1.Real-world Cohort Study of Qingre Huoxue Prescription for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Complicated by Hyperhomocysteinemia
Ningyi WANG ; Quan JIANG ; Xun GONG ; Rouman ZHANG ; Tian CHANG ; Jiameng LIU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(20):162-170
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of Qingre Huoxue prescription combined with methotrexate (MTX) and folic acid (FA) on homocysteine (Hcy) levels and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complicated by hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy). MethodsOn the basis of a multicenter real-world cohort from the China Registry of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Rheumatism (CERTAIN) platform,408 patients with RA complicated by HHcy were selected and included in this study. Treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription was used as the exposure factor. According to whether Qingre Huoxue prescription was combined with MTX and FA,patients were assigned into an exposure group of 281 cases and a control group of 127 cases. Follow-ups were conducted every three months,with the primary outcome indicator being the achievement rate of target Hcy level. A generalized estimating equation model was adopted to analyze the dynamic changes in Hcy level under different medication regimens. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to evaluate the cumulative achievement rate of target Hcy level in the two groups,and Cox regression analysis was conducted to explore the predictive factors affecting the achievement rate of target Hcy level. Changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),C-reactive protein (CRP),28-joint disease activity score (DAS 28),and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) scores before and after the first combined treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription were compared between the two groups. ResultsThe Hcy level in the exposure group showed a gradual decreasing trend over time,while the decrease in Hcy level was not significant in the control group. At the 12-month follow-up,the achievement rate of target Hcy level in the exposure group (124/281,44.13%) was higher than that in the control group (23/127,18.11%,P<0.01). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription [hazard ratio(HR)=3.013,95% confidence interval (CI) 2.188-4.149, P<0.001], absence of comorbidities (HR=2.035, 95%CI 1.352-3.061, P<0.001), and baseline Hcy <15 μmol·L-1 (HR=1.810, 95%CI 1.390-2.357, P<0.001) were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of achieving target Hcy levels within 6 months. In contrast, higher PGA scores were associated with a reduced likelihood of achieving target Hcy levels (HR=0.991, 95% CI 0.986-0.997, P=0.003). After treatment,the exposure group demonstrated reductions in ESR,CRP,and DAS 28 scores (P<0.05) and had lower ESR,CRP and DAS 28 scores than the control group (P<0.05). ConclusionEven after taking FA supplements,some RA patients undergoing MTX treatment still have high Hcy levels. When being used in conjunction with MTX and FA,Qingre Huoxue prescription can effectively lower the Hcy level and disease activity in RA patients with HHcy,outperforming Western treatment alone.
2.Real-world Cohort Study of Qingre Huoxue Prescription for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis Complicated by Hyperhomocysteinemia
Ningyi WANG ; Quan JIANG ; Xun GONG ; Rouman ZHANG ; Tian CHANG ; Jiameng LIU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(20):162-170
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of Qingre Huoxue prescription combined with methotrexate (MTX) and folic acid (FA) on homocysteine (Hcy) levels and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complicated by hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy). MethodsOn the basis of a multicenter real-world cohort from the China Registry of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Rheumatism (CERTAIN) platform,408 patients with RA complicated by HHcy were selected and included in this study. Treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription was used as the exposure factor. According to whether Qingre Huoxue prescription was combined with MTX and FA,patients were assigned into an exposure group of 281 cases and a control group of 127 cases. Follow-ups were conducted every three months,with the primary outcome indicator being the achievement rate of target Hcy level. A generalized estimating equation model was adopted to analyze the dynamic changes in Hcy level under different medication regimens. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to evaluate the cumulative achievement rate of target Hcy level in the two groups,and Cox regression analysis was conducted to explore the predictive factors affecting the achievement rate of target Hcy level. Changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),C-reactive protein (CRP),28-joint disease activity score (DAS 28),and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) scores before and after the first combined treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription were compared between the two groups. ResultsThe Hcy level in the exposure group showed a gradual decreasing trend over time,while the decrease in Hcy level was not significant in the control group. At the 12-month follow-up,the achievement rate of target Hcy level in the exposure group (124/281,44.13%) was higher than that in the control group (23/127,18.11%,P<0.01). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that treatment with Qingre Huoxue prescription [hazard ratio(HR)=3.013,95% confidence interval (CI) 2.188-4.149, P<0.001], absence of comorbidities (HR=2.035, 95%CI 1.352-3.061, P<0.001), and baseline Hcy <15 μmol·L-1 (HR=1.810, 95%CI 1.390-2.357, P<0.001) were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of achieving target Hcy levels within 6 months. In contrast, higher PGA scores were associated with a reduced likelihood of achieving target Hcy levels (HR=0.991, 95% CI 0.986-0.997, P=0.003). After treatment,the exposure group demonstrated reductions in ESR,CRP,and DAS 28 scores (P<0.05) and had lower ESR,CRP and DAS 28 scores than the control group (P<0.05). ConclusionEven after taking FA supplements,some RA patients undergoing MTX treatment still have high Hcy levels. When being used in conjunction with MTX and FA,Qingre Huoxue prescription can effectively lower the Hcy level and disease activity in RA patients with HHcy,outperforming Western treatment alone.
