Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

BEIJING, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by haiwainet.cn: Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (now Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Dongzhimen Hospital, one of its affiliates, cooperated with The Staudinger Company Group in establishing the TCM-Klinik Bad Kötzting, the first licensed TCM hospital in Germany. In terms of patient diagnosis and treatment, the hospital always gives priority to curative effects, and treats patients under the guidance of TCM theories and concepts, showcasing the features and advantages of TCM with successful practices. When it comes to TCM publicity, the hospital has hosted various activities that attracted people in the local area and from neighboring countries, as well as wide coverage by foreign media. In this way, the hospital contributed to the dissemination of TCM overseas. In 2008, the hospital was bestowed with the the 2008 International Award for Contribution to Chinese Medicine, the highest award in the field of international TCM cooperation, by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS). This honor highlighted the great contribution made by the hospital to TCM publicity and education. Promoting the integration of TCM and Modern Medicine Adhering to the concepts of offering patient-centered therapies and combining prevention and treatment, the hospital is committed to safeguarding the health of patients with "the essence in the two schools of medicine", and conducing to the integration of TCM medicine and modern medicine. With regard to exchanges between TCM and Western medicine, the hospital has carried out in-depth discussions with medical institutions worldwide, and co-founded the China-Europe TCM Cooperation and Development Forum with the WFCMS. All these efforts have injected vitality into TCM in its process to become modern and go global. In terms of scientific research on TCM, the hospital has published a total of 156 articles and monographs, and formulated or compiled many standards and other relevant materials, in order to promote standardization in TCM education and research. This also facilitates the integration of TCM and modern medicine. By unremittingly exploring how to integrate TCM and modern medicine and delving deeply into research on TCM, the hospital has emerged as a pioneer in terms of introducing TCM to the world, a bridge for the communication between Chinese and Western cultures, and a contributor to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. SOURCE haiwainet.cn

By directly targeting RNA, researchers were able to eliminate toxic protein buildup that causes the progressive neurodegenerative condition while not significantly disrupting other human genes. Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurological disorder that causes progressive loss of movement, coordination and cognitive function. It is caused by a mutation in a single gene called huntingtin or HTT. More than 200,000 people worldwide live with the genetic condition, approximately 30,000 in the United States. More than a quarter of a million Americans are at risk of inheriting HD from an affected parent. There is no cure. But in a new study, published December 12, 2022 in Nature Neuroscience, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, describe using RNA-targeting CRISPR/Cas13d technology to develop a new therapeutic strategy that specifically eliminates toxic RNA that causes HD. CRISPR is known as a genome-editing tool that allows scientists to add, remove or alter genetic material at specific locations in the genome. It is based on a naturally occurring immune-defense system used by bacteria. However, current strategies run the risk of off-target edits at unintended sites that may cause permanent and inheritable chromosomal insertions or genome alterations. Because of this, significant efforts have focused on identifying CRISPR systems that target RNA directly without altering the genome. In the case of HD, the condition is caused by repetitive and damaging sequences in the HTT gene. Our cells have a hard time copying repetitive DNA, and these copying errors can cause repetitive sequences to grow longer with each generation," said senior study author Gene Yeo, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "In the Huntingtin gene, these repeats can sometimes grow to many times their normal length, with the resulting repeat-expanded protein tending to aggregate and form toxic clumps in a part of the brain called the striatum that is important for regulating movement. The loss of functional neurons in the striatum ultimately leads to HD symptoms." With colleagues at UC Irvine and Johns Hopkins University, Yeo and his team investigated whether recently described RNA-targeting CRISPR technology could be used to affect RNA (a chemical intermediate between DNA instructions and protein production) accumulation associated with HD. They used viral vehicles to deliver the therapy to neuronal cultures, which were developed from stem cells derived from patients with HD, and found that the approach not only targeted and destroyed mutant RNA molecules, but also cleared out toxic protein buildup. They also demonstrated that expression of other human genes was generally not disrupted by the therapy. "Our goal was to engineer a type of therapy that would only target the toxic RNA that causes HD and could keep the rest of the human genome and transcriptome intact," said co-first author Kathryn Morelli, PhD, a research fellow in Yeo's lab. "We specifically screened our top therapeutic constructs in HD patient cell lines to make sure of it." Development of effective therapies for HD has proven challenging. In 2021, for example, two clinical trials for promising gene therapies were halted following disappointing results performance. Both potential drugs had been touted as game-changers for HD. Currently, no treatments can alter the course of the disease, though medications can lessen some symptoms. "The Huntington's community was devastated when the clinical trials failed, primarily due to target specificity and toxic effects," said Yeo. "But their termination has only re-energized the scientific community to find alternative strategies." Yeo's lab collaborated with Wenzhen Duan, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, at Johns Hopkins Medicine to conduct preclinical testing in mice. Duan, with co-first author Qian Wu, PhD, found that the therapy improved motor coordination, attenuated striatal degradation and reduced toxic protein levels in a mouse model of HD. The improvements lasted for at least 8 months without adverse effects and minimal off-target effects on other RNA molecules. Co-authors include: Maya L. Gosztyla, Ryan J. Marina, Kari Lee, Krysten L. Jones, Megan Huang and Allison Li, all at UC San Diego; Hongshuai Liu, Minmin Yao and Chuangchuang Zhang, Johns Hopkins University; Jiaxu Chen, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; and Charlene Smith-Geater and Leslie M. Thompson, UC Irvine.

