration (hukou) are a vulnerable population and face barriers to receiving local healthcare. Objectives We aimed to quantify the disparities in healthcare utilization between older migrants and local residents in Shanghai, China. Design This was a cross-sectional study. Setting The study was conducted in Shanghai, China, in 2016. Participants Older adults (aged ≥60 years) were recruited based on a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method (2571 older locals and 1920 older migrants). Measurements We compared utilization of outpatient care, inpatient care, preventive care, emergency room (ER) admission, and dental care, as well as medication use between older migrants and local residents. The local-migrant gap was parsed into observed and unobserved components using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method. Results Older migrants were less likely to utilize outpatient (odds ratio [OR] = 0.757; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.617-0.928), inpatient (OR = 0.642; 95% CI = 0.443-0.931), and preventive care (OR = 0.743; 95% CI = 0.643-0.858) and were more likely to use medication (OR = 1.254; 95% CI = 1.089-1.445) than local residents. Differences in ER admissions and dental care utilization were not significant in the regression analysis. The decomposition results indicated that 55% and 71% of the local-migrant gap in outpatient and preventive care utilization were attributable to individual characteristics, like health insurance. Unobserved components, including hukou-related factors and personal heterogeneous preferences, contributed 59% and 63% to utilization of inpatient care and medication use, respectively. Conclusion We identified local-migrant gaps in healthcare utilization among older adults in China. Further research is needed into integration of the health insurance system, accessibility of public health welfare benefits, and reconstruction of social networks among older migrants. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1560-1567, 2020.