Contribution of astrocytes to the neurovascular elimination of tau

Tauopathies encompass a collection of chronic,progressive neurodegenerative diseases,including Alzheimer's disease(AD),chronic traumatic encephalopathy,and corticobasal degeneration,characterized by the accumulation of pathogenic aggregates of the microtubule-associated protein tau in neurons and/or glia(Reid et al.,2020).

Why women see differently from the way men see? A review of sex differences in cognition and sports

The differences of learning and memory between males and females have been well documented and confirmed by both human and animal studies. The sex differences in cognition started from early stage of neuronal development and last through entire lifespan. The major biological basis of the gender-dependent cognitive activity includes two major components： sex hormone and sex-related characteristics, such as sex- determining region of the Y chromosome （SRY） protein. However, the knowledge of how much biology of sex contributes to normal cogni- tive function and elite athletes in various sports are still pretty limited. In this review, we will be focusing on sex differences in spatial learning and memory -- especially the role of male- and female-type cognitive behaviors in sports.

Women's health in exercise and aging:What do we know?

Recent articles published in Nature point out how sex bias,primarily concerning male-exclusivity,in biological research result in misleading and ambiguous science.1-4 For example,the majority of animal studies published in academic journals used only males,while only very limited studies were investigated in females or both sexes.The consequences of such male-favored sex bias in biomedical studies had lead to a huge cost in the biomedical industry including drug development.Between 1997and 2001,eight out of 10 prescription drugs were withdrawn from the market by the US FDA because they showed more side

What do we know from clinical trials on exercise and Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is the most common form of dementia in elderly with major symptoms of a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities impairment which are serious enough to interfere with daily life.While there is no treatment can prevent and revise the cognitive function impairment in AD,physical activity becomes a potential beneficia intervention for AD.Multiple evidences suggested that exercise in general plays beneficia roles in improving brain function.Most common mechanisms of exercise-induced enhancement of brain function are including alteration of neurogenesis,neuron plasticity,neuronal signaling and receptors,as well as neuronal networks.This mini review includes most recent clinical studies and focuses on the effects of physical exercise,cognitive stimulation,and combination of both physical and cognitive training on protection and rescue cognitive decline in people with AD.

Physical activity and prevention of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease（AD）is an irreversible,progressive brain disorder that affects about 48 million people worldwide and is the cause of 60%–70%of dementia,particularly in people over 65 years old.Without prevention or treatment,the disease slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and,

Why sex differences in schizophrenia？

Clinical observation shows that men and women are different in prevalence, symptoms, and responses to treatment of several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. While the etiology of gender differences in schizophrenia is only partially understood, recent genetic studies suggest significant sex-specific pathways in the schizophrenia between men and women. More research is needed to understand the causal roles of sex differences in schizophrenia in order to ultimately develop sex-specific treatment of this serious mental illness. In the present review, we will out-line the current evidence on the sex-related factors interaction with disease onset, symptoms and treatment of schizophrenia, and discuss the potential molecular mechanisms that may mediate their cooperative actions in schizophrenia pathogenesis.

Effects of carbohydrate supplements on exercise-induced menstrual dysfunction and ovarian subcellular structural changes in rats

Background： Exercise-associated menstrual dysfunction （EAMD） is a common health problem in female athletes as a part of female athlete triad （FAT）, a condition related to low energy availability. In this study, we explored the possibility that carbohydrate supplements can improve the status of EAMD and prevent exercise-induced ovarian injury in a FAT rat model. This research aimed to provide experimental evidence with regard to the relationship of energy intervention and EAMD. Methods： Forty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats （2 months old） were randomly divided into five experimental groups： control group （C）, 9-week exercise as model for EAMD （E）, post-EAMD recovery group （R）, oligosaccharide intervention group （O）, and glucose intervention group （G）. All rats were sacrificed at the end of 9 weeks. Serum samples were collected for measuring gonadotropin releasing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, 1713-estradiol and progesterone levels. The ovaries were taken for investigation of exercise- and carbohydrate-induced follicular subcellular structure changes. Results： Exercise induced irregular menstrual cycles and ovary subcellular structural damages, such as swollenness of mitochondria in rats from groups E and R. Both glucose and oligosaccharide supplements restored well-differentiated mitochondria in the ovarian follicular cells, and a significant improvement of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi in swollenness in theca cells in groups O and G compared to groups C, E, and R. There was no difference in mitochondria subcellular structural changes between groups O and G. Group E showed attenuation of serum levels of 17β-estradiol and progesterone compared to C. There were no differences of 17β-estradiol serum levels among groups O, G, and R, while group G showed a lower level of progesterone than C. Conclusion： Female adult rats with 9-week continuous exercise can cause menstrual dysregulation as a model for EAMD. Post-EAMD intervention with glucose and oligosaccharide intake can normalize the menstrual cycle, restore the follicular subcellular structure, and reverse the exercise-induced reduction of ovary sex hormones. It suggests a positive feedback of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis might be involved in the molecular mechanisms of energy intake in treating EAMD.

