Efficacy and safety of short-term edaravone or nerve growth factor add-on therapy for alcohol-related brain damage: A multi-centre randomised control trial.

Aims: To measure the therapeutic effect of an anti-oxidant, edaravone (EDV), or neurotrophic treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF) as an add-on treatment for alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD).

Design: Multi-centre, randomised, single-blinded, comparative clinical trial.

Setting And Participants: One hundred and twenty-two inpatients recruited from seven hospitals in different regions of China, all diagnosed with ARBD and aged 18 to 65 years old; among them, only two were female.

The role of illness-related cognition in the relationships between resilience and depression/anxiety in nasopharyngeal cancer patients.

Objective: Resilience has been reported as an important predictor of better mental health and prognoses in cancer patients, while its mechanisms were not clearly elucidated. In this study, we surveyed a large sample of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients to investigate the mediating role of illness-related cognition (illness perception, stigma and meaning in life) on the associations between resilience and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 773 participants diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Intricate role of intestinal microbe and metabolite in schizophrenia.

Background: The brain-gut axis has gained increasing attention due to its contribution to the etiology of various central nervous system disorders. This study aims to elucidate the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with disturbances in intestinal microflora and imbalance in intestinal metabolites. By exploring the intricate relationship between the gut and the brain, with the goal of offering fresh perspectives and valuable insights into the potential contribution of intestinal microbial and metabolites dysbiosis to the etiology of schizophrenia.

Physical activity and its fluctuations in relation to depressive symptoms: A national longitudinal study among Chinese adults.

Background: Physical activity (PA) may prevent depressive symptoms, however, PA fluctuations may have different effects. Using three waves of nationally representative data, this study aimed to examine the effects of PA fluctuations on depressive symptoms.

Methods: Participants comprised 7633 adults free of depressive symptoms at the first two waves (M = 45.

Inhibitor screening for volume-sensitive LRRC8A chloride channel.

Leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 8 A (LRRC8A) protein is a critical member of volume-regulated anion channels. It plays a critical roles in the regulation of cellular volume and involves in the development of diseases like osteoarthritis. Screening of lead compounds to modulate its function may provide potential therapeutics of related diseases.

Alexithymia in chronic schizophrenia and its mediating effect between cognitive deficits and negative symptoms.

Background: Although cognition is known to impact clinical symptoms of schizophrenia, few studies investigate the potential mediators of this relationship. This study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive deficits and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, considering the mediating role of alexithymia as an important psychological variable. Moreover, the prevalence of alexithymia in patients with schizophrenia was investigated.

Analysis of genetic biomarkers, polymorphisms in ADME-related genes and their impact on pharmacotherapy for prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a non-cutaneous malignancy in males with wide variation in incidence rates across the globe. It is the second most reported cause of cancer death. Its etiology may have been linked to genetic polymorphisms, which are not only dominating cause of malignancy casualties but also exerts significant effects on pharmacotherapy outcomes.

Model containing sarcopenia and visceral adiposity can better predict the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter study.

Aim: This study aimed to explore whether the addition of sarcopenia and visceral adiposity could improve the accuracy of model predicting progression-free survival (PFS) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: In total, 394 patients with HCC from five hospitals were divided into the training and external validation datasets. Patients were initially treated by liver resection or transarterial chemoembolization.

Machine learning-based early diagnosis of autism according to eye movements of real and artificial faces scanning.

Background: Studies on eye movements found that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had abnormal gaze behavior to social stimuli. The current study aimed to investigate whether their eye movement patterns in relation to cartoon characters or real people could be useful in identifying ASD children.

Methods: Eye-tracking tests based on videos of cartoon characters and real people were performed for ASD and typically developing (TD) children aged between 12 and 60 months.

Hypercoagulable state in patients with schizophrenia: different effects of acute and chronic antipsychotic medications.

Background: Previous studies reported higher incidences of venous thromboembolism and cardiovascular disease in schizophrenia patients and higher indicators of thrombosis, thrombocyte activation, and platelet dysfunction.

Objectives: To check if first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients have a hypercoagulable state and determine whether acute and chronic antipsychotics have the same effect on blood coagulation or fibrinolysis-related biomarkers.

