To explore the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and integrative TCM-Western medicine approaches in the treatment of diabetic microvascular complications （DMC）， refine key pathophysiological insights and treatment principles， and promote academic innovation and strategic research planning in the prevention and treatment of DMC. The 38th session of the Expert Salon on Diseases Responding Specifically to Traditional Chinese Medicine， hosted by the China Association of Chinese Medicine， was held in Beijing， 2024. Experts in TCM， Western medicine， and interdisciplinary fields convened to conduct a systematic discussion on the pathogenesis， diagnostic and treatment challenges， and mechanism research related to DMC， ultimately forming a consensus on key directions. Four major research recommendations were proposed. The first is addressing clinical bottlenecks in the prevention and control of DMC by optimizing TCM-based evidence evaluation systems. The second is refining TCM core pathogenesis across DMC stages and establishing corresponding "disease-pattern-time" framework. The third is innovating mechanism research strategies to facilitate a shift from holistic regulation to targeted intervention in TCM. The fourth is advancing interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance the role of TCM in new drug development， research prioritization， and guideline formulation. TCM and integrative approaches offer distinct advantages in managing DMC. With a focus on the diseases responding specifically to TCM， strengthening evidence-based support and mechanism interpretation and promoting the integration of clinical care and research innovation will provide strong momentum for the modernization of TCM and the advancement of national health strategies.

Microglial pyroptosis and neuroinflammation have been implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). OGT-mediated O-GlcNAcylation is involved in neurodevelopment and injury. However, its regulatory function in microglial pyroptosis and involvement in SAE remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that OGT deficiency augmented microglial pyroptosis and exacerbated secondary neuronal injury. Furthermore, OGT inhibition impaired cognitive function in healthy mice and accelerated the progression in SAE mice. Mechanistically, OGT-mediated O-GlcNAcylation of ATF2 at Ser44 inhibited its phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, thereby amplifying NLRP3 inflammasome activation and promoting inflammatory cytokine production in microglia in response to LPS/Nigericin stimulation. In conclusion, this study uncovers the critical role of OGT-mediated O-GlcNAcylation in modulating microglial activity through the regulation of ATF2 and thus protects against SAE progression.
Animals ; Microglia/metabolism* ; Pyroptosis/physiology* ; Mice ; Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy/prevention & control* ; Activating Transcription Factor 2/metabolism* ; N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases/genetics* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Mice, Knockout

Objective:To establish the UPLC fingerprint evaluation system of Viticis Fructus; To comprehensively evaluate the quality of Viticis Fructus and its processed products combining with multivariate statistical methods and compositional variance analysis.Methods:19 batches of Viticis Fructus from different regions were collected and processed by frying process into decoction pieces. The separation was operated on Waters CORTECS T3 C18 chromatographic column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.6 μm). Acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid water were used as mobile phases for gradient elution, to establish the UPLC fingerprints of Viticis Fructus. The UPLC fingerprints of Viticis Fructus were analyzed using similarity evaluation, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The contents of seven active components in the samples of Viticis Fructus and fried Viticis Fructus were determined.Results:A total of 26 common peaks were identified in the fingerprints of 38 batches of samples, and 7 components were identified. Similarity evaluation results demonstrated that the chemical components of Viticis Fructus from Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, were significantly different from those of other regions. The results of PCA and PLS-DA analysis showed that the chemical components of Viticis Fructus and fried Viticis Fructus could be clearly distinguished, and the processing process had an impact on the components. The results of content determination showed that the contents of some components increased or decreased after frying. The analysis results of grey correlation method and TOPSIS method show that the medicinal materials in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province have a high score ranking and stable quality.Conclusion:This study successfully establishes the fingerprints of Viticis Fructus and its processed products, grey correlation method and TOPSIS method analysis revealed the quality differences of samples from different origins, which providing a scientific basis for the quality control and evaluation of Viticis Fructus and its processed products.

