Benefits of Tai Chi Quan on neurodegenerative diseases: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Neurodegenerative diseases have become an important concern with the accelerated aging process. Tai Chi Quan (TCQ) has positive benefits for brain health and chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to summarize the protective effects of TCQ for motor function, cognition, quality of life, and mood in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted via PubMed database and the Web of Science core collection database until August 20, 2021. The available English systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical trials were included. Two reviewers completed the screening and assessment process independently. RESULTS: A total of 28 studies on Parkinson's disease, 21 on cognitive impairment, and 9 on multiple sclerosis met the included criteria. The study found that TCQ remarkably improved general motor function and balance, and prevented falls for Parkinson's disease. TCQ significantly improved global cognitive function for cognitive impairment. TCQ was likely safe and beneficial for multiple sclerosis as result of heterogeneous outcomes and small samples. CONCLUSION: TCQ exercise can effectively improve the motor function, global cognitive function, and falls in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. However, the positive effects of TCQ on the quality of life and mood of patients with neurodegenerative diseases need further evidence.

Effect of Tai Chi Quan on the Pressure Pain Thresholds of Lower Back Muscles in Healthy Women.

PURPOSE: Although studies on the improvement of pain after exercise are increasingly diverse, whether Tai Chi Quan can improve the pressure pain thresholds remains unknown. This study was to observe the effect of Tai Chi Quan on the pressure pain thresholds of lower back muscles in healthy women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial. Sixty healthy women aged 18-40 years were randomly assigned to Tai Chi group or control group. The Tai Chi group received 40-minute practice, and the control group received 5-minute sham Tai Chi Quan practice and 35-minute rest. The pressure pain thresholds of the longissimus thoracis, iliocostalis lumborum, multifidus muscle, quadratus lumborum, gluteus medius and supraspinous ligament were assessed before and immediately after intervention. RESULTS: The pressure pain thresholds of test points in the Tai Chi group showed substantial improvements after exercise, whereas those in the control group did not improve. Overall, the pressure pain thresholds in the Tai Chi group significantly increased compared with the control group (longissimus thoracis: p = 0.000, iliocostalis lumborum: p = 0.000, multifidus muscle: p = 0.000, quadratus lumborum: p = 0.012, gluteus medius: p = 0.000 and supraspinous ligament: p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: Forty minutes of Tai Chi Quan exercise remarkably increased the pressure pain thresholds of lower back muscles in healthy women, and thresholds at by an these points increased average of 17.2%.

Association of HMGCR polymorphism with late-onset Alzheimer's disease in Han Chinese.

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) acts as a potential genetic modifier for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous reports identified that HMGCR rs3846662 polymorphism is associated with biosynthesis of cholesterol in AD pathology. In order to assess the involvement of the HMGCR polymorphism in the risk of late-onset AD (LOAD) in northern Han Chinese, we performed a case-control study of 2334 unrelated subjects (984 cases and 1350 age- and gender-matched controls) to evaluate the genotype and allele distributions of the HMGCR rs3846662 with LOAD. The genotype distribution (GG, AG, AA) of rs3846662 was significantly different between LOAD patients and controls (P = 0.003), but the allele distribution did not reach a significant difference (P = 0.614). After adjusting for age, gender and the APOE ε4 status, the minor A allele of rs3846662 was validated as a protective factor for LOAD in dominant model (OR = 0.796, P = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.657-0.965). Interestingly, we observed rs3846662 polymorphism was only significantly associated with LOAD in APOE ε4 non-carriers (OR = 0.735, P = 0.005, 95% CI = [0.593, 0.912]). In conclusion, our study demonstrates A allele of HMGCR rs3846662 acts as a protective factor for LOAD in northern Han Chinese.

The Role of TDP-43 in Alzheimer's Disease.

The transactive response DNA binding protein (TDP-43) has long been characterized as a main hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions (FTLD-U, also known as FTLD-TDP). Several studies have indicated TDP-43 deposits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains and have robust connection with AD clinical phenotype. FTLD-U, which was symptomatically connected with AD, may be predictable for the comprehension of the role TDP-43 in AD. TDP-43 may contribute to AD through both ß-amyloid (Aß)-dependent and Aß-independent pathways. In this article, we summarize the latest studies concerning the role of TDP-43 in AD and explore TDP-43 modulation as a potential therapeutic strategy for AD. However, to date, little of pieces of the research on TDP-43 have been performed to investigate the role in AD; more investigations need to be confirmed in the future.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Alzheimer's Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The application of non-invasive proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) could potentially identify changes in cerebral metabolites in the patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether these metabolites can serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: Using meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the patterns of cerebral metabolite changes in several cerebral regions that are strongly associated with cognitive decline in AD patients. METHODS: Using Hedges' g effect size, a systematic search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid, Embase, and EBSCO, and 38 studies were integrated into the final meta-analysis. RESULTS: According to the observational studies, N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) in AD patients was significantly reduced in the posterior cingulate (PC) (effect size (ES) =-0.924, p <  0.005) and bilateral hippocampus (left hippocampus: ES =-1.329, p <  0.005; right hippocampus: ES =-1.287, p <  0.005). NAA/Cr (creatine) ratio decreased markedly in the PC (ES =-1.052, p <  0.005). Simultaneously, significant elevated myo-inositol (mI)/Cr ratio was found not only in the PC but also in the parietal gray matter. For lack of sufficient data, we failed to elucidate the efficacy of pharmacological interventions with the metabolites changes. CONCLUSION: The available data indicates that NAA, mI, and the NAA/Cr ratio might be potential biomarkers of brain dysfunction in AD subjects. Choline (Cho)/Cr and mI/NAA changes might also contribute toward the diagnostic process. Thus, large, well-designed studies correlated with cerebral metabolism are needed to better estimate the cerebral extent of alterations in brain metabolite levels in AD patients.