1.Theoretical Exploration of Diabetic Retinopathy Guided by Luobing Theory
Liping CHANG ; Jing MA ; Kun MA ; Zhenhua JIA ; Cong WEI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(1):253-258
Diabetic retinopathy(DR), as one of the most common and serious microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, seriously threatens human health, and belongs to "Xiaoke eye diseases" in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), which has been richly experienced by medical practitioners through the ages, but is mostly recorded in a piecemeal manner and has not been systematically researched. This disease is featured by long course and repeated attack, and is refractory, which belongs to the research category of "persistent illness entering collaterals". Systematic establishment of TCM collateral disease theory for guiding prevention and treatment of DR has important clinical value. On the basis of close correlation between tertiary collaterals at the terminal of collaterals and capillaries and microcirculation, the concept of "tertiary collaterals-microvascular" is proposed. It is pointed out that DR falls within the scope of "tertiary collaterals-microvascular" diseases, and presents four types of micro-pathological characteristics, including stasis, insufficiency, growth and bleeding of tertiary collaterals. It is concluded that "deficiency of both Qi and Yin" is the basic pathogenesis of DR, and "blood stasis and collateral obstruction" is the important pathogenesis and key factor. Thus, the treatment method of "dispersing blood stasis, dredging collateral, tonifying Qi and Yin, stopping hemorrhage and improving eyesight" is determined, and the formula of Tongluo Mingmu capsules is developed. The article tightly focuses on the pathological changes such as stasis, growth, insufficiency and bleeding of collaterals, addresses both symptoms and root causes, and plays a synergistic role of both dispersing stasis and stopping bleeding. In this way, it can realize the purpose of tonifying Qi and Yin to replenish the essence, dispersing stasis and dredging collaterals to meet the requirement, as well as stopping hemorrhage and improving eyesight to deal with changes. Fundamental researches demonstrate that Tongluo Mingmu capsules has synergy effects of protecting both retinal capillaries and retinal cells. Phase-Ⅲ clinical trial of new drug has proven definite clinical efficacy and good safety, which provides a new drug choice for enhancing clinical effect of DR, and further supports the scientific value of Luobing theory in preventing and treating DR and other clinically significant diseases.
2.Glucocorticoid Discontinuation in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis under Background of Chinese Medicine: Challenges and Potentials Coexist.
Chuan-Hui YAO ; Chi ZHANG ; Meng-Ge SONG ; Cong-Min XIA ; Tian CHANG ; Xie-Li MA ; Wei-Xiang LIU ; Zi-Xia LIU ; Jia-Meng LIU ; Xiao-Po TANG ; Ying LIU ; Jian LIU ; Jiang-Yun PENG ; Dong-Yi HE ; Qing-Chun HUANG ; Ming-Li GAO ; Jian-Ping YU ; Wei LIU ; Jian-Yong ZHANG ; Yue-Lan ZHU ; Xiu-Juan HOU ; Hai-Dong WANG ; Yong-Fei FANG ; Yue WANG ; Yin SU ; Xin-Ping TIAN ; Ai-Ping LYU ; Xun GONG ; Quan JIANG
Chinese journal of integrative medicine 2025;31(7):581-589
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
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Aged
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Female
;
Humans
;
Male
;
Middle Aged
;
Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy*
;
Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use*
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
;
Retrospective Studies
3.Professor Huang Huang's Experience in Treating Depression with Zhongjing Classic Recipe
Liping CHANG ; Cong WEI ; Zhenhua JIA
Journal of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;40(7):747-751
This paper introduces Professor Huang Huang's clinical experience in treating depression with modified classical pre-scriptions of Zhongjing.Professor Huang Huang inherited and summarized Zhongjing's academic thoughts on treating emotional disea-ses,and formulated Jieyu Chufan Recipe by combining Banxia Houpu Decoction with Zhizi Houpu Decoction.He believes that depres-sion is characterized by qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction,as well as internal disturbance of stagnation fire,and formulated a treat-ment method of clearing heat and eliminating restlessness,relieving depression and resolving phlegm.Professor Huang Huang uses Jieyu Chufan Recipe as the basic prescription,and combines relevant classical prescriptions with modifications to treat depression ac-cording to different constitutions and syndromes of patients,achieving satisfactory clinical results.
