7-O-Methylnaringenin, extracted from Rhododendron speciferum, belongs to the flavanone class of polyphenols. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of 7-O-methylnaringenin on cytokine production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages in vitro. The results showed that pretreatment with 10, 20 or 40 µg/mL of 7-O-methylnaringenin could downregulate tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin (IL-6) and interleukin (IL-1β) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we investigated the signal transduction mechanisms to determine how 7-O-methylnaringenin affects RAW 264.7 macrophages. The activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and IκBα were measured by Western blotting. The data showed that 7-O-methylnaringenin could downregulate LPS-induced levels of phosphorylation of ERK1/2, JNK and IκBα. These observations indicated that 7-O-methylnaringenin modulated inflammatory cytokine responses by blocking NF-қB, ERK1/2 and JNK/MAPKs activation.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the migration of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) in vitro, and its influence on the therapeutic efficacy of OECs transplanted in vivo for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Primary cultured and purified OECs (prepared from rats) were treated with ginsenoside Rg1. The wound healing test indicated that ginsenoside Rg1 promoted the migration of OECs. Real-time RT-PCR demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg1 upregulated the expression of migration-related factors of OECs, including matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, and neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1). Moreover, Western blot analysis indicated that ginsenoside Rg1 significantly promoted the migration of OECs via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. An SCI rat model was induced in vivo using a revised Allen's method. The Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores and histological analysis demonstrated that OECs, which were treated with ginsenoside Rg1, exhibited significant improvement in SCI compared with both the control group and the OEC group. Thus, ginsenoside Rg1 may represent a novel treatment target for SCI.

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Background: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of teriparatide and bisphosphonates in managing postmenopausal osteoporosis. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials that were published before April 2018 and compared teriparatide and bisphosphonates in treating postmenopausal osteoporosis. Stata 12.0 was used for the meta-analysis. The pooled risk ratio (RR) or weighted mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a fixed effects or random effects meta-analysis. Results: A total of 14 randomized controlled trials were included in this meta-analysis. The teriparatide group was associated with a lower total occurrence of vertebral fractures (RR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.40–0.77; P = .001) and nonvertebral fractures (RR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.90; P = .009) than the bisphosphonate group. Moreover, compared with the bisphosphonate group, the teriparatide group had improved bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and femoral neck at the final follow-up (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the teriparatide and bisphosphonate groups in terms of complications (RR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.22, P = .516). Conclusions: Teriparatide significantly reduced the occurrence of vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in osteoporosis patients. More studies should focus on the quality of life of patients using these 2 drugs.