TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: Accumulation in the brain of small aggregates of amyloid beta-protein 42 (Abeta42) is the major pathogenic event of Alzheimer disease (AD). In familial early-onset AD this event is likely the result of Abeta42 overproduction; in the most common sporadic late-onset form of the disease the mechanisms of Abeta42 accumulation are unknown.', 'To address this issue the authors analyzed plasma levels of Abeta42 in 88 elderly patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), chosen as paradigm of preclinical sporadic AD.', 'The authors found a significant increase of Abeta42 plasma levels in women with MCI, in comparison to the affected men and 72 cognitively normal age-matched subjects. The levels were independent of variables in education, apolipoprotein E genotype, cholesterol, and creatinine plasma concentrations, as well as hemoglobin content.\Question: Are plasma levels of amyloid beta-protein 42 increased in women with mild cognitive impairment?

SOLUTION: The elevation of Abeta42 plasma levels in women with MCI may represent a biologic explanation for the sex-dependent increased incidence of late-onset AD in women identified by epidemiologic studies.

PROBLEM: Context: In Crohn's disease (CD), rapid response to anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy improves short- and medium-term outcomes, but the relationship between early remission (ER) and long-term remission is unclear.", 'This exploratory analysis of PRECiSE 3 (NCT00160524) assessed whether ER after initiation of certolizumab pegol predicted long-term remission.', 'Patients enrolled in PRECiSE 3 had completed PRECiSE 1 or 2, two randomized placebo-controlled studies for moderate to severe CD, and received open-label certolizumab pegol 400\u2009mg every 4 weeks for a total treatment duration of ≤7.5 years. Time to loss of remission between patients with and without ER (Harvey-Bradshaw Index ≤4 at or before Week 6 of PRECiSE 1 or 2) was compared by log-rank test of Kaplan-Meier estimates.', 'At baseline, patients with (n\u2009=\u2009242) and without (n\u2009=\u2009148) ER had mean (standard deviation [SD]) durations of CD of 6.8 (6.6) and 7.4 (7.8) years, mean (SD) CD Activity Index scores of 280.3 (53.4) and 311.1 (55.5), with 45.5% and 41.9% of patients having ileocolonic CD, and median C-reactive protein concentrations of 8.0 and 5.0\u2009mg/L, respectively. Median certolizumab pegol plasma concentrations during the first 6 weeks of therapy were similar in both groups. Mean time to loss of remission was significantly longer in patients with versus without ER (2.77 vs. 1.14 years, p\u2009<\u20090.0001).\Question: Does early remission status predict long-term outcomes in patients with Crohn 's disease treated with certolizumab pegol?

SOLUTION: In certolizumab pegol-treated patients with CD, ER appears to be an important predictor of long-term clinical remission. Prospective trials are needed to determine whether ER improves other long-term outcomes.

PROBLEM: Context: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a complex chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa, caused by an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. As evidence suggests that some genetic variants may increase susceptibility to both AR and asthma, the objective of this study was to identify asthma susceptibility variants associated with AR in the Chinese population.', 'A cohort of 402 individuals with physician-diagnosed AR and 416 healthy controls were recruited from the Han Chinese population in Beijing. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood and a total of 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) shown to be associated with asthma in Japanese subjects were selected for genotyping using the SequenomMassARRAY technology platform.', 'Analysis of frequency differences of allele between the AR patients and control subjects showed that the C allele of rs204993 in the pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 2 (PBX2) gene from the 6p21.3 locus was significantly associated with AR (p = 0.0006, pcorrected = 0.0340). Genotype analysis further confirmed the difference in distribution of this variant between AR patients and controls in the both the dominant (pT/C+C/C vs T/T = 7.37×10(-5) ) and co-dominant (pT/C vs T/T = 1.98 × 10(-4) , pC/C vs T/T = 0.004) models.\Question: Does variant of PBX2 gene in the 6p21.3 asthma susceptibility locus is associate with allergic rhinitis in Chinese subjects?

SOLUTION:
These results suggest that the PBX2 gene in the 6p21.3 asthma susceptibility locus may be associated with increased risk for both AR and asthma in Chinese subjects.