4.Syn3, a newly developed cyclic peptide and BDNF signaling enhancer, ameliorates retinal ganglion cell degeneration in diabetic retinopathy.
Ke-Ran LI ; Meng-Jia HUAN ; Jin YAO ; Jia-Jun LI ; Yuan CAO ; Suyu WANG ; Mandar T NAIK ; Yuan FANG ; John MARSHALL ; Chang-Gong LAN ; Cong CAO
Protein & Cell 2024;15(11):858-865
5. Study on protective effect of Shenqi Fuzheng injection on immune myocarditis injury induced by anti-PD-1 antibody
Qian LIU ; Wen-Cong GAO ; Xin MA ; Chang-Bo ZHENG ; Jia-Ming YANG ; Hai-Bin HUANG ; Zhen-Xiang HU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2023;39(10):1980-1987
Aim To investigate the effeot of Shenqi Fuzheng injection on the prevention of immune myocarditis induced by anti-PD-1 antibody by reducing the production of inflammatory factors and the expression of myocardial injury markers. Methods Thirty-two maie PD-1 humanized mice with C57BL/6 genetic background were randomly divided into control group, myocarditis model group, anti-PD-1 antibody group and Shenqi Fuzheng injection group (n = 8). Except the control group, mice in other groups were intraperitoneally injected with myocardial myosin heavy chain peptide (5 mg • kg
6.Cytopathological characterization of ascites for the diagnosis of serous ovarian carcinoma.
Yan Hua CHANG ; Bing Qing ZOU ; Ying CAI ; Shu Dong YANG ; Yang ZHANG ; Jia Bei LIANG ; Cong LI
Chinese Journal of Oncology 2023;45(5):424-432
Objective: To investigate the cytomorphological and immunocytochemical features of tumor cells in the ascites of ovarian plasmacytoma (SOC). Methods: Specimens of serous cavity effusions were collected from 61 tumor patients admitted to the Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2015 to July 2021, including ascites from 32 SOC, 10 gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas, 5 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, 6 lung adenocarcinomas, 4 benign mesothelial hyperplasia and 1 malignant mesothelioma patients, pleural effusions from 2 malignant mesothelioma patients and pericardial effusion from 1 malignant mesothelioma. Serous cavity effusion samples of all patients were collected, conventional smears were made through centrifugation, and cell paraffin blocks were made through centrifugation of remaining effusion samples. Conventional HE staining and immunocytochemical staining were applied to observe and summarize cytomorphological characteristics and immunocytochemical characteristics. The levels of serum tumor markers carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) were detected. Results: Of the 32 SOC patients, 5 had low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (LGSOC) and 27 had high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC). 29 (90.6%) SOC patients had elevated serum CA125, but the difference was not statistically significant between them and patients with non-ovarian primary lesions included in the study (P>0.05); The serum CEA was positive in 9 patients with gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma and 5 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and the positive rate was higher than that in SOC patients (P<0.001); The serum CA19-9 was positive in 5 patients with gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma and 5 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and the positive rate was higher than that in SOC patients (P<0.05). The serum CA125, CEA and CA19-9 were within the normal range in 4 patients with benign mesothelial hyperplasia. LGSOC tumor cells were less heterogeneous and aggregated into small clusters or papillary pattern, and psammoma bodies could be observed in some LGSOC cases. The background cells were fewer and lymphocytes were predominant; the papillary structure was more obvious after making cell wax blocks. HGSOC tumor cells were highly heterogeneous, with significantly enlarged nuclei and varying sizes, which could be more than 3-fold different, and nucleoli and nuclear schizophrenia could be observed in some cases; tumor cells were mostly clustered into nested clusters, papillae and prune shapes; there were more background cells, mainly histiocytes. Immunocytochemical staining showed that AE1/AE3, CK7, PAX-8, CA125, and WT1 were diffusely positively expressed in 32 SOC cases. P53 was focally positive in all 5 LGSOCs, diffusely positive in 23 HGSOCs, and negative in the other 4 HGSOCs. Most of adenocarcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract and lung had a history of surgery, and tumor cells of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tend to form small cell nests. Immunocytochemistry can assist in the differential diagnosis of mesothelial-derived lesions with characteristic "open window" phenomenon. Conclusion: Combining the clinical manifestations of the patient, the morphological characteristics of the cells in the smear and cell block of the ascites can provide important clues for the diagnosis of SOC, and the immunocytochemical tests can further improve the accuracy of the diagnosis.
