Drinking tea before menopause is associated with higher bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Though tea drinking years and menopause stages have been indicated to be related with bone mineral density (BMD), most human studies have not considered the impact of tea drinking beginning time. Whether drinking tea before or after menopause plays a role in BMD is still unclear. This study aims to analyze whether drinking tea before or after menopause influences BMD in Chinese postmenopausal women. METHODS: A total of 1377 postmenopausal women under 80 years were enrolled from the baseline survey of the Lanxi Cohort Study. Participants were initially categorized into non-tea drinking, tea drinking beginning after menopause and tea drinking beginning before menopause groups. Tea drinking groups were subdivided according to tea drinking frequency, concentration and type. Multiple linear regression models were applied to evaluate associations between tea drinking before or after menopause and BMD and the impacts of tea drinking frequency, concentration and type on their associations in analyses including all participants. Interactions of tea drinking frequency, concentration and type with drinking tea before or after menopause were further analyzed. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding factors, women who began drinking tea before menopause had significantly higher total and regional BMD than non-tea drinking participants and participants who began drinking tea after menopause. Differences in spine BMD were more significant among those who drank tea ≥four times per week. In addition, significant associations between tea drinking and BMD were found among participants who began drinking tea before menopause in both models, irrespective of the concentration and type of tea. No significant associations were found in subgroups of participants who began drinking tea after menopause in either model. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that drinking tea before menopause is related to higher BMD in Chinese postmenopausal women. The relationship is independent of tea drinking concentration and type.

Research progress in mechanism of curcumin in treatment of Parkinson disease / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

Curcumin (Cur) is an important bioactive component of polyphenols in the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L., Tulipa gesneriana L. and other Curcuma plants. It has a wide range of pharmacological effects such as anti-tumor, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotection. Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that often occurs in the elderly. Its main pathological characteristics are the characteristic loss of substantia nigra dopaminer?gic neurons, the decrease of dopamine content in the striatum, and the formation of Lewy bodies. At present, the main methods of clinical treatment of PD include drug therapy and surgical operation, but due to its complicated pathogene?sis, they can only play a role in relieving, but cannot be completely cured. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Cur has certain effects in the treatment of PD. ① Anti-oxidative stress: oxidative stress is closely related to the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Studies have found that Cur can increase the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduce malondialdehyde (MDA) content, thereby reducing oxidative stress damage and protecting dopaminergic neuron.②Reduce inflammation in brain tissue:neuroinflammation plays an impor?tant role in the development of PD. Reducing the level of inflammatory factors can have a certain therapeutic effect on PD. Studies have shown that high-dose Cur can reduce the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis fac?tor-α (TNF-α) in brain tissue, reduce inflammation, inhibit further neuronal damage, improve learning and memory, and exert neuroprotective effects. ③ Activation of autophagy: the abnormal accumulation of α-Synuclein (α-Syn) in Lewy bodies is closely related to PD, and autophagy dysfunction leads to α-Syn clearance obstacles and an important factor of abnormal aggregation. Cur can increase the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3-Ⅱ) and lysosome-associated membrane protein 2A (LAMP2A), and reduce the protein and mRNA expression of α-Syn. It can be seen that Cur promotes the elimination ofα-Syn and protects neurons from damage by activating autophagy.④Inhi?bition of mitochondrial dysfunction:mitochondria plays a central regulatory role in the process of cell apoptosis, and mito?chondrial dysfunction is related to reactive oxygen species, energy and mitochondrial membrane potential, which may cause substantia nigra striatal neuropathy. Experiments have shown that Cur can reduce the active oxygen content in PC12 cells induced by MPP+, maintain the normal membrane potential of mitochondria, thereby stabilizing mitochondrial function and inhibiting PC12 cell apoptosis. This study summarized the action mechanism of Cur in the treatment of PD, and clarified the basis of its pharmacodynamics, providing a reference for the clinical research and new drug develop?ment research of Cur in the treatment of PD.

Cohort profile: the Lanxi Cohort study on obesity and obesity-related non-communicable diseases in China.

PURPOSE: The Lanxi Cohort was established to systematically investigate the aetiology and interplay of body fat distribution and multiple factors with obesity and obesity-related non-communicable diseases in China. PARTICIPANTS: The baseline investigation of the Lanxi Cohort study took place between June 2015 and August 2017 in Lanxi, Zhejiang Province, China. Permanent residents from one urban community and four rural villages were involved in this study. The baseline investigation included questionnaire survey, physical examination, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan, blood samples collection and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) inquiry. FINDINGS TO DATA: A total of 5132 participants, aged 18 to 80 years, were recruited at baseline; among them, 38.7% were men and 64.8% were from the urban area. The mean age was 53.04±12.77 years. The completion rates of physical examination, DXA scan, blood collection and TCM inquiry were 99.9%, 98.5%, 99.9% and 96.5%, respectively. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.42±3.20 kg/m2 with 8.1% of the study population being obese (BMI ≥28 kg/m2). The crude prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome were 34.9%, 10.0% and 30.4%, respectively. FUTURE PLANS: All participants will be monitored annually for cause-specific mortality and morbidity and hospital admission and will be followed up by in-person survey every 4 years. The baseline population is considered to expand in the future depending on the availability of funding support. ETHICS APPROVAL: This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the School of Public Health, Zhejiang University.

