1.From Bedside to Molecular Diagnosis-Multidisciplinary Treatment of a Rare Case of Autoinflammatory Disease Presenting with Skin Induration and Limb Weakness
Hanhui FU ; Wenjun WANG ; Yaping LIU ; Hui YOU ; Tao WANG ; Wen ZHANG ; Xuejun ZENG ; Liying CUI ; Huijuan ZHU ; Xiuli ZHAO ; Min SHEN ; Yicheng ZHU
JOURNAL OF RARE DISEASES 2026;5(2):207-213
This article reports a rare case of autoinflammatory disease presenting initially with skin induration and swelling after trauma as the initial manifestation, followed by progressive limb weakness. The patient was a middle-aged female who developed skin induration and swelling after trauma, which gradually progressed to limb weakness, dysarthria and bilateral facial paralysis, accompanied by livedo reticularis of the lower extremities, diffuse skin induration of the limbs, and beaded subcutaneous nodules in the right upper limb. The patient had a susceptibility to infection since childhood and a history of chronic livedo reticularis. Skin pathological examination revealed panniculitis. A comprehensive etiological screening for special infections and autoimmune diseases was completed with an unremarkable results, and whole-exome sequencing showed no abnormal findings. Following a multidisciplinary discussion combined with RNA sequencing results, the patient was diagnosed with an autoinflammatory disease, with a suspected type Ⅰ interferonopathy. Treatment with tofacitinib resulted in gradual improvement of clinical symptoms. This case highlights the importance of detailed medical history collection, systematic physical examination and multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the pivotal role of molecular diagnosis in the confirmation of rare diseases. It can provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and management of similar rare cases.
2.Comparative Analysis of Clinical Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Manipulative Reduction Combined with Small Splint Fixation Versus Surgical Treatment for Type A Distal Radius Fracture
Yang SHAO ; Zihan WANG ; Jianwei WANG ; Guoda DAI ; Hengyan CUI ; Zhen HUA ; Tingchen ZHU ; Shaoshuo LI ; Jun MAO ; Fenghua CHEN ; Shuai TAO ; Mao WU
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2026;67(10):1078-1085
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manipulative reduction combined with small splint fixation versus surgical treatment for type A distal radius fracture (DRF) and to explore the factors influencing the choice of treatment. MethodsA multi-center retrospective study was conducted, collecting data from 1237 type A DRF patients treated in 11 hospitals in Jiangsu province from September, 2023 to April, 2025. Among them, 851 patients in the TCM group received manipulative reduction combined with small splint fixation, and 386 patients in the surgical group underwent open reduction and internal fixation. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain and radiographic indicators including palmar tilt, ulnar deviation, and radial height were compared before treatment, 5-7 days after treatment, and 4-6 weeks after treatment. The wrist joint function scores including Dienst and Gartland-Werley scores at 12 weeks after treatment were recorded. Subgroup analysis was conducted for the excellent rate of Dienst and Gartland-Werley scores, stratified by age (<50, 50-59, 60-69, ≥70 years old) and AO subtypes (A1, A2, A3). A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify independent factors influencing treatment choice. ResultsOn 5-7 days after treatment, the surgical group had lower VAS scores than the TCM group, while 4-6 weeks after treatment, the TCM group showed lower VAS scores than the surgical group (P<0.01). In terms of radiographic indicators, except for the palmar tilt before treatment being higher in the surgical group than in the TCM group (P<0.01), there were no significant differences in palmar tilt, ulnar deviation, and radial height at other timepoints (P>0.05). Twelve weeks after treatment, the surgical group had a higher average Gartland-Werley score and the excellent rate than the TCM group (P<0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that in patients with A2 type DRF aged 50-59 and 60-69 years old, the excellent rates of Dienst and Gartland-Werley scores in the TCM group were higher than those in the surgical group (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age, palmar tilt, ulnar deviation, and the degree of swelling on the affected side were independent factors influencing the choice of treatment (P<0.05). ConclusionBoth TCM manipulative reduction combined with small splint fixation and surgical treatment for type A DRF can achieve good therapeutic effects. TCM manipulative reduction combined with small splint fixation has certain advantages in medium- and long-term pain relief, especially in elderly patients, where wrist joint function recovery is more stable. Age, palmar tilt, ulnar deviation, and swelling degree are the main factors influencing the treatment choice.
