Astrocytes are a crucial type of glial cells in the central nervous system, not only maintaining brain homeostasis, but also actively participating in the transmission of information within the brain. Astrocytes have a complex structure that includes the soma, various levels of processes, and end-feet. With the advancement of genetically encoded calcium indicators and imaging technologies, researchers have discovered numerous localized and small calcium activities in the fine processes and end-feet. These calcium activities were termed as microdomain calcium activities, which significantly differ from the calcium activities in the soma and can influence the activity of local neurons, synapses, and blood vessels. This article elaborates the detection and analysis, characteristics, sources, and functions of microdomain calcium activities, and discusses the impact of aging and neurodegenerative diseases on these activities, aiming to enhance the understanding of the role of astrocytes in the brain and to provide new insights for the treatment of brain disorders.
Astrocytes/cytology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Calcium/metabolism* ; Calcium Signaling/physiology* ; Brain/physiology* ; Aging/physiology* ; Membrane Microdomains/physiology* ; Neurodegenerative Diseases/physiopathology*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the sequence of intermediate instrumentation and distraction-reduction of the injured vertebra on the surgical efficacy of short-segment percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for thoracolumbar burst fractures with high rate of spinal canal encroachment. METHODS: From January 2016 to January 2022, 38 patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures with high rate of spinal canal encroachment (spinal canal encroachment rate >40%, complete posterior longitudinal ligament, no flipping bone block in the posterior marginal of the vertebra) without spinal cord injury who were were treated with short-segment percutaneous pedicle screw fixation were retrospectively analyzed. During the operation, 18 cases were used distraction-reduction first and then intermediate instrumentation on injured vertebral and sequential distraction-reduction again(the distraction-reduction first group) including 8 females and 10 males with a mean age of 46.5 (38.5, 50.0) years old, and the other 20 cases were used intermediate instrumentation on injured vertebral first and then direct distraction-reduction(the intermediate instrumentation first group) including 10 males and 10 females with a mean age of 46.0 (35.8, 50.8) years. The anterior height ratio of the injured vertebra, local Cobb's angle of the injured vertebrae, the spinal canal encroachment rate, and the improvement rate of spinal canal encroachment were compared and evaluated. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for more than 1 year, and no complications such as spinal cord and root injury, screw loosening and screw rod fracture were found. The anterior height ratio of the injured vertebra, local Cobb' angle of the injured vertebra in the two groups were significantly improved compared with preoperative data(P<0.05), and those at 3 months and 1 year after operation was lost compared with that at the previous time point(P<0.05). Although the spinal canal encroachment rate of the two groups 1 day and 1 year after operation was improved compared with that before operation(P<0.05), the improvement of spinal canal volume in the distraction-reduction first group was significantly better than that in the intermediate instrumentation first group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION In the treatment of patients with thoracolumbar fractures with high rate of spinal canal encroachment, short-segment percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation with distraction-reduction first and then intermediate instrumentation and sequential distraction-reduction again can more effectively reduce the bony encroachment in the spinal canal and achieve indirect decompression effect better.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fractures/surgery* ; Thoracic Vertebrae/surgery* ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/instrumentation* ; Pedicle Screws ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Canal/surgery*

Despite therapy with potent antiviral agents, chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients remain at high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). While metabolites have been rediscovered as active drivers of biological processes including carcinogenesis, the specific metabolites modulating HCC risk in CHB patients are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that baseline plasma from CHB patients who later developed HCC during follow-up exhibits growth-promoting properties in a case-control design nested within a large-scale, prospective cohort. Metabolomics analysis reveals a reduction in long-chain acylcarnitines (LCACs) in the baseline plasma of patients with HCC development. LCACs preferentially inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells in vitro at a physiological concentration and prevent the occurrence of HCC in vivo without hepatorenal toxicity. Uptake and metabolism of circulating LCACs increase the intracellular level of acetyl coenzyme A, which upregulates histone H3 Lys14 acetylation at the promoter region of KLF6 gene and thereby activates KLF6/p21 pathway. Indeed, blocking LCAC metabolism attenuates the difference in KLF6/p21 expression induced by baseline plasma of HCC/non-HCC patients. The deficiency of circulating LCACs represents a driver of HCC in CHB patients with viral control. These insights provide a promising direction for developing therapeutic strategies to reduce HCC risk further in the antiviral era.

