OBJECTIVE To optimize the simmering technology of Rheum palmatum from Menghe Medical School and compare the difference of chemical components before and after processing. METHODS Using appearance score， the contents of gallic acid， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural （5-HMF）， sennoside A+sennoside B， combined anthraquinone and free anthraquinone as indexes， analytic hierarchy process （AHP）-entropy weight method was used to calculate the comprehensive score of evaluation indicators； the orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the processing technology of simmering R. palmatum with fire temperature， simmering time， paper layer number and paper wrapping time as factors； validation test was conducted. The changes in the contents of five anthraquinones （aloe-emodin， rhein， emodin， chrysophanol， physcion）， five anthraquinone glycosides （barbaloin， rheinoside， rhubarb glycoside， emodin glycoside， and emodin methyl ether glycoside）， two sennosides （sennoside A， sennoside B）， gallic acid and 5-HMF were compared between simmered R. palmatum prepared by optimized technology and R. palmatum. RESULTS The optimal processing conditions of R. palmatum was as follows: each 80 g R. palmatum was wrapped with a layer of wet paper for 0.5 h， simmered on high heat for 20 min and then simmered at 140 ℃， the total simmering time was 2.5 h. The average comprehensive score of 3 validation tests was 94.10 （RSD＜1.0%）. After simmering， the contents of five anthraquinones and two sennosides were decreased significantly， while those of 5 free anthraquinones and gallic acid were increased to different extents； a new component 5-HMF was formed. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully optimizes the simmering technology of R. palmatum. There is a significant difference in the chemical components before and after processing， which can explain that simmering technology slows down the relase of R. palmatum and beneficiate it.

To summarize the clinical experience of Professor LIU Shangyi in treating pruritus vulvae. It is believed that women have the physiological characteristics of liver and kidney as the root， and their pubic area is easily attacked by wind-dampness pathogenic qi， so the core mechanism of pruritus vulvae is proposed as wind-dampness accumulation and deficiency of liver and kidney. The core treatment method is to dispel wind-dampness and nourish the liver and kidneys， and modify the Danggui Decoction （当归饮子） to form a self-prescribed Yinyang Formula （阴痒方） as the basic prescription to treat pruritus vulvaen.

BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying therapies have been approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The present study aims to examine the safety of teriflunomide in Chinese patients with RMS. METHODS: This non-randomized, multi-center, 24-week, prospective study enrolled RMS patients with variant (c.421C>A) or wild type ABCG2 who received once-daily oral teriflunomide 14 mg. The primary endpoint was the relationship between ABCG2 polymorphisms and teriflunomide exposure over 24 weeks. Safety was assessed over the 24-week treatment with teriflunomide. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients were assigned to variant ( n  = 42) and wild type groups ( n  = 40), respectively. Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation (SD) of pre-dose concentration (variant, 54.9 [38.0] μg/mL; wild type, 49.1 [32.0] μg/mL) and area under plasma concentration-time curve over a dosing interval (AUC tau ) (variant, 1731.3 [769.0] μg∙h/mL; wild type, 1564.5 [1053.0] μg∙h/mL) values at steady state were approximately similar between the two groups. Safety profile was similar and well tolerated across variant and wild type groups in terms of rates of treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE), treatment-related TEAE, grade ≥3 TEAE, and serious adverse events (AEs). No new specific safety concerns or deaths were reported in the study. CONCLUSION: ABCG2 polymorphisms did not affect the steady-state exposure of teriflunomide, suggesting a similar efficacy and safety profile between variant and wild type RMS patients. REGISTRATION NCT04410965, https://clinicaltrials.gov .
Humans ; Crotonates/adverse effects* ; Toluidines/adverse effects* ; Nitriles ; Hydroxybutyrates ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting/genetics* ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult ; Neoplasm Proteins/genetics* ; East Asian People

This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on dynamic changes in Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and H₂O₂ flux following eccentric exercise-induced muscle injury. The total of 324 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group (C), eccentric exercise group (E), eccentric exercise with acupuncture group (EA), EA with TRP channel blocker group (EAT), EA with NOX2 blocker group (EAN) and EA with placebo group (EAP). Gastrocnemius muscles were subject to lengthening contractions with percutaneous electrical stimulation, followed by immediate pretreatment with blocking agents. After 30 min, acupuncture needling was administered to the gastrocnemius muscle, and real-time dynamic changes of Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and H₂O₂ flux were measured with non-invasive micro-test technique during the needle retention period, immediately, 3 h, 6 h, and 24 h post-extraction respectively. Results showed that compared with the E group, acupuncture significantly increased net Ca²⁺ efflux (P < 0.05), extended the period of net Na⁺ influx, and significantly decreased net H₂O₂ efflux (P < 0.05). However, these effects were significantly attenuated in the EAT and EAN groups, where excessive net H₂O₂ efflux was observed (P < 0.001). These findings indicate that acupuncture regulates the dynamic changes of Ca²⁺, Na⁺ and H₂O₂ flux by activating the TRP channels and interacting with NOX2 activity following eccentric exercise-induced skeletal muscle injury.
Animals ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Rats, Wistar ; Rats ; Male ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Hydrogen Peroxide/metabolism* ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Sodium/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; NADPH Oxidase 2