Female
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Humans
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Carcinoembryonic Antigen
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Ascites
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CA-19-9 Antigen
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Mesothelioma, Malignant/diagnosis*
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Hyperplasia
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Adenocarcinoma/pathology*
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Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/diagnosis*
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Biomarkers, Tumor
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Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial
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Diagnosis, Differential
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Ovarian Neoplasms/pathology*
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Carbohydrates
7.Theoretical Discussion About Treatment of Insomnia Guided by Chinese Eight-word Principle of Health Preservation via Dredging Collaterals
Liping CHANG ; Cong WEI ; Zhenhua JIA
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2023;29(1):163-168
Along with intensification of social and life pressures as well as the interference from various psychological stresses, the number of people suffering from insomnia is constantly increasing, and resistance and addiction of western medicine treatment have received much attention. Safe, effective and characteristic therapeutic drug are urgently needed in clinical practices. Chinese eight-word principle of health preservation via dredging collaterals integrates health-preservation quintessence of traditional major schools of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and medicine, and becomes a new theory guiding health preservation in traditional Chinese medicine. The pathogenic characteristics of "deficiency of kidney-essence, insufficiency of heart blood and loss of spirit and consciousness" as well as the therapeutic methods of "tonifying the kidney, invigorating the brain, nourishing the heart and tranquilizing" were proposed on the basis of "conserving strength" and "calming" theory included in Chinese eight-word principle of health preservation via dredging collaterals and in combination with the opinions of "primordial spirit in brain" and "consciousness spirit in heart" described by recent medical doctor ZHANG Xichun in Intergrating Chinese and Western Medicine. The development of innovative Chinese medicine Yishen Yangxin Anshen tablets reflects theoretical innovation, original formula, outstanding pharmacological characteristics and definite clinical effect, and proves scientific value of Chinese eight-word principle of health preservation via dredging collaterals.
8.Effects of drought stress on physiological and biochemical and chemical components of Cinnamomum cassia seedlings.
Lei ZHONG ; Pei-Ran LIAO ; Chang-Zheng LIU ; Jia-Ping QIAN ; Wan-Cong HE ; Bi LUO ; Quan YANG
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2021;46(9):2158-2166
Six month old Cinnamomum cassia seedlings were used to simulate drought stress with polyethylene glycol(PEG 6000). The physiological indicators(osmotic substances, antioxidant enzymes, etc.) and chemical components of seedlings under different drought levels and the correlation between the two were studied. The results showed that the chlorophyll content and relative water content decreased gradually with the increase of PGE 6000(0, 5%, 10%, 15%) concentration and time(3, 5, 7 d), while the soluble protein content, soluble sugar content and catalase(CAT) activity increased, but the rising rate slowed down with the time. The activities of peroxidase(POD), superoxide dismutase(SOD), malondialdehyde(MDA) and proline content increased at first and then decreased. The content of coumarin, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid and dimethoxycinnamaldehyde decreased, while the content of cinnamyl alcohol continued to increase.Under drought stress, the fluorescence signals of reactive oxygen species and no contents in roots of C. cassia seedlings were significantly stronger than those of the control.Further correlation analysis showed that coumarin content, di-methoxycinnamaldehyde content and osmoregulation substance content were significantly negatively correlated(P<0.05), cinnamic acid content was significantly negatively correlated with POD and SOD activities(P<0.01).It was found that C. cassia seedlings showed a certain degree of drought tolerance under short-term or mild drought stress, but if the drought exceeded a certain degree, the physiological metabolism of the seedlings would be unbalanced.
