Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by senile plaques (SP) of extracellular amyloid β peptides(Aβ), neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) of intracellular hyper-phosphorylated tau and widespread loss of neurons. Apoptosis is the main reason of neuronal loss. It is proved that Aβ triggers apoptotic cell death via the activation of caspase-dependent and - independent cell death effectors, respectively. Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely used mood stabilizer and antiepileptic drug. Our previous study showed that VPA treatment significantly reduced SP formation and improved memory deficits in transgenic AD model mice. The present study intended to explore the protective effect of VPA on neuronal loss in transgenic AD model mice and the possible mechanisms involved. Histological and ultra-structural analysis showed that VPA partially decreased the swollen mitochondria and neurophil and promoted neurite outgrowth in AD mice model. Meanwhile, VPA greatly rescued the neuronal loss in the brain of AD mice. TUNEL staining showed that VPA significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells. Western blot analysis revealed that VPA notably down-regulated the expression of Caspase-3, Caspase-9 and Caspase-12, reduced the level of cytochrome C and Bax. The expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 was increased after VPA treatment. Flow cytometry revealed that VPA significantly decreased intracellular level of Ca(2+) and elevated mitochondrial membrane potential. Altogether, these results indicate that VPA protected AD mice via suppression of upstream factors of apoptosis, namely inhibition of both mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum pathway of apoptosis.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach are the most common GISTs. The risk, incidence, and outcome of cancer are different between the sexes. Whether gender is related to the prognosis of gastric stromal tumors is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between gender and gastric GIST prognosis. Methods: Data from gastric GIST patients were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce confounding factors, and the clinicopathological features and prognosis of GIST patients were comprehensively evaluated. Results: There were 512 male patients and 538 female patients with gastric GIST. The gender of gastric GIST patients was associated with marital status, surgical treatment, tumor size, and mitotic index (P < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test revealed that male patients had a higher mortality rate than female patients (P = 0.0024). After matching all the potential confounding factors, the survival of the female gastric GIST patients was better than that of the male gastric GIST patients (P = 0.042). Cox regression analysis revealed that gender was an independent risk factor for overall survival. The risk of death was higher for males than for females (HR 1.677, 95% CI 1.150-2.444, P = 0.007). Conclusion: Gender could be a prognostic factor for gastric GIST survival, and male patients had a higher risk of death.

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach are the most common GISTs. The risk, incidence and outcome of cancer are different between the sexes. Whether gender is related to the prognosis of gastric stromal tumors is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between gender and gastric GIST prognosis.Methods: Data from gastric GIST patients were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce confounding factors, and the clinicopathological features and prognosis of GIST patients were comprehensively evaluated.Results: There were 512 male patients and 538 female patients with gastric GIST. The gender of gastric GIST patients was associated with marital status, surgical treatment, tumor size, and mitotic index (P < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test revealed that male patients had a higher mortality rate than female patients (P = 0.0024). After matching all the potential confounding factors, the survival of the female gastric GIST patients was better than that of the male gastric GIST patients (P = 0.042). Cox regression analysis revealed that gender was an independent risk factor for overall survival. The risk of death was higher for males than for females (HR: 1.677, 95% CI: 1.150-2.444, P = 0.007). Conclusion: Gender could be a prognostic factor for gastric GIST survival, and male patients had a higher risk of death.

Background Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach are the most common GISTs. The risk, incidence and outcome of cancer are different between the sexes. Whether gender is related to the prognosis of gastric stromal tumors is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between gender and gastric GIST prognosis. Methods Data from gastric GIST patients were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. After propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce confounding factors, the clinicopathological features and prognosis of GIST patients were comprehensively evaluated. Results There were 512 male patients and 538 female patients with gastric GIST. The gender of gastric GIST patients was associated with marital status, surgical treatment, tumor size, and mitotic index (P < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test revealed that male patients had a higher mortality rate than female patients (P = 0.0024). After matching all the potential confounding factors, the survival of the female gastric GIST patients was better than that of the male gastric GIST patients (P = 0.042). Cox regression analysis revealed that gender was an independent risk factor for overall survival. The risk of death was higher for males than for females (HR: 1.539, 95% CI: 1.066–2.222, P = 0.021). Conclusion Gender could be a prognostic factor for gastric GIST survival, and male patients had a higher risk of death.