OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) Fuzheng Huazhuo Decoction (FHD) in treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who persistently tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at Shanghai New International Expo Center shelter hospital in China between April 1 and May 30, 2022. Patients diagnosed as COVID-19 with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results for ⩾8 days after diagnosis were enrolled. Patients in the control group received conventional Western medicine (WM) treatment, while those in the FHD group received conventional WM plus FHD for at least 3 days. The primary outcome was viral clearance time. Secondary outcomes included negative conversion rate within 14 days, length of hospital stay, cycle threshold (Ct) values of the open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) and nucleocapsid protein (N) genes, and incidence of new-onset symptoms during hospitalization. Adverse events (AEs) that occurred during the study period were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 1,765 eligible patients were enrolled in this study (546 in the FHD group and 1,219 in the control group). Compared with the control group, patients receiving FHD treatment showed shorter viral clearance time for nucleic acids [hazard ratio (HR): 1.500, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.353-1.664, P<0.001] and hospital stays (HR: 1.371, 95% CI: 1.238-1.519, P<0.001), and a higher negative conversion rate within 14 days (96.2% vs. 82.6%, P<0.001). The incidence of new-onset symptoms was 59.5% in the FHD group, similar to 57.8% in the control group (P>0.05). The Ct values of ORF1ab and N genes increased more rapidly over time in the FHD group than those in the control group post-randomization (ORF1ab gene: β =0.436±0.053, P<0.001; N gene: β =0.415 ±0.053, P<0.001). The incidence of AEs in the FHD group was lower than that in the control group (24.2% vs. 35.4%, P<0.001). No serious AEs were observed. CONCLUSION FHD was effective and safe for patients with persistently positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests. (Registration No. ChiCTR2200063956).
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects* ; COVID-19/virology* ; Adult ; Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)in the treatment of male im-mune infertility(MII)by meta-analysis.Methods:We retrieved randomized controlled trial(RCT)on the treatment of male im-mune infertility with traditional Chinese medicine from the databases of WanFang,Chinese Biomedical Literature,Cochrane Library,Weipu,PubMed and CNKI,and performed methodological quality assessment of the RCTs identified and statistical analysis and evalua-tion of the publication bias using the RevMan5.4 software.Results:Totally,25 RCTs(2 563 cases)were included in this study.Compared with Western medicine alone in the treatment of MII,TCM achieved a significantly higher total effectiveness rate(OR=6.35,95% CI:4.96-8.13,P<0.000 01),negative conversion rate of seminal plasma anti-sperm antibodies(OR=4.52,95% CI:2.72-7.51,P<0.000 01),negative rate of serum anti-sperm antibodies(OR=2.98,95% CI:2.23-3.96,P<0.000 01),sperm concentration(MD=15.56,95% CI:11.32-19.79,P<0.000 01),grade a sperm motility(MD=3.85,95% CI:1.91-5.79,P=0.000 01),grade a+b sperm motility(MD=13.77,95% CI:7.06-20.48,P<0.000 1),sperm viability(MD=10.32,95% CI:6.78-13.86,P<0.000 01)and pregnancy rate(OR=3.53,95% CI:2.68-4.63,P<0.000 01),but a lower rate of adverse reactions(OR=0.06,95% CI:0.01-0.23,P<0.000 01).There was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm between TCM and Western medicine alone in the treatment of MII(MD=-7.53,95% CI:-15.50-0.44,P=0.06).Conclusion:TCM has a definite effectiveness and high safe in the treatment of male immune infertility.

