Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase by Morus australis fruit extract and its components iminosugar, anthocyanin, and glucose.

The inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase are important for the maintenance of blood glucose level. Mammalian α-glucosidase includes maltase-glucoamylase and sucrase-isomaltase complexes. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of Morus australis fruit extract and its components, that is, three iminosugars (1-deoxynojirimycin [1-DNJ], fagomine, and 2-O-α-D-galactopyranosyl deoxynojirimycin), two anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside), and glucose, against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. We also quantified the concentration of each component in M. australis fruit extract. The IC50 values of the fruit extracts of four M. australis subspecies were >10 mg/ml for α-amylase, 1.1-1.7 mg/ml for maltase, 6.9-8.6 mg/ml for glucoamylase, 0.13-1.0 mg/ml for sucrase, and 0.46-1.4 mg/ml for isomaltase. When the IC50 value of each component and the concentration of each component in the fruit extract were taken into consideration, our results indicated that glucose are involved in the inhibition of α-amylase, and 1-DNJ and glucose are involved in the inhibition of α-glucosidase. This is in contrast to that in M. australis leaf, neither anthocyanin nor glucose are contained, and 1-DNJ is a main inhibitor. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: It is widely accepted that inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase is one of the strategies to treat type-2 diabetes. Today, acarbose, miglitol, and voglibose are clinically used for this purpose. Our results that 1-DNJ and anthocyanin are present in Morus australis fruit and are involved in the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase suggest that M. australis fruit is a healthy sweetener.

Hemodynamic Changes During Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Mobility Therapy for an Advanced Heart Failure Patient with Impella 5.0 Device.

The Impella 5.0 is a catheter-mounted left ventricular assist device that is inserted through the patient's subclavian artery. This device allows patient mobilization. Early mobility improves outcomes, including physical function and exercise tolerance, in critically ill patients and those with heart failure (HF). However, there have been no studies regarding the safety of early mobilization during the period of Impella 5.0 insertion based on hemodynamic assessment.A 39-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and cardiogenic shock was transferred to our hospital for Impella 5.0 insertion. We started neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and mobilization eight days after Impella 5.0 insertion. The safety of NMES and mobilization was assessed based on mean blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and mean pulmonary artery pressure measurements as hemodynamic indicators. Muscle strength was also assessed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. Throughout the interventions, only the HR increased slightly during mobilization, and there were no hemodynamic abnormalities. Also, the MRC scale score improved as mobilization progressed. The results presented here suggest that NMES and mobilization are safe and feasible in patients with Impella 5.0 insertion, and therefore should be widely adopted.

A study of EEG mu neurofeedback during action observation.

The mirror system is a brain network that gets activated during action performance and observation. Brain mu waves have been used as a mirror system activity index; however, mu rhythm is prone to contamination by occipital alpha wave activity, thus raising a concern regarding its reliability as an index of the mirror system activity. In this study, we investigated whether mu suppression can be used as an index of neurofeedback training, which influences mirror system activities. Participants observed videos of hand movement under three different conditions: central mu feedback (muFB), occipital alpha feedback (aFB), and simple observation without any feedback (OBS). Results showed that at the 4-5 min mark, mu wave was most significantly suppressed in the central site at muFB. We thus demonstrated the possibility of increasing mu wave suppression in feedback training using a specific stimulus such as motion observation.