Jiuwei Xifeng Granules have become a Chinese patent medicine in the market. Because the formula contains Os Draconis, a top-level protected fossil of ancient organisms, the formula was to be improved by replacing Os Draconis with Ostreae Concha. To evaluate whether the improved formula has the same effectiveness and safety as the original formula, a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, equivalence clinical trial was conducted. This study enrolled 288 tic disorder(TD) of children and assigned them into two groups in 1∶1. The treatment group and control group took the modified formula and original formula, respectively. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks, and follow-up visits were conducted at weeks 2, 4, and 6. The primary efficacy endpoint was the difference in Yale global tic severity scale(YGTSS)-total tic severity(TTS) score from baseline after 6 weeks of treatment. The results showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, the declines in YGTSS-TSS score showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The difference in YGTSS-TSS score(treatment group-control group) and the 95%CI of the full analysis set(FAS) were-0.17[-1.42, 1.08] and those of per-protocol set(PPS) were 0.29[-0.97, 1.56], which were within the equivalence boundary [-3, 3]. The equivalence test was therefore concluded. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary efficacy endpoints of effective rate for TD, total score and factor scores of YGTSS, clinical global impressions-severity(CGI-S) score, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) response rate, or symptom disappearance rate, and thus a complete evidence chain with the primary outcome was formed. A total of 6 adverse reactions were reported, including 4(2.82%) cases in the treatment group and 2(1.41%) cases in the control group, which showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. No serious suspected unexpected adverse reactions were reported, and no laboratory test results indicated serious clinically significant abnormalities. The results support the replacement of Os Draconis by Ostreae Concha in the original formula, and the efficacy and safety of the modified formula are consistent with those of the original formula.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Tic Disorders/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

This study aimed to characterize and identify the non-volatile components in aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the stems and leaves of Rhododendron tomentosum by using sensitive and efficient ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) combined with a self-built information database. By comparing with reference compounds, analyzing fragment ion information, searching relevant literature, and using a self-built information database, 118 compounds were identified from the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of R. tomentosum, including 35 flavonoid glycosides, 15 phenolic glycosides, 12 flavonoids, 7 phenolic acids, 7 phenylethanol glycosides, 6 tannins, 6 phospholipids, 5 coumarins, 5 monoterpene glycosides, 6 triterpenes, 3 fatty acids, and 11 other types of compounds. Among them, 102 compounds were reported in R. tomentosum for the first time, and 36 compounds were identified by comparing them with reference compounds. The chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum leaves and stems showed slight differences, with 84 common chemical components accounting for 71.2% of the total 118 compounds. This study systematically characterized and identified the non-volatile chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum for the first time. The findings provide a reference for active ingredient research, quality control, and product development of R. tomentosum.
Rhododendron/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a globally life-threatening disease. Presently, few therapeutic medicines are available for treating IS, and rt-PA is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. In fact, many agents showing excellent neuroprotection but no blood flow-improving activity in animals have not achieved ideal clinical efficacy, while thrombolytic drugs only improving blood flow without neuroprotection have limited their wider application. To address these challenges and meet the huge unmet clinical need, we have designed and identified a novel compound AAPB with dual effects of neuroprotection and cerebral blood flow improvement. AAPB significantly reduced cerebral infarction and neural function deficit in tMCAO rats, pMCAO rats, and IS rhesus monkeys, as well as displayed exceptional safety profiles and excellent pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs. AAPB has now entered phase I of clinical trials fighting IS in China.

