OBJECTIVE To provide suggestions for improving the path and system construction of patient engagement in drug regulation in China. METHODS By reviewing initiatives and experiences from the United States （U. S.）， European Union （EU）， and Japan in promoting patient engagement， this study summarizes the roles and contributions of patients in the entire drug regulatory process internationally. Combining China’s current progress and challenges in patient engagement， specific proposals are formulated to refine regulatory pathways and institutional systems. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS With growing global emphasis on patient engagement as a regulatory strategy， countries or regions such as the U.S.， EU， and Japan have established clear policies， designated oversight agencies， and developed diversified pathways for patient engagement. Patients contribute to regulatory processes through advisory meetings， direct decision-making roles， and leveraging lived experiences and expertise to optimize drug evaluation and monitoring. In contrast， China’s patient engagement remains primarily limited to clinical value- oriented drug development， lacking formal policy guidance. It is recommended that China， based on its existing policy system， further strengthen the construction of a safeguard system for patient engagement， improve the capacity building and pathway models for patient participation in pharmaceutical regulation， and promote the continuous development of patient engagement in pharmaceutical regulation in our country.

OBJECTIVE To construct an evaluation index system for the core competencies of ethics committee members of drug clinical trial institution， providing a basis for optimizing the training system for committee members， improving the quality of ethical review， and fully safeguarding the safety and rights of subjects. METHODS Using methods such as literature research and expert consultation， a preliminary core competency evaluation index system was constructed. The Delphi method was employed to revise and validate it， ultimately forming an evaluation index system for the core competencies of ethics committee members. Based on this system， a questionnaire survey was conducted among 90 ethics committee members from 29 drug clinical trial institutions nationwide， comparing their importance rating and self-assessment scores of the core competency indexes. RESULTS The evaluation system constructed included 4 primary indicators （ethics and professional knowledge， ethics review ability， communication and expression ability， moral integrity and work style） and 39 secondary indicators （familiarity with the content of clinical trial-related laws and regulations， ability to complete project ethics review and identify ethical defects in research protocols within a short period of time， ability to judge the scientific value of clinical research， etc.）. The results of questionnaire survey showed that the interviewed ethics committee members had significant capability gaps in dimensions such as regulatory knowledge， ethical norms， review efficiency， risk judgment， and problem analysis. The differences between the importance rating scores of corresponding secondary indicators and the self-assessment scores were all no less than 0.38. CONCLUSIONS This study has developed a quantifiable and stratified core competency assessment tool for ethics committee members. It can provide a scientific framework for committee member training， qualification certification， and standardized management of ethics committees.

Following the release of the Technical Requirements on Quality Control and Standard Establishment of Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula Granules by the National Medical Products Administration in 2021, Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission has promulgated 296 national drug standards so far, and most provinces have started the work of establishing provincial standards as supplements. The promulgation of standards fostered high-quality development of the industry. Since the implementation of national and provincial standards for more than three years, enterprises have gained deep understanding and hands-on experiences on the characteristics, technical requirements, production process, and quality control of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) formula granules. Meanwhile, challenges have emerged restricting the high-quality development of this industry, including how to formulate quality control strategies for medicinal materials and decoction pieces, how to reduce manufacturing costs, and how to improve the pass rate and product stability under high standards. Based on the work experiences from standard management and process research, this article analyzed the distribution of sources, processing methods, dry extract rate ranges, process requirements for volatile oil-containing decoction pieces, control measures of safety indices, characteristics and trends of setting characteristic chromatograms or fingerprints, characteristics and trends of setting content ranges, and main differences between national standards and provincial standards. On the one hand, this article aims to present main characteristics for deeply understanding different indicators in standards and provide basic ideas for establishing quality and process control systems. On the other hand, from the perspective of industrial practice, suggestions are put forward on the important aspects that need to be focused on in the quality and process control of TCM formula granules.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Quality Control ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; China ; Drug Industry/standards*

