This study investigated the effects of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata on striatal neuronal apoptosis in rats with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) based on the B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax)/caspase-3 signaling pathway. Twenty-four 3-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR) were randomly divided into a model group, a methylphenidate group(2 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)), and a Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata group(2.4 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)). Age-matched male Wistar Kyoto(WKY) rats were used as the normal control group, with 8 rats in each group. The rats were administered by gavage for 28 days. Body weight and food intake were recorded for each group. The open field test and elevated plus maze test were used to assess hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors. Nissl staining was used to detect changes in striatal neurons and Nissl bodies. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL) fluorescence staining was used to detect striatal cell apoptosis. Western blot was employed to detect the expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 proteins in the striatum. The results showed that compared with the model group, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata significantly reduced the total movement distance, average movement speed, and central area residence time in the open field test, and significantly reduced the ratio of open arm entries, open arm stay time, and head dipping in the elevated plus maze test. Furthermore, it increased the number of Nissl bodies in striatal neurons, significantly downregulated the apoptosis index, significantly increased Bcl-2 protein expression and the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and reduced Bax and caspase-3 protein expression. In conclusion, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata can reduce hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors in ADHD rats. Its mechanism may be related to the regulation of the Bcl-2/Bax/caspase-3 signaling pathway in the striatum, enhancing the anti-apoptotic capacity of striatal neurons.
Animals ; Male ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Rats ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Caspase 3/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/genetics* ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein/genetics* ; Rehmannia/chemistry* ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/physiopathology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Neurons/cytology* ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Humans ; Corpus Striatum/cytology* ; Plant Extracts

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) processing is a unique and highly distinctive pharmaceutical technology in China. Utilizing modern scientific methods to elucidate the connotations of traditional processing theory and its effects is expected to facilitate the inheritance, development, innovation, and enhancement of TCM processing, and lead to more original research outcomes in the field of TCM. The breakthrough in TCM processing lies in the study of its underlying principles, and analyzing these principles involves researching the transformation mechanisms of chemical components and the biological effect mechanisms of the transformed components. This paper proposed the concept of "TCM processing chemical biology"(TCMPCB) for the first time. Under the guidance of TCM theory, the active components transformed during TCM processing were used as chemical tools to study their targets and molecular regulatory mechanisms, aiming to clarify the scientific principles by which TCM processing affected biological effects in the organism. The research findings also provided new directions for discovering novel active components, new lead compounds, creating new decoction pieces, and developing new TCM drugs. This paper provided a detailed introduction to the background, definition, research content, research ideas, research methods, and prospects of TCMPCB, with the aim of offering new research perspectives for analyzing the principles of TCM processing and providing new pathways for achieving the "four new and eight transformations" in TCM processing.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Humans ; Animals

Quality control is a key link in the modernization process of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Studies have shown that the effects of active components in TCM depend on not only their chemical composition but also their suitable physical forms and states. The physical phase structures, such as micelles, vesicles, gels, and nanoparticles, can improve the solubility, delivery efficiency, and targeting precision of active components. These structures significantly enhance the pharmacological activity while reducing the toxicity and side effects, demonstrating functional activity surpassing that of active components and highlighting the key effects of "structures" on "functions" of active components. Taking the physical phase structure as a breakthrough point, this paper outlines the common types of TCM physical phase structures. Furthermore, this paper explores how to realize the quality upgrading of TCM through the precise regulation of physical phase structures based on the current applications and potential of TCM physical phase structures in processing to increase the efficacy and reduce the toxicity, compounding and decocting processes, drug delivery systems, and quality control, aiming to provide novel insights for the future quality control of TCM.
Quality Control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans ; Drug Delivery Systems

