Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, is characterized by high mortality and recurrence rates. Common treatments include hepatectomy, liver transplantation, ablation therapy, interventional therapy, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). While exhibiting specific advantages, these approaches are associated with varying degrees of adverse effects. To alleviate patients' suffering and burdens, it is crucial to explore additional treatments and elucidate the pathogenesis of HCC, laying a foundation for the development of new TCM-based drugs. With emerging research on gut microbiota, it has been revealed that microbiota plays a vital role in the development of HCC by influencing intestinal barrier function, microbial metabolites, and immune regulation. TCM, with its multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics, has been increasingly recognized as a vital therapeutic treatment for HCC, particularly in patients at intermediate or advanced stages, by prolonging survival and improving quality of life. Recent global studies demonstrate that TCM exerts anti-HCC effects by modulating gut microbiota, restoring intestinal barrier function, regulating microbial composition and its metabolites, suppressing inflammation, and enhancing immune responses, thereby inhibiting the malignant phenotype of HCC. This review aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which gut microbiota contributes to the development and progression of HCC and highlight the regulatory effects of TCM, addressing the current gap in systematic understanding of the "TCM-gut microbiota-HCC" axis. The findings provide theoretical support for integrating TCM with western medicine in HCC treatment and promote the transition from basic research to precision clinical therapy through microbiota-targeted drug development and TCM-based interventions.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/microbiology* ; Liver Neoplasms/microbiology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Animals ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical features of children with STAT gene mutations, and to explore corresponding immunotherapy strategies. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 10 children with STAT gene mutations who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, from October 2015 to October 2024. Exploratory immunotherapy was implemented in some refractory cases, and the changes in symptoms, imaging manifestations, and cytokine levels were assessed after treatment. RESULTS: For the 10 children, the main clinical manifestations were recurrent rash since birth (7/10), cough (8/10), wheezing (5/10), expectoration (4/10), and purulent nasal discharge (4/10). Genotyping results showed that there was one child with heterozygous loss-of-function (LOF) mutation in the STAT1 gene, four children with heterozygous LOF mutation in the STAT3 gene, and five children with heterozygous gain-of-function (GOF) mutation in the STAT3 gene. Two children with LOF mutation in the STAT3 gene showed decreased interleukin-6 levels and improved clinical symptoms and imaging findings after omalizumab treatment. Three children with GOF mutation in the STAT3 gene achieved effective disease control after treatment with methylprednisolone (0.5 mg/kg per day). Two children with GOF mutation in the STAT3 gene received treatment with JAK inhibitor and then showed some improvement in symptoms. CONCLUSIONS STAT gene mutation screening should be considered for children with recurrent rash and purulent respiratory tract infections. Targeted immunotherapy may improve prognosis in patients with no response to conventional treatment.
