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

OBJECTIVE: Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) is an adverse event that occurs during long-term peritoneal dialysis, significantly impairing treatment efficiency and adversely affecting patient outcomes. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a principal active component derived from Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, has exhibited anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects in various settings. This study aims to investigate the potential therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of AS-IV in the treatment of PF. METHODS: The PF mouse model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 4.25% peritoneal dialysis fluid (100 mL/kg). The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HMrSV5 cells was induced by the addition of 10 ng/mL transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). The differentially expressed genes in HMrSV5 cells treated with AS-IV were screened using transcriptome sequencing analysis. The potential targets of AS-IV were screened using network pharmacology and analyzed using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. RESULTS: Administration of AS-IV at doses of 20, 40, or 80 mg/kg effectively mitigated the increase in peritoneal thickness and the development of fibrosis in mice with PF. The expression of the fibrosis marker α-smooth muscle actin in the peritoneum was significantly decreased in AS-IV-treated mice. The treatment of AS-IV (10, 20, and 40 μmol/L) significantly delayed the EMT of HMrSV5 cells induced by TGF-β, as demonstrated by the decreased number of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine-positive cells, reduced migrated area, and decreased expression of fibrosis markers. A total of 460 differentially expressed genes were detected in AS-IV-treated HMrSV5 cells through transcriptome sequencing, with notable enrichment in the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT) signaling pathway. The reduced levels of phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K) and p-AKT were detected in HMrSV5 cells with AS-IV treatment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was predicted as a direct target of AS-IV, exhibiting strong hydrogen bond interactions. The activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway by the compound 740Y-P, and the activation of the EGFR pathway by NSC 228155 each partially counteracted the inhibitory effect of AS-IV on the EMT of HMrSV5 cells. CONCLUSION AS-IV delayed the EMT process in peritoneal mesothelial cells and slowed the progression of PF, potentially serving as a therapeutic agent for the early prevention and treatment of PF. Please cite this article as: Huang Y, Chu CL, Qiu WH, Chen JY, Cao LX, Ji SY, Zhu B, Wang GK, Shen QQ. Astragaloside IV delayed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in peritoneal fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of EGFR and PI3K-AKT pathways. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):694-705.
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects* ; Animals ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Peritoneal Fibrosis/pathology* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; ErbB Receptors/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Male ; Humans ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Interventions for endometriosis(EMs)include surgical excision of lesions and hormonal therapy,which usually have limited efficacy and adverse drug reactions.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has the multi-component and multi-target characteristics,which can help patients achieve good clinical benefits by intervening in different parts of the disease.In this paper,we briefly discuss the modern pharmacology of Sanlang and Curcuma longa,and deeply summarize the possible mechanisms of action of TCM monomer and classical compound extracts and their active ingredients through signal pathways in inflammation,immune system,angiogenesis,hormone regulation,etc.,so as to provide theoretical bases for the clinical use of TCM monomers,drug-to-drug groups and compounds in the treatment of EMs.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Objective To investigate the effects of esketamine on respiration,complications and acute phase inflammatory factors in patients undergoing single-port thoracoscopic surgery under general anesthesia with preserved spontaneous respiration.Methods Ninety patients,aged 16～74 years,BMI 18～28 kg/m2,ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ,who were scheduled to undergo single-port thoracoscopic surgery under general anesthesia were selected.Patients were randomly divided into two groups by random number table:esketamine group(group E,n=45)and control group(group C,n=45).Esketamine 0.5 mg/kg was given for induction of anesthesia,and 0.25 mg/kg again before cutting skin.In group C,sufentanilwas given at 0.15 μg/kg for induction of anesthesia.Other anesthesia induction and maintenance durgs in both groups were the same.SP02,PaCO2 and PaO2 were recorded at the patient's entrance(T0),before pleuraopening(T1),15 min after pleuraopening(T2),30 min after pleuraopening(T3),and beforelaryngeal mask removal(T4).3 mL of blood was extracted from themedian cubital vein at T0 and 24 h after surgery(T5)todetect the concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6.The length of spontaneous respiration recovery and laryngeal mask removal,the number of respiratory intervention,the incidence of body movement during operation,nausea,vomiting,psychiatric symptom,awareness,the length of hospital stay was recorded.Results Compared with group C,PaO2was significantly decreased and PaCO2was significantly increased in group E at T1,PaO2was significantly increased and PaCO2was significantly decreased at T2(P<0.01).Compared with group C,the length of spontaneous respiration recovery was significantly shortened and the number of respiratory intervention was significantly decreased in group E(P<0.01).Compared with group C,the concen-trations of TNF-α and IL-6 in venous blood in group E at T5 was significantly decreased(P<0.01).There were no significant difference in the length of laryngeal mask removal,and the incidenceofcomplications,hospitalstay between the two groups.Conclusion Esketamine reducesintraoperative respiratory depression,shortens spontaneous respiration recovery,maintains respiratory stability and reduces acute inflammatory response in patients under general anesthesia with preserved spontaneous respiration for single-port thoracoscopic surgery.

