Concordance of acid-fast stain result and histopathologic vs clinical diagnosis of leprosy: A three-year retrospective study in a Tertiary Government Hospital and Sanitarium in the Philippines

Objectives@#In the Philippines, there has been a lack of information on the concordance between classifications of Hansen’s disease or leprosy clinically, histopathologically, and with AFS results. The study ultimately aimed to determine the concordance between the clinical diagnosis, histopathological results, and AFS results of patients with leprosy seen at the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (DJNRMHS). @*Methods@#This is a descriptive, retrospective, single-center study conducted at the DJNRMHS, a tertiary government hospital and one of the last remaining sanitaria in the country located in northern Metro Manila in the Philippines. The study reviewed and included all the patient records from the years 2017-2019 which included skin biopsy results and slit-skin smear with AFS. Leprosy patients were then classified based on the following classifications: World Health Organization (WHO) and Ridley-Jopling classifications; and the concordance of clinical diagnosis vs the histopathologic findings and clinical diagnosis vs AFS results were determined using kappa testing.

Dihydroergotamine ameliorates synaptic atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease states and its effect on cognitive function / 中国药科大学学报

@#Studies suggest that synaptic damage is closely associated with cognitive dysfunction, and lemur tyrosine kinase 1 (LMTK1) is a key kinase that affects synaptic growth. Dihydroergotamine (DHE) is an ergot alkaloid derivative with high biological activity, which could regulate cognition, memory processing and motor control.This study aims to investigate the effect of DHE on synapse atrophy and plasticity as well as cognition in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) model animals.SAMR1 mice were selected as control group (n = 12).SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 12 for each group):AD group, DHE low-dose group and high-dose group.The DHE groups were injected DHE intraperitoneally daily for 8 weeks.Immunofluorescence experiments, Golgi staining experiment, electrophysiological experiment, Morris water maze experiment (MWM) and Western blot experiment were conducted to investigate the effect of DHE on synaptic morphology, synaptic plasticity, cognitive function as well as the phosphorylation level of LMTK1 downstream TBC1D9B in AD model mice.Subsequently, the LMTK1 silencing and overexpression cells were constructed.Immunofluorescence experiments were used to study the effect of DHE on synaptic length of nerve cell after LMTK1 silencing and overexpression.In the hippocampus of AD mice, the postsynaptic marker PSD95 was significantly increased after DHE administration, which suggested that DHE could increase the synaptic density. In Golgi staining experiment, synaptic atrophy was observed in the hippocampal of AD mice, which could be improved by high-dose DHE.Compared with normal mice, the long-term potentiation (LTP) level of AD model mice was significantly reduced (P < 0.000 1), DHE could increase LTP significantly.The MWM experiment further showed that DHE could improve cognitive function in AD mice.WB experiments showed that the level of P-LMTK1 in the hippocampus of AD mice increased significantly, and the level of downstream P-TBC1D9B decreased significantly after DHE administration.Cell immunofluorescence experiments in vitro had shown that DHE significantly improved synaptic atrophy in overexpressed C17.2 cells, while its improvement disappeared when LMTK1 was silenced. This research suggests DHE may improve synaptic atrophy and cognitive dysfunction in AD by targeting on LMTK1.

Drug repurposing for Alzheimer''s disease using knowledge graph embedding / 中国药科大学学报

@#Alzheimer''s disease (AD) has brought to us huge medical and economic burdens, and so discovery of its therapeutic drugs is of great significance.In this paper, we utilized knowledge graph embedding (KGE) models to explore drug repurposing for AD on the publicly available drug repurposing knowledge graph (DRKG).Specifically, we applied four KGE models, namely TransE, DistMult, ComplEx, and RotatE, to learn the embedding vectors of entities and relations on DRKG.By using three classical knowledge graph evaluation metrics, we then evaluated and compared the performance of these models as well as the quality of the learned embedded vectors.Based on our results, we selected the RotatE model for link prediction and identified 16 drugs that might be repurposed for the treatment of AD.Previous studies have confirmed the potential therapeutic effects of 12 drugs against AD, i.e., glutathione, haloperidol, capsaicin, quercetin, estradiol, glucose, disulfire, adenosine, paroxetine, paclitaxel, glybride and amitriptyline.Our study demonstrates that drug repurposing based on KGE may provide new ideas and methods for AD drug discovery.Moreover, the RotatE model effectively integrates multi-source information of DRKG, enabling promising AD drug repurposing.The source code of this paper is available at https://github.com/LuYF-Lemon-love/AD-KGE.

