New cyclic C-geranylflavanones isolated from Paulownia fortunei fruits with their anti-proliferative effects on three cancer cell lines.

Seven new C-geranylated flavanones, fortunones F - L (1-7), were isolated from the fresh mature fruits of Paulownia fortunei (Seem.) Hemsl. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic data interpretation (UV, IR, HRMS, NMR, and CD). These new isolated compounds were all with a cyclic side chain modified from the geranyl group. Among them, compounds 1-3 all possessed a dicyclic geranyl modification, which was described firstly for Paulownia C-geranylated flavonoids. All the isolated compounds were subjected to the cytotoxic assay on human lung cancer cell A549, mouse prostate cancer cell RM1 and human bladder cancer cell T24, respectively. Results indicated A549 cell line was more sensitive to C-geranylated flavanones than the other two cancer cell lines and compounds 1, 7 and 8 exhibited potential anti-tumor effects (IC50 ˂ 10 µM). Further research revealed the effective C-geranylated flavanones could exert their anti-proliferative activity on A549 cells by inducing apoptosis and blocking cells in G1 phase.

Smoking affects the association between cognitive impairment and P50 inhibition defects in patients with chronic schizophrenia: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Smoking affects sensory gating, as assessed by the event related potential P50, which is evoked by auditory stimuli and is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SCZ). However, few studies have compared sensory gating and cognitive performance between smoking and non-smoking SCZ patients in the Chinese Han population. METHODS: We recruited two groups of Chinese subjects: 128 male chronic SCZ patients and 76 male healthy controls, measuring cognition with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and sensory gating with the P50 EEG components. Based on their smoking status, they were further divided into 4 subgroups: smoking SCZ patients, non-smoking SCZ patients, smoking healthy controls, and non-smoking healthy controls. We assessed psychopathological symptoms of the patients using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, SCZ patients had lower MCCB total score and scores of all 10 tests (all p < 0.05), while SCZ patients had higher S2 amplitudes and P50 ratios (both p < 0.05). When comparing smoking versus non-smoking SCZ patients, non-smokers had significantly better spatial span (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the S1 amplitude was negatively correlated with the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT-R) in smoking patients (p < 0.05), while the S1 latency was negatively correlated with spatial span in non-smoking patients (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our finding shows a difference in the relationship between sensory gated P50 and cognition in smoking and non-smoking SCZ patients, suggesting that nicotine may improve cognitive and P50 deficits in SCZ patients.

Role of perceived family support in psychological distress for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major public panic in China. Pregnant women may be more vulnerable to stress, which may cause them to have psychological problems. AIM: To explore the effects of perceived family support on psychological distress in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 2232 subjects were recruited from three cities in China. Through the online surveys, information on demographic data and health status during pregnancy were collected. Insomnia severity index, generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale, patient health questionnaire-9, somatization subscale of the symptom check list 90 scale, and posttraumatic stress disorder checklist were used to assess the psychological distress. RESULTS: A total of 1015 (45.4%) women reported having at least one psychological distress. The women who reported having inadequate family support were more likely to suffer from multiple psychological distress (≥ 2 psychological distress) than women who received adequate family support. Among the women who reported less family support, 41.8% reported depression, 31.1% reported anxiety, 8.2% reported insomnia, 13.3% reported somatization and 8.9% reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which were significantly higher than those who received strong family support. Perceived family support level was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = -0.118, P < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (r = -0.111, P < 0.001), and PTSD symptoms (r = -0.155, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Family support plays an important part on pregnant women's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Better family support can help improve the mental health of pregnant women.