BACKGROUND: The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment. OBJECTIVE: This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022. INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES. RESULTS: This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs. CONCLUSION The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Placebo Effect ; Placebos ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To observe the functional recovery situation after prostate cancer radical opera-tion with maximal preservation of the periprostatic structures (MS-RARP).Methods Sixty-seven patients with localized prostatic cancer undergoing MS-RARP in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Military Med-ical University from June 2019 to June 2022 were selected as the study subjects.The changes of urinary con-trol function,erection function,quality of life and total prostate specific antigen (t-PSA) were compared at the time between before operation and postoperative 6 weeks,3 months,6 months,12 months.The expanded pros-tate cancer index composite index (EPIC-50) was used to evaluate the urinary control function,the interna-tional index of erectile function (IIEF-5) questionnaire was used to evaluate the erection function of the pa-tients,and EPIC-50 and the american urological associated symptom score rating scale (AUA-SS) were used to evaluate the life satisfaction of the patients.Results The urinary control function recovery rate,erection function recovery rate and life quality satisfaction rate in postoperative 6 weeks,3 months,6 months,12 months were 71.8％,95.5％,97.3％ and 98.1％;31.7％,38.1％,41.3％ and 44.4％;38.9％,83.6％,88.1％ and 97.0％,respectively.The median t-PSA was gradually decreased,which were 0.026(0.010,0.410),0.009 (0.003,0.060),0.006(0.001,0.050)and 0.004(0.001,0.006)ng/mL,respectively.The life quality satisfac-tion rates at various postoperative time points were significantly increased when compared with before opera-tion (P<0.05).t-PSA was significantly decreased compared with before operation (P<0.05).Conclusion RARP could protect the postoperative urinary function and sexual function,and increase the postoperative life quality of the patients.

ObjectiveTo investigate the use of contraceptive methods， and to evaluate maternal healthcare services utilization among women within 2 years in Pudong New Area of Shanghai. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire for women at different postpartum periods who visited a community health clinic with their children from June to November 2021. Data were analyzed using χ² test and binary logistic regression. ResultsAmong the 1 946 postpartum women surveyed， 1 934 were either married or cohabiting， and1 430 had resumed their sexual life. Among women at 4， 6， 12， 18 and 24 months postpartum， the contraceptive prevalence rates （CPR） were 92.34% （193/209）， 92.16% （235/255）， 87.31% （282/323）， 91.95% （297/323） and 90.00% （288/320）， respectively. The modern contraceptive prevalence rates （mCPR） were 87.08% （182/209）， 87.06% （222/255）， 82.04% （265/323）， 83.09% （271/323） and 85.31% （273/320）， respectively， while the unmet contraceptive needs （UMNs） were 7.66% （16/209）， 7.84% （20/255）， 11.46% （37/323）， 6.81% （22/323） and 10.00% （32/320）， respectively. The use rates of long-acting reversible contraceptive （LARC） methods among women at 6， 12， 18 and 24 months postpartum period were 0.39% （1/255）， 2.17% （7/323）， 0.31% （1/323）， and 2.81% （9/320）， respectively. Among all surveyed subjects， 32.17% （626/1 946） had received postpartum contraceptive services only once， while 27.85% （542/1 946） had not received any postpartum contraceptive services. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that the use of contraceptive methods among postpartum women was associated with whether relevant educational services were received after childbirth and during postpartum home visits （all P<0.05）. ConclusionPostpartum women have unmet needs for contraception. Contraceptive guidance at the 42-day postnatal healthcare visit needs to be further strengthened and postpartum contraceptive education could be integrated into the pregnancy care. The quality and effectiveness of contraceptive education during delivery and postpartum home visits， and even at the 42-day postnatal healthcare visit need to be further explored.

Aim Based on the apoptotic pathway mediated by receptor interacting protein kinase(RIP)1-RIP3-mixed spectrum kinase domain like protein(MLKL), to explore the effects of naringenin on ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis in rats with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS). Methods SD rats were randomly assigned into normal control group, model group, naringenin group, RIP1 inhibitor(Nec-1)group, RIP1-RIP3-MLKL necrosis signal activator(Z-VAD-fmk)group, naringenin+Z-VAD-fmk group, 15 rats per group. ELISA method was performed to measure the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in ovarian tissue. HE method was performed to observe the shape of the ovary. Granular cells were isolated from ovarian tissue, and flow cytometry was performed to measure apoptosis rate and necrosis rate. Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure the positive expression of p-RIP1 in ovarian tissue. Western blot was employed to detect the expression of RIP1-RIP3-MLKL pathway. Results RIP1 specific inhibitor Nec-1 and naringenin could block the phosphorylation and activation of RIP1, inhibit the RIP1-RIP3-MLKL signaling pathway, reduce the inflammation level in PCOS rats, and alleviate the necrosis and apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells(P<0.05). Z-VAD-fmk could promote the activation of RIP1-RIP3-MLKL pathway, aggravate the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells, and partially weaken the anti-apoptosis effect of naringenin(P<0.05). Conclusions Naringenin may inhibit the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS rats by blocking the activation of the necrotic apoptotic pathway mediated by RIP1-RIP3-MLKL.