Brain-derived neurotrophic factor as a biomarker for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a growth factor that plays many critical functions in the central nervous system (CNS) and may be involved in the development of a range of psychopathologies, including depression, dementia, and neurodegenerative disorders. METHODS: In the present study, we performed the first systematic review with a meta-analysis to quantitatively compare the peripheral blood BDNF levels between patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls (HCs). A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases to identify the relevant articles. RESULTS: Nine studies encompassing 474 adults with OCD and 436 HCs were included in this meta-analysis. A random-effects meta-analysis showed that patients with OCD had significantly decreased peripheral blood levels of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) when compared with the HCs (Hedges' g = -0.722, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.152 to -0.292, P = 0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed decreased BDNF levels in plasma of patients (Hedges' g = -1.137, 95% CI = -1.463 to -0.810, P = 0.000) and drug-free patients (Hedges' g = -1.269, 95% CI = -1.974 to -0.564, P = 0.000) as compared to patients on active drug therapy and HCs. Meta-regression analyses showed that age, sex, sample size, Y-BOS total score, and publication year had no moderating effects on the outcome. CONCLUSION: Although the relationship between our findings and the pathophysiology of OCD and the role BDNF plays in the development of the disease remains to be determined, the outcomes suggest that BDNF may serve as a potential biomarker of OCD.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoction Combined With Antipsychotic for Chronic Schizophrenia Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Despite several studies suggesting the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in schizophrenia, there is still a lack of systematic summary and analysis on the role of TCM as adjuvant therapy in chronic schizophrenia. For this purpose, we conducted a meta-analysis to study the efficacy of TCM as an adjuvant combined with antipsychotics in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia. Until April 2020, based on the review of six electronic databases, eight articles were selected. The articles compared TCM decoction assisted antipsychotic therapies with an antipsychotic alone in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia by analyzing a total of 810 cases. The results showed that TCM combined with antipsychotics have beneficial effects on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), including the changes in total score, negative score, and the clinical effects evaluated by the PANSS scale. Subgroup analysis showed that the effects of auxiliary TCM with different efficacy on the positive and psychopathological scores were significantly different. It was found that adjuvant treatment with TCM can reduce some side effects and improve the patient's living conditions in the evaluation of the Schizophrenia Quality Of Life Scale (SQLS). Many studies have proved that TCM is safe and well-tolerated. Although the difficulties of using limited TCM remains to be generalized, it still has great potential in the adjuvant treatment of chronic schizophrenia.

Spectral Analysis of Interaction between Human Telomeric G-Quadruplex and Liliflorin A, the First Lignan Derivative Interacted with G-Quadruplex DNA.

Human telomeric G-quadruplex is a four-stranded structure folded by guanines (G) via Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding. The ligands which stabilize the G-quadruplex are often telomerase inhibitors and may become antitumor agents. Here, the interaction between a lignan derivative liliflorin A and human telomeric sequence dGGG (TTAGGG)3G-quadruplex HTG21 were examined by CD, FRET, and NMR spectroscopic methods. In addition, Molecular Docking was used to study the binding of liliflorin A to dTAGGG (TTAGGG)3 G-quadruplex HTG23. The CD data showed that liliflorin A enhanced HTG21 T(m). The T(m) value of G-quadruplex was enhanced 3.2 degrees C by 4.0 µmol x L(-1) liliflorin A in FRET. The NMR spectra of HTG21 showed vivid alteration after reacting with liliflorin A in 3 hours. Molecular Docking suggested liliflorin A bound to the wide groove of HTG23 at G9, G10, G16 and G17. Liliflorin A was the first lignan derivative that could stabilize HTG21 selectively and provided a new candidate for antitumor drug design targeting on human telomeric G-quadruplex.

[Eudesmane sesquiterpenes from twigs of Manglietia hookeri].

Chemical constituents from the acetone extract of twigs of Manglietia hookeri were isolated and purified by various column chromatographic methods over silica gel and sephadex LH-20, and preparative TLC. The structures of these compounds were identified on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral analysis, including NMR and MS spectra. Six eudesmane sesquiterpenes were obtained and their structures were identified as trans-eudesmane-4, 11-diol(1), ß-eudesmol(2), (-) -10-epi-5ß-hydroxy-ß-eudesmol (3), epi-carrisone (4), 6-hydroxy-eudesm-4(14) -ene(5) and gynurenol(6). All the compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. Furthermore, the 13C-NMR data of compound 3 were reported for the first time.