This study investigated the characteristics of gut microbiota imbalance in patients with infectious diarrhea caused by various pathogenic infections,and the role of Bacteroides in maintaining homeostasis in the intestinal environment.The gut microbiota in patients with diarrhea caused by pathogenic infections,such as viral and bacterial infections,was determined through full-length 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.Patients with diarrhea were grouped and analyzed according to the presence of single bacterial infection,single viral infection,mixed infection,or Clostridioides difficile infection.Bacteroides had the highest absolute number and relative abundance in the gut microbiota in healthy people,whereas patients with infectious diar-rhea showed lower relative abundance of Bacteroides at each phylum/order/family/genus taxonomic level.Alpha diversity anal-ysis indicated no significant differences among groups.NMDS and PCoA indicated formation of distinct clusters in the control group compared with the different infectious diarrhea groups.The diversity of the gut microbiota was higher in the control group than the infectious diarrhea groups.Patients with infec-tious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed differing predominant gut microbiota.Bifidobacterium predominated in the single viral infection group,Streptococcus predominated in the single bacterial infection group,and Lachnoclostridium predominated in the mixed infection group.Escherichia and Klebsiella were the major gut microbiota in the C.difficile infection group.Meanwhile,the dominant gut microbiota in the healthy population was Bacteroides.COG function prediction revealed that the healthy control group formed a distinct cluster from the different infection groups.The functions of defense mechanisms,cell wall synthesis,protein modification,cellular differentiation,and replication and recombination were signifi-cantly diminished in all infectious diarrhea groups.In general,patients with infectious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed dysbiosis,with diminished gut microbiota diversity and the emergence of related biomarkers.Our findings indicated that Bacteroides has a key role in maintaining the homeostasis of the human intestinal environment,thus providing new ideas for the subsequent treatment of infectious diarrhea and research in other fields.

This study was aimed at analyzing the molecular epidemiological characteristics of all 14 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9)virus in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2018,to provide a scientific basis for prevention,control,and treatment.The genomic sequence was obtained through high-throughput gene sequencing after nucleic acid extraction.Homolo-gy analysis,evolution analysis,mutation locus analysis,and homology modeling were performed in bioinformatics analysis software.The nucleotide homology and amino acid homology of the HA gene in 14 human infected H7N9 viruses were(97.39％-100％)and(98.38％-100％),respectively.The nucleotide homology of the NA gene and the amino acid homology ranged from 97.73％to 100％.All viruses were low pathogenic avian influenza viruses belonging to the Yangtze River Delta lin-eage and were divided into two subclades,which were most similar to the A/Hunan/02650/2016 vaccine strain.All HA pro-teins G186V and T160A were mutated;13 strains of Q226L were mutated;and none of the four key neuraminidase inhibitor resistance sites of NA protein were mutated.All sites of M2 protein S31N and V27A were mutated,all sites of PB1 protein T368V were mutated,and all sites of PA protein K356R were mutated.Xinjiang H7N9 virus exhibited double receptor bind-ing,and was resistant to amantadine drugs and sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors,which may be used in early disease sta-ges.Strengthened monitoring and timely detection of avian in-fluenza virus genome changes will be critical for prevention and control,and formulation of countermeasures.

