Objective To evaluate the association of body weight with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in females.Methods A total of 2 921 residents (≥20 years old) were selected by the stratified cluster random sampling method from March to December 2011.Arterial stiffness was assessed by baPWV.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on arteriosclerosis.The predictive value of BMI to evaluate arteriosclerosis was analyzed by using receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve.Results The prevalence of arteriosclerosis was significantly increased in overweight/obese residents (P＜0.01).BMI was positively correlated with baPWV (r=0.310,P＜0.01).The prevalence of increased arterial stiffness in individuals≥65 years older was higher than that in people of 20-40 or 41-64 years old (x2 values were 677.30 and 347.26,respectively; both P＜0.01).For females of 20-40 or 41-46 years old,the prevalences of increased arterial stiffness in overweight and obese groups were higher than those in normal body weight group (both P＜0.01).In univariate analysis,age,resting heart rate,systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were correlated with arteriosclerosis (all P＜0.01).The odds ratio for the prevalence of arteriosclerosis in overweight women was 2.017 (95％ confidence interval (CI):1.637-2.486,P＜0.01) and that in obese women was 2.759 (95％ CI:1.964-3.876,P＜0.01) after adjustment for age,resting heart rate and blood pressure.The area under the ROC curve was 0.693 (95％ CI:0.671-0.715,P＜0.01) to evaluate arteriosclerosis in females and the optimal cut-off point for BMI was 23.42 kg/m2.Conclusions For females,overweight and obesity may be risk factors of arteriosclerosis.The optimal cut-off point for BMI to evaluate arteriosclerosis in women could be 23.42 kg/m2.

Objective To observe the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on hippocampal tissue structure and blood perfusion in rats with focal cerebral ischemia using multi-modal MRI;To analyze the mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on hippocampal neuroplasticity combined with the expression changes of neuroplasticity proteins and glucose metabolism related transporters.Methods Focal cerebral ischemia rat model induced by right middle cerebral artery occlusion were established.The rats were divided into sham-operation group,sham-operation+Buyang Huanwu Decoction group,model group and model+Buyang Huanwu Decoction group.The rats in the sham-operation group and model group were given normal saline for 30 days,and those in the sham-operation+Buyang Huanwu Decoction group and model+Buyang Huanwu Decoction group were given Buyang Huanwu Decoction for 30 days.T2 mapping imaging was used to detect the changes in hippocampal tissue structure,the changes of cerebral blood perfusion in hippocampus were detected by arterial spin labeling imaging,Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of SYN,GAP-43,glucose transporters and MCT.Results Compared with the sham-operation group,the T2 relaxation time of the right and left hippocampus in the model group rats significantly increased(P<0.01,P<0.001),the blood flow in the right hippocampus was significantly reduced(P<0.05),the protein expressions of SYN,GAP-43,MCT4 and MCT2 in the right hippocampus were significantly decreased(P<0.01,P<0.001),the protein expressions of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in bilateral hippocappal tissue significantly decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01,P<0.001).Compared with the model group,the T2 relaxation time in the right hippocampus of rats in model+Buyang Huanwu Decoction group was significantly reduced(P<0.05),the blood flow in the right hippocampus significantly increased(P<0.05),the protein expressions of SYN,GAP-43,GLUT1 and GLUT3 in bilateral hippocampal tissues significantly increased(P<0.01,P<0.001),and the protein expressions of MCT4 and MCT2 in right hippocampal tissue significantly increased(P<0.01,P<0.001).Conclusion Buyang Huanwu Decoction can alleviate hippocampal injury in rats with focal cerebral ischemia,which may be related to improving blood perfusion,up-regulating neuroplasticity-related proteins,promoting hippocampal axon regeneration and synaptic remodeling,regulating energy metabolism of nerve cells.