Objective: Diabetes is a risk factor for dementia and mild cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether some features of resting-state EEG (rsEEG) could be applied as a biomarker to distinguish the subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from normal cognitive function in type 2 diabetes.Materials and Methods: In this study, 28 patients with type 2 diabetes (16 aMCI patients and 12 controls) were investigated. Recording of the rsEEG series and neuropsychological assessments were performed. The rsEEG signal was first decomposed into delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma frequency bands. The relative power of each given band/sum of power and the coherence of waves from different brain areas were calculated. The extracted features from rsEEG and neuropsychological assessments were analyzed as well.Results: The main findings of this study were that: (1) compared with the control group, the ratios of power in theta band [P(theta)] vs. power in alpha band [P(alpha)] [P(theta)/P(alpha)] in the frontal region and left temporal region were significantly higher for aMCI, and (2) for aMCI, the alpha coherences in posterior, fronto-right temporal, fronto-posterior, right temporo-posterior were decreased; the theta coherences in left central-right central (LC-RC) and left posterior-right posterior (LP-RP) regions were also decreased; but the delta coherences in left temporal-right temporal (LT-RT) region were increased.Conclusion: The proposed indexes from rsEEG recordings could be employed to track cognitive function of diabetic patients and also to help in the diagnosis of those who develop aMCI.

Stroke is the leading neurological cause of death and disability all over the world, with few effective drugs. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is well known for its multifaceted neuroprotective functions post-ischemia. However, the lack of an efficient approach to systemically deliver bioactive NGF into ischemic region hinders its clinical application. In this study, we engineered the exosomes with RVG peptide on the surface for neuron targeting and loaded NGF into exosomes simultaneously, with the resultant exosomes denoted as NGF@Exo RVG . By systemic administration of NGF@Exo RVG , NGF was efficiently delivered into ischemic cortex, with a burst release of encapsulated NGF protein and de novo NGF protein translated from the delivered mRNA. Moreover, NGF@Exo RVG was found to be highly stable for preservation and function efficiently for a long time in vivo . Functional study revealed that the delivered NGF reduced inflammation by reshaping microglia polarization, promoted cell survival, and increased the population of doublecortin-positive cells, a marker of neuroblast. The results of our study suggest the potential therapeutic effects of NGF@Exo RVG for stroke. Moreover, the strategy proposed in our study may shed light on the clinical application of other neurotrophic factors for central nervous system diseases.

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