Prevention and treatment strategies for sarcopenic obesity in the elderly / 中华老年医学杂志

Sarcopenic obesity(SO)has been a hot issue in the field of geriatrics.SO is associated with major adverse health consequences such as falls, disability, fractures, cardiometabolic diseases, cancer and death.The pathogenesis of SO is still unclear, mainly involving age-related changes in body composition, chronic low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and sex-specific hormonal changes.Lifestyle interventions, including rational nutrition, physical activity, and especially aerobic exercise and resistance training, are the cornerstones of SO treatment.Emerging therapies include testosterone supplements, selective androgen receptor modulators, myostatin inhibitors, whole body vibration therapy, vitamin K and mesenchymal stem cell therapy.There is an urgent need for researchers and clinicians to have an in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of SO and carry out effective prevention and treatment.

[Studies on biological characteristics and germination conditions of Thladiantha dubia seeds].

OBJECTIVE: To study the biological characteristics and find out the optimum condition for germination of seed of Thladiantha dubia Bunge for its standardized culturing. METHOD: The weight per 1 000 seeds, seed moisture content and seed viability were determined. The biological characteristics were studied and germination conditions of seed of T. dubia were tested under following conditions: different seed soaking time, different temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 degrees C) and different irradiation time (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 min). RESULT: The average length, width and thickness of T. Dubia seed were 4.96, 3.25 and 1.08 mm, respectively. The weight per 1 000 seeds was 14.03 g; the seed moisture content was 10.10%; the seed viability was 90.33%. Under the same condition of light, temperature and other factors, the seed germination percentage and germination energy were the highest after seed soaking 24 h. The suitable temperature range of seeds was form 25 degrees C to 35 degrees C. Under different irradiation time, the seed germination percentage and germination energy were the highest after irradiation 10 min. In different germinating beds, the seeds germination percentage and germination energy were the highest on paper (TP), which was 89.33%. CONCLUSION: The optimum condition for the germination of the seed of T. dubia is seed soaking 12 h, irradiation 10 min, 25-30 degrees C on filter paper.

Growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma Tca-8113 cell lines by Shikonin was partly through the inactivation of NF-kappaB pathway.

Shikonin, a naphthoquinone pigment isolated from the Chinese herbal therapeutic, Zicao, has been shown to exhibit antioxidant and anticancer effects. In this study, its ability to induce apoptosis in cultured Tca-8113 oral cancer cells was studied. Treatment of the Tca-8113 cells with a variety of concentrations of Shikonin (10-40 microm) resulted in dose- and time-dependent sequences of events marked by apoptosis, as shown by the loss of cell viability, chromatin condensation, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and sub-G1 phase accumulation. Furthermore, apoptosis in the Tca-8113 cells was accompanied by the activation of protease caspase-8, -9, -3 and low expression of Bcl-2 protein. Interestingly, inactivation of the NF-kappaB pathway was found in shikonin-induced apoptosis in Tca-8113 cells. These results raise the possibility that the anti-tumor effects of Shikonin in Tca-8113 cells are at least partly through the inactivation of the NF-kappaB pathway and subsequent activation of protease caspase family. Pharmacological inhibition of the NF-kappaB activity by Shikonin might be a powerful treatment option for OSCC in which activation of NF-kappaB plays a critical role in tumor growth and progression.