BACKGROUND: The beneficial effects of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on adverse cardiac outcomes in diabetic patients are well-established. However, the effects of SGLT2i against cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity remain understudied. We investigated the association between SGLT2i and cardiac outcomes in cancer patients. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from their inception until September 30, 2024 for studies evaluating the effects of SGLT2i in patients with cancer. The primary outcomes included incident heart failure (HF), HF exacerbation, HF hospitalization, atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (AF/AFL), myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality. The secondary outcomes included acute kidney injury and sepsis. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI was pooled. RESULTS: Thirteen studies with 85,596 patients were included. Compared to non-SGLT2i use, SGLT2i treatment was associated with lower risks of incident HF (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.32-0.79, P = 0.003), HF exacerbation (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63-0.87, P < 0.001), AF/AFL (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.55-0.82, P < 0.001), myocardial infarction (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.41-0.90, P = 0.01), and all-cause mortality (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.28-0.69, P < 0.001), but not for HF hospitalization (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.22-1.55, P = 0.28). As for safety outcomes, SGLT2i use was associated with lower risks of acute kidney injury (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.57-0.81, P < 0.001) and sepsis (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.23-0.44, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS SGLT2i were associated with lower risks of incident HF, HF exacerbation, AF/AFL, myocardial infarction, all-cause mortality, acute kidney injury, and sepsis in cancer patients.

Objective: To analyze the change trends in the body shape indicators and proportions of students in Harbin from 2010 to 2024, and to investigate ergonomic compatibility of functional dimensions of school desks and chairs with current student shape indicators, so as to provide a reference for revising furniture standards of desks and chairs. Methods: Between September and November of both 2010 and 2024, a combination of convenience sampling and stratified cluster random sampling was conducted across three districts in Harbin, yielding samples of 6 590 and 6 252 students, respectively. Anthropometric shape indicators cluding height, sitting height, crus length, and thigh length-and their proportional changes were compared over the 15-year period. The 2024 data were compared with current standard functional dimensions of school furniture. The statistical analysis incorporated t-test and Mann-Whitney U- test. Results: From 2010 to 2024, average height increased by 1.8 cm for boys and 1.5 cm for girls; sitting height increased by 1.5 cm for both genders; crus length increased by 0.3 cm for boys and 0.4 cm for girls; and thigh length increased by 0.5 cm for both genders. The ratios of sitting height to height, and sitting height to leg length increased by less than 0.1 . The difference between desk chair height and 1/3 sitting height ranged from 0.4-0.8 cm. Among students matched with size 0 desks and chairs, 22.0% had a desk to chair height difference less than 0, indicating that the desk to chair height difference might be insufficient for taller students. The differences between seat height and fibular height ranged from -1.4 to 1.1 cm; and the differences between seat depth and buttock popliteal length ranged from -9.8 to 3.4 cm. Among obese students, the differences between seat width and 1/2 hip circumference ranged from -20.5 to -8.7 cm, while it ranged from -12.2 to -3.8 cm among non obese students. Conclusion Current furniture standards basically satisfy hygienic requirements; however, in the case of exceptionally tall and obese students, ergonomic accommodations such as adaptive seating allocation or personalized adjustments are recommended to meet hygienic requirements.