Objective： To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy for the treatment of diabetic mellitus erectile dysfunction. Methods： China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), Wanfang Data, VIP, Chinese Biomedical Database(CBM), PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Web of Science were searched from inception until October 20th of 2024，for randomized controlled trials of Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy for the treatment of diabetic erectile dysfunction. Literature screening, quality evaluation, and data extraction were carried out in accordance with relevant standards. The software of RevMan5.4 was used for the analysis of publication bias. And meta-analysis was conducted to assess the impact of this therapy on IIEF-5, total effective rate, adverse reactions. The evidence levels according to the analysis results were evaluated. Results: Totally 19 RCTs were included, involving 1 612 patients. The result of meta-analysis indicated that Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy had advantages on the improvement of IIEF-5 scores (MD=3.59，95%CI［2.14，5.03］，P<0.01)，total effective rate (OR=4.30，95%CI［3.29，5.32］，P<0.000 01）. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions(OR=0.98，95%CI［0.48，2.01］，P=0.96) between the two groups. Conclusions： Tonifying kidney and activating blood therapy can improve the clinical efficacy and IIEF-5 score for the patients with diabetic erectile dysfunction. But considering the limited quantity of included studies, more high-quality studies still be needed to validate the therapeutic effect.
Humans ; Male ; Erectile Dysfunction/therapy* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Kidney ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Diabetes Complications/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory effects of two traditional mineral medicines (TMMs), Gypsum Fibrosum (Shigao, GF) and Terra Flava Usta (Zaoxintu, TFU), on gut-beneficial bacteria in mice, and preliminarily explore their mechanisms of action. METHODS: Mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10 per group): the control group (standard diet), the GF group (diet supplemented with 2% GF), and the TFU group (diet supplemented with 2% TFU). After 4-week intervention, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to analyze the changes in the gut microbiota (GM). Scanning electron microscopy, in combination with coumarin A tetramethyl rhodamine conjugate and Hoechst stainings, was used to observe the bacteria and biofilm formation. RESULTS: Principal coordinate analysis revealed that GF and TFU significantly altered the GM composition in mice. Further analysis revealed that GF and TFU affected different types of gut bacteria, suggesting that different TMMs may selectively modulate specific bacterial populations. For certain bacteria, such as Faecalibaculum and Ileibacterium, both GF and TFU exhibited growth-promoting effects, implying that they may be sensitive to TMMs and that different TMMs can increase their abundance through their respective mechanisms. Notably, Lactobacillus reuteri, a widely recognized and used probiotic, was significantly enriched in the GF group. Random forest analysis identified Ileibacterium valens as a potential indicator bacterium for TMMs' impact on GM. Further mechanistic studies showed that gut bacteria formed biofilm structures on the TFU surface. CONCLUSIONS This study provides new insights into the interaction between TMMs and GM. As safe and effective natural clays, GF and TFU hold promise as potential candidates for prebiotic development.
Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Bacteria/growth & development* ; Mice ; Biofilms/drug effects* ; Male ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the potential mediating role of plasma phosphorylated tau217 (p-tau217) in the association between periodontitis and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: In this case-control study, patients diagnosed with MCI in the Neurology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Second Medical University from November 2023 to May 2024 were selected as the case group (MCI group). Cognitively normal (CN) volunteers, matched for age and education level and recruited from the physical examination center during the same period, served as the control group (CN group). The general demographic data of the study participants were collected. The Beijing versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), clinical dementia rating (CDR), and activities of daily living scale (ADL) were used to assess neuropsychological functions. Clinical periodontal examinations were conducted, the periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) was calculated, and the periodontitis stage was determined in accordance with the 2018 classification. Fasting elbow venous blood samples were collected in the morning, and blood biochemical indicators were measured. Plasma p-tau217 levels were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analyses were performed using t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, partial correlation analysis, multivariate Logistic regression analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression analysis, and mediation effect analysis. RESULTS: Among the 192 participants, 96 belong to the MCI group and 96 to the CN group. The prevalence of periodontitis was 63.5% in the MCI group and 43.8% in the CN group, with a statistically significant difference (χ²=7.561, P=0.006). The plasma p-tau217 levels in the MCI group were significantly higher than those in the CN group [7.00 (4.27-9.65) ng/mL versus 2.02 (0.80-3.81) ng/mL, Z=-8.108, P<0.001]. Partial correlation analysis revealed that plasma p-tau217 levels were positively correlated with all the clinical periodontal indices (all P<0.001). After adjustments for baseline covariates, multivariate Logistic regression indicated that periodontitis was an independent risk factor for MCI. Patients with periodontitis had a 1.977-fold higher MCI risk than those without periodontitis (OR=1.977, 95%CI: 1.088-3.594, P=0.025). Moreover, the MCI risk for stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ periodontitis and stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ periodontitis was 1.878 times (OR=1.878, 95%CI: 1.029-3.425, P=0.040) and 2.625 times (OR=2.625, 95%CI: 1.073-6.246, P=0.035) higher than that for patients without periodontitis, respectively. Trend test showed that the MCI risk increased with periodontitis severity (P_trend=0.016). After adjustments for baseline covariates, multiple linear regression analysis showed that periodontitis was an independent risk factor for increased plasma p-tau217 levels (β=3.309, 95%CI: 2.363-4.254, P<0.001). Compared with patients without periodontitis, those with stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ periodontitis (β=1.838, 95%CI: 0.869-2.806, P<0.001) and stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ periodontitis (β=5.539, 95%CI: 4.442-6.636, P<0.001) had significantly higher plasma p-tau217 levels. In addition, trend test indicated that plasma p-tau217 levels increased with periodontitis severity (P_trend<0.001). After adjustments for baseline covariates, RCS regression analysis further revealed that PISA had a positive linear dose-response relationship with MCI risk (P_overall=0.002, P_nonlinear=0.344) and plasma p-tau217 levels (P_overall<0.001, P_nonlinear=0.140). After adjustments for baseline covariates, mediation analysis showed that plasma p-tau217 mediated the association between periodontitis and MCI, with a mediation proportion of 13.99% (95% Bootstrap CI: 0.38%-49.39%, P=0.038). CONCLUSIONS Periodontitis was independently positively associated with MCI risk, and plasma p-tau217 plays a mediating role in this association.
Humans ; Cognitive Dysfunction/complications* ; tau Proteins/blood* ; Periodontitis/complications* ; Case-Control Studies ; Male ; Female ; Phosphorylation ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Activities of Daily Living

