Research Spotlight

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gut-brain interaction disorder that primarily affects adults and imposes a significant economic burden. Treatment guidelines vary, leading to inconsistencies in management approaches. A randomized, single-blinded trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of subtype-specific treatment vs. empirical proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy in adults with FD. Findings suggest that both treatment approaches significantly improved the overall symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), with no clear advantage of either, over another in FD management.

Diabetic macular edema is a prevalent cause of vision loss among individuals in the working-age population, characterized by the disruption of the blood-retinal barrier and the accumulation of fluid and serum macromolecules in the intercellular space. As the incidence of diabetes mellitus

Hyperkalemia, defined as serum potassium >5.0mmol/L, is a potentially lethal condition as it hinders muscle function and myocardial excitability, which may contribute to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac deaths. Epidemiological data suggests the global prevalence of hyperkalemia is around 6.3%, but the

Anal cancers are predominantly preceded by screening-detectable high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs). Despite being relatively uncommon in the general population, possessing an incidence rate of 1.7 per 100,000 person-years, anal cancers disproportionately affects specific groups of individuals, particularly people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), solid organ transplant recipients and women with a history of vulvar cancer or precancer.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of disorders of the clonal hematopoietic stem cells involving the proliferation of hematopoietic lineages. Conventionally, Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative MPNs comprise polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibro

Despite their exceptional anti-inflammatory properties, the use of systemic glucocorticoids (GCs) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains controversial due to the potential side effects, particularly their role in elevating patients’ risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. A po

Lung cancer (LC) is regarded as the most lethal form of cancer in Asia. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) ’s Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) estimated that 60% of global LC cases and 62% of global LC-related mortality were from Asian countries.

In 2019, prostate cancer (PC) was ranked the third most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in Hong Kong. Though genetic testing has not been previously considered a routine approach of PC patient care, recent sequencing studies revealed that about 11.8% of metastatic PC (mPC) patients carried in

Gout represents a prevalent non-communicable disease in Hong Kong's population. As evidenced by a local study, the prevalence of gout witnessed a nearly two-fold increase from 1.56% in 2006 to 2.92% in 2016. This surge has been ascribed to the emergence of multiple risk factors, including an aging

The increasing incidence of ischemic stroke in patients receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) highlights the heightened risk of subsequent ischemic events. Yet, the effectiveness and safety of antithrombotic regimens following this condition remain uncertain.1 In this investigation, patient outcomes were compared between those receiving DOACs with or without an alternative antithrombotic regimen, and the risk factors for recurrent ischemic stroke while on anticoagulation were identified. The 6-year study period, spanning January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020, included 45,946 non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients administered DOACs for stroke prevention. Among them, 2,908 patients experienced an ischemic stroke despite the DOAC treatment, and 2,337 NVAF patients were included in the final analysis. The findings demonstrated that switching to warfarin (aHR=1.96; 95% CI: 1.27-3.02; p=0.002) or another DOAC(aHR=1.62; 95% CI: 1.25-2.11; p<0.001) was associated with an elevated risk of recurrent ischemic stroke compared with maintaining the sameDOAC therapy. Furthermore, the addition of an antiplatelet agent did not exhibit a reduced risk of recurrent ischemic stroke. The risk factors of recurrent ischemic stroke include diabetes mellitus (DM), concurrent cytochrome P450/P-glycoprotein (CYP/P-gp) modulators, and large artery atherosclerotic disease (LAD).