OBJECTIVE: Varied acupoint selections represent a potential cause of the uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Skin temperature, a guiding factor for acupoint selection, may help to address this issue. This study explored thermal sensitization of acupoints used for the treatment of knee OA. METHODS: This cross-sectional case-control study enrolled cases aged 45-75 years with symptomatic knee OA and age- and gender-matched non-knee OA controls in a 1:1 ratio. All participants underwent infrared thermographic imaging. The primary outcome was the relative skin temperature of acupoint (STA), and the secondary outcome was the absolute STA of 11 acupoints. The Z test was used to compare the relative and absolute STAs between the groups. Principal component analysis was used to extract the common factors (CFs, acupoint cluster) in the STAs. A general linear model was used to identify factors affecting the STA in the knee OA cases. For the group comparisons of relative STA, P < 0.0045 (adjusted for 11 acupoints through Bonferroni correction) was considered to indicate statistical significance. For other analyses, P < 0.05 was used as the threshold for statistical significance. RESULTS: The analysis included 308 participants, consisting of 151 cases (mean age: [64.58 ± 6.67] years; male: 25.83%; mean body mass index: [25.70 ± 3.16] kg/m²) and 157 controls (mean age: [63.37 ± 5.96] years; male: 26.11%; mean body mass index: [24.47 ± 2.84] kg/m²). The relative STAs of ST34 (P = 0.0001), EX-LE2 (P < 0.0001), EX-LE5 (P = 0.0006), SP10 (P < 0.0001), BL40 (P = 0.0012) and GB39 (P = 0.0037) were higher in the knee OA group. No difference was found in the STAs of ST35, ST36, SP9, GB33 and GB34. Four CFs were identified for relative STA in both groups. The acupoints within each CF were consistent between the groups. The mean values of the relative STAs across each CF were higher in the knee OA group. In the knee OA cases, no factors were observed to affect the relative STA, while age and gender were found to affect the absolute STA. CONCLUSION Among patients with knee OA, thermal sensitization occurs in the acupoints of the lower extremity, exhibiting localized and regional thermal consistencies. The thermally sensitized acupoints that we identified in this study, ST34, SP10, EX-LE2, EX-LE5, GB39 and BL40, may be good choices for the acupuncture treatment of knee OA. Please cite this article as: Tu JF, Wang XZ, Yan SY, Wang YR, Yang JW, Shi GX, Zhang WZ, Jing LN, Yang LS, Liu DH, Wang LQ, Mi BH. Thermal sensitization of acupoints in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A cross-sectional case-control study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 289-296.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology* ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Acupuncture Points ; Case-Control Studies ; Aged ; Skin Temperature ; Acupuncture Therapy

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of lumbar spondylolysis (LS) and the proportion of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis (SS) in China, and to evaluate the musculoskeletal status of patients with LS and SS. METHODS: Spine Computed Tomography (CT) images were collected from community populations aged 40 and above in a nationwide multi-center project. LS was diagnosed, and SS was graded by an experienced radiologist. Bone mineral density (BMD) and paraspinal muscle parameters were quantified based on CT images. RESULTS: One hundred and seventeen patients of a total of 3,317 individuals were diagnosed with LS, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 3.53%. 63 of the 1,214 males (5.18%) and 54 of the 2,103 females (2.57%) were diagnosed with LS. SS occurred in 64/121 vertebrae (52.89%). BMD was not associated with LS ( P = 0.341). The L5 extensor paraspinal muscle density was higher in the LS group than in the non-LS group. In the LS group, patients with SS had a smaller L5 paraspinal extensor muscle cross-sectional area than those without SS ( P = 0.003). CONCLUSION The prevalence of LS in Chinese adults was 3.53%, with prevalence rates of 5.18% in males and 2.57% in females. Patients with LS have higher muscle density, whereas those with SS have smaller muscle cross-sectional areas at the L5 level.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Adult ; Lumbar Vertebrae/diagnostic imaging* ; Spondylolysis/diagnostic imaging* ; Aged ; Bone Density ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Aged, 80 and over ; Spondylolisthesis/epidemiology* ; East Asian People

Medical institutions, with their clinical practice foundation and abundant human use experience data, have become important carriers for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and the "cradles" of the preparation of new TCM. To effectively promote the transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and establish an effective evaluation index system for the transformation of new TCM conforming to the characteristics of TCM, consensus experts adopted the literature research, questionnaire survey, Delphi method, etc. By focusing on the policy and technical evaluation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions, a comprehensive evaluation from the dimensions of drug safety, efficacy, feasibility, and characteristic advantages was conducted, thus forming a comprehensive evaluation system with four primary indicators and 37 secondary indicators. The expert consensus reached aims to encourage medical institutions at all levels to continuously improve the high-quality research and development and transformation of new TCM originating from the TCM clinical practice in medical institutions and targeted at clinical needs, so as to provide a decision-making basis for the preparation, selection, cultivation, and transformation of new TCM for medical institutions, improve the development efficiency of new TCM, and precisely respond to the public medication needs.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Body weight abnormalities, including overweight, obesity, and underweight, have become a dual public health challenge in Chinese adults: overweight and obesity lead to a variety of chronic complications, while underweight increases the risks of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and organ dysfunction. To systematically address these issues, multidisciplinary experts in endocrinology, sports science, nutrition, and psychiatry from various regions have held multiple weight management seminars. Based on the latest epidemiological data and clinical evidence, they expanded the guideline to include assessment and intervention strategies for underweight, in addition to the core content of obesity management. This guideline outlines the etiological mechanisms, evaluation methods, and multidimensional management strategies for overweight and obesity, covering key areas such as diagnosis and assessment, medical nutrition therapy, exercise prescription, pharmacological intervention, and psychological support. It is intended to provide a scientific and standardized approach to weight management across the adult population, aiming to curb the rising prevalence of obesity, mitigate complications associated with abnormal body weight, and improve nutritional status and overall quality of life.