Objective:To determine the contents of four flavonoids by establishing HPLC specific chromatogram for Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen; To evaluate the differences of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen from different producing areas.Methods:The specific chromatogram was developed on a column of Thermo Acclaim C18 with acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid solution as the mobile phase by gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The detective wavelength was 260 nm, and the column temperature was 30 ℃. Similarity evaluation, PCA analysis, and OPLS-DA analysis were conducted. The contents of Alpinetin, Pinocembrin, Cardamonin, Alnustone in 16 batches of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen.Results:There were 9 characteristic peaks in the specific chromatogram of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen. Except the sample of S2 (Hainan producing area), the similarity of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen in different producing areas was greater than 0.90; PCA analysis divided 16 batches of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen into 2 categories, and OPLS-DA analysis identified 4 differential biomarkers, with the order of impact being peak 3>peak 5>Alpinetin>Cardamonin. Among them, the quality of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen from Guangdong producing area was generally stable. Moreover, there were significant differences in the contents of Alpinetin and Cardamonin among the indicator components of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen from different producing areas.Conclusion:This method can effectively analyze the differences in the quality of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen from different producing areas, providing reference for the quality evaluation of Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of vanishing twin syndrome (VTS) on the accuracy of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). METHODS: Three pregnant women who underwent NIPT testing at Guangdong Women and Children's from November 2019 to February 2020 were selected as the study subjects. The three women had either vanish twin syndrome or had undergone fetal reduction for other reasons in one of their twins, and were subsequently subject to NIPT, chromosome karyotyping, chromosome microarray analysis (CMA), and short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Guangdong Maternal and Child Health Hospital (Ethics No.: 20230132). RESULTS: Case 1 underwent selective fetal reduction at 8⁺ weeks of gestation. At 17⁺ weeks, NIPT showed a fetal DNA fraction of 2.806%, with results indicating the presence of Y chromosome and abnormal sex chromosome ratios. However, the women had subsequent uncomplicated vaginal delivery of a female infant, and no abnormality noted. Case 2 experienced spontaneous demise of one twin at 13 weeks' gestation. At 19 weeks, NIPT indicated a high risk for chromosome 21 (Z-score 4.671) in the surviving fetus, but subsequent evaluation showed no abnormality. Case 3, a dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twin pregnancy, underwent selective reduction at 13⁺ weeks due to fetal abnormalities in one twin. At 22⁺ weeks, NIPT for the surviving fetus indicated a high risk for chromosome 21 (Z-score 17.549), but subsequent evaluation was unremarkable. CONCLUSION In twin pregnancies, the relatively low cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) concentration can compromise the success rate and accuracy of NIPT compared to singleton pregnancies. Residual DNA from the demised fetus may persist for weeks following VTS or selective reduction, potentially causing false-positive NIPT results and interfering with sex chromosome prediction for the surviving fetus. Additionally, determining chorionicity is critical for reliable interpretation of NIPT results in twin pregnancies.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Diseases in Twins/diagnosis* ; Karyotyping ; Noninvasive Prenatal Testing/methods* ; Pregnancy, Twin ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods*

BACKGROUND:The application of miniscrew in adolescents is increasing day by day,but at present,there are few studies on bone mass in the external oblique line of the mandible in adolescents at home and abroad,and there is no systematic study on bone mass in the external oblique line of the mandible in adolescents in different growth and development periods. OBJECTIVE:To measure the bone mass in the external oblique line of the mandible in adolescents with different cervical vertebral bone ages using a cone-beam CT and to investigate the difference of bone mass in the external oblique line of the mandible in adolescents with different cervical vertebral bone ages and the correlation between bone mass in this area and the cervical vertebral bone age. METHODS:The cone-beam CT data of 105 adolescent patients before orthodontic treatment were collected and divided into CS3 group(n=24),CS4 group(n=26),CS5 group(n=29)and CS6 group(n=26)using the cervical vertebral maturation method.The adolescent mandibular buccal shelf was reconstructed by Mimics Medical 21.0 software.The width of buccal bone at 6 and 11 mm under the cemento-enamel junction and the bone height at 4 and 5 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction of right mandibular first and second molars were measured.The measured data were statistically analyzed.The measurement was made on four planes:plane 1 is the plane where the proximal mesial root of the mandibular right first molar is located;plane 2 is the plane where the distal mesial root of the mandibular right first molar is located;plane 3 is the plane where the proximal mesial root of the mandibular right second molar is located;and plane 4 is the plane where the distal mesial root of the mandibular right second molar is located. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In each group,the bone width on the buccal side of the external oblique line increased gradually from the first molar proximally to the second molar distally in adolescents,and the width of buccal bone at 6 and 11 mm under the cemento-enamel junction showed significant difference among different layers(P<0.05).The bone width of buccal bone at 11 mm under the cemento-enamel junction was greater than that at 6 mm.The bone height on the buccal side of the external oblique line increased gradually from the first molar proximally to the second molar distally in all four groups,and the bone height at 4 and 5 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction showed significant differences at different layers(P<0.05).The bone height at 4 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction was greater than that at 5 mm.On the fourth plane,the bone width at 11 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction was smaller in the CS3,CS4,and CS5 groups than in the CS6 group(P<0.05).On the third plane,the bone heights at 4 mm and 5 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction were smaller in the CS3 and CS4 groups than in the CS6 group(P<0.05).On the fourth plane,the bone height at 5 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction was smaller in the CS3 and CS4 groups than in the CS6 group(P<0.05).On the fourth plane,the bone height at 4 mm buccal to the cemento-enamel junction was smaller in the CS3 group than in the CS6 group(P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between bone mass and the cervical vertebral bone age,except that there was a weak correlation between bone mass at some measurement sites and cervical vertebral bone age.To conclude,the bone mass in the external oblique area of the mandible in adolescents does not change significantly with the increase of cervical vertebral bone age.The buccal side of the mesial root and distal root of the mandibular second molar in the external oblique area of CS3-CS6 adolescents meets the requirement of bone mass for miniscrew implantation,which is a site available for miniscrew implantation.