Objective:To explore the effectiveness of a hysteroscopic endometrial lesion diagnosis model de-veloped based on deep learning(DL)algorithm combined with gradient-weighted class activation mapping(Grad-CAM)visualization technology.Methods:303 hysteroscopy videos(4781 images)of 291 patients who un-derwent hysteroscopy examination in the Department of Gynecology,Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from June 1,2021 to December 31,2022 were selected.The dataset was divided into a training set(3703 images)and a test set(1078 images)by weight sampling method.After the training set was used for model learning and train-ing,two model architectures,residual neural network(ResNet18)and efficient neural network(EfficientNet-B0),were selected to verify the model in the test set by five-class and two-class classification tasks,respectively.Tak-ing histopathology as the gold standard,the diagnostic efficacy was evaluated to select the optimal model,and the Grad-CAM layer was embedded in the optimal model to output hysteroscopy images of Grad-CAM.Results:①In the five-class classification tasks,the accuracy of EfficientNet-B0 model(93.23％)was higher than that of Res-Net18 model(84.23％);the area under the curve(AUC)of EfficientNet-B0 model in the diagnosis of five disea-ses,including atypical endometrial hyperplasia,endometrial polyps,endometrial cancer,endometrial atypical hy-perplasia,and submucous myoma,was slightly higher than that of ResNet18 model,and the AUC of both models was almost above 0.980.②In the binary classification task of accuracy and the evaluation of specificity,the two models were similar,both above 93.00％,and the sensitivity of EfficientNet-B0 model(91.14％)was significantly better than that of ResNet18 model(77.22％).③EfficientNet-B0 model combined with Grad-CAM algorithm could identify the abnormal areas in the image.After biopsy and pathological examination,it was confirmed that about 95％of the marked areas in the model's output heatmap were lesion areas.Conclusions:The hysteroscopy di-agnostic model developed by EfficientNet-B0 model combined with Grad-CAM has high diagnostic accuracy,sen-sitivity,and specificity,and has application value in the diagnosis of endometrial lesions.

