Elderly Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment Exhibit Altered Gut Microbiota Profiles.

Background: As a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by a worse cognitive decline than that of natural aging. The association between AD and gut microbiota has been reported in a number of studies; however, microbial research regarding MCI remains limited.

Methods: This study examined 48 participants, of whom 22 were MCI cases and 26 were normal control cases.

Mutant presenilin2 promotes apoptosis through the p53/miR-34a axis in neuronal cells.

Neurodegenerative disorders have attracted attention in last decades due to their high incidence in the world. The p53/miR-34a axis triggers apoptosis and suppresses viability in multiple types of cells, but little is known about its role in neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we showed that presenilin (PS)-2, a major gene associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) could trigger the apoptosis through the p53/miR-34a axis in PC12 cells.

[Effects of sleep deprivation on the intelligence structure of school-age children in Changsha, China].

Objective: To investigate the effects of sleep deprivation on intelligence development in primary school students.

Methods: Between June 2009 and April 2010, 316 grade 5 students aged 10-11 years were selected from four primary schools in four administrative districts of Changsha, China by stratified random sampling. The intelligence characteristics of children with varying degrees of sleep deprivation were investigated using the Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

Reliability, validity, and optimal cutoff score of the montreal cognitive assessment (changsha version) in ischemic cerebrovascular disease patients of hunan province, china.

Background/aims: The goal of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Changsha version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-CS) in ischemic cerebrovascular disease patients of Hunan Province, China, and to explore the optimal cutoff score for detecting vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND) and vascular dementia (VD).

Methods: Three hundred and thirty-eight ischemic cerebrovascular disease patients (131 with normal cognition, 111 with VCI-ND, and 96 with VD) and 132 healthy controls were recruited. All participants accepted examination by the MoCA-CS, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and other related scales.