BACKGROUND: Acupuncture therapy provides a complementary and alternative approach to treating major depressive disorder (MDD), but its efficacy and safety have still not been comprehensively assessed. Recently published systematic reviews remain confusing and inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy alone or combined with antidepressants for adult patients with mild and moderate MDD. SEARCH STRATEGY: Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inceptions to March 2025. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials that compared acupuncture therapy with antidepressants, or acupuncture therapy plus antidepressants with acupuncture therapy or antidepressants for adult patients with mild and moderate MDD were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Five reviewers independently extracted data from original literature using a standardized form, and the data were verified by two reviewers to ensure accuracy. Statistical meta-analyses, publication bias analyses, and subgroup analyses were performed by using Review Manager 5.3 software. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to assess the certainty of the evidence. RESULTS: A total of 60 eligible studies including 4675 participants were included. Low-certainty evidence showed that compared with antidepressants, acupuncture therapy (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [-0.87, -0.27]; I² = 86%; P = 0.006) or acupuncture therapy plus antidepressants (SMD = -1.00; 95% CI = [-1.18, -0.81]; I² = 77%; P < 0.00001) may reduce the severity of depression at the end of treatment. Low-certainty evidence indicated that compared with acupuncture therapy alone, acupuncture therapy plus antidepressants slightly reduced the severity of depression at the end of treatment (SMD = -0.38; 95% CI = [-0.61, -0.14]; I² = 18%; P = 0.002). Similar results were also found for acupuncture's relief of insomnia. The reported adverse effects of acupuncture therapy were mild and transient. For most of the subgroup analyses, acupuncture type, scale type, and the course of treatment did not show a significant relative effect. CONCLUSION Acupuncture therapy may provide antidepressant effects and relieve insomnia with mild adverse effects for adult patients with mild and moderate MDD. But the certainty of evidence was very low. More high-quality, well designed, large-scale studies with long-term follow-up are needed in the future. Please cite this article as: Kuang HJ, Yang HS, Feng YX, Tang H, Fan Q, Xu YQ, Cui S, Musil R, Luxenburger H, Zhang YX, Zhao H, Zhang YQ. Efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapies for adult patients with mild and moderate major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):471-491.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Depressive Disorder, Major/therapy* ; Adult ; Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

OBJECTIVE: To assess relationships between cold spells and genitourinary hospitalization risk. METHODS: Hospitalization records for genitourinary system diseases (GUDs) from 16 districts in Beijing (2013-2018) were analyzed. Cold spells were defined based on varying intensity thresholds. A two-stage analytical method was employed: first, generalized linear models assessed district-specific associations between cold spells and hospitalizations; second, random-effects meta-analysis aggregated the district-level results. Subgroup analyses were performed by admission type (emergency vs. outpatient), age, and sex. RESULTS: A total of 271,579 GUD-related hospitalizations were recorded. Cold spells (p1day2，daily mean temperature below the 1 ^st percentiles of the daily mean temperature distribution from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2018, lasting for two or more consecutive days) were linked to a significant rise in hospitalization risks: 1.43 (95% CI: 1.32-1.56) for all GUDs, 1.35 (95% CI: 1.23-1.49) for urinary system diseases, and 1.46 (95% CI: 1.28-1.67) for renal failure, when compared to non-cold spell days. Emergency admissions showed higher risk increases than outpatient admissions. CONCLUSION Extreme cold spells significantly elevate hospitalization risks for GUDs. This highlights the urgent need for targeted public health interventions to mitigate cold-related health impacts, especially for vulnerable populations.
Humans ; Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data* ; Male ; Female ; Cold Temperature/adverse effects* ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Child ; Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Beijing/epidemiology* ; Female Urogenital Diseases/etiology* ; Male Urogenital Diseases/etiology* ; Infant, Newborn ; Risk Factors

