No Associations Between Glucosamine Supplementation and Dementia or Parkinson's Disease: Findings From a Large Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the associations between habitual use of glucosamine and incident dementia and Parkinson's disease in a population-based cohort. METHODS: Using the UK Biobank data, we included around 0.29 million middle- to old-aged participants free of dementia or Parkinson's disease at baseline. Glucosamine supplementation was measured by questionnaire at baseline. Some participants additionally answered 1-5 rounds of 24-hour dietary recalls afterwards, particularly 112 243 participants (for dementia) and 112 084 (for Parkinson's disease). Incident cases of dementia and Parkinson's disease were identified through linkage to health administrative data sets. We examined the associations of glucosamine supplementation with incident dementia and Parkinson's disease using Cox proportional-hazards regression models with adjustment for various covariates. RESULTS: During the study period (median follow-up: 9.1-10.9 years), 4 404 and 1 637 participants developed dementia and Parkinson's disease, respectively. Glucosamine intake was not associated with incident dementia or Parkinson's disease. In fully adjusted models, the hazard ratios associated with glucosamine intake were 1.06 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99, 1.14] for dementia and 0.97(95% CI: 0.86, 1.09) for Parkinson's disease. In the subsample, similar results were found as the frequency of reported glucosamine use over multiple dietary surveys was associated with neither of the 2 conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Habitual supplementation of glucosamine was not associated with incident dementia or Parkinson's disease.

Nationwide survey of physicians' familiarity and awareness of diabetes guidelines in China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate physicians' familiarity and awareness of four diabetes guidelines and their practice of the recommendations outlined in these guidelines. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: An online questionnaire survey was conducted among physicians affiliated with the Specialist Committee for Primary Diabetes Care of China Association of Chinese Medicine, using the snowball sampling method to ensure a broader representation of physicians. PARTICIPANTS: 1150 physicians from 192 cities across 30 provinces in China provided complete data. RESULTS: Tertiary care hospital physicians (TCPs) exhibited the highest familiarity with the Guideline for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in China (91.3%), followed by the National Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes in Primary Care (76.8%), the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (72.2%) and the Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes in Chinese Medicine (63.8%). Primary care practitioners (PCPs) exhibited familiarity with these four guidelines at about 50% or less. Self-reported reference to modern diabetes guidelines by physicians is more frequent than traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diabetes guidelines, with rates at 73.2% and 33.8%, respectively. Approximately 90% of physicians provided instructions on self-monitoring of blood glucose to their patients with diabetes. Less than one-third of physicians referred patients to a specialised nutritionist. In terms of health education management, TCPs reported having a diabetes health management team at the rate of 75.7%, followed by secondary care hospital physicians at 57.0% and PCPs at 27.5%. Furthermore, approximately 40% of physicians did not fully grasp hypoglycaemia characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Familiarity and awareness of the screening guidelines varied among physicians in different hospital settings. Importantly, significant discrepancies were observed between physicians' awareness and their self-reported reference to modern medicine guidelines and TCM guidelines. It is essential to consistently provide education and training on diabetes management for all physicians, particularly PCPs.

Habitual fish oil supplementation and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation: findings from a large prospective longitudinal cohort study.

AIMS: Mixed effects of fish oil supplementation on the risks of atrial fibrillation (AF) were observed in several large-scale randomized controlled trials. Whether this relationship would be modified by genetic AF risk, baseline cardiovascular disease (CVD) status and background oily fish consumption are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 468 665 participants without AF at baseline from the UK Biobank cohort. The association between fish oil supplementation and the AF risk was assessed in the study cohort and in several subgroups, including genetic AF predisposition, baseline CVD status, and background oily fish consumption. During a median follow-up of 11.1 years, fish oil users had a higher rate of incident AF (6.2% vs. 5.2%, adjusted hazard ratio of 1.10, and 95% confidence interval of 1.07, 1.13). Compared with non-users, fish oil users had a higher rate of incident AF in the low (3.7% vs. 3.0%, P= 0.02), intermediate (5.8% vs. 4.8%, P < 0.0001), and high (9.8% vs. 8.1%, P < 0.0001) genetic AF risk groups. In participants without CVD at baseline, fish oil users had a higher rate of incident AF (5.3% vs. 4.1%, P < 0.0001), which was not observed in participants with CVD at baseline (11.6% vs. 11.1%, P = 0.56), with significant interaction (P-interaction < 0.0001). The association between fish oil supplementation and the AF risk was not modified by background oily fish consumption (P-interaction = 0.62). CONCLUSION: Habitual fish oil supplementation was associated with the risk of incident AF, regardless of genetic AF predisposition and background oily fish consumption. This association was observed only in individuals without CVD at baseline.