Diagnosis and treatment strategies for patients with refractory recurrent aphthous ulcer and systemic diseases / 口腔疾病防治

@#Recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) is one of the most common diseases of the oral mucosa. At present, no effective method is available for RAU treatment, especially for refractory RAU, which significantly affects patients’ oral health and quality of life. Research shows that combination with systemic diseases greatly increases the difficulty of curing refractory RAU, making conventional oral ulcer treatment harder to perform effectively. This is probably because dentists commonly only focus on handling oral ulcers but neglect to think about the etiology of oral ulcers from a holistic perspective. Thus, we summarized some conditions of refractory RAU accompanied by systemic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, iron deficiency anemia, diabetes mellitus, Behçet’s disease, Reiter’s syndrome, sprue syndrome, Sutton syndrome, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We also outlined the treatment principles of these patients. To be specific, on the one hand, dentists should cooperate with the relevant specialists to treat the systemic diseases, while on the other hand they should take measures including topical/general use of medicine, local physical therapy, Traditional Chinese medicine treatment, and psychotherapy for RAU management. This paper aims to provide clinicians with a more comprehensive understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of refractory RAU, in order to make personalized treatment plans for patients and improve the clinical efficacy of refractory RAU.

Effect of aluminum exposure on abnormal phosphorylationof tau protein in PC12 cells of rats / 预防医学

Objective @#To investigate the effect of aluminum exposure on expression of miR-497-5p, wingless murine breast cancer virus integration site family member 3a (Wnt3a), β-catenin protein, glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) protein and tau protein in rat adrenal pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, so as to provide insight into unraveling the mechanisms underlying aluminum exposure-induced abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein.@* Methods@# PC12 cells were exposed to Al(mal)3 at concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 400 μmol/L for 24 h. The viability of PC12 cells was measured using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The relative expression of miR-497-5p and Wnt3a was detected using a real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assay, and the expression of Wnt3a, β-catenin, GSK-3β, P-GSK-3β (Ser9), tau and p-tau (Ser396) proteins were determined using Western blotting. @*Results @#The viability of PC12 cells appeared a tendency towards a decline with the increase of aluminum dose (Ftrend=323.473, P=0.001). RT-qPCR assay detected that the relative miR-497-5p expression appeared a tendency towards a rise with the increase of aluminum dose (Ftrend=14.888, P=0.031), and the relative Wnt3a expression appeared a tendency towards a decline with the increase of aluminum dose (Ftrend=165.934, P<0.001). The miR-497-5p expression negatively correlated with the relative Wnt3a expression (r=-0.693, P=0.012). The expression of Wnt3a (Ftrend=357.656, P=0.001), β-catenin (Ftrend=208.750, P=0.001) and p-GSK-3β (Ser9) proteins (Ftrend=512.583, P<0.001) appeared a tendency towards a decline with the increase of aluminum dose, and the expression of GSK-3β (Ftrend=39.965, P<0.001), tau (Ftrend=277.929, P=0.006) and p-tau (Ser396) proteins (Ftrend=96.247, P=0.002) appeared a tendency towards a rise with the increase of aluminum dose. @*Conclusion@# Up-regulation of miR-497-5p and GSK-3β expression and down-regulation of Wnt3a and β-catenin expression may be a mechanism underlying aluminum exposure-induced abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein.

The role of LXRs in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease: a review / 预防医学

Abstract@#Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ). Liver X receptors (LXRs), a member of the nuclear receptor transcription factor superfamily, are widely expressed in brain, which may be involved in the development and progression of AD. Based on the international and national publications pertaining to the association between LXRs and AD from 2010 to 2022, this review summarizes the advances on the involvement of LXRs in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism, inflammatory response and synapse formation in the pathogenesis of AD was reviewed, so as to provide insights into the prevention and treatment of AD.