Association between sleep quality and bone mineral density in Chinese women vary by age and menopausal status.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep quality is closely related to bone health. Aging and estrogen deficiency are known determinants of poor sleep quality and osteoporosis. However, the impact of aging and menopause on the associations between sleep quality and bone mineral density (BMD) remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between sleep quality and BMD in Chinese women vary by age groups and menopausal status. METHODS: A total of 2067 women aged 18-80 years were included. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the score >7 was indicative of poor sleep quality. BMD was determined using the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Participants were categorized into three age groups. Multiple linear regression models were conducted to evaluate the associations between sleep quality and BMD. Covariates included in the models were age, menopausal status, weight, height, percent body fat, physical activity, alcohol drinking, calcium supplement use, marital status, education and metabolic diseases. RESULTS: We observed that poor sleep quality was correlated to low total BMD and legs BMD in middle-aged women after adjusting for potential confounders. Furthermore, when we reran the regression models based on menopausal status in middle-aged women, significant associations between BMD and sleep quality were observed in premenopausal and early postmenopausal groups. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed a more robust association between sleep quality and BMD in premenopausal and early menopausal groups. Further studies should be conducted to explore whether sleep quality intervention would improve bone health of women in these periods and prevent osteoporosis in their late life.

Iron status of North American pregnant women: an update on longitudinal data and gaps in knowledge from the United States and Canada.

Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to iron deficiency due to the high iron demands of pregnancy. To avoid the adverse birth outcomes that are associated with maternal iron deficiency anemia, both Canada and the United States recommend universal iron supplementation for pregnant women. Although the benefits of iron supplementation in anemic women are well recognized, insufficient data are currently available on the maternal and neonatal benefits and harms of universal iron supplementation in developed countries as evidenced by the recent conclusions of the US Preventive Services Task Force on the need for further data that address existing gaps. As part of an effort to evaluate the impact of the current North American prenatal iron supplementation policy, this review highlights the lack of national data on longitudinal changes in iron status in pregnant North American women, emphasizes possible limitations with the original longitudinal hemoglobin data used to inform the current CDC reference hemoglobin values, and presents additional normative data from recent longitudinal research studies of iron status in North American pregnant women. Further longitudinal data in North American pregnant women are needed to help identify those who may benefit most from supplementation as well as to help determine whether there are adverse effects of iron supplementation in iron-replete women.

Inhibition of Nrf2 enhances the anticancer effect of 6-O-angeloylenolin in lung adenocarcinoma.

6-O-Angeloylenolin (6-OA), a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Centipeda minima (L.) A. Br. (Compositae), has been used to treat respiratory diseases for centuries. However, whether and how 6-OA exerts anticancer effects against lung cancer remains to be elucidated. In this study, we showed that 6-OA markedly suppressed the cell viability and colony formation of lung cancer cells H1299 and A549, with no significant toxic effect on non-cancer cells HBE. Annexin V/7-AAD assay revealed that 6-OA induced cell apoptosis in dose- and time-dependent manners, which was further confirmed by the increased expression of cleaved caspase-3. To uncover the molecular mechanism how 6-OA exerts its anticancer effects, SILAC quantitative proteomics was performed to identify 6-OA-regulated proteins in lung cancer cells. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed that these 6-OA-regulated proteins were mainly involved in Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response, which was confirmed by the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 upon 6-OA treatment. Moreover, we found that 6-OA stimulated the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), whereas inhibition of ROS generation with N-acetyl l-cysteine could block the 6-OA-induced anticancer effects. Furthermore, blockade of cellular anti-oxidative system by Nrf2 knockdown significantly augmented the 6-OA-induced apoptosis. Taken together, we demonstrated that 6-OA exerts its anticancer effects by generating ROS, and inhibition of Nrf2 anti-oxidative system potentiated these effects. These results suggest that 6-OA may be used to treat lung cancer, with better outcome by combining with Nrf2 inhibitor to block Nrf2 pathway.

Iron deficiency and anemia are prevalent in women with multiple gestations.