Sex differences in exercise and drug addiction:A mini review of animal studies

Growing literature has demonstrated that exercise may be an effective prevention and treatment option for drug addiction. In the past few years, many studies have suggested that there were sex differences in all phases of drug addiction. However, very limited research has investigated sex differences in the effectiveness of exercise intervention in drug addiction and rehabilitation. In this mini review, we summarize the effect of sex on the results of using exercise to prevent and treat drug addiction. The studies we consider span various animal models and use multiple types of exercise to examine the effectiveness of exercise on the neurobiological mechanism of exercise rehabilitation. We believe that exercise as an adjuvant intervention strategy can be applied better in drug addiction prevention and recovery. Copyright 2014, Shanghai University of Sport. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of fertility history and parity on Alzheimer’s disease:a mini review from animal to human studies

More women than men have Alzheimer's disease(AD)or other dementias.There are a number of potential biological and social reasons for the sex difference in the risk of AD,such as women live longer than men on average,and estrogen depletion after menopause in women,biological or genetic variations,and education,occupation or rates of heart disease.Recent studies showed a link between reproductive history and dementia risk in women.Women with fertility history showed lower risk of dementia compared to women with no child.Other studies also suggested that women's pregnancy history may influence AD's risk.In this review,we will focus on the relationship between women fertility and cognition and discuss the potential role of sex hormones in the brain and cognition,especially on AD pathogenesis.

A review of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase in one-carbon metabolism and psychiatric disorders

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR)is a key enzyme for the critical process of one-carbon circulation,which convert5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to5-methyltetrahydrofolate and participate in folate and homocysteine conversion correlated to methyl group supply.The enzyme activity decline depends on the gene polymorphism.MTHFR impacts on the methylation process which is related to psychiatric diseases.Studies have shown association between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and mental disorders,some of which stratified by folate and cobalamin levels.In this review,we will summarize the testimony on the relationship between methylation and MTHFR polymorphism as well as the implication on psychiatric diseases by MTHFR mutation.

What does complement do in Alzheimer’s disease? Old molecules with new insights

Increasing evidence suggests that inflammatory and immune components in brain are important in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and anti-inflammatory and immunotherapeutic approaches may be amenable to AD treatment.It is known that complement activation occurs in the brain of patients with AD,and contributes to a local inflammatory state development which is correlated with cognitive impairment.In addition to the complement’s critical role in the innate immune system recognizing and killing,or targeting for destruction,complement proteins can also interact with cell surface receptors to promote a local inflammatory response and contributes to the protection and healing of the host.On the other hand,complement activation also causes inflammation and cell damage as an essential immune function to eliminate cell debris and potentially toxic protein aggregates.It is the balance of these seemingly competing events that influences the ultimate state of neuronal function.Our mini review will be focusing on the unique molecular interactions happening in the AD development,the functional outcomes of those interactions,as well as the contribution of each element to AD.

Screening Preeclamptic Cord Plasma for Proteins Associated with Decreased Breast Cancer Susceptibility

Preeclampsia, a complication of pregnancy characterized by hypertension and proteinuria, has been found to reduce the subsequent risk for breast cancer in female offspring. As this pro- tective effect could be due to exposure to preeclampsia-specific proteins during intrauterine life, the proteomic profiles of umbilical cord blood plasma between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies were compared. Umbilical cord plasma samples, depleted of 14 abundant proteins, were subjected to proteomic analysis using the quantitative method of nanoACQUITY ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with elevated energy mode of acquisitionE （NanoUPLC-MSE）. Sixty-nine differentially expressed proteins were identified, of which 15 and 6 proteins were only detected in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies, respectively.Additionally, expression of 8 proteins （gelsolin, complement C5, keratin type I cytoskeletal 10, pigment epithelium-derived factor, complement factor B, complement component C7, hemoglobin subunit gamma-2 and alpha-fetoprotein） were up-regulated in preeclampsia with a fold change of 1〉 2.0 when compared to normotensive pregnancies. The identification of alpha-fetoprotein in pre- eclamptic umbilical cord blood plasma supported the validity of this screen as alpha-fetoprotein has anti-estrogenic properties and has previously been linked to preeclampsia as well as a reduced breast cancer risk. The findings of this pilot study may provide new insights into the mechanistic link between preeclampsia and potentially reduced breast cancer susceptibility in adult life.

Mini review: linkage between α-Synuclein protein and cognition

α-synuclein is a protein that plays important roles in cognitive function in the normal brain,although its exact role is not fully understood.However,current studies reveal that defects inα-synuclein function could contribute to various neurodegenerative disorders,such as Parkinson’s disease(PD),a disease with symptomatic progression of deterioration in motor and cognitive function.Recent studies show that the level ofα-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)is highly correlated with speed of cognitive decline,suggesting a potential role ofα-synuclein in cognitive function.In this mini review,we will be focus on literatures ofα-synuclein in cognitive function in the non-diseased brain,as well as the impact that defectiveα-synuclein has on cognition in disease brain.This will be accomplished by assessing the effects of solubleα-synuclein,α-synuclein oligomers,and extracellularα-synuclein transport,on neurodegeneration.