Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and fluoxetine attenuate astroglial activation and benefit behaviours in a chronic unpredictable mild stress mouse model of depression.

Objectives: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been considered as an effective antidepressant treatment; however, the mechanism of its antidepressant effect is still unclear. Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, may be neuroprotective. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect and underlying possible neuroprotective mechanism of rTMS and fluoxetine on abnormal behaviours in a depressive mouse model induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS).Methods: After 28 days of CUMS exposure, mice were chronically treated with rTMS (10 Hz for 5 s per train, total 20 trains per day) and (or) fluoxetine (5 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) for 28 days targeting on the frontal cortex. After the behavioural tests, the protein expressions of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) were measured by immunohistochemistry and (or) Western Blot.Results: The results showed rTMS and (or) fluoxetine attenuated the locomotion decrease, anxiety and depressive like behaviours in the CUMS-exposed mice.Conclusion: Our results suggest that both rTMS and fluoxetine could benefit the CUMS-induced abnormal behaviours including depressive-like behaviours, and the beneficial effects of rTMS as well as fluoxetine on depression might be partly related to their neuroprotective effect on attenuating astroglial activation and BDNF decrease.

Mechanism of cognitive impairment and white matter damage in the MK-801 mice model of schizophrenia treated with quetiapine.

Schizophrenia has been linked to cognitive impairment and white matter damage in a growing number of studies this year. In this study, we used the MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like mice model to investigate the effects of quetiapine on behavioral changes and myelin loss in the model mice. The subjects selected for this study were C57B6/J male mice, MK-801 (1 mg/kg/d intraperitoneal injection) modeling for 1 week and quetiapine (10 mg/kg/d intraperitoneal injection) treatment for 2 weeks. Behavioral tests were then performed using the three-chamber paradigm test and the Y maze test. Moreover, western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were conducted to investigate the changes in oligodendrocyte spectrum markers. In addition, we performed some mechanism-related proteins by western blot. Quetiapine ameliorated cognitive impairment and cerebral white matter damage in MK-801 model mice, and the mechanism may be related to the PI3K/AKT pathways. The present study suggests that quetiapine has a possible mechanism for treating cognitive impairment and white matter damage caused by schizophrenia.

An examination of Alzheimer's disease and white matter from 1981 to 2023: a Bibliometric and visual analysis.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of gray matter lesions and alterations in white matter. This study aims to investigate the research related to white matter in the context of AD from a Bibliometric standpoint. Methods: Regular and review articles focusing on the research pertaining to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and white matter were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database, covering the period from its inception to 10th July 2023. The "Bibliometrix" R package was employed to summarize key findings, to quantify the occurrence of top keywords, and to visualize the collaborative network among countries. Furthermore, VOSviewer software was utilized to conduct co-authorship and co-occurrence analyses. CiteSpace was employed to identify the most influential references and keywords based on their citation bursts. The retrieval of AD- and white matter-related publications was conducted by the Web of Science Core Collection. Bibliometric analysis and visualization, including the examination of annual publication distribution, prominent countries, active institutions and authors, core journals, co-cited references, and keywords, were carried out by using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, the Bibliometrix Package, and the ggplot2 Package. The quality and impact of publications were assessed using the total global citation score and total local citation score. Results: A total of 5,714 publications addressing the intersection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and white matter were included in the analysis. The majority of publications originated from the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. Prominent journals were heavily featured in the publication output. In addition to "Alzheimer's disease" and "white matter," "mild cognitive impairment," "MRI" and "atrophy" had been frequently utilized as "keywords." Conclusion: This Bibliometric investigation delineated a foundational knowledge framework that encompasses countries, institutions, authors, journals, and articles within the AD and white matter research domain spanning from 1981 to 2023. The outcomes provide a comprehensive perspective on the broader landscape of this research field.

Prognosis of Patients With Brainstem Glioblastoma Based on "age, surgery and radiotherapy": A SEER Database Analysis.

