To evaluate evidence for the role of probiotic supplementation in enhancing natural killer (NK) cell function in healthy elderly individuals. Five electronic databases were searched, and references ...of included articles and eligible reviews up to December 2019, with English language and human subject restrictions, were examined. Two independent reviewers identified randomized control trials (RCTs) of probiotic supplementation influencing NK cell function in healthy elderly individuals, assessed the quality of every article, and extracted data for subsequent meta-analysis. We identified six eligible trials including 364 healthy elderly subjects. Trials were heterogeneous in study design and probiotic supplementation (including genus, strain, dose, and duration). Five trials used Lactobacillus interventions alone or in combination with Bifidobacterium. Only one trial focused on Bacillus coagulans. The duration of supplementation ranged from 3 to 12 weeks, and the doses, from 1 × 10
to 4 × 10
colony-forming units. Pooling data of eligible trials showed that probiotics significantly (P < 0.05) increased NK cell activity in healthy elderly individuals (standardized mean difference = 0.777, 95% confidence interval: 0.187‒1.366, P = 0.01, I
= 84.6%). Although we obtained a significant outcome, the data do not provide convincing evidence for associations between probiotic supplementation and enhancement of NK cell function, given the small final number and very large heterogeneity. More RCTs with sufficient sample sizes and long-term follow-up are needed to focus on optimal probiotic dose, species, and duration of supplementation for healthy elderly individuals.
Tongue coating is an important health indicator in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The tongue coating microbiome can distinguish disease patients from healthy controls. To study the relationship ...between different types of tongue coatings and health, we analyzed the species composition of different types of tongue coatings and the co-occurrence relationships between microorganisms in Chinese adults. The microbial composition was similar among the different tongue coatings; however, the abundance of microorganisms differed. TWF had a higher abundance of Fusobacterium periodonticum and Neisseria mucosa, the highest alpha-diversity, and a highly connected community (average degree = 3.59, average closeness centrality = 0.33). TYF had the lowest alpha-diversity, but the most species in the co-occurrence network diagram (number of nodes = 88). The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was associated with tongue coating (P = 0.035), and the YGF and TYF groups had higher PLR values. In the co-occurrence network, Aggregatibacter segnis was the "driver species" of the TWF and TYF groups and correlated with C-reactive protein (P < 0.05). Streptococcus anginosus was the "driver species" in the YGF and TWF groups and was positively correlated with body mass index and weight (P < 0.05). Different tongue coatings have similar microbial compositions but different abundances of certain bacteria. The co-occurrence of microorganisms in the different tongue coatings also varies. The significance of different tongue coatings in TCM theory is consistent with the characteristics and roles of the corresponding tongue-coating microbes. This further supports considering tongue coating as a risk factor for disease.
Although frailty is a common geriatric syndrome in old adults, a simple method to assess the degree of frailty in a person has not yet been established. In this study we have tried to establish the ...association between calf circumference (CC) and frailty among older Chinese people.
We used the data obtained from the 2014 edition of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey; 1216 participants aged ≥60 years were included for the study. Body mass index, CC and waist circumference measurement data, and laboratory test results were collected. Frailty status was measured using the frailty index (FI). Participants were then classified into non-frail (FI < 0.25) and frail (FI ≥ 0.25) groups.
There were 874 participants (71.9%) in the non-frail group and 342 (28.1%) in the frail group. The CC was significantly different between the two groups (31.54 ± 4.16 versus 28.04 ± 4.53, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that CC (odds ratio = 0.947, 95% confidence interval: 0.904-0.993, P = 0.023) was an independent impact factor associated with frailty. The CC value of 28.5 cm was considered the best cut-off value in women with area under the curve (AUC) was 0.732 (P < 0.001) and 29.5 cm in men with AUC was 0.592 (P = 0.004);We created a simple prediction model for frailty that included age,sex and CC:Formula: see textP = e
/1 + e
, and AUC is 0.849 (P < 0.001).
CC is a convenient and predictable marker of frailty in older adults.
