OBJECTIVES: Whether vortioxetine has a utility as an adjuvant drug in the treatment of bipolar depression remains controversial. This study aimed to validate the efficacy and safety of vortioxetine in bipolar depression. METHODS: Patients with bipolar Ⅱ depression were enrolled in this prospective, two-center, randomized, 12-week pilot trial. The main indicator for assessing treatment effectiveness was a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) of ≥50%. All eligible patients initially received four weeks of lurasidone monotherapy. Patients who responded well continued to receive this kind of monotherapy. However, no-response patients were randomly assigned to either valproate or vortioxetine treatment for eight weeks. By comprehensively comparing the results of MADRS over a period of 4‍‒‍12 weeks, a systematic analysis was conducted to determine whether vortioxetine could be used as an adjuvant drug for treating bipolar depression. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients responded to lurasidone monotherapy, and 60 patients were randomly assigned to the valproate or vortioxetine group for eight weeks. After two weeks of combined valproate or vortioxetine treatment, the MADRS score in the vortioxetine group was significantly lower than that in the valproate group. There was no difference in the MADRS scores between the two groups at 8 and 12 weeks. The incidence of side effects did not significantly differ between the valproate and vortioxetine groups. Importantly, three patients in the vortioxetine group appeared to switch to mania or hypomania. CONCLUSIONS This study suggested that lurasidone combination with vortioxetine might have potential benefits to bipolar II depression in the early stage, while disease progression should be monitored closely for the risk of switching to mania.
Humans ; Bipolar Disorder/drug therapy* ; Vortioxetine/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Valproic Acid/administration & dosage* ; Lurasidone Hydrochloride/administration & dosage* ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Pilot Projects ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Sulfides/therapeutic use* ; Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use*

To investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of Qin-Zhu-Liang-Xue decoction (QZLX) in atopic dermatitis (AD) and glucocorticoid resistance, we conducted a single-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this concoction. Network pharmacology analysis was performed and validated through clinical studies. The efficacy, safety, and mechanism of action of QZLX and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) α recombinant protein were assessed in AD mice induced by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB). Correlation analysis was performed to determine the clinical relevance of GRα. The trial demonstrated that patients who received QZLX showed considerable improvements in their Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores compared with those who received mizolastine at week 4. Network pharmacological analysis identified GRα as a key target for QZLX in AD treatment. QZLX administration increased the serum GRα expression in AD patients, alleviated AD symptoms in mice, decreased inflammatory cytokine expression, and increased GRα expression without affecting liver or kidney function. In addition, GRα recombinant protein improved AD-like skin lesions in DNFB-induced mice. A negative correlation was observed between GRα expression and clinical parameters, including SCORAD, DLQI, and serum IgE levels. QZLX alleviates AD symptoms through the upregulation of GRα and thus presents a novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention of glucocorticoid resistance in AD management.
Dermatitis, Atopic/drug therapy* ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Humans ; Mice ; Network Pharmacology ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Single-Blind Method ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Allergic rhinitis(AR) is an allergic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa in which the immune inflammatory response alters the local microenvironment of the nasal mucosa, causing mucus hypersecretion as one of the main pathological features of AR. Interleukin-13(IL-13) is the main inflammatory factor secreted by Th2 cells, it can be involved in AR mucus hypersecretion process by regulating Goblet cell proliferation and Mucin 5ac expression through various signaling pathways. Traditional Chinese medicine has obvious advantages in the treatment of AR and its mucus hypersecretion, while the IL-13-mediated signaling pathways are one of the important mechanisms in treating AR mucus hypersecretion. This article reviews the regulation of IL-13-mediated signaling pathways on AR mucus hypersecretion and the intervention effects of traditional Chinese medicine, which providing a theoretical basis for experimental research and new drug development in AR mucus hypersecretion.