3.Ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Wenjun WU ; Chang LIU ; Shengsheng YAO ; Daming LIU ; Yuan LUO ; Yihan SUN ; Ting RUAN ; Mengyou LIU ; Li SHI ; Mingming XIAO ; Qi ZHANG ; Zhengshuai LIU ; Xingai JU ; Jiahao WANG ; Xiang FEI ; Li LU ; Yang GAO ; Ying ZHANG ; Liying GONG ; Xuanyu CHEN ; Wanli ZHENG ; Xiali NIU ; Xiao YANG ; Huimei CAO ; Shijie CHANG ; Zuoxin MA ; Jianchun CUI
Chinese Journal of Endocrine Surgery 2025;19(3):313-319
Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.
4.Study on the changes of common bile duct pressure after laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in patients with common bile duct stones
Shenchao SHI ; Qiong GONG ; Jian CHANG ; Zhengle ZHANG ; Jing TAO ; Zhongchao ZHU
Journal of Clinical Surgery 2025;33(2):150-153
Objective To study the change of common bile duct pressure after laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in patients with common bile duct stones.Methods Clinical data of 17 patients with common bile duct stones treated in our hospital from January 2022 to December 2022 were collected.All patients underwent laparoscopic common bile duct exploration and common bile duct pressure measurement.The patients were followed up for 8 weeks after operation,and the common bile duct pressure was measured by indwelling T tube at 2,3,4 and 8 weeks.Results Among the 17 patients,1 patient showed persistent high common bile duct pressure due to residual common bile duct stones.In the remaining 16 patients,there were no significant difference between the initial common bile duct pressure(19.7 cm H2O)and the common bile duct pressure at postoperative(17.0 cm H2O)and week 1(15.5cmH2O)(P>0.05).There were significant differences between the initial common bile duct pressure and the common bile duct pressure at week 2(13.5 cm H2O),3(12.2 cm H2O),4(11.1 cm H2O)and 8(10.0cmH2O)(P<0.05).Conclusion Compared to initial common bile duct pressure,the pressure of common bile duct began to decrease significantly from 2 weeks after laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in patients with common bile duct stones.
5.Research Progress of 223-Ra in the Treatment of Bone Metastases from Desmoplasia-resistant Prostate Cancer
Chang LU ; Ran ZHANG ; Li ZHANG ; Jiaxin DING ; Yue SUN ; Zhuoling RAN ; Yuxuan ZHENG ; Lin YU ; Xu GAO ; Jing XIE ; Huan ZHOU ; Jian GONG
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(3):446-451
Prostate cancer is one of the most common male urological malignancies,in which bone metastasis of desmo-plasia-resistant prostate cancer is an important stage in the progression of the disease,which seriously affects the quality of life and survival of patients.With the development of nuclide therapy technology in recent years,223-Ra,as a new type of alpha-targeted therapy,has shown good efficacy in the treatment of desmoplasia-resistant prostate cancer bone metastasis.The purpose of this pa-per is to review the characteristics,mechanism of action,treatment,and the main research results of its treatment of desmoplasia-resistant prostate cancer bone metastasis,and provide a comprehensive review of the clinical application of 223-Ra in the treatment of desmoplasia-resistant prostate cancer bone metastasis for the clinical application of 223-Ra in prostate cancer bone metastasis.
