The Huangdi Neijing proposes the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory to guide clinical prescription and formulation of herbal remedies based on the physiological characteristics and functions of the five zang viscera, along with the properties and flavors of medicinal herbs. This study explored diabetic kidney disease pathogenesis and treatment based on the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory. Kidney dryness is a key pathological factor in diabetic kidney disease, and the disharmony of kidney dryness is an essential aspect of its pathogenesis. Strengthening is the primary therapeutic principle, and kidney dryness is a persistent factor throughout the occurrence and progression of diabetic kidney disease. In the early stage, the pathogenesis involves heat-consuming qi and injuring yin, leading to kidney dryness. In the middle stage, the pathogenesis manifests as qi deficiency and blood stasis in the collaterals, resulting in turbidity owing to kidney dryness. In the late stage, the pathogenesis involves yin and yang deficiency, with kidney dryness and disharmony. This study proposes the staging-based treatment based on the " need for firmness" characteristic of the kidney. The aim is to provide new insights for clinical diagnosis and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine by rationally using pungent, bitter, and salty medicinal herbs to nourish and moisturize the kidney. This approach seeks to promote precise syndrome differentiation and personalized treatment for different stages of diabetic kidney disease, thereby enhancing clinical efficacy.

AIM: To explore the clinical efficacy of 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy combined with 41G ultra-micro subretinal injection of tissue plasminogen activator(t-PA)in the treatment of subretinal hemorrhage(SMH).METHODS: Retrospective study. A totally 60 patients(60 eyes)who visited the Ophthalmology Department of Yuebei People's Hospital from June 2022 to September 2024 and were diagnosed with submacular hemorrhage were selected. According to different treatment methods, they were divided into a control group of 30 eyes(25G vitrectomy combined with intravitreal injection of t-PA)and an observation group of 30 eyes(25G vitrectomy combined with 41G subretinal injection of t-PA). The complete clearance rate of macular hemorrhage, best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), changes in intraocular pressure, central retinal thickness(CRT), the occurrence of postoperative complications were observed in the two groups of patients.RESULTS:The two groups of general data are comparable. After treatment for 7 d, the rate of complete clearance of macular hemorrhage was higher in the observation group than in the control group(100% vs 80%, P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the comparison of BCVA at 1 d and 6 mo postoperatively(all P>0.05), and in the comparison of BCVA between the two groups at 7 d, 1, and 3 mo postoperatively, BCVA of the observation group was better than that of the control group(all P<0.05); and the intraocular pressure of the observation group was lower than that of the control group at 1 d, 7 d, and 1 mo postoperatively(all P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between the two groups in the comparison of intraocular pressure at 3 and 6 mo postoperatively(all P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the comparison of CRT at 1 d and 6 mo postoperatively(all P>0.05), and CRT was lower than that of the control group at 7 d, 1 and 3 mo postoperatively(all P<0.05). The total incidence of complications in the observation group was not statistically different from that in the control group(0 vs 10%, P>0.05).CONCLUSION: The 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy combined with 41G ultra-microsubretinal injection of t-PA is more efficient in removing subretinal hemorrhage, promotes early anatomical restoration, and has a comparable long-term visual prognosis to the conventional method, with a favorable safety profile.

Background::The goal of the assisted reproductive treatment is to transfer one euploid blastocyst and to help infertile women giving birth one healthy neonate. Some algorithms have been used to assess the ploidy status of embryos derived from couples with normal chromosome, who subjected to preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) treatment. However, it is currently unknown whether artificial intelligence model can be used to assess the euploidy status of blastocyst derived from populations with chromosomal rearrangement.Methods::From February 2020 to May 2021, we collected the whole raw time-lapse videos at multiple focal planes from in vitro cultured embryos, the clinical information of couples, and the comprehensive chromosome screening results of those blastocysts that had received PGT treatment. Initially, we developed a novel deep learning model called the Attentive Multi-Focus Selection Network (AMSNet) to analyze time-lapse videos in real time and predict blastocyst formation. Building upon AMSNet, we integrated additional clinically predictive variables and created a second deep learning model, the Attentive Multi-Focus Video and Clinical Information Fusion Network (AMCFNet), to assess the euploidy status of embryos. The efficacy of the AMCFNet was further tested in embryos with parental chromosomal rearrangements. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the superiority of the model. Results::A total of 4112 embryos with complete time-lapse videos were enrolled for the blastocyst formation prediction task, and 1422 qualified blastocysts received PGT-A ( n = 589) or PGT for chromosomal structural rearrangement (PGT-SR, n = 833) were enrolled for the euploidy assessment task in this study. The AMSNet model using seven focal raw time-lapse videos has the best real-time accuracy. The real-time accuracy for AMSNet to predict blastocyst formation reached above 70% on the day 2 of embryo culture, and then increased to 80% on the day 4 of embryo culture. Combing with 4 clinical features of couples, the AUC of AMCFNet with 7 focal points increased to 0.729 in blastocysts derived from couples with chromosomal rearrangement. Conclusion::Integrating seven focal raw time-lapse images of embryos and parental clinical information, AMCFNet model have the capability of assessing euploidy status in blastocysts derived from couples with chromosomal rearrangement.

