Introduction Human brain was a complex network of interconnected regions. Recent neuroimaging studies had showed that the disruption of brain connectivity was associated with psychological disorders. Abnormal rich club and robustness of brain networks might have a key role in the pathophysiology of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED). Methods Both diffusion and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed in pED patients and healthy controls (HC). Measures of rich club organization and robustness under targeted attack were explored. Results Both pED and HC showed structural and functional rich club organization. However, reduced rich club coefficient was found in pED and different regions in the rich club of structural brain network were less than that of functional brain network. Moreover, decreased connectivity density and strength were only found in feeder connections of functional brain network in pED. In addition, pED showed remarkably reduced resilient to targeted attack and the stability of the functional brain network organization showed more vulnerable to targeted attack in pED. Conclusion Together, our results provided evidence that pED was characterized by a selective disruption of rich club organization and reduced robustness to attack. The abnormal hub regions and connections of functional brain network, less stable organization of structural brain network, and the abnormal psychological factors might lead to the development of erectile dysfunction in pED.

This study investigated the effect and mechanism of Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in rats. Histomorphological, hormone-level, and immunohistochemistry experiments were used to investigate the gastric mucosal injury. Pathological changes were readily found in CAG rats. Compared to the control rats, the CAG rats showed significantly decreased plasma levels of gastrin and somatostatin while their motilin levels increased. Moreover, PGE2 in gastric tissue increased and serum sIgA decreased significantly, while the GSH/GSSG ratio showed no change. Immunohistochemical detection showed that the expression of EGFR, COX-2, and MMP-2 was higher in the gastric tissue of CAG rats. After APS treatment, the gastric morphology of CAG rats improved. APS increased plasma gastrin and somatostatin levels significantly but had no significant effect on the motilin level. APS also decreased tissue PGE2 and increased serum sIgA in CAG rats without affecting the GSH/GSSH ratio. This study suggested that APS had a beneficial effect on CAG rats by deregulating EGFR at its downstream effectors COX-2 and MMP-2.

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