Objective: Data on syncopal donation-related vasovagal reaction (DRVR) collected from 74 blood centers between 2020 and 2023 was statistically analyzed to provide a reference for developing preventive strategies against syncopal DRVR. Methods: Data on blood donation adverse reactions and basic information of donors from 2020 to 2023 were collected through the information management system at monitoring sentinel sites. Statistical analysis was performed on the following aspects of syncopal DRVR: characteristics of donors who experienced syncope, reported incidence, triggers, duration, presence and occurrence time of syncope-related trauma, clinical management including outpatient and inpatient treatment, and severity grading. Results: From 2020 to 2023, 45 966 donation-related adverse reactions were recorded. Of these, 1 665 (3.72%) cases were syncopal DRVR. The incidence of syncopal DRVR decreased with age, being the highest in the 18-22 age group. Incidence was significantly higher in female donors than male donors, in first-time donors than repeat donors, and in university and individual donors than group donors (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference among different blood donation locations (P>0.05). The top three triggers were tension, fatigue, and needle phobia or fear of blood. Among syncopal DRVR cases, 60.36% occurred during blood collection, 87.63% lasted for less than 60 seconds, and 5.05% were accompanied by trauma. Notably, 57.14% of these traumas occurred after donor had left the blood collection site. Syncope severity was graded based on required treatment: grade 1 (fully recovered without treatment, 95.50%); grade 2 (recovered after outpatient treatment, 4.02%); and grade 3 (recovered after inpatient treatment, 0.48%). Conclusion: By analyzing the data of syncopal DRVR cases, it is possible to provide a reference for formulating blood donor safety policies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Yangxue Qingnao Pills (YXQNP) combined with amlodipine in treating patients with grade 1 hypertension. METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Adult patients with grade 1 hypertension of blood deficiency and Gan (Liver)-yang hyperactivity syndrome were randomly divided into the treatment or the control groups at a 1:1 ratio. The treatment group received YXQNP and amlodipine besylate, while the control group received YXQNP's placebo and amlodipine besylate. The treatment duration lasted for 180 days. Outcomes assessed included changes in blood pressure, Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome scores, symptoms and target organ functions before and after treatment in both groups. Additionally, adverse events, such as nausea, vomiting, rash, itching, and diarrhea, were recorded in both groups. RESULTS: A total of 662 subjects were enrolled, of whom 608 (91.8%) completed the trial (306 in the treatment and 302 in the control groups). After 180 days of treatment, the standard deviations and coefficients of variation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels were lower in the treatment group compared with the control group. The improvement rates of dizziness, headache, insomnia, and waist soreness were significantly higher in the treatment group compared with the control group (P<0.05). After 30 days of treatment, the overall therapeutic effects on CM clinical syndromes were significantly increased in the treatment group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). After 180 days of treatment, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, ankle brachial index and albumin-to-creatinine ratio were improved in both groups, with no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). No serious treatment-related adverse events occurred during the study period. CONCLUSIONS Combination therapy of YXQNP with amlodipine significantly improved symptoms such as dizziness and headache, reduced blood pressure variability, and showed a trend toward lowering urinary microalbumin in hypertensive patients. These findings suggest that this regimen has good clinical efficacy and safety. (Registration No. ChiCTR1900022470).
Humans ; Amlodipine/adverse effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Hypertension/complications* ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Adult ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Double-Blind Method ; Aged ; Antihypertensive Agents/adverse effects*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effects of gentiopicroside (GPS) against reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in endothelial cells, aiming to reduce atherosclerosis. METHODS: Eight-week-old male ApoE-deficient mice were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=10 per group): the vehicle group and the GPS treatment group. Both groups were fed a high-fat diet for 16 weeks. GPS (40 mg/kg per day) was administered by oral gavage to the GPS group, while the vehicle group received an equivalent volume of the vehicle solution. At the end of the treatment, blood and aortic tissues were collected for assessments of atherosclerosis, lipid profiles, oxidative stress, and molecular expressions related to NLRP3 inflammasome activation, ROS production, and apoptosis. Additionally, in vitro experiments on human aortic endothelial cells treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) were conducted to evaluate the effects of GPS on NLRP3 inflammasome activation, pyroptosis, apoptosis, and ROS production, specifically examining the role of the sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway. SIRT1 and Nrf2 inhibitors were used to confirm the pathway's role. RESULTS: GPS treatment significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesions in the en face aorta (P<0.01), as well as in the thoracic and abdominal aortic regions, and markedly decreased sinus lesions within the aortic root (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Additionally, GPS reduced oxidative stress markers and proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1 β and IL-18, in lesion areas (P<0.05, P<0.01). In vitro, GPS inhibited ox-LDL-induced NLRP3 activation, as evidenced by reduced NLRP3 (P<0.01), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD, cleaved-caspase-1, and cleaved-gasdermin D expressions (all P<0.01). GPS also decreased ROS production, apoptosis, and pyroptosis, with the beneficial effects being significantly reversed by SIRT1 or Nrf2 inhibitors. CONCLUSION GPS exerts an antiatherogenic effect by inhibiting ROS-dependent NLRP3 inflammasome activation via the SIRT1/Nrf2 pathway.
NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Iridoid Glucosides/therapeutic use* ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism* ; Animals ; Atherosclerosis/metabolism* ; Inflammasomes/drug effects* ; Male ; Sirtuin 1/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Humans ; Endothelial Cells/pathology* ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a life-threatening gastrointestinal disorder for which no effective pharmacological treatments are currently available. One of the pharmacological targets that merits further research is the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), which is found on pancreatic acinar cells and responds to the neuropeptide substance P (SP) that participates in AP. Although a few studies have stated the involvement of SP/NK1R in neurogenic inflammation in AP development, the regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we found that following activation of NK1R by SP, β-arrestin1, a scaffold protein of NK1R, down-regulated transcription of Adss, Adsl, and Ampd in the purine nucleotide cycle, thereby inhibiting mitochondrial function through fumarate depletion. Interestingly, we identified magnolol as a new and natural NK1R inhibitor with a non-nitrogenous biphenyl core structure. It exhibited a beneficial effect on AP by restoring purine nucleotide cycle metabolic enzymes and fumarate levels. Our study not only provides new therapeutic strategies, leading compounds, and drug translation possibilities for AP, but also provides important clues for the study of downstream mechanisms driven by SP in other diseases.