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been placed on the unique iron demands that may exist in women with multiple gestations. This merits attention because iron deficiency (ID) during pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes that are known to be more prevalent in multiple births. OBJECTIVE: We characterized longitudinal changes in iron status across pregnancy in a cohort of healthy women with multiple gestations and identified determinants of maternal ID and anemia. DESIGN: A group of 83 women carrying twins, triplets, or quadruplets (aged 20-46 y) was recruited from 2011 to 2014. Blood samples obtained during pregnancy (∼24 wk; n = 73) and at delivery (∼35 wk; n = 61) were used to assess hemoglobin, serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), hepcidin, serum iron, erythropoietin, serum folate, vitamin B-12, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6. RESULTS: The prevalence of tissue ID (sTfR >8.5 mg/L) increased significantly from pregnancy to delivery (9.6% compared with 23%, P = 0.03). Women with depleted iron stores (SF <12 µg/L, n = 20) during pregnancy had a 2-fold greater risk of anemia at delivery, and 25% (n = 5) developed iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Overall, 44.6% of women studied (n = 37/83) were anemic at delivery, and 18% of women (n = 11/61) had IDA. Erythropoietin during pregnancy was significantly negatively associated with hemoglobin at delivery. Women with erythropoietin >75th percentile during pregnancy exhibited a 3-fold greater risk of anemia, suggesting that erythropoietin is a sensitive predictor of anemia at delivery. Inflammation was present at delivery, which limited the utility of ferritin or hepcidin as iron-status indicators at delivery. CONCLUSIONS: ID and anemia are highly prevalent in women with multiple gestations. Additional screening and iron supplementation may be warranted in this high-risk population given the known associations between ID anemia and adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01582802.

Proteomic Analysis of Anticancer TCMs Targeted at Mitochondria.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a rich resource of anticancer drugs. Increasing bioactive natural compounds extracted from TCMs are known to exert significant antitumor effects, but the action mechanisms of TCMs are far from clear. Proteomics, a powerful platform to comprehensively profile drug-regulated proteins, has been widely applied to the mechanistic investigation of TCMs and the identification of drug targets. In this paper, we discuss several bioactive TCM products including terpenoids, flavonoids, and glycosides that were extensively investigated by proteomics to illustrate their antitumor mechanisms in various cancers. Interestingly, many of these natural compounds isolated from TCMs mostly exert their tumor-suppressing functions by specifically targeting mitochondria in cancer cells. These TCM components induce the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, the release of cytochrome c, and the accumulation of ROS, initiating apoptosis cascade signaling. Proteomics provides systematic views that help to understand the molecular mechanisms of the TCM in tumor cells; it bears the inherent limitations in uncovering the drug-protein interactions, however. Subcellular fractionation may be coupled with proteomics to capture and identify target proteins in mitochondria-enriched lysates. Furthermore, translating mRNA analysis, a new technology profiling the drug-regulated genes in translatome level, may be integrated into the systematic investigation, revealing global information valuable for understanding the action mechanism of TCMs.

Study of Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides on endothelial cells permeability induced by HMGB1.

Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharide (APS) shows various biological activities. Here, we explored the effect of APS on high mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) -induced endothelial cell permeability. The results indicated APS pretreatment effectively inhibited HMGB1-induced increased permeability in endothelial cells (ECs). Signal transduction studies showed APS inhibited not only the activation of small guanylate Rho and its downstream effector Rho kinase (ROCK), but also the subsequent phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC) in ECs. In conclusion, our investigations suggested that APS inhibited HMGB1-induced increased permeability in ECs, regulated by Rho/ROCK signal pathways.

[Effects of polymer aluminum hydrolysis on phosphorus distribution in coagulation].

Coagulation treatment was conducted by using coagulants of different basicity (ratio of OH(-)/Al); contents,distributions and algal availability of phosphorus in water were studied before and after coagulation. Results show that: phosphorus removals and its distribution in water were markedly different according to the coagulant with different basicity used; Al(a) plays an important role in the coagulation experiment for P removal. The lower the coagulant basicity was, the higher phosphorus removal was achieved; and PACl0 showed the best performance. Dissolved and particulate phosphorus reduced gradually with the increase of the coagulant (PACl0). They were entirely turned into deposit phosphorus when the coagulant dosage was above 10 mg x L(-1). The demand of coagulant for turbidity control was proved to be unequal to that for phosphorus removal. The coagulant dosages of about 3-5 mg x L(-1) achieved the best turbidity removal in the experiment; while much higher dosage was needed to get desired phosphorus removal. The amount of AAP (algal available phosphorus) in the sediments changed according to coagulant (PAC10) dosages. AAP increased with the increase of coagulant dosage when the dosage was less than 5 mg x L(-1), then it decreased with further addition of coagulant above 5 mg x L(-1). It was proved that release of phosphorus in sediments would be controlled effectively by addition of coagulant overdosed compared to the need for turbidity removal, which is important to long-term control of phosphorus. It was indicated that the dosage of coagulant used for phosphorus removal can not use the sole criterion for turbidity removal; the need for total phosphorus removal, sediment release of available phosphorus (such as AAP) and other phosphorus control requirements should be considered; and a larger dosage would be needed.