Actinomicosis orofaríngea complicada secundaria al tratamiento farmacológico / Complicated oropharyngeal actinomycosis secondary to pharmacotherapy

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α treatment is an effective therapeutic option in intestinal inflammatory chronic disease in cases of the ineffectiveness of other drugs, but it promotes the development of opportunistic infections in their severe forms, due to the profound suppression of T-cell mediated immunity it produces. Among the most frequent are bacterial granulomatous infections, such as mycobacteria (especially tuberculosis), and fungal infections. Actinomycosis is a rare suppurative granulomatous chronic opportunistic infection, which in states of immunosuppression, such as the one caused after treatment with TNF blockers, is complicated by more severe clinical pictures.We present the clinical case, not previously described, of cervicofacial actinomycosis complicated with pneumonia, secondary to treatment with adalimumab in a patient with Crohn's disease.

El tratamiento con anticuerpos anti-factor de necrosis tumoral (TNF) es una opción terapéutica efectiva en la enfermedad inflamatoria crónica intestinal, en casos de ineficacia a otros fármacos, pero favorece la aparición de infecciones oportunistas en sus formas graves, debido a la gran inmunodepresión de células T que produce. Entre las más frecuentes se encuentran las infecciones granulomatosas bacterianas, como las causadas por micobacterias (en la que se destaca la tuberculosis), y las fúngicas. La actinomicosis es una infección oportunista crónica, granulomatosa, supurativa e infrecuente que, en estados de inmunosupresión, como el provocado tras el tratamiento con anticuerpos monoclonales anti-TNF, puede complicarse con cuadros clínicos más graves. Se presenta el caso clínico, no descrito anteriormente, de actinomicosis cervicofacial complicada con neumonía, secundaria al tratamiento con adalimumab, en una paciente con enfermedad de Crohn.

Role of cardiac β1-adrenergic and A1-adenosine receptors in severe arrhythmias related to Parkinson's disease

Abstract Aims Although reduced life expectancy in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients has been related to severe cardiac arrhythmias due to autonomic dysfunctions, its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the role of cardiac β1-Adrenergic (β1AR) and A1-Adenosine (A1R) receptors in these dysfunctions, the pharmacological effects of stimulation of cardiac β1AR (isoproterenol, ISO), in the absence and presence of cardiac β1AR (atenolol, AT) or A1R (1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentyl xanthine, DPCPX) blockade, on the arrhythmias induced by Ischemia/Reperfusion (CIR) in an animal PD model were studied. Methods PD was produced by dopaminergic lesions (confirmed by immunohistochemistry analysis) caused by the injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 6 μg) in rat striatum. CIR was produced by a surgical interruption for 10 min followed by reestablishment of blood circulation in the descendent left coronary artery. On the incidence of CIR-Induced Ventricular Arrhythmias (VA), Atrioventricular Block (AVB), and Lethality (LET), evaluated by Electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis, the effects of intravenous treatment with ISO, AT and DPCPX (before CIR) were studied. Results VA, AVB and LET incidences were significantly higher in 6-OHDA (83%, 92%, 100%, respectively) than in control rats (58%, 67% and 67%, respectively). ISO treatment significantly reduced these incidences in 6-OHDA (33%, 33% and 42%, respectively) and control rats (25%, 25%, 33%, respectively), indicating that stimulation of cardiac β1AR induced cardioprotection. This response was prevented by pretreatment with AT and DPCPX, confirming the involvement of cardiac β1AR and A1R. Conclusion Pharmacological modulation of cardiac β1AR and A1R could be a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce severe arrhythmias and increase life expectancy in PD patients.

Progress in the research of COVID-19 effects on Alzheimer's disease / 中国热带医学

@#Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). More than one-third of patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms, including confusion, headaches, and decreased/disordered taste. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common type of dementia. Alzheimer's disease patients are at high risk and susceptible to infection with COVID-19, which may cause severe illness and even death. There appears to be an interaction between AD and COVID-19, and on the one hand, patients with COVID-19 seem to be more likely to develop AD. AD patients, on the other hand, may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19. Therefore, understanding the common link between COVID-19 and AD may help to develop treatment strategies. Risk factors common to AD and COVID-19 are aging, ApoE ε4 allele, β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), neuroinflammation, oxidative stress. Here, this article focuses on the relationship between COVID-19 and AD, explores common risk factors and potential pathogenesis, and provides help for early prevention, treatment and recovery.

