PMID: 

Nutrients. 2019 Jan 12 ;11(1). Epub 2019 Jan 12. PMID: 30642052

Abstract Title: 

The Gut⁻Brain Axis in the Neuropsychological Disease Model of Obesity: A Classical Movie Revised by the Emerging Director"Microbiome".

Abstract: 

The worldwide epidemic of obesity has become an important public health issue, with serious psychological and social consequences. Obesity is a multifactorial disorder in which various elements (genetic, host, and environment), play a definite role, even if none of them satisfactorily explains its etiology. A number of neurological comorbidities, such as anxiety and depression, charges the global obesity burden, and evidence suggests the hypothesis that the brain could be the seat of the initial malfunction leading to obesity. The gut microbiome plays an important role in energy homeostasis regulating energy harvesting, fat deposition, as well as feeding behavior and appetite. Dietary patterns, like the Western diet, are known to be a major cause of the obesity epidemic, probably promoting a dysbiotic drift in the gut microbiota. Moreover, the existence of a"gut⁻brain axis"suggests a role for microbiome on hosts' behavior according to different modalities, including interaction through the nervous system, and mutual crosstalk with the immune and the endocrine systems. In the perspective of obesity as a real neuropsychological disease and in light of the discussed considerations, this review focuses on the microbiome role as an emerging director in the development of obesity.

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PMID: 

Microb Pathog. 2019 Jul ;132:188-192. Epub 2019 Apr 27. PMID: 31039390

Abstract Title: 

The correlation between intestinal dysbiosis and the development of ankylosing spondylitis.

Abstract: 

The pathogenesis and development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is concealed and complicated. In recent years, alterations in gut microbiota of AS patients have been largely investigated, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This article reviews the recent studies on changes of gut microbiota in AS patients, and discusses the possible correlation between intestinal dysbiosis and AS development from aspects including genetic factor HLA-B27, mucosal immune responses and the depression accompanying AS.

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PMID: 

Mar Drugs. 2019 Aug 1 ;17(8). Epub 2019 Aug 1. PMID: 31374958

Abstract Title: 

Long-Chain Bases from Sea Cucumber Alleviate Obesity by Modulating Gut Microbiota.

Abstract: 

This study evaluated the effects of long-chain bases from sea cucumber (SC-LCBs) on modulation of the gut microbiota and inhibition of obesity in high fat diet-fed mice. Results showed that SC-LCBs exerted significant antiobese effects, which were associated with the inhibition of hyperglycemia and lipid accumulation. SC-LCBs also regulated serum adipocytokines toward to normal levels. SC-LCBs caused significant decreases in Firmicutes, Actinobacteria phylum, and obesity-related bacteria (etc. genus). SC-LCBs also elevated Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia phylum, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing bacteria (,,etc. genus). Moreover, serum and fecal lipoplysaccharide (LPS) concentrations and its dependent toll-line receptor 4 pathway were inhibited by SC-LCBs treatment. SC-LCBs caused increases in fecal SCFAs and their mediated G-protein-coupled receptors proteins. These suggest that SC-LCBs alleviate obesity by altering gut microbiota. Thus, it sought to indicate that SC-LCBs can be developed as food supplement for the obesity control and the human gut health.

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PMID: 

Mol Neurobiol. 2019 Aug 4. Epub 2019 Aug 4. PMID: 31378003

Abstract Title: 

Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Enhances Migraine-Like Pain Via TNFα Upregulation.

Abstract: 

Migraine is one of the most disabling neurological diseases worldwide; however, the mechanisms underlying migraine headache are still not fully understood and current therapies for such pain are inadequate. It has been suggested that inflammation and neuroimmune modulation in the gastrointestinal tract could play an important role in the pathogenesis of migraine headache, but how gut microbiomes contribute to migraine headache is unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of gut microbiota dysbiosis on migraine-like pain using broad-spectrum antibiotics and germ-free (GF) mice. We observed that antibiotics treatment-prolonged nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced acute migraine-like pain in wild-type (WT) mice and the pain prolongation was completely blocked by genetic deletion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) or intra-spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (Sp5C) injection of TNFα receptor antagonist. The antibiotics treatment extended NTG-induced TNFα upregulation in the Sp5C. Probiotics administration significantly inhibited the antibiotics-produced migraine-like pain prolongation. Furthermore, NTG-induced migraine-like pain in GF mice was markedly enhanced compared to that in WT mice and gut colonization with fecal microbiota from WT mice robustly reversed microbiota deprivation-caused pain enhancement. Together, our results suggest that gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to chronicity of migraine-like pain by upregulating TNFα level in the trigeminal nociceptive system.

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n/a

PMID: 

Rare Tumors. 2014 Jul 30 ;6(3):5350. Epub 2014 Aug 8. PMID: 25276320

Abstract Title: 

Connection between Cell Phone use, p53 Gene Expression in Different Zones of Glioblastoma Multiforme and Survival Prognoses.