Humans ; Male ; Immunotherapy ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Child ; Gain of Function Mutation ; Retrospective Studies ; Infant ; Loss of Function Mutation ; STAT Transcription Factors/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of shockwave therapy, acupuncture, hyperthermia, biofeedback therapy, electrical nerve stimulation, magnetotherapy and ultrasound therapy in the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome(CP/CPPS), and to provide evidence-based support for clinical decision-making. METHODS: Two researchers independently searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP and Chinese Biomedical Literature databases for randomized controlled trials(RCTs) on the effects of different interventions on CP/CPPS from the establishment of the databases to August 2024. We evaluated the quality of the included literature and extracted the relevant data according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, followed by network meta-analysis using Revman 5.3, R 4.33 and Stata17 software. RESULTS: A total of 25 RCTs involving 1 794 cases were included. The results of network meta-analysis showed that electrical nerve stimulation, shockwave therapy, biofeedback therapy, magnetotherapy, ultrasound therapy and acupuncture were significantly superior to conventional medication and placebo in the total NIH-CPSI scores(P< 0.05), and so were electrical nerve stimulation and shockwave therapy to acupuncture and hyperthermia(P< 0.05), magnetic therapy to hyperthermia, and ultrasound therapy to placebo(P< 0.05). Shockwave therapy, biofeedback therapy, electrical nerve stimulation, magnetotherapy and ultrasound therapy achieved remarkably better clinical efficacy than conventional medication and placebo in the treatment of CP/CPPS, and so did shockwave therapy than electrical nerve stimulation, hyperthermia, ultrasonic therapy, magnetotherapy and acupuncture. CONCLUSION For the treatment of CP/CPPS, electrical nerve stimulation is advantageous over the other interventions in improving total NIH-CPSI scores, and shockwave therapy is advantageous in relieving pain symptoms and clinical efficacy. This conclusion, however, needs to be further verified by more high-quality clinical studies.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Chronic Disease ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy ; Magnetic Field Therapy ; Pelvic Pain/therapy* ; Prostatitis/therapy* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Ultrasonic Therapy

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of quercetin on cuproptosis and L-type calcium currents in the myocardium of diabetic rats. METHODS: Forty SD rats were randomized into control group and diabetic model groups. The rat models of diabetes mellitus (DM) induced by high-fat and high-sugar diet combined with streptozotocin (STZ) injection were further divided into DM model group, quercetin treatment group, and empagliflozin treatment group (n=10). Blood glucose and body weight were measured every other week, and cardiac function of the rats was evaluated using echocardiography. HE staining, Sirius red staining, and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) analysis were used to observe the changes in myocardial histomorphology, and serum copper levels and myocardial FDX1 expression were detected. In cultured rat cardiomyocyte H9c2 cells with high-glucose exposure, the effects of quercetin and elesclomol, alone or in combination, on intracellular CK-MB and LDH levels and FDX1 expression were assessed, and the changes in L-type calcium currents were analyzed using patch-clamp technique. RESULTS: The diabetic rats exhibited elevated blood glucose, reduced body weight, impaired left ventricular function, increased serum copper levels and myocardial FDX1 expression, decreased L-type calcium currents, and prolonged action potential duration. Quercetin and empagliflozin treatment significantly lowered blood glucose, improved body weight, and restored cardiac function of the diabetic rats, and compared with empagliflozin, quercetin more effectively reduced serum copper levels, downregulated FDX1 expression, and enhanced myocardial L-type calcium currents in diabetic rats. In H9c2 cells, high glucose exposure significantly increased myocardial expressions of FDX1, CK-MB and LDH, which were effectively lowered by quercetin treatment; Elesclomol further elevated FDX1, CK-MB and LDH levels in the exposed cells, and these changes were not significantly affected by the application of quercetin. CONCLUSIONS Quercetin ameliorates myocardial injury in diabetic rats possibly by suppressing myocardial cuproptosis signaling and restoring L-type calcium channel activity.
