Demyelination of the central nervous system often occurs in neurodegenerative diseases， such as multiple sclerosis （MS）. The myelin sheath， a layer of myelin membrane wrapping the axon， plays a role in the rapid conduction and metabolic coupling of impulses for neurons. The exposure of the axon will lead to axonal degeneratio， and further neuronal degeneration， which is the main cause of dysfunction and even disability in patients with demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to the demyelination of mature myelin sheath， remyelination disorder is also one of the major reasons leading to the development of the diseases. The myelin sheath is composed of oligodendrocytes （OLs） derived from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells （OPCs） which are differentiated from neural stem cells （NSCs）. The process of myelin regeneration， i.e.， remyelination， is the differentiation of NSCs into OLs. Recent studies have shown that this process is regulated by a variety of genes. MicroRNAs， as important regulators of neurodegenerative diseases， form a complex regulatory network in the process of myelin regeneration. This review summarizes the main molecular pathways of myelin regeneration and microRNAs involved in this process and classifies the mechanisms and targets. This review is expected to provide a theoretical reference for the future research on the treatment of demyelinating diseases by targeting the regulation of microRNAs.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Jiaohong pills （JHP） and its prescription， Pericarpium Zanthoxyli （PZ） and Rehmanniae Radix （RR） cognitive dysfunction in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer's disease （AD） mice and its mechanism through pharmacodynamic and metabolomics study. MethodThe animal model of AD induced by scopolamine was established and treated with PZ， RG and JHP， respectively. The effects of JHP and its formulations were investigated by open field test， water maze test， object recognition test， avoidance test， cholinergic system and oxidative stress related biochemical test. Untargeted metabolomics analysis of cerebral cortex was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Quadrupole/Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry （UPLC Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS）. ResultThe behavioral data showed that， compared with the model group， the discrimination indexes of the high dose of JHP， PZ and RR groups was significantly increased （P<0.05）. The staging rate of Morris water maze test in the PZ， RR， high and low dose groups of JHP was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the crossing numbers in the PZ， JHP high and low dose groups were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）； the number of errors in the avoidance test were significantly reduced in the PZ and high-dose JHP groups （P<0.01）， and the error latencies were significantly increased in the JHP and its prescription drug groups （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the activities of acetylcholinesterase in the cerebral cortex of the two doses of JHP group and the PZ group were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the activity of acetylcholinesterase in the high-dose JHP group was significantly decreased （P<0.05）， and the level of acetylcholine was significantly increased （P<0.01）. At the same time， the contents of malondialdehyde in the serum of the two dose groups of JHP decreased significantly （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The results of metabolomics study of cerebral cortex showed that 149 differential metabolites were identified between the JHP group and the model group， which were involved in neurotransmitter metabolism， energy metabolism， oxidative stress and amino acid metabolism. ConclusionJHP and its prescription can antagonize scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunction， regulate cholinergic system， and reduce oxidative stress damage. The mechanism of its therapeutic effect on AD is related to the regulation of neurotransmitter， energy， amino acid metabolism， and improvement of oxidative stress.

Dementia in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） mainly presents amnesia and dullness. Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia belong to the category of dementia in TCM. These progressive neurological diseases have a complex etiology and a long course， and the drugs that can reverse the disease course remain to be developed. Therefore， early intervention plays a vital role in delaying the disease progression. Apathy refers to a lack of motivation that leads to the attenuation or disappearance of goal-directed behaviors， cognitive functions， and emotional responses. Clinical studies have suggested that apathy exists in the early stage of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases， being one of the key symptoms to the early diagnosis of dementia. The severity of apathy is related to the severity of dementia. Therefore， early diagnosis and treatment of apathy are of great significance to the prevention and treatment of dementia. The preclinical research on apathy in dementia is still in its infancy， and the systematic evaluation method has not been prescribed. The clinical diagnosis and treatment are also in the exploratory stage， and the complex pathophysiological mechanisms of apathy and dementia development have not been fully elucidated. This article reviews the research progress of apathy in dementia， the apathetic behaviors of dementia animal models， the behaviors of patients with apathy， and the treatment methods in recent years and summarizes the research status of apathy in dementia. This review aims to provide a theoretical basis for exploring the behavior of apathy in dementia and conducting preclinical research and evaluation of the pathogenesis and to lay a foundation for the treatment of apathy in dementia.