Introduction: Primary brainstem glioma is a rare tumor with a dismal prognosis that poses significant treatment challenges. The purpose of the current study is to identify and determine prognostic factors associated with survival in high-grade brainstem glioma patients. Methods: We gathered the data from the SEER database for the duration of years from 1973 to 2016 to examine the survival of patients particularly reported with the high-grade brainstem glioma and subsequently ascertained the potential impact of demographic features, tumor, and clinical characteristics on the overall survival of these patients. The survival patterns were assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed between patients with or without radiation therapy based on age and surgical resection to investigate the effect of radiotherapy on overall survival (OS). Results: A total 232 patient's data were obtained from the SEER database and included in this study. The median overall survival was 8 months. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis delineated that the patients who were in younger age (P = .001) and underwent surgery (P = .001) exhibited typically a better prognosis. Among 232 patients, a total of 204 patients were categorized as radiotherapy group (RG) received radiation therapy whereas 28 patients were considered as nonradiotherapy group (NRG), who were not receiving radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was associated with an improvement in the overall survival without statistical significance (P = .104). PSM was performed between RG and NRG based on age and surgical resection. After the PSM, 56 patients were included. Overall Survival was significantly different between both groups (P = .038). Conclusion: Furthermore, the patients with high-grade brain glioma who received "both radiotherapy and chemotherapy" exhibited significantly longer survival compared to the patients who received chemotherapy alone. Multivariate analysis showed that treatment with surgery and radiotherapy were considered as the independent prognostic factors (P < .05).

Clinical Application of Iodine-125 Seed Brachytherapy Combined with Anti-PD-1 Antibodies in the Treatment of Lung Cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this case report was to investigate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of anti-programmed cell death protein (PD)-1 antibody combined with iodine (I)-125 seed brachytherapy in lung cancer treatment. METHODS: Three patients with advanced PD-L1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer were treated first with I-125 seed brachytherapy and then with anti-PD-1 antibody. Clinical efficacy was evaluated with Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. FINDINGS: All 3 patients had complete response or partial response. None of the 3 patients had reported obvious adverse events. IMPLICATIONS: Encouraging preliminary results provide important support for further clinical treatment of lung cancer using anti-PD-1 antibody combined with I-125 seed brachytherapy.

Prognostic impact of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in gliomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In some malignant tumors, a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is connected with unfavorable prognosis. Nevertheless, the prognostic value of the NLR in gliomas remains disputed. The clinical significance of the NLR in gliomas was investigated in our study. METHODS: The databases, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, were searched using words like "glioma," "glioblastoma," "neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio," and others through May 2019. We evaluated the significance of NLR on overall survival (OS) of patients with gliomas in our study. RESULTS: Finally, 16 cohorts with 2275 patients were analyzed. The pooled analysis revealed that an elevated NLR was connected with unfavorable OS (hazards ratio (HR): 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27-1.62) outcomes of patients with gliomas. CONCLUSION: A high NLR can be considered a high-risk prognostic factor in gliomas, and more adjuvant chemotherapy should be recommended for high-risk patients.

Combination of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and AJCC staging improves the accuracy of survival prediction for patients with stage I-II gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy.

This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of preoperative plasma fibrinogen concentration (PFC) in patients with stage I-II gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy. The preoperative PFC and clinicopathological data of 793 patients with stage I-II gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy were analyzed retrospectively. PFC of <4.0 g/L and ≥4.0 g/L were considered as PFC0 and PFC1, respectively. The association between PFC and the clinicopathological features of gastric cancer and the value of PFC in survival prediction were investigated. PFC1 indicated poorer overall survival and cancer-specific survival among patients with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage I-II, and PFC was identified as an independent indicator of survival via multivariate analysis. Importantly, PFC stage was proven to be an independent prognostic factor for stage I and T1-4aN0 gastric cancer. PFC stage combined with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)-TNM stage has better accuracy for predicting disease prognosis than AJCC-TNM stage alone. The prognosis of patients with stage I-II gastric cancer can be further stratified by PFC level. For patients with stage I gastric cancer, PFC1 can be considered a high-risk prognostic factor, and adjuvant chemotherapy should be recommended for patients with PFC1.

