Brain tissue volumes in the general population of the elderly: the AGES-Reykjavik study

Imaging studies have reported conflicting findings on how brain structure differs with age and sex. This may be explained by discrepancies and limitations in study population and study design. We report a study on brain tissue volumes in one of the largest cohorts of individuals studied to date of subjects with high mean age (mean ± standard deviation (SD) 76 ± 6 years). These analyses are based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans acquired at baseline on 4303 non-demented elderly, and 367 who had a second MRI, on average 2.5 ± 0.2 years later. Tissue segmentation was performed with an automatic image analysis pipeline. Total brain parenchymal (TBP) volume decreased with increasing age while there was an increase in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in both sexes. A reduction in both normal white matter (NWM)- and gray matter (GM) volume contributed to the brain shrinkage. After adjusting for intra-cranial volume, women had larger brain volumes compared to men (3.32%, p < 0.001) for TBP volume in the cross-sectional analysis. The longitudinal analysis showed a significant age-sex interaction in TBP volume with a greater rate of annual change in men (− 0.70%, 95%CI: − 0.78% to − 0.63%) than women (− 0.55%, 95%CI: − 0.61% to − 0.49%). The annual change in the cross-sectional data was approximately 40% less than the annual change in the longitudinal data and did not show significant age-sex interaction. The findings indicate that the cross-sectional data underestimate the rate of change in tissue volumes with age as the longitudinal data show greater rate of change in tissue volumes with age for all tissues.     

Allometric scaling of brain regions to intra‐cranial volume: An epidemiological MRI study

There is growing evidence that sub‐structures of the brain scale allometrically to total brain size, that is, in a non‐proportional and non‐linear way. Here, scaling of different volumes of interest (VOI) to intra‐cranial volume (ICV) was examined. It was assessed whether scaling was allometric or isometric and whether scaling coefficients significantly differed from each other. We also tested to what extent allometric scaling of VOI was introduced by the automated segmentation technique. Furthermore, reproducibility of allometric scaling was studied different age groups and study populations. Study samples included samples of cognitively healthy adults from the community‐based Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility‐Reykjavik Study (AGES‐Reykjavik Study) (N = 3,883), the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA) (N =709), and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (N = 180). Data encompassed participants with different age, ethnicity, risk factor profile, and ICV and VOI obtained with different automated MRI segmentation techniques. Our analysis showed that (1) allometric scaling is a trait of all parts of the brain, (2) scaling of neo‐cortical white matter, neo‐cortical gray matter, and deep gray matter structures including the cerebellum are significantly different from each other, and (3) allometric scaling of brain structures cannot solely be explained by age‐associated atrophy, sex, ethnicity, or a systematic bias from study‐specific segmentation algorithm, but appears to be a true feature of brain geometry. Hum Brain Mapp 38:151–164, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

糖瘀平丸对糖尿病大鼠肾组织AGEs的影响

目的 :观察糖瘀平丸对链脲佐菌素 ( STZ)糖尿病大鼠肾组织糖化终产物 ( AGEs)的影响 ,探讨益气养阴活血法治疗糖尿病及慢性并发症的机制。方法 :对 STZ诱发的糖尿病大鼠分别给予糖瘀平丸高剂量 ( 8g/kg·d- 1 )、中剂量 ( 6g/kg· d- 1 )及低剂量 ( 4g/kg· d- 1 )灌胃 ,对正常对照组及糖尿病模型组分别给予等体积的蒸馏水灌胃 ,药物对照组给予水飞蓟素 ( 10 0 m g/kg· d- 1 )灌胃。处理 9周后 ,观察各组大鼠血糖、果糖胺及肾皮质 AGEs等指标的变化。结果 :糖瘀丸平能降低血糖 ,对早期糖化产物果糖胺及肾皮质 AGEs均有抑制作用。结论 :糖瘀平丸可降低血糖 ,抑制糖尿病大鼠蛋白非酶糖基化反应 ,提示其可能具有控制糖尿病发展 ,防治糖尿病肾病的作用     

Erythropoietin: elucidating new cellular targets that broaden therapeutic strategies

Given that erythropoietin (EPO) is no longer believed to have exclusive biological activity in the hematopoietic system, EPO is now considered to have applicability in a variety of nervous system disorders that can overlap with vascular disease, metabolic impairments, and immune system function. As a result, EPO may offer efficacy for a broad number of disorders that involve Alzheimer's disease, cardiac insufficiency, stroke, trauma, and diabetic complications. During a number of clinical conditions, EPO is robust and can prevent metabolic compromise, neuronal and vascular degeneration, and inflammatory cell activation. Yet, use of EPO is not without its considerations especially in light of frequent concerns that may compromise clinical care. Recent work has elucidated a number of novel cellular pathways governed by EPO that can open new avenues to avert deleterious effects of this agent and offer previously unrecognized perspectives for therapeutic strategies. Obtaining greater insight into the role of EPO in the nervous system and elucidating its unique cellular pathways may provide greater cellular viability not only in the nervous system but also throughout the body.     

玉泉颗粒联合恩格列净治疗2型糖尿病的临床研究

目的 探讨玉泉颗粒联合恩格列净片治疗2型糖尿病的临床疗效。方法 选取2020年7月—2022年6月上海建工医院收治144例2型糖尿病患者,按照随机数字表法将所有患者分为对照组和治疗组,每组各72例。对照组口服恩格列净片,1片/次,1次/d;治疗组在对照组治疗基础上口服玉泉颗粒,1袋/次,4次/d。两组连续治疗1个月。观察两组的临床疗效,比较两组的空腹血糖（FPG）、糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）、平均血糖（MBG）、餐后血糖波动幅度（PPGE）、血糖水平标准差（SDBG）、胰岛素抵抗指数（HOMA-IR）、胰岛β细胞功能指数（HOMA-β）以及血清晚期氧化蛋白终产物（AOPP）、糖基化终末产物（AGES）、氧化型低密度脂蛋白受体-1(LOX-1)水平。结果 治疗后,治疗组总有效率94.44%高于对照组总有效率81.94%,组间比较差异显著（P<0.05）。治疗后,两组FPG、HbA1c、MBG、PPGE、SDBG低于治疗前（P<0.05）;治疗组的MBG、PPGE、SDBG低于对照组,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。治疗后,两组HOMA-IR低于治疗前,HOMA-β高于...     

银杏叶提取物对2型糖尿病大鼠血管病变的保护作用

目的：探讨银杏叶提取物EGB50对高糖高脂诱导的2型糖尿病大鼠主动脉病变的干预作用。方法：应用荧光分光光度法、放射免疫法、透射电镜等技术等研究糖尿病（DM）大鼠血糖、血清胰岛素、血脂、晚期糖基化终产物（AGEs）的含量和血管超微结构变化。结果：DM组血清甘油三酯、胆固醇、AGEs、空腹血糖、糖化血红蛋白含量明显升高，空腹胰岛素水平显著下降。灌胃给药5周后，EGB50 150mg／kg组血清甘油三酯、胆固醇、糖化血红蛋白、AGEs含量明显比DM组降低，但空腹血糖、胰岛素变化不明显。电镜发现DM组血管组织出现明显改变，其内皮细胞胞浆中空泡增多，线粒体肿胀，可看到单核细胞黏附于内皮上；平滑肌细胞的线粒体、粗面内质网增多；EGB50 150mg／kg组则病变明显有所改善。结论：银杏叶提取物EGB50能降低糖尿病大鼠血脂、糖基化产物的含量，减轻血管内皮细胞的损伤，从而延缓及改善血管病变。