PURPOSE: To investigate the incidence and influencing factors of bone loss in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted. Patients with SCI in our hospital from January 2019 to March 2023 were collected. According to the correlation between bone mineral density (BMD) at different sites, the patients were divided into the lumbar spine group and the hip joint group. According to the BMD value, the patients were divided into the normal bone mass group (t > -1.0 standard deviation) and the osteopenia group (t ≤ -1.0 standard deviation). The influencing factors accumulated as follows: gender, age, height, weight, cause of injury, injury segment, injury degree, time after injury, start time of rehabilitation, motor score, sensory score, spasticity, serum value of alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus. The trend chart was drawn and the influencing factors were analyzed. SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical analysis. Correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the BMD values of the lumbar spine and bilateral hips. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of osteoporosis after SCI. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The incidence of bone loss in patients with SCI was 66.3%. There was a low concordance between bone loss in the lumbar spine and the hip, and the hip was particularly susceptible to bone loss after SCI, with an upward trend in incidence (36% - 82%). In this study, patients with SCI were divided into the lumbar spine group (n = 100) and the hip group (n = 185) according to the BMD values of different sites. Then, the lumbar spine group was divided into the normal bone mass group (n = 53) and the osteopenia group (n = 47); the hip joint group was divided into the normal bone mass group (n = 83) and the osteopenia group (n = 102). Of these, lumbar bone loss after SCI is correlated with gender and weight (p = 0.032 and < 0.001, respectively), and hip bone loss is correlated with gender, height, weight, and time since injury (p < 0.001, p = 0.015, 0.009, and 0.012, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of bone loss after SCI was high, especially in the hip. The incidence and influencing factors of bone loss in the lumbar spine and hip were different. Patients with SCI who are male, low height, lightweight, and long time after injury were more likely to have bone loss.
Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries/complications* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Incidence ; Adult ; Bone Density ; Middle Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Osteoporosis/etiology* ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Bone Diseases, Metabolic/etiology* ; Aged ; Risk Factors

As global greenhouse gases continue rising, the urgency of more ambitious action is clearer than ever before. China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and one of the countries affected most by climate change. The evidence about the impacts of climate change on the environment and human health may encourage China to take more decisive action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts. This article aimed to review the evidence of environmental damages and health risks posed by climate change and to provide a new science-based perspective for the delivery of sustainable development goals. Over recent decades, China has experienced a strong warming pattern with a growing frequency of extreme weather events, and the impacts of climate change on China's environment and human health have been consistently observed, with increasing O ₃ air pollution, decreases in water resources and availability, land degradation, and increased risks for both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Therefore, China's climate policy should target the key factors driving climate change and scale up strategic measures to curb carbon emissions and adapt to inevitable increasing climate impacts. It provides new insights for not only China but also other countries, particularly developing and emerging economies, to ensure climate and environmental sustainability whilst pursuing economic growth.
Climate Change ; China ; Humans ; Greenhouse Gases ; Air Pollution ; Sustainable Development ; Environment

Objective:To evaluate the predictive value of simplified geriatric assessment (sGA) in elderly Chinese patients diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) .Methods:It retrospectively analyzed the relationships of sGA with the clinical characteristics, outcome, and prognosis of 219 patients aged ≥60 years who were newly diagnosed with DLBCL at six hospitals in Jiangsu province between January 2018 and December 2022.Results:The median age of 219 patients was 68 years (60-87 years). According to the sGA system criteria, 101 (46.1%), 103 (47.0%), and 15 (6.8%) elderly patients with DLBCL were categorized as fit, unfit, and frail, respectively. The most common adverse reactions after chemotherapy were hematologic, and the incidence of grade >2 hematologic adverse reactions was similar among the three groups (47.5% vs 41.7% vs 46.7%, respectively; χ2=0.712, P=0.700). Compared with the fit and unfit groups, the frail group showed tendencies toward for higher proportions of grade >2 gastrointestinal, pulmonary, and infectious adverse reactions ( P>0.05 for all). The fit, unfit, and frail groups had respective remission rates of 74.3%, 46.6%, and 20.0% ( χ2=25.249, P<0.001) ; disease progression rates of 5.9%, 11.7%, and 26.7% ( χ2=6.763, P<0.05) ; 2-year overall survival rates of 92.1% (95% CI 86.6% to 97.9%), 77.6% (95% CI 69.5% to 86.6%), and 70.1% (95% CI 49.4% to 99.6%) ( P<0.05) ; and 2-year progression-free survival rates of 76.8% (95% CI 67.0% to 84.8%), 69.7% (95% CI 61.8% to 82.0%), and 65.7% (95% CI 53.3% to 100%) ( P=0.399) . Conclusion:sGA can effectively predict treatment adverse effects and efficacy, disease progression, and long-term survival in elderly DLBCL.

