The prescription of Qidong Yixin oral liquid is derived from the experience of national medical master Ren Jixue in treating viral myocarditis （VMC）. It has the functions of tonifying Qi， nourishing the heart，calming the mind， and relieving palpitations. It is used to treat VMC and angina pectoris of coronary heart disease caused by deficiency of both Qi and Yin. However，the understanding of its efficacy evidence， advantageous aspects， dosage and administration， and medication safety remains insufficient in clinical practice. Therefore，the development of the Expert Consensus on the Clinical Application of Qidong Yixin Oral Liquid （hereinafter referred to as consensus） was initiated. Consensus strictly followed the process and methods of the expert consensus on the clinical application of Chinese patent medicines of the China Association of Chinese Medicine，successively completing multiple tasks such as the consensus project initiation，determination of clinical problems，evidence search and evaluation，formation of recommendation opinions and consensus suggestions，solicitation of opinions，peer review， submission for review and release， and so on. Consensus formed a total of 10 recommendation opinions and 12 consensus suggestions，clarifying the clinical positioning，efficacy advantages，syndrome differentiation，dosage and administration，combination therapy，timing of medication，adverse reactions，contraindications， and precautions of Qidong Yixin oral liquid，indicating that it has good clinical advantages and safety in the treatment of VMC and angina pectoris of coronary heart disease，providing norms and references for physicians to safely and rationally apply Qidong Yixin oral liquid. Consensus was reviewed and approved for release by the Standardization Office of the China Association of Chinese Medicine on December 23， 2024. Standard number：GSCACM-376-2024.

Objective: Establishment of a HPLC method for six chemical components in Saposhnikovia divaricata (prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, cimifugin, 5-O-methylvisamminoside, sec-O-glucosylhamaudol, psoralen, and imperatorin), comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the dual-standard linear calibration method and the relative retention time method, and investigation of the feasibility of the linear calibration using two reference substances for qualitative analysis of multiple components in Saposhnikovia divaricata.
Methods: A HPLC method was employed, using 21 different brands and models of C18 columns. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile (A) and 0.02% phosphoric acid aqueous solution (B), with gradient elution (0-20 min, 18%A; 20-45 min, 18%A-50%A; 45-60 min, 50%A). The column temperature was set at 30 ℃, the flow rate was 1 mL·min^-1, and the detection wavelength was 254 nm.
Results: The results predicted by the linear calibration using two reference substances were accurate and superior to those of the relative retention time method, and the six components exhibited good linear relationships within their respective ranges.
Conclusion: The established linear calibration using two reference substances accurately predicts the retention times of the target components. This method is stable and reliable, providing a reference for the establishment of digital standards in traditional Chinese medicine.

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Qi-reinforcing and blood-activating/stasis-expelling Chinese patent medicines in the treatment of coronary microvascular disease （CMD）. MethodsPubMed， Cochrane Library， CNKI， Wanfang Data， and VIP were searched for the randomized controlled trials （RCTs） on the treatment of CMD with Chinese patent medicines for reinforcing Qi and activating blood/expelling stasis with the time interval from inception to December 31， 2023. The primary outcome indicators included the index of microcirculatory resistance （IMR）， coronary flow reserve （CFR）， and corrected TIMI flow frame count （cTFC）. The secondary outcome indicators included symptomatic efficacy， left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF）， hypersensitive C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）， nitric oxide （NO）， and adverse events. Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool 2.0 （RoB 2.0） and Stata 17.0 were used for literature quality evaluation and meta-analysis of the included RCTs. The Grading of Recommendations， Assessment， Development and Evaluation （GRADE） was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. ResultsA total of 36 RCTs were included in this study， involving 3 029 patients. Compared with conventional Western medicine alone， the combined use of Chinese patent medicines for reinforcing Qi and activating blood/expelling stasis and Western medicine reduced the IMR ［mean difference （MD）=-5.93， 95% confidence interval （95%CI） ［-8.73，-3.14］， n=382， P<0.01］， cTFC （MD=-9.35， 95%CI ［-13.94，-4.76］， n=618， P<0.01）， and hs-CRP ［standard mean difference （SMD）=-1.50， 95%CI ［-1.90，-1.11］， n=1 483， P<0.01］， improved the CFR （SMD=1.14， 95%CI ［0.08，2.19］， n=304， P=0.03）， symptomatic efficacy ［relative risk （RR）=1.36， 95%CI ［1.21，1.53］， n=756， P<0.01］， LVEF （MD=4.39， 95%CI ［2.31，6.47］， n=533， P<0.01）， and NO （SMD=3.16， 95%CI ［2.07，4.25］， n=946， P<0.01） of CMD patients. In terms of safety， the combined therapy reduced the occurrence of adverse events in CMD patients （RR=0.49， 95%CI ［0.29，0.82］， n=591， P=0.01）. GRADE showed moderate quality evidence for adverse events， low quality evidence for cTFC， symptomatic efficacy， LVEF， and NO， and very low quality evidence for IMR， CFR， and hs-CRP. ConclusionBased on microcirculatory function indicators， the combined use of Qi-reinforcing and blood-activating/stasis-expelling Chinese patent medicines and Western medicine may further improve the coronary microvascular function in CMD patients with good safety. The above conclusions remain to be verified with high-quality clinical trials.