To compare the pancreatic proteomics and autophagy between Rehmanniae Radix-and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata-treated mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM). The T2DM mouse model was established by high-fat diet coupled with streptozotocin(STZ, intraperitoneal injection, 100 mg·kg~(-1), once a day for three consecutive days). The mice were then randomly assigned into a control group, low-(5 g·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(15 g·kg~(-1)) Rehmanniae Radix groups, low-(150 mg·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(300 mg·kg~(-1)) catalpol groups, low-(5 g·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(15 g·kg~(-1)) Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata groups, low-(150 mg·kg~(-1)) and high-dose(300 mg·kg~(-1)) 5-hydroxymethyl furfuraldehyde(5-HMF) groups, and a metformin(250 mg·kg~(-1)) group. In addition, a normal group was also set and each group included 8 mice. The pancreas was collected after four weeks of administration and proteomics tools were employed to study the effects of Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata on protein expression in the pancreas of T2DM mice. The expression levels of proteins involved in autophagy, inflammation, and oxidative stress response in the pancreatic tissues of T2DM mice were determined by western blotting, immunohistochemical assay, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that the differential proteins between the model group and Rehmanniae Radix/Rehmanniae Radix Prae-parata group were enriched in 7 KEGG pathways, such as autophagy-animal, which indicated that the 7 pathways may be associated with T2DM. Compared with the control group, drug administration significantly up-regulated the expression levels of beclin1 and phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin(p-mTOR)/mTOR and down-regulated those of the inflammation indicators, Toll-like receptor-4(TLR4) and Nod-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3), in the pancreas of T2DM mice, and Rehmanniae Radix showed better performance. In addition, the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2), and heine oxygenase-1(HO-1) in the pancreas of T2DM mice were down-regulated after drug administration, and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata demonstrated better performance. The results indicate that both Rehmanniae Radix and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata can alleviate the inflammatory symptoms, reduce oxidative stress response, and increase the autophagy level in the pancreas of T2DM mice, while they exert the effect on different autophagy pathways.
Mice ; Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/genetics* ; Streptozocin/pharmacology* ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Proteomics ; Inflammation ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Autophagy ; Mammals

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy and safety of CLAE intensive chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemia (R/R AL). METHODS: CLAE regimen [cladribine 5 mg/(m²·d), d 1-5; cytarabine 1.5 g/(m²·d), d 1-5; etoposide 100 mg/(m²·d), d 3-5] followed by allo-HSCT was used to treat 3 R/R AL patients. The patients received CLAE chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory status and underwent bone marrow puncture to judge myelodysplastic state. After an interval of 3 to 5 days, followed by preconditioning regimen for allo-HSCT [fludarabine 30 mg/(m²·d), d -7 to d -3; busulfan 0.8 mg/kg q6h, d -6 to d -3 or d -5 to d -2. If the bone marrow hyperplasia was not active and the blasts were less than 10%, busulfan should be used for 3 days. If the bone marrow hyperplasia was active and the blasts were more than 10%, busulfan should be used for 4 days]. Cyclosporin A, mycophenolate mofetil and short-term methotrexate were used for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention. After transplantation, the status of minimal residual disease (MRD) and bone marrow chimerism were regularly monitored in all 3 patients, and demethylation drugs or dasatinib were used to prevent recurrence 3 months after transplantation. RESULTS: 2 patients with t(11;19) translocation and relapse/refractory acute myeloid leukemia recurred within 6 months after induction of remission, and received intensive chemotherapy with CLAE regimen followed by haploidentical allo-HSCT and unrelated donor allo-HSCT, respectively. The two patients both relapsed 6 months after transplantation, then achieved complete remission by donor lymphocyte infusion, interferon, interleukin-2 and other methods, and disease-free survival was 2 years after transplantation. The other patient was chronic myelogenous leukemia who developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia during oral administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitor, accompanied by T315I and E255K mutations in ABL1 kinase region and additional chromosomal abnormalities. After morphological remission by induction chemotherapy, central nervous system leukemia was complicated. Intensive chemotherapy with CLAE regimen followed by sibling allo-HSCT was performed in the positive state of MRD. The patient relapsed 3 months after transplantation, and achieved remission after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, however, he died 5 months after transplantation because of severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and GVHD. CONCLUSION CLAE regimen followed by allo-HSCT may be an effective salvage treatment option for R/R AL patients to prolong the overall survival.