The physiological and pathological processes that accompany aging can seriously affect the quality of life of the elderly population. Therefore, delaying aging and developing antiaging products have ...become popular areas of inquiry. Gut microbiota plays an important role in age-related phenotypes. The present study aimed to investigate the antiaging effects and underlying mechanism of parishin, a phenolic glucoside isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Gastrodia elata. Samples from adult (12 weeks), low-dose (10 mg/kg/d) or high-dose (20 mg/kg/d) parishin-treated and untreated aged (19 months) mice were collected to determine blood indicators, gut microbiota and metabolome, and cardiopulmonary histopathological features. The results showed that parishin treatment ameliorates aging-induced cardiopulmonary fibrosis and increase in serum p16
, GDF15, and IL-6 levels. Furthermore, parishin treatment alleviated dysbiosis in gut microbiota, including altered microbial diversity and the aberrant abundance of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria such as
and
. Gene function prediction and gut metabolome analysis results indicated that the parishin treatment-altered gut microbiota played important roles in sugar, lipid, amino acid and nucleic acid metabolism, and improved gut metabolic disorders in aged mice. In conclusion, the present study provides an experimental basis of potential applications of parishin against aging.
Cardiac aging progressively decreases physiological function and drives chronic/degenerative aging-related heart diseases. Therefore, it is crucial to postpone the aging process of heart and create ...products that combat aging.
The objective of this study is to examine the effects of parishin, a phenolic glucoside isolated from traditional Chinese medicine Gastrodia elata, on anti-aging and its underlying mechanism. To assess the senescent biomarkers, cardiac function, cardiac weight/body weight ratio, cardiac transcriptomic changes, and cardiac histopathological features, heart tissue samples were obtained from young mice (12 weeks), aged mice (19 months) treated with parishin, and aged mice that were not treated.
Parishin treatment improved cardiac function, ameliorated aging-induced cardiac injury, hypertrophy, and fibrosis, decreased cardiac senescence biomarkers p16Ink4a, p21Cip1, and IL-6, and increased the “longevity factor” SIRT1 expression in heart tissue. Furthermore, the transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that parishin treatment alleviated the cardiac aging-related Gja1 downregulation and Cyp2e1, Ccna2, Cdca3, and Fgf12 upregulation in the heart tissues. The correlation analysis suggested a strong connection between the anti-aging effect of parishin and its regulation of gut microbiota and metabolism in the aged intestine.
The present study demonstrates the protective role and underlying mechanism of parishin against cardiac aging in naturally aged mice.
Background
Recently, it has been found that the gut microbiota may affect the development of lung cancer through the “gut‐lung axis.” To investigate this relationship, we performed this study to ...determine whether the gut microbiota in non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is different from that in healthy adults.
Methods
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of eight gut butyrate‐producing bacteria in healthy adults and NSCLC patients. We enrolled 30 patients with NSCLC and 30 subjects from 100 healthy adults after matching for age and sex.
Results
Compared to healthy adults, most of the gut butyrate‐producing bacteria in NSCLC patients were significantly decreased; these included Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Clostridium leptum, Clostridial cluster I, Ruminococcus spp., Clostridial Cluster XIVa, and Roseburia spp. Among the gut butyrate‐producing bacteria, we analyzed Clostridial cluster IV and Eubacterium rectale were not decreased in NSCLC patients.
Conclusions
We conclude that NSCLC patients had gut butyrate‐producing bacteria dysbiosis. Further studies should be performed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of how these specific bacteria affect lung cancer progression and prognosis.
Background
Sarcopenia has been reported to play an important role in frailty syndrome. The serum creatinine/serum cystatin C ratio (Scr/Cys C ratio) has recently been recognized as a valuable ...indicator for assessing sarcopenia. However, few studies have examined the association between serum creatinine/serum cystatin C ratio and frailty. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the serum creatinine/serum cystatin C ratio and frailty among older adults residing in the community.
Methods and materials
A Total of 1926 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 60 years in the 2011 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were included. The participants’ frailty status was determined using a 39 item frailty index (FI), which classified individuals as “robust” (FI ≤ 0.1), “pre-frailty” (0.1 < FI < 0.25), or “frailty” (FI ≥ 0.25). The Scr/Cys C ratio was determined by dividing the serum creatinine level (mg/dL) by the cystatin C level (mg/L). The one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) and Chi-squared test (χ2)were applied to compare the differences between the 3 groups. Both linear regression and logistic regression models were used to further investigate the relationship between Scr/Cys C ratio and frailty.