Catalase
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Cinnamomum aromaticum
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Droughts
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Malondialdehyde
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Seedlings
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Stress, Physiological
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Superoxide Dismutase
9.Effect of Qingfei Xiegantang on Chronic Inflammation and Endothelial Function with Metabolic Syndrome
Cong-shu DAI ; Yu-bo GAO ; Guang-yao LI ; Jia-hao LIU ; Chang-qing LIN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2021;27(5):105-110
Objective:To discuss the clinical efficacy of Qingfei Xiegantang on chronic inflammation and endothelial function of people of Taiyin constitution with metabolic syndrome (MS). Method:Patients (162 cases) were divided into control group (80 cases) and observation group (82 cases). Both groups got lifestyle intervention and treatment with lipid regulation, blood pressure reduction and hypoglycemia according to MS. Patients in observation group got Qingfei Xiegantang, 1 dose/day. Patients in control group got placebo granules of Qingfei Xiegantang. The treatment lasted for 4 months. Before and after treatment, weight, height, waist (WC), hip, body mass index (BMI) and waist hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2 hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting insulin (FINS) were measured. Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), insulin sensitivity index (ISI) and islet beta cell function index (HOMA-
10.Pre-treatment drug resistance of newly reported HIV-1 infected individuals in Wenzhou
ZHU Chuan Xin ; ZHENG Wen Li ; JIN Cong Nan ; SU Fei Fei ; WU Mao Mao ; SUN Bao Chang ; ZHANG Jia Feng
Journal of Preventive Medicine 2021;33(5):446-450
Objective:
To know the pre-treatment drug resistance ( PDR ) status of newly reported human immunodeficiency virus type 1 ( HIV-1 ) infected individuals in Wenzhou, so as to provide guidance for antiretroviral therapy ( ART ).
Methods:
Totally 232 plasma samples of newly reported HIV-1 infected individuals who had not received ART were collected in Wenzhou in 2019. Virus ( HIV-1 ) RNA was extracted, followed by reverse transcription PCR and nested PCR to amplify the pol region and sequence. Resistance mutations and resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ( NNRTIs ), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ( NRTIs ) and protease inhibitors ( PIs ) was analyzed.
Results:
The pol region sequences from 199 infected patients were obtained and the incidence of PDR was 8.04% ( 16/199 ). Eight genotypes were detected, including circulating recombinant forms ( CRFs ) CRF07_BC ( 47.24%, 94/199 ) and CRF01_AE ( 29.15%, 58/199 ) which were the dominant types. Two unique recombinant forms ( URFs ) were detected, namely URF( CRF01_AE/BC ) and URF( B/C ) . Thirty-one cases ( 15.58% 31/199 ) had drug-resistant mutations. For NNRTIs, NRTIs and PIs, 20 cases ( 64.52% ) , 2 cases ( 6.45% ) and 9 cases ( 29.03% ) with drug resistance mutations were detected, respectively. The resistance mutations to NNRTIs included K101E, K103N/R, V106I, E138K, V179D/E/T, Y181C, G190A and H221Y. Four cases each had two resistance mutations to NNRTIs. The resistance mutations to NRTIs were V75M and M184V. The resistance mutations to PIs were M46I, L33F and Q58E. For the newly released NNRTI drug Doravirine ( DOR ), two cases were found to have mutations of resistance.
Conclusions
The incidence of PDR among newly reported HIV-1 patients in Wenzhou is 8.04%, mainly caused by NNRTIs drug-resistant mutation. Resistance to the new drug DOR has emerged. The surveillance of drug resistance should continue to be strengthened.


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