Male ; Humans ; Busulfan/therapeutic use* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Treatment Outcome ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/etiology* ; Acute Disease ; Graft vs Host Disease/prevention & control*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of CXCR4 on the treatment response and prognosis of Carfilzomib (CFZ) in multiple myeloma. METHODS: Dataset GSE69078 based on microarray data from two CFZ-resistant MM cell lines and their corresponding parental cell lines (KMS11-KMS11/CFZ and KMS34-KMS34/CFZ) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established to identify the key genes involved in CFZ resistance acquisition. Finally, the prognostic roles of the CFZ risistance key genes in MM using MMRF-CoMMpass data study was verified. RESULTS: 44 up-regulated and 46 down-regulated DEGs were identified. Top 10 hub genes (CCND1, CXCR4, HGF, PECAM1, ID1, HEY1, TCF4, HIST1H4J, HIST1H2BD and HIST1H2BH) were identified via Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. The CoMMpass data showed that high CXCR4 expression showed correlation to relative higher relapse and progress rates and the overall survival was significant decreased in high CXCR4 patients (P=0.013). CONCLUSION CXCR4 perhaps plays a crucial role in CFZ acquired resistance, which might help identifying potential CFZ-sensitive patients before treatment and providing a new therapeutic target in CFZ-resistant MM.
Histones ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma/genetics* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Oligopeptides/therapeutic use* ; Prognosis ; Receptors, CXCR4

To improve the diagnostic efficiency of prostate cancer (PCa) and reduce unnecessary biopsies, we defined and analyzed the diagnostic efficiency of peripheral zone prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density (PZ-PSAD). Patients who underwent systematic 12-core prostate biopsies in Shanghai General Hospital (Shanghai, China) between January 2012 and January 2018 were retrospectively identified (n = 529). Another group of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (n = 100) were randomly preselected to obtain the PSA density of the non-PCa cohort (N-PSAD). Prostate volumes and transition zone volumes were measured using multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and were combined with PSA and N-PSAD to obtain the PZ-PSAD from a specific algorithm. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the PCa detection efficiency in patients stratified by PSA level, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of PZ-PSAD was higher than that of PSA, PSA density (PSAD), and transition zone PSA density (TZ-PSAD). PZ-PSAD could amend the diagnosis for more than half of the patients with inaccurate transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and mpMRI results. When TRUS and mpMRI findings were ambiguous to predict PCa (PIRADS score ≤3), PZ-PSAD could increase the positive rate of biopsy from 21.7% to 54.7%, and help 63.8% (150/235) of patients avoid unnecessary prostate biopsy. In patients whose PSA was 4.0-10.0 ng ml

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of micro-transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS: The clinical data of 13 adult AML patients who received micro-transplantation as consolidation therapy from July 2014 to October 2019 was retrospectively analyzed, and the adverse reactions and efficacy of micro-transplantation were followed up. RESULTS: Eight patients received micro-transpantation were still in complete remission, 5 patients relapsed after micro-transplantation, 1 of them received umbilical cord blood micro-transplantation after remission by reinduction, and all of the 13 patients have survived till now. The median overall survival time was 13 months, and the median relapse-free survival time was 12 months. All 13 patients developed grade 2-4 hematological adverse reactions. The median recovery time of neutrophils and platesets was 13 (11-15) and 15 (13-17) days, respectively. None of the 13 patients developed acute or chronic graft versus host disease. Twelve patients suffered from different infections, however, there were no serious organ function injury complications happened. CONCLUSION The micro-transplomtation of HLA-incompatible stem cells derived from peripheral blood or umbilical and blood is an effective regimen for the consolidation therapy of AML, especially for the patients suffered from low and moderate risk of AML or the aged AML patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Consolidation Chemotherapy ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplantation Conditioning ; Treatment Outcome

