Downregulation of miR-146a, cyclooxygenase-2 and advanced glycation end-products in simvastatin-treated older patients with hyperlipidemia.

Aim: Hyperlipidemia is a disease with abnormally elevated levels of lipids/lipoproteins in the blood, and it is regarded as an important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Statins have been found to prevent vascular diseases by reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and regulation of immune responses. Here, we aim to study the expression change of immune-related microRNA and genes in older patients with hyperlipidemia after treatment with simvastatin.

Therapeutic effect of forest bathing on human hypertension in the elderly.

Objective: To provide scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of forest bathing as a natural therapy for human hypertension.

Methods: Twenty-four elderly patients with essential hypertension were randomly divided into two groups of 12. One group was sent to a broad-leaved evergreen forest to experience a 7-day/7-night trip, and the other was sent to a city area in Hangzhou for control.

Effects of short-term forest bathing on human health in a broad-leaved evergreen forest in Zhejiang Province, China.

Objective: To investigate the effects of short-term forest bathing on human health.

Methods: Twenty healthy male university students participated as subjects and were randomly divided into two groups of 10. One group was sent on a two-night trip to a broad-leaved evergreen forest, and the other was sent to a city area.

Antiaging effect of pine pollen in human diploid fibroblasts and in a mouse model induced by D-galactose.

The present paper was designed to investigate the effect of pine pollen against aging in human diploid fibroblast 2BS cells and in an accelerated aging model, which was established by subcutaneous injections with D-galactose daily for 8 weeks in C57BL/6J mice. Pine pollen (1 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL) is proved to delay the replicative senescence of 2BS cells as evidenced by enhanced cell proliferation, decreased SA-β-Gal activity, and reversed expression of senescence-associated molecular markers, such as p53, p21(Waf1), p16(INK4a), PTEN, and p27(Kip1) in late PD cells. Besides, pine pollen reversed D-galactose-induced aging effects in neural activity and inflammatory cytokine levels, as indicated by improved memory latency time and reduced error rate in step-down test and decreased concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in model mice.