Objective To investigate the effects of inhibiting KDM2A gene on the proliferation,invasion and migration of liver cancer cells and its possible regulatory mechanism.Methods Forty pairs of HCC tissues and their adjacent normal counterparts were collected from 2014 to 2017 in Tongji Hospital,Tongji Medical College Affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology.Human liver cancer cell lines HepG2,Huh7,HCCLM3,MHCC-97H and normal liver cells LO2 were cultured in vitro.The mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A in HCC tissues and cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting.Huh7 cells were taken and set up as follows:(1)si-NC group(transfected with si-NC)and si-KDM2A group(transfected with si-KDM2A);(2)mimic-NC group(transfected with mimic-NC),miRNA-29a-3p mimic group(transfected with miRNA-29a-3p mimic),inhibitor-NC group(transfected with inhibitor-NC)and miRNA-29a-3p inhibitor group(transfected with miRNA-29a-3p inhibitor).The mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting.The invasion and migration of cells were detected by Transwell,the proliferation of cells was detected by CCK-8 methods.The online databases TargetScan,miRDIP,miRWalk,Starbase and miRDB were used to predict the binding sites of KDM2A and miR-29a-3p.The KDM2A 3'-UTR(WT)or KDM2A 3'-UTR(MUT)report plasmid was co-transfected with NC-miRNA or miR-29a-3p mimics respectively for 48 h in 293T cells,and the luciferase activity was detected by the luciferase reporter gene detection system.Results Compared with adjacent normal counterparts,the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A in HCC tissues increased significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with LO2,the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A in HepG2,Huh7,HCCLM3 and MHCC-97H increased significantly(P＜0.05).Compared with si-NC group,the proliferation,invasion and migration of Huh7 cells in si-KDM2A group decreased significantly(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The analysis results of TargetScan,miRDIP,miRWalk,Starbase and miRDB showed that there were binding sites between KDM2A and miR-29a-3p.The results of the dual luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-29a-3p mimic significantly reduced KDM2A-MUT luciferase activity(P＜0.01).After overexpression of miRNA-29a-3p,the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A were decreased(P＜0.01),the proliferation,invasion and migration abilities were decreased(P＜0.05)in Huh7 cells.After inhibiting the expression of miRNA-29a-3p,the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of KDM2A were increased(P＜0.05),the proliferation,invasion and migration abilities were enhanced(P＜0.05)in Huh7 cells.Conclusion Inhibiting the expression of KDM2A can reduce the proliferation and migration ability of Huh7 cells.miR-29a-3p may be the upstream regulator of KDM2A and participate in the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology and hospitalization costs of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Shanghai. Methods: A retrospective case summary was conducted on 63 614 hospitalized children with CAP in 59 public hospitals in Shanghai from January 2018 to December 2020. These children's medical records, including their basic information, diagnosis, procedures, and costs, were extracted. According to the medical institutions they were admitted, the patients were divided into the children's hospital group, the tertiary general hospital group and the secondary hospital group; according to the age, they were divided into <1 year old group, 1-<3 years old group, 3-<6 years old group, 6-<12 years old group and 12-18 years old group; according to the CAP severity, they were divided into severe pneumonia group and non-severe pneumonia group; according to whether an operation was conducted, the patients were divided into the operation group and the non-operation group. The epidemiological characteristics and hospitalization costs were compared among the groups. The χ² test or Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for the comparisons between two groups as appropriate, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was conducted for comparisons among multiple groups. Results: A total of 63 614 hospitalized children with CAP were enrolled, including 34 243 males and 29 371 females. Their visiting age was 4 (2, 6) years. The length of stay was 6 (5, 8) days. There were 17 974 cases(28.3%) in the secondary hospital group, 35 331 cases (55.5%) in the tertiary general hospital group and 10 309 cases (16.2%) in the children's hospital group. Compared with the hospitalizations cases in 2018 (27 943), the cases in 2019 (29 009) increased by 3.8% (1 066/27 943), while sharply declined by 76.2% (21 281/27 943) in 2020 (6 662). There were significant differences in the proportion of patients from other provinces and severe pneumonia cases, and the hospitalization costs among the children's hospital, secondary hospital and tertiary general hospital (7 146 cases(69.3%) vs. 2 202 cases (12.3%) vs. 9 598 cases (27.2%), 6 929 cases (67.2%) vs. 2 270 cases (12.6%) vs. 9 397 cases (26.6%), 8 304 (6 261, 11 219) vs. 1 882 (1 304, 2 796) vs. 3 195 (2 364, 4 352) CNY, χ²=10 462.50, 9 702.26, 28 037.23, all P<0.001). The annual total hospitalization costs of pediatric CAP from 2018 to 2020 were 110 million CNY, 130 million CNY and 40 million CNY, respectively. And the cost for each hospitalization increased year by year, which was 2 940 (1 939, 4 438), 3 215 (2 126, 5 011) and 3 673 (2 274, 6 975) CNY, respectively. There were also significant differences in the hospitalization expenses in the different age groups of <1 year old, 1-<3 years old, 3-<6 years old, 6-<12 years old and 12-18 years old (5 941 (2 787, 9 247) vs. 2 793 (1 803, 4 336) vs. 3 013 (2 070, 4 329) vs. 3 473 (2 400, 5 097) vs. 4 290 (2 837, 7 314) CNY, χ²=3 462.39, P<0.001). The hospitalization cost of severe pneumonia was significantly higher than that of non-severe cases (5 076 (3 250, 8 364) vs. 2 685 (1 780, 3 843) CNY, Z=109.77, P<0.001). The cost of patients who received operation was significantly higher than that of whom did not (10 040 (4 583, 14 308) vs. 3 083 (2 025, 4 747) CNY, Z=44.46, P<0.001). Conclusions: The number of children hospitalized with CAP in Shanghai decreased significantly in 2020 was significantly lower than that in 2018 and 2019.The proportion of patients from other provinces and with severe pneumonia are mainly admitted in children's hospitals. Hospitalization costs are higher in children's hospitals, and also for children younger than 1 year old, severe cases and patients undergoing operations.
Infant ; Female ; Male ; Humans ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Hospitalization ; Community-Acquired Infections/therapy* ; Hospitals, Pediatric ; Pneumonia/therapy*

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.