Thalamic gray matter volume mediates the association between KIBRA polymorphism and olfactory function among older adults: a population-based study.

The kidney and brain expressed protein (KIBRA) rs17070145 polymorphism is associated with both structure and activation of the olfactory cortex. However, no studies have thus far examined whether KIBRA can be linked with olfactory function and whether brain structure plays any role in the association. We addressed these questions in a population-based cross-sectional study among rural-dwelling older adults. This study included 1087 participants derived from the Multidomain Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in Rural China, who underwent the brain MRI scans in August 2018 to October 2020; of these, 1016 took the 16-item Sniffin' Sticks identification test and 634 (62.40%) were defined with olfactory impairment (OI). Data were analyzed using the voxel-based morphometry analysis and general linear, logistic, and structural equation models. The KIBRA rs17070145 C-allele (CC or CT vs. TT genotype) was significantly associated with greater gray matter volume (GMV) mainly in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and left thalamus (P < 0.05) and with the multi-adjusted odds ratio of 0.73 (95% confidence interval 0.56-0.95) for OI. The left thalamic GMV could mediate 8.08% of the KIBRA-olfaction association (P < 0.05). These data suggest that the KIBRA rs17070145 C-allele is associated with a reduced likelihood of OI among older adults, partly mediated through left thalamic GMV.

Chemical constituents of Saxifraga stolonifera (L.) Meeb.

To study the chemical constituents of Saxifraga stolonifera (L.) Meeb., chromatographic techniques were applied to separate and purify the compounds, and their structures were confirmed on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data. Ten compounds were isolated and identified as 5-O-methylnorbergenin (1), 3, 4-dihydroxyallylbenzene-4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), (7R, 8S)-4, 9, 9'-trihydroxyl-3-methoxyl-7, 8-dihydrobenzofuran-1'-propylneolignan-3'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), quercetin-3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 --> 2)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (4), kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (5), (3S, 5R, 6R, 7E, 9R)-3, 5, 6, 9-tetrahydroxy-7-megastigmane (6), benzyl-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), p-hydroxyacetophenone (8), pyrogallic acid (9) and p-hydroxyphenol (10). Compound 1 is a new compound. Compounds 2-10 were isolated from this plant for the first time.

[Effects of ginkgolides injection on experimental cerebral ischemia in mice and rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of ginkgolides injection on experimental cerebral ischemia and its related mechanism of action. METHOD: The middle cerebral artery occlusion (MACO) model was induced by the FeCl3-occluding method to explore the protective effects of ginkgolides injection on the score of neurological deficits, the rate of cerebral infarction and the histomorphology of cerbral ischemia in rats. Thrombosis formation in vivo was induced by adrenaline-collagen in mice to explore the antithrombotic effect. Platelet aggregation was induced by ADP and hemorrheological parameters with hyper-viscosity by dextran T-500 were used to explore the effects of antiplatelet aggregation and decreasing viscosity of blood. RESULT: Ginkgolides injection could markedly decrease the infarct size and behavior deficits score, inhibit the thrombus formation in mice, decrease blood viscosity and ameliorate hemorrheological parameters in rat. CONCLUSION: Ginkgolides injection has the protective effects on focal cerebral ischemia, and its mechanism may be relative to its inhibition of platelet-dependent thrombosis and amelioration of hemarheological partments.