OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To investigate the oral health status and awareness of urban children in Lhasa,aiming to provide a data basis for the prevention and treatment of children's caries and the promotion of oral health education. Methods A total of 504 Tibetan students were selected by cluster sampling from 2 primary schools in Chengguan District of Lhasa.All the participants were required to take oral health examination and complete a questionnaire about oral health awareness and behavior. Results The caries prevalence rate and mean decayed-missing-filled tooth(DMFT)of permanent teeth were 75.00% and 2.18±1.91,respectively.The rates of pit and fissure sealant and filling of permanent teeth were 3.77% and 6.81%,respectively.The caries prevalence rate of first permanent molars was 47.62%.The mean DMFT of permanent teeth and caries prevalence rate of first permanent molar were significantly higher in female group(
Child ; DMF Index ; Dental Caries/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Oral Health ; Oral Hygiene ; Prevalence ; Schools ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE：To provide reference for improving the quality sta ndard of Equisetum hyemale . METHODS ：Totally 10 batches of E. hyemale from different sites were collected as samples. TLC method was used to qualitatively identify kaempferol- 3-O-β-sophoroside. The contents of heavy metal ，aflatoxin，impurity，moisture，total ash ，acid-insoluble ash ，water-soluble extract and ethanol-soluble extract were determined according to supplementary provisions of Chinese Pharmacopoeia （2015 edition）. HPLC method was used to determine the content of kaempferol- 3-O-β-sophoroside in sample. HPLC fingerprint of water-soluble extract from E. hyemale was also established. RESULTS ：TLC identification showed that in the chromatogram of the test sample ， fluorescent spots with the same color were displayed on the corresponding positions of the chromatogram of substance control of kaempferol-3-O-β-sophoroside，and without interference from blank control. Among 10 batches of samples ，the contents of impurities were 0.19％-2.32％；the water contents were 10.12％-11.87％；the total ash contents were 6.67％-10.11％；the acid-insoluble ash contents were 1.34％-2.12％；the water-soluble extract contents were 9.17％-13.99％；the ethanol-soluble extract contents were 7.49％-13.68％，respectively. It is preliminarily proposed that the impurity content shall not exceed 3.00％；the total ash content shall not exceed 10.00％；the acid-insoluble ash content shall not exceed 2.50％；the water-soluble extract content shall not be less than 9.00％ ；the ethanol-soluble extract content shall not be less than 5.00％. Arsenic（0.064-0.225 mg/kg） 010815） was detected in 9 batches of samples ；cadmium（0.106-0.132 E-mail：cruise0303@163.com mg/kg）was detected in 6 batches of samples ；lead（0.221- 1.896 mg/kg）was detected in all samples ，but no mercury or rebecca aflatoxin was detected. The results of HPLC method met the relevant requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia . The content of kaempferol- 3-O-β-D-sophoroside in 10 batches of samples was 627.12-5 384.53 mg/kg，and the similarity of HPLC fingerprints of 10 batches of samples was more than 0.900. CONCLUSIONS ： A new qualitative and quantitative analysis method for kaempferol- 3-O-β-D-sophoroside was established ；the heavy metals ， aflatoxins，impurities and other items in E. hyemale were detected ；the limits of impurity ，ash and extract were determined. The established method is simple ，accurate and reproducible ，and can be used for quality control of E. hyemale .

