Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a central neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory impairment in clinical. Currently, there are no effective treatments for AD. In recent years, a variety of therapeutic approaches from different perspectives have been explored to treat AD. Although the drug therapies targeted at the clearance of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) had made a breakthrough in clinical trials, there were associated with adverse events. Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of AD. Continuous neuroinflammatory was considered to be the third major pathological feature of AD, which could promote the formation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. At the same time, these toxic substances could accelerate the development of neuroinflammation, form a vicious cycle, and exacerbate disease progression. Reducing neuroinflammation could break the feedback loop pattern between neuroinflammation, Aβ plaque deposition and Tau tangles, which might be an effective therapeutic strategy for treating AD. Traditional Chinese herbs such as Polygonum multiflorum and Curcuma were utilized in the treatment of AD due to their ability to mitigate neuroinflammation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and indomethacin had been shown to reduce the level of inflammasomes in the body, and taking these drugs was associated with a low incidence of AD. Biosynthetic nanomaterials loaded with oxytocin were demonstrated to have the capability to anti-inflammatory and penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively, and they played an anti-inflammatory role via sustained-releasing oxytocin in the brain. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells could reduce neuroinflammation and inhibit the activation of microglia. The secretion of mesenchymal stem cells could not only improve neuroinflammation, but also exert a multi-target comprehensive therapeutic effect, making it potentially more suitable for the treatment of AD. Enhancing the level of TREM2 in microglial cells using gene editing technologies, or application of TREM2 antibodies such as Ab-T1, hT2AB could improve microglial cell function and reduce the level of neuroinflammation, which might be a potential treatment for AD. Probiotic therapy, fecal flora transplantation, antibiotic therapy, and dietary intervention could reshape the composition of the gut microbiota and alleviate neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis. However, the drugs of sodium oligomannose remain controversial. Both exercise intervention and electromagnetic intervention had the potential to attenuate neuroinflammation, thereby delaying AD process. This article focuses on the role of drug therapy, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, gut microbiota therapy, exercise intervention, and brain stimulation in improving neuroinflammation in recent years, aiming to provide a novel insight for the treatment of AD by intervening neuroinflammation in the future.

ObjectiveTo explore psychological experiences and care needs of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following dysphagia. MethodsFrom April to June, 2024, 13 elderly patients with COPD and dysphagia received treatment in Yixing No. 2 People's Hospital (Yixing Occupational Disease Institute) and Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital were interviewed. Nvivo 11.0 and content analysis were employed to analyze and summarize themes. ResultsTwo main themes were identified. The psychological experiences included fear of eating due to swallowing and choking, swallowing anxiety in social situations, concerns about malnutrition, and emotional loss related to family. The care needs included improvement in swallowing function, adjustment of food texture, assistance with disease adaptation and effective access to health education information. ConclusionHealthcare professionals should thoroughly understand the psychological and needs of elderly patients with COPD-related dysphagia, and comprehensive nursing strategies should be developed and implemented to improve swallowing function and overall quality of life.

As a complex autoimmune disease， rheumatoid arthritis （RA） involves immune microenvironment dysregulation resulting from excessive activation of pyroptosis， which is a crucial factor in disease progression. Based on the theory of ying-wei in traditional Chinese medicine， "ying decline and wei attack" is considered the fundamental pathogenesis of RA. Pyroptosis serves as a microscopic manifestation of this concept， suggesting a potential correlation between "ying decline and wei attack" and pyroptosis nd immune microenvironment dysregulation in RA. Accordingly， treatment principles based on this theory are proposed： in the early stage of the disease， boosting wei to consolidate the exterior， and regulating ying to dispel pathogens； in the middle and late stages， harmonizing ying to remove stagnation， and nourishing its transformational source.