Objective:To explore the incidence, clinical features, genetic variant characteristics and prognosis of Glutaric acidemia type I (GA1) among neonates from Henan Province.Methods:A total of 814 625 neonates undergoing screening for inherited metabolic diseases by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects. A retrospective method was adopted to collect the clinical data of the patients. Whole exome sequencing was carried out to detect GCDH gene variants in individuals with positive results by GA1 newborn screening, and Sanger sequencing was used to verify the candidate variants. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the pathogenicity of candidate variants was rated. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital (Approval Number: 2019 Medical Ethics Review No. 67). Results:Eight cases of GA1 were diagnosed among the 814 625 neonates. Blood glutaryl carnitine (C5DC) and urine glutaric acid (GA) levels of the 8 children were higher than the normal reference values. In total 12 variants were detected, all of which were missense variants. c. 1064G>A (p.Arg355His) was the most common one, accounting for 21.4% (3/14). Three GCDH gene variants, including 1297G>C (p.Ala433Pro), c. 467G>A (p.Gly156Asp) and c. 1125T>G (p.Cys375Trp), were previously unreported. REVEL software analysis predicted that all of the three variants were harmful. 3D protein structure modeling indicated that the three variants may cause amino acid residue alterations, and c. 1297G>C (p.Ala433Pro) and c. 1125T>G (p.Cys375Trp) may result in increase in hydrogen bonds and may affect the function of GCDH protein. By December 2023, one of the eight children had deceased, and another child had severe clinical symptoms with poor prognosis. Six children had a good prognosis, of which two had mild motor development delay and four had normal development without clinical symptoms. Conclusion:The incidence of GA1 in newborns screened by MS/MS in Henan Province is 1/101 828, and the carrier rate of pathogenic GCDH variants is 1/160. The c. 1064G>A (p.Arg355His) may be the hotspot variant of the GCDH gene among children with GA1 in Henan. Discovery of the three novel variants has enriched the mutational spectrum of the GCDH gene and provide a basis for the early diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and genetic counseling of this disease.

