Objective To investigate age-and sex-related changes in choroid plexus(CP)volume in healthy adults,as well as its association with the volumes of other brain regions,and explore the relationship of CP volume changes with degenerative brain alterations.Methods A total of 320 healthy subjects aged between 18 and 85 years were prospectively recruited in Physical Examination Center of First Affiliated Hospital to Army Medical University during August 2023 and February 2024.These participants were randomly divided into 7.OT and 3.OT groups,with 160 people in each group.After all of them underwent sagittal three-dimensional structural MPRAGE scans of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)at 3.OT or7.OT,FreeSurfer 6.0 segmentation software was employed to obtain the volumes of CP and other brain regions automatically.Spearman analysis was applied to analyze the correlation of CP volume with age.Independent sample t-test analysis was applied to analyze the differences in CP volume between genders.Partial correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between CP volume and the volumes of other brain regions.Results A total of 311 subjects were included in the study.The results from both 3.OT and 7.OT MRI showed that CP volume was positively correlated with age(3.OT:r=0.462,P＜0.001;7.OT:r=0.539,P＜0.001).The males had significantly larger CP volume than the females(3.OT:1.4±0.47 vs 1.08±0.39 mL,P＜0.001;7.OT:2.43±0.68 vs 1.98±0.38 mL,P＜0.001).In addition,3.OT MRI revealed there was a significant positive correlation of CP volume with the volumes of white matter hyperintensities(WMH)and cerebrospinal fluid(P＜0.001),as well as a negative correlation with the volumes of gray matter,white matter,hippocampus and thalamus(P＜0.05).Conclusion CP volume is increased with ageing,with gender differences,independent of field strength and resolution.CP volume is correlated with WMH,hippocampus and other brain regions,suggesting that increment in CP volume is involved in age-related degenerative changes in the brain.Changes in CP volume might be regarded as a new imaging marker for the neurodegenerative changes.

OBJECTIVE: To study the inhibitory effect of pills (BJJ) agaisnt diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis and explore the relation between this effect and the inflammasome signaling pathway. METHODS: Sixty-five male SD rats were randomly divided into control group, DEN model group, and 3 BJJ treatment groups at low, medium and high dose (with daily dose of 0.55, 1.1 and 2.2 g/kg, respectively, for 12 consecutive weeks starting from the 5th week after modeling). The pathological changes of the liver tissue were observed with HE and Masson staining, and serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin (TBIL) of the rats were detected using ELISA. Oxidation stress in the liver tissue was assessed with ELISA, and Western blotting and ELISA were used to detect the molecular expressions of inflammasome-related pathway. RESULTS: BJJ significantly inhibited tumor growth in the liver of the rats. HE and Masson staining showed that BJJ treatment obviously ameliorated liver fibrosis and reduced cancer cell and inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver. BJJ significantly reduced elevations of serum ALT, AST, ALP and TBIL levels, increased the contents of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the liver and suppressed malondialdehyde in Den-treated rats. BJJ also dose-dependently decreased the expressions of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, pro-IL-1β, pro-IL-18, IL-1β and IL-18 in the liver of Den-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS BJJ treatment can dose-dependently inhibit DEN-induced hepatocarcinogenesis by enhancing antioxidant capacity and down-regulating inflammatory-related pathways in rats.
Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Diethylnitrosamine ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley