Olfactory Dysfunction as a Marker for Cognitive Impairment in General Paresis of the Insane: A Clinical Study.

BACKGROUND General paresis of the insane (GPI) is characterized by cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and brain structural abnormalities, mimicking many neuropsychiatric diseases. Olfactory dysfunction has been linked to cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in numerous neuropsychiatric diseases. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether patients with GPI experience olfactory dysfunction and whether olfactory dysfunction is associated with their clinical manifestations.

Abnormalities in Electroencephalographic Microstates in Patients with Late-Life Depression.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is characterized by disrupted brain networks. Resting-state networks in the brain are composed of both stable and transient topological structures known as microstates, which reflect the dynamics of the neural activities. However, the specific pattern of EEG microstate in LLD remains unclear.

Abnormal levels of expression of microRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with traumatic brain injury are induced by microglial activation and correlated with severity of injury.

Background: Microglia play a crucial role in regulating the progression of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In specific, microglia can self-activate and secrete various substances that exacerbate or alleviate the neuroimmune response to TBI. In addition, microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the functional regulation of microglia.

Hypoxia-induced circRNAs encoded by PPARA are highly expressed in human cardiomyocytes and are potential clinical biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a serious cardiovascular disease that adversely affects human health. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the pathological and physiological processes of AMI, but the biological mechanism of their involvement and their clinical significance remain unknown. We aimed to identify circRNAs that are significantly associated with morbidity in the peripheral blood of patients with AMI and evaluate their diagnostic utility.

Altered resting-state brain oscillation and the associated cognitive impairments in late-life depression with different depressive severity: An EEG power spectrum and functional connectivity study.

Objective: Cognitive impairments are prevalent in late-life depression (LLD). However, it remains unclear whether there are concurrent brain oscillation alterations in resting condition across varying level of depression severity. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the characteristics of altered resting-state oscillations, including power spectrum and functional connectivity, and their association with the cognitive impairments in LLD with different depression severity.

Disrupted functional connectivity of the habenula links psychomotor retardation and deficit of verbal fluency and working memory in late-life depression.

Background: Functional abnormalities of the habenula in patients with depression have been demonstrated in an increasing number of studies, and the habenula is involved in cognitive processing. However, whether patients with late-life depression (LLD) exhibit disrupted habenular functional connectivity (FC) and whether habenular FC mediates the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment remain unclear.

Methods: Overall, 127 patients with LLD and 75 healthy controls were recruited.

Relationships Among Short Self-Reported Sleep Duration, Cognitive Impairment, and Insular Functional Connectivity in Late-Life Depression.

Background: Both late-life depression (LLD) and short sleep duration increase the risk of cognitive impairment. Increased insular resting-state functional connectivity (FC) has been reported in individuals with short sleep duration and dementia.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether short sleep duration is associated with impaired cognition and higher insular FC in patients with LLD.

MiR-145 regulates steroidogenesis in mouse primary granulosa cells by targeting Arpc5 and subsequent cytoskeleton remodeling.

MicroRNA (miR)-145 is enriched in the follicular granulosa cells (GCs) of 3-week-old mice. Downregulating miR-145 inhibits the proliferation and differentiation of GCs and induces evident changes in their cytoskeleton. In this study, we examined how miR-145 induces cytoskeletal changes in mouse GCs and its potential mechanism in regulating GC steroidogenesis.

Identification of novel key genes associated with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma progression and prognosis.

Background: Uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is a common malignant cancer type which affects the health of women worldwide. However, its molecular mechanism has not been elucidated.

Methods: To identify the hub modules and genes in UCEC associated with clinical phenotypes, the RNA sequencing data and clinical data of 543 UCEC samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and then subjected to weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA).

Disrupted dynamic functional connectivity of hippocampal subregions mediated the slowed information processing speed in late-life depression.

Background: Slowed information processing speed (IPS) is the core contributor to cognitive impairment in patients with late-life depression (LLD). The hippocampus is an important link between depression and dementia, and it may be involved in IPS slowing in LLD. However, the relationship between a slowed IPS and the dynamic activity and connectivity of hippocampal subregions in patients with LLD remains unclear.

Comparison of recurrence rate and risk factors in patients with focal adenomyosis with and without medical treatment after conservative surgery.