Brain’s neural activities encompass both periodic rhythmic oscillations and aperiodic neural fluctuations. Rhythmic oscillations manifest as spectral peaks of neural signals, directly reflecting the synchronized activities of neural populations and closely tied to cognitive and behavioral states. In contrast, aperiodic fluctuations exhibit a power-law decaying spectral trend, revealing the multiscale dynamics of brain neural activity. In recent years, researchers have made notable progress in studying brain aperiodic dynamics. These studies demonstrate that aperiodic activity holds significant physiological relevance, correlating with various physiological states such as external stimuli, drug induction, sleep states, and aging. Aperiodic activity serves as a reflection of the brain’s sensory capacity, consciousness level, and cognitive ability. In clinical research, the aperiodic exponent has emerged as a significant potential biomarker, capable of reflecting the progression and trends of brain diseases while being intricately intertwined with the excitation-inhibition balance of neural system. The physiological mechanisms underlying aperiodic dynamics span multiple neural scales, with activities at the levels of individual neurons, neuronal ensembles, and neural networks collectively influencing the frequency, oscillatory patterns, and spatiotemporal characteristics of aperiodic signals. Aperiodic dynamics currently boasts broad application prospects. It not only provides a novel perspective for investigating brain neural dynamics but also holds immense potential as a neural marker in neuromodulation or brain-computer interface technologies. This paper summarizes methods for extracting characteristic parameters of aperiodic activity, analyzes its physiological relevance and potential as a biomarker in brain diseases, summarizes its physiological mechanisms, and based on these findings, elaborates on the research prospects of aperiodic dynamics.

Shengma Gegentang is one of the classic formulas in the Catalogue of Ancient Classic Prescriptions （Second Batch）. This study reviewed ancient and modern literature and used literature tracing and bibliometric methods to analyze the historical evolution， efficacy， indications， dosage decoctions， and modern clinical disease spectrum of Shengma Gegentang. The results indicated that the earliest record of Shengma Gegentang can be found in the Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang of the Song dynasty， but its origin can be traced back to the Shaoyao Siwu Jiejitang in the Beiji Qianjin Yaofang of the Tang dynasty. The composition dosage of Shengma Gegentang is 413 g of Cimicifugae Rhizoma， 619.5 g of Puerariae Lobatae Radix， 413 g of Paeoniae Radix Alba， and 413 g of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， which are ground into coarse powder. Each dose is 12.39 g， and the amount of water added is 300 mL. 100 mL of solution is decocted and taken at the right time. The four drugs in the formula play the role of relieving exterior syndrome， penetrating pathogenic factors， and detoxicating together. Its indications are widely involved in internal medicine， pediatrics， surgery， ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology， obstetrics and gynecology， sexually transmitted diseases， and other diseases， such as measles， sores， acne， spots， surgical gangrene， red eyes， toothache， chancre， and fetal poison. The epidemic diseases treated by Shengma Gegentang are complicated， including rash， pox， macula， numbness， summer diarrhea， dysentery， sha disease， febrile symptoms， spring warmth， winter warmth， and cold pestilence. At the same time， it is a plague prevention formula. Although Shengma Gegentang has a wide range of indications， it cannot be separated from the pathogenic mechanism of evil Qi blocking the muscle surface and heat in the lungs and stomach. The modern clinical disease spectrum of Shengma Gegentang involves the ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology system， nervous system， pediatric-related diseases and syndromes， skin system， hepatobiliary system， and digestive system. It plays a key role in the treatment of epidemic diseases such as measles， chronic hepatitis B， dysentery， and tetanus.