Design: Case-control study.

Prevalence of co-occurring severe depression and psychotic symptoms in college students and its relationship with childhood maltreatment.

Background: It has been demonstrated that childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with an increased risk of depression and psychotic symptoms. However, there is still a lack of studies on the prevalence of co-occurring severe depression and psychotic symptoms (CSDPS) and the association between CM and CSDPS among college students.

Objective: We aim to investigate the prevalence and demographic distribution of CSDPS among Chinese college students and to examine its relationship with CM.

Differential regulation of hippocampal transcriptome by circulating estrogen.

Estrogen (E2) modulates the synaptic structure and plasticity in the hippocampus. Previous studies showed that E2 fluctuations during various phases of the menstrual cycle produce subtle neurosynaptic changes that impact women's behavior, emotion, and cognitive functions. In this study, we explored the transcriptome of the hippocampus via RNA-seq (RNA-sequencing) between proestrus (PE) and diestrus (DE) stages in young female rats to determine the effect of E2 of PE and DE stages on hippocampal gene expression.

The association of SOD and HsCRP with the efficacy of sulforaphane in schizophrenia patients with residual negative symptoms.

Objectives: Emerging evidence indicates a connection between oxidative stress, immune-inflammatory processes, and the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition to possessing potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, sulforaphane (SFN) has shown promise in enhancing cognitive function among individuals with schizophrenia. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of combined treatment with SFN in patients with schizophrenia who experience negative symptoms and its effect on the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the inflammatory marker, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (HsCRP).

Targeted therapy using engineered extracellular vesicles: principles and strategies for membrane modification.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are 30-150 nm membrane-bound vesicles naturally secreted by cells and play important roles in intercellular communication by delivering regulatory molecules such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolites to recipient cells. As natural nano-carriers, EVs possess desirable properties such as high biocompatibility, biological barrier permeability, low toxicity, and low immunogenicity, making them potential therapeutic delivery vehicles. EVs derived from specific cells have inherent targeting capacity towards specific cell types, which is yet not satisfactory enough for targeted therapy development and needs to be improved.

Dorsal and ventral fronto-amygdala networks underlie risky decision-making in age-related cognitive decline.

Older adults often have difficulty in making decisions under uncertainty, increasing the risk of financial exploitation. However, it is still under investigation about the extent to which cognitive decline influences risky decision-making and the underlying neural correlates. We hypothesized that the individual differences of risk-taking behavior depend on cognitive integrity, in which the dorsal and ventral fronto-amygdala connectivity would play dissociable roles.

The enteric nervous system deficits in autism spectrum disorder.

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are common comorbidities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and abnormalities in these issues have been found to be closely related to the severity of core behavioral deficits in autism. The enteric nervous system (ENS) plays a crucial role in regulating various aspects of gut functions, including gastrointestinal motility. Dysfunctional wiring in the ENS not only results in various gastrointestinal issues, but also correlates with an increasing number of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, such as ASD.

MicroRNA expression profiles of stress susceptibility and resilience in the prelimbic and infralimbic cortex of rats after single prolonged stress.

The experience of traumatic stress can engender lasting memories associated with the trauma, often resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, only a minority of individuals develop PTSD symptoms upon exposure. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the pathology of PTSD are poorly understood.

Therapeutic potential of gene therapy for gastrointestinal diseases: Advancements and future perspectives.

Advancements in understanding the pathogenesis mechanisms underlying gastrointestinal diseases, encompassing inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal cancer, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, have led to the identification of numerous novel therapeutic targets. These discoveries have opened up exciting possibilities for developing gene therapy strategies to treat gastrointestinal diseases. These strategies include gene replacement, gene enhancement, gene overexpression, gene function blocking, and transgenic somatic cell transplantation.

Shared and specific neurobiology in bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder: Evidence based on the connectome gradient and a transcriptome-connectome association study.

Background: Distinguishing bipolar disorder (BD) and unipolar disorder (UD) remains challenging. To identify the common and diagnosis-specific neuropathological alterations and their potential molecular mechanisms in patients with UD and BD (with a current depressive episode).

Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was obtained from 279 participants (95 BD patients, 107 UD patients and 77 health controls).