The therapeutic effects of Yueju Pills on depression and cardiovascular diseases have been widely recognized. Previous studies have shown that the drug can significantly improve depressive-like behaviors induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) combined with atherosclerosis(AS). Given the complex pathogenesis of psychocardiac diseases, this study integrated metabolomics and network pharmacology to systematically elucidate the mechanism of Yueju Pills in alleviating depressive symptoms in psychocardiac diseases. The results demonstrate that, after Yueju Pill intervention, the levels of 9 abnormal metabolites in the hippocampus restore to normal ranges, primarily involving key pathways or signaling pathways, including the cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP), mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR), glycine/serine/threonine metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis. In a high-fat diet-induced CUMS ApoE~(-/-) mouse model, Yueju Pills significantly increases adenosine monophosphate(AMP) levels and decreases L-alanine and D-glyceric acid levels in the hippocampus. In conclusion, Yueju Pills exert antidepressant effects by regulating multiple metabolic axes, including glycine/serine/threonine metabolism and the cAMP, mTOR signaling pathways. Network pharmacology predictions reveal that the treatment of CUMS combined with AS by its core active components may be realized through modulating pathways concerning neuroinflammation and synaptic plasticity, including serine/threonine-protein kinase 1(AKT1), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1(MAPK1), and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2). This study provides a theoretical reference for the clinical application of Yueju Pills in alleviating the depressive symptoms of psychocardiac diseases.
Animals ; Network Pharmacology ; Mice ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Metabolomics ; Male ; Depression/genetics* ; Humans ; Hippocampus/drug effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Signal Transduction/drug effects*

An 11-year-old boy presented with erythematous plaques over the bilateral mandibular and mental regions for 2 years, accompanied by cough and dyspnea for more than 2 months. Chest computed tomography angiography revealed marked stenosis of the right pulmonary artery, irregular aortic caliber, and aortic wall thickening. Histopathological examination of the skin lesion, including immunohistochemistry and special stains, confirmed a chronic suppurative inflammation. Whole-exome sequencing was negative. A final diagnosis of granuloma faciale and Takayasu arteritis was established. Combination therapy with systemic tocilizumab, prednisone, and methotrexate, along with topical 0.1% tacrolimus ointment, resulted in a favorable clinical response. This report summarizes the clinical features of a pediatric case of granuloma faciale and Takayasu arteritis and reviews the etiology, diagnostic approach, and current treatment strategies for the disorders, aiming to enhance clinicians' understanding of these conditions.
Humans ; Male ; Child ; Takayasu Arteritis/diagnosis* ; Facial Dermatoses/diagnosis*

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsia(SFGR)in wild rodents collected from Fengshan County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,and to determine their species.Wild rodents were captured in cages in Fengshan County,Hechi City,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The rodents were identified according to morphological characteristics,and the findings were confirmed through molecular biology methods.Subsequently,spleen samples were collected,and DNA was extracted.The outer membrane protein A(ompA)gene was amplified with semi-nested PCR to determine the species of SFGR in captured wild rodents.After sequencing of the PCR products,homology and phylogenetic analyses of ompA gene sequences were performed.A total of 105 wild rodents belonging to seven species were captured.FGR was detected in six rodent species(Bandicota indica,Leopoldamys edwardsi,Mus caroli,Mus Pahari,Rat-tus andamanensis,and Rattus losea,but not Berylmys bower si),and the total positivity rate was 23.8％.Three Rickettsia species,Candidatus Rickettsia jingxinensis,Rickettsia raoultii,and Rickettsia sibirica,were identified from analysis of the ompA gene sequence.This study revealed the presence of three species of SFGR infecting wild rodents from Fengshan County,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,thus suggesting that Fengshan County is a natural focus of tick-borne spotted fever.This study highlights the need to strengthen monitoring and prevention measures for rickettsiosis.