Preclinical Evidence and Possible Mechanisms of Rhodiola rosea L. and Its Components for Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Rhodiola rosea L. has long been used as traditional medicines in Europe and Asia to treat a variety of common conditions and diseases including Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, cognitive dysfunctions, cancer, and stroke. Previous studies reported that Rhodiola rosea L. and its components (RRC) improve ischemia stroke in animal models. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis for preclinical studies to evaluate the effects of RRC and the probable neuroprotective mechanisms in ischemic stroke. Methods: Studies of RRC on ischemic stroke animal models were searched in seven databases from inception to Oct 2021. The primary measured outcomes included the neural functional deficit score (NFS), infarct volume (IV), brain water content, cell viability, apoptotic cells, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) level and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level. The secondary outcome measures were possible mechanisms of RRC for ischemic stroke. All the data were analyzed via RevMan version 5.3. Results: 15 studies involving 345 animals were identified. Methodological quality for each included studies was accessed according to the CAMARADES 10-item checklist. The quality score of studies range from 1 to 7, and the median was 5.53. Pooled preclinical data showed that compared with the controls, RRC could improve NFS (Zea Longa (p < 0.01), modified neurological severity score (mNSS) (p < 0.01), rotarod tests (p < 0.01), IV (p < 0.01), as well as brain edema (p < 0.01). It also can increase cell viability (p < 0.01), Bcl-2 level (p < 0.01) and reduce TNF-α level (p < 0.01), TUNEL-positive cells (p < 0.01), apoptotic cells (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings suggested that RRC can improve ischemia stroke. The possible mechanisms of RRC are largely through antioxidant, anti-apoptosis activities, anti-inflammatory, repressing lipid peroxidation, antigliosis, and alleviating the pathological blood brain barrier damage.

[Effects of long-term different fertilizations on biomass and nutrient content of maize root].

Taking two long-term local field trials at the south edge of the Loess Plateau, which were found in 1990 and 2003, respectively, as test subjects, the effects of different fertilization practices on the maize root biomass and nutrient content were investigated in this paper. Maize roots in the 0-20 cm top soil post-maize harvest from the different fertilization practices were collected by hand in October 2011. The results showed that compared with control without fertilization and N, NK, or PK treatments, the NP, NPK, fertilizers plus manure (M1NPK and M2NPK) or plus straw return (SNPK) treatments significantly increased the dry mass of maize root. The C, N, P and K contents in maize roots in the NP, NPK, M1 NPK, M2NPK and SNPK treatments were also significantly higher than those of control, especially in the NPK plus organic manure treatments (M1 NPK and M2NPK) in the trial. Compared with the N fertilizer free treatment (N0), root biomass in the 120 kg N · hm(-2) (N120) and 240 kg N · hm(-2) ( N240) fertilization treatments increased by 38% and 45%, respectively, but there was no significant difference between N120 and N240 treatments. Nitrogen fertilizer application (N120 and N240) also improved the C, N, P and K contents in maize root. The water soluble organic C and total soluble N contents of maize root in the NP, NPK, M1NPK, M2NPK, SNPK and the N120 and N240 treatments were greater than those of control and other treatments. Otherwise, the cellulose and lignin contents in maize roots declined in the NPK, M1NPK, M2NPK, and SNPK treatments compared with other treatments. So the root C/N and lignin/N ratios in the control, PK and N0 treatments were significantly higher than those in the NP, NPK, M1NPK, M2NPK and SNPK treatments. We concluded that the optimum fertilization (e. g., NP, NPK, MNPK and SNPK treatments) could increase maize root growth and nutrient content and improve soil fertility and carbon sequestration through root residue into soil.

