HOMA-IR is positively correlated with biological age and advanced aging in the US adult population.

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance (IR) had been reported to be associated with age; however, few studies have explored the association between IR and biological age (BA). The HOMA-IR value is a useful indicator of the extent of IR. This cross-sectional study is to explore the relationship between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging in the US population. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. The survey comprised 12,266 people from the NHANES, and their full HOMA-IR data as well as BA data were extracted. Four multiple linear regressions were performed to analyze the association between HOMA-IR and BA, and four multiple logistic regression models were performed to analyze the association between HOMA-IR and advanced aging. In addition, trend tests and stratified analysis were performed and smoothed fitted curves were plotted to test the robustness of the results. RESULTS: HOMA-IR was positively correlated with BA [ß: 0.51 (0.39, 0.63)], and it was the same to advanced aging [OR: 1.05 (1.02, 1.07)], and both showed a monotonically increasing trend. The trend tests showed that the results were stable (all P for trend < 0.0001). The smoothed fitted curves showed that there were non-linear relationships between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging. And the stratified analysis indicated that the relationship between HOMA-IR and BA/advanced aging remained robust in all subgroups. CONCLUSION: The study suggested that HOMA-IR is positively correlated with BA and advanced aging in the US adult population, with a monotonic upward trend. This is a new finding to reveal the relationship between HOMA-IR and age from new standpoint of BA rather than chronological age (CA). And it may contribute to a better understanding of human health aging and may aid future research in this field.

Banxia xiexin decoction protects against dextran sulfate sodium-induced chronic ulcerative colitis in mice.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXD), one of a traditional Chinese medicine chronicled in Shang Han Lun, is commonly used to treat gastroenteritis, ulcerative colitis and diarrhea. In our study, we used current biomedical approaches to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of BXD and possible protective mechanism involved in inhibiting dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced chronic ulcerative colitis model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chronic DSS colitis was induced in C57BL/6 male mice by three cycles of 5 days of 2% DSS in drinking water, alternating with 5 days of normal water, totaling 30 days. In BXD group, the mice were administered at a dose of 8.7g/kg BXD for 5 days before and during DSS treatment via oral gavage per day. Mice in vehicle group and DSS group were given orally the same volume of drinking water, instead. Body weight, stool characters and hematochezia were observed everyday. The colorectal tissues were used to detect levels of TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, IL-1ß, IL-17, IL-23 and MPO by ELISA or qRT-PCR. The expression of COX-2, 8-Oxoguanine and Nrf2 were examined by IHC, and p-p65 was examined by western blotting. ThOD and the content of MDA were measured according to kits respectively. RESULTS: BXD significantly protected against DSS-induced chronic ulcerative colitis by amelioration of body weight loss, DAI and histology score. The level of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-17, IL-23, COX-2 and p-p65 were decreased significantly, while the level of IL-10 improved with the treatment of BXD. MDA, MPO and 8-Oxoguanine were decreased, meanwhile SOD activity and Nrf2 expression were elevated significantly by BXD. CONCLUSIONS: BXD possesses the potential of anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation to treat colitis. The protective mechanism of BXD may involve in inhibition of NF-κBp65 activation and increasement of Nrf2 expression in colorectums of mice.