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a remote medication treatment management model for elderly patients with chronic disease at home based on mobile technology.Methods A convenient and elderly-friendly mo-bile application(hereinafter referred to as Yaoshiyi APP)was developed,and a remote medication treatment management team consisting of clinical pharmacists from tertiary hospitals,community pharmacists,and community physicians was formed.Patients from communities were selected for practical research,led by pharmacists.Based on the Yaoshiyi APP,patients were subjected to 6 months of medication treatment management practice,and the effectiveness and feasibility of the practice were evaluated.Re-sults The Yaoshiyi APP can be integrated with a variety of medical-grade wearable devices to realize the functions of automati-cally uploading monitoring data,abnormal value reminding,medication reminding,medication consultation,and medication sci-ence popularization.A total of 302 elderly patients with chronic disease at home completed the study.The results showed that phar-macists have identified and intervened in 695 cases of medication-related problems.According to the classification of medication-related problems,the top three were 247 cases(35.5％)of additional treatment,97 cases(14.0％)of unnecessary drug treat-ment,and 93 cases(13.4％)of medication compliance problems.The patient's medication adherence score(Morisky medication adherence scale-8,MMAS-8)increased from(5.85±1.57)at enrollment to(6.74±1.23)6 months after enrollment(P＜0.01).After 6 months of enrollment,the patient's satisfaction with the pharmacist's work reached a score of(4.99±0.08)out of 5.The average reduction in drug costs for patients caused by pharmacists intervening in irrational medication is(20.9±18.0)％.At the end of follow-up,93.4％of patients were proficient in using the Yaoshiyi APP.Conclusion The remote medication treatment management model for elderly patients with chronic disease at home based on mobile technology constructed in this study can ef-fectively improve patient compliance with disease monitoring and medication,ensure rational drug use,reduce medical resource waste,and receive high patient acceptance.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an inherited disease caused by a deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase A (ARSA). Lentivirus-modified autologous hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy (HSCGT) has recently been approved for clinical use in pre and early symptomatic children with MLD to increase ARSA activity. Unfortunately, this advanced therapy is not available for most patients with MLD who have progressed to more advanced symptomatic stages at diagnosis. Patients with late-onset juvenile MLD typically present with a slower neurological progression of symptoms and represent a significant burden to the economy and healthcare system, whereas those with early onset infantile MLD die within a few years of symptom onset. We conducted a pilot study to determine the safety and benefit of HSCGT in patients with postsymptomatic juvenile MLD and report preliminary results. The safety profile of HSCGT was favorable in this long-term follow-up over 9 years. The most common adverse events (AEs) within 2 months of HSCGT were related to busulfan conditioning, and all AEs resolved. No HSCGT-related AEs and no evidence of distorted hematopoietic differentiation during long-term follow-up for up to 9.6 years. Importantly, to date, patients have maintained remarkably improved ARSA activity with a stable disease state, including increased Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score and decreased magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesion score. This long-term follow-up pilot study suggests that HSCGT is safe and provides clinical benefit to patients with postsymptomatic juvenile MLD.
Humans ; Leukodystrophy, Metachromatic/genetics* ; Pilot Projects ; Genetic Therapy/methods* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Male ; Follow-Up Studies ; Female ; Lentivirus/genetics* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Cerebroside-Sulfatase/metabolism* ; Adolescent

Objective To investigate the changes in the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer(PDAC)complicated with diabetes mellitus(DM)in a mouse model of hyperglycemia and orthotopic pancreatic cancer by analyzing transcriptome and single-cell transcriptome data in order to identify potential therapeutic targets.Method By integrating single-cell transcriptome and bulk transcriptome data,bioinformatics analysis was conducted to compare the characteristics of tumor cells and tumor immune microenvironment between PDAC patients with DM(DM group)and those without DM(non-DM group).Twenty male C57BL/6 mice(6 weeks old,weighing 18～20 g)were randomly divided into a hyperglycemic group[STZ group,continuous intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg streptozocin(STZ)(final concentration of 1％)dissolved in citrate buffer],and a control group(Control group,an equivalent volume of citrate buffer without STZ at the same time points),with 10 mice in each group.Tail-tip blood glucose level was measured to monitor glycemic status.After orthotopic inoculation of pancreatic cancer cells in both Control and STZ groups,tumor-infiltrating immune cells were harvested.Flow cytometry was employed to determine the effects of hyperglycemia on:total CD8+T cell and Treg cell populations;CD8+T cell subsets expressing Ki67,TNF-α,granzyme B(GZMB)and IFN-γ;surface expression of PD-1,lymphocyte activation gene-3(LAG-3)and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3(Tim-3)on CD8+T cells;programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1)expression on tumor cells;and tumor-associated macrophage surface expression of major histocompatibility complex classⅠ(MHC-Ⅰ)and cluster of differentiation 206(CD206).Results Bioinformatics analysis revealed that,compared to the non-DM group,the genes significantly up-regulated in the DM group were associated with poor prognosis(P＜0.001).The proportion of type 2 ductal cells was increased in the DM group,exhibiting higher levels of copy number variation(P＜0.001).In the tumor immune microenvironment of the DM group,there was an increase in the proportion of Treg cells(P＜0.05)and an elevated exhaustion score for CD8+T cells(P＜0.001),accompanied by down-regulated expression of effector molecules,up-regulated expression of inhibitory checkpoints,and a significant increase in the M2 score of M2-like macrophages(P＜0.001).Animal experiments and flow cytometry found that,compared to the Control group,the STZ group had a shorter survival time(P＜0.001),with decreased proportions of total CD8+T cells(P＜0.01)and CD8+T cells expressing Ki67,TNF-α,GZMB and IFN-γ(P＜0.01),increased proportion of Treg cells(P＜0.001),up-regulated expression of PD-1,LAG-3 and Tim-3 on the surface of CD8+T cells(P＜0.001),and up-regulation of PD-L1 on tumor cell surface(P＜0.001)and enhanced expression of CD206 on the surface of tumor-associated macrophages,while down-regulated expression of MHC-Ⅰ(P＜0.001).Conclusion High glucose promotes the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment in PDAC,and targeting type 2 ductal cells and immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment,combined with dual immune checkpoint antibody therapy,may improve patient prognosis.