Prevalence and risk factors of sleep apnea in patients with Alzheimer's disease / 公共卫生与预防医学

Objective To analyze the prevalence and risk factors of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to provide theoretical basis for the prevention of SAS in AD patients. Methods A total of 130 AD patients admitted to the Department of Neurology of Guang'an People's Hospital of Sichuan Province from January 2019 to September 2022 were selected and divided into control group (without SAS) and observation group (with SAS) according to whether the patients were complicated with SAS{AHI ≥5 times/h}. Snoring, waking at night, dry mouth in the morning, AHI and SaO2 values were compared between the two groups. Clinical data of AD patients, including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), AD course, tobacco and alcohol history, and neurodegenerative diseases, were collected by self-made questionnaire and consulting the patient's electronic medical record bed. Univariate analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the independent risk factors for SAS in AD patients. Results Among 130 AD patients, 43 cases (33.08%) of SAS occurred. The proportion of snoring, awakening at night, dry mouth in the morning and AHI value in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P2, PSQI score >16 points and CDR score ≥2 points were independent risk factors for SAS in AD patients (P2, PSQI score >16 and CDR score. Polysomnosis monitoring should be performed regularly to prevent SAS.

Effects and mechanisms of SNP-9 on Parkinson''s disease cell model induced by rotenone / 中国药科大学学报

@#In this article, the effects and mechanisms of SNP-9 on Parkinson''s disease (PD) cell model were investigated.SH-SY5Y cells were treated with rotenone to establish PD cell model; the effects of rotenone and SNP-9 on cell viability were detected by MTT assay; Hoechst/PI double staining assay was used to detect the effects of rotenone and SNP-9 on cell apoptosis; DCFH-DA probe was used to detect the effects of rotenone and SNP-9 on cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels; and Western blot was used to detect the effects of rotenone and SNP-9 on protein levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), α-synuclein (α-syn), Bcl-2 and Bax.The results showed that SNP-9 could alleviate abnormalities in cell viability, levels of TH and α-syn, apoptosis, ROS and apoptotic relative protein Bax/Bcl-2 induced by rotenone.Our findings suggest that SNP-9 may alleviate rotenone-induced injury in neuronal cells by regulating cell apoptosis related pathway.

Progress in research on neuroprotective mechanism of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and analogues in Parkinson's disease / 中国生物制品学杂志

@#Parkinson's disease(PD)is the second common neurodegenerative disease that mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. Currently,Levodopa is the main first-line treatment drug,but the long-term efficacy of patients is not good,and even side effects such as“on-off”phenomenon and orthostatic hypotension occur. Glucagon-like peptide-1receptor agonists(GLP-1RA)and analogues are endogenous peptide hormones that can be released into the blood and enter the central nervous system to exert neuroprotection by crossing the blood-brain barrier. Numerous studies have shown that GLP-1RA can improve movement disorders and restore dopaminergic neuron activity in PD. However,the mechanism of GLP-1RA is not yet fully clear. This paper summarized the mechanism of GLP-1RA and its analogues in improving PD movement disorders and restoring dopaminergic neuron activity,and reviewed the aspects of reducing neuroinflammation,inhibiting oxidative stress,inhibiting apoptosis,regulating mitochondrial morphology,increasing neuronal protrusions,enhancing autophagy,and regulating intestinal flora homeostasis,so as to provide new ideas for research of the mechanisms of PD and development of GLP-1RA-related new drugs.

Expert Consensus on Bilateral Inferior Petrosal Sinus Sampling in the Diagnosis of Cushing′s Syndrome (2023) / 罕见病研究

@#Cushing′s syndrome(CS)is a clinical syndrome caused by a variety of causes, with main manifestations exhibited by central obesity, purple skin striae, hypertension, and diabetes. In patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)-dependent CS, the result of bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling(BIPSS)is the gold standard for determining the source of ACTH in the absence of routine imaging findings.However, the indications, contraindications, operating procedures, precautions and outcome judgments of BIPSS differ from one medical center to another, and there are currently no international and domestic clinical guidelines and expert consensus on BIPSS. In order to further improve the operation specifications of BIPSS in the diagnosis process of difficult CS, the Hypothalamic and Pituitary Disease Group of the China Alliance for Rare Diseases and the Innovation Center of Pituitary Diseases of Peking Union Medical College Hospital organized experts in endocrinology, interventional radiology, neurosurgery and laboratory in China to formulate this consensus. This consensus aims to provide standardized methodological guidance for the use of BIPSS in the differential diagnostic process of CS in clinical practice.