This paper explored the background, framework and approach, contents and implementation of WHO Rehabilitation in Health System using approaches of ICF and WHO Handbook for Guideline Development. The actions and significances of implementations of seven recommendations and one good practice statements on assistive products had been discussed.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and environmental degradation are leading global health problems of our time. Recent studies have linked exposure to heavy metals to the risks of CVD and diabetes, particularly in populations from low- and middle-income countries, where concomitant rapid development occurs. In this review, we 1) assessed the totality, quantity, and consistency of the available epidemiological studies, linking heavy metal exposures to the risk of CVD (including stroke and coronary heart disease); 2) discussed the potential biological mechanisms underlying some tantalizing observations in humans; and 3) identified gaps in our knowledge base that must be investigated in future work. An accumulating body of evidence from both experimental and obser- vational studies implicates exposure to heavy metals, in a dose-response manner, in the increased risk of CVD. The limitations of most existing studies include insufficient statistical power, lack of comprehensive assessment of exposure, and cross-sectional design. Given the widespread exposure to heavy metals, an urgent need has emerged to investigate these putative associations of environmental exposures, either independently or jointly, with incident CVD outcomes prospectively in well-characterized cohorts of diverse populations, and to determine potential strategies to prevent and control the impacts of heavy metal exposure on the cardiometabolic health outcomes of individuals and populations.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and environmental degradation are leading global health problems of our time. Recent studies have linked exposure to heavy metals to the risks of CVD and diabetes, particularly in populations from low- and middle-income countries, where concomitant rapid development occurs. In this review, we 1) assessed the totality, quantity, and consistency of the available epidemiological studies, linking heavy metal exposures to the risk of CVD (including stroke and coronary heart disease); 2) discussed the potential biological mechanisms underlying some tantalizing observations in humans; and 3) identified gaps in our knowledge base that must be investigated in future work. An accumulating body of evidence from both experimental and obser- vational studies implicates exposure to heavy metals, in a dose-response manner, in the increased risk of CVD. The limitations of most existing studies include insufficient statistical power, lack of comprehensive assessment of exposure, and cross-sectional design. Given the widespread exposure to heavy metals, an urgent need has emerged to investigate these putative associations of environmental exposures, either independently or jointly, with incident CVD outcomes prospectively in well-characterized cohorts of diverse populations, and to determine potential strategies to prevent and control the impacts of heavy metal exposure on the cardiometabolic health outcomes of individuals and populations.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a size exclusion chromatography(HPSCE) method for the determination of the polymers in meropenem for injection. METHODS: The analysis was carried out using a TSKgel G2000SWXL column(7.8 mm×30 cm, 5 μm). The mobile phase was pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution(0.005 mol•L-1 disodium hydrogen orthophosphate-0.005 mol•L-1 sodium dihydrogen phosphate, 61:39, V/V). The flow rate was 0.8 mL•min-1. The detection wavelength was 254 nm. The column temperature was 25 ℃. RESULTS: The polymers were completely separated from meropenem. The calibration curve of meropenem was linear within the range of 2.54-50.83 μg•mL-1(r=0.999 6, n=6). The specificity of the HPSEC was checked by switching the effluent of each peak on the GFC to a C18 column and analyzing the effluent by LC-MS. CONCLUSION: This method is simple, accurate, sensitive, reliable and applicable for the determination of the polymers of meropenem, and can be applied to the drug quality evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the molecular-level mechanism on the hematopoiesis effect of Angelicae sinensis Radix (ASR) with systems-based interactome analysis. METHODS: This systems-based interactome analysis was designed to enforce the workflow of "ASR (herb)→compound→target protein→internal protein actions→ending regulated protein for hematopoiesis". This workflow was deployed with restrictions on regulated proteins expresses in bone marrow and anemia disease and futher validated with experiments. RESULTS: The hematopoiesis mechanism of ASR might be accomplished through regulating pathways of cell proliferation towards hemopoiesis with cross-talking agents of spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK), Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and interleukin-2-inducible T-cell kinase (ITK). The hematopoietic function of ASR was also validated by colony-forming assay performed on mice bone marrow cells. As a result, SYK, JAK2 and ITK were activated. CONCLUSION This study provides a new approach to systematically study and predict the therapeutic mechanism for ASR based on interactome analysis towards biological process with experimental validations.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the vasodilation effects of Tongmai Yangxin Pills (TMYX) on rat mesenteric artery as well as its mechanism of action. The relaxation effects of TMYX extracts with different concentrations were determined on isolated rat mesenteric artery in normal condition as well as pretreating by phenylephrine and KCl. Vascular relaxation effects of TMTX were also determined in mesenteric artery preincubated with L-ANME and indomethacin or in endothelium denuded mesenteric artery. Moreover, effects of TMYX by 50 mg·L⁻¹ on NO secretion and the phosphorylation of eNOS in a cellular model of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) pretreated with or without L-NAME were also observed. The experimental results showed that TMYX has no obvious effect on vasodilation of arteries in normal or KCl pretreated condition, while it can dose-dependently relax the rat mesenteric artery with intact endothelium stimulated with phenylephrine at a maximal diastolic rate of (64.71±10.03)%. After preincubating with L-NAME for 15 min or removal of mesenteric artery endothelium, the maximal diastolic rate was decreased to (35.77±8.93)% and (25.85±10.84)% respectively. However, preincubating with indomethacin had no inhibitory effect on TMYX induced vascular relaxation. Meanwhile, TMYX at 50 mg·L⁻¹ could increase the expression of P-eNOS and the secretion of NO in HUVEC. L-NAME significantly inhibited NO release and phosphorylation of eNOS induced by TMYX. The results suggested TMYX exerted endothelium-dependent relaxation effects against PE-induced contractions of isolated rat mesenteric artery through NO-cGMP signaling pathway.
Animals ; Endothelium, Vascular ; Humans ; Mesenteric Arteries ; Rats ; Vasodilation