BACKGROUND:Traditional lateral cephalometric radiographs always suffer from some problems,such as magnification distortion,left and right overlap inconsistency and so on,while the cone-beam CT can truly display the three-dimensional structure of the craniofacial region.Performing three-dimensional reconstruction of cone-beam CT and then transforming the cone-beam CT in the selected area into the two-dimensional image can make the overlap between the left and right sides consistent and reduce the influence of surrounding tissue structures. OBJECTIVE:To explore the consistency of quantitative analysis of cervical vertebral bone age between two kinds of cone-beam CT transformed two-dimensional images with different integrated thicknesses and traditional lateral cephalometric radiographs. METHODS:The cone-beam CT and lateral cephalometric radiograph data of 118 adolescent orthodontic patients were collected.Firstly,the cone-beam CT image was reconstructed in 3D imaging software.After reconstruction,two types of cone-beam CT images with different integrated thicknesses were selected in the sagittal interface and transformed into two-dimensional images,which were named ICB-1 and ICB-2,respectively.The Zhibeiyun system was used to measure and calculate the angle between the concave base of the second cervical vertebra and the lower edge of the vertebral body(@2),the ratio of the third cervical spine to the posterior height(AH3/PH3),the ratio of height to width of the fourth cervical spine(H4/W4)in lateral cephalometric radiograph,ICB-1,ICB-2 and the cervical vertebral bone age.After an interval of two weeks,20 adolescents were randomly selected to repeat the above measurements.The intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC)method was used to evaluate the repeatability of the three images in measuring cervical bone age.Paired t-test was used to analyze the consistency of cervical bone age measurements between the three images.The Kappa test was used to analyze the consistency of cervical vertebral bone age staging assessment between the three images. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)ICC of AH3/PH3 in the lateral cephalometric radiograph group was<0.9,and the ICC of other measurement items in each group was>0.9.(2)Paired t-test results showed that there were statistical differences in AH3/PH3 and H4/W4 between the ICB-1 group and lateral cephalometric radiograph group and between the ICB-1 group and ICB-2 group(P<0.05),and there were no statistically significant differences in the other items between the three groups(P>0.05).(3)The Kappa test results showed that the Kappa coefficients of the two groups were all more than 0.8 according to the staging of cervical vertebral bone age in three groups(P<0.001).(4)It is indicated that the repeatability of ICB-1 and ICB-2 in the measurement of cervical vertebral bone age is better than that of lateral cephalometric radiographs.Lateral cephalometric radiographs,ICB-1 and ICB-2 have good consistency in the measurement of cervical vertebral bone age,but considering the integrity of cervical vertebra structure,ICB-2 is more suitable for quantitative analysis of cervical vertebral bone age than ICB-1.

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the most common cognitive disorder in the elderly and manifests primarily as progressive cognitive function decline, neuropsychiatric symptoms and multiple functional impairments.Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)is a common type of respiratory disorder.Studies have found that AD and OSA are connected in many ways, including the risk of developing these diseases, biomarkers and neuroimaging features.These connections may result from a variety of mechanisms, such as neuropathological protein deposition, exacerbated immune-mediated inflammation, oxidative stress abnormalities, impaired mitochondrial function, and disturbed neurotransmitter systems, among others.This article reviewed the relationship between AD and OSA, the mechanisms linking them and their treatment.

