Brain volumetric changes in menopausal women and its association with cognitive function: a structured review.

The menopausal transition has been proposed to put women at risk for undesirable neurological symptoms, including cognitive decline. Previous studies suggest that alterations in the hormonal milieu modulate brain structures associated with cognitive function. This structured review provides an overview of the relevant studies that have utilized MRI to report volumetric differences in the brain following menopause, and its correlations with the evaluated cognitive functions. We performed an electronic literature search using Medline (Ovid) and Scopus to identify studies that assessed the influence of menopause on brain structure with MRI. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Brain volumetric differences have been reported most frequently in the frontal and temporal cortices as well as the hippocampus. These regions are important for higher cognitive tasks and memory. Additionally, the deficit in verbal and visuospatial memory in postmenopausal women has been associated with smaller regional brain volumes. Nevertheless, the limited number of eligible studies and cross-sectional study designs warrant further research to draw more robust conclusions.

Pretravelling Health-Seeking Behavior, Knowledge of Vaccines, and Attitudes Toward Travel Health among Malaysian Travelers.

Background: Travelers are at higher risk of developing health-related problems, especially travel-related diseases, and this remains a major public health burden. Aims: To assess pretravel health behavior-seeking factors, knowledge of vaccine, and travel health attitudes. A cross-sectional design among Malaysian travelers. Methods: An online survey was conducted from December 2017 till March 2018 among 226 participants. Demographic data, pretraveling health behaviors, knowledge of vaccine-preventable diseases, and travel health were asked. Independent t-test and ANOVA were performed using SPSS version 20. Results: Among travelers, 51.3% and 63.7% used health-related information on their destination before departure and collected information on possible travel hazards at their destination. Participant age (P = 0.02), monthly income (P = 0.01), predeparture health information (P = 0.03), information on possible hazards (P = 0.04), and travel health advice from medical professionals (P = 0.03) have been reported as a major predictor of knowledge of vaccine-preventable disease. Travelers' gender (P = 0.01), household income (P = 0.01), and travel health advice from professionals (P = 0.002) were significantly associated with travel health attitude. Conclusions: Sociodemographic and pretravel health-seeking behavior influence knowledge of vaccine-preventable disease and attitudes towards travel health which requires a public health need for community outreach programs targeting this group.

A Mechanistic Evaluation of Antioxidant Nutraceuticals on Their Potential against Age-Associated Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Nutraceuticals have been extensively studied worldwide due to its neuroprotective effects in in vivo and in vitro studies, attributed by the antioxidative properties. Alzheimer (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) are the two main neurodegenerative disorders that are discussed in this review. Both AD and PD share the similar involvement of oxidative stress in their pathophysiology. Nutraceuticals exert their antioxidative effects via direct scavenging of free radicals, prevent damage to biomolecules, indirectly stimulate the endogenous antioxidative enzymes and gene expressions, inhibit activation of pro-oxidant enzymes, and chelate metals. In addition, nutraceuticals can act as modulators of pro-survival, pro-apoptotic, and inflammatory signaling pathways. They have been shown to be effective particularly in preclinical stages, due to their multiple mechanisms of action in attenuating oxidative stress underlying AD and PD. Natural antioxidants from food sources and natural products such as resveratrol, curcumin, green tea polyphenols, and vitamin E are promising therapeutic agents in oxidative stress-mediated neurodegenerative disease as they have fewer adverse effects, more tolerable, cheaper, and sustainable for long term consumption.

The Beneficial Effects of Stingless Bee Honey from Heterotrigona itama against Metabolic Changes in Rats Fed with High-Carbohydrate and High-Fat Diet.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of conditions including central obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension that increases the risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Kelulut honey (KH) produced by stingless honey bees has stronger antioxidant properties compared to other honey types and may be a functional food against MetS. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of KH in preventing metabolic changes in rats with MetS induced by high-carbohydrate and high-fat (HCHF) diet. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the control (C), HCHF diet-induced MetS (S), and MetS supplemented with KH (K) groups. The K group was given KH (1 g/kg/day) for eight weeks. Compared to the control, the S group had significant higher omental fat mass, serum triglyceride, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressures, adipocyte area, and adipocyte perimeter (p < 0.05). KH supplementation significantly prevented these MetS-induced changes at week 16 (p < 0.05). Several compounds, including 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, coumaric and caffeic acids, had been detected via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis that might contribute to the reversal of these changes. The beneficial effects of KH against MetS-induced rats provide the basis for future KH research to investigate its potential use in humans and its molecular mechanisms in alleviating the disease.

A Review on the Protective Effects of Honey against Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of diseases comprising of obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. There are numerous pre-clinical as well as human studies reporting the protective effects of honey against MetS. Honey is a nutritional food low in glycemic index. Honey intake reduces blood sugar levels and prevents excessive weight gain. It also improves lipid metabolism by reducing total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which leads to decreased risk of atherogenesis. In addition, honey enhances insulin sensitivity that further stabilizes blood glucose levels and protects the pancreas from overstimulation brought on by insulin resistance. Furthermore, antioxidative properties of honey help in reducing oxidative stress, which is one of the central mechanisms in MetS. Lastly, honey protects the vasculature from endothelial dysfunction and remodelling. Therefore, there is a strong potential for honey supplementation to be integrated into the management of MetS, both as preventive as well as adjunct therapeutic agents.