ObjectiveTo explore the dose-effect relationship and safety of high， medium， and low doses of raw Astragali Radix in the modified Huangqi Chifengtang （MHCD） for treating proteinuria in immunoglobulin A （IgA） nephropathy， and to provide scientific evidence for the clinical use of high-dose Astragali Radix in the treatment of proteinuria in IgA nephropathy. MethodsA total of 120 patients with IgA nephropathy， diagnosed with Qi deficiency and blood stasis combined with wind pathogen and heat toxicity， were randomly divided into a control group and three treatment groups. The control group received telmisartan combined with a Chinese medicine placebo， while the treatment groups were given telmisartan combined with MHCD containing different doses of raw Astragali Radix （60， 30， 15 g）. Each group contained 30 patients， and the treatment period was 12 weeks. Changes in 24-hour urinary protein （24 hUTP）， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， effective rate， and renal function were observed before and after treatment. Safety was assessed by monitoring liver function and blood routine. ResultsAfter 12 weeks of treatment， 24 hUTP significantly decreased in the high， medium， and low-dose groups， as well as the control group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The TCM syndrome scores in the high， medium， and low-dose groups also significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Comparisons between groups showed that the 24 hUTP in the high-dose group was significantly lower than in the medium， low-dose， and control groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the 24 hUTP in the medium-dose group was significantly lower than in the control group （P<0.05）. The TCM syndrome scores in the high and medium-dose groups were significantly lower than in the low-dose and control groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The total effective rates for proteinuria in the high， medium， low-dose， and control groups were 92.59% （25/27）， 85.19% （23/27）， 60.71% （17/28）， and 57.14% （16/28）， respectively. The effective rates in the high and medium-dose groups were significantly higher than in the low-dose and control groups （χ²=13.185， P<0.05， P<0.01）. The effective rates for TCM syndrome scores in the high， medium， low-dose， and control groups were 88.89% （24/27）， 81.48% （22/27）， 71.43% （20/28）， and 46.43% （13/28）， respectively. The efficacy of TCM syndrome scores in the high and medium-dose groups was significantly higher than in the control group （χ²=14.053， P<0.01）. Compared with pre-treatment values， there was no statistically significant difference in eGFR and serum creatinine in the high and medium-dose groups. However， eGFR significantly decreased in the low-dose and control groups after treatment （P<0.05）， and serum creatinine levels increased significantly in the control group （P<0.05）. No statistically significant differences were observed in urea nitrogen， uric acid， albumin， total cholesterol， triglycerides， liver function， and blood routine before and after treatment in any group. ConclusionThere is a dose-effect relationship in the treatment of IgA nephropathy with high， medium， and low doses of raw Astragali Radix in MHCD. The high-dose group exhibited the best therapeutic effect and good safety profile.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the research on NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitors in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The NLRP3 inflammasome is integral to the innate immune response, and its abnormal activation can lead to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine, consequently facilitating the progression of various pathological conditions. Therefore, investigating the pharmacological inhibition pathway of the NLRP3 inflammasome represents a promising strategy for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has not approved drugs targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome for clinical use due to concerns regarding liver toxicity and gastrointestinal side effects associated with chemical small molecule inhibitors in clinical trials. Natural small molecule compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and alkaloids are ubiquitously found in animals, plants, and other natural substances exhibiting pharmacological activities. Their abundant sources, intricate and diverse structures, high biocompatibility, minimal adverse reactions, and superior biochemical potency in comparison to synthetic compounds have attracted the attention of extensive scholars. Currently, certain natural small molecule compounds have been demonstrated to impede the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome via various action mechanisms, so they are viewed as the innovative, feasible, and minimally toxic therapeutic agents for inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the treatment of both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Hence, this study systematically examined the effects and potential mechanisms of natural small molecule compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine on the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes at their initiation, assembly, and activation stages. The objection is to furnish theoretical support and practical guidance for the effective clinical application of these natural small molecule inhibitors.
NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Biological Products/therapeutic use* ; Drug Discovery ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the variability of bone metabolism levels among different populations and its association with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain. METHODS: A total of 50 people (control group) who participated in physical examination from January 2023 to June 2023 were selected, including 26 males and 24 females, wtih a mean aged of (52.14±9.04) years old ranging 41 to 65 years old. The other 50 patients with knee osteoarthritis(case group) who attended the outpatient clinic of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department in the same time period, including 19 males and 31 females, with a mean age of (53.60±7.76) years old ranging 40 to 65 years. The two groups of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC) and bone metabolism markers, such as 25-hydroxy-cholecalciferol[25(OH)D], β-isomerized typeⅠcollagen C-telopeptide breakdown products (β-CTX), total typeⅠprocollagen N-terminal propeptide (t-PINP), osteocalcin (OC), parathormone (PTH) levels were compared. Pearson correlation analysis was used to compare the correlation between two groups of bone metabolism related markers and WOMAC. RESULTS: The WOMAC score of the case group (39.90±2.34) was higher than that of the control group (3.60±0.57), with significant difference (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups of 25 (OH)D, β-CTX and PTH (P>0.05). The t-PINP and OC of the case group were (62.90±52.40) and (19.88±10.15) ng·ml-1, respectively, and those of the control group were (38.86±10.82) and (14.90±3.62) ng·ml^-1, respectively;the t-PINP and OC of the case group were higher than those of the control group, with significant difference (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that t-PINP was positively correlated with WOMAC pain score in the case group (r²=0.045, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Bone metabolism levels in the serum of patients with knee osteoarthritis are different from those of healthy people, and the difference between OC and t-PINP is the most obvious, and the concentration of t-PINP levels is positively correlated with pain symptoms in patients with KOA. However, the specific mechanism of correlation between the bone metabolism levels of patients with KOA and their pain symptoms needs to be further elucidated by basic experimental research as well as by enlarging the samples.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/metabolism* ; Aged ; Adult ; Bone and Bones/metabolism* ; Pain/etiology* ; Biomarkers/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of single-balloon and double-balloon enteroscopy in diagnosing pediatric small bowel diseases and assess the diagnostic efficacy of computed tomography enterography (CTE) for small bowel diseases using enteroscopy as the reference standard. METHODS: Clinical data from 576 children who underwent enteroscopy at Hunan Children's Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023 were retrospectively collected. The children were categorized based on enteroscopy type into the single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) group (n=457) and double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) group (n=119), and the clinical data were compared between the two groups. The sensitivity and specificity of CTE for diagnosing small bowel diseases were evaluated using enteroscopy results as the standard. RESULTS: Among the 576 children, small bowel lesions were detected by enteroscopy in 274 children (47.6%).There was no significant difference in lesion detection rates or complication rates between the SBE and DBE groups (P>0.05), but the DBE group had deeper insertion, longer procedure time, and higher complete small bowel examination rate (P<0.05). The complication rate during enteroscopy was 4.3% (25/576), with 18 cases (3.1%) of mild complications and 7 cases (1.2%) of severe complications, which improved with symptomatic treatment, surgical, or endoscopic intervention. Among the 412 children who underwent CTE, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases were 44.4% and 71.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS SBE and DBE have similar diagnostic efficacy for pediatric small bowel diseases, but DBE is preferred for suspected deep small bowel lesions and comprehensive small bowel examination. Enteroscopy in children demonstrates relatively good overall safety. CTE demonstrates relatively low sensitivity but comparatively high specificity for diagnosing small bowel diseases.
Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Single-Balloon Enteroscopy/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Operative Time ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/statistics & numerical data* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Intestine, Small/surgery* ; Intestinal Diseases/surgery*

OBJECTIVES: Global epidemiological data indicate that 20% to 30% of intensive care unit (ICU) sepsis patients progress to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) due to coagulopathy, with an associated mortality rate of 25% to 40%. Existing prognostic tools have limitations. This study aims to develop and validate nomogram and machine learning models to predict in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients with DVT and assess their clinical applicability. METHODS: This multicenter retrospective study drew on data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV; n=2 235), the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD; n=1 274), and the Patient Admission Dataset from the ICU of Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU-XYS-ICU; n=107). MIMIC-IV was split into a training set (n=1 584) and internal validation set (n=651), with the remaining datasets used for external validation. Predictors were selected via least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and a nomogram model was constructed. An extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm was used to build the machine learning model. Model performance was assessed by the concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, Brier score, decision curve analysis (DCA), and net reclassification improvement index (NRI). RESULTS: Five key predictors, age [odds ratio (OR)=1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03, P<0.001], minimum activated partial thromboplastin (APTT; OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.11, P<0.001), maximum APTT (OR=1.01, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.01, P<0.001), maximum lactate (OR=1.56, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.75, P<0.001), and maximum serum creatinine (OR=2.03, 95% CI 1.79 to 2.30, P<0.001), were included in the nomogram. The model showed robust performance in internal validation (C-index=0.845, 95% CI 0.811 to 0.879) and external validation (eICU-CRD: C-index=0.827, 95% CI 0.800 to 0.854; CSU-XYS-ICU: C-index=0.779, 95% CI 0.687 to 0.871). Calibration curves indicated good agreement between predicted and observed outcomes (Brier score<0.25), and DCA confirmed clinical benefit. The XGBoost model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.982 (95% CI 0.969 to 0.985) in the training set, but performance declined in external validation (eICU-CRD, AUC=0.825, 95% CI 0.817 to 0.861; CSU-XYS-ICU, AUC=0.766, 95% CI 0.700 to 0.873), though it remained above clinical thresholds. Net reclassification improvement was slightly lower for XGBoost compared with the nomogram (NRI=0.58). CONCLUSIONS Both the nomogram and XGBoost models effectively predict in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients with DVT. However, the nomogram offers superior generalizability and clinical usability. Its visual scoring system provides a quantitative tool for identifying high-risk patients and implementing individualized interventions.
