Objective: To analyze the status of Treponema pallidum (TP) infection among blood donors in Hefei area by evaluating anti-TP reactive donors, and to provide data support for blood screening strategies, evaluation of reagent application, and public health prevention and control strategies. Methods: TPPA confirmation test were performed on 338 anti-TP positive samples of voluntary blood donors at Anhui Blood Center from February to April 2022, July to October 2022, February to June 2023. RPR tests were conducted on samples positive for TPPA. The test results, co-reactivity of TP with HBV, HCV, and HIV, and demographic characteristics of the donors were statistically analyzed. Results: The unqualified rate of anti-TP among blood donors in Hefei area was 0.30% (405/133 587), and the positive rate for TPPA was 67.46% (228/338). Among the TPPA-positive donors, 31.67% were RPR-positive. The co-positive rates of HBV, HCV and HIV in anti-TP reactive blood donors were 0.74% (3/405), 0.49% (2/405), and 1.73% (7/405), respectively, with HIV copositivity being the most common. Most co-positive donors were males aged 31-50 years with a high school education or lower, and all were first-time whole blood donors. Conclusion: The anti-TP unqualified rate among blood donors in Hefei area is at a low-to-mederate level. HIV is the most common co-infection with TP among anti-TP positive donors. The majority of co-infected donors are middle-aged men donating whole blood for the first time.

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of the multidisciplinary team （MDT） management model in improving the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension. MethodsA total of 86 patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension who were admitted to Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital from May 2022 to July 2024 were enrolled， and according to whether the MDT treatment regimen was implemented， they were divided into execution group with 51 patients and non-execution group with 35 patients. Baseline clinical data were collected， and the patients were observed in terms of gastrointestinal bleeding， hepatic encephalopathy， liver cancer， and death from admission to the end of follow-up （January 2025）. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot survival curves for the cumulative incidence rates of endpoint events （gastrointestinal bleeding， hepatic encephalopathy， liver cancer， and death）， and the Log-rank test was used for comparison between groups. The Cox proportional-hazards regression model analysis was used to investigate the effect of MDT management on the prognosis of patients. ResultsThere were significant differences between the execution group and the non-execution group in diameter of the portal vein （t=1.216， P=0.017） and ascites （χ²=4.515， P=0.034） at baseline. The patients were followed up for 14.6±6.2 months， and the survival curve analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the cumulative incidence rate of gastrointestinal bleeding between the two groups （χ²=4.573， P=0.024）， while there were no significant differences in the incidence rates of other outcome events between the two groups （all P>0.05）. The Cox regression analysis showed that the execution group had a reduced risk of gastrointestinal bleeding （hazard ratio=0.262， 95% confidence interval： 0.110 — 0.630， P=0.003）. ConclusionImplementation of the MDT treatment regimen can significantly reduce the short-term risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension， while its long-term benefits require further follow-up verification.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the gene mutation characteristics and survival time of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) based on next-generation sequencing(NGS) gene detection. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 92 patients with AML (non APL) admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to May 2022. AML related genes tested were using NGS, the mutation characteristics and survival time of AML patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 92 patients, 41 were males and 51 were females. A total of 38 types of gene mutations were detected. Six-two patients carried at least one gere mutation, while no gene mutations were detected in 30 patients. In the group with favourable prognosis (n =14), the frequencies of higher gene mutations were NRAS, KIT (21.43%, n =3), KRAS (14.29%, n =2). In the group with intermediate prognosis (n =64), the gene mutation frequencies from high to low were DNMT3A (18.75%, n =12), NPM1 (17.19%, n =11), IDH2, FLT3-ITD, CEBPA (12.50%, n =8), TET2 (10.94%, n =7). In the poor prognosis group (n =14), ASXL1, TP53, EZH2, NRAS had higher gene mutation frequency than others(14.29 %, n =2 ). Statistical analysis revealed that KIT had a relative hotspot of mutations in the intermediate-risk group, and DNMT3A had a relative hotspot of mutations in the high-risk group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis of genes with high mutation rates in different prognostic groups, such as NRAS, KIT, IDH2, DNMT3A, NPM1, and FLT3-ITD, with prognosis found that KIT was a factor affecting OS (P < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed for the others(P >0.05). CONCLUSION The frequency of gene mutations is high in AML patients, 67.4% of the patients carried at least one gene mutation. The mutation frequency varies among different genes in patients with different karyotypes, and there are obvious dominant mutations. KIT and DNMT3A can be used as factors for evaluating the prognosis of AML.
Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics* ; Nucleophosmin ; Mutation ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Middle Aged ; DNA Methyltransferase 3A ; Adult ; Aged ; Survival Analysis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that sodium-glucose cotransporters-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors significantly improve major adverse cardiovascular events in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients, but the exact mechanism is unknown. Ferritinophagy is a special form of selective autophagy that participates in ferroptosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether ferritinophagy was activated during the occurrence of HFpEF, and whether canagliflozin (CANA) could inhibite ferritinophagy. METHODS: We reared Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats on a high-salt diet to construct a hypertensive HFpEF model, and simultaneously administered CANA intervention. Then we detected indicators related to ferritinophagy. RESULTS: The expression of nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4), as well as microtubule-associated proteins light chain 3 (LC3), Bcl-2 interacting protein 1 (Beclin-1) and p62, were upregulated in HFpEF rats, accompanied by the downregulation of ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), upregulation of mitochondrial iron transporter sideroflexin1 (SFXN1) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Above changes were diminished by CANA. CONCLUSION Ferritinophagy is activated in HFpEF rats and then inhibited by CANA, leading to HFpEF benefits. The inhibition of ferritinophagy could provide new prospective targets for the prevention and treatment of HFpEF, and provide new ideas for investigating the mechanism of cardiovascular benefit of SGLT2 inhibitors.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases in elderly men, the incidence of which gradually increases with age and leads to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used for the treatment of BPH in China and some other countries. To explore the molecular mechanisms of CHMs for BPH, we conducted a review based on peer-reviewed English-language publications in PubMed and Web of Science databases from inception to December 31, 2023. This article primarily reviewed 32 papers on the use of CHMs and its active compounds in the treatment of BPH, covering animal and cell experiments, and identified relevant mechanisms of action. The results suggest that the mechanisms of action of CHMs in treating BPH may involve the regulation of sex hormones, downregulation of cell growth factors, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects, inhibition of cell proliferation, and promotion of apoptosis. CHMs also exhibit α-blocker-like effects, with the potential to relax urethral smooth muscle and alleviate LUTS. Additionally, we also reviewed 4 clinical trials and meta-analyses of CHMs for the treatment of BPH patients, which provided initial evidence of the safety and effectiveness of CHMs treatment. CHMs treatment for BPH shows advantages as a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway therapy, which can mitigate the severity of the disease, improve LUTS, and may become a reliable treatment option in the future.
Prostatic Hyperplasia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Male ; Animals