3.Epidemiological investigation of a cluster of rural severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome cases and tick ecological monitoring results in Zibo City
Jun DU ; Ai-min FENG ; Bao-qiang CUI ; Tao SUN ; Yi-chuan YANG ; Yan-dong WANG
Acta Parasitologica et Medica Entomologica Sinica 2026;33(2):128-133
Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of a clustered outbreak of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome(SFTS)as well as the ecological tick monitoring results for Zibo City, and to provide a scientific basis for formulating prevention and control strategies. Methods A case definition was cited before epidemic investigations were performed. Epidemiological investigations were performed on the index cases and their close contacts. Blood samples were collected from cases and close contacts, and quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to detect SFTS virus(SFTSV)nucleic acid sequences. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze risk factors and develop prevention and control strategies. Results This clustered outbreak involved two index cases and six close contacts with no deaths. Case A exhibited symptom onset on July 26. SFTS was confirmed on August 2. Case B exhibited symptom onset on August 1, and SFTS was confirmed on August 3. Patient B reported a recent history of tick bites. In both index cases, the incubation period for SFTS was inferred to be 7-12 days. The time interval from symptom onset to clinical diagnosis in the two cases ranged from 2-8 days, with an average period of 5 days. SFTSV nucleic acid test result were positive for both patients, whereas all six close contacts tested negative. All captured ticks tested negative for SFTSV using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The densities of parasitic and free-living ticks in the emergency monitoring area around the cases were 12.60 and 4.65 ticks/(flag·100 m). In 2024, the average parasitic tick index and free-living tick density index were 4.21 and 2.43 ticks/(flag ·100 m)in Yiyuan County, respectively. Conclusions No evidence of human-to-human transmission was found in the assessed SFTS clusters. The infections were likely acquired through tick bites during fieldwork, and the risk of a subsequent outbreak spreading was low.
4.Alcohol-related liver disease-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure: Mechanisms, dynamic assessment, and precise management
Na AI ; Huaining CUI ; Xiaohui FANG ; Tao LIU ; Yanhang GAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(8):1755-1760
Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a high-mortality syndrome that develops during the acute deterioration of chronic liver disease and is characterized by multiple organ dysfunction driven by systemic inflammation. Due to gut microbiota dysbiosis, endotoxin translocation, and amplified inflammatory responses, alcohol-related liver disease-associated ACLF (ALD-ACLF) is more pronounced and is often accompanied by a high risk of secondary infection and extrahepatic organ involvement, thereby exhibiting distinct etiological and clinical characteristics. This article systematically reviews the advances in the definitional boundaries, pathophysiological mechanisms, dynamic early warning, and prognostic assessment of ALD-ACLF, elaborates on risk stratification and key issues in clinical management, and discusses the potential impact of the dual-hit phenotype of metabolic dysfunction and alcohol-related liver disease on risk stratification in ALD-ACLF. This article also highlights the need to further strengthen etiology-oriented early identification, dynamic stratification, control of predisposing factors, and earlier intervention, in order to provide a reference for the precise assessment and individualized intervention of these patients.
5.Research progress on the extract analysis method and pharmacological activity of Hippophae rhamnoides
Yutong CUI ; Tao WANG ; Fengyan YANG ; Tianying XU
Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice and Service 2026;44(9):447-456
Hippophae rhamnoides is a plant with both medicinal and edible properties, rich in nutritional value and biological activity, and has a long history of medicinal use. It is rich in various chemically active components, mainly including flavonoids, polysaccharides, vitamins, and fatty acids. In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on the chemically active components of sea buckthorn both at home and abroad. By comparing different extraction methods of various components, it has been found that different extraction methods affect the chemical structure of Hippophae rhamnoides extracts, and thus influence their pharmacological activities. Studies have shown that Hippophae rhamnoides has significant pharmacological effects in cardiovascular diseases, obesity and overweight, liver diseases, immune regulation diseases, gastrointestinal diseases and so on, with multiple pharmacological activities such as antioxidation, anti-inflammation, lipid-lowering, and blood sugar-lowering. Its development and application value in the fields of health food and medicine is immeasurable. The different chemical components of Hippophae rhamnoides, their extraction and analysis methods were systematically reviews, as well as the research progress on its main pharmacological effects and mechanisms, which could provide a reference basis for the further development and application of Hippophae rhamnoides resources.