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

As an emerging discipline that combines traditional diagnostic methods with modern scientific technology,micro syndrome differentiation has good prospects for development,but there are some controversies in the research process.Based on ancient and modern literature,this article reviewed the origin and flow of research on micro syndrome differentiation,and summarized the problems to be improved in the process of research on micro syndrome differentiation from three aspects:application of disease type,guiding ideology and micro indicators.Based on this,the article further expounded the new thinking on"near-micro"syndrome differentiation from three aspects:connotation,scope of application,and links to traditional identification and micro-identification,and pointed out that the modern medical detection basis should be incorporated into the field of TCM syndrome differentiation,and at the same time,it should be based on the overall thinking mode of TCM,which would provide a new idea for the development of modern TCM diagnosis technology.

Studies on chemical constituents in the rhizome of Dalbergia rimosa Roxb. The chemical constituents from the ethyl acetate part of D. rimosa were isolated and purified by silica gel, MCI gel, Sephadex LH-20 gel and semi-preparative HPLC, and the stuctures were identified by spectral method. Thirteen compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate part of the rhizome of D. rimosa and identified as dalbergiaisoflavones A, B (1, 2), formononetin (3), 7,4′-dimethoxyisoflavone (4), 4′,6,7-trimethoxyisoflavone (5), biochanin A (6), prunetin (7), 7-O-methyltectorigenin (8), 3′-hydroxydaidzein (9), orobol 7,3′-dimethyl ether (10), 2′,7-dihydroxy-4′,5′- dimethoxyisoflavone (11), pruinosanone E (12), caviunin (13). Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds, and compounds 3-13 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 9 and 11 had remarkable scavenging effect on DPPH free radicals.

Twelve compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the 80% aqueous ethanol extract of the roots and stems of Dalbergia rimosa Roxb. by silica gel, MCI, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified by spectral analysis such as UV, IR, MS, 1D/2D NMR and by comparison with literature information as dalbergiquinol A (1), dalbergiquinol B (2), R-(-)-3′-hydroxy-2,4,5-trimethoxydalbergiquinol (3), neokhriol A (4), mucronulatol (5), (3R)-7,2′,3′-trihydroxy-4′-methoxy-isoflavane (6), isomucronulatol (7), (3S)-violanone (8), 3′-O-methylviolanone (9), eryvarin M (10), (±)-α,3,4,2′,4′-pentahydroxydihydrochalcone (11) and (-)-butin (12). Compound 1 and 2 are new compounds, and compounds 3-12 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 showed good scavenging effect on DPPH free radical.