This study aims to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of polysaccharide extract PCP1 from Polygonatum cyrtonema in ameliorating cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(I/R) injury in rats through modulation of the Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3) signaling pathway. In vivo, SD rats were randomly divided into the sham group, model group, PCP1 group, nimodipine(NMDP) group, and TLR4 signaling inhibitor(TAK-242) group. A middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion(MCAO/R) model was established, and neurological deficit scores and infarct size were evaluated 24 hours after reperfusion. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and Nissl staining were used to observe pathological changes in ischemic brain tissue. Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) assessed ultrastructural damage in cortical neurons. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-18(IL-18), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-10(IL-10), and nitric oxide(NO) in serum. Immunofluorescence was used to analyze the expression of TLR4 and NLRP3 proteins. In vitro, a BV2 microglial cell oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion(OGD/R) model was established, and cells were divided into the control, OGD/R, PCP1, TAK-242, and PCP1 + TLR4 activator lipopolysaccharide(LPS) groups. The CCK-8 assay evaluated BV2 cell viability, and ELISA determined NO release. Western blot was used to analyze the expression of TLR4, NLRP3, and downstream pathway-related proteins. The results indicated that, compared with the model group, PCP1 significantly reduced neurological deficit scores, infarct size, ischemic tissue pathology, cortical cell damage, and the levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, TNF-α, and NO(P<0.01). It also elevated IL-10 levels(P<0.01) and decreased the expression of TLR4 and NLRP3 proteins(P<0.05, P<0.01). Moreover, in vitro results showed that, compared with the OGD/R group, PCP1 significantly improved BV2 cell viability(P<0.05, P<0.01), reduced cell NO levels induced by OGD/R(P<0.01), and inhibited the expression of TLR4-related inflammatory pathway proteins, including TLR4, myeloid differentiation factor 88(MyD88), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6(TRAF6), phosphorylated nuclear factor-kappaB dimer RelA(p-p65)/nuclear factor-kappaB dimer RelA(p65), NLRP3, cleaved-caspase-1, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC), GSDMD-N, IL-1β, and IL-18(P<0.05, P<0.01). The protective effects of PCP1 were reversed by LPS stimulation. In conclusion, PCP1 ameliorates cerebral I/R injury by modulating the TLR4/NLRP3 signaling pathway, exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-pyroptotic effects.
Animals ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/genetics* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Reperfusion Injury/genetics* ; Male ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Polysaccharides/isolation & purification* ; Polygonatum/chemistry* ; Brain Ischemia/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Mice ; Humans

Asthma, a chronic inflammatory airway disease with a high global prevalence, has a complex pathogenesis, in which airway remodeling plays a key role in the chronicity of the disease. Airway remodeling involves a series of pathophysiological changes, including airway epithelial damage, proliferation of mucous glands and goblet cells, subepithelial fibrosis, proliferation and migration of airway smooth muscle cells, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. These complex pathological changes significantly increase airway resistance and responsiveness, forming an important pathological basis for refractory asthma. Currently, the regulatory mechanisms of airway remodeling focus on signaling pathways and regulatory targets. The signaling pathways include phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt), nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB), transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)/Smads, and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK). The regulatory targets include microRNAs(miRNAs), competing endogenous RNAs(ceRNAs), long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs), and circular RNAs(circRNAs). Key proteins involved in these processes include TGF-β1, silencing information regulator 2-related enzyme 1(SIRT1), chitinase 3-like protein 1(YKL-40), and adenosine deaminase-metalloproteinase 33(ADAM33). In recent years, the potential of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of asthma has become increasingly evident. Its active ingredients, extracts, and complexes can inhibit airway remodeling in asthma through multiple pathways, demonstrating a variety of effects, including anti-inflammatory actions, inhibition of smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, attenuation of fibrosis and basement membrane thickening, reduction of mucus secretion, inhibition of vascular remodeling, modulation of immune imbalance, and antioxidative stress. This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of asthma, offering theoretical support and innovative strategies for clinical research and drug development in the treatment of asthma.
Asthma/pathology* ; Humans ; Airway Remodeling/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Animals ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism*

