Ferroptosis is a novel type of cell death characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation that involves a variety of biological processes, such as iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress. A growing body of research suggests that ferroptosis is associated with cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, such as glioblastoma, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Building on these findings, we can selectively induce ferroptosis for the treatment of certain cancers, or we can treat neurodegenerative diseases by inhibiting ferroptosis. This review summarizes the relevant advances in ferroptosis, the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis, the participation of ferroptosis in brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases, and the corresponding drug therapies to provide new potential targets for its treatment.

Atherosclerosis (As) is a chronic vascular inflammatory disease. Macrophages are the most important immune cells in atherosclerotic plaques, and the phenotype of plaque macrophages shifts dynamically to adapt to changes in the plaque microenvironment. The aerobic microenvironment of early atherosclerotic plaques promotes the transformation of M2/alternatively activated macrophages mainly through oxidative phosphorylation; the anoxic microenvironment of advanced atherosclerotic plaques mainly promotes the formation of M1/classically activated macrophages through anaerobic glycolysis; and the adventitia angiogenesis of aged atherosclerotic plaques leads to an increase in the proportion of M2/M1 macrophages. Therefore, this review deeply elucidates the dynamic change mechanism of plaque macrophages and the regulation of plaque oxygen content and immune metabolism to find new targets for the treatment of As.

No abstract

Background and Purpose Some cervical artery dissection (CAD) can't be easily confirmed by commonly used angiography techniques in clinical practice. We aimed to compare the abilities of the vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques including simultaneous noncontrast angiography and intraplaque hemorrhage (SNAP) sequence and T1-weighted volumetric isotropic turbo spin echo acquisition (T1-w VISTA) sequence alone for evaluating CAD. Materials and Methods From July 2017 to October 2020, 59 patients underwent MRI examinations including SNAP and T1-w VISTA sequences for cervical artery pathologies. SNAP and T1-w VISTA images were retrospectively and independently reviewed to evaluate their diagnostic performances of CAD by using the final diagnosis as the reference standard which was established by clinical history, physical examination, and all available images. The agreement between T1-w VISTA and SNAP in the identification of the imaging features of CAD, including intramural hematoma (IMH), intimal flap, and double lumen, were compared. The IMH-wall contrasts by T1-w VISTA and SNAP were also compared. Results CAD was confirmed in 43 of the 59 patients. T1-w VISTA and SNAP showed the same diagnostic performance, and their consistencies with the final diagnosis were good (κ = 0.776, p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity in CAD diagnosis were 0.978 and 0.750 for T1-w VISTA and SNAP. The IMH, intimal flap, and double lumen observed on SNAP were also determined by T1-w VISTA (κ = 1.000, p < 0.001 for all). The SNAP sequence showed higher IMH-wall contrast than T1-w VISTA (7.34 ± 4.56 vs. 3.12 ± 1.17, p < 0.001). Conclusions SNAP and T1-w VISTA sequences had the same performance in CAD diagnosis, thus they were both recommended. In addition, SNAP showed better IMH-wall contrast than T1-w VISTA.