ObjectiveTo explore clinical characteristics of different motor phenotypes in patients with Huntington’s disease in southern China for individualized precise treatment. MethodA total of 58 Huntington’s disease （HD） patients were enrolled from Guangzhou Center of Chinese Huntington’s Disease Network （CHDN） from March 2014 to May 2021. United Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale （UHDRS） was used to assess patients’ motor function， mental state， cognition and total functional capacity （TFC）. The differences of clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. ResultsIn southern China， HD patients showed a predominant mixed-motor phenotype， with 72.41% （42/58） of all cases. The clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were different， and the TFC score in hypokinetic-rigidity phenotype was lower than that in choreatic motor phenotype ［8.00 （4.00～11.00） vs 13.00 （11.00～13.00）， P=0.037］. ConclusionThe symptoms of movement disorders in HD patients in southern China are complex. The precise classification of motor phenotype is helpful for the treatment and prognosis of HD.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical significance of the targeted next-generation sequencing assay for patients with suspected myeloid malignancies. METHODS: A total of 39 hematopenia patients with suspected myeloid malignamies in Department of Hematology of The Affiliated Huai'an No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to April 2019 were treated, 20 hot spot genes of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) were detected. RESULTS: Regarding the diagnostic type, there were 7 cases of idiopathic cytopenia of undetermined significance (ICUS), 8 cases of clonal cytopenias of undetermined significance (CCUS) and 24 cases of myeloid myeloid malignancies which included 18 cases of MDS, 4 cases of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) and 2 cases of acute myeloid leukemia. Positive mutation was detected in 70.8% (17/24) of myeloid malignancy patients , and 72.7% (16/22) in MDS and MDS/MPN patients. The main mutation types were ASXL1, TET2 and RUNX1. Compared with gene negative group, there were no significant differences in sex, age (＜60 years old or ≥60 years old), proportion of bone marrow blast cells (＜5% or≥5%) and cytogenetics (good, medium and poor) (P＞0.05). Furthermore, all 8 CCUS patients showed positive mutation, and the incidence of double or multiple mutation in CCUS group was significantly lower than that of the MDS and MDS/MPN group (37.5% vs 54.5%) (P=0.002). The mutation types between the two groups were similar, and there was no significant difference in variant allele frequency (P＞0.05). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that there are high rates of double or multiple mutations in myeloid malignancies, especially in patients with MDS and MDS/MPN. Targeted sequencing assay can improve the diagnosis of myeloid malignancies, and guide clinical treatment.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes/genetics* ; Myelodysplastic-Myeloproliferative Diseases ; Patients

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics of essential thrombocytopenia (ET) patients with positive mutations including JAK2, CALR, MPL, or negative mutations. METHODS: A total of 66 newly diagnosed ET cases from January 2016 to December 2018 in Department of Hematology, Huaian No.1 People's Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were analyzed. Statistical analysis data included the patient's sex, age, symptoms, thrombosis and embolism events, spleen omegaly, platelet count (Plt), leukocyte (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb), fibrinogen (FIB), thrombus elastic diagram (TEG), serum potassium, blood glucose (GLU), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), JAK2, CALR and MPL mutations, treatment options, and efficacy. RESULTS: All the patients were not MPL-positive, and divided in three groups: JAK2 mutation (46 cases, 69.7%), CALR mutation (9 cases, 13.6%) and gene negative mutation (11 cases, 16.7%) group. The average age of patients in the JAK2 mutation group was 63.2 years old, and significantly higher than that in the CALR mutation group (51.8 year) and gene negative group (50.2 year) (P＜0.05). Compared with the JAK2 mutation group and gene negative group, the CALR mutation group had lower WBC count (6.3×10/L vs 13.79×10/L) (P=0.003) (6.3×10/L vs 9.70×10/L) (P=0.009). Also the Hb level of patients in CALR mutation group was lower than the JAK2 mutation group (121.22 g/L vs 136.2 g/L) (P=0.036). However, there was higher tumor burden in the CALR mutation group, compared with the gene negative mutation group (300.11 U/L vs 227.4 U/L) (P=0. 033). There was no significant difference among the three groups, such as the Plt counts, serum potassium level, GLU level and FIB level (P＞0.05). In addition, thrombus and embolism appeared in 30.3% (20/66) cases. 18.2% (12/66) cases were complicated with hyperkalemia, which significantly correlated with Plt counts (r=0.518). TEG was performed in 34 patients, of which 41.2% (14/34) had abnormal TEG and 55.9% (19/34) were accompanied by Plt count ＞ 1 000 ×10/L, but there was no significant correlation between them (r=0.134). After routine clinical treatment, all the 66 cases achieved partial or complete hematological remission, but the disease usually repeated. Until now 4.5% (3/66) cases had been converted to myelofibrosis (MF) all with JAK2 mutation, but without advancing to acute myeloid leukemia. CONCLUSION ET patients with JAK2 mutation have higher incidence, moreover were in older age. However, the patients with CALR mutations display lower WBC count and Hb level, but higher tumor burden. In short, the multiple gene mutations of ET showed different clinical features closely relates with the prognosis, thus providing guidance for the clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Aged ; Calreticulin ; genetics ; Humans ; Janus Kinase 2 ; genetics ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Primary Myelofibrosis ; Thrombocythemia, Essential ; Thrombocytopenia