Correlation Between Nutritional Risk and Clinical and Endoscopic Features in Crohn's Disease Patients Treated With Biological Agents / 胃肠病学

Background: The widespread use of biological agents in recent years can improve the nutritional status of partial patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and change the course of the disease. Aims: To investigate the correlation between the nutritional risk and clinical and endoscopic features in CD patients treated with biological agents. Methods: Sixty⁃eight CD patients treated with biological agents from June 2021 to June 2022 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University were enrolled. Nutritional risk screening was conducted by nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS2002), and its correlation with clinical and endoscopic features was analyzed. Results: In 68 CD patients treated with biological agents, incidence of nutritional risk was 66.2%. There was statistically significant difference in incidence of nutritional risk in patients with different disease behaviors, SES⁃CD score and postoperative Rutgeerts score (all P0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of nutritional risk is high in CD patients treated with biological agents, and is correlated with CD disease behavior, SES ⁃ CD score, and postoperative Rutgeerts score.

Mitophagy: a potential therapeutic target for ischemic stroke / 国际脑血管病杂志

After ischemic stroke, the key to reduce the mortality and disability rate is to restore the blood supply of brain tissue as soon as possible. However, the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) caused by blood flow restoration is also an important cause of brain tissue structural damage and dysfunction. Studies in recent years have shown that the activation of mitophagy at CIRI stage can reduce the volume of cerebral infarction and protect neurons from CIRI, while excessive or insufficient mitophagy can aggravate CIRI. This suggests that inducing moderate mitophagy may be a potential therapeutic target for neuroprotection after stroke. However, the neuroprotective mechanism of mitophagy has not yet been fully elucidated. This article reviews the neuroprotective mechanism and potential application of mitophagy in stroke, and discusses some problems of mitophagy as a therapeutic target for stroke.

Regulatory effect of microRNAs on neuroplasticity of ischemic stroke / 国际脑血管病杂志

Ischemic stroke is one of the main causes of disability and death. Although intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy can achieve cerebral vascular recanalization, most patients with ischemic stroke leave serious neurological deficits due to missed treatment window. Neural plasticity is the basis of neural function repair. Recent studies have shown that microRNAs play an indispensable role in regulating neural plasticity. This article reviews the regulatory role of microRNAs on neural plasticity in ischemic stroke, in order to provide reference for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Breviscapine confers a neuroprotective efficacy against transient focal cerebral ischemia by attenuating neuronal and astrocytic autophagy in the penumbra.

Breviscapine is a flavonoid derived from a traditional Chinese herb Erigerin breviscapus (Vant.) Hand-Mazz, and has been extensively used in clinical treatment for cerebral stroke in China, but the underlying pharmacological mechanisms are still unclear. In present study, we investigated whether breviscapine could confer a neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia injury by targeting autophagy mechanisms. A cerebral stroke model in Sprague-Dawley rats was prepared by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), rats were then randomly divided into 5 groups: MCAO+Bre group, rats were treated with breviscapine; MCAO+Tat-Beclin-1 group, animals were administrated with specific autophagy inducer Tat-Beclin-1; MCAO+Bre+Tat-Beclin-1 group, rats were treated with both breviscapine and Tat-Beclin-1, MCAO+saline group, rats received the same volume of physiological saline, and Sham surgery group. The autophagy levels in infarct penumbra were evaluated by western blotting, real-time PCR and immunofluorescence 7days after the insult. Meanwhile, infarct volume, brain water content and neurological deficit score were assessed. The results illustrated that the infarct volume, brain water content and neurofunctional deficiency were significantly reduced by 7days of breviscapine treatment in MCAO+Bre group, compared with those in MCAO+saline group. Meanwhile, the western blotting, quantitative PCR and immunofluorescence showed that the autophagy in both neurons and astrocytes at the penumbra were markedly attenuated by breviscapine admininstration. Moreover, these pharmacological effects of breviscapine could be counteracted by autophagy inducer Tat-Beclin-1. Our study suggests that breviscapine can provide a neuroprotection against transient focal cerebral ischemia, and this biological function is associated with attenuating autophagy in both neurons and astrocytes.

Puerarin provides a neuroprotection against transient cerebral ischemia by attenuating autophagy at the ischemic penumbra in neurons but not in astrocytes.

