With the rising incidence of diabetes， diabetic kidney disease （DKD） has become a significant global health burden. Although current prevention and treatment strategies can partially delay the progression of DKD， the risk of patients advancing to end-stage renal disease remains high. Since the concept of the "gut-kidney axis" was first introduced at the International Congress on Dialysis in 2011， research on the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of DKD has received increasing attention. This review summarizes the current research on gut microbiota， explores the mechanisms through which it contributes to DKD development， and outlines clinical approaches for DKD prevention and treatment based on the "gut-kidney axis" theory. Evidence indicates that dietary interventions， intake of probiotics or prebiotics， use of metformin and novel antidiabetic drugs， and application of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） compound formulas can effectively improve gut microbiota composition， influence metabolite production， and restore the intestinal mucosal barrier. These interventions can further regulate intestinal innate immunity and inflammatory responses， thereby modulating the progression of DKD. Despite challenges posed by the traditional oral administration of water-decocted TCM compound formulas and the complexity of their ingredients， increasing evidence suggests that TCM may indirectly affect the occurrence and development of DKD by modulating gut microbiota. This finding provides a new perspective on the potential mechanisms of TCM in DKD treatment and may offer novel strategies for DKD prevention and therapy.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical efficacy and mechanisms of Qigui Didang decoction in the treatment of kidney collateral stasis syndrome in patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ diabetic kidney disease （DKD） in a real-world setting. MethodsPatients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome admitted to Beijing Aerospace General Hospital from January 2022 to December 2024 were selected for clinical study. According to treatment methods， patients were divided into the Qigui Didang decoction group （Qigui Didang decoction + conventional treatment） and the control group （conventional treatment alone）. A 1∶1 propensity score matching （PSM） method was used to reduce bias caused by confounding factors. Clinical efficacy， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores， renal function indicators， mRNA expression related to pathway mechanisms， glycolipid metabolism indices， and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 120 patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome were included， including 62 cases in the Qigui Didang Decoction group and 58 cases in the control group. Before matching， there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in DKD stage， baseline urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio （UACR）， 24-hour urine total protein （24 h-UTP）， and estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR） （P<0.05）. After matching， 47 cases were included in each group， and there was no statistically significant difference in baseline data between the two groups. After matching， the total clinical effective rate of the Qigui Didang decoction group was significantly higher than that of the control group （χ²=4.681， P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， the scores of primary and secondary TCM symptoms in the Qigui Didang decoction group were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， serum creatinine （SCr）， 24 h-UTP， and UACR levels were significantly decreased， while eGFR was significantly increased in the Qigui Didang decoction group （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， the mRNA expression of silent information regulator 1 （Sirt1） was significantly upregulated， while the mRNA expression of nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） and tumor suppressor protein p53 （p53） was significantly downregulated in the Qigui Didang decoction group （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， fasting plasma glucose （FPG）， 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose （2 hPG）， glycated hemoglobin A1c （HbA1c）， total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） levels were decreased， while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） levels were increased （P<0.05）. There was no statistically significant difference in adverse reactions between the two groups. ConclusionQigui Didang decoction combined with conventional treatment can significantly improve renal function， glycolipid metabolism， and TCM syndromes in patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome， with good safety. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of the Sirt1/NF-κB/p53 signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical efficacy and mechanisms of Qigui Didang decoction in the treatment of kidney collateral stasis syndrome in patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ diabetic kidney disease （DKD） in a real-world setting. MethodsPatients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome admitted to Beijing Aerospace General Hospital from January 2022 to December 2024 were selected for clinical study. According to treatment methods， patients were divided into the Qigui Didang decoction group （Qigui Didang decoction + conventional treatment） and the control group （conventional treatment alone）. A 1∶1 propensity score matching （PSM） method was used to reduce bias caused by confounding factors. Clinical efficacy， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores， renal function indicators， mRNA expression related to pathway mechanisms， glycolipid metabolism indices， and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 120 patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome were included， including 62 cases in the Qigui Didang Decoction group and 58 cases in the control group. Before matching， there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in DKD stage， baseline urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio （UACR）， 24-hour urine total protein （24 h-UTP）， and estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR） （P<0.05）. After matching， 47 cases were included in each group， and there was no statistically significant difference in baseline data between the two groups. After matching， the total clinical effective rate of the Qigui Didang decoction group was significantly higher than that of the control group （χ²=4.681， P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， the scores of primary and secondary TCM symptoms in the Qigui Didang decoction group were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， serum creatinine （SCr）， 24 h-UTP， and UACR levels were significantly decreased， while eGFR was significantly increased in the Qigui Didang decoction group （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， the mRNA expression of silent information regulator 1 （Sirt1） was significantly upregulated， while the mRNA expression of nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） and tumor suppressor protein p53 （p53） was significantly downregulated in the Qigui Didang decoction group （P<0.05）. Compared with data before treatment， fasting plasma glucose （FPG）， 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose （2 hPG）， glycated hemoglobin A1c （HbA1c）， total cholesterol （TC）， triglycerides （TG）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） levels were decreased， while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） levels were increased （P<0.05）. There was no statistically significant difference in adverse reactions between the two groups. ConclusionQigui Didang decoction combined with conventional treatment can significantly improve renal function， glycolipid metabolism， and TCM syndromes in patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ DKD with kidney collateral stasis syndrome， with good safety. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of the Sirt1/NF-κB/p53 signaling pathway.

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） offers a rich theoretical foundation and clinical experience for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome（CKM）， demonstrating unique advantage. Building on previous work in managing diabetes， its complications， and chronic kidney disease， our team has proposed a five-phase evolution theory of "constraint， heat， deficiency， stasis， and toxin" as the core pathogenesis. These phases correspond to the pathological progression of constraint of phlegm-dampness， constraint transforming into heat， heat damaging qi and yin， stasis accumulated in the collateral vessels， and toxin induced by deficiency and stasis. In the prevention and treatment of CKM by TCM， it is emphasized to integrate the concept of "treating disease before it arises" with constitution theory， and incorporate the "2-5-8" prevention and treatment strategy， which combines prevention with treatment， tailors interventions to different phases， and employs comprehensive treatment modalities. Our goal is to leverage TCM's holistic advantages in preventing and treating CKM.

Stomach exuberance and spleen deficiency are common pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases. Through analyzing the pathogenesis of stomach exuberance and spleen deficiency， it is believed that its essence is stomach heat and spleen deficiency. Stomach heat includes gastrointestinal heat， spleen and stomach damp-heat， and spleen deficiency is divided into deficiency of spleen yin， deficiency of spleen qi ， and deficiency of spleen yang. It is suggested that the metabolic diseases of stomach-exuberance and spleen-deficiency syndrome can be divided into three categories，i.e. stomach-heat and spleen yin-deficiency， stomach-heat and spleen qi-deficiency， and stomach-heat and spleen yang-deficiency， and the main treatment methods are clearing and draining heat， nourishing yin and moistening intestine， clearing dampness and heat， strengthening spleen and qi， clearing dampness and heat， strengthening spleen and warming yang， respectively， with prescriptions as Maziren Pills （麻子仁丸）， Qinlian Pingwei Powder （芩连平胃散）， and Jiawei Lianli Decoction （加味连理汤） accordingly.