Ketogenic diet alleviates cognitive dysfunction and neuroinflammation in APP/PS1 mice via the Nrf2/HO-1 and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by cognitive decline and chronic inflammation within the brain. The ketogenic diet, a widely recognized therapeutic intervention for refractory epilepsy, has recently been proposed as a potential treatment for a variety of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. However, the efficacy of ketogenic diet in treating Alzheimer's disease and the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

The Association of Nocturnal Blood Pressure Patterns and Other Influencing Factors With Lacunes and Enlarged Perivascular Spaces in Hypertensive Patients.

Purpose: Nocturnal blood pressure dipping patterns have been associated with an increased risk of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (CSVD), which has not been well-studied. This study is aimed to explore the association of dipping patterns and other factors with lacunes and enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS) in patients with hypertension.

Methods: We enrolled a total of 1,322 patients with essential hypertension in this study.

Higher Burden of Cerebral Small Vascular Disease Predicts Major Adverse Cardiac and Cerebrovascular Events and Is Related to Abnormal Blood Pressure Variability Pattern in Hypertension Patients.

Background And Objectives: The study aims to test the hypotheses that a higher burden of cerebral small vascular disease (CSVD) predicts major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with hypertension (HTN) and that abnormal blood pressure variability (BPV) pattern aggravates total CSVD burden.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with HTN prospectively selected between February 2015 and February 2019 from three participating centers. Patients were included if they had HTN for over 1 year and had at least one MRI feature of CSVD.

Longitudinal white matter hyperintensity changes and cognitive decline in patients with minor stroke.

Background And Objective: As reported, both minor stroke and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. The underlying factors for dynamic changes in WMH volume and cognitive performances in patients with minor stroke remain poorly understood. A 2-year longitudinal study was designed to investigate the factors associated with the changes in white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume on brain MRI and cognitive decline in patients with minor stroke.

Leukoaraiosis is associated with clinical symptom severity, poor neurological function prognosis and stroke recurrence in mild intracerebral hemorrhage: a prospective multi-center cohort study.

Leukoaraiosis (LA) results from ischemic injury in small cerebral vessels, which may be attributable to decreased vascular density, reduced cerebrovascular angiogenesis, decreased cerebral blood flow, or microcirculatory dysfunction in the brain. In this study, we enrolled 357 patients with mild intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) from five hospitals in China and analyzed the relationships between LA and clinical symptom severity at admission, neurological function prognosis at 3 months, and 1-year stroke recurrence. Patients were divided into groups based on Fazekas scale scores: no LA (n = 83), mild LA (n = 64), moderate LA (n = 98) and severe LA (n = 112).

The Predictive Values of Different Small Vessel Disease Scores on Clinical Outcomes in Mild ICH Patients.

Aim: To explore the predictive values of different small vessel disease (SVD) scores on functional recoveries and the clinical cerebrovascular events in mild intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Methods: In this study, we enrolled conscious and mild ICH patients without surgery and further divided them into the cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-ICH group and hypertension (HTN)-ICH group. The severity of individual SVD markers, including lacunes, cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS), white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and cortical superficial siderosis (cSS), was evaluated.

DL-3n-Butylphthalide Improves Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity in Rat After Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion.

DL-3n-butylphthalide (NBP) has beneficial effects in different stages of ischemic stroke. Our previous studies have demonstrated that NBP promoted angiogenesis in the perifocal region of the ischemic brain. However, the molecular mechanism of NBP for blood-brain barrier protection in acute ischemic stroke was unclear.

M2 microglial small extracellular vesicles reduce glial scar formation the miR-124/STAT3 pathway after ischemic stroke in mice.

Glial scars present a major obstacle for neuronal regeneration after stroke. Thus, approaches to promote their degradation and inhibit their formation are beneficial for stroke recovery. The interaction of microglia and astrocytes is known to be involved in glial scar formation after stroke; however, how microglia affect glial scar formation remains unclear.

The Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Chromosome 9p21 and CD147 Were Relevant with the Carotid Plaque Risk in Acute Cerebral Infarction Patients Among Chinese Han Population.

This study focused on the relevance between the carotid plaque formation and the single nucleotide polymorphisms of chromosome 9p21 and CD147 in acute non-cardiogenic cerebral infarction. A total of 937 eligible patients were enrolled and categorized into carotid plaque group or non-carotid plaque group. The baseline data was analyzed, and the SNPs of chromosome 9p21 and CD147 were detected.

P2Y6 receptor inhibition aggravates ischemic brain injury by reducing microglial phagocytosis.

Introduction: Clearance of damaged cells and debris is beneficial for the functional recovery after ischemic brain injury. However, the specific phagocytic receptor that mediates microglial phagocytosis after ischemic stroke is unknown.

Aim: To investigate whether P2Y6 receptor-mediated microglial phagocytosis is beneficial for the debris clearance and functional recovery after ischemic stroke.

Abnormal blood pressure circadian rhythms are relevant to cerebral infarction and Leukoaraiosis in hypertensive patients.

Background: To investigate the relationships between blood pressure (BP) circadian rhythms and acute cerebral infarction (ACI), silent cerebral infarction (SCI) and the severity of leukoaraiosis in hypertensive patients.

Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed among hypertensive patients with 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Results: A total of 1267 patients were enrolled.

Rapamycin Increases Collateral Circulation in Rodent Brain after Focal Ischemia as detected by Multiple Modality Dynamic Imaging.

: Brain collaterals contribute to improving ischemic stroke outcomes. However, dynamic and timely investigations of collateral blood flow and collateral restoration in whole brains of living animals have rarely been reported. : Using multiple modalities of imaging, including synchrotron radiation angiography, laser speckle imaging, and micro-CT imaging, we dynamically explored collateral circulation throughout the whole brain in the rodent middle cerebral artery occlusion model.

Lysosome exocytosis is involved in astrocyte ATP release after oxidative stress induced by HO.

Background And Purpose: Studies demonstrated that oxidative damage decreased intracellular ATP level in astrocytes. However, the pathway mediated ATP level decrease is obscure. Our previous study found intracellular ATP could be released via lysosome exocytosis in astrocytes.

Increased Inflammatory Response in Old Mice is Associated with More Severe Neuronal Injury at the Acute Stage of Ischemic Stroke.

Stroke occurs mostly in patients with advanced age. Elderly patients have a less favorable prognosis compared with young adult patients. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we tested our hypothesis that an increased inflammatory response to acute ischemic injury in old stroke mice leads to more severe brain damage and behavioral dysfunction.

Total MRI burden of cerebral vessel disease correlates with the progression in patients with acute single small subcortical strokes.

Background: The patients of single small subcortical strokes (SS) commonly have neurological worsening with risk factors, and mechanisms remain unclear. Asymptomatic lacunes, white matter lesions, cerebral microbleeds, and enlarged perivascular spaces are MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). Previous studies mostly explored the association between the neurological deterioration and presence of above markers separately.

Thalidomide Reduces Hemorrhage of Brain Arteriovenous Malformations in a Mouse Model.

Background And Purpose: Brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) is an important risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage. Current treatments for bAVM are all associated with considerable risks. There is no safe method to prevent bAVM hemorrhage.

Quality of life among patients during subacute phase following stroke during hospitalisation period in Shanghai.

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the quality of life of in-hospital subacute stroke patients. The patients of subacute stroke (within four weeks) in our institution between 2015 and 2016 were recruited. Patients' characteristics and QOL were obtained from medical charts and stroke-specific quality of life scale (SS-QOL).

Arterial stiffness and stroke: de-stiffening strategy, a therapeutic target for stroke.

Stroke is the second leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Early intervention is of great importance in reducing disease burden. Since the conventional risk factors cannot fully account for the pathogenesis of stroke, it is extremely important to detect useful biomarkers of the vascular disorder for appropriate intervention.

Soluble FLT1 Gene Therapy Alleviates Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Severity.

Background And Purpose: Brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) is an important risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage. Current therapies are associated with high morbidities. Excessive vascular endothelial growth factor has been implicated in bAVM pathophysiology.

Thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist SQ29548 reduces ischemic stroke-induced microglia/macrophages activation and enrichment, and ameliorates brain injury.

Thromboxane A2 receptor (TXA2R) activation is thought to be involved in thrombosis/hemostasis and inflammation responses. We have previously shown that TXA2R antagonist SQ29548 attenuates BV2 microglia activation by suppression of ERK pathway, but its effect is not tested in vivo. The present study aims to explore the role of TXA2R on microglia/macrophages activation after ischemia/reperfusion brain injury in mice.

Integrin β8 Deletion Enhances Vascular Dysplasia and Hemorrhage in the Brain of Adult Alk1 Heterozygous Mice.

Brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM), characterized by tangled dysplastic vessels, is an important cause of intracranial hemorrhage in young adults, and its pathogenesis and progression are not fully understood. Patients with haploinsufficiency of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptors, activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) or endoglin (ENG) have a higher incidence of bAVM than the general population. However, bAVM does not develop effectively in mice with the same haploinsufficiency.

Persistent infiltration and pro-inflammatory differentiation of monocytes cause unresolved inflammation in brain arteriovenous malformation.

An abnormally high number of macrophages are present in human brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) with or without evidence of prior hemorrhage, causing unresolved inflammation that may enhance abnormal vascular remodeling and exacerbate the bAVM phenotype. The reasons for macrophage accumulation at the bAVM sites are not known. We tested the hypothesis that persistent infiltration and pro-inflammatory differentiation of monocytes in angiogenic tissues increase the macrophage burden in bAVM using two mouse models and human monocytes.

Activation of α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor reduces ischemic stroke injury through reduction of pro-inflammatory macrophages and oxidative stress.

Activation of α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α-7 nAchR) has a neuro-protective effect on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. However, the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. We hypothesized that α-7 nAchR agonist protects brain injury after ischemic stroke through reduction of pro-inflammatory macrophages (M1) and oxidative stress.

Endoglin deficiency impairs stroke recovery.

Background And Purpose: Endoglin deficiency causes hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia-1 and impairs myocardial repair. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia-1 are associated with a high incidence of paradoxical embolism in the cerebral circulation and ischemic brain injury. We hypothesized that endoglin deficiency impairs stroke recovery.