Animals ; Quercetin/pharmacology* ; Calcium Channels, L-Type/metabolism* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Myocytes, Cardiac/drug effects* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Male

Objectives:To evaluate the clinical value of the Paris system for reporting urinary cytology (TPS) in the diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma (UC).Methods:A total of 1 744 cytological diagnostic records (from 751 cases) were collected retrospectively. All specimens were voided urines and histopathology as the gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of urinary cytological diagnosis of UC and risk of high grade malignant (ROHM) in each diagnostic category were compared.Results:There were 360 cases with histopathology. The percentage of negative for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (NHGUC) was 30.1% (226/751), atypical urothelial cells (AUC) was 29.8% (224/751), suspicious for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (SHGUC) was 16.8% (126/751), high grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) was 21.2% (159/751), and non-urothelial malignancy (NUM) was 2.1% (16/751). The histpathologic ROHM corresponding to each cytological diagnosis category were 27.3% for NHGUC, 32.7% for AUC, 74.7% for SHGUC, 96.6% for HGUC and 100.0% for NUM, respectively. ROHM of SHGUC was significantly higher than that of AUC group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P＜0.001). ROHM of HGUC group was significantly higher than that of SHGUC group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P＜0.001). With SHGUC as the cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity of cytological diagnosis of HGUC were 76.7% (165/215) and 85.7% (18/21), and with HGUC as the cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity of cytological diagnosis of HGUC were 53.0% (114/215) and 100.0% (21/21), respectively. Conclusions:Urine cytology has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of HGUC. The malignant risk of TPS varies with different diagnosis category. The high malignant risk population in cancer hospital leads to the relatively high malignant proportion and ROHM in each diagnosis category. Urinary cytology TPS reporting system is helpful to clinical management and has good clinical application value.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap in correction of severe concealed penis in children.Methods:The clinical data of children with severe concealed penis admitted to the Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from July 2021 to July 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The concealed penis was corrected by progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap. During the operation, a small amount of excess inner prepuce was removed and the outer prepuce was cut in the middle of the dorsal side of the penis. Then the penile flap was transferred from dorsal to ventral, gradually covering the wound without tension. The local scrotal flap was lifted upwards and sutured to the frenulum for covering the ventral foreskin defect of the penis. The amount of blood loss during the operation was recorded. The pain tolerance, the duration of prepuce edema, the length of penis extension and the healing of skin flap were observed. The appearance of the penis was followed up to observe whether the penis was retracted, and the satisfaction of the children and their guardians was recorded.Results:A total of 32 male children were enrolled, ranging in age from 3 to 10 years, with an average age of 7.2 years. The penis of all the children had a conical appearance, and the penile shaft was buried under the subcutaneous anterior pubis, which was difficult to palpate in its natural state. The average intraoperative blood loss was about 5 ml. All patients had pain after the operation. Two patients needed a pump to relieve pain, and the rest could tolerate it after rectum administration of indomethacin suppositories. The edema of the prepuce was mild after the operation, and the edema basically disappeared when the patient was discharged 7-9 days later. The penis could be lengthened by 1.5-3.0 cm under static conditions, averaging about 2.0 cm. After surgery, only 1 patient had a small area (about 5 mm × 4 mm) of infection in the scrotal flap and poor incision healing, and scar healing after dressing change and intensive nursing. The other flaps healed well. After 6 to 12 months of follow-up, the penis length of 2 cases was slightly retracted from the time of discharge, and the remaining 30 cases had no significant change. The patients and their guardians were satisfied with the operation results.Conclusion:The progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap correction of severe concealed penis in children can fully lengthen the penile body, and the degree of postoperative retraction is low, the appearance of the penis is good, and the patient satisfaction is high.

Objectives:To evaluate the clinical value of the Paris system for reporting urinary cytology (TPS) in the diagnosis of urothelial carcinoma (UC).Methods:A total of 1 744 cytological diagnostic records (from 751 cases) were collected retrospectively. All specimens were voided urines and histopathology as the gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of urinary cytological diagnosis of UC and risk of high grade malignant (ROHM) in each diagnostic category were compared.Results:There were 360 cases with histopathology. The percentage of negative for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (NHGUC) was 30.1% (226/751), atypical urothelial cells (AUC) was 29.8% (224/751), suspicious for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (SHGUC) was 16.8% (126/751), high grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) was 21.2% (159/751), and non-urothelial malignancy (NUM) was 2.1% (16/751). The histpathologic ROHM corresponding to each cytological diagnosis category were 27.3% for NHGUC, 32.7% for AUC, 74.7% for SHGUC, 96.6% for HGUC and 100.0% for NUM, respectively. ROHM of SHGUC was significantly higher than that of AUC group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P＜0.001). ROHM of HGUC group was significantly higher than that of SHGUC group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P＜0.001). With SHGUC as the cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity of cytological diagnosis of HGUC were 76.7% (165/215) and 85.7% (18/21), and with HGUC as the cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity of cytological diagnosis of HGUC were 53.0% (114/215) and 100.0% (21/21), respectively. Conclusions:Urine cytology has high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of HGUC. The malignant risk of TPS varies with different diagnosis category. The high malignant risk population in cancer hospital leads to the relatively high malignant proportion and ROHM in each diagnosis category. Urinary cytology TPS reporting system is helpful to clinical management and has good clinical application value.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap in correction of severe concealed penis in children.Methods:The clinical data of children with severe concealed penis admitted to the Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from July 2021 to July 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The concealed penis was corrected by progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap. During the operation, a small amount of excess inner prepuce was removed and the outer prepuce was cut in the middle of the dorsal side of the penis. Then the penile flap was transferred from dorsal to ventral, gradually covering the wound without tension. The local scrotal flap was lifted upwards and sutured to the frenulum for covering the ventral foreskin defect of the penis. The amount of blood loss during the operation was recorded. The pain tolerance, the duration of prepuce edema, the length of penis extension and the healing of skin flap were observed. The appearance of the penis was followed up to observe whether the penis was retracted, and the satisfaction of the children and their guardians was recorded.Results:A total of 32 male children were enrolled, ranging in age from 3 to 10 years, with an average age of 7.2 years. The penis of all the children had a conical appearance, and the penile shaft was buried under the subcutaneous anterior pubis, which was difficult to palpate in its natural state. The average intraoperative blood loss was about 5 ml. All patients had pain after the operation. Two patients needed a pump to relieve pain, and the rest could tolerate it after rectum administration of indomethacin suppositories. The edema of the prepuce was mild after the operation, and the edema basically disappeared when the patient was discharged 7-9 days later. The penis could be lengthened by 1.5-3.0 cm under static conditions, averaging about 2.0 cm. After surgery, only 1 patient had a small area (about 5 mm × 4 mm) of infection in the scrotal flap and poor incision healing, and scar healing after dressing change and intensive nursing. The other flaps healed well. After 6 to 12 months of follow-up, the penis length of 2 cases was slightly retracted from the time of discharge, and the remaining 30 cases had no significant change. The patients and their guardians were satisfied with the operation results.Conclusion:The progressive transfer of penile flap combined with local scrotal flap correction of severe concealed penis in children can fully lengthen the penile body, and the degree of postoperative retraction is low, the appearance of the penis is good, and the patient satisfaction is high.

Objective To analyze the incidence and disease burden of substance use disorder(SUD)in China from 1990 to 2019,to evaluate the impact of different ages,periods and birth cohorts on the disease burden of SUD,and to predict disease burden of SUD from 2020 to 2034,so as to provide strategies for the prevention of SUD.Methods Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019(GBD 2019)database,the disease burden was described by incidence,years of life lost(YLLs),years lived with disability(YLDs)and disability-adjusted life years(DALYs).The Joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the trend of standardized incidence and standardized DALYs rate of SUD.Based on the age-period-cohort model,the age,period and cohort effects of SUD were discussed.The grey prediction model GM(1,1)was used to fit the trend of the incidence and standardized incidence of SUD and the trend of disease