6.Effect of visual training equipment combined with conventional corrective treatment on children with ametropic amblyopia
Yifan LIU ; Sisi XU ; Tao CHEN ; Mengke CUI ; Dongmei ZHU
International Eye Science 2025;25(10):1580-1584
AIM: To explore the clinical application effect of visual training equipment combined with conventional corrective treatment on children with ametropic amblyopia(AMA).METHODS: Prospective randomized control study. A total of 188 children(376 eyes)with AMA treated in our hospital from June 2021 to December 2022 were selected, and they were divided into two groups using a random number table. The conventional correction group(94 cases, 188 eyes)received conventional correction treatment, while the visual training group(94 cases, 188 eyes)received visual training equipment combined with conventional correction treatment, both lasted for 12 mo. The best corrected visual acuity, diopter, eye accommodation function, adverse reactions, amblyopia recurrence rates, and clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups at 6 and 12 mo after treatment.RESULTS:The two groups each had 8 cases(16 eyes)detached, the rate of loss to follow-up was 8.5%, and 86 cases(172 eyes)were included in each group. There were statistically significant differences in the best corrected visual acuity, diopter, amplitude of accommodation, accommodation facility and accommodative lag between the two groups of children before and after treatment(all P<0.05). The total effective rate of the visual training group(98.8%)was higher than that of the conventional correction group(91.9%; P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the total effective rate of clinical efficacy between the two groups in different age groups and different degrees of amblyopia(all P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of redness and swelling between the two groups(P>0.05). The recurrence rate of amblyopia in the visual training group(1.2%)was lower than that in the conventional correction group(8.1%; P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The combination of visual training equipment and conventional correction therapy has a significant clinical effect on children with AMA, which can effectively correct visual acuity, adjusting diopter and improve eye accommodation function, and recurrence rate of amblyopia is low and safety is high.
7.Two new protoberberine alkaloids from Stephania hernandifolia.
Wei-Hua DAI ; Xin-Tao CUI ; Yu-Jiao TU ; Lei JIANG ; Lin YUAN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(5):1231-1235
The 95% ethanol extract of Stephania hernandifolia was isolated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20, RP-18 medium-pressure liquid chromatography, and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography. The chemical structures of the compounds were identified by NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Four alkaloids were isolated and identified as(-)-8-oxo-2,3,4,10,11-pentamethoxyberberine(1),(-)-8-oxo-11-hydroxy-2,3,4,10-tetramethoxyberberine(2), N-trans-feruloyl tyramine(3), and N-cis-feruloyl tyramine(4). Compounds 1 and 2 were new protoberberine alkaloids, while compounds 3 and 4 were amide alkaloids. All the four compounds were separated from this plant for the first time. The inhibitory activities of compounds 1, 3, and 4 against α-glycosidase were measured by the enzymatic reaction in vitro with 4-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside(PNPG) as the substrate. Compounds 3 and 4 showed inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, with median inhibition concentration(IC_(50)) values of(7.09±0.42) and(31.25±1.14) μmol·L~(-1), respectively.
Berberine Alkaloids/isolation & purification*
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Stephania/chemistry*
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification*
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Molecular Structure
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alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism*
;
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
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Alkaloids/isolation & purification*
8.Fourth national survey of traditional Chinese medicine resources and protection of traditional knowledge of medication use among ethnic minorities.
Jiang-Wei DU ; Xiao-Bo ZHANG ; Jian-Zhi CUI ; Shao-Hua YANG ; Hai-Tao LI ; Zhi-Yong LI ; Lu-Qi HUANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(9):2349-2355
Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) resources are the essential material foundation for the development of TCM. The national survey of TCM resources serves as a periodic summary of these resources, ensuring the continuity, prosperity, and development of TCM in China. Since 1949, four national surveys of TCM resources have been conducted. The fourth survey incorporated an investigation into traditional knowledge related to TCM resources, including the traditional medicinal knowledge of Chinese ethnic minorities, with the goal of systematically exploring, preserving, and inheriting this knowledge. This manuscript provides an overview of the basic findings from the first three national surveys of TCM resources, while also clarifying the concepts, categories, forms, carriers, and acquisition pathways of traditional knowledge related to TCM resources. A preliminary summary of the findings from traditional knowledge investigations reported in current literature is also presented. Based on the fourth survey, this manuscript emphasizes the urgency of developing public medical knowledge through empirically-based investigations, the excavation, and compilation of traditional knowledge. It also outlines the potential for conducting "precise" investigations based on first-hand data obtained from the survey, as well as facilitating the discovery and evaluation of new medicines using traditional knowledge related to ethnic minority medicinal practices. This manuscript is expected to provide valuable insights for promoting the health and industrial development of ethnic minority populations in the post-"survey" phase.
Humans
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Medicine, Chinese Traditional
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China/ethnology*
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Minority Groups
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Ethnicity
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*
;
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice/ethnology*
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
9.An adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial of traditional Chinese medicine in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: Rationale and study design.