Through molecular docking and experimental validation,24 SPF male KM mice were ran-domly divided into four groups:the control group(CON),model group(LPS),high-dose Yang Shuhua group(YSH-H),which was gavaged with drug solution containing 1 g/mL crude Yang Shuhua,and the low-dose Yang Shuhua group(YSH-L),which was gavaged with drug solution containing 0.5 g/mL crude Yang Shuhua for a 17-day experimental period.Mouse body weight was recorded during the experiment,and fecal scoring was done 1 h after intraperitoneal injection of LPS.At the end of the experiment,histopathological changes in the jejunum tissue were examined,and the expression of tight junction protein-related genes was detected.Compared to the CON group,mice in the LPS group showed significant decreases in villus height,villus height/crypt depth(V/C)ratio(P＜0.01),and significant increase in crypt depth(P＜0.01).The mRNA ex-pression levels of ZO-1 and claudin-1 were significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Compared to the LPS group,mice in the YSH-H group showed significant decrease in crypt depth(P＜0.05),significant increase in villus height(P＜0.05),and significant increase in V/C ratio(P＜0.01).The YSH-L group showed a significant increase in V/C ratio(P＜0.05),a trend of decreased crypt depth,and an increasing trend of villus height.The mRNA expression of ZO-1 in the YSH-H group showed a significant increase(P＜0.05)and claudin-1 showed an increasing trend.Luteolin,quercetin,kaempferol,eriodictyol,and the top 5 potential key targets TP53,IL-1β,TNF,AKT1,and IL-10 exhibited molecular docking scores less than-20.95 kJ/mol,indicating strong activity.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that Yang Shuhua compounds might act on enteritis through the TNF signaling pathway,IL-17 signaling pathway,and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.The qPCR results showed an upward trend in the mRNA expression levels of TLR4 and AKT1,significant in-crease in Caspase-1 and ASC(P＜0.05),and significantly increased expression of NF-κB and NL-RP3(P＜0.01).The mRNA expression level of AKT1,TLR4,NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,and NF-κB decreased compared to the LPS group,with significant differences in Caspase-1 and NF-κB(P＜0.05).This study suggests that Yang Shuhua exerts anti-enteritis effects through multiple compo-nents and pathways,with blockade of the TLR4-AKT-NF-κB pathway possibly being a key thera-peutic mechanism for treating enteritis.

Based on network pharmacology,molecular docking,and experimental validation,this study explored the mechanism by which Hypericum japonicum Thunb-Prunella vulgaris treat liver injury.Mice were randomly divided into four groups:a control group(CON),a model group(CCl4),a high-dose drug group(TXD-H),and a low-dose drug group(TXD-L).A mouse liver in-jury model was established using CCl4 induction.The pathological morphology of liver tissue was observed,and the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT)were measured.Active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine and targets related to these medicines and diseases were obtained from databases such as TCMSP,PubChem,Swiss Tar-get Prediction,GeneCards,and DisGeNET.The intersection of these targets was used to identify potential drug targets.A network diagram illustrating the relationships between"drug-active com-ponent-intersection target"was constructed using Cytoscape.Potential targets were analyzed using the STRING database for protein-protein interaction(PPI)analysis and the DAVID database for Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis.Molecular docking validation was performed using AutoDock Tools software.Subsequently,key target genes,including those related to the NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis,were detected to validate the molecular docking results.Animal experimental results showed that compared to the CON group,serum AST and ALT activities in the CCl4 group mice were significantly increased(P＜0.01),while in the TXD-L group,serum AST and ALT activities were significantly decreased(P＜0.05)compared to the CCl4 group,and in the TXD-H group,AST and ALT activities were significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Through network pharmacology,135 potential targets were i-dentified,with key components found to be tetramethoxyluteolin,quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin and morin based on degree values,and key targets including TNF,SRC,AKT1,EGFR and ESR1.GO enrichment analysis yielded 304 entries,while KEGG enrichment analysis identified 91 biologi-cal pathways.Molecular docking results demonstrated strong binding between the main compo-nents of Hypericum japonicurn Thunb-Prunella vulgaris and key targets.qPCR results showed that compared to the CON group,the CCl4 group exhibited upregulated relative expression levels of SRC,EGFR,TNF-α,AKT1,and IL-18 mRNA,with significant increases in MyD88,NF-κB,IL-1β,NLRP3,Caspase-1,and ASC mRNA(P＜0.05),and significant upregulation of TLR4 and GS-DMD mRNA(P＜0.01).Compared to the CCl4 group,the TXD-H group displayed significant downregulation of EGFR,AKT1,TLR4,IL-1β,and GSDMD mRNA(P＜0.01),significant decrea-ses in TNF-α,MyD88,NF-κB,NLRP3,and ASC mRNA(P＜0.05),while SRC,IL-18,and Caspase-1 mRNA showed a downward trend.In conclusion,Hypericum japonicum Thunb-Prunel-la vulgaris exerts hepatoprotective effects through multiple components and pathways,among which inhibition of the NF-κB-NLRP3 pathway to reduce hepatocyte pyroptosis may be one of the important pathways for its protective effects.

Through molecular docking and experimental validation,24 SPF male KM mice were ran-domly divided into four groups:the control group(CON),model group(LPS),high-dose Yang Shuhua group(YSH-H),which was gavaged with drug solution containing 1 g/mL crude Yang Shuhua,and the low-dose Yang Shuhua group(YSH-L),which was gavaged with drug solution containing 0.5 g/mL crude Yang Shuhua for a 17-day experimental period.Mouse body weight was recorded during the experiment,and fecal scoring was done 1 h after intraperitoneal injection of LPS.At the end of the experiment,histopathological changes in the jejunum tissue were examined,and the expression of tight junction protein-related genes was detected.Compared to the CON group,mice in the LPS group showed significant decreases in villus height,villus height/crypt depth(V/C)ratio(P＜0.01),and significant increase in crypt depth(P＜0.01).The mRNA ex-pression levels of ZO-1 and claudin-1 were significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Compared to the LPS group,mice in the YSH-H group showed significant decrease in crypt depth(P＜0.05),significant increase in villus height(P＜0.05),and significant increase in V/C ratio(P＜0.01).The YSH-L group showed a significant increase in V/C ratio(P＜0.05),a trend of decreased crypt depth,and an increasing trend of villus height.The mRNA expression of ZO-1 in the YSH-H group showed a significant increase(P＜0.05)and claudin-1 showed an increasing trend.Luteolin,quercetin,kaempferol,eriodictyol,and the top 5 potential key targets TP53,IL-1β,TNF,AKT1,and IL-10 exhibited molecular docking scores less than-20.95 kJ/mol,indicating strong activity.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that Yang Shuhua compounds might act on enteritis through the TNF signaling pathway,IL-17 signaling pathway,and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.The qPCR results showed an upward trend in the mRNA expression levels of TLR4 and AKT1,significant in-crease in Caspase-1 and ASC(P＜0.05),and significantly increased expression of NF-κB and NL-RP3(P＜0.01).The mRNA expression level of AKT1,TLR4,NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,and NF-κB decreased compared to the LPS group,with significant differences in Caspase-1 and NF-κB(P＜0.05).This study suggests that Yang Shuhua exerts anti-enteritis effects through multiple compo-nents and pathways,with blockade of the TLR4-AKT-NF-κB pathway possibly being a key thera-peutic mechanism for treating enteritis.

Based on network pharmacology,molecular docking,and experimental validation,this study explored the mechanism by which Hypericum japonicum Thunb-Prunella vulgaris treat liver injury.Mice were randomly divided into four groups:a control group(CON),a model group(CCl4),a high-dose drug group(TXD-H),and a low-dose drug group(TXD-L).A mouse liver in-jury model was established using CCl4 induction.The pathological morphology of liver tissue was observed,and the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alanine aminotransferase(ALT)were measured.Active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine and targets related to these medicines and diseases were obtained from databases such as TCMSP,PubChem,Swiss Tar-get Prediction,GeneCards,and DisGeNET.The intersection of these targets was used to identify potential drug targets.A network diagram illustrating the relationships between"drug-active com-ponent-intersection target"was constructed using Cytoscape.Potential targets were analyzed using the STRING database for protein-protein interaction(PPI)analysis and the DAVID database for Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analysis.Molecular docking validation was performed using AutoDock Tools software.Subsequently,key target genes,including those related to the NLRP3 inflammasome and pyroptosis,were detected to validate the molecular docking results.Animal experimental results showed that compared to the CON group,serum AST and ALT activities in the CCl4 group mice were significantly increased(P＜0.01),while in the TXD-L group,serum AST and ALT activities were significantly decreased(P＜0.05)compared to the CCl4 group,and in the TXD-H group,AST and ALT activities were significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Through network pharmacology,135 potential targets were i-dentified,with key components found to be tetramethoxyluteolin,quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin and morin based on degree values,and key targets including TNF,SRC,AKT1,EGFR and ESR1.GO enrichment analysis yielded 304 entries,while KEGG enrichment analysis identified 91 biologi-cal pathways.Molecular docking results demonstrated strong binding between the main compo-nents of Hypericum japonicurn Thunb-Prunella vulgaris and key targets.qPCR results showed that compared to the CON group,the CCl4 group exhibited upregulated relative expression levels of SRC,EGFR,TNF-α,AKT1,and IL-18 mRNA,with significant increases in MyD88,NF-κB,IL-1β,NLRP3,Caspase-1,and ASC mRNA(P＜0.05),and significant upregulation of TLR4 and GS-DMD mRNA(P＜0.01).Compared to the CCl4 group,the TXD-H group displayed significant downregulation of EGFR,AKT1,TLR4,IL-1β,and GSDMD mRNA(P＜0.01),significant decrea-ses in TNF-α,MyD88,NF-κB,NLRP3,and ASC mRNA(P＜0.05),while SRC,IL-18,and Caspase-1 mRNA showed a downward trend.In conclusion,Hypericum japonicum Thunb-Prunel-la vulgaris exerts hepatoprotective effects through multiple components and pathways,among which inhibition of the NF-κB-NLRP3 pathway to reduce hepatocyte pyroptosis may be one of the important pathways for its protective effects.

The ninth edition of TNM staging for lung cancer has been announced at the 2023 World Lung Cancer Congress and implemented from January 1, 2024. The focus of the ninth TNM staging change is dividing N2 into N2a and N2b, as well as M1c into M1c1 and M1c2. Although the T staging has not changed, it has played an important role in verifying the eighth edition of the T staging. The subdivision of stage N2 has led some patients with ⅢA of the eighth edition to experience ascending or descending stages, which will more accurately help to assess the condition and prognosis of patients with mediastinal lymph node metastasis, as well as the design of related clinical studies. Modifying the M1c staging will help define oligometastasis and explore new treatment models in the future. The ninth edition of the TNM staging system provides a more detailed division of different tumor loads, but there is no clear explanation for the staging of lung cancer after neoadjuvant therapy. Further data analysis is needed, and it is expected to be answered in the tenth edition of TNM staging.

The ninth edition of TNM staging for lung cancer has been announced at the 2023 World Lung Cancer Congress and implemented from January 1, 2024. The focus of the ninth TNM staging change is dividing N2 into N2a and N2b, as well as M1c into M1c1 and M1c2. Although the T staging has not changed, it has played an important role in verifying the eighth edition of the T staging. The subdivision of stage N2 has led some patients with ⅢA of the eighth edition to experience ascending or descending stages, which will more accurately help to assess the condition and prognosis of patients with mediastinal lymph node metastasis, as well as the design of related clinical studies. Modifying the M1c staging will help define oligometastasis and explore new treatment models in the future. The ninth edition of the TNM staging system provides a more detailed division of different tumor loads, but there is no clear explanation for the staging of lung cancer after neoadjuvant therapy. Further data analysis is needed, and it is expected to be answered in the tenth edition of TNM staging.

Background::Genetic variants of dopaminergic transcription factor-encoding genes are suggested to be Parkinson’s disease (PD) risk factors; however, no comprehensive analyses of these genes in patients with PD have been undertaken. Therefore, we aimed to genetically analyze 16 dopaminergic transcription factor genes in Chinese patients with PD.Methods::Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed using a Chinese cohort comprising 1917 unrelated patients with familial or sporadic early-onset PD and 1652 controls. Additionally, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed using another Chinese cohort comprising 1962 unrelated patients with sporadic late-onset PD and 1279 controls.Results::We detected 308 rare and 208 rare protein-altering variants in the WES and WGS cohorts, respectively. Gene-based association analyses of rare variants suggested that MSX1 is enriched in sporadic late-onset PD. However, the significance did not pass the Bonferroni correction. Meanwhile, 72 and 1730 common variants were found in the WES and WGS cohorts, respectively. Unfortunately, single-variant logistic association analyses did not identify significant associations between common variants and PD. Conclusions::Variants of 16 typical dopaminergic transcription factors might not be major genetic risk factors for PD in Chinese patients. However, we highlight the complexity of PD and the need for extensive research elucidating its etiology.