Tauroursodeoxycholic acid: a bile acid that may be used for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disease that has become one of the main factors affecting human health. It has serious impacts on individuals, families, and society. With the development of population aging, the incidence of AD will further increase worldwide. Emerging evidence suggests that many physiological metabolic processes, such as lipid metabolism, are implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. Bile acids, as the main undertakers of lipid metabolism, play an important role in the occurrence and development of Alzheimer’s disease. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, an endogenous bile acid, has been proven to possess therapeutic effects in different neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. This review tries to find the relationship between bile acid metabolism and AD, as well as explore the therapeutic potential of bile acid taurocursodeoxycholic acid for this disease. The potential mechanisms of taurocursodeoxycholic acid may include reducing the deposition of Amyloid-β protein, regulating apoptotic pathways, preventing tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation, protecting neuronal synapses, exhibiting anti-inflammatory properties, and improving metabolic disorders. The objective of this study is to shed light on the use of tauroursodeoxycholic acid preparations in the prevention and treatment of AD, with the aim of identifying effective treatment targets and clarifying various treatment mechanisms involved in this disease

Prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression among patients with breast cancer: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Patients with breast cancer often experience severe psychological distress, especially anxiety and depression, leading to poorer quality of life, shortened survival time and increased mortality.The objective of the review will be to summarise data on the prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression in patients with breast cancer.Methods and analysis Two reviewers will be applied in seven databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Wan Fang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), China National Knowledge Infrastructure and for studies on the prevalence and risk factors of depression in patients with breast cancer, which should be published from inception to Feb 2020 in English, Chinese, French and Spanish. The selection of studies, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be done independently by two reviewers. Data synthesis will be carried out using RevMan V.5.3 software. The heterogeneity will be determined by the I² test. Publication bias will be evaluated by generating a funnel plot and performing the Begg and Egger test. The quality of the systematic review will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Tool criteria.Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required. This protocol will not involve individual patient information and endangering participant rights. The results will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences.OSF registration number DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/D6A4P

Scalp acupuncture for patients with vascular dementia: A Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails

Background: Vascular dementia (VD) is a kind of acquired intelligence impairment syndrome caused by a series of cerebrovascular factors leading to brain tissue damage. Scalp acupuncture is widely used to treating VD. However, there is no a systematic review has been used to assess the efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture therapy for VD. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to systematically evaluate the effects of scalp acupuncture on VD. Methods: We will search the following databases from their inception to July 2020: PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang Database, Embase, Medline, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), EBSCO, Web of Science, Technology Periodical Database (VIP), the Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Cochrane Library. At the same time, we will retrieve other resources including conference articles, and gray literature. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in English or Chinese associated with scalp acupuncture for VD will be included. Our study data collection and analysis will be conducted independently by 2 reviewers, and Rev Man V.5.3.5 statistical software will be used to performing Meta-analysis. Results: This review research will provide a high-quality synthesis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture for patients with VD. Conclusion: This study will provide available evidence to judge whether scalp acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for patients with VD. It also will provide reliable evidence for its widespread application

Regulation of “Right Ankle Dorsiflexion” Motor Imagery on Brain Function of Spinal Cord Injury: A FOCA-Based Prospective Study

Background: Motor dysfunction is the main functional disability after spinal cord injury (SCI), seriously affecting the life and work of patients. In addition to spinal cord damage, the brain undergoes structural and functional plastic changes. This study explored brain function remodeling in patients with SCI and the effect of right ankle dorsiflexion motor imagery task on brain function. Methods: This prospective study enrolled 11 patients with SCI and dyskinesia of the right lower limb and 12 healthy subjects at the General Hospital of Western Theater Command PLA (January 2015 to December 2016). They underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the resting state and the “right ankle dorsiflexion” motor imagery task state. Four-dimensional (spatiotemporal) concordance (FOCA) of local neuronal activity was used for fMRI image analysis. The differences between SCI patients and healthy subjects were compared using the two-sample t-test. Results: In the resting state, compared with healthy subjects, patients with SCI showed decreased FOCA in the left putamen, right caudate nucleus, and right superior occipital gyrus and increased FOCA in the left precentral gyrus. In the right ankle dorsiflexion motor imagery task state, FOCAs in the right inferior temporal gyrus and left inferior parietal lobule were decreased in patients with SCI. Conclusions: After SCI, a series of changes in the structure and function of the brain occur. Research on brain plasticity after SCI might help explore the central mechanisms underlying functional recovery after treatments, providing more therapeutic strategies for SCI

Image_1_Relationship between gut microbiota and lymphocyte subsets in Chinese Han patients with spinal cord injury.TIF

This study is to investigate the changes of lymphocyte subsets and the gut microbiota in Chinese Han patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). We enrolled 23 patients with SCI and 21 healthy controls. Blood and fecal samples were collected. The proportion of lymphocyte subsets was detected by flow cytometry. 16S rDNA sequencing of the V4 region was used to analyze the gut microbiota. The changes of the gut microbiota were analyzed by bioinformatics. Correlation analysis between gut microbiota and lymphocyte subsets was performed. CD4 + cells, CD4 + /CD8 + ratio and CD4 + CD8 + cells in peripheral blood of SCI patients were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in B cells and CIK cells between the SCI group and the control group. The gut microbiota community diversity index of SCI patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls. In SCI patients, the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae (related to lymphocyte subset regulation), Ruminococcaceae (closely related to central nervous system diseases), and Escherichia-Shigella (closely related to intestinal infections) increased significantly, while the butyrate producing bacteria (Fusobacterium) that were beneficial to the gut were dramatically decreased. Correlation analysis showed that the five bacterial genera of SCI patients, including Lachnospiraceae UCG-008, Lachnoclostridium 12, Tyzzerella 3, Eubacterium eligens group, and Rumencocciucg-002, were correlated with T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells. In the SCI group, the flora Prevotella 9, Lachnospiraceae NC2004 group, Veillonella, and Sutterella were positively correlated with B cells. However, Fusobacterium and Akkermansia were negatively correlated with B cells. Moreover, Roseburia and Ruminococcaceae UCG-003 were positively correlated with CIK cells. Our results suggest that the gut microbiota of patients with SCI is associated with lymphocyte subsets. Therefore, it is possible to improve immune dysregulation in SCI patients by modulating gut microbiota, which may serve as a new therapeutic method for SCI.</p