Ovarian tumor (OT) is the most lethal form of gynecologic malignancy, with minimal improvements in patient outcomes over the past several decades. Metastasis is the leading cause of ovarian cancer-related deaths, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Psychological stress is known to activate the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), a factor associated with poor prognosis in OT patients. However, the precise mechanisms linking NR3C1 signaling and metastasis have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic restraint stress accelerates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis in OT through an NR3C1-dependent mechanism involving nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1). Mechanistically, NR3C1 directly regulates the transcription of NUPR1, which in turn increases the expression of snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (SNAI2), a key driver of EMT. Clinically, elevated NR3C1 positively correlates with NUPR1 expression in OT patients, and both are positively associated with poorer prognosis. Overall, our study identified the NR3C1/NUPR1 axis as a critical regulatory pathway in psychological stress-induced OT metastasis, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for intervention in OT metastasis.

Exploring the risk "time interval window" of sequential medication of Reduning injection (RDN) and penicillin G injection (PG) by detecting the correlation between serum biochemical indexes and plasma metabonomic characteristics, in order to reduce the risk of adverse reactions caused by the combination of RDN and PG. All animal experiments and welfare are in accordance with the requirements of the First Affiliated Experimental Animal Ethics and Animal Welfare Committee of Henan University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: YFYDW2020002). The changes of biochemical indexes in serum of rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. It was determined that RDN combined with PG could cause pseudo-allergic reactions (PARs) activated by complement pathway. Further investigation was carried out at different time intervals (1.5, 2, 3.5, 4, 6, and 8 h PG+RDN). It was found that sequential administration within 3.5 h could cause significant PARs. However, PARs were significantly reduced after administration interval of more than 4 h. LC-MS was used for plasma metabolomics analysis, and the levels of serum biochemical indicators and plasma metabolic profile characteristics were compared in parallel. 22 differential metabolites showed similar or opposite trends to biochemical indicators before and after 3.5 h. And enriched to 10 PARs-related pathways such as arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism. In conclusion, there is a risk "time interval window" phenomenon in the adverse drug reactions caused by the sequential use of RDN and PG, and the interval medication after the "time interval window" can significantly reduce the risk of adverse reactions.