AIM:To investigate the mechanism of chronic stress-induced myocardial injury in atherosclerotic(AS)mice.METHODS:Eight-week-old SPF-grade male ApoE-/-mice and C57BL/6J mice used in this study.The mice received dietary intervention for 10 weeks followed by pathological examination to test the successful AS modeling.After AS establishment,the mice were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS)for 6 weeks and then divided into five groups:control,CUMS,AS-regular diet(AS-r)+CUMS,AS-high-fat diet(AS-h),and AS-h+CUMS.During CUMS,open-field test and sucrose preference test were performed on mice in all groups.Blood lipids were characterized using an automatic biochemical analyzer.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and oil red O staining were performed to evaluate pathological changes in the aortic root.Cardiac function was assessed using echocardiography.The serum concentration of myocardial injury markers and ATP content was detected by ELISA.Transmission electron microscopy was employed to observe the ul-trastructure of myocardial mitochondria.Myocardial mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate was determined using the Oxy-graph-2k high-resolution respiratory energy metabolism analyzer.Western blot was conducted to quantify the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2),Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax),and cleaved caspase-3.RESULTS:compared with the Control group,the total distance traveled,the number of entries into the central area,and the sucrose preference rate were significantly decreased in all CUMS groups(P<0.05).All AS groups exhibited varying levels of lipid deposition and endo-thelial damage in the aortic root,along with a significant reduction in cardiac function(P<0.05)and varying degrees of myocardial injury(P<0.05).In the AS-h+CUMS and AS-r+CUMS groups,myocardial mitochondrial structure was signifi-cantly disrupted.ATP content was significantly reduced(P<0.05),and the rates of oxygen consumption associated with mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I,mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I+II,and the maximum respiratory capacity of the electron transport system were all significantly decreased(P<0.05).Moreover,the protein levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3 were significantly increased(P<0.05),while that of Bcl-2 protein was significantly decreased(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Chronic stress triggers mitochondrial non-steady-state load by disrupting myocardial structure and energy metabolism in AS mice,promoting myocardial cell apoptosis and myocardial injury.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of external application of Liangxue Chushi Zhiyang Powder(composed of Isatidis Folium,Chrysanthemi Flos,Sophorae Flavescentis Radix,Schizonepetae Spica,and Zanthoxyli Pericarpium,etc.)in the treatment of facial dermatitis,and to analyze its effect on skin barrier function of the patients.Methods Seventy-two patients with facial dermatitis were randomly divided into the control group and the observation group,with 36 cases in each group.The control group was treated with Butyl Flufenamic Ointment for external use and Ebastine Tablets orally,while the observation group was given cold and wet compress of Liangxue Chushi Zhiyang Powder on the basis of treatment for the control group.The course of treatment of both groups covered three weeks.Before and after the treatment,the changes of subjective and objective symptom scores as well as skin barrier function indicators of the two groups were observed.After treatment,the clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were assessed.Results(1)After three weeks of treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was 75.00%(27/36),and that of the control group was 47.22%(17/36);the intergroup comparison showed that the therapeutic efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group(χ2=5.844,P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the scores of objective symptoms such as erythema,inflammatory papules,desquamation,swelling,and lesion area in the two groups were significantly decreased when compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease of the scores of erythema,inflammatory papules and lesion area in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).The differences in the scores of desquamation and swelling between the two groups were not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(3)After treatment,the scores of subjective symptoms such as itching,burning,stabbing pain,dryness/tightness of the skin in the two groups were significantly decreased when compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the decrease of the scores of each subjective symptom in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).(4)After treatment,the skin barrier function indicators such as trans-epidermal water loss(TEWL)and skin pH value of the two groups were significantly lowered(P＜0.05),and stratum corneum hydration(SCH)and sebum(SEB)content were significantly increased when compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05).The decrease of TEWL and pH value as well as the increase of SCH and SEB content in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).(5)During the treatment,no serious adverse reactions occurred in the two groups of patients.The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 8.33%(3/36),and that in the control group was 5.66%(2/36),and the difference was not statistically significant(χ2=0.215,P＞0.05).Conclusion The cold and wet compress of Liangxue Chushi Zhiyang Powder exerts certain efficacy in the treatment of facial dermatitis,which is effective on markedly relieving the subjective and objective symptoms of the patients,and improving the skin barrier function,with few and mild adverse reaction.