Background::In the clinic, practitioners encounter many patients with an abnormal pattern of dense punctate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal in the basal ganglia, a phenomenon known as "cheese sign". This sign is reported as common in cerebrovascular diseases, dementia, and old age. Recently, cheese sign has been speculated to consist of dense perivascular space (PVS). This study aimed to assess the lesion types of cheese sign and analyze the correlation between this sign and vascular disease risk factors.Methods::A total of 812 patients from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) dementia cohort were enrolled. We analyzed the relationship between cheese sign and vascular risk. For assessing cheese sign and defining its degree, the abnormal punctate signals were classified into basal ganglia hyperintensity (BGH), PVS, lacunae/infarctions and microbleeds, and counted separately. Each type of lesion was rated on a four-level scale, and then the sum was calculated; this total was defined as the cheese sign score. Fazekas and Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) scores were used to evaluate the paraventricular, deep, and subcortical gray/white matter hyperintensities.Results::A total of 118 patients (14.5%) in this dementia cohort were found to have cheese sign. Age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.090, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.064-1.120, P <0.001), hypertension (OR: 1.828, 95% CI: 1.123-2.983, P = 0.014), and stroke (OR: 1.901, 95% CI: 1.092-3.259, P = 0.025) were risk factors for cheese sign. There was no significant relationship between diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cheese sign. The main components of cheese sign were BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction. The proportion of PVS increased with cheese sign severity. Conclusions::The risk factors for cheese sign were hypertension, age, and stroke. Cheese sign consists of BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction.

The ApoE gene is a genetic risk determinant for sporadic Alzheimer′s disease (AD). The ApoEε4 allele increases the risk of developing AD relative to the common ApoEε3 allele, whereas the ApoEε2 allele decreases the risk of developing the disease. The 3 alleles encode ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4 protein isoforms, respectively. ApoE4 contributes to the pathogenesis of AD by regulating β-amyloid protein, tau protein, transactive response DNA-binding protein-43, neuroinflammation, and cerebral vascular function. The pathways associated with ApoE also offer new opportunities for the treatment of AD. In addition, studies have shown that ApoE4 also plays a toxic role in other neurological disorders. This article described the biological characteristics of ApoE, as well as the impact of ApoE4 on AD and related dementias, aiming to enhance clinical doctors′ understanding of the involvement of ApoE4 in the pathogenesis of AD and related dementia.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and imaging features of patients with COVID-19-related osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS).Methods:COVID-19-related ODS cases diagnosed in the Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2020 to September 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. And their past medical history, possible triggers, clinical manifestations, imaging manifestations, treatment and prognosis were summarized.Results:A total of 5 patients with COVID-19-related ODS were included. Electrolyte disturbances acted as an inducement of ODS in all patients (5/5),4 of whom with hyponatremia. Four of 5 patients first presented with disturbance of consciousness, followed by predominant dystonia. Imaging of all patients (5/5) showed isolated extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM). With the prolongation of the course of disease, such signal intensity could return to normal, and lesions showed atrophic changes in some patients. The patients′ clinical symptoms were partly relieved within a few days to a few months after treatment.Conclusions:COVID-19-related ODS is mostly associated with hyponatremia, and EPM is more common. COVID-19 should be considered as a risk factor for ODS.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of stereotactic surgery in patients with refractory mental disorders.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed; clinical data, postoperative complications and medication intake of 149 patients with refractory mental disorders accepted stereotactic surgery in Department of Neurosurgery, People's Hospital, Wuhan University from August 2019 to December 2023 were collected. Outcomes were assessed at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery by Clinical Global Impression-Global Improvement (CGI-GI). Before and 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery, severities were assessed by Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-SI); cognition was assessed by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); positive and negative symptoms were evaluated by Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS); psychotic symptoms were evaluated by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90); obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and manic symptoms were assessed by Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Scale (Y-BOCS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), respectively; social functioning and quality of survival were evaluated by Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) and World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref Form (WHOQOL-BREF).Results:(1) Increased sleep was noted in 47 patients and fatigue in 38 patients within 1 week after surgery. Behavioral laziness and emotional apathy were still presented at 1 month after surgery in 6 patients, and complications disappeared in the rest patients. Mildly reduced initiative was presented at 12 months after surgery in 5 patients. (2) CGI-GI indicated that 149 patients were followed up 1 month after surgery with an overall efficiency of 85.90%; 135 patients were followed up at 6 months after surgery with an overall efficiency of 83.21%, 106 patients were followed up at 12 months after surgery with an overall efficiency of 79.24%, and 63 patients were followed up at 24 months after surgery with an overall efficiency of 80.95%. (3) Compared with those before surgery, significantly lower BPRS scores, significantly lower PANSS positive, negative, and overall scores, statistically lower BAI, BDI-II, YMRS, and MOAS scores, significantly lower Y-BOCS obsessional thinking, compulsive behavior and total scores, significantly higher WHOQOL-BREF (physical and psychological domains) scores, and significantly lower SDSS and SCL-90 scores were noted in patients at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery ( P<0.05). (4) At 12 months after surgery, withdrawal drug was noted in 13 patients, reduced drug in 38, same dose in 52, and increased drug in 2 patients. Conclusion:Stereotactic surgery can obviously improve obsession, anxiety, depression, mania and aggression, and modify social functioning and quality of survival in patients with refractory mental disorders, enjoying good safety.