Cheng ZHANG ; Yi-Sen NIE ; Chuan-Tao ZHANG ; Hong-Jing YANG ; Hao-Ran ZHANG ; Wei XIAO ; Guang-Fu CUI ; Jia LI ; Shuang-Jing LI ; Qing-Song HUANG ; Shi-Yan YAN
Journal of Integrative Medicine 2025;23(2):138-144
Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) is a progressive and lethal condition with few effective treatment options. Improvements in quality of life for patients with PPF remain limited even while receiving treatment with approved antifibrotic drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the potential to improve cough, dyspnea and fatigue symptoms of patients with PPF. TCM treatments are typically diverse and individualized, requiring urgent development of efficient and precise design strategies to identify effective treatment options. We designed an innovative Bayesian adaptive two-stage trial, hoping to provide new ideas for the rapid evaluation of the effectiveness of TCM in PPF. An open-label, two-stage, adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial will be conducted in China. Based on Bayesian methods, the trial will employ response-adaptive randomization to allocate patients to study groups based on data collected over the course of the trial. The adaptive Bayesian trial design will employ a Bayesian hierarchical model with "stopping" and "continuation" criteria once a predetermined posterior probability of superiority or futility and a decision threshold are reached. The trial can be implemented more efficiently by sharing the master protocol and organizational management mechanisms of the sub-trial we have implemented. The primary patient-reported outcome is a change in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire score, reflecting an improvement in cough-specific quality of life. The adaptive Bayesian trial design may be a promising method to facilitate the rapid clinical evaluation of TCM effectiveness for PPF, and will provide an example for how to evaluate TCM effectiveness in rare and refractory diseases. However, due to the complexity of the trial implementation, sufficient simulation analysis by professional statistical analysts is required to construct a Bayesian response-adaptive randomization procedure for timely response. Moreover, detailed standard operating procedures need to be developed to ensure the feasibility of the trial implementation. Please cite this article as: Zhang C, Nie YS, Zhang CT, Yang HJ, Zhang HR, Xiao W, Cui GF, Li J, Li SJ, Huang QS, Yan SY. An adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial of traditional Chinese medicine in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: Rationale and study design. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(2): 138-145.
Female
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Humans
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Male
;
Bayes Theorem
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Disease Progression
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Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*
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Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods*
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Pulmonary Fibrosis/therapy*
;
Quality of Life
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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Research Design
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Adaptive Clinical Trials as Topic
10.Development of a machine learning-based risk prediction model for mild cognitive impairment with spleen-kidney deficiency syndrome in the elderly.
Ya-Ting AI ; Shi ZHOU ; Ming WANG ; Tao-Yun ZHENG ; Hui HU ; Yun-Cui WANG ; Yu-Can LI ; Xiao-Tong WANG ; Peng-Jun ZHOU
Journal of Integrative Medicine 2025;23(4):390-397
OBJECTIVE:
As an age-related neurodegenerative disease, the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) increases with age. Within the framework of traditional Chinese medicine, spleen-kidney deficiency syndrome (SKDS) is recognized as the most frequent MCI subtype. Due to the covert and gradual onset of MCI, in community settings it poses a significant challenge for patients and their families to discern between typical aging and pathological changes. There exists an urgent need to devise a preliminary diagnostic tool designed for community-residing older adults with MCI attributed to SKDS (MCI-SKDS).
METHODS:
This investigation enrolled 312 elderly individuals diagnosed with MCI, who were randomly distributed into training and test datasets at a 3:1 ratio. Five machine learning methods, including logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), naive Bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM), and gradient boosting (GB), were used to build a diagnostic prediction model for MCI-SKDS. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, F1 score, and area under the curve were used to evaluate model performance. Furthermore, the clinical applicability of the model was evaluated through decision curve analysis (DCA).
RESULTS:
The accuracy, precision, specificity and F1 score of the DT model performed best in the training set (test set), with scores of 0.904 (0.845), 0.875 (0.795), 0.973 (0.875) and 0.973 (0.875). The sensitivity of the training set (test set) of the SVM model performed best among the five models with a score of 0.865 (0.821). The area under the curve of all five models was greater than 0.9 for the training dataset and greater than 0.8 for the test dataset. The DCA of all models showed good clinical application value. The study identified ten indicators that were significant predictors of MCI-SKDS.
CONCLUSION
The risk prediction index derived from machine learning for the MCI-SKDS prediction model is simple and practical; the model demonstrates good predictive value and clinical applicability, and the DT model had the best performance. Please cite this article as: Ai YT, Zhou S, Wang M, Zheng TY, Hu H, Wang YC, Li YC, Wang XT, Zhou PJ. Development of a machine learning-based risk prediction model for mild cognitive impairment with spleen-kidney deficiency syndrome in the elderly. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(4): 390-397.
Humans
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Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis*
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Aged
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Male
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Female
;
Machine Learning
;
Spleen
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Aged, 80 and over
;
Kidney
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional


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