Turning to critical illness is a common stage of various diseases and injuries before death. Patients usually have complex health conditions, while the treatment process involves a wide range of content, along with high requirements for doctor′s professionalism and multi-specialty teamwork, as well as a great demand for time-sensitive treatments. However, this is not matched with critical care professionals and the current state of medical care in China. Telemedicine, which shortens the distance of medical professionals and the gap of disease diagnosis and treatments in various regions through electronic information, can effectively solve the current problem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a standardized, high-quality visualization telemedicine round system .Therefore, experts have been organized to search domestic and foreign literature on telemedicine round for critically ill patients and to form this consensus based on clinical experiences so as to further improve the level of critical care treatments in regions.

This study investigated the association between a proximal promoter polymorphism of IFNGR1 (interferon-γ receptor α chain, IFNGR-α) and breast cancer susceptibility, as well as the prognostic value of its expression variation in breast cancer patients. A case-control study was conducted at the Sixth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from June 2020 to June 2022. The study included 182 pathologically confirmed breast cancer patients as the breast cancer group, 177 non-tumor patients with benign breast lesions as the benign breast lesions group, and 229 healthy individuals as the normal control group. 2-3 ml EDTA anticoagulant whole blood samples were collected from all participants, and genomic DNA was extracted and stored for further analysis. Basic patient information was retrieved from the hospital′s electronic medical records by patients′ ID number. The proximal promoter sequence of IFNGR1 was obtained from NCBI, and sequencing primers were designed using Primer Premier 6.0. Sanger sequencing was employed to analyze the IFNGR1 promoter sequence in the three groups, and the results were compared with the Eukaryotic Promoter Database (EPD) sequence using Bioedit software. Statistical analysis was performed on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IFNGR1 promoter. The TCGA database was utilized to assess the relationship between IFNGR1 expression levels and breast cancer patient survival. The findings revealed that the -56 TG genotype of the IFNGR1 promoter was significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk ( Z=2.73, P<0.05). Notably, IFNGR1 expression was lower in breast cancer group compared to normal control group ( P<0.05). Analysis of the TCGA database indicated that patients with high IFNGR1 expression had longer survival times than those with low expression ( HR=0.87, 95% CI:0.77-0.98, P<0.05). In summary, the IFNGR1 -56 TG genotype is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and there is a positive correlation between IFNGR1 expression levels and the survival of breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE To explore the expression level of miR-196a in cervical cells infected with high-risk human papillomavirus(HPV)16 and 18.METHODS The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)was used to screen for dif-ferentially expressed miRNAs between HPV 16 or 18-positive cervical cancer cells and normal cervical cells.On-line biological software https://kmplot.com/analysis/was utilized to analyze the relationship between the most differentially expressed miRNA and the overall survival of cervical cancer patients.Cervical swab samples positive for HPV 16 or HPV 18,detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)genoty-ping,were collected as the study subjects.Cervical swab samples from the same period of physical examination population that were negative for HPV 16 or HPV 18 by qPCR genotyping served as negative controls.The qRT-PCR method was employed to detect the level of miR-196a in cervical cells,with data processed via the 2-△△Ctmethod.RESULTS Differential analysis of the GSE86100 data revealed that miR-196a expression de-creased in HPV 16 or HPV 18-positive cervical cells(log2FC=-6.60,P＜0.001),while miR-3188 expression significantly increased(log2FC=6.22,P＜0.001).Using online analysis tools https://kmplot.com/analysis,it was found that cervical cancer patients with high miR-196a expression had a shorter overall survival compared to those with low m iR-196a expression(HR=1.87,95％CI:1.17-3.00,P=0.008).H owever,there was no cor-relation between miR-3188 and the overall survival of cervical cancer patients(HR=1.47,95％CI:0.92-2.37,P=0.110).The results of specific qRT-PCR testing showed that the expression levels of miR-196a in cervical cells positive for HPV 16 and HPV 18 were 0.93±0.09 and 0.51±0.07,respectively,which were lower than those in the normal control group(1.89±0.13)(P＜0.05),consistent with the sequencing analysis results CONCLUSIONS Infection of cervical cells with HPV 16 or HPV 18 can lead to decreased expression of miR-196a,and the expres-sion level of miR-196a is negatively correlated with the overall survival of cervical cancer patients.