Multiple Roles of Paeoniflorin in Alzheimer's Disease

Association Between Porphyromonas gingivalis and Alzheimer's Disease: A Comprehensive Review

Background

Periodontitis has long been linked to various inflammatory, chronic, and immunological diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes. Recently, there has been increasing scientific interest in the bidirectional relationship that may exist between periodontitis and the presence and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), where it is hypothesized that the infiltration of oral microorganisms (mainly Porphyromonas gingivalis) into the bloodstream, which subsequently reaches the brain, causes inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes related to AD.

Purpose

The purpose of this review is to determine the association between Porphyromonas gingivalis and Alzheimer's disease in older adults.

Patients and Methods

It was carried out using different databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, among others, of no more than 10 years old focused on older adult patients who have presented periodontitis and Alzheimer's disease. MESH-indexed terms were used, getting 307 articles. After removing 206 duplicates and applying inclusion criteria (language, relevance, and contribution to the study's objectives), 24 articles were selected for analysis.

Conclusion

Evidence has been found that gingipains produced by P. gingivalis may contribute to the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain and nerve cell damage characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. It has also been observed that P. gingivalis can enter the brain and stimulate a local immune response. Although the association is promising, more research is needed to confirm it and to develop effective treatments. These findings may have significant implications for clinical practice, potentially leading to preventive or therapeutic strategies targeting oral health as a modifiable risk factor for AD. Further research could focus on exploring these pathways and developing targeted interventions.

Natural compounds efficacy in complicated diabetes: A new twist impacting ferroptosis

Ferroptosis, as a way of cell death, participates in the body's normal physiological and pathological regulation. Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis may damage glucose-stimulated islets β Insulin secretion and programmed cell death of T2DM target organs are involved in the pathogenesis of T2DM and its complications. Targeting suppression of ferroptosis with specific inhibitors may provide new therapeutic opportunities for previously untreated T2DM and its target organs. Current studies suggest that natural bioactive compounds, which are abundantly available in drugs, foods, and medicinal plants for the treatment of T2DM and its target organs, have recently received significant attention for their various biological activities and minimal toxicity, and that many natural compounds appear to have a significant role in the regulation of ferroptosis in T2DM and its target organs. Therefore, this review summarized the potential treatment strategies of natural compounds as ferroptosis inhibitors to treat T2DM and its complications, providing potential lead compounds and natural phytochemical molecular nuclei for future drug research and development to intervene in ferroptosis in T2DM.

Effects of Danggui-Shaoyao-San on central neuroendocrine and pharmacokinetics in female ovariectomized rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The traditional Chinese medicine formula Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS) has been reported to have estrogen-like effects and therapeutic effects on the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

AIM OF THE STUDY

To explore whether the central oxytocin and neuroendocrine system is involved in the modulating effects of DSS on the cognition and neuropsychiatric hebaviors in female AD rats, and to investigate the pharmacokinetics of paeoniflorin and ferulic acid in female AD rats with DSS treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

DSS (1.2, 3.2, 8.6g/kg/day) was orally administered to ovariectomized (OVX) rats, and saline was orally administered to sham operation rats as control group. The Morris water maze test, novel object recognition test, and passive avoidance test were conducted for evaluation of learning and memory abilities, while elevated plus maze test and forced swim test were performed to assess anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. ELISA kits were used to detect the levels of estrogen (E), estrogen receptor α (ERα), oxytocin (OT), oxytocin receptor (OTR), acetylcholine (Ach), acetylcholin esterase (AchE), and choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) in the cortex. The concentrations of Ach, glutamate (Glu), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) in the hippocampus were assessed by HPLC-MS. The changes of neuronal morphology in the hippocampus were observed by Nissl staining. The pharmacokinetics of paeoniflorin and ferulic acid in OVX rats with DSS treatment were studied by HPLC.

RESULTS

In the Morris water maze test, novel object recognition test, and passive avoidance test, OVX rats showed cognitive impairment. In the elevated plus maze test and forced swim test, the anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors of OVX rats were significant as compared to the control group. Treatment of DSS significantly imporved the cognitive deficits, and ameliorated anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors of OVX rats. The expression of E, ERα, OT, OTR, AchE and ChAT in the cortex of model group were significantly decreased, and DSS significantly reversed these changes. The concentrations of Ach, Glu, GABA, 5-HT and NE in the hippocampus of OVX rats were significantly decreased, whereas DSS significantly increased the levels of Ach, Glu, GABA, 5-HT and NE. There was no significant difference in the concentration of DA in the hippocampus among groups. Degenerating neurons in the hippocampal CA3 region were observed in OVX rats, and the number of neurons was decreased. DSS treatment reduced the degenerating neurons, and incresed the number of neurons. The MRT (0 - ∞), AUC (0 - ∞), Cmax and t1/2z values of paeoniflorin, and the AUC _0-∞ and C_max value of ferulic acid were higher in DSS-treated OVX rats than those in the DSS-treated control rats.

CONCLUSIONS

DSS improves the learning and memory ability, and attenuates anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors of OVX rats. The mechanism may be through increasing estrogen, reducing cholinergic damage, and modulating neurotransmitters. The increase in absorption and elimination time of paeoniflorin and ferulic acid in OVX rats may enhance the efficacy of DSS.

Therapeutic Effects and Metabolic Spectrum of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hengqing II Prescription on Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) seriously damages elders' social and daily abilities around the world. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a rich drug resource bank, could help research AD. In order to explore the role of TCM in AD treatment, 86 AD patients were recruited from the hospital, then treated with Hengqing II prescription and donepezil hydrochloride. The cognitive and serum lipid levels were investigated before and after treatment. The patient's urine was collected after three months of treatment. Metabolites in the urine samples were extracted with methanol and detected on the UHPLC-MS platform. Results proved that Hengqing II can improve cognitive levels and reduce the levels of Hcy, D-D, FIB, Apo B, TC, and LDL-C compared with donepezil hydrochloride (P < 0.05). The results of multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the metabolism of HQII was significantly different compared with Control groups. A total of 66 differential metabolites were found in this comparison (50 were down-regulated and 16 were up-regulated). Four amino acid pathways and one linoleic acid pathway were found through these metabolites. After receiver operating characteristic analysis, it was suggested that palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, SAH, and methionine can be used as biomarkers for treating AD, while the effects of daidzein, genistein, and naringenin on the treatment of AD need to be further studied.

Kernel controlled real-time Complex Langevin simulation

This study explores the utility of a kernel in complex Langevin simulations of quantum real-time dynamics on the Schwinger-Keldysh contour. We give several examples where we use a systematic scheme to find kernels that restore correct convergence of complex Langevin. The schemes combine prior information we know about the system and the correctness of convergence of complex Langevin to construct a kernel. This allows us to simulate up to 2β on the real-time Schwinger-Keldysh contour with the 0 + 1 dimensional anharmonic oscillator using m = 1; λ = 24, which was previously unattainable using the complex Langevin equation.