The Discovery of Putative Small Molecules via Ligand-based Pharmacophore Modelling Targeting Human Tau Protein for an Effective Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease

@#Introduction: The human tau protein is a key protein involved in various neurodegenerative disease (NDs) including Parkinson’s disease (PD). The protein has high tendency to aggregate into oligomers, subsequently generating insoluble mass in the brain. Symptoms of PD include tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. Currently drugs for PD treatment are only symptom-targeted while effective therapeutic treatment remains a challenge. The objective of this study is to identify novel promising anti-PD drugs using computational techniques. Method: ligand-based (LB) receptor modelling was conducted using LigandScout, validated and subjected to Glide XP docking, virtual screening, ADMET, and molecular dynamics predictions. Results: The adopted LB modelling generated pharmacophoric features of 5 hydrogen bond donors, 1 aromatic rings, and 7 hydrogen bond acceptors. The validation result indicated GH score of 0.73 and EF of 36.30 as validation protocols, probing it to be an ideal model. Using 3D query of the modelling a total of 192 compounds were retrieved from interbioscreen database containing 70,436 natural compounds. Interestingly, ligands 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 orderly indicated higher binding affinities to the receptor with Glide XP docking of -7.451, -7.368, -7.101, -6.878, and -6.789 compared to a clinical drug Anle138b with -4.552 kcal/mol respectively. Furthermore, molecular dynamics and pkCSM pharmacokinetics demonstrated ligands 1, 2, & 4 having better stability and low toxicity profiles compared to the reference. Conclusion: In summary, the study pave way for discovery of small molecules that could be recommended as adjuvant /single candidate as ant-PD candidates upon further translational study.

Application of Proteomics in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Mini Review

@#Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is classified as one of neurodegenerative disease caused by neuronal death. It is characterized as memory impairment, including the inability to produce new memories. Since AD has low treatment effectiveness, proteomics research opens possibilities for advancement. Proteomics is the study of proteomes produced by the disease-bearing host to identify and understand diseases. In this case, to investigate the use of protein as a reliable molecular entity and their involvement in AD. Therefore, this review focused on three main applications of proteomics; the potential use of proteomics as a diagnostic tool for AD, the use of proteomics to assess the treatment progression of AD and the advancement in AD research. The review discussed three research areas utilizing the proteomics approach: ageing, behavioural, and demographic research of AD populations. Proteomic approaches have also been shown to be effective to discover the biomarkers for infectious diseases, cancers, heart diseases, and neurological disorders. Although much work remained to be done, the proteomics approach is an interesting method to be carried out in detecting AD at an earlier stage and will be very useful for AD treatment and management in the future.

Study on the relationship between the risk of Parkinson's disease complicated with cerebral infarction and the serum level of tyrosine hydroxylase and its potential influencing factors / 公共卫生与预防医学

Objective To explore the relationship between serum levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and the risk of cerebral infarction in Parkinson's patients. Methods A total of 129 patients with confirmed Parkinson's disease who were hospitalized in our hospital were selected, among the 58 patients had Parkinson's disease complicated with cerebral infarction (complicated with cerebral infarction group), and the remaining 71 patients had Parkinson's disease alone (control group). Blood TH levels and other potential related information were collected retrospectively at the time of diagnosis. Comparative analysis of data was performed using SPSS software. Results Comparing the serum TH expression levels in patients with Parkinson's disease and patients with cerebral infarction at admission , the serum TH level in patients with cerebral infarction was lower. Results also showed that the levels of CRP, IL-6, MDA, and Hcy were higher in patients with cerebral infarction, while PON-1 level was lower. In addition, patients with cerebral infarction had lower motor ability (higher UPDRS Ⅲ score). Further regression analysis was carried out with the occurrence of Parkinson's disease complicated with cerebral infarction as the dependent variable and the potential influencing factors as the independent variable. The results indicated that factors such as low expression of TH, high expression of inflammatory factors, and high expression of oxidative stress factors were positively correlated with the risk of complications of the two diseases. Conclusion The low expression of TH, inflammatory state and high oxidative stress state are the potential risk factors for Parkinson's disease complicated with cerebral infarction, which deserves clinical attention.

