UNASSIGNED: Regular Baduanjin exercise training has been shown to be beneficial to the physical and cognitive health of older adults, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be investigated. This study examined the influence of Baduanjin on cerebral hemodynamics in community-dwelling older adults with cognitive frailty.
UNASSIGNED: Randomized controlled trial.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 102 eligible participants were randomly allocated into the Baduanjin exercise intervention group (BEG) or usual physical activity control group (CG) for 24 weeks. Cerebral hemodynamic parameters of bilateral middle/anterior cerebral artery and basilar artery, cognitive ability and physical frailty were assessed using Transcranial Doppler (TCD), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Edmonton Frailty Scale (EFS) at baseline and 24 weeks post-intervention.
UNASSIGNED: After 24 weeks intervention, the changes in peak systolic velocity (PSV), mean blood flow velocity (MBFV), and end diastolic velocity (EDV) in the right middle cerebral artery and basilar artery were better in the BEG than in the CG; the increase in MoCA scores and the decrease in EFS scores were significantly higher in the BEG than in the CG. Moreover, the interaction of exercise and time on those variables showed obvious significance.
UNASSIGNED: The 24 weeks Baduanjin exercise training had a positive beneficial effect on cerebral blood flow in community-dwelling older adults with cognitive frailty. This may be a potential mechanism by which Baduanjin exercise improves the cognitive frailty in older adults.
UNASSIGNED: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800020341.
UNASSIGNED: December 25, 2018, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=29846.

UNASSIGNED: The incidence of ischemic cerebrovascular disease is increasing in recent years and has been one of the leading causes of neurological dysfunction and death. Ginsenoside Rg1 has been found to protect against neuronal damage in many neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effect and mechanism by which Rg1 protects against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) are not fully understood. Here, we report the neuroprotective effects of Rg1 treatment on CIRI and its possible mechanisms in mice.
UNASSIGNED: A bilateral common carotid artery ligation was used to establish a chronic CIRI model in mice. HT22 cells were treated with Rg1 after OGD/R to study its effect on [Ca2+]i. The open-field test and pole-climbing experiment were used to detect behavioral injury. The laser speckle blood flowmeter was used to measure brain blood flow. The Nissl and H&E staining were used to examine the neuronal damage. The Western blotting was used to examine MAP2, PSD95, Tau, p-Tau, NOX2, PLC, p-PLC, CN, NFAT1, and NLRP1 expression. Calcium imaging was used to test the level of [Ca2+]i.
UNASSIGNED: Rg1 treatment significantly improved cerebral blood flow, locomotion, and limb coordination, reduced ROS production, increased MAP2 and PSD95 expression, and decreased p-Tau, NOX2, p-PLC, CN, NFAT1, and NLRP1 expression. Calcium imaging results showed that Rg1 could inhibit calcium overload and resist the imbalance of calcium homeostasis after OGD/R in HT22 cells.
UNASSIGNED: Rg1 plays a neuroprotective role in attenuating CIRI by inhibiting oxidative stress, calcium overload, and neuroinflammation.

Antiangiogenic therapy is a universal approach to the treatment of malignant gliomas but fails to prolong the overall survival of newly diagnosed or recurrent glioblastoma patients. Imaging biomarkers are quantitative imaging parameters capable of objectively describing biological processes, pathological changes and treatment responses in some situations and have been utilized for outcome predictions of malignant gliomas in anti-angiogenic therapy. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques (including perfusion-weighted imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging), positron emission computed tomography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy are imaging techniques that can be used to acquire imaging biomarkers, including the relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), Ktrans, and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). Imaging indicators for a better prognosis when treating malignant gliomas with antiangiogenic therapy include the following: a lower pre- or post-treatment rCBV, less change in rCBV during treatment, a lower pre-treatment Ktrans, a higher vascular normalization index during treatment, less change in arterio-venous overlap during treatment, lower pre-treatment ADC values for the lower peak, smaller ADC volume changes during treatment, and metabolic changes in glucose and phenylalanine. The investigation and utilization of these imaging markers may confront challenges, but may also promote further development of anti-angiogenic therapy. Despite considerable evidence, future prospective studies are critically needed to consolidate the current data and identify novel biomarkers.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a promising treatment for disorders of consciousness (DOC), but the underlying mechanism and most effective procedures remain uncertain. To optimize the protocol, previous studies evaluated the frequency-specific effects of SCS on neurophysiological activities. However, whether and how the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) parameter affects the SCS neuromodulation in DOC remains unknown. We enrolled nine DOC patients who had implanted SCS devices and conducted three different durations of ISIs. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we monitored the blood volume fluctuations in the prefrontal and occipital cortices during the SCS. The results showed that short stimuli (30 s) induced significant cerebral blood volume changes, especially in the prefrontal cortex, an important area in the consciousness system. By comparing the mean value of the responses from the first and the last block in each session, a shorter ISI was found to improve the blood volume in the prefrontal cortex. This phenomenon was more significant for the subgroup of patients with a favorable prognosis. These preliminary results imply that the ISI may be an important factor for SCS. The research paradigm proposed here also provides insights for further quantitative evaluations of the therapeutic effects of neuromodulation.

Ischemic stroke and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury induced by thrombolytic therapy are conditions with high mortality and serious long-term physical and cognitive disabilities. They have a major impact on global public health. These disorders are associated with multiple insults to the cerebral microcirculation, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, leukocyte adhesion and infiltration, brain blood barrier (BBB) disruption, and capillary hypoperfusion, ultimately resulting in tissue edema, hemorrhage, brain injury and delayed neuron damage. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries for treatment of a wide range of diseases. In China, the usage of compound TCM preparation to treat cerebrovascular diseases dates back to the Han Dynasty. Even thousands of years earlier, the medical formulary recorded many classical prescriptions for treating cerebral I/R-related diseases. This review summarizes current information and underlying mechanisms regarding the ameliorating effects of compound TCM preparation, Chinese materia medica, and active components on I/R-induced cerebral microcirculatory disturbances, brain injury and neuron damage.