burden,and to predict the incidence and disease burden of SUD in 2020-2034.Results From 1990 to 2019,the standardized incidence of SUD of amphetamines[average annual percentage change(AAPC)=-0.9％]and cocaine(AAPC=-0.5％)in China showed a downward trend(P＜0.001),and the standardized incidence of SUD of cannabis(AAPC=0.9％)showed an increasing trend year by year(P＜0.001).The trend of standardized incidence of opioid abuse disorders was not obvious(P＞0.05).The DALYs rate caused by the 4 SUD showed a decreasing trend year by year(AAPCamphetamines=-2.2％,AAPCcocaine=-1.5％,AAPCcannabis=-1.0％,AAPCopioids=-1.0％,P＜0.001).The results of age-period-cohort effect showed that the peak incidence of amphetamine,cocaine,cannabis and opioid use disorders was in the 25-30 age group.The DALYs rate caused by cannabis SUD increased with age,while the DALYs rates of amphetamines,cocaine and opioids SUD reached the peak in the 25-29,30-34 and 35-39 age groups,respectively.The results of period effect showed that the risk of SUD in propylamines,cocaine and cannabis decreased first and then increased,while the risk of SUD in opioids increased and then decreased and increased again.The results of birth cohort effect showed that the risk of SUD of amphetamines,cocaine and opioids showed a decreasing trend as a whole except for a small fluctuation in individual birth cohorts.The risk of DALYs rate caused by SUD of amphetamines,cocaine and opioids showed a decreasing trend as a whole,while the risk of DALYs rate caused by SUD of cannabis showed an increasing trend year by year.The prediction results showed that the incidence of SUD of amphetamines,cocaine and opioids showed a downward trend from 2020 to 2034,and the incidence of SUD of cannabis showed a fluctuating upward trend.The DALYs attributed to SUD of amphetamines,cocaine,cannabis and opioids showed a decreasing trend year by year.Conclusion The disease burden of SUD in China is decreasing year by year in the future.The incidence and disease burden are affected by age effect,period effect and cohort effect to varying degrees.Early prevention and effective intervention are the key measures to control SUD.

Objective:To explore the incidence and risk factors of parastomal hernia after colostomy.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 145 patients undergoing colostomy in Xinxiang Central Hospital from January 2015 to January 2019 were collected. There were 86 males and 59 females, aged(59±11) years. Patients received pelvic and abdominal computed tomography once every 6 months after colostomy to detect the occurrence of parastomal hernia. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and the independent sample t test was used for comparison between groups. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were represented as absolute numbers, and chi-square test or Fisher exact probability was used for comparison between groups. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the cumulative annual incidence of parastomal hernia. Logarithmic rank test was used to analyze the cumulative incidence based on clinical variables. COX proportional hazard regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results:(1) Incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy. All the 145 patients were followed up for 86(range, 60?108)months after colostomy, of which 46 cases had parastomal hernia and 99 cases had no parastomal hernia. There were significant differences in gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and chronic liver disease between patients with and without parastomal hernia after colostomy ( χ2=23.28, t=13.27, χ2=6.17, 5.82, P<0.05). (2) Annual cumulative incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative incidence of parastromal hernia after colostomy was 8.5%, 26.4% and 42.7%, respectively. When the follow-up time is more than 5 years, the incidence of parastromal hernia tended to be stable. The 5-year incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy in female patients was higher than that in male patients (70.7% vs 20.3%, χ2=12.37, P<0.05). The 5-year incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy in patients≥60 years old was higher than that in patients under 60 years old (49.8% vs 20.0%, χ2=10.52, P<0.05). The 5-year incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy in patients with BMI >28 kg/m 2 was higher than that in patients with BMI ≤28 kg/m 2 (55.3% vs 33.2%, χ2=11.76, P<0.05). The 5-year incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy in patients with chronic liver disease was higher than that in patients with non-chronic liver disease (45.2% vs 32.4%, χ2=15.32, P<0.05). (3) Analysis of risk factors for parastomal hernia after colostomy. Results of multivariate analysis showed that female, age >60 years old, BMI ≥28 kg/m 2 and chronic liver disease were independent risk factors for parastomal hernia after colostomy ( hazard ratio=2.70, 2.51, 1.85, 5.88, 95% confidence intervals as 1.39?6.74, 1.01?4.59, 1.02?4.87, 1.05?8.24, P<0.05). Conclusions:The incidence of parastomal hernia after colostomy is increasing year by year, and tends to be stable after 5 years. Female, age >60 years old, BMI≥28 kg/m 2, and chronic liver disease are independent risk factors for parastomal hernia after colostomy.