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

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.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinically isolated Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021,and provide evidence for rational use of antimicrobial agents.Methods Data of H.influenzae and M.catarrhalis strains isolated from 2015 to 2021 in CHINET program were collected for analysis,and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion method or automated systems according to the uniform protocol of CHINET.The results were interpreted according to the CLSI breakpoints in 2022.Beta-lactamases was detected by using nitrocefin disk.Results From 2015 to 2021,a total of 43 642 strains of Haemophilus species were isolated,accounting for 2.91％of the total clinical isolates and 4.07％of Gram-negative bacteria in CHINET program.Among the 40 437 strains of H.influenzae,66.89％were isolated from children and 33.11％were isolated from adults.More than 90％of the H.influenzae strains were isolated from respiratory tract specimens.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 53.79％in H.influenzae strains.The H.influenzae strains isolated from children showed higher resistance rate than the strains isolated from adults.Overall,779 strains of H.influenzae did not produce β-lactamase but were resistant to ampicillin(BLNAR).Beta-lactamase-producing strains showed significantly higher resistance rates to these antimicrobial agents than the β-lactamase-nonproducing strains.Of the 16 191 M.catarrhalis strains,80.06％were isolated from children and 19.94％isolated from adults.M.catarrhalis strains were mostly susceptible to both amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefuroxime,evidenced by resistance rate lower than 2.0％.Conclusions The emergence of antibiotic-resistant H.influenzae due to β-lactamase production poses a challenge for clinical anti-infective treatment.Therefore,it is very important to implement antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae and guide rational antibiotic use.All local clinical microbiology laboratories should actively improve antibiotic susceptibility testing and strengthen antibiotic resistance surveillance for H.influenzae.

Objective To investigate the changing antibiotic resistance profiles of E.coli isolated from patients in the 52 hospitals participating in the CHINET program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested for clinical isolates of E.coli according to the unified protocol of CHINET program.WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 20.0 software were used for data analysis.Results Atotal of 289 760 nonduplicate clinical strains ofE.coli were isolated from 2015 to 2021,mainly from urine samples(44.7±3.2)％.The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from urine samples was higher in females than in males(59.0％vs 29.5％).The proportion of E.coli strains isolated from respiratory tract and cerebrospinal fluid samples was significantly higher in children than in adults(16.7％vs 7.8％,0.8％vs 0.1％,both P＜0.05).The isolates from internal medicine department accounted for the largest proportion(28.9±2.8)％with an increasing trend over years.Overall,the prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli and carbapenem resistant E.coli(CREco)was 55.9％and 1.8％,respectively during the 7-year period.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli was the highest in tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021 compared to secondary hospitals.The prevalence of CREco was higher in children's hospitals compared to secondary and tertiary hospitals each year from 2015 to 2021.The prevalence of ESBLs-producing E.coli in tertiary hospitals and children's hospitals and the prevalence of CREco in children's hospitals showed a decreasing trend over the 7-year period.The prevalence of CREco in secondary and tertiary hospitals increased slowly.Antibiotic resistance rates changed slowly from 2015 to 2021.Carbapenem drugs(imipenem,meropenem)were the most active drugs amongβ-lactams against E.coli(resistance rate≤2.1％).The resistance rates of E.coli to β-lactam/β-lactam inhibitor combinations(piperacillin-tazobactam,cefoperazone-sulbactam),aminoglycosides(amikacin),nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin(for urinary isolates only)were all less than 10％.The resistance rate of E.coli strains to antibiotics varied with the level of hospitals and the departments where the strains were isolated,especially for cefazolin and ciprofloxacin,to which the resistance rate of E.coli strains from children in non-ICU departments was significantly lower than that of the strains isolated from other departments(P＜0.05).The E.coli isolates from ICU showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline)than the strains isolated from other departments.The E.coli strains isolated from tertiary hospitals showed higher resistance rates to the antimicrobial agents tested(excluding tigecycline,polymyxin B,cefepime and carbapenems)than the strains from secondary hospitals and children's hospitals.Conclusions E.coli is an important pathogen causing clinical infection.More than half of the clinical isolates produced ESBL.The prevalence of CREco is increasing in secondary and tertiary hospitals over the 7-year period even though the overall prevalence is still low.This is an issue of concern.