6.Clinical characteristics and prognosis of 18 patients with acute necrotizing encephalopathy
Chang GENG ; Li GONG ; Weihua ZHANG ; Xiao YANG ; Weili ZHAO ; Qinzhou WANG ; Dongxiao JIANG ; Jin WU ; Haitao REN ; Siyuan FAN ; Hongzhi GUAN ; Bin PENG
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2025;58(5):494-500
Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics, RAN-binding protein 2 ( RANBP2) gene variations, and prognosis in Chinese acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) patients. Methods:A retrospective analysis of ANE cases registered in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital Encephalitis Registry System from 2022 to 2024, involving patients from Peking Union Medical College Hospital and other hospitals, was conducted. A descriptive study was performed on the clinical characteristics, treatments and prognosis, cerebrospinal fluid examination results, and imaging findings of these patients based on adjusted ANE diagnostic criteria. Whole-exome sequencing technology was used to detect gene mutations in these patients.Results:A total of 18 ANE cases were included, ranged in age from 2 to 72 [20(5, 43)] years. The male-to-female ratio was 4∶5. All patients were found with precipitating infections including COVID-19, influenza A virus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections. All patients presented with fever, with varying degrees of consciousness disturbance observed in 16 cases, and seizures in 10 cases. All patients underwent lumbar puncture, with normal or mildly elevated white cell counts [3(2, 13)×10 6/L] and mildly to moderately elevated protein levels [1.90(0.92, 4.65) g/L]. A total of 6 patients were found with extremely elevated interleukin-6 level [950(164, 2 000) pg/ml] in cerebrospinal fluid. Bilateral symmetric thalamic lesions were typical imaging features of ANE, while involvement of other areas such as cortical and subcortical white matter, brainstem, and cerebellum was also observed. A total of 14 patients performed genetic tests while 4 patients were identified with RANBP2 gene mutations (c.1754C>T in 3 cases, c.1966A>G in 1 case). All patients received immunotherapy, and 7 patients died at discharge while other patients presented with neurological sequelae of varying degrees. Conclusions:ANE is a rare and severe parainfectious encephalopathy that can occur in both children and adults. Clinically, it is characterized by rapidly progressing encephalopathy following systematic infection, with bilateral symmetric thalamic lesions. The detection of RANBP2 gene mutations could help make the diagnosis.
7.Ethical Challenges and Response Strategies in Drug Development for Radiation Prevention and Control
Li ZHANG ; Ding LI ; Chang LU ; Peng ZHANG ; Ran ZHANG ; Ge WANG ; Liping YANG ; Rui HU ; Jian GONG
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(10):1632-1637
Excessive ionizing radiation can disrupt the molecular structures of organisms,leading to health issues such as acute radiation syndrome and cancer,posing serious threats to human health.The development of radioprotective drugs holds significant importance for mitigating ionizing radiation damage and safeguarding public health,yet its research process faces multidimensional ethical challenges.This paper systematically explores the ethical issues involved in the full lifecycle of radioprotective drug development,focusing on the ethical particularities of animal experimentation,ethical dilemmas in human trials,data privacy and security risks,as well as challenges in managing conflicts of interest.Targeted solutions are proposed,including strengthening ethical review mechanisms,promoting interdisciplinary collaboration,constructing data security management systems,and establishing conflict-of-interest mediation mechanisms.These comprehensive measures aim to build a scientifically rigorous ethical framework for radioprotective drug research,fostering sustainable development in this field.
