Effects of Curcumin on Glycemic Control and Lipid Profile in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis.

The therapeutic effects of curcumin for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remain inconclusive. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of curcumin on glycemic control and lipid profile in patients with PCOS. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched from the inception through 28 November 2020. Randomized control trials (RCTs), which enrolled adult patients with PCOS, compared curcumin with placebo regarding the glycemic control and lipid profile, and reported sufficient information for performing meta-analysis, were included. Three RCTs were included. Curcumin significantly improves fasting glucose (mean difference (MD): -2.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): -4.16 to -1.38), fasting insulin (MD: -1.33, 95% CI: -2.18 to -0.49), Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (MD: -0.32, 95% CI: -0.52 to -0.12), and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) (MD: 0.010, 95% CI: 0.003-0.018). It also significantly improves high-density lipoprotein (MD: 1.92, 95% CI: 0.33-3.51) and total cholesterol (MD: -12.45, 95% CI: -22.05 to -2.85). In contrast, there is no statistically significant difference in the improvement in low-density lipoprotein (MD: -6.02, 95% CI: -26.66 to 14.62) and triglyceride (MD: 8.22, 95% CI: -26.10 to 42.53) between curcumin and placebo. The results of the fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, QUICKI, and total cholesterol are conclusive as indicated by the trial sequential analysis. Curcumin may improve glycemic control and lipid metabolism in patients with PCOS and metabolic abnormality without significant adverse effects. Further studies are advocated to investigate the potential effects of curcumin on hyperandrogenism.

Polysaccharide Extracted from Bletilla striata Promotes Proliferation and Migration of Human Tenocytes.

Tendon healing after injury is relatively slow, mainly because of the weak activity and metabolic properties of tendon cells (tenocytes). Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) has been reported to enhance cell proliferation. Here, we aimed to increase tendon cell proliferation by BSP treatment. We isolated tenocytes from the flexor tendon of human origin. Moreover, we improved the process of extracting BSP. When human tenocytes (HTs) were treated with 100 µg/mL BSP, the MEK/ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways were activated, thereby enhancing the proliferation ability of tenocytes. BSP treatment also increased the migration of HTs and their ability to secrete the extracellular matrix (Col-I and Col-III). In conclusion, BSP was successfully extracted from a natural Chinese herbal extract and was shown to enhance tenocytes proliferation, migration and collagen release ability. This study is the first to demonstrate improved healing of tendons using BSP.

Impact of Supratentorial Cerebral Hemorrhage on the Complexity of Heart Rate Variability in Acute Stroke.

Acute stroke commonly affects cardiac autonomic responses resulting in reduced heart rate variability (HRV). Multiscale entropy (MSE) is a novel non-linear method to quantify the complexity of HRV. This study investigated the influence of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) locations and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) on the complexity of HRV. We recruited 93 supratentorial ICH patients (male 59%, mean age 61 years), and the locations of ICH included basal ganglia (n = 40), thalamus (n = 35), and lobar (n = 18) group. Continuous one-hour electrocardiography signals were obtained from patients after admission, and the complexity index was defined as the area under the MSE curve. The complexity index was lower in lobar ICH (21.6 ± 7.9) than basal ganglia (27.9 ± 6.4) and thalamus (28.5 ± 7.2) groups. The complexity index was inversely correlated with initial stroke severity (r = -0.26), size of hematoma (r = -0.35) and ICH score (r = -0.26), especially among patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (r = -0.60, -0.60, and -0.41 respectively). A higher complexity can predict a good functional outcome (adjusted odds ratio 1.09, 95% confidence intervals 1.00-1.19) at post-stroke 3 months. In summary, more severe stroke and larger hematoma volume resulted in lower complexity of HRV. Lobar hemorrhage and IVH had great impacts on the cardiac autonomic function.

An in vivo molecular response analysis of colorectal cancer treated with Astragalus membranaceus extract.

The fact that many chemotherapeutic drugs cause chemoresistance and side effects during the course of colorectal cancer treatment necessitates development of novel cytotoxic agents aiming to attenuate new molecular targets. Here, we show that Astragalus membranaceus (Fischer) Bge. var. mongolicus (Bge.) Hsiao (AM), a traditional Chinese medicine, can inhibit tumor growth in vivo and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The antitumor effect of AM was assessed on the subcutaneous tumors of human colorectal cancer cell line HCT116 grafted into nude mice. The mice were treated with either water or 500 mg/kg AM once per day, before being sacrificed for extraction of tumors, which were then subjected to microarray expression profiling. The gene expression of the extraction was then profiled using microarray analysis. The identified genes differentially expressed between treated mice and controls reveal that administration of AM suppresses chromosome organization, histone modification, and regulation of macromolecule metabolic process. A separate analysis focused on differentially expressed microRNAs revealing involvement of macromolecule metabolism, and intracellular transport, as well as several cancer signaling pathways. For validation, the input of the identified genes to The Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures led to many chemopreventive agents of natural origin that produce similar gene expression profiles to that of AM. The demonstrated effectiveness of AM suggests a potential therapeutic drug for colorectal cancer.

Effects of repetitive hyperbaric oxygen treatment in patients with acute cerebral infarction: a pilot study.

The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is controversial. This prospective study assessed the efficacy and safety of HBOT as adjuvant treatment on 46 acute ischemic stroke in patients who did not receive thrombolytic therapy. The HBOT group (n = 16) received conventional medical treatment with 10 sessions of adjunctive HBOT within 3-5 days after stroke onset, while the control group (n = 30) received the same treatment but without HBOT. Early (around two weeks after onset) and late (one month after onset) outcomes (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS scores) and efficacy (changes of NIHSS scores) of HBOT were evaluated. The baseline clinical characteristics were similar in both groups. Both early and late outcomes of the HBOT group showed significant difference (P ≤ 0.001). In the control group, there was only significant difference in early outcome (P = 0.004). For early efficacy, there was no difference when comparing changes of NIHSS scores between the two groups (P = 0.140) but there was statistically significant difference when comparing changes of NIHSS scores at one month (P ≤ 0.001). The HBOT used in this study may be effective for patients with acute ischemic stroke and is a safe and harmless adjunctive treatment.