Croton hirtus attenuating streptozotocin-induced neuroinflammation in rats / 数字中医药（英文）

Objective@# The present study was aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of Croton hirtus (CH) extract against streptozotocin (STZ) in rats. @*Methods@#(i) The sub-chronic toxicity consisted of 24 adult rats of either sex weighing from 160 to 200 g were divided into four groups with six rats in each group. Rats in group 1 received Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixed with saline; rats in groups 2, 3, and 4 received 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of methanolic extract of CH (MECH) orally by gavage administration for 28 d, respectively. The functional observation battery and locomotor activity were graded as part of their neurobehavioral activity and the brain regions, including cortex and hippocampus, were analyzed for neuropathological abnormalities. (ii) The main research consisted of 30 adult male Wistar rats weighing from 160 to 200 g, which were divided into five groups and six rats in each group, including control (I), STZ (II), Donepezil (III), MECH (100 mg/kg, IV), and MECH (200 mg/kg, V) groups. Rats in group I received citrate buffer orally and DMSO mixed with saline for 14 d. Rats in group II received STZ via intracerebroventricular injection (3 mg/kg, bilateral ICV-STZ) on days 1 and 3 followed by DMSO mixed with saline for 14 d. Rats in groups III, IV, and V received STZ administration on days 1 and 3 followed by Donepezil [3 mg/(kg·d), p.o.] and MECH [100 and 200 mg/(kg·d), p.o.] for 14 d. Rats were tested for learning and memory parameters such as Morris water maze (MWM) and passive avoidance test (PAT). They were sacrificed after completing behavioural experiments; brains were harvested to estimate the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) by using UV-Visible Spectrophotometer; caspase-3 was evaluated by total fluorescence emission spectra; amyloid β (Aβ) levels were detected using enzyme-linked immuosorbent assay (ELISA); and histopathological examination was conducted in the CA1 region of the hippocampus.@*Results @# (i) The sub-chronic toxicity results revealed that open field test parameters including line crossing, rearing, entering the middle square, defecating, or urinating did not differ significantly in the MECH rats (P > 0.05). The histopathological observation did not show any lesions in the neuronal cells and inflammation in both the regions in MECH rats compared with control rats. (ii) The main study findings demonstrated that STZ-treated rats showed asignificant increase in impairment in learning and memory parameters (P < 0.001), the levels of AChE, caspase-3, Aβ (1-40 and 1-42), and LPO were increased significantly (P < 0.001), and significant decrease was found in the levels of SOD (P < 0.001) and GSH (P < 0.01). Moreover, neuronal damage was found in the hippocampus. In contrast, STZ-induced behavioural and biochemical impairments in rats were considerably decreased by treatment with MECH dose-dependently. @*Conclusion@#MECH significantly prevented the memory deficit induced by STZ due to antioxidant action. Restoration of cholinergic functioning may be the cause of behavioural improvement. Therefore, MECH may be able to treat cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Preliminary screening results of Alzheimer's disease among the elderly in Ningbo City / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate the preliminary screening results of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among the elderly in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province and analyze the influencing factors, so as to provide insights into prevention and control of AD in the elderly. @*Methods@#A multi-stage stratified proportional sampling method was used to select the registered residents aged 60 years and older in Ningbo City as subjects. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, physical conditions and social activities of the subjects was evaluated with questionnaires. AD was screened using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model.@*Results@#A total of 34 027 elderly residents were investigated, with an mean age of (71.71±6.89) years. There were 15 115 males (44.42%) and 18 912 females (55.58%), 16 146 residents living in rural areas (47.45%) and 17 881 residents living in urban areas (52.55%). The positive rate of AD preliminary screening was 7.28% (2 476 cases). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age (70 to 74 years, OR=1.357; 75 to 79 years, OR=1.807; 80 to 84 years, OR=2.782; 85 years and older, OR=4.907), gender (female, OR=1.118), residence (urban areas, OR=0.713), marital status (unmarried, OR=3.078; widowed/separated/divorced, OR=1.301), educational level (primary school, OR=0.629; junior high school and above, OR=0.609), occupation before retirement (others, OR=0.741), family genetic history (no, OR=0.651), household disposable monthly income (1 000 to 1 999 Yuan, OR=0.636; 2 000 to 2 999 Yuan, OR=0.569; 3 000 Yuan and above, OR=0.448), exercise (seldom, OR=0.855; regular, OR=0.780), number of chronic diseases (2~5, OR=1.328), hearing loss (no, OR=0.764), smell loss (no, OR=0.615), chronic constipation (no, OR=0.696), major negative life events (no, OR=0.804), subjective memory loss (no, OR=0.583), sleep quality (general, OR=0.640; good, OR=0.616), living style (living with spouse, OR=0.300; living alone, OR=0.315; living with children, OR=0.350) and social activities (2-3 times/week, OR=0.584; 4 times/week and more, OR=0.409) were factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening. @*Conclusions @#The positive rate of AD preliminary screening among the elderly in Ningbo City is relatively high. Age, gender, economic conditions, exercise, social activities and physical conditions were factors affecting the positive rate of AD preliminary screening.