Objective:To investigate the impact of programmed death receptor-1(PD-1)and its ligand(PD-L1)on the differentiation of decidual macrophages(DMs)and embryonic development.Methods:20 patients with re-current spontaneous abortion(RSA group)and 20 patients with normal pregnancy induced artificial abortion(NP group)were selected from Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between March 2021 and January 2024.Villous and decidual tissues were obtained from both groups.Real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reac-tion(qPCR)and Western blot techniques were used to detect the expression of PD-L1 mRNA and protein in vil-lous tissues.Flow cytometry was used to analyze the types of DMs and their PD-1 expression.Human monocytic leukemia cells(THP-1)were differentiated under different conditions,with a control group and a PD-1 blocked group established,and different reagents were added into those two groups to induce differentiation,then the pro-portion of DMs types was measured in both groups.Results:PD-L1 protein and mRNA were expressed in the vil-lous tissue of both groups of patients but the expression of PD-L1 protein and mRNA was reduced in the RSA group compared to the NP group(P<0.05).The decidual tissues of both groups contained M1 and M2 macro-phages.Compared with the NP group,the ratio of M2 to M1 DMs in the RSA group was lower(P<0.05),indica-ting a polarization towards the M1 type in DMs.There was no statistically significant difference in PD-1 expression between the two groups(P>0.05).Human THP-1 cells can be stimulated to differentiate into M1 and M2 macro-phages.Afterblocking PD-1,theratioof M2 to M1 macrophages decreased(P<0.05),indicating a polarization towards the M1 type in macrophages.Conclusions:In patients with RSA,the expression of PD-L1 in villous tis-sues is decreased,and DMs polarize towards the M1 type.Blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway can further promote the polarization of macrophages towards the M1 type.The influence of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway on macrophage po-larization may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of RSA.

Objective To investigate the safety and effectiveness of transumbilical repair for hernia of linea alba within 3 cm above the umbilicus.Methods Clinical data of 26 patients who underwent transumbilical approach hernia repair in our hospital from June 2016 to July 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.Color ultrasound examination showed that the distance from the lower edge of the hernia to the upper edge of the umbilicus was≤3 cm.The hernia repair was performed through the fascial space via the upper edge approach of the umbilical ring.There were 7 boys and 19 girls.The age was 7 months to 11 years old(median,3 years old).The distance from the lower edge of the hernia sac to the upper edge of the umbilicus was(1.46±0.66)cm,and the diameter of the hernia of linea alba was(1.16±0.57)cm.Results The surgery was completed smoothly.The operation time was(39.1±26.3)min.No complication was noted.All the patients were discharged one day after surgery.The follow-ups lasted for 1 year and 2 months to 7 years and 3 months(median,5 years and 1 month).No wound infection,bleeding or other complications occurred.No recurrence of hernia or formation of skin granulomas happened.Conclusion Transumbilical approach repair for hernia of linea alba within 3 cm above the umbilicus is safe and effective,with good cosmetic results.

Objective To evaluate the correlation between alterations in DNase1 and DNase1L3 enzyme activities and impairment of NET degradation in patients with sporadic SLE, and to investigate the underlying mechanism. Methods 46 sporadic SLE patients and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited. Serum levels of DNase1, DNase1L3 and corresponding autoantibodies were detected by ELISA. DNase1 and DNase1L3 were isolated by immunoprecipitation; NETs and enzyme degradation activities were detected using a modified immunofluorescence. DNase1L3 secretion by PBMCs was analyzed by ELISPOT, Western blotting and reverse transcription PCR. Results Levels of H3-dsDNA and Ela-dsDNA complexes were significantly elevated in SLE patients. LDGs in SLE population was significantly higher than in the control group, and LDGs was positively correlated with H3-dsDNA and Ela-dsDNA NETs complexes. The ability of SLE patients to degrade NET in vitro was significantly lower than that of the control group. Degradation experiments of DNase1 and DNase1L3 in different proportions showed that the decrease in DNase1L3 activity was the primary contributor to the elevated NET residue level. The concentration of DNase1L3 autoantibodies in SLE patients was significantly elevated compared to the control group. In addition, the capacity of PBMCs to secrete DNase1L3 was significantly lower in the SLE patients compared to the control group. Conclusion Decreased secretion of DNase1L3 and the presence of relevant autoantibodies notably impede NET degradation in patients with SLE, offering new directions for the monitoring and treatment of SLE patients.
Humans ; Autoantibodies ; Blotting, Western ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Traps ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic