Subclinical atherosclerosis underlies most cardiovascular diseases, manifesting before clinical symptoms and representing a key focus for early prevention strategies. Recent advancements highlight the importance of early detection and management of subclinical atherosclerosis. This review underscores that traditional risk factor levels considered safe, such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), may still permit the development of atherosclerosis, suggesting a need for stricter thresholds. Early-life interventions are crucial, leveraging the brain's neuroplasticity to establish lifelong healthy habits. Preventive strategies should include more aggressive management of LDL-C and HbA1c from youth and persist into old age, supported by public health policies that promote healthy environments. Emphasising early education on cardiovascular health can fundamentally shift the trajectory of cardiovascular disease prevention and optimise long-term health outcomes.
Humans ; Atherosclerosis/diagnosis* ; Risk Factors ; Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control* ; Cholesterol, LDL/blood* ; Glycated Hemoglobin ; Cardiology/trends* ; Heart Disease Risk Factors

The machine learning is used increasingly and widely in acupuncture prescription optimization, intelligent treatment and precision medicine, and has obtained a certain achievement. But, there are still some problems remained to be solved such as the poor interpretability of the model, the inconsistency of data quality of acupuncture research, and the clinical application of constructed models. Researches in future should focus on the acquisition of high-quality clinical and experimental data sets, take various machine learning algorithms as the basis, and construct professional models to solve various problems, so as to drive the high-quality development of acupuncture research.
Acupuncture Therapy/trends* ; Machine Learning ; Humans ; Algorithms

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the research progress, hotspots, frontier trends and existing limitations of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for respiratory diseases in the past decade using bibliometric and scientific knowledge mapping methods. METHODS: Literature on acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for respiratory diseases published from January 1st, 2014 to June 30th, 2024, from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, PubMed and Web of Science was retrieved. CiteSpace 6.1.R6 and VOSviewer V1.6.20 were used to perform visual analysis, including keyword co-occurrence and clustering, and to construct knowledge maps of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for respiratory diseases. RESULTS: A total of 1,106 Chinese articles and 185 English articles were included. High-frequency keywords focused on clinical diseases, treatment methods, efficacy observation, mechanisms etc. The main respiratory diseases treated with acupuncture and moxibustion included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and cough. Commonly used acupoints included Feishu (BL13), Zusanli (ST36), Dazhui (GV14) and Shenshu (BL23), primarily involving the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, conception vessel and lung meridian of hand-taiyin. Among the treatment methods dominated by acupuncture and moxibustion, the primary treatment method was electroacupuncture combined with moxibustion, and acupoint application was supplemented, with increasing emphasis on integrative Chinese and Western medicine and acupuncture combined with medication. The therapeutic mechanisms involved anti-inflammatory effects and inhibition of airway remodeling, with targets mainly associated with the NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSION Acupuncture and moxibustion demonstrates certain advantages in treating respiratory diseases such as COPD, asthma and cough, with mechanisms related to anti-inflammatory effects and inhibition of airway remodeling. Future research should focus on multi-center, large-sample, high-quality clinical and experimental studies to explore the optimal clinical treatment protocols and underlying mechanisms.
Moxibustion/trends* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/trends* ; Acupuncture Points ; Asthma/therapy* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/therapy*

Education is a crucial element in the development of acupuncture as a discipline, providing essential talent support for its future advancement. A structured interview was conducted with renowned acupuncture expert Professor ZHAO Jiping, focusing on key topics such as the core of acupuncture education, the connotation and development of acupuncture textbooks, and acupuncture teaching models. Through in-depth discussion, the current problems in acupuncture education were analyzed, and possible solutions were explored, aiming to offer ideas for the innovative development of acupuncture education.
Acupuncture/trends* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; China

The paper summarizes the authorized invention patents, device registration and the relevant published articles of acupuncture medical devices of TCM in recent 5 years, and analyzes the current status and challenges in this field. It is discovered that the optimization and substitution in diagnosis and treatment of acupuncture are involved in the development of acupuncture medical devices. The technology application of these devices are composed of traditional and emerging engineering technologies; and the theoretical guidance for their development requires the integration of traditional acupuncture principles with modern medical theories. The development of acupuncture medical devices highlights the characteristics of multidimensional integration, treatment for specific ailments, portability and wearability, painlessness and non-invasion, precision and personalization, as well as intelligent automation. Upon analysis, it is shown that in the development and product transformation of acupuncture medical devices in recent years, the theoretical principles of acupuncture of TCM have not been fully utilized yet, the transformation of patented product is low, the clinical evidence of product is insufficient, and the market competitiveness needs improvement. In the future, The theoretic guidance of acupuncture of TCM should be enhanced in the development of acupuncture medical devices, a production-education- research model with the combination of medicine and engineering be constructed, clinical verification of product be emphasized, and product development paradigms be advanced, so as to meet the demands of the medical market.
Acupuncture Therapy/trends* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/instrumentation* ; Equipment and Supplies

OBJECTIVE: To explore the research history, hotspots and development trends of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease（GERD）based on knowledge graph technology, and to provide references for clinical and basic research in this field. METHODS: The literature of acupuncture and moxibustion for gastroesophageal reflux disease was searched from the CNKI, Wanfang, VIP and SinoMed, from the establishment of the databases to December 31th, 2023. CiteSpace 6.2.R6 Advance was used to draw the knowledge graph of authors, institutions, keywords and other elements, and then perform the visual analysis. RESULTS: A total of 341 articles were included, with the number of publications showing an upward trend and the research types continually diversifying. A total of 832 authors and 308 institutions were analyzed, with XIE Sheng from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of CM and BAI Xinghua from the Beijing University of CM as representative figures, forming core research teams. However, there was a lack of close collaboration between institutions, and no significant cross-regional research networks had been formed. A total of 192 keywords were included, forming 8 cluster labels, which mainly included 4 categories：treatment methods, disease types, TCM syndrome types, and literature types. The burst analysis showed that the methods of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease had gradually become more integrated, the treatment methods had transitioned from simple acupuncture therapy to combined therapies with proton pump inhibitors or TCM decoctions, the disease types had become more refined, the focus of mechanism research had shifted from lower esophageal sphincter pressure and esophageal motility to changes in gastrointestinal hormone levels, and the research hotspots had gradually shifted from improving clinical symptoms to considering both mental and psychological states. Twenty-three high-frequency acupoints were obtained, forming 8 clusters of "acupuncture techniques-acupoints" for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with acupuncture and moxibustion, indicating a gradual enrichment of acupuncture and acupoint treatment protocols. CONCLUSION The research on acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease has gradually deepened, in the future, the cooperation among research teams should be strengthened, the quality of clinical research should be improved, more multi-dimensional mechanism research and horizontal comparative research of different acupuncture and moxibustion methods should be made, to provide a basis for clinical promotion and deeper exploration.
Humans ; Moxibustion/trends* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy/trends*

Intelligent acupuncture-moxibustion medical equipment is an important force in promoting the inheritance, innovation, and modernization of acupuncture-moxibustion. This paper reviews the development status of intelligent acupuncture-moxibustion medical equipment and related new technologies, as well as the challenges faced. It is found that, with the advancement of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, acupuncture-moxibustion medical equipment has shown characteristics of greater precision, miniaturization, intelligence, and portability. However, deficiencies remain in areas such as standardization and regulation, including relatively low rates of effective transformation and a lack of innovation in research outcomes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to formulate corresponding strategies: improving the development of relevant standards for intelligent acupuncture-moxibustion medical equipment, encouraging the integration of medicine and engineering, cultivating interdisciplinary talents, and strengthening the protection of invention patents. It is necessary to establish a demand-oriented pathway connecting "equipment development, equipment evaluation, product formation" through multiple stages such as talent training and research project initiation, thereby promoting the modernization and standardization of intelligent acupuncture-moxibustion medical equipment and supporting the revitalization of traditional medicine.
Moxibustion/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/trends* ; Artificial Intelligence

The Healthy China 2030 Plan set the goal of reducing premature deaths from diabetes by 30% by 2030. However, there has been a lack of assessment of premature mortality for diabetes since the action plan was issued. This study used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, calculated the premature deaths for diabetes by sex, provinces, and subtypes from 1990 to 2021. We explored the temporal trend of premature mortality using the average annual percent change (AAPC) for different sexes, provinces, and subtypes from 1990 to 2021. Furthermore, we predicted premature mortality for diabetes through 2030 for China and its provinces according to the average annual change rate from 2010 to 2021. There was a first slow upward trend in premature mortality for diabetes from 0.5% in 1990 to 0.6% in 2004, and then a decline until 2021 with premature mortality of 0.4%. By 2030, only Fujian (30.3%) will achieve the desired level of reduction, with only seven provinces meeting the target for females and none for males. There is a large range in the degree of decline between inland and coastal regions, showing obvious geographic differences, and there should be a focus on balancing medical resources.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Female ; Male ; Mortality, Premature/trends* ; Diabetes Mellitus/mortality* ; Goals ; Middle Aged ; Adult

Congenital musculoskeletal and limb deformities (CMLD) seriously affect the physical and mental health of patients, and pose great challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. We explored the specific situation and changes of incidence, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years rates, and mortality of CMLD in under-5 children from 1990 to 2021 in different groups, including different regions, periods, genders and socio-demographic indices (SDI), through corresponding analytical models. Overall, the global disease burden of CMLD in under-5 children has decreased from 1990 to 2021. The disease burden of CMLD in under-5 children varied significantly among different regions and countries, and there was a strong correlation between the corresponding burden of disease and the level of SDI. In addition, cross-country inequality analysis showed that while absolute inequalities in the disease burden of CMLD in under-5 children have improved, relative inequalities have worsened. It is essential to reduce the global health impact of CMLD by implementing targeted interventions to improve health care in underdeveloped areas.
Humans ; Global Burden of Disease/trends* ; Child, Preschool ; Global Health/statistics & numerical data* ; Infant ; Male ; Prevalence ; Limb Deformities, Congenital/mortality* ; Musculoskeletal Abnormalities/mortality* ; Female ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Cost of Illness ; Socioeconomic Factors

As an innovative dosage form, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) dry powder inhalers have emerged as a focal point in the research and development of new preparations due to its high efficiency, safety, and bioavailability. This paper systematically reviewed the relevant literature and patents associated with TCM dry powder inhalers to analyze the origins and the current research and development status. Furthermore, this paper probed into the research and development ideas of TCM dry powder inhalers regarding clinical positioning, prescription screening, and druggability. Additionally, the paper thoroughly analyzed the technical barriers in druggability studies and elaborated on corresponding research techniques and coping measures. Furthermore, it emphasized the need for improved regulations and policies governing TCM dry powder inhalers, advocated for strengthened oversight, and called for the establishment of a scientific quality evaluation system. Measures such as promoting production-education-research collaboration, enhancing personnel training, and fostering international exchanges were proposed to provide a scientific and systematic reference for the future research, development, and application of TCM dry powder inhalers, thereby facilitating the rapid modernization of TCM.
Humans ; Dry Powder Inhalers/trends* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/instrumentation* ; Administration, Inhalation