Clinical characteristic of aortitis in cardiac surgery in a single center / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To review and analyze the clinical manifestations of common aortitis in cardiac surgery. Methods    We screened 41 552 patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiac Surgery of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from 2010 to 2020, analyzed the patients' clinical data, and classified according to the type of diseases. Then we summarized all their clinical manifestations. Results    In our center 145 patients were operated for aortitis diseases, including 75 males and 70 females, with the age of 24-76 (45.6±11.3) years. There were 61 patients of Takayasu's arteritis, 51 patients of Behcet's disease, 8 patients of syphilitic aortitis, 8 patients of systemic lupus erythematosus, 2 patients of Kawasaki disease, 4 patients of ankylosing spondylitis, 10 patients of dry syndrome, and 1 patient of scleroderma. Conclusion    Aortitis is not uncommon in cardiac surgery, and awareness of the disease should be enhanced. So that we can distinguish various types of aortitis and to make proper management to improve patients' prognosis.

Enfermedad de Rendu-Osler-Weber con presentación inusual / Rendu-Osler-Weber´s disease with unusual presentation

La enfermedad de Rendu-Osler-Weber, también conocido como telangiectasia hemorrágica hereditaria, es una enfermedad genética de herencia autosómica dominante con penetrancia incompleta. Afecta por igual a ambos sexos y los síntomas se inician habitualmente entre los 20 y 40 años, pero se considera que la enfermedad está infradiagnosticada. Típicamente las formas clínicas y el debut de esta enfermedad se asocian a los órganos y tejidos que se afectan con mayor frecuencia: telangiectasias en mucosas y en piel, epistaxis, sangramiento gastrointestinal, pulmonar e intracerebral. En contraste, el caso clínico que se presenta se caracteriza porque las primeras manifestaciones clínicas que motivaron la consulta médica fueron crisis de dolores e inflamación ósea en el miembro superior derecho, lo cual es inusual y se inscribe como un elemento de novedad en la enfermedad. Es el objetivo de esta publicación exponer un caso de telangiectasia hemorrágica hereditaria con una forma de presentación atípica en una adolescente. Al alta hospitalaria, la paciente estaba estable, sin complicaciones. Se recomendó seguimiento hospitalario fundamentalmente por la especialidad de Neumología, por ser los pulmones los órganos más afectados(AU)

Rendu-Osler-Weber´s disease, also known as hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, is a genetic disease of autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance. It affects both sexes equally and symptoms usually begin between the ages of 20 and 40, but it is considered that the disease is underdiagnosed. Typically, the clinical forms and the onset of this disease are associated with the organs and tissues that are most frequently affected: mucosal and skin telangiectasias, epistaxis, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and intracerebral bleeding. In contrast, the clinical case that is presented is characterized because the first clinical manifestations that motivated the medical consultation were crises of pain and bone inflammation in the right upper limb, which is unusual and is inscribed as an element of novelty in the disease. The objective of this publication is to present a case of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia with an atypical presentation in a female teenager(AU)