Abstract: 

The aim of this paper is to investigate p53 gene expression in the central and peripheral zones of glioblastoma multiforme using a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique in patients who use cell phones≥3 hours a day and determine its relationship to clinicopathological findings and overall survival. Sixty-three patients (38 males and 25 females), diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), underwent tumor resection between 2008 and 2011. Patient ages ranged from 25 to 88 years, with a mean age of 55. The levels of expression of p53 in the central and peripheral zone of the GBM were quantified by RT-PCR. Data on p53 gene expression from the central and peripheral zone, the related malignancy and the clinicopatholagical findings (age, gender, tumor location and size), as well as overall survival, were analyzed. Forty-one out of 63 patients (65%) with the highest level of cell phone use (≥3 hours/day) had higher mutant type p53 expression in the peripheral zone of the glioblastoma; the difference was statistically significant (P=0.034). Results from the present study on the use ofmobile phones for ≥3 hours a day show a consistent pattern of increased risk for the mutant type of p53 gene expression in the peripheral zone of the glioblastoma, and that this increase was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival time. The risk was not higher for ipsilateral exposure. We found that the mutant type of p53 gene expression in the peripheral zone of the glioblastoma was increased in 65% of patients using cell phones ≥3 hours a day.

PMID: 

Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 16 ;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 16. PMID: 30781501

Abstract Title: 

The Neuroprotective Effect ofExtracts in Mouse Hippocampus after Pilocarpine-Induced Status Epilepticus.

Abstract: 

(HE), a culinary-medicinal mushroom, has shown therapeutic potential in many brain diseases. However, the role of HE in status epilepticus (SE)-mediated neuronal death and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We investigated the neuroprotective effects of HE using a pilocarpine-induced SE model. Male C57BL/6 mice received crude extracts of HE (60 mg/kg, 120 mg/kg, or 300 mg/kg, p.o.) for 21 d from 14 d before SE to 6 d after SE. At 7 d after SE, cresyl violet and immunohistochemistry of neuronal nuclei revealed improved hippocampal neuronal survival in animals treated with 60 mg/kg and 120 mg/kg of HE, whereas those treated with 300 mg/kg of HE showed similar neuronal death to that of vehicle-treated controls. While seizure-induced reactive gliosis, assessed by immunohistochemistry, was not altered by HE, the number of hippocampal cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2)-expressing cells was significantly reduced by 60 and 120 mg/kg of HE. Triple immunohistochemistry demonstrated no overlap of COX2 labeling with Ox42, in addition to a decrease in COX2/GFAP-co-immunoreactivity in the group treated with 60 mg/kg HE, suggesting that the reduction of COX2 by HE promotes neuroprotection after SE. Our findings highlight the potential application of HE for preventing neuronal death after seizures.

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PMID: 

Environ Int. 2014 Sep ;70:106-12. Epub 2014 Jun 10. PMID: 24927498

Abstract Title: 

Effect of mobile telephones on sperm quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract: 

Mobile phones are owned by most of the adult population worldwide. Radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) from these devices could potentially affect sperm development and function. Around 14% of couples in high- and middle-income countries have difficulty conceiving, and there are unexplained declines in semen quality reported in several countries. Given the ubiquity of mobile phone use, the potential role of this environmental exposure needs to be clarified. A systematic review was therefore conducted, followed by meta-analysis using random effects models, to determine whether exposure to RF-EMR emitted from mobile phones affects human sperm quality. Participants were from fertility clinic and research centres. The sperm quality outcome measures were motility, viability and concentration, which are the parameters most frequently used in clinical settings to assess fertility. We used ten studies in the meta-analysis, including 1492 samples. Exposure to mobile phones was associated with reduced sperm motility (mean difference -8.1% (95% CI -13.1, -3.2)) and viability (mean difference -9.1% (95% CI -18.4, 0.2)), but the effects on concentration were more equivocal. The results were consistent across experimental in vitro and observational in vivo studies. We conclude that pooled results from in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that mobile phone exposure negatively affects sperm quality. Further study is required to determine the full clinical implications for both sub-fertile men and the general population.

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PMID: 

Int J Med Mushrooms. 2019 ;21(1):1-11. PMID: 30806251

Abstract Title: 

In Vitro and In Vivo Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori by Ethanolic Extracts of Lion's Mane Medicinal Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Agaricomycetes).

Abstract: 

Natural products are sources for exploratory development of new agents to combat the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Some edible fungi, such as the lion's mane mushroom, have been used for several thousand years to treat digestive diseases. Ethanol-based extractions to prepare Hericium erinaceus extracts were tested for growth inhibition ability of six different H. pylori strains at an extract concentration that did not inhibit Escherichia coli growth, and further for dose-dependent antibactericidal capacity on H. pylori. H. erinaceus extract exhibited similar growth inhibitory effects on all H. pylori strains tested, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of about 2 mg/mL. H. pylori survival in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was decreased 3 logs by 2 mg/mL extract addition. H. erinaceus extract inhibited H. pylori adhesion capacity to human gastric epithelial cell line (ATCC CRL-1739) (AGS), even when H. erinaceus extract was added at a concentration that affected neither H. pylori nor AGS viability. Interleukin-8 (IL-8, representing an immune response factor) in supernatants from AGS and 8-oxo-guanine (8-oxoG, a marker for oxidative DNA damage among the total host cell DNA) were measured from AGS cells exposed to H. erinaceus extract before H. pylori addition. The subsequent H. pylori-mediated immune response (IL-8 production) was significantly (P

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