Objective To explore the safety and effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF). Methods A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed (ClinicalTrial.gov registration number NCT03491969). From January 2019 to January 2023, 300 patients with IHF were enrolled in four medical centers in China, and were randomly assigned at a 1∶1 ratio to receive ALA (600 mg daily) or placebo on top of standard care for 24 months. The primary outcome was the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure (HF) or all-cause mortality events. The second outcome included non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), non-fatal stroke, changes of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) from baseline to 24 months after randomization. Results Finally, 138 patients of the ALA group and 139 patients of the placebo group attained the primary outcome. Hospitalization for HF or all-cause mortality events occurred in 32 patients (23.2%) of the ALA group and in 40 patients (28.8%) of the placebo group (HR＝0.753, 95%CI 0.473-1.198, P＝0.231; Figure 1A-1C). The absolute risk reduction (ARR) was 5.6%, the relative risk reduction (RRR) associated with ALA therapy was approximately 19.4% compared to placebo, corresponding to a number needed to treat (NNT) of 18 patients to prevent one event. In the secondary outcome analysis, the composite outcome of the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including the hospitalization for HF, all-cause mortality events, non-fatal MI or non-fatal stroke occurred in 35 patients (25.4%) in the ALA group and 47 patients (33.8%) in the placebo group (HR＝0.685, 95%CI 0.442-1.062, P＝0.091; Figure 1D). Moreover, greater improvement in LVEF (β＝3.20, 95%CI 1.14-5.23, P＝0.002) and 6MWD (β＝31.7, 95%CI 8.3-54.7, P＝0.008) from baseline to 24 months after randomization were observed in the ALA group as compared to the placebo group. There were no differences in adverse events between the study groups. Conclusions These results show potential long-term beneficial effects of adding ALA to IHF patients. ALA could significantly improve LVEF and 6MWD compared to the placebo group in IHF patients.

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy,safety,and economy of camrelizumab(CAM)combined with platinum-containing chemotherapy(CT)for the first-line treatment of locally advanced/meta-static non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).METH-ODS:Chinese and English databases such as Pubmed,the Cochrane Library,China Knowledge Network,Wanfang Data,and other related web-sites were systematically searched.After literature screening,quality assessment,and data extraction of the literature according to the inclusion and ex-clusion criteria,two researchers conducted a rapid health technology assessment(HTA).RESULTS:A total of 7 systematic evaluations/Meta-analyses and 17 economics evaluations were included.In terms of effectiveness,compared to docetaxel che-motherapy,CAM+CT significantly prolonged the overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS),and improved the objective remission rate(ORR)of mutation-negative patients with locally ad-vanced/metastatic NSCLC.Compared with CT and pembrolizumab(PEM),CAM+CT significantly pro-longed the PFS,and improved the ORR of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC.Subgroup analysis showed that CAM+CT significantly prolonged PFS in patients with PD-L1 ≥1％and PD-L1 ≥ 50％compared with CT.Compared with CT,CAM+CT significantly prolonged the OS and PFS of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.Compared with sintilimab(SIN),CAM+CT significantly pro-longed the PFS of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.Sub-group analysis showed that CAM+CT significantly prolonged OS in patients with PD-L1＜1％com-pared with CT.In terms of safety,CAM+CT was comparable in terms of the occurrence of all grades of adverse events,but the incidence of grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events was significantly increased compared with CT and PEM for mutation-negative locally advanced/meta-static NSCLC patients.CAM+CT was significantly in-creased the occurrence of all grades of adverse events compared with CT,but was comparable in terms of the occurrence of grade 3 or higher treat-ment-related adverse events.In terms of economy,CAM+CT has a cost-effectiveness advantage over CT for patients with mutation-negative advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.CAM+CT has a cost-effectiveness advantage over CT and PEM+CT;and CAM+CT does not have a cost-effectiveness ad-vantage over SIN+CT for patients with mutation-negative locally advanced/metastatic non-squa-mous NSCLC.CONCLUSION:CAM+CT has good ef-ficacy and cost-effectiveness for the first-line treat-ment of locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC,and the safety aspect is compared with CT,PEM or slightly worse.

Humans ; COVID-19 ; Consensus ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China

OBJECTIVE:To study inhibitory effect of Lycianthes biflora polysaccharide on the proliferation of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats and its mechanism. METHODS:After treated with 0(blank control),50,100,200μg/ml L. biflora polysac-charide for 24 and 48 h,the activity of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats was determined by MTT assay and inhibitory rate of cell proliferation was calculated;the content of Hyp in supernatant was detected by immunohistochemical assay. After 48 h,the ex-pression of cellular α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)was measured by immunohistochemical assay;both transforming growth fac-tor β1(TGF-β1)and Smad3 were measured by Western blot assay. RESULTS:Compared to blank control,50,100 and 200 μg/ml L. biflora polysaccharide could inhibit the proliferation of HSCs-T6 cells;cell inhibitory rates were 39.84%-69.31% and 45.16%-82.93% respectively after treated for 24 and 48 h,which were positively associated with time and concentration. The con-tents of Hyp in supernatant were 178.36-93.25 μg/ml and 131.94-68.74 μg/ml respectively after treated with different concentrations of PRP for 24 and 48 h,which were negatively associated with time and concentration. The protein level of TGF-β1 and Smad3 de-creased after treated with L. biflora polysaccharide for 48 h(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS:L. biflora polysaccharide can inhibit the proliferation of hepatic stellate HSCs-T6 cells in rats,and its mechanism is associated with the inactivation of endogenous TGF-βpathway for reducing collagen production.