Objective To analyze the bed utilization efficiency of various clinical departments in a public hospital and provide reference for the rational allocation of departmental bed resources.Methods Based on the data from a tertiary specialized hospital in 2022,traditional bed efficiency indicators were used as the basis.The Case Mix Index(CMI)was introduced for ad-justment,and the reasonable range of beds for each department was calculated.Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA)was em-ployed to comprehensively evaluate the input-output efficiency of each clinical department and determine the direction for optimi-zing bed allocation.Results Among the 39 departments included in the study,10 departments had inappropriate bed settings.Among them,5 departments needed additional beds,while 5 departments needed to reduce the number of beds.Conclusion By adjusting the bed efficiency indicators using CMI and combining the DEA method,hospitals can obtain a scientific basis for dy-namically adjusting the number of beds in clinical departments.Hospitals should make rational use of bed resources and scientifi-cally plan departmental beds.

Objective To explore the interaction between multiple governance subjects of the medical service system and their governance roles,and to provide theoretical support for the effectively enhancing of patients'sense of access to medical care.Methods Outpatients of different types of public hospitals in Hangzhou were selected as the research objects,question-naire surveys were conducted using quota sampling method,and hypotheses and models were verified using structural equation modelling technology.Results Statistical tests and path correction showed that the model had a good fit,and that the manage-ment of government departments,internal management of hospitals,service of medical staff,and cognitive attitudes had a positive impact on the sense of access to healthcare,with total effects of 0.71,0.63,0.38,and 0.12,respectively.Conclusion The construction of a collaborative governance model that takes government departments as the leader,public hospitals as the carrier,medical staff as the center axis,and patients as the centre is the best way to practice a collaborative governance model of various subjects,and is an excellent way to practice a collaborative governance model of various subjects.The synergistic governance model of various subjects is one of the critical strategies to practise people's co-construction and sharing and to enhance the sense of access to healthcare effectively.

Objective:To analyze the mutation spectrum and hematological phenotype of hemoglobin subunit delta(HBD) gene among prenatal population in Xiangtan City, and to provide scientific basis for screening and diagnosis of rare and complex hemoglobinopathia.Methods:Prenatal population underwent screening and genetic testing for thalassemia at Xiangtan Maternal and Child Health Hospital from October 2022 to December 2023 were selected as the study subjects, combined with capillary electrophoresis results, further HBD gene sequencing was performed to identify specific genotypes.Results:A total of 5 371 subjects were enrolled, 22 cases of HBD gene mutations were detected, with a mutation carrier rate of 0.41% (22/5 371). Among them, 14 cases were diagnosed with δ thalassemia, 7 cases were δ abnormal hemoglobin, and 1 case was δ thalassemia combined with δ abnormal hemoglobin. There were 7 HBD mutant genotypes were included, with -77(T>C) being the most common, followed by hemoglobin (Hb) A 2-Huadu and CD34(+GGT); accounting for 68.2% (15/22), 9.1% (2/22), 9.1% (2/22). CD34(+GGT) was a newly discovered genotype, and CD7(GAG>TAG) was the first reported genotype in Chinese population. The Hb content, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin content were normal or nearly normal in 22 carriers of the HBD gene mutation; capillary electrophoresis demonstrated reduced Hb A 2 content in all cases. Conclusions:HBD gene mutations have been detected in the prenatal population in Xiangtan City, with -77(T>C) being the most common mutation genotype. None of the mutation carriers showed anemia.