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history of application in China and has consistently played a vital role in treating diseases and saving lives. TCM prescriptions （compounds） constitute the primary form of clinical TCM treatment and significantly differ from western medicine （chemicals） due to the diverse composition and chemical constituents of TCM （compounds）. Nevertheless， the potential multi-component， multi-target， and multi-pathway action characteristics of TCM prescriptions also demonstrate their possible （complementary） therapeutic advantages when compared with single-component chemical drugs. Therefore， driven by the development of modern science and technology and the demands of the modernization and internationalization of TCM， modern theories regarding the complexity of TCM prescription effects have been continuously proposed： Different from the abstract language of traditional prescription theory， the modern TCM prescription theory is more inclined to illustrate the connotation of prescription compatibility concretely and vividly from an experimental and scientific perspective. In this paper， new theories on the complexity of TCM prescriptions proposed in recent years are summarized to provide research references and ideas for the greater role of TCM prescriptions and a better scientific understanding.

As the world’s population ages, age-related cognitive decline and dementia are becoming important challenges for geriatric care. Despite the ongoing search for solutions to address cognitive decline, effective interventions have not yet been established. There is increasing evidence from clinical, epidemiological, and animal studies that masticatory dysfunction due to occlusal disharmony is a risk factor for cognitive decline and an increased incidence of dementia. The mechanisms may involve altered nutritional intake, decreased cerebral blood flow, chronic stress, and hippocampal morphological function. These findings suggest that maintaining and adequately restoring the entire masticatory system has a positive impact for the prevention of cognitive decline.

Aldosterone and renin are important clinical indicators in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. There are two kinds of methods for aldosterone detection, including immunoassay and mass spectrometry. The coefficients of variation within the methods, as well as the deviation between methods are large.And the results of immunoassay are much higher than that of mass spectrometry. Clinically, renin tests mainly include renin concentration and renin activity, both of which have advantages and disadvantages in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. The disordered test results of aldosterone and renin brings great trouble to the clinical diagnosis and treatment. Standardization/consistency is urgently needed to make the test results of each laboratory more accurate and comparable. The standardization project for renin and aldosterone in China will greatly promote the standardization process in order to provide accurate and comparable clinical tests.

Objective To explore the biological indicators of diagnosis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and to explore the mechanism of action of a Chinese medicine Wuji Pill (WJW) on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods (1) Postinflammatory irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) rat model was established by acetic acid plus restraint stress method . (2) The colonic motor ability of rats was evaluated by colon motility index (MI), the number of fecal particles discharged within 2 h, and the time of glass pellet discharge. (3) The formation of PI-IBS model rats and the therapeutic effect of WJW were observed. (4) The levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), motilin (MTL), neuropeptide Y (NPY), substance P (SP), somatostatin (SS), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and cholecystokinin (CCK) in the brain and colon tissues of PI-IBS rats were measured by ELISA. Results (1) The rat PI-IBS model was successfully established. Compared with the normal group, the body weight of the model rats was decreased, the food intake decreased, the amount of feces increased, loose stools and amorphous soft stools appeared, voluntary movements decreased, colon motility index ( MI) significantly increased ( P ＜ 0. 05 ), the number of fecal particles discharged significantly increased ( P＜ 0. 05), and the glass pellet discharge time was significantly shortened ( P ＜ 0. 05). (2) WJW treatment for 7 days significantly improved a variety of symptoms. Compared with the normal control, the levels of CGRP, SS and VIP in the brain tissue of PI-IBS rats were significantly increased (P＜ 0. 05), and the NPY concentration was significantly decreased ( P ＜ 0. 05). However, the treatment with WJW significantly reduced CGRP, SS and VIP levels (P＜ 0. 05), and significantly increased the NPY concentration level (P ＜ 0. 05). (3) Compared with the normal control group, the levels of CCK, NPY, MTL, SS and VIP in colonic tissues of PI-IBS rats were significantly decreased (P＜ 0. 05), while WJW significantly increased the CCK and VIP levels. Conclusions WJW can be used to treat IBS by regulating the levels of various brain-gut peptides in the brain and colon tissues of IBS rats. These anomalous and adjustable brain-gut peptides may become a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of IBS.

