Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on functional connectivity in the related brain regions of patients with depression based on the resting-state fMRI / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the brain effect mechanism and the correlation between brain functional imaging and cognitive function in treatment of depressive disorder (DD) with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) based on the resting-state functional magenetic reasonance imaging (rs-fMRI).@*METHODS@#Thirty-two DD patients were included in a depression group and 32 subjects of healthy condition were enrolled in a normal group. In the depression group, the taVNS was applied to bilateral Xin (CO15) and Shen (CO10), at disperse-dense wave, 4 Hz/20 Hz in frequency and current intensity ≤20 mA depending on patient's tolerance, 30 min each time, twice daily. The duration of treatment consisted of 8 weeks. The patients of two groups were undertaken rs-fMRI scanning. The scores of Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) were observed in the normal group at baseline and the depression group before and after treatment separately. The differential brain regions were observed before and after treatment in the two groups and the value of degree centrality (DC) of fMRI was obtained. Their correlation was analyzed in terms of HAMD, HAMA and WCST scores.@*RESULTS@#The scores of HAMD and HAMA in the depression group were all higher than those in the normal group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of HAMD and HAMA were lower than those before treatment in the depression group; the scores of total responses, response errors and perseverative errors of WCST were all lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The brain regions with significant differences included the left inferior temporal gyrus, the left cerebellar peduncles region 1, the left insula, the right putamen, the bilateral supplementary motor area and the right middle frontal gyrus. After treatment, the value of DC in left supplementary motor area was negatively correlated to HAMD and HAMA scores respectively (r=-0.324, P=0.012; r=-0.310, P=0.015); the value of DC in left cerebellar peduncles region 1 was negatively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=-0.322, P=0.013), and the left insula was positively correlated to the total responses of WCST (r=0.271, P=0.036).@*CONCLUSION@#The taVNS can modulate the intensity of the functional activities of some brain regions so as to relieve depressive symptoms and improve cognitive function.

A Scan of Obesogenic Environments and a Spatial Inference of Obesity Prevalence in Chinese Children and Adolescents: Based on the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 Data / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the characteristics of Chinese obesogenic environments at a provincial level, infer a spatial distribution map of obesity prevalence in 31 provinces, and provide a foundation for development of policy to reduce obesity in children and adolescents.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>After scanning obesity data on subjects aged 7-17 years from 12 provinces in the China Health and Nutrition Survey 2011 and environmental data on 31 provinces from the China Statistical Yearbook 2011 and other sources, we selected 12 predictors. We used the 12 surveyed provinces as a training sample to fit an analytical model with partial least squares regression and prioritized the 12 predictors using variable importance in projection. We also fitted a predictive model with Bayesian analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We identified characteristics of obesogenic environments. We fitted the predictive model with a deviance information criterion of 61.96 and with statistically significant (P < 0.05) parameter estimates of intercept [95% confidence interval (CI): 329.10, 963.11], log(oil) (CI: 13.11, 20.30), log(GDP) (CI: 3.05, 6.93), log(media) (CI: -234.95, -89.61), and log(washing-machine) (CI: 0.92, 5.07). The total inferred average obesity prevalence among those aged 7-17 was 9.69% in 31 Chinese provinces in 2011. We also found obvious clustering in occurrences of obesity in northern and eastern provinces in the predicted map.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Given complexity of obesity in children and adolescents, concerted efforts are needed to reduce consumption of edible oils, increase consumption of vegetables, and strengthen nutrition, health, and physical activity education in Chinese schools. The northern and eastern regions are the key areas requiring intervention.</p>