8.Risk Assessment of Radiation Prevention and Treatment Drugs
Ran ZHANG ; Chang LU ; Huan LONG ; Keer XUAN ; Wanlong ZHANG ; Yuxian ZHANG ; Hongzhu LIU ; Dong CHAI ; Jian GONG
Herald of Medicine 2025;44(10):1648-1654
Radiation prevention and treatment drugs are a rapidly developing field.Radiation prevention and treatment drugs can be roughly divided into four categories:chemical synthetic drugs,biological products,natural plant extracts and traditional Chinese medicine compounds,which are widely used in medical,scientific research and other fields.This paper reviews the classification of radiation prevention and treatment drugs,which can be roughly divided into four categories:chemical synthetic drugs,biological products,natural plant extracts and traditional Chinese medicine compounds.At the same time,its mechanism of action and clinical application are elaborated in detail,and the risk assessment is carried out from the aspects of effectiveness,safety and drug interaction.Finally,the risk reduction strategies are summarized from the aspects of clinical medication specification and monitoring,continuous drug safety research,improvement of emergency reserve and support capacity and construction of full-cycle regulatory system,so as to provide reference for the rational application and further research of radiation prevention and treatment drugs.
9.Ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Wenjun WU ; Chang LIU ; Shengsheng YAO ; Daming LIU ; Yuan LUO ; Yihan SUN ; Ting RUAN ; Mengyou LIU ; Li SHI ; Mingming XIAO ; Qi ZHANG ; Zhengshuai LIU ; Xingai JU ; Jiahao WANG ; Xiang FEI ; Li LU ; Yang GAO ; Ying ZHANG ; Liying GONG ; Xuanyu CHEN ; Wanli ZHENG ; Xiali NIU ; Xiao YANG ; Huimei CAO ; Shijie CHANG ; Zuoxin MA ; Jianchun CUI
Chinese Journal of Endocrine Surgery 2025;19(3):313-319
Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.
10.Correlation Between Cardiovascular Events and Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis:A Cross-Sectional Study
Fuyuan ZHANG ; Quan JIANG ; Jun LI ; Yuchen YANG ; Xieli MA ; Tian CHANG ; Congmin XIA ; Jian WANG ; Xun GONG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(15):1572-1578
ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between the occurrence of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis(RA) and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndrome. MethodsThe cross-sectional study selected 6713 RA patients from 122 centres nationwide, in which general information such as name, gender, age, height, body weight, and course of disease were collected by completing a questionnaire; patients were classified into eight types of syndrome according to the information of their four examinations,i.e. wind-dampness obstruction syndrome, cold-dampness obstruction syndrome, dampness-heat obstruction syndrome, phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome, stasis-blood obstructing collateral syndrome, qi-blood deficiency syndrome, liver-kidney insufficiency syndrome, and qi-yin deficiency syndrome. According to the occurrence of cardiovascular events, they were divided into the occurrence group and the non-occurrence group, and the condition assessment data and laboratory examination indexes were recorded. The test of difference between groups was used to analyse the possible risk factors for the occurrence of RA cardiovascular events, and binary logistic regression was used to analyse the correlation between TCM syndromes and RA cardiovascular events. ResultsA total of 6713 RA patients were included, including 256 cases in occurrence group and 6457 in non-occurrence group. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of height, gender, insomnia, appetite, white blood cell(WBC), hemoglobin(HGB), platelets(PLT), rheumatoid factor(RF), anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline(CCP), alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT), urea creatinine(CREA), and glucose(GLU)(P>0.05). The TCM syndromes between groups showed significant statistic differences(P<0.05). Patients in occurrence group had longer disease duration, heavier body weight, and older age; more severe conditions such as disease activity(DAS-28), number of painful joints(TJC), number of swollen joints(SJC), health questionnaire scores(HAQ), visual analog scores(VAS), restlessness, and fatigue; higher blood sedimentation rate(ESR), low-density lipoprotein(LDL-C), triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol(TC), D-Dimer, and lower high-density lipoprotein(HDL-C)(P<0.05). The distribution of syndrome types showed that dampness-heat obstruction syndrome accounted for the largest proportion of patients in both groups and was higher in RA cardiovascular events. Logistic regression analysis showed that the occurrence of RA cardiovascular events was strongly associated with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome[OR=5.937, 95%CI (4.434, 7.949), P<0.001]. ConclusionThe occurrence of RA cardiovascular events were associated with TCM syndromes, and the probability of cardiovascular events in the RA patients with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome was 5.937 times higher than patients with other TCM syndromes.

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