PURPOSE: Intertrochanteric fracture (ITF) classification is crucial for surgical decision-making. However, orthopedic trauma surgeons have shown lower accuracy in ITF classification than expected. The objective of this study was to utilize an artificial intelligence (AI) method to improve the accuracy of ITF classification. METHODS: We trained a network called YOLOX-SwinT, which is based on the You Only Look Once X (YOLOX) object detection network with Swin Transformer (SwinT) as the backbone architecture, using 762 radiographic ITF examinations as the training set. Subsequently, we recruited 5 senior orthopedic trauma surgeons (SOTS) and 5 junior orthopedic trauma surgeons (JOTS) to classify the 85 original images in the test set, as well as the images with the prediction results of the network model in sequence. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) to compare the differences among the SOTS, JOTS, SOTS + AI, JOTS + AI, SOTS + JOTS, and SOTS + JOTS + AI groups. All images were classified according to the AO/OTA 2018 classification system by 2 experienced trauma surgeons and verified by another expert in this field. Based on the actual clinical needs, after discussion, we integrated 8 subgroups into 5 new subgroups, and the dataset was divided into training, validation, and test sets by the ratio of 8:1:1. RESULTS: The mean average precision at the intersection over union (IoU) of 0.5 (mAP50) for subgroup detection reached 90.29%. The classification accuracy values of SOTS, JOTS, SOTS + AI, and JOTS + AI groups were 56.24% ± 4.02%, 35.29% ± 18.07%, 79.53% ± 7.14%, and 71.53% ± 5.22%, respectively. The paired t-test results showed that the difference between the SOTS and SOTS + AI groups was statistically significant, as well as the difference between the JOTS and JOTS + AI groups, and the SOTS + JOTS and SOTS + JOTS + AI groups. Moreover, the difference between the SOTS + JOTS and SOTS + JOTS + AI groups in each subgroup was statistically significant, with all p < 0.05. The independent samples t-test results showed that the difference between the SOTS and JOTS groups was statistically significant, while the difference between the SOTS + AI and JOTS + AI groups was not statistically significant. With the assistance of AI, the subgroup classification accuracy of both SOTS and JOTS was significantly improved, and JOTS achieved the same level as SOTS. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the YOLOX-SwinT network algorithm enhances the accuracy of AO/OTA subgroups classification of ITF by orthopedic trauma surgeons.
Humans ; Hip Fractures/diagnostic imaging* ; Orthopedic Surgeons ; Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effectiveness and safety of Huotujiji prescription for patients with asthenospermia of spleen-kidney yang-deficiency. METHODS: Patients with spleen-kidney-yang deficiency type of asthenospermia were divided into two groups by randomized control method. The patients in the control group were treated with L-carnitine oral solution alone. And the patients in experimental group were treated with Huotujiji prescription. Semen volume, sperm concentration, PR, TCM symptom score and spouse pregnancy were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. RESULTS: A total of 115 patients were included in the study, with 55 in the experimental group and 60 in the control group. In the experimental group, the sperm concentration before and after treatment were (160.71±53.7)×106/mL, (187.19±41.89)×106/mL, and PR were (20.37±9.42)%, (26.7±6.92)%, respectively. PR+NP were (32.06±8.49)% and (34.89±7.25)%. After the treatment, the sperm motility of both groups significantly improved compared to pre-treatment levels (P<0.05). And the experimental group's sperm concentration also showed a significant increase after the treatment (P<0.05). The pregnancy rate of spouses in the control group was 11.67%, which was 29.09% in the experimental group. The pregnancy rate of the spouses in the two groups showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). After 12weeks of treatment, the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptom scores in the control group did not decrease significantly compared to those before treatment (P> 0.05). In contrast, the TCM symptom scores in the experimental group decreased significantly after treatment (P<0.05). Moreover, compared with the control group, the TCM symptom scores of the experimental group decreased significantly after treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Huotujiji prescription can safely and effectively improve the sperm quality and vitality of patients with spleen-kidney-yang deficiency type of asthenospermia, improve the symptoms of patients, and increase the pregnancy rate of their spouses, which is worthy of clinical promotion.
Humans ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Adult ; Yang Deficiency/drug therapy* ; Asthenozoospermia/drug therapy* ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Phytotherapy ; Sperm Motility ; Young Adult ; Spleen ; Treatment Outcome ; Sperm Count