The proliferation of tumor cells is regulated by a complex array of signaling pathways, among these signaling pathways,the programmed cell death. Autophagy and apoptosis are two types of programmed death. There are significant differences in their morphological and functional features, but they also have many links. Both apoptosis and autophagy are involved in activation,expression and regulation of a series of genes. By reviewing the research progress in recent years, this article will discuss the cellular regulation and molecular mechanisms of their related genes. Through summarizing the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis,it aims to get a better understanding of the mechanisms of autophagy and apoptosis in tumor progression,and looking at the perspectives for studies on the autophagy and apoptosis in tumor treatment.

Objective: To study the effect of WT1 expression on the prognosis of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in acute leukemia (AL) and its significance as molecular marker to dynamically monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) . Methods: Retrospectively analyzed those AL patients who underwent allo-HSCT in the First Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine during Jan 2016 to Dec 2017, a total number of 314 cases, 163 males and 151 females, median age was 30 (9-64) years old. Comparing the difference of WT1 expression at diagnosed, pre-HSCT and after HSCT. Using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to determine the WT1 threshold at different time so as to predict relapse. The threshold of WT1 expression before transplantation was 1.010%, within 3 months after HSCT was 0.079% and 6 months after HSCT was 0.375%. According to these thresholds, WT1 positive patients were divided into low expression groups and high expression groups. Analyzed the relationship between overall survival (OS) , disease-free survival (DFS) , cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) and WT1 expression. Results: The OS and DFS of high expression group pre-HSCT were lower than low expression group [69.2% (9/13) vs 89.1% (57/64) , χ²=4.086, P=0.043; 53.8% (7/13) vs 87.5% (56/64) , χ²=9.766, P=0.002], CIR was higher than low expression group [30.8% (4/13) vs 7.8% (5/64) , P=0.017]. There was no significant difference of OS and DFS between high expression and low expression group of 3 months after HSCT (P=0.558, P=0.269) . The OS and DFS of high expression group of 6 months after transplantation were both lower than low expression group (P=0.049, P=0.035) . Multivariate analysis showed that WT1>0.375% when 6 months after transplantation was the only independent prognostic factor for shorter DFS (P=0.022) . There was no statistically significant difference in CIR between the high-expression group and the low-expression group 3 months after transplantation and 6 months after transplantation (P=0.114, P=0.306) . Conclusion High expression of WT1 before and after HSCT was an adverse prognosis factor. It is of clinical practical value to use WT1 as a transplant recommendation index for patients with acute leukemia and as a marker to monitor MRD dynamically.

Neurodegenerative diseases are threating our health seriously.Inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and development of neurodegenerative diseases, and its primary characteristics are the activation of microglia and the increasing level of inflammation cytokines.This review describes the relationship between neuroinflammation and several neurodegenerative diseases, and the models in vivo and in vitro.In addition, combining with traditional Chinese medicines knowledge of encephalopathy, we summarizes pharmacological effects and mechanisms of multiple herb extracts and monomer compounds in preventing the activation of microglia and inhibiting neuroinflammation, thus, to provide the basis for gradually revealing the related rules and characteristics of treating encephalopathy by traditional Chinese medicine, and improving the accuracy of the clinical drugs, as well as developing new drugs for the prevention and control of encephalopathy.