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Excessive accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) is thought to be a major causative factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Pretreating Aβ-induced neurotoxicity is a potential therapeutic approach to ameliorate the progression and development of AD. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of shikonin, a naphthoquinone pigment isolated from the roots of the traditional Chinese herb Lithospermum erythrorhizon, on Aβ1–42-treated neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. Pretreating cells with shikonin strongly improved cell viability, decreased the malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, and stabilized the mitochondrial membrane potential in Aβ1–42-induced PC12 cells. In addition, shikonin strongly improved the response of the antioxidant system to ROS by increasing the levels of superoxidedismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Furthermore, shikonin has the ability to reduce proapoptotic signaling by reducing the activity of caspase-3 and moderating the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. These observations indicate that shikonin holds great potential for neuroprotection via inhibition of oxidative stress and cell apoptosis.

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Published studies indicate the MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms are associated with abnormal homocysteine levels, which may cause various pregnancy complications and birth defects. However, the results obtained from different studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, this meta‐analysis explores the association between MTHFR polymorphisms and birth defects and adverse pregnancy outcomes. The PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, and China Biology Medicine literature databases and ClinicalTrials were searched. Analyses of public bias, meta‐regression, subgroups, and sensitivity were used to ensure the robustness of our results. MTHFR C677T was significantly associated with recurrent pregnancy loss in developing countries (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20‐1.50) but not in developed countries (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.68‐1.11). No significant relationship was found between MTHFR A1298C and recurrent pregnancy loss (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.93‐1.18). MTHFR C677T and A1298C were not associated with preeclampsia (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.97‐1.16 and OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.97‐1.39, respectively), and C677T was not associated with placental abruption (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.87‐1.21), intrauterine growth retardation (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.90‐1.15), or congenital heart disease (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.89‐1.25). MTHFR C677T, but not A1298C, was associated with neural tube defects (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.08‐1.42) and Down syndrome (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.39‐1.95). Conclusion Although MTHFR C677T and A1298C are significantly associated with some types of congenital defects and adverse pregnancy outcomes, the impact of these polymorphisms is moderate.

Background Studies had investigated the associations between proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 SNP rs562556 and serum lipids levels and response to statin treatment, however, the results remained inconclusive. We conducted this meta-analysis to elucidate the relationship of rs562556 and serum lipids levels. Methods All eligible studies met the inclusion criteria were retrieved from multiple databases. Relative data were extracted from each study. Review Manager (version 5.3.5) and STATA 12.0 software was used to perform this meta-analysis. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI was employed to evaluate the association of rs562556 with serum lipids levels. Results A total of 7 eligible articles involving 4742 subjects were included in the final meta-analysis. The results revealed that the G carriers had lower levels of total cholesterol (SMD: 0.14, 95% Cl: 0.06–0.23, P = 0.001) and LDL-C(SMD: 0.13, 95% Cl: -0.55-0.22, P = 0.002) than the non-carriers. The statistical results also illustrated that the G carriers had lower relative risk (SMD: 1.38, 95% Cl: 1.02–1.85, P = 0.003) than the non-carriers. Conclusions The results of the current meta-analysis for the first time indicated the relevance of rs562556 and lower serum cholesterol levels. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12944-019-1036-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Restorations of 98 implant-supported single crowns in anterior maxillary area were divided into 5 groups: zirconia abutment, titanium abutment, and gold/gold hue abutment with zirconia coping, respectively, and titanium abutment with metal coping as well as gold/gold hue abutment with metal coping. A reflectance spectrophotometer was used to evaluate the color difference between the implant crowns and contralateral/neighboring teeth, as well as the color difference between the peri-implant soft tissue and the natural marginal mucosa. The mucosal discoloration score was used for subjective evaluation of the esthetic outcome of soft tissue around implant-supported single crowns in the anterior zone, and the crown color match score was used for subjective evaluation of the esthetic outcome of implant-supported restoration. ANOVA analysis was used to compare the differences among groups and Spearman correlation was used to test the relationships. A gold/gold hue abutment with zirconia coping was the best choice for an esthetic crown and the all-ceramic combination was the best for peri-implant soft tissue. Significant correlation was found between the spectrophotometric color difference of peri-implant soft tissue and mucosal discoloration score, while no significant correlation was found between the total spectrophotometric color difference of implant crown and crown color match score.

Background: Roxadustat is a new oral drug for anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aimed to synthesize the evidence from randomized controlled trial (RCT)-based studies that estimated the efficacy and safety of roxadustat in anemia patients with non-dialysis-dependent (NDD) and dialysis-dependent (DD) CKD.Methods: We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases for related published studies. Moreover, we manually searched relevant pharmaceutical company websites and two international clinical trial registers to search for published and unpublished RCTs comparing roxadustat with erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) or placebo.Results: Fifteen RCTs (seven for DD-CKD patients, eight for NDD-CKD patients) were included in the meta-analysis, with 10,189 patients, 4,810 DD-CKD patients, and 5,379 NDD-CKD patients enrolled. Compared with ESAs (epoetin alfa or darbepoetin alfa) and placebo, roxadustat raised the hemoglobin level [weighted mean difference (WMD): 0.82 g/dL; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43–1.21], transferrin level (WMD: 0.5 g/L; 95% CI: 0.34–0.65), and TIBC level (WMD: 41.79 μg/dL; 95% CI: 38.67–44.92) and lowered the hepcidin level (WMD: −37.38 ng/ml; 95% CI: −46.63– −28.12) in both the DD-CKD and NDD-CKD patients with renal anemia. Roxadustat improved hemoglobin response and lowered the ferritin and TAST levels in the NDD-CKD patients but not in the DD-CKD patients. Furthermore, there was no difference between the treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) of roxadustat and that of ESAs or placebo. But the incidence of serious TEAEs in the roxadustat group was significantly higher with NDD-CKD patients (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.02–1.29).Conclusion: This study confirmed that roxadustat therapy could alleviate the anemia of DD-CKD and NDD-CKD patients by raising the hemoglobin level and regulating iron metabolism, but increased serious incidences of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in NDD-CKD patients.