Brain Behavior and Immunity Integrative最新文献

Social distancing is a concept adapted on modern society’s understanding of infectious diseases, but there may be an additional mechanism restricting the transmission of airborne pathogens in early human evolution. Linguistic diversity may be an ancient mechanism of social distancing and could explain, at least partially, the variability of COVID-19 infection rates among the different ethnic groups within the same region. A shared common language could break the traditional barrier of linguistic diversity and promote pandemics. This hypothesis suggests that human linguistic behavior could have a significant impact on group’s immunity and survival. Linguistic distance should be considered in pandemic research and control. Future study is warranted to investigate the spread of infectious diseases through shared language and the advantage of linguistic diversity in the prevention of infectious diseases.

Many countries across the globe are experiencing aging populations, which brings into question the fitness and capacity of these populations. Rates of neurodegenerative diseases worldwide are increasing, even after adjusting for increasing lifespans. This worrying trend motivates taking steps in the population to prevent dementia. This review summarizes the work on lifestyle medicine based prevention of dementia and cognitive decline using multiple modalities and interventions. Our results bring hope to those seeking to stay cognitively healthy in advanced age through combinations of diet, exercise, and mindfulness based interventions. Leveraging cheap and scalable interventions is an important strategy for alleviating the expected tide of neurodegenerative illnesses. This review covers the potential lifestyle and dietary interventions which can alleviate Alzheimer’s disease burden, paving the way for population level preventative approaches for neurodegenerative disease.

Sleep disturbance refers to any disruptions or changes in the normal sleep pattern. Sleep disturbance is common among people who suffer from medical or psychiatric disorders, as well as those who take medications. Pharmacological treatment can be effective in the management of sleep disturbances. Yet, medications may have significant side effects, and tolerance and dependence may develop. For certain populations such as pregnant or nursing women and the elderly, medication treatment for sleep disturbance may not be indicated. Mind-body interventions, including Qigong, could be a viable alternative. We introduce the history, conceptualization, and applications of Qigong for health and wellbeing, and review potential mechanisms and existing evidence on Qigong as a treatment for sleep disturbance.

Both imagery and acupuncture are the oldest medical practices. Recently, we have developed a new treatment modality, video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT), which combines acupuncture and imagery. In this crossover study, we investigated the modulation effects of video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment compared with placebo acupuncture using no-touch double-blind placebo acupuncture needles and a no-treatment resting control. Pressure pain threshold and electroencephalogram (EEG) data were collected before and after each intervention. 12 healthy participants completed the study. Results showed that pressure pain thresholds were significantly increased after VGAIT compared to the resting control condition. In addition, we found that VGAIT, but not the no-touch placebo acupuncture or the resting control, significantly increased alpha and beta band power. Our findings demonstrate the potential of VGAIT as a remote therapeutic method (e-health treatment option) for pain and the value of no-touch double-blind placebo acupuncture in acupuncture research.

This comprehensive review delves into the potential therapeutic efficacy of dioscin and diosgenin, phytocompounds extracted from the Dioscoreaceae family, in alleviating neurological disorders. The article meticulously elucidates the putative neuroprotective mechanisms of dioscin and diosgenin in various neurological disorders, emphasizing their ability to mitigate cognitive impairments, diminish neuropathological hallmarks, and suppress neuroinflammatory responses. A detailed discussion of the pharmacokinetic profiles of dioscin and diosgenin, encompassing their distribution and bioavailability following administration, is also presented. Additionally, the paper outlines the challenges and prospective directions in translating preclinical findings about dioscin and diosgenin into clinically relevant applications, underscoring the need for more rigorous clinical trials and standardized formulations. The summary accurately captures the key findings and highlights these natural compounds' potential in treating various neurological conditions.

Background

Itrīfal, an important dosage form of Unani medicine, was introduced some 1000 years ago for the treatment of mainly brain disorders. This semi-solid dosage form is usually prepared by adding the dried fruits of E. officinalis, T. chebula, and T. bellirica, along with other important herbs mainly of plant origin. The present review is aimed at evaluating the potential effects of different formulations of Itrīfal and its important ingredients with respect to traditional uses and scientific studies.