Puerarin is an isoflavone derived from the Chinese medical herb of Radix puerariae (kudzu root), and has been widely used in the treatment for ischemic stroke in China. However, its underlying pharmacological mechanisms are still not understood. This study was to investigate the efficacy of puerarin on autophagy in the ischemic penumbra after cerebral stroke. A model of cerebral stroke in Sprague-Dawley rats was prepared by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO); rats were then randomly divided into 5 groups: MCAO+Pue group (rats were treated with puerarin), MCAO+Pue+Tat-Beclin-1 group (rats were administrated with both puerarin and autophagy inducer Tat-Beclin-1), MCAO+Tat-Beclin-1 group (rats were treated with Tat-Beclin-1), MCAO+saline group (rats were administrated with the same volume of physiological saline), and sham surgery group. The autophagy levels in infarct penumbra were evaluated by western blotting, real-time PCR and immunofluorescence 14days after the insult. Meanwhile, the neurological deficit score, brain water content and infarct volume were assessed. The results illustrated that the cerebral infarct volume, cerebral edema and neurological deficiency were significantly alleviated by puerarin treatment. Western blotting and the quantitative PCR revealed that the autophagy level in the penumbra was markedly reduced by puerarin administration. However, these effects of puerarin could be counteracted by Tat-Beclin-1. Additionally, double immunofluorescence showed that neuronal autophagy was markedly attenuated by puerarin treatment, whereas astrocytic autophagy was only mildly reduced. Our study suggests that puerarin could confer a neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia, and this biological function is associated with attenuating autophagy in neurons but not in astrocytes.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering activities of graphene-wrapped Cu particles by chemical vapor deposition assisted with thermal annealing.

We presented a graphene-wrapped Cu particle hybrid system (G@Cu) to be used as a high performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. The Cu particles wrapped by a few-layer graphene shell were directly synthesized on SiO2/Si by chemical vapor deposition assisted with thermal annealing in a mixture of methane and hydrogen. The detailed explanation on the different morphology of Cu particles induced by different thermal annealing condition was carried out with both qualitative and quantitative analysis and a series of G@Cu 3D models of Cu particles with different shape anisotropy and inter-particle gap were also built for further study of Raman enhancement mechanism. The G@Cu showed fine SERS activities, including the fluorescence quenching effect, the stability of Raman signals, chemical and optical stability, with an enhancement factor (EF) of ~1.5 × 106.

Diagnostic Value of Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy in Patients with Mid-gastrointestinal Bleeding and Follow-up Study / 胃肠病学

Background:Small bowel capsule endoscopy(SBCE)has become a first-line procedure for examining small bowel diseases. Aims:To evaluate the diagnostic value of SBCE in patients with mid-gastrointestinal bleeding(MGIB). Methods:MGIB patients who underwent SBCE from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2014 at the Third People’s Hospital of Bengbu were enrolled. Diagnostic value of SBCE in MGIB was analyzed. Re-bleeding was followed up by outpatient visit and telephone. Results:Forty-four consecutive MGIB patients underwent SBCE procedures,the detection rate was 95. 5% and the positive rate was 65. 9% . Vascular abnormality(37. 9% ),inflammation(31. 0% )and tumor(20. 7% )were the three major etiology in SBCE positive patients. Follow-up results showed that re-bleeding rate in SBCE positive group was significantly higher than in non-positive group(41. 4% vs. 13. 3% ,P < 0. 05). Conclusions:Vascular abnormality is still the most major etiology of MGIB,meanwhile the proportions of inflammation and tumor are increasing. SBCE has a high detection rate and positive rate in initial screening of MGIB,and the risk of re-bleeding in patients with negative SBCE is low.

Neuroprotective roles of early exercise training after stroke / 国际脑血管病杂志

Early exercise training after stroke is a therapeutic strategy that has been paid w idespread attention. A series of studies found that early exercise training after stroke can increase expression of neurotrophic factors and maintain the integrity of the blood-brain barrier by inhibiting acute neuroinflammation and apoptosis, and reduce brain damage. This artice reviews the neuroprotective roles of early exercise training after stroke and their possible molecular mechanisms.

The effect of early treadmill exercise on motor function deficits following moderate or severe traumatic brain injury / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of early rehabilitation on rats' motor performance after moderate or severe experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI).Methods After adult Sprague-Dawley rats had received moderate or severe TBI,they were randomly assigned to either a 24 hour exercise group (group A),a 3-day exercise group (group B),a 7-day exercise group (group C) or a control group.Each group was composed of 8 rats.The exercise group endured forced treadmill training on an electric treadmill for 14 consecutive days initiated 24 hours,3 days or 7 days post TBI.The foot-fault and cylinder tests were performed on the 6th,12th,18th,24th and 28th day post injury.On the 28th day the rats were sacrificed and the brains were removed and frozen.The frozen coronal brain sections were stained with cresyl violet (CV) for quantitative evaluation of cortical lesion volume.Results The rats in groups B and C showed significant decreases in the percentage of left forelimb foot faults compared with the control group at the 18th,24th and28th day after injury.In addition,the rats of group C demonstrated significant decreases in the percentage of left forelimb foot-fault at the 12th day after injury.There was no significant difference between group A and the control group in terms of foot fault scores in any of the subsequent test sessions.In the cylinder test the forelimb use asymmetry scores of neither group A nor group B were significantly different from the control group.Group C showed marked locomotor asymmetry improvement at day 28 post-injury.There was no significantly different loss of hemispheric tissue between those groups.Conclusion After treadmill exercise for 14 consecutive days initiated at 3 or 7 days following moderate or severe TBI,rats' motor function improved.The cortical lesion volume was not associated with recovery of motor function.