Results
After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the study revealed that participants in the Q1 quartile of Scr/Cys C ratio had increased odds of frailty (Q1vs.Q4: OR = 1.880, 95% CI 1.126–3.139, p = 0.016) compared with those in the Q4 quartile group. In fully adjusted logistic regression models, male participants in the Q2 quartile of Scr/Cys C ratio were significantly correlated with higher odds of pre-frailty (Q2 vs.Q4: OR = 1.693, 95%CI 1.040–2.758, p = 0.034). However, this correlation was not observed in females (OR = 0.984, 95% CI 0.589–1.642, p = 0.950,). Additionally, the study observed an increase in both the frailty index and the incidence of frailty as age increased in both males and females.
Conclusion
Among community-dwelling older adults, lower Serum creatinine to cystatin C ratio were found to be associated with increased odds of frailty prevalence in males.
Senescence of vascular endothelial cells is the major risk of vascular dysfunction and disease among elderly people. Parishin, which is a phenolic glucoside derived from Gastrodia elata, ...significantly prolonged yeast lifespan. However, the action of parishin in vascular ageing remains poorly understood. Here, we treated human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) and naturally aged mice by parishin. Parishin alleviated HCAEC senescence and general age‐related features in vascular tissue in naturally aged mice. Network pharmacology approach was applied to determine the compound‐target networks of parishin. Our analysis indicated that parishin had a strong binding affinity for Klotho. Expression of Klotho, a protein of age‐related declines, was upregulated by parishin in serum and vascular tissue in naturally aged mice. Furthermore, FoxO1, on Klotho/FoxO1 signalling pathway, was increased in the parishin‐intervened group, accompanied by the downregulated phosphorylated FoxO1. Taken together, parishin can increase Klotho expression to alleviate vascular endothelial cell senescence and vascular ageing.
To study the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of androgen and simvastatin on osteoporosis in castrated rats.
Fifty 12-month-old male SD rats were divided into five groups randomly: castrated group ...(A), sham operated group (B), androgen group (C), simvastatin group (D), androgen+ simvastatin group (E). Each group has 10 rats. In this study, osteoporosis model was established by castration.All the groups were given testis and epididymis resection except sham operated group. The drugs were administrated on 9 weeks after operation. C, D and E group were treated by the different drugs lavage for 12 weeks. A and B group were given normal saline at the same time. Lumbar spine bone mineral densities (BMD) of rats were measured on pre-operation, before administration, 6 weeks and 12 weeks after administration.All rats were sacrificed on 12 weeks after administration. Serum osteocalcin (BGP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Ca2+ were measured. Bone histology was observed.
After the treatment by simvastatin or androgen for 1
The operational cloud-motion tracking technique fails to retrieve atmospheric motion vectors （AMVs） in areas lacking cloud; and while water vapor shown in water vapor imagery can be used, the heights ...assigned to the retrieved AMVs are mostly in the upper troposphere. As the noise-equivalent temperature difference （NEdT） performance of FY-2E split win- dow （10.3-11.5 μm, 11.6-12.8 μm） channels has been improved, the weak signals representing the spatial texture of water vapor and aerosols in cloud-free areas can be strengthened with algorithms based on the difference principle, and applied in calculating AMVs in the lower troposphere. This paper is a preliminary summary for this purpose, in which the principles and algorithm schemes for the temporal difference, split window difference and second-order difference （SD） methods are introduced. Results from simulation and cases experiments are reported in order to verify and evaluate the methods, based on comparison among retrievals and the ＂truth＂. The results show that all three algorithms, though not perfect in some cases, generally work well. Moreover, the SD method appears to be the best in suppressing the surface temperature influence and clarifying the spatial texture of water vapor and aerosols. The accuracy with respect to NCEP 800 hPa reanalysis data was found to be acceptable, as compared with the accuracy of the cloud motion vectors.
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