Objective:To compare esketamine versus dexmedetomidine in improving the adverse mood after cesarean section.Methods:One hundred and fourteen pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean section, aged 20-45 yr, with body mass index≤33 kg/m 2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅱ or Ⅲ, were divided into 3 groups ( n=38 each) by the random number table method: esketamine group (group S), dexmedetomidine group (group D) and control group (group C). After delivery, esketamine was intravenously injected as a bolus of 0.3 mg/kg, followed by an infusion of 0.3 mg·kg -1·h -1 throughout the surgery in group S, dexmedetomidine was intravenously injected as a bolus of 0.6 μg/kg, followed by an infusion of 0.6 μg·kg -1·h -1 throughout the surgery in group D, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead, followed by an infusion of 14 ml/h throughout the surgery in group C. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia was performed after the end of surgery. Esketamine 50 mg, sufentanil 50 μg and ondansetron 8 mg were given in group S, dexmedetomidine 200 μg, sufentanil 50 μg and ondansetron 8 mg were given in group D, while sufentanil 50 μg and ondansetron 8 mg were given in group C. When the visual analog scale score ≥4 within 48 h after operation, flurbiprofen axidate was intravenously injected as a rescue analgesic. Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores were assessed at 1 day before surgery and 2 and 7 days after surgery. Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at 1 day before surgery and 2 days after surgery. The effective pressing times of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and requirement for rescue analgesia after operation were recorded. The occurrence of adverse reactions during operation and within 48 h after operation was also recorded. Results:Compared with group C, SAS scores and EPDS scores were significantly decreased at 2 and 7 days after surgery, serum BDNF concentrations were increased at 2 days after surgery, the effective pressing times of PCA were reduced, the requirement for rescue analgesia was decreased, and the incidence of intraoperative nausea and vomiting was reduced in S and D groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group D, SAS scores and EPDS scores were significantly decreased at 7 days after surgery, the effective pressing times of PCA were reduced ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in serum BDNF concentrations at 2 days after surgery and requirement for rescue analgesia in group S ( P>0.05). The incidence of dreaminess was significantly higher in group S than in group C and group D ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Esketamine is better than dexmedetomidine in improving the adverse mood after cesarean section.

Objective:To evaluate the morphological and functional changes of the heart during second trimester fetuses with ventricular septal defect (VSD) using fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) technology.Methods:A prospective study was conducted from July 2022 to January 2024 at Chengdu Women′s and Children′s Central Hospital, collecting 91 singleton fetuses diagnosed with isolated VSD (VSD group) and 91 normal fetuses matched for gestational age (control group). Fetal HQ technology was used to measure the length and width of the four-chamber view of the fetal heart, obtaining the global sphericity index (GSI). Speckle tracking technology was used to track the endocardial motion trajectories of the left and right ventricles during diastole and systole, obtaining parameters such as left and right ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS and RV-GLS), end-diastolic diameter (EDD), 24-segment sphericity index (SI), 24-segment fraction of shortening (FS), left ventricular ejection fraction (LV-EF), fraction of area change (FAC), left ventricular stroke volume (LV-SV), and left ventricular cardiac output (LV-CO).The differences between groups were compared, and the correlations between the values of VSD and GSI, GLS, and FAC were evaluated.Results:The EDD of the left ventricular segments 20-23 in the VSD group was lower, while the SI value of the right ventricular segments 1-4 in the VSD group was higher than that in the control group (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in GSI between the two groups ( P>0.05). LV-GLS in the VSD group was lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in RV-GLS ( P>0.05). Values of LV-FAC, LV-EF, LV-SV, and LV-CO in the VSD group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The FS value of left ventricular segments 1-10 in the VSD group presented lower, but the FS value of right ventricular segments 7-21 higher compared to controls(all P<0.05). LV-GLS and LV-FAC absolute values were negatively correlated with the size of VSD ( r=-0.309, P=0.004; r=-0.264, P=0.015), while GSI, RV-GLS, and RV-FAC showed no significant correlation with the size of VSD (all P>0.05). Conclusions:The overall sphericity index of second trimester VSD fetuses is normal, but there are changes in the shape of the left ventricular apical segments and the right ventricular basal segments, with the left heart chamber tending to be flatter and the right heart chamber more fusiform. The left ventricular systolic function of VSD fetuses is significantly reduced, the local systolic function of right ventricular increases while the global systolic function shows no significant change. The absolute values of LV-GLS and LV-FAC in VSD fetuses are negatively correlated with the size of VSD.