Objective To explore the value of constructing a model to predict the number of positive cores in systematic biopsy in prostate cancer(PCa)using a combination of radiomics features based on magnetic resonance imaging and clinical indicators.Methods Retrospectively collected magnetic resonance imaging and clinical data from two medical institutions(Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2018 to February 2023,Zhangye People's Hospital Affiliated to Hexi College from April 2020 to February 2023).The 155 patients from Gansu Provincial Hospital were randomly divided into a training set(n=109;80 cases with positive needle count≥6 and 29 cases with positive needle count<6)and an internal validation set(n=46;34 cases with positive needle count≥6 and 12 cases with positive needle count<6)in a 7:3 ratio.The 43 patients from Zhangye People's Hospital Affiliated to Hexi College were used as external validation set.Small field of view high-resolution T2-weighted imaging(sFOV HR-T2WI)and contrast-enhanced delayed-phase images were selected to extract radiomic features from the three-dimensional region of interest of the entire prostate,and radiomics model was constructed and Radscores calculated after dimensionality reduction and feature selection.Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to screen for independent risk factors for positive cores in systematic biopsy.Nomogram was constructed using Radscore and clinical independent risk factors to predict the number of positive cores in systematic biopsy in PCa patients,which was then externally validated.Results Age,alkaline phosphatase(ALP),free prostate specific antigen(FPSA),total prostate specific antigen(TPSA),FPSA/TPSA ratio,and prostate specific antigen density(PSAD)were not statistically significantly different between the training,internal validation,and external validation sets(P>0.05).FPSA,TPSA,FPSA/TPSA ratio,and PSAD were significantly different between the positive cores<6 and positive cores≥6 groups(P<0.001).Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that FPSA(P<0.001),TPSA(P<0.001),FPSA/TPSA ratio(P=0.001),PSAD(P<0.001),and Radscore(P<0.001)were risk factors for positive cores in systematic biopsy in PCa.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that PSAD(OR=0.251,95%CI 0.063-0.996,P=0.049)and Radscore(OR=1.990,95%CI 1.409-2.812,P<0.001)were independent risk factors for positive cores in systematic biopsy in PCa.The clinical models achieved AUCs of 0.849(95%CI 0.774-0.924),0.817(95%CI 0.693-0.941),and 0.631(95%CI 0.439-0.822);the 12 features for radiomics models are derived solely from sFOV HR-T2WI,the radiomics models achieved AUCs of 0.868(95%CI 0.791-0.945),0.846(95%CI 0.695-0.996),and 0.815(95%CI 0.660-0.970);the nomogram achieved AUCs of 0.921(95%CI 0.869-0.973),0.868(95%CI 0.743-0.992),and 0.840(95%CI 0.702-0.978)in the training set,internal validation set,and external validation set,respectively.Conclusions The combination of radiomic features extracted from sFOV HR-T2WI and PSAD can preoperatively be used as a noninvasive manner to predict the number of positive cores of the PCa patients.This approach has a certain value in risk stratification of PCa patients and guiding personalized clinical management.

Both anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease and the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) are common causes of pulmonary-renal syndrome. Organizing pneumonia (OP), a special pattern of interstitial lung disease, is extremely rare either in AAV or anti-GBM disease. We report an old woman presented with OP on a background of co-presentation with both ANCA and anti-GBM antibodies.
Female ; Humans ; Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Organizing Pneumonia ; Autoantibodies ; Glomerulonephritis ; Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease ; Pneumonia ; Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis/complications*

Lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is one of the main complications in patients with traumatic fractures, and for severe patients, the DVT can even affect arterial blood supply, resulting in insufficient limb blood supply. If the thrombus breaks off, pulmonary embolism may occur, with a high mortality. The treatment and rehabilitation strategies of thrombosis in patients with lower extremity fractures have its particularity. DVT in traumatic fractures patients has attracted extensive attention and been largely studied, and the measures for prevention and treatment of DVT are constantly developing. In recent years, a series of thrombosis prevention and treatment guidelines have been updated at home and abroad, but there are still many doubts about the prevention and treatment of DVT in patients with different traumatic fractures. Accordingly, on the basis of summarizing the latest evidence-based medical evidence at home and abroad and the clinical experience of the majority of experts, the authors summarize the clinical treatment and prevention protocols for DVT in patients with traumatic fractures, and make this consensus on the examination and assessment, treatment, prevention and preventive measures for DVT in patients with different fractures so as to provide a practicable approach suitable for China ′s national conditions and improve the prognosis and the life quality of patients.

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of dry and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and to analyze the risk factors for AMD. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional epidemiologic study was conducted involving 14,440 individuals. We assessed the prevalence of dry and wet AMD in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects and analyzed the risk factors for AMD. Results: The prevalence of wet AMD in diabetic and non-diabetic patients was 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, and the prevalence of dry AMD was 17% and 16.4%, respectively. The prevalence of wet AMD in healthy, hypertensive, hyperlipidemic, and hypertensive/hyperlipidemic populations was 0.5%, 0.3%, 0.2%, and 0.7%, respectively. The prevalence of dry AMD in healthy, hypertensive, hyperlipidemic, and hypertensive/hyperlipidemic populations was 16.6%, 16.2%, 15.2%, and 17.2%, respectively. Age, sex, body mass index, and use of hypoglycemic drugs or lowering blood pressure drugs were corrected in the risk factor analysis of AMD. Diabetes, diabetes/hypertension, diabetes/hyperlipidemia, and diabetes/hypertension/hyperlipidemia were analyzed. None of the factors analyzed in the current study increased the risk for the onset of AMD. Conclusion There was no significant difference in the prevalence of wet and dry AMD among diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of wet and dry AMD among subjects with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Diabetes co-existing with hypertension and hyperlipidemia were not shown to be risk factors for the onset of dry AMD.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias/epidemiology* ; Hypertension/epidemiology* ; Macular Degeneration/etiology* ; Risk Factors