With the increasing prominence of population aging, the cognitive decline of the elderly has gradually become a hotspot of clinical research. As a traditional rehabilitation exercise, Tai Chi has been proved to have a positive effect on improving cognitive function and delaying cognitive decline in the elderly. However, the related brain function mechanism is still unclear. In this paper, we collected studies which observed the changes of Tai Chi on brain regions related to cognitive function in the elderly using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We summarized relevant studies from perspective of structural and functional changes in the brain. The results showed that Tai Chi may delay and improve cognitive decline in the elderly by reshaping the structure and function of brain regions related to cognitive function such as memory, attention and execution. The effect of Tai Chi for cognitive function may be associated with positive regulation of cardiovascular function, emotion and meditation level of the elderly. In addition, the improvement of cognitive function further enhances the balance of the elderly. We also found that practice time, frequency and intensity of Tai Chi could be factors influencing the improvement of cognitive function and brain function in the elderly.
ObjectiveTo analyze the quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included in the systematic review in the anti-infection field in the elderly.MethodsA comprehensive and systematic literature search in PubMed, EMbase, CNKI, The Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM was conducted to collect systematic review or meta-analysis which involoved anti-infection RCTs in the elderly from inception to February 17th, 2020. The results of Cochrane risk of bias assessment of the included RCTs were analyzed.ResultsA total of 8 systematic reviews were included, involving 19 RCTs and 6 735 participants. The sample size of the RCTs ranged from 23 to 2538, and the published date were from 1980 to 2020. The included RCTs focused on postoperative infection, urinary tract infection, Clostridium Difficile infection and so on. The included RCTs had methodological quality issues. Among the assessment results of low risk of bias, the domains of selection bias (random sequence generation) and selection bias (allocation hiding) had the lowest proportion (47.3%, 36.8%). Among the assessment results of unclear risk of bias, the domains of selection bias (random sequence generation) and selection bias (allocation hiding) had the highest proportion (42.1%, 52.6%). Among the assessment results of high risk of bias, the domains of measurement bias and performance bias had the highest proportion (21.1%, 21.1%).ConclusionsThe quality of RCTs in the field of anti-infection in the elderly requires further improvement. High-quality anti-infection RCTs for the elderly should be developed in future to better guide clinical practice.