Humans ; Sepsis/complications* ; Machine Learning ; Nomograms ; Venous Thrombosis/complications* ; Retrospective Studies ; Hospital Mortality ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Intensive Care Units ; Prognosis ; Bayes Theorem

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common respiratory emergency, but current clinical treatment remains at the level of symptomatic support and there is a lack of effective targeted treatment measures. Our previous study confirmed that inhalation of hydrogen gas can reduce the acute lung injury of ARDS, but the application of hydrogen has flammable and explosive safety concerns. Drinking hydrogen-rich liquid or inhaling hydrogen gas has been shown to play an important role in scavenging reactive oxygen species and maintaining mitochondrial quality control balance, thus improving ARDS in patients and animal models. Coral calcium hydrogenation (CCH) is a new solid molecular hydrogen carrier prepared from coral calcium (CC). Whether and how CCH affects acute lung injury in ARDS remains unstudied. In this study, we observed the therapeutic effect of CCH on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury in ARDS mice. The survival rate of mice treated with CCH and hydrogen inhalation was found to be comparable, demonstrating a significant improvement compared to the untreated ARDS model group. CCH treatment significantly reduced pulmonary hemorrhage and edema, and improved pulmonary function and local microcirculation in ARDS mice. CCH promoted mitochondrial peripheral division in the early course of ARDS by activating mitochondrial thioredoxin 2 (Trx2), improved lung mitochondrial dysfunction induced by LPS, and reduced oxidative stress damage. The results indicate that CCH is a highly efficient hydrogen-rich agent that can attenuate acute lung injury of ARDS by improving the mitochondrial function through Trx2 activation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Objective To investigate the association between body mass index(BMI),sex hormone and single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor(FSHR)gene rs2268361 and rs2349415 and its correlation with the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).Methods Peripheral blood was collected from 213 PCOS patients and 207 healthy controls,attending the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University,and 32 follicular fluids were randomly collected from each of the PCOS and control groups from March to August 2021.Calculation of BMI of the PCOS and control groups;The levels of follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH),estradiol(E2),testosterone(T),progesterone(P)and prolactin(PRL)in peripheral blood of the two groups were detected by immunochemiluminescence method.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and high-resolution melting curve(HRM)were used to analyze the polymorphisms of rs2268361 and rs2349415 in FSHR of the two groups.Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of FSHR gene mRNA in peripheral blood and ovarian granulosa cells.Results There was a strong positive correlation between LH and LH/FSH(r=0.88,P<0.05);The levels of BMI,E2,LH,LH/FSH and T in PCOS group were significantly higher than those in control group(P<0.05);FSH level was significantly lower than that of control group(P<0.001).HRM analysis showed the frequencies of CC,CT and TT genotypes at rs2349415 were 55.9%,34.3%and 9.8%in PCOS group and 68.6%,23.2%and 8.2%in control group,respectively.The frequencies of C and T alleles were 73.0%and 27.0%in PCOS group and 80.2%and 19.8%in control group,respectively.There were significant differences in genotype frequencies and allele frequencies between the two groups(P<0.05);The expression level of FSHR mRNA was higher in ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS group than in control group(P=0.004),the expression level of FSHR mRNA in rs2349415 TT genotype was higher than that in CC(P=0.002)and CT(P=0.035)genotype.Conclusion High levels of BMI, LH, E2 and T allele of rs2349415 increased the risk of PCOS.