Alterations in metamemory capacity and neural correlates in a subtype of subjective cognitive decline.

Backgrounds: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), one of the important clinical indicators for preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD), is primarily defined as self-perceived cognitive decline without objective evidence for cognitive impairment. However, the accuracy of their self-evaluation of cognition is unclear. This study sought to investigate the capacity for self-evaluation of own cognitive performance in SCD by applying an objective metamemory paradigm.

Plasma Aβ as a biomarker for predicting Aβ-PET status in Alzheimer's disease：a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Objective: Amyloid-β positron emission tomography (Aβ-PET) scan has been proposed to detect amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in the brain. However, this approach is costly and not ideal for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Blood-based Aβ measurement offers a scalable alternative to the costly or invasive biomarkers.

Circular RNA DLGAP4 is down-regulated and negatively correlates with severity, inflammatory cytokine expression and pro-inflammatory gene miR-143 expression in acute ischemic stroke patients.

This study aimed to investigate the expression of circular RNA DLGAP4 (circ-DLGAP4) and its correlation with severity, inflammation, inflammatory cytokine levels as well as microRNA-143 (miR-143) expression in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. One hundred and seventy AIS patients and 170 non-AIS controls were enrolled in this study. PBMC and serum from all participants were collected.

Autophagy of macrophages is regulated by PI3k/Akt/mTOR signalling in the development of diabetic encephalopathy.

The development of diabetic encephalopathy (DE) is enhanced by inflammatory macrophages, and is suppressed by macrophage autophagy. However, the molecular signaling that controls macrophage autophagy in DE remains ill-defined. Here, DE is induced in rats that received intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ).

Mecobalamin and early functional outcomes of ischemic stroke patients with H-type hypertension.

Objective: To analyze the effect of mecobalamin on the early-functional outcomes of patients with ischemic stroke and H-type hypertension.

Methods: From October of 2014 to October of 2016, 224 cases of ischemic stroke and H-type hypertension were selected. The patients were randomly divided into treatment control groups, with 112 patients in each group.

Control of macrophage autophagy by miR-384-5p in the development of diabetic encephalopathy.

The molecular development of diabetic encephalopathy remains ill-defined. Recently, we reported that elimination of inflammatory macrophages alleviated the progress and severity of diabetic encephalopathy. Here, we studied the underlying mechanism.

Myricetin ameliorates scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice via inhibiting acetylcholinesterase and down-regulating brain iron.

The aim of our study was to investigate to investigate the effect of myricetin on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its underlying mechanisms. In our study, Myricetin effectively attenuated Fe-induced cell death in SH-SY5Y cells in vitro. In a mouse model of AD, myricetin treatment significantly reversed scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits deriving from a novel action of inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and down-regulating brain iron.

Macrophage autophagy regulated by miR-384-5p-mediated control of Beclin-1 plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis.

Macrophages play an essential and complicated role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, the regulation of macrophage autophagy as well as it role in the development of atherosclerosis is unclear. MicroRNA-384-5p (miR-384-5p) is a new miRNA that attracted attention very recently, while its effects on Beclin-1 and cell autophagy has not been reported.

Stereoselective metabolism of donepezil and steady-state plasma concentrations of S-donepezil based on CYP2D6 polymorphisms in the therapeutic responses of Han Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The therapeutic response rates of patients to donepezil vary from 20% to 60%, one of the reasons is their genetic differences in donepezil-metabolizing enzymes, which directly influence liver metabolism. However, the mechanism of donepezil metabolism and that of its enantiomers is unknown. This study evaluated CYP2D6 polymorphisms to elucidate the stereoselective metabolism of donepezil and to confirm the association between the steady-state plasma concentrations of the pharmaco-effective S-donepezil and the therapeutic responses of Han Chinese patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Inflammatory Macrophages Promotes Development of Diabetic Encephalopathy.

Background/aims: Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease are often associated with each other, whereas the relationship between two diseases is ill-defined. Although hyperglycemia during diabetes is a major cause of encephalopathy, diabetes may also cause chronic inflammatory complications including peripheral neuropathy. Hence the role and the characteristics of inflammatory macrophages in the development of diabetic encephalopathy need to be clarified.

Meta-analysis of plasma homocysteine content and cognitive function in elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between homocysteine and cognitive function of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and vascular dementia (VD) patients.

Methods: By Cochrane system evaluation we retrieved relevant publications from MEDLINE, Embase, OVID, controlled clinical trial database of the Cochrane library and others. Two evaluators jointly assessed the research quality of the retrieved publications and carried out meta-analysis on the homogeneous study.

Epigenetic suppression of hippocampal BDNF mediates the memory deficiency induced by amyloid fibrils.

Accumulating evidences demonstrated that epigenetic modification of the expression of specific genes contributed to the pathogenesis of neurological disorders with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Emerging reports also found the reduction of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the patients and rodent models of AD, while the mechanism and functional significance remain debated. The present study aims to study the epigenetic mechanism underlying the BDNF reduction and its functional significance in the rats with hippocampal infusion of amyloid fibrils.

Platelet glycoprotein IIIa gene polymorphism (Leu33Pro) and aspirin resistance in a very elderly Chinese population.

Objectives: To study the relationship between platelet glycoprotein IIIa gene (GP IIIa) polymorphism (Leu33Pro) and aspirin resistance in a very elderly Chinese population.

Methods: Four hundred fifty very elderly Chinese people receiving aspirin therapy were enrolled in the study. Patients who underwent arachnoid acid-induced platelet aggregation were then divided into two groups based on their resistance to aspirin: aspirin-resistant (AR) group (n=236) and aspirin-sensitive (AS) group (n=214).

Alprostadil plays a protective role in contrast-induced nephropathy in the elderly.

Purpose: To evaluate the protective effects of alprostadil on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in elderly patients.

Methods: We randomized 370 patients into the control or alprostadil group. The patients in the control group were injected with 100 ml sterile saline and the patients in the alprostadil group with alprostadil (0.

Inhibition of NF-kappaB activation by Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate partially attenuates hippocampal MMP-9 activation and improves cognitive deficits in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been found at significantly increased activity and also contributes to blood-brain barrier degradation in diabetes. Activation of NF-κB pathway is associated with diabetes-induced cognitive impairment, and MMP-9 gene promoter contains a highly conserved motif that matches the NF-κB p65 binding element. No data have been yet provided to show that diabetes-induced cognitive decline is actually associated with increased activity of MMP-9, however, so we sought to understand the potential role of NF-κB-MMP-9 pathway in diabetic rats' brain.

Effect of CYP2D6*10 and APOE polymorphisms on the efficacy of donepezil in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CYP2D6*10 and APOE polymorphisms on both steady-state plasma concentrations (Cp) and clinical response of donepezil in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: A total of 110 Chinese AD patients participated in this study. Patients were treated with 5 to 10 mg of donepezil daily for 6 months.

Effects of telmisartan on insulin resistance and visceral fat distribution in Chinese hypertensive patients with obesity.

Objective: To investigate the effects of telmisartan on body fat distribution and insulin sensitivity in patients with hypertension and obesity.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized study, outpatients from the Sixth People's Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China were treated with telmisartan (n=23), or losartan (n=22) for 16 weeks between December 2009 to January 2011. Parameters such as waist and hip circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, insulin, lipids, serum adiponectin, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were measured before and after treatment.