Objective: To compare the recurrence rate and risk factors between conservative surgery followed by medical treatments and conservative surgery-only in patients with focal adenomyosis.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in a single teaching hospital from May 2011 to October 2016. All eligible patients were identified into three groups: surgery-only group, surgery combined with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa), and a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) group.

Static and dynamic functional connectivity variability of the anterior-posterior hippocampus with subjective cognitive decline.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a putative Alzheimer's disease (AD) precursor without objective neuropsychological deficits. The hippocampus plays an important role in cognitive function and emotional responses and is generally aberrant in SCD. However, previous studies have mainly focused on static functional connectivity (sFC) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in SCD individuals, and it remains unclear whether hippocampal dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) changes exist in SCD and whether those changes are associated with subtle changes in cognitive function or affect.

Shared and specific dynamics of brain activity and connectivity in amnestic and nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Aims: The present study aimed to compare temporal variability in the spontaneous fluctuations of activity and connectivity between amnestic MCI (aMCI) and nonamnestic MCI (naMCI), which enhances the understanding of their different pathophysiologies and provides targets for individualized intervention.

Methods: Sixty-five naMCI and 48 aMCI subjects and 75 healthy controls were recruited. A sliding window analysis was used to evaluate the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (dALFF), dynamic regional homogeneity (dReHo), and dynamic functional connectivity (dFC).

Resting-state electroencephalography of neural oscillation and functional connectivity patterns in late-life depression.

Background: The clinical manifestations of late-life depression (LLD) are highly heterogeneous. Currently, abnormal characteristics of resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) power and functional connectivity are considered trait markers of depressive symptoms in major depression. However, the relationship between EEG spectral features and functional connectivity in LLD remains unknown.

Elevated homocysteine levels, white matter abnormalities and cognitive impairment in patients with late-life depression.

Background: Cognitive impairment in late-life depression (LLD) is considered to be caused by neurodegenerative changes. Elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels may be linked to cognitive abnormalities associated with LLD. The important role of white matter (WM) damage in cognitive impairment and pathogenesis in patients with LLD has been widely reported.

Altered Microstate Dynamics and Spatial Complexity in Late-Life Schizophrenia.

Background: Resting-state EEG microstate and omega complexity analyses have been widely used to explore deviant brain function in various neuropsychiatric disorders. This study aimed to investigate the features of microstate dynamics and spatial complexity in patients with late-life schizophrenia (LLS).

Method: Microstate and omega complexity analyses were performed on resting-state EEG data from 39 in patients with LLS and compared with 40 elderly normal controls (NCs).

Interactive Effects of Agitation and Cognitive Impairment on Odor Identification in Patients With Late-Life Depression.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is a risk factor for cognitive decline in older adults, and odor identification (OI) deficits are an early indicator of cognitive decline with LLD. However, neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in LLD and are associated with OI deficits. In subjects with LLD, when OI deficits forecast cognitive decline, whether and how NPS affects the relationship between OI and cognition still must be further explored.

Disrupted olfactory functional connectivity in patients with late-life depression.

Background: Odor identification (OI) impairment increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and brain abnormalities in patients with late-life depression (LLD). However, it remains unclear whether abnormal functional connectivity (FC) of olfactory regions is involved in the relationship between OI impairment and dementia risk in LLD patients. The current study aims to explore the olfactory FC patterns of LLD patients and how olfactory FCs mediate the relationship between OI and cognition.

Differences in Odor Identification in Early-Onset and Late-Onset Depression.

(1) Background: Odor identification (OI) dysfunction is a potential predictor of developing dementia in late life depression (LLD). However, it is not clear whether patients with early onset depression (EOD) and late onset depression (LOD) may exhibit different OI dysfunctions. The aim of this study was to compare OI between EOD patients and LOD patients and its relationship with cognitive function.

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Mediated the Relationship Between Odor Identification and Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum: A Structural Equation Model Analysis.

Odor identification dysfunction is an early predictor of the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), which are common in AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are also associated with odor identification dysfunction. Whether NPS affect the specificity of using odor identification dysfunction to predict cognitive decline in AD and MCI remains unclear. Patients (233 with MCI and 45 with AD) and 45 healthy controls (HCs) underwent assessments of odor identification (Sniffin' Sticks), NPS (Neuropsychiatric Inventory-12), and cognitive function (global cognition, memory, language, executive function, visual-spatial skill, and attention).