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of Chinese medicine (CM) Lianhua Qingwen Granule (LHQW) and Jingyin Gubiao Prescription (JYGB) in asymptomatic or mild patients with Omicron infection in the shelter hospital. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted in the largest shelter hospital in Shanghai, China, from April 10, 2022 to May 30, 2022. A total of 56,244 asymptomatic and mild Omicron cases were included and divided into 4 groups, i.e., non-administration group (23,702 cases), LHQW group (11,576 cases), JYGB group (12,112 cases), and dual combination of LHQW and JYGB group (8,854 cases). The length of stay (LOS) in the hospital was used to assess the effectiveness of LHQW and JYGB treatment on Omicron infection. RESULTS: Patients aged 41-60 years, with nadir threshold cycle (C_T) value of N gene <25, or those fully vaccinated preferred to receive CM therapy. Before or after propensity score matching (PSM), the multiple linear regression showed that LHQW and JYGB treatment were independent influence factors of LOS (both P<0.001). After PSM, there were significant differences in LOS between the LHQW/JYGB combination and the other groups (P<0.01). The results of factorial design ANOVA proved that the LHQW/JYGB combination therapy synergistically shortened LOS (P=0.032). CONCLUSIONS Patients with a nadir C_T value <25 were more likely to accept CM. The LHQW/JYGB combination therapy could shorten the LOS of Omicron-infected individuals in an isolated environment.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; Hospitalization ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Length of Stay ; Young Adult ; Aged

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-tumor effects of cinobufacini (CINO) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) induced by des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP) and to uncover the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: The inhibitory effect of CINO on HCC cell proliferation was evaluated using the cell counting kit-8 method, and the apoptosis rate was quantified using flow cytometry. Immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses were used to investigate the differential expression of proteins associated with cell growth, apoptosis, migration, and invasion pathways after CINO treatment. The therapeutic potential of CINO for HCC was confirmed, and the possibility of combining cinobufacini with c-Met inhibitor for the treatment of primary HCC was further validated by in vivo experiments. RESULTS: Under the induction of DCP, CINO inhibited the activity of HCC cells, induced apoptosis, and inhibited migration and invasion. Upon the induction of DCP, CINO regulated c-Met activation and the activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK/ERK) pathways. In a mouse model of HCC, CINO exhibited significant antitumor effects by inhibiting the phosphorylation of c-Met and the downstream PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK pathways in tumor tissues. CONCLUSIONS CINO inhibited HCC cell growth, promoted apoptosis, and suppressed HCC cell invasion and migration by targeting c-Met and PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK signaling pathways under DCP induction.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met/metabolism* ; Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Animals ; Humans ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Amphibian Venoms/therapeutic use* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Mice ; Male ; Bufanolides/therapeutic use* ; Protein Precursors ; Prothrombin ; Biomarkers

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) represents a paradigmatic approach to personalized medicine, developed through the systematic accumulation and refinement of clinical empirical data over more than 2000 years, and now encompasses large-scale electronic medical records (EMR) and experimental molecular data. Artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated its utility in medicine through the development of various expert systems (e.g., MYCIN) since the 1970s. With the emergence of deep learning and large language models (LLMs), AI's potential in medicine shows considerable promise. Consequently, the integration of AI and TCM from both clinical and scientific perspectives presents a fundamental and promising research direction. This survey provides an insightful overview of TCM AI research, summarizing related research tasks from three perspectives: systems-level biological mechanism elucidation, real-world clinical evidence inference, and personalized clinical decision support. The review highlights representative AI methodologies alongside their applications in both TCM scientific inquiry and clinical practice. To critically assess the current state of the field, this work identifies major challenges and opportunities that constrain the development of robust research capabilities-particularly in the mechanistic understanding of TCM syndromes and herbal formulations, novel drug discovery, and the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered clinical care. The findings underscore that future advancements in AI-driven TCM research will rely on the development of high-quality, large-scale data repositories; the construction of comprehensive and domain-specific knowledge graphs (KGs); deeper insights into the biological mechanisms underpinning clinical efficacy; rigorous causal inference frameworks; and intelligent, personalized decision support systems.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Humans ; Precision Medicine ; Decision Support Systems, Clinical