MXenes is an emerging two-dimensional (2D) material, which was composed of layered transition metal carbides and/or nitrides, have attracted enormous attention in the past decade since their innovative discovery by Gogotsi and Barsoum in 2011. The general formula of MXenes is M_n+1X_nT_x (n=1-4), where M represents transition metal elements (such as Ti, Nb, Ta, etc.), X represents carbon and/or nitrogen, and T_x represents surface terminations (such as —OH, —F, =O, etc.). In recent years, MXenes have been widely applied in the biological field due to their high biocompatibility, abundant surface groups, good conductivity and photothermal properties. Due to the strong absorption of laser in the near infrared region, strong X-ray attenuation ability and surface easily modified by various molecules or nanoparticles, MXenes have been used as photothermal agents and contrast agents in the tumor therapy and tumor diagnosis. This paper reviews the application of MXenes and MXenes-based composites in tumor therapy and active targeting tumor therapy. According to the modal of action on tumor cells, it was divided into monotherapy, bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy. Among them, the monotherapy mainly used the photothermal properties of MXenes for photothermal therapy, studies have found that MXenes QDs can be used for chemodynamic therapy. In addition, sonodynamic therapy can also be achieved by loading the sonosensitizers on the surface of MXenes. Bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy are mainly used to load anticancer drugs, photosensitizers, metal particles and other substances on the surface of MXenes to achieve combination therapy. In contrast to the limited treatment efficacy and possible side effects arising from monotherapy, the development of bimodal therapy and trimodal therapy may harbor the collective merits of respective individual treatments and give rise to much higher anticancer efficacy at lower dosage of therapeutic agents administered, thus avoiding high-dose-induced side effects. The combined use of multiple treatments displayed superior advantages over monotherapy in producing an improved therapy outcome. According to the modal of entry into tumor cells, it was divided into passive targeting and active targeting. Active targeting therapy was mainly divided into homologous targeting therapy and targeting agents targeting therapy. The strategy of homologous targeting therapy was to coat MXenes with tumor cell membrane and increased the uptake of MXenes by tumor cells. Targeting agents targeting therapy used targeting agents to specifically bind to the receptors on the surface of tumor cells, subsequently, the precise uptake of MXenes by tumor cells was achieved. Finally, the current challenges and future development trends of MXenes in preparation technology and tumor therapy are discussed.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in promoting recovery of the facial function with the involvement of autophagy, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. METHODS: Seventy-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into the control, sham-operated, facial nerve injury (FNI), EA, EA+3-methyladenine (3-MA), and EA+GDNF antagonist groups using a random number table, with 12 rats in each group. An FNI rat model was established with facial nerve crushing method. EA intervention was conducted at Dicang (ST 4), Jiache (ST 6), Yifeng (SJ 17), and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints for 2 weeks. The Simone's 10-Point Scale was utilized to monitor the recovery of facial function. The histopathological evaluation of facial nerves was performed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The levels of Beclin-1, light chain 3 (LC3), and P62 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Additionally, IHC was also used to detect the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR. RESULTS: The facial functional scores were significantly increased in the EA group than the FNI group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). HE staining showed nerve axons and myelin sheaths, which were destroyed immediately after the injury, were recovered with EA treatment. The expressions of Beclin-1 and LC3 were significantly elevated and the expression of P62 was markedly reduced in FNI rats (P<0.01); however, EA treatment reversed these abnormal changes (P<0.01). Meanwhile, EA stimulation significantly increased the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR (P<0.01). After exogenous administration with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA or GDNF antagonist, the repair effect of EA on facial function was attenuated (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS EA could promote the recovery of facial function and repair the facial nerve damages in a rat model of FNI. EA may exert this neuroreparative effect through mediating the release of GDNF, activating the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway, and further regulating the autophagy of facial nerves.
Rats ; Male ; Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Electroacupuncture ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/metabolism* ; Facial Nerve Injuries/therapy* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Beclin-1 ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Autophagy ; Mammals/metabolism*

Based on the strategy of metabolomics combined with bioinformatics, this study analyzed the potential allergens and mechanism of pseudo-allergic reactions (PARs) induced by the combined use of Reduning injection and penicillin G injection. All animal experiments and welfare are in accordance with the requirements of the First Affiliated Experimental Animal Ethics and Animal Welfare Committee of Henan University of Chinese Medicine (approval number: YFYDW2020002). Based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology combined with UNIFI software, a total of 21 compounds were identified in Reduning and penicillin G mixed injection. Based on molecular docking technology, 10 potential allergens with strong binding activity to MrgprX2 agonist sites were further screened. Metabolomics analysis using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS technology revealed that 34 differential metabolites such as arachidonic acid, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes were endogenous differential metabolites of PARs caused by combined use of Reduning injection and penicillin G injection. Through the analysis of the "potential allergen-target-endogenous differential metabolite" interaction network, the chlorogenic acids (such as chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, and isochlorogenic acid A) and β-lactam allergens in the combination of the two may be mainly regulated by PLD1, PLA2G12A and CYP1A1. The three upstream signal target proteins mainly activate the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway, promote the degranulation of mast cells, release downstream endogenous inflammatory mediators, and induce PARs.

Refractory prolactinoma is the most common pituitary neuroendocrine tumor.Dopamine receptor agonists(DA)are the primary choice for drug treatment.Most patients with prolactinomas respond well to DA.However,a minority of prolactinomas patients still show resistance to DA.Although drug-resistant and refractory prolactinomas are rare in clinical practice,their treatment is extremely challenging.Even a combination of drug therapy,multiple surgeries,and radiotherapy may not yield satisfactory outcomes.Therefore,standardizing the diagnosis and treatment process and pathway for refractory prolactionmas and exploring more effective multidisciplinary collaborative treatment strategies are urgent problems to be solved.In the clinical management of refractory prolactinomas,it is often necessary to consider the patient's condition comprehensively,replace other types of DA,or consider surgery,radiotherapy,and immunotherapy,which requires multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment.This review synthesizes the latest literature at home and abroad to systematically discuss the latest advances in drug therapy,surgery,and radiotherapy treatments for refractory prolactionmas,aiming to provide new ideas for basic research,clinical diagnosis and treatment.