Objective To analyze the pathogenic characteristics and drug sensitivity of candidaemia,and construct a short-term mortality risk prediction scoring model.Methods The clinical data of patients with candidaemia admitted to the 909 Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force from January 2011 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed,and the composition of pathogen composition,drug sensitivity test results and incidence of hospitalized patients were analyzed.324 cases of candidaemia were randomly divided into modeling group(190 cases)and validation group(134 cases),and the risk factors were screened by binary logistic regression.According to the odds ratio(OR)score,the 30 day mortality risk prediction scoring model was constructed,and the predictive performance of the model was verified both in modeling and validation groups.Results 356 strains of Candida including 126 strains of C.albicans(35.39%),79 strains of C.tropicalis(22.19%),74 strains of C.parapsilosis(20.79%),48 strains of C.glabrata(13.48%),14 strains of C.guilliermondii(3.93%),8 strains of C.krusei(2.25%),and 7 strains of other Candida(1.97%)were detected in 336 patients with candidemia.The incidence of candidaemia among hospitalized patients increased from 0.20 ‰ in 2011 to 0.48 ‰ in 2020.The resistance rate of candida to amphotericin B was significantly lower than that of fluconazole,voriconazole and itraconazole(P＜0.05).Among the 324 cases included in the model,95 patients died in 30 days after diagnosis,and the mortality rate was 29.32%.The proportion of males,fever,and parenteral nutrition in modeling group was significantly higher than that in validation group(P＜0.05),while the proportion of chronic lung disease and surgical history within one month were lower than those in validation group(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that chronic renal failure,mechanical ventilation,severe neutropenia,failure to receive anti-fungal treatment within 72 hours,and APACHE Ⅱ≥20 were risk factors for short-term death of candidaemia,the OR values were 3.179,1.970,2.979,2.080,and 2.399,and the risk scores were 6,4,6,4,and 5,respectively.The area under the curve(AUC)of the risk scoring model for modeling group was 0.792(95%CI 0.721-0.862),and the result of Hosmer-Lemeshow(H-L)test was P=0.305;The AUC of validation group was 0.796(95%CI 0.735-0.898),and the H-L test result was P=0.329.A risk score≤8 indicated a low risk group for short-term mortality,a score of 9-15 indicated a medium risk group,and a score≥16 indicated a high risk group.Conclusions The incidence of candidemia in hospitalized patients is increasing and the mortality is high.The risk prediction score model can effectively predict the short-term prognosis and facilitate the early identification of the prognosis.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of ivabredine tablets in the treatment of elderly patients with hypertension and heart failure.Methods Elderly patients with hypertension and heart failure were divided into control group and treatment group by cohort method.The control group received nifedipine controlled release tablets 30 mg per time,qd,orally+furosemide tablets 20 mg per time,qd,orally+digoxin tablets 0.5 mg per time,qd,orally.On the basis of control group,the treatment group received ivabradine 5 mg per time,bid,orally after meals.Two groups were treated for 24 weeks.The clinical efficacy,right atrial volume indexes,left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide precursor(NT-proBNP)levels and safety were compared between two groups.Results Fifty-three cases were enrolled in the treatment group,45 cases were enrolled in the control group.After treatment,the total effective rates of the treatment and control groups were 88.68％(47 cases/53 cases)and 71.11％(32 cases/45 cases),with statistically significant difference(P＜0.05).After treatment,the right atrial volume indexes of treatment and control groups were(35.48±6.17)and(29.88±5.38)mL·m-2;the LVEF were(50.51±7.02)％and(43.78±6.35)％;the levels of NT-proBNP were 214(155,379)and 212(167,458)ng·mL-1,respectively,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The adverse drug reactions of two groups were nausea and vomiting,slow heart rate,rash and dizziness.The total incidences of adverse drug reactions in the treatment and control groups were 11.32％and 11.11％without significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion Ivaframine tablets have a significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of elderly patients with hypertension and heart failure,without increasing the incidence of adverse drug reactions.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of posterior reduction and fixation combined with pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) kyphotic deformity complicated by upper cervical spine injury.