Constructing an efficient and easy-to-operate multigene expression system is currently a crucial part of plant genetic engineering. In this study, a fragment carrying three independent gene expression cassettes and the expression unit of the gene-silencing suppressor protein(RNA silencing suppressor 19 kDa protein, P19) simultaneously was designed and constructed. This fragment was cloned into the commonly used plant expression vector pCAMBIA300, and the plasmid pC1300-TP2-P19 was obtained. Each gene expression cassette consists of different promoters, fusion tags, and terminators. The target gene can be flexibly inserted into the corresponding site through enzymatic digestion and ligation or recombination and fused with different protein tags, which provides great convenience for subsequent detection. The enhanced green fluorescent protein(eGFP) reporter gene was individually constructed into each expression cassette to verify the feasibility of this vector system. The results of tobacco transient expression and laser-confocal microscopy showed that each expression cassette presented independent and normal expression. Meanwhile, the three key enzyme genes in the betanin synthesis pathway, BvCYP76AD, BvDODA1, and DbDOPA5GT, were constructed into the three expression cassettes. The results of tobacco transient expression phenotype, protein immunoblotting(Western blot), and chemical detection of product demonstrated that the three exogenous genes were highly expressed, and the target compound betanin was successfully produced. The above results indicated that the constructed multigene expression system for plants in this study was efficient and reliable and can achieve the co-transformation of multiple plant genes. It can provide a reliable vector platform for the analysis of plant natural product synthesis pathways, functional verification, and plant metabolic engineering.
Nicotiana/metabolism* ; Genetic Vectors/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Plants, Genetically Modified/metabolism* ; Genetic Engineering/methods* ; Green Fluorescent Proteins/metabolism* ; Gene Expression

To determine the optimal cultivation duration and harvest period for cultivated Notopterygium incisum and promote its industrial development, this study established a characteristic chromatographic profile of cultivated N. incisum and employed chemometrics combined with entropy-weighted grey correlation analysis to assess differences in agronomic traits and quality indicators across different cultivation years and harvest periods. By comparing with reference substances, ten common peaks were identified, including chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, marmesinin, nodakenin, isochlorogenic acid B, notopterol, phenethyl ferulate, isoimperatorin, and falcarindiol. The similarity between the characteristic chromatographic profiles of N. incisum at different cultivation years and the reference profile was all above 0.932. Principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) revealed that the quality of 1-to 3-year-old cultivated N. incisum was highly dispersed and unstable, whereas the quality of 4-year-old cultivated N. incisum remained relatively stable across different harvest periods. This suggests that the accumulation of relevant compounds in the medicinal material had reached a plateau, confirming that the optimal cultivation period for N. incisum is four years. Entropy-weighted grey correlation analysis indicated that the quality of 4-year-old cultivated N. incisum across different harvest periods ranked from highest to lowest as follows: November, December, October, August, July, and September, demonstrating that November is the optimal harvest time. The findings of this study establish the suitable cultivation duration and optimal harvest period for N. incisum, providing a scientific basis for cultivation guidance and quality standardization.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Apiaceae/chemistry* ; Entropy ; Chemometrics/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Principal Component Analysis ; Quality Control

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, is characterized by high mortality and recurrence rates. Common treatments include hepatectomy, liver transplantation, ablation therapy, interventional therapy, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). While exhibiting specific advantages, these approaches are associated with varying degrees of adverse effects. To alleviate patients' suffering and burdens, it is crucial to explore additional treatments and elucidate the pathogenesis of HCC, laying a foundation for the development of new TCM-based drugs. With emerging research on gut microbiota, it has been revealed that microbiota plays a vital role in the development of HCC by influencing intestinal barrier function, microbial metabolites, and immune regulation. TCM, with its multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway characteristics, has been increasingly recognized as a vital therapeutic treatment for HCC, particularly in patients at intermediate or advanced stages, by prolonging survival and improving quality of life. Recent global studies demonstrate that TCM exerts anti-HCC effects by modulating gut microbiota, restoring intestinal barrier function, regulating microbial composition and its metabolites, suppressing inflammation, and enhancing immune responses, thereby inhibiting the malignant phenotype of HCC. This review aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which gut microbiota contributes to the development and progression of HCC and highlight the regulatory effects of TCM, addressing the current gap in systematic understanding of the "TCM-gut microbiota-HCC" axis. The findings provide theoretical support for integrating TCM with western medicine in HCC treatment and promote the transition from basic research to precision clinical therapy through microbiota-targeted drug development and TCM-based interventions.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/microbiology* ; Liver Neoplasms/microbiology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Animals ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional