Sarcopenia a recognised geriatric syndrome. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of possible sarcopenia, sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia among older Chinese adults and to identify any associated factors for possible sarcopenia according to the updated diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS 2019). We used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The main outcome of this study was possible sarcopenia. Handgrip strength was measured via a dynamometer. The muscle mass was estimated by anthropometric measures. Physical performance was measured by 5-time chair stand test and gait speed test. A multivariate logistic regression model with stepwise method was employed to identify factors associated with possible sarcopenia. A total of 6172 participants aged 60–94 years were included. The prevalence of possible sarcopenia, sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia was 38.5%, 18.6%, and 8.0%, respectively. Age, rural area, falls, higher C-reactive protein (CRP), and chronic diseases (including hypertension, chronic lung diseases, heart disease, psychiatric disease and arthritis) were associated with a higher risk of possible sarcopenia. Conversely, alcohol consumption, higher gait speed and high levels of hemoglobin were associated with decreased risk of possible sarcopenia. However, the associations between possible sarcopenia with alcohol consumption, heart disease, psychiatric disease and hemoglobin were not significant after Bonferroni correction. Our study reported a relatively high prevalence of sarcopenia among older Chinese population, and identified a range of factors associated with sarcopenia. We also found rural elders are more vulnerable to sarcopenia than urban elders. Additionally, we discovered systemic inflammation might be one of the contributing factors between sarcopenia and related comorbidities. We believe the findings of this study would help to identify individuals at high risk of sarcopenia early and therefore implement the prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the disease burden in China.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in development and are associated with birth defects. Data are scant on the role of miRNAs in birth defects arising from exposure to environmental factors such as alcohol. In this study, we determined the expression levels of 509 mature miRNAs in fetal mouse brains with or without prenatal ethanol exposure using a miRNA microarray technique, verified by northern blot and PCR. Mouse embryos in culture were used to examine the effect of ethanol treatment on expression of the putative target genes of miR-10a (Hoxa1 and other Hox members) at mRNA and protein level. Open field and Morris water maze tests were also performed at post-natal day 35. Ethanol treatment induced major fetal teratogenesis in mice and caused mental retardation in their offspring, namely lower locomotor activity (P < 0.01) and impaired task acquisition. Of the screened miRNAs, miR-10a, miR-10b, miR-9, miR-145, miR-30a-3p and miR-152 were up-regulated (fold change >1.5) in fetal brains with prenatal ethanol exposure, whereas miR-200a, miR-496, miR-296, miR-30e-5p, miR-362, miR-339, miR-29c and miR-154 were down-regulated (fold change <0.67). Both miR-10a and miR-10b were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.01) in brain after prenatal ethanol exposure. Ethanol treatment also caused major obstruction in the development of cultured embryos, with down-regulated Hoxa1. Co-incubation with folic acid blocked ethanol-induced teratogenesis, with up-regulated Hoxa1 and down-regulated miR-10a (P < 0.01). The study provided new insights into the role of miRNAs and their target genes in the pathogenesis of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) is an edible and medicinal Chinese herb, which is often used in Asian countries for physical fitness. Ginseng is reported to have a wide range of biological activity and pharmaceutical properties. There were more studies on ginsenosides and polysaccharides, but fewer studies on ginseng oligopeptides (GOP), which are small molecule oligopeptides isolated from ginseng. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of GOP in mice and explore the possible underlying mechanism. Mice were randomly divided into four experimental sets for the detection of different indicators. Each set of mice were then divided into four groups. The control group was administered distilled water, and three GOP intervention groups were administered 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg of body weight, respectively, of GOP by gavage each day. After 30 days of GOP treatment, it was observed that GOP could significantly increase the forced swimming time, enhance lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and hepatic glycogen levels, and retard the accumulation of serum urea nitrogen (SUN) and blood lactic acid (BLA) in mice. GOP also markedly ameliorated fatigue-induced alterations of inoxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes. Notably, GOP increased the mRNA expression of mitochondrial biogenesis factors and mitochondrial DNA content in skeletal muscles of mice. These results suggest that GOP possess anti-fatigue effects, which may be attributed to the inhibition of oxidative stress and the improvement of mitochondrial function in skeletal muscles. GOP could be a novel natural agent for relieving exercise fatigue.

Grape seed procyanidin B2 (GSPB2) was reported to have protective effects on diabetic nephropathy (DN) as a strong antioxidant. Our previous studies demonstrated that GSPB2 was effective in ameliorating podocyte injury in rats with DN. However, little is known about the benefits of GSPB2 in protecting against podocyte apoptosis and its molecular mechanisms in vitro. In the present study, we investigated whether GSPB2 could protect podocytes from high glucose-induced apoptosis and explored the possible mechanism. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometry, respectively. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was measured using a dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescent probe. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR was used to determine the gene expression of nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), and quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number. Western blots were carried out for the related protein expression in podocytes. Our results showed that GSPB2 significantly inhibited high glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis and increased the expression of nephrin and podocalyxin. GSPB2 treatment also suppressed intracellular ROS production and oxidative stress. The mRNA expressions of NRF-1, TFAM and mtDNA copy number were markedly increased, and mitochondrial swelling was effectively reduced in podocytes cultured under high glucose after GSPB2 treatment. The AMPK-SIRT1-PGC-1α axis was also activated by GSPB2 intervention. In conclusion, GSPB2 protected podocytes from high glucose-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis via the AMPK-SIRT1-PGC-1α axis in vitro, suggesting a potential role of GSPB2 in the treatment of DN.

Glycemic control and weight reduction are primary goals for the management of overweight and obese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Effective management cannot be achieved without an appropriate diet. Our study aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of oat intake and develop a reasonable dietary plan for overweight T2DM patients. A randomized control trial, registered under ClinicalTrials.gov (Identification code: NCT01495052), was carried out among adult T2DM patients. A subgroup of 298 overweight subjects was selected and received a 30-day centralized intervention and 1-year free-living follow-up. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the following four groups. The usual care group (n = 60) received no intervention; the healthy diet group (n = 79) received a low-fat and high-fiber diet (“healthy diet”); the 50 g-oats group (n = 80) and 100 g-oats group (n = 79) received the “healthy diet” with the same amount of cereals replaced by 50 g and 100 g oats respectively. Anthropometric, blood glycemic and lipid variables were measured. For the 30-day intervention, significant differences in the changes of FPG (fasting plasma glucose), PPG (postprandial plasma glucose), HbA1c (glycosylated hemoglobin), HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), TC (total cholesterol), TG (total triglycerides), and LDL-c (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were observed among the four groups. Compared to the healthy diet group, the 50 g-oats group had a bigger reduction in PPG (mean difference (MD): −1.04 mmol/L; 95% CI: −2.03, −0.05) and TC (MD: −0.24 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.47, −0.01); the 100 g-oats group had a bigger reduction in PPG (MD: −1.48 mmol/L; 95% CI: −2.57, −0.39), HOMA-IR (MD: −1.77 mU·mol/L²; 95% CI: −3.49, −0.05), TC (MD: −0.33 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.56, −0.10) and LDL-c (MD: −0.22 mmol/L; 95% CI: −0.41, −0.03). In the 1-year follow-up, greater effects in reducing weight (MD: −0.89 kg; 95% CI: −1.56, −0.22), HbA1c (MD: −0.64%; 95% CI: −1.19, −0.09) and TG (MD: −0.70 mmol/L; 95% CI: −1.11, −0.29) were observed in the 100 g-oats group. In conclusion, short- and long-term oat intake had significant effects on controlling hyperglycemia, lowering blood lipid and reducing weight. Our study provided some supportive evidence for recommending oat as a good whole grain selection for overweight diabetics.