Objective:To explore the advantages of minimally invasive internal fixation assisted by an orthopedic robot in the treatment of tibial plateau fractures of Schatzker types Ⅱ and Ⅲ that can be indirectly reduced.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted of the 18 patients who had been treated for tibial plateau fractures of Schatzker types Ⅱ and Ⅲ at Department of Orthopaedics, The Fourth Hospital of Wuhan from December 2019 to December 2021. They were 12 males and 6 females with an age of (45.2±9.6) years. All fractures were closed. Of them, 6 were complicated with an avulsion fracture at the insertion point of the anterior cruciate ligament, 1 with tear of the medial collateral ligament, and 8 with tear of the lateral meniscus. All patients were treated with minimally invasive internal fixation using the "fence" screw technique after indirect reduction assisted by an orthopedic surgical robot. Those combined with avulsion fracture of the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus tear underwent one-stage arthroscopic surgery, while those combined with tear of the medial collateral ligament underwent one-stage open repair. The fracture reduction was evaluated according to the Rasmussen radiological scoring system, and the knee joint function evaluated using the American Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) scoring system.Results:All the 18 patients were fully followed up for (10.6±1.9) months. The X-ray films immediately after surgery showed good fracture reduction. The fractures healed after (11.3±1.2) weeks. At 6 months after surgery, the Rasmussen knee score was (16.8±1.0) points, giving 5 excellent and 13 good cases; the HSS score was (93.2±3.0) points, giving 17 excellent and 1 good cases. By the last follow-up, no serious complications occurred, such as common peroneal nerve injury, popliteal vascular injury, postoperative infection, or internal fixation failure.Conclusion:Since minimally invasive internal fixation assisted by an orthopedic robot can lead to fine clinical efficacy for tibial plateau fractures of Schatzker types Ⅱ and Ⅲ, this technique can be widely applied in clinical practice.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.

Objective:To explore the economic applicability and safetyof the novel uterovaginal pubic comb suspension(UPCS)surgery with Mersilene tape in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse(POP).Methods:A ret-rospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent UPCS surgery due to POP from January 1st,2021 to February 28,2023.They were divided to the UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape group(group A)and suspension surgery with Y-shaped mesh group(group B)respectively.The POP-Q indication points,sus-pension surgery duration,intraoperative bleeding volume,material expense,postoperative catheter retention time,anal exhaust time and hospitalization duration were recorded for both groupbefore and after surgery.Evaluate the severity of POP related symptoms in patients before and after surgery using the pelvic Floor Distress Invento-ry-short Form 20(PFDI-20)and Pelvic Organ Prolapsed/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire-12(PISQ-12),and follow up and observe the patients and analyze the complications.Results:A total of 17 POP patients were included in the study.There were 12 patients in group A while 5 patients in group B.The suspension material expense of group A was considerably lower than that of group B(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference between the two groups in preoperative PFDI-20 score,preoperative PISQ-12 score,UPCS surgery duration,intr-aoperative bleeding volume,postoperative urinary catheter retention time,postoperative anal exhaust time and hospitalization duration.All patients showed stable vital signs during the surgery and no severe complications were reported.Compared with the preoperative status,the positions of the Aa,Ba,and C indicatorpoint in group A and group B were all increased significantly(P＜0.05).The PFDl-20 and PISQ-12 scores of the two groups at the last follow-up after surgery showed significant improvement compared to those before surgery(P＜0.05).No signifi-cant difference was found in the PFDI-20 and PISQ-12 scores between the two groups after surgery(P＞0.05).There were no significant differences in the postoperative complications between the two groups(P＞0.05).Con-clusions:Compared with suspension surgery with Y-shaped mesh,UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape is safe and effective in the treatment of POP.The UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape showed better cost-effectiveness in the treatment of POP,and the surgical steps are relatively simple.Therefore,UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape was worthy of promotion in clinical practice.

Chronic cough is a common respiratory disease, which is recurrent and lingering. Chronic airway inflammation, increased sensitivity of cough nerve pathway and inflammatory pain are the main pathologic basis. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)/exchange protein activated by cAMP(Epac) signal network takes part in airway inflammation(especially airway neurogenic inflammation), increased sensitivity of cough nerve and inflammatory pain. In this paper, the regulation of airway inflammation, sensitivity of cough pathway and inflammatory pain by cAMP/Epac signaling pathway and intervention effect of traditional Chinese medicine in recent years were reviewed, which provided a theoretical basis for the research of clinical treatment of chronic cough and the development of cough medicine.

Oral microbial community, as an important part of human microbial community, is closely related to