MicroRNA-21 in Skin Fibrosis: Potential for Diagnosis and Treatment.

Skin fibrosis is a common pathological process characterized by fibroblast proliferation and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. However, the pathogenesis of the disease is still not clear. Previous studies have shown that microRNA-21 may play pivotal roles in the regulation of a variety of skin fibrosis, including keloid, scleroderma, and hypertrophic scar. In this review, we outline the structure, expression, and regulation of microRNA-21 and its role in fibrotic skin diseases. In future, it may be useful as a prognostic or diagnostic marker. However, there is a significant amount of work required to increase our current understanding of the role of microRNA-21 in skin fibrosis.

The clinicopathological parameters and prognostic significance of HER2 expression in gastric cancer patients: a meta-analysis of literature.

BACKGROUND: Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) is regarded as an important and promising target in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancers. However, the correlation of clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic significance of HER2 overexpression in gastric cancer patients remains unclear. Our aim was to clarify this issue. METHODS: Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles published up to May 2016. Outcomes of interest contained sex, age, tumor size, tumor site, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis, Lauren's classification, differentiation grade, lymphovascular invasion, neural invasion, and multivariate analysis data for overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 41 studies of 17,494 gastric cancer patients were identified with HER2 test. HER2 positive rate was 19.07% (95% CI = 9.16, 28.98). There existed statistical significance between HER2 overexpression and patients' prognosis (RR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09, 1.98). Male patients (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.34, 1.65), proximal tumors (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.47), intestinal-type tumors (OR = 3.37, 95% CI = 2.54, 4.47), advanced stage cancers (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.66), lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.14, 1.41), well-differentiated cancers (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.15, 2.76), and distant metastasis (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.08, 3.38) were correlated with higher HER2 expression rates. However, no statistical differences existed in age, tumor size, lymphovascular invasion, or neural invasion. Subgroup analysis revealed that HER2 expression rates reported in articles from Asian (19.52%) countries were quantitatively higher than those from European (16.91%) areas. Results were consistent with those reports that define HER2 status according to trastuzumab for gastric cancer (ToGA) criteria. CONCLUSION: This study showed that HER2 overexpression was associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. HER2 positive rates may be associated with sex, tumor site, TNM staging system, distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis, Lauren's classification, and differentiation grade in gastric cancer patients. The HER2 expression rate in Asians may be higher than that in Europeans. This study offers a convenient way for doctors to select patients for relevant HER2 detection and following treatment.

Val158Met polymorphism of COMT gene and Parkinson's disease risk in Asians.

In previous study, we have found the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism as an associated risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) in Asian rather than Caucasian populations. The aim of this study was to further evaluate the associations of PD risk with COMT polymorphisms in different Asian populations. We carried out a retrieval of studies that investigated associations between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and PD risk in Asians, and included the study if it met the eligibility criteria. Stata version 12.0 was used to analyze the data. A total of 13 studies including 1,834 patients and 2,298 controls were included. The overall result indicated that COMT Val158Met polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of PD in Asians (AA vs others: OR = 1.58, 95 % CI 1.26-1.97, p < 0.001; GG vs AA: OR = 0.63, 95 % CI 0.47-0.85, p = 0.002; AA vs GA: OR = 1.58, 95 % CI 1.24-2.00, p < 0.001). In Japanese population, the homozygote AA tends to increase the risk of PD (AA vs others: OR = 1.54, 95 % CI 1.10-2.15, p = 0.012; AA vs GA: OR = 1.61, 95 % CI 1.14-2.29, p = 0.008). This study showed that the Val158Met polymorphism of COMT gene may be associated with PD in Japanese rather than Chinese population. Further studies are needed to confirm this association in more ethnicities.