Objective:To block family transmission of a small fragment copy number variation (CNV) with combined 1 Mb resolution preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and target region preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disease (PGT-M) strategies.Methods:A couple who attended the Reproductive and Genetic Medicine Center of Dalian Women and Children′s Medical Center (Group) in 2024 were selected as the study subject. Upon the woman′s two pregnancies, ultrasound examination revealed fetal abnormalities, and CNV-seq based on low-depth whole genome sequencing revealed that both fetuses had carried a maternal 17p12 microduplication of approximately 1.43 Mb. Microduplication in this region has been associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A. In view of the fact that the resolution of conventional PGT-A detection cannot meet the requirement of small fragment CNV analysis, and conventional PGT-M assay cannot directly determine the CNV, two detection schemes were adopted. On the one hand, PGT-A testing with 1 Mb resolution was performed on the embryo to directly determine whether it carries the above microduplication. At the same time, the couple and their fetus were subjected to chromosomal typing scheme for the 17p12 region to indirectly identify embryos carrying the risk chromosome for microduplication. This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital (Ethics No: FEJT-KY-2025-51).Results:Three embryos were tested after the first PGT cycle, of which 1 was not carrying the pathogenic variant and was euploid, whilst the other 2 embryos were carrying the 17p12 microduplication, and 1 of them was aneuploid. After genetic counseling, the euploid embryo without the 17p12 microduplication was selected for transfer, and prenatal diagnosis based on amniotic fluid sample showed that the fetal chromosomal karyotype was normal and did not carry the 17p12 microduplication.Conclusion:The combined application of high-resolution PGT-A and PGT-M typing detection of the target region can effectively block family transmission of the CNVs of small fragments.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet count ratio (APRI), liver stiffness value (LSM), and Agile 3+ score and their combined model in predicting advanced-stage liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) combined with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).Methods:A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted on the BMOVE population.Nine hundred twenty CHB cases combined with MAFLD who underwent liver biopsy at seven medical centers in China from April 2006 to December 2023 were included. The patients were divided into advanced-stage liver fibrosis (159 cases) and non-advanced-stage liver fibrosis (761 cases) according to the Scheuer's scoring system.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), decision curve, and calibration curve analysis were used to evaluate the efficacy of the firbrosis-4 index (FIB-4) score, NFS score, APRI index, LSM, and Agile 3+ score and their combined model in predicting advanced-stage fibrosis. The liver fibrosis grade of all patients was diagnosed by liver biopsy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of each scoring model and combined model, as well as the proportion of correctly classified patients, were calculated based on different cutoff values.Results:AUROC analysis showed that Agile 3+ (0.814, 95% CI: 0.787-0.838) and LSM (0.805, 95% CI: 0.778-0.829) had similar accuracy and were superior to FIB-4 (0.721, 95% CI: 0.691-0.749), NFS (0.687, 95% CI: 0.656-0.716) and APRI ( 0.689, 95% CI: 0.658-0.718); however, HBV DNA level and HBV e antigen status had no effect on this outcome. Decision curve analysis showed that interventions based on LSM and Agile 3+ had provided higher net benefits compared with serological scores. Calibration curves showed that Agile 3+ had better predicitive accuracy than all other models. Agile 3+ had the highest PPV (0.54), minimal uncertainty interval (11.6%), and the highest proportion of correctly classified patients (76%); followed by LSM (PPV: 0.43, uncertainty interval: 15.5%, correct classification rate: 66%), and FIB-4 (PPV: 0.42, uncertainty interval: 26.1%, correct classification rate: 62.6%) in terms of identifying advanced-stage liver fibrosis. Combined model analysis demonstrated that FIB-4 combined with Agile 3+ had improved the correct classification rate and reduced the proportion of missed patients compared with FIB-4 combined with LSM. Conclusion:The Agile 3+ score is superior than LSM, FIB-4, NFS, and APRI index at identifying advanced-stage fibrosis in patients with CHB combined with MAFLD. This study supports the use of FIB-4 index combined with Agile 3+ for risk stratification in patients with CHB combined with MAFLD.

[摘 要] 目的：回顾性分析树突状细胞-细胞因子诱导的杀伤细胞（DC-CIK）不同抗原负载后在治疗恶性黑色素瘤（MM）中的临床疗效与安全性。方法：采集2012年10月至2024年12月期间东部战区总医院秦淮医疗区收治的42例晚期MM患者的外周血单个核细胞，经实验室体外诱导培养成DC和CIK。根据患者HLA-A2的表达将患者分为多肽组和细胞组，多肽组负载混合多肽，细胞组负载肿瘤细胞A375裂解物。DC与CIK培养成熟后再回输给患者。比较两组患者的客观临床反应及生存期，检测治疗前后两组患者外周血淋巴细胞亚群，观察患者回输后的不良反应。结果：42例MM患者中，0例达CR，0例PR，31例SD，11例PD；其中，多肽组18例SD，6例PD，细胞组13例SD，5例PD。多肽组疾病控制率为75.0%，细胞组为72.2%；42例患者中死亡12例，其中细胞组4例，多肽组8例。1年OS率多肽组为76.6%，细胞组为66.7%；2年OS率多肽组为43.8%，细胞组为66.7%；3年OS率多肽组为43.8%，细胞组为33.3%，多肽组3年OS率略高于细胞组，但两组之间无统计学差异（P = 0.445）。两组MM患者治疗前后淋巴细胞亚群无显著差异（均P > 0.05），两组患者均未出现严重不良反应。结论：细胞负载DC-CIK与混合多肽负载DC-CIK治疗MM患者是安全的，能使患者临床获益，但两组的近期疗效和长期生存有差异以及免疫反应均无显著性差异。