Methods

The present review was carried out after going through Unani classical literature related to the potential therapeutic uses of various formulations of Itrīfal in cerebral diseases. The scientific data related to pharmacological activities and biologically active compounds of various formulations of Itrīfal and their important ingredients were explored through search engines like PubMed, Science Direct, Springer, MEDLINE, Research Gate, and Google Scholar.

Results

The review of Unani classical literature revealed that various formulations of Itrīfal eliminate phlegmatic, bilious, and melancholic morbid humors produced because of ihtirāq at the microcellular level in cases of cerebral diseases. The phytochemical review of different ingredients of Itrīfal revealed that they contain various bioactive secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, polyphenols, monoterpenes, alkaloids, glycosides, amino acids, tannins, etc., which possess several pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anti-aging, memory enhancer, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, etc., through different mechanisms of actions like inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and butrylcholinesterase enzymes, modulation of neurotransmitters, interaction with adrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic systems, blockade of dopamine receptors and enhancement of GABAergic neurotransmission, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, etc.

Conclusion

Itrīfal has been prepared by adding rationale mixtures of herbs, which possess preventive and curative effects in brain diseases. They can provide much-needed protection to the brain and nerves against oxidative stress and other disease-oriented factors. The limitations with this unique dosage form of Unani medicine are that adequate scientific studies have not been carried out on different preparations of Itrīfal for holistic and scientific exploration of such an extraordinary dosage form. Hence, it is suggested that more studies on different aspects, like pharmacological, toxicological, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, etc., may be carried out in the future.

Background

Suicide carries a significant global burden. There may be patterns or seasonality in suicide rates, which are possibly linked to environmental factors and mood.

Methods

This study aimed to investigate the temporal patterns of completed suicide attempts, focusing on the time of suicide attempt instead death time. Data were collected from autopsies and examined through day/night, morning/afternoon/evening/night-time, hourly, and weekday distribution.

Results

Demographic analysis revealed higher prevalence among young adults and married individuals and attempts occurred in the afternoon and evening. Male suicide attempts peaked between 4 pm and 6 pm, while female attempts peaked at 6 pm. Hanging was the most common method. Weekday trends showed higher attempts on Fridays and Mondays.

Conclusion

Understanding temporal patterns of suicide attempts help in developing targeted preventive strategies. Resources can be allocated more efficiently during high-risk times to reduce the likelihood of completed suicides. Identifying vulnerable individuals, such as young adults and married individuals during the afternoon and evening hours allows for closer monitoring and intervention, with heightened vigilance on Fridays and Mondays.

Background

Hypertension is associated with sympathetic dominance and altered cerebrovascular structure, which in turn reduces cerebral blood flow. Literature suggests Sheetali pranayama reduces blood pressure and Kumbhaka (breath retention) increases cerebral blood flow. However, no studies reported effect of Sheetali with Kumbhaka on blood pressure and cerebrovascular hemodynamics. Thus, the objective of this study was to find the impact of Sheetali pranayama with Kumbhaka on blood pressure and cerebrovascular hemodynamics in patients with hypertension.

Materials and methods

Twenty-four patients with hypertension aged 30–65 years were randomly allocated into pranayama group and control group. The pranayama group underwent Sheetali pranayama with Kumbhaka (with the ratio of 1:2:2; Inhalation; Kumbhaka: Exhalation respectively), whereas the control group underwent breath awareness for 10 minutes. Blood pressure and cerebrovascular hemodynamic were assessed before and after each intervention.

Results

Results showed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p=0.049) in the pranayama group compared to control group. Likewise, within-group analysis showed a significant reduction in SBP (p = 0.002) and DBP (p = 0.007) in pranayama group; a significant reduction in SBP (p = 0.020) in control group; and no significant changes in rest of the variables in the post-test assessments compared to its respective pre-test assessments.

Conclusion

Ten minutes of Sheetali pranayama with Kumbhaka reduces blood pressure compared to breath awareness, without affecting the cerebrovascular hemodynamics in patients with hypertension.