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 8 patients with AS kyphotic deformity complicated by upper cervical spine injury, who were admitted to First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from October 2010 to December 2022. All were males, aged 32-58 years [(46.9±8.7)years]. Acute injury was found in 1 patient and chronic injuries in 7 patients, including 3 with cervicothoracic kyphotic deformity and 5 with thoracolumbar kyphotic deformity. Five patients were complicated by odontoid fractures, 1 by C 2-C 3 fracture and 2 by atlantoaxial dislocation. According to American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scale, 2 patients were with grade C, 3 with grade D, and 3 with grade E. The patients were treated with posterior upper cervical reduction and fixation combined with cervicothoracic PSO or thoracolumbar PSO respectively according to the location of the deformity. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. Neck disability index (NDI), visual analogue scale (VAS), C 0-C 2 angle, C 1-C 2 angle, cervical lordosis angle (CL), head tilt angle (HT), chin-brow vertical angle (CBVA), cervical sagittal vertical axis (CSVA), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were compared before surgery, at 1 week and 3, 6, 12 months after surgery, and at the last follow-up. The healing of fractures and fusion of osteotomy site were recorded at 12 months after surgery. Recovery of neurological function was observed at the last follow-up. Incidence of complications was observed. Results:Patients were all followed up for 12-24 months [(17.0±5.4)months]. The operation time was 5.5-7.2 hours [(6.2±0.6)hours] and the intraoperative blood loss was 480-800 ml [(629.4±124.0)ml]. The NDI scores at 1 week and 3, 6, 12 months after surgery, and at the last follow-up were (14.6±2.6)points, (13.6±2.8)points, (12.8±2.4)points, (12.8±2.7)points, and (12.8±2.6)points respectively, significantly lower than (29.6±8.5)points preoperatively ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in NDI scores at various time points after surgery ( P>0.05). The VAS scores were 2.0(1.0, 3.0)points, 1.5(1.0, 2.0)points, 0.5(0.0, 1.8)points, 0.5(0.0, 1.7)points, and 0.5(0.0, 1.8)points respectively, significantly lower than 3.5(3.0, 4.8)points preoperatively ( P<0.01). The VAS score at 3 months postoperatively was lower than that at 1 week postoperatively ( P<0.05), and the VAS score at 6 months postoperatively was lower than that at 3 months postoperatively ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in VAS scores at 6, 12 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between C 0-C 2 angle and C 1-C 2 angle preoperatively and at different time points postoperatively ( P>0.05). At 1 week and 3, 6, 12 months postoperatively and at the last follow-up, the CL values were -8.5(-5.3, -11.9)°, -8.6(-5.5, -11.9)°, -8.4(5.2, -12.1)°, -8.8(-5.6, -12.4)°, and -8.7(-5.3, -12.5)° respectively, significantly higher than 1.2(9.5, -4.8)° preoperatively ( P<0.01); the HT values were 6.1(4.5, 9.6)°, 6.1(4.3, 9.4)°, 6.0(4.2, 8.9)°, 6.0(4.2, 9.2)°, and 6.1(4.3, 9.2)° respectively, significantly lower than 17.0(10.3, 22.0)° preoperatively ( P<0.01); the CBVA values were (23.2±5.0)°, (23.1±4.8)°, (23.0±4.7)°, (23.1±4.7)°, and (23.1±4.9)° respectively, significantly lower than (44.1±9.8)° preoperatively ( P<0.01); the CSVA values were 5.2(4.2, 7.5)cm, 5.4(4.1, 7.1)cm, 4.7(4.0, 7.4)cm, 5.4(4.1, 7.0)cm, and 5.1(4.3, 6.5)cm respectively, significantly shorter than 9.0(7.8, 9.3)cm preoperatively ( P<0.01); the SVA values were 7.7(6.2, 13.7)cm, 7.5(6.0, 13.4)cm, 7.6(6.2, 13.2)cm, 7.4(6.3, 13.1)cm, and 7.5(6.2, 13.2)cm respectively, significantly shorter than 16.8(8.2, 27.2)cm preoperatively ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences among CL, HT, CBVA, CSVA, and SVA values at different time points after surgery ( P>0.05). All the fractures healed at 12 months after surgery and Bridwell grade I healing was achieved at all the osteotomy sites. At the last follow-up, all the patients were classified as ASIA grade E, significantly improved compared with preoperatively ( P<0.01). One patient had transient C 8 nerve paralysis after surgery and recovered after 4 weeks′ treatment. The remaining patients did not develop any infection or internal fixation-related complications, such as broken rods, broken screws, or loose screws. Conclusion:For AS kyphosis deformity complicated with upper cervical injury, posterior reduction and fixation combined with cervicothoracic or thoracolumbar PSO can effectively promote functional recovery, relieve pain, maintain overall trunk balance, improve neurological symptoms, and reduce the incidence of complications.