[Chemical Constituents from Saururus chinensis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of active components of Saururus chinensis on anti-nicotine withdrawal symptoms. METHODS: Various column chromatography were used in the isolation and purification, and physiochemical constant determination and spectral analysis were adopted to determine the chemical structures. RESULTS: Six chemical compounds were isolated from the active part of anti-withdrawal symptoms, and were identified as 4'-hydroxyl-3,3',4,5,5'-pentamethoxy-7,7'-epoxylignan (1) ,3-(2-nitroethyl)-1-methoxyindole(2), elemicin (3), erythro-(7R, 8S) - (-) - (3,4,5-trimethoxy-7-hydroxy-1'-allyl-3', 5'-dimethoxy)-8-O-4'-neolignan (4), 3,4,5-trimethoxy-phenylacrylaldehyde (5) and dibutyl phthalate (6). CONCLUSION: Compound 1 is a novel lignan, compounds 2 - 6 are firstly isolated from this plant.

[Study on chemical constituents of Eucommia ulmoides leaves].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of Eucommia ulmoides leaves. METHODS: Various column chromatography were used in the isolation and purification, physiochemical constant determination and spectral analysis were adopted to determine the chemical structures. RESULTS: Ten compounds were isolated and identified as borreriagenin (1), n-butyl-O-ß-D-fructopyranoside (2), α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->1')-3'-amino-3'-deoxy-ß-D-glucopyranoside (3), ß-D-fructofuranosyl-α-D-galactopyranoside (4), ß-D-fructose (5), diisobutyl phthalate (6), 5-hydroxy-9-isopropylether-guaiacylglycerol (7), 4-hydroxyphenylethanol-8-O-ß-D-apiofuranosyl(1-->6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (8), lariciresinol (9), and (3S,5R,6R,9S)-tetrahydroxy-7-ene-megastigmane (10). CONCLUSION: All compounds are isolated from this genus for the first time.

[Study on chemical constituents in the roots and rhizome of Trillium tschonoskii (III)].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents in the roots and rhizome of Trillium tschonoskii. METHODS: The roots and rhizome of Trillium tschonoskii were extracted with 70% ethanol and purified by polyamide, silica gel, RP-C18 and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Chemical structures were identified by MS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments. RESULTS: Twelve compounds were isolated and identified from the ethyl acetate and n-butanol as 7,11-dimethyl-3-methylene-10, 11-dihdroxyl-1,6-dodecadien-diol(1),2, 6,10-trimethyl-2,10-dihdroxyl-6-dodecene-diol(2),3,7,11-trimethyl-3,9,11-trihydroxyl-1,6-dodecadiene-glycerol(3),p-hydroxymethyl-benzyl alcohol(4),20betaF, 22alphaF, 25alphaF-spirostan-5,13-ene-3beta,21alpha-diol(5), 2-methyl-3,4-dihydroxy-hexanedioic acid(6), alpha-Lrhamnopyranosyl(7), epitrillenogenin-24-O-acetate-1-O-[2,3,4,-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside] (8),epitrillenogenin-24-O-acetate-1-O-[2,4, -di-O-acetyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside](9), epitrillenogenin1-O-[2,3,4,-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside] (10), epitrillenogenin-1-O-[2,4, -di-O-acetyl-alpha-Lrhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2) -alpha-L-arabinopyranoside] (11) and epitrillenogenin-1-O-[4-O-acetyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2) -alpha-L-arabinopyranoside] (12). CONCLUSION: Compounds 4-6 are isolated from this genus for the first time, compounds 1-3, 11, 12 are isolated from this plant for the first time.