Vitamin C alleviates LPS-induced cognitive impairment in mice by suppressing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.

Neuroinflammation is believed to be one of the primary causes of cognitive impairment. Previous studies showed that the antioxidant vitamin C (Vit C) performs many beneficial functions such as immunostimulant and anti-inflammatory actions, but its role in inflammatory cognitive impairment is unclear. In the current study, we investigated the effect and possible mechanism of action of Vit C in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cognitive impairment. Intracerebroventricular LPS-induced memory impairment was used as the model for neuroinflammatory cognitive dysfunction. Vit C was administered by intracerebroventricular microinjection 30 min prior to LPS exposure. It was found that Vit C significantly protected animals from LPS-induced memory impairment as evidenced by improved performance in the Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests without changes in spontaneous locomotor activity. Vit C pretreatment inhibited the activation of microglia and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß). Furthermore, Vit C pretreatment markedly decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) level, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and modulated the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and p-p38 MAPK activation in the hippocampus of LPS-treated mice. Together, these results suggest that vitamin C pretreatment could protect mice from LPS-induced cognitive impairment, possibly through the modulation of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.

[Prognostic analysis of plantar fasciitis treated by pneumatic ballistic extracorporeal shock wave versus ultrasound guided intervention].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the medium- and long-term effect of pneumatic ballistic extracorporeal shock wave versus ultrasound-guided hormone injection in the treatment of plantar fasciitis. METHODS: The clinical data were collected from patients with plantar fasciitis admitted to PLA General Hospital pain department from September, 2015 to February, 2017. The patients were randomly divided into ultrasound-guided drug injection group and shock wave group. The therapeutic parameters including the numerical rating scale (NRS) scores in the first step pain in the morning, American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle Hindfoot Scale, and thickness of the plantar fascia were monitored before and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the treatment. The recurrence rate, effectiveness, and patient satisfaction were compared between the two groups at 6 months after the treatment. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were enrolled in shock wave group and 38 patients in ultrasound group. The NRS scores in the first step pain in the morning were lowered after treatment in both groups (P<0.05), and the scores were significantly lower in ultrasound group than in shock wave group at 1 week and 1 month (P<0.01), but significantly higher in ultrasound group than in shock wave group at 3 and 6 months after treatment (P<0.05). The AOFAS functional scores were increased in both groups (P<0.05) at 6 months after treatment, was significantly lower in ultrasound group than in shock wave group than group B (90.44∓13.27 vs 75.76∓21.40; P<0.05). The effective rates in shock wave group and ultrasound group were 92.31% and 76.32%, respectively (P<0.05). Recurrence was found in 1 patient (2.56%) in shock wave group and in 8 (21.05%) in ultrasound group (P<0.05). The patient satisfaction scores were significantly higher in shock wave group than in ultrasound group (8.13∓2.67 vs 6.63∓3.75, P=0.048). CONCLUSION: Pneumatic ballistic extracorporeal shock achieves better medium- and long-term outcomes than ultrasound-guided hormone injection in the treatment of plantar fasciitis.