A male full-term neonate was admitted at 30 minutes of life with pallor and 10 minutes of respiratory distress. Physical examination revealed pallor, increased intercanthal distance, low-set ears, a palpable cystic mass in the neck, hepatomegaly, a pedunculated, globular appendage attached to the right thumb, and an ectopic toenail on the right second toe. Laboratory testing showed severe anemia with hemoglobin of 44 g/L. Bone marrow examination demonstrated hypoplasia. Whole-exome sequencing identified a heterozygous pathogenic variant in the RPS19 gene, c.175T>C (p.Ser59Pro), establishing the diagnosis of Diamond-Blackfan anemia. On follow-up to 2 years and 2 months of age, both hemoglobin and reticulocyte counts remained within normal ranges. This case illustrates early-onset severe anemia in a neonate with genetically confirmed Diamond-Blackfan anemia and expands the phenotypic spectrum, informing clinical recognition and management.
Humans ; Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan/diagnosis* ; Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Ribosomal Proteins/genetics*

Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in the human body. In recent years, the role of uric acid in female fertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART) has gained increasing attention. Dysregulation of uric acid metabolism can lead to hyperuricemia (HUA). HUA is not only closely related to metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases but may also adversely affect female fertility by influencing ovarian function and embryos development. In this review, we explored the role of uric acid in female fertility, including its association with female subfertility, infertility, adverse pregnancy outcomes and metabolic syndrome, as well as its potential impact on ART like in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Further studies are needed to clarify the threshold and clinical intervention value of uric acid levels in women of childbearing age, providing a basis for reproductive health counseling and personalized pregnancy assistance for HUA patients of childbearing age.

Alcoholic liver disease(ALD), a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, poses a serious threat to human health. Despite the availability of various drugs for treating ALD, their efficacy is often uncertain, necessitating the search for new therapeutic approaches. Traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides have garnered increasing attention in recent years due to their versatility, high efficiency, and low side effects, and they have demonstrated significant potential in preventing and treating ALD. Emerging studies have suggested that these polysaccharides exert their therapeutic effects through multiple mechanisms, including the inhibition of oxidative stress and the regulation of lipid metabolism, gut microbiota, and programmed cell death. This review summarizes the recent research progress in the pharmacological effects and regulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides in treating ALD, aiming to provide a scientific basis and theoretical support for their application in the prevention and treatment of ALD.
Humans ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/metabolism* ; Polysaccharides/administration & dosage* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Animals ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Lipid Metabolism/drug effects*

This study aims to explore the scientific connotation of sinking Rehmanniae Radix has the best quality and compare the quality between floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole electrostatic field Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) was employed to detect the chemical components in floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples. The fingerprint of fresh Rehmanniae Radix was established by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), and four index components were determined simultaneously. The cluster analysis, principal component analysis(PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) were conducted to compare the quality of floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples. An evaporative light-scattering detector was used to compare the content of five sugars. The extract yield and drying rate were determined, and the quality connotation of sinking Rehmanniae Radix has the best quality was explained by multiple indicators. A total of 41 components were preliminarily identified from fresh Rehmanniae Radix by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS, including 7 iridoid glycosides, 9 phenylethanol glycosides, 6 amino acids, 4 sugars, 3 phenolic acids, 5 nucleosides, 3 organic acids, 1 ionone, 1 furan, 1 coumarin, and 1 phenylpropanoid. The results showed that the main chemical components were consistent between floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix. Nine common peaks were identified in the fingerprints of 15 batches of floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples, and the similarity of fingerprints was greater than 0.9. The cluster analysis, PCA, and OPLS-DA classified floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix sasmples into two categories, indicating differences in the quality between them. The total content of catalpol, rehmannioside D, ajugol, and verbascoside in sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples was higher than that in floating samples of the same batch and specification, and the main differential component was catalpol. The total content of fructose, glucose, sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose in sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples was higher than that in floating samples of the same batch and specification, and the main differential component was stachyose. The extract yield and drying rate of the sinking samples were higher than those of floating samples. This study preliminarily showed that floating and sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples had the same components but great differences in the content of medicinal substance basis. The total content of four glycosides and five sugars, extract yield, and drying rate of sinking fresh Rehmanniae Radix samples is higher than that of floating samples of the same batch and specification. These findings, to a certain extent, explains the scientificity of sinking Rehmanniae Radix has the best quality recorded in ancient books and provide a reference for the quality control and clinical application of fresh Rehmanniae Radix.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Rehmannia/chemistry* ; Chemometrics ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Quality Control ; Principal Component Analysis ; Plant Extracts