Older adults who consistently get up early and remain active throughout the day are happier and perform better on cognitive tests than those with irregular activity patterns, according to a new study. Older adults who consistently get up early and remain active throughout the day are happier and perform better on cognitive tests than those with irregular activity patterns, according to a new study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers. The findings, published online in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that patterns of activity -- not just activity intensity -- are important for healthy aging and mental health. "There's something about getting going early, staying active all day and following the same routine each day that seems to be protecting older adults," said lead author Stephen Smagula, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Pitt. "What's exciting about these findings is that activity patterns are under voluntary control, which means that making intentional changes to one's daily routine could improve health and wellness." To learn more about daily activity patterns in U.S.-based older adults and identify links with mental health and cognition, Smagula and his team recruited 1,800 senior citizens aged over 65. Participants wore accelerometers -- movement-detecting devices often found in smartphones and exercise trackers -- on their wrist for seven days to measure activity, and they completed questionnaires to assess depression symptoms and cognitive function. The analysis showed that 37.6% of participants rose early in the morning, stayed active throughout the day and had consistent daily routines. "Many older adults had robust patterns: They get up before 7 a.m. on average, and they keep going; they stay active for 15 hours or so each day. They also tend to follow the same pattern day in, day out," said Smagula. "Lo and behold, those same adults were happier, less depressed and had better cognitive function than other participants." Another group comprising 32.6% of participants similarly had consistent daily patterns but were active for an average of just 13.4 hours each day because they rose later in the morning or settled down earlier in the evening. This group had more depression symptoms and poorer cognition than the early risers. "People often think about activity intensity being important for health, but it might be the duration of activity that matters more," said Smagula. "This is a different way of thinking about activity: You may not need to be sprinting or running a marathon but simply staying engaged with activities throughout the day." The remaining 29.8% of participants had disrupted activity patterns in which periods of activity were erratic throughout the day and inconsistent across days. These adults had the highest rates of depression and performed worst on cognitive tests. According to Smagula, the relationship between mental health and activity patterns likely goes both ways: Depression or cognitive impairment can make it harder to follow a consistent routine, and conversely, having a disrupted activity rhythm may worsen these symptoms. "Our findings suggest that activity pattern disruption is very common and associated with health problems in older adults," explained Smagula. "The relationship is likely bi-directional, so the good news is we think that simple changes -- things everyone can try -- can restore regular activity patterns and doing so may improve health." Now, Smagula and his team are developing interventions to test their hypothesis that modifying behaviors to develop more consistent daily routines will boost cognition and improve mental health in older adults. Smagula said that the first step to developing a consistent routine and getting better sleep is waking up at the same time each day -- no matter how tired you are. "The other thing is having a realistic plan to keep active through the whole day. This can be really hard -- especially if you're in a slump or recovering from an injury -- so it's important to be reasonable with yourself," he added. "A plan could include making a list of activities you enjoy and scheduling time to meet a friend or neighbor." Time cues, called "zeitgebers," which help set the body's internal clock, can also assist in creating a stable routine. These include sunlight, exercise and eating. Pets, which often demand meals and walks at the same time each day, can be important social zeitgebers. "Most people are aware of the importance of good sleep and exercise, but I think what's missing from this picture is the daily, or circadian, pattern of activity," said Smagula. "Having something to wake up for each morning and having a full day that you find purposeful and rewarding might be what's important for us sleeping well at night and aging well." Other authors on the study were Swathi Gujral, Ph.D., Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D., and Gehui Zhang, B.S., all of Pitt or UPMC; Naima Covassin, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic; Jingen Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; Warren D. Taylor, M.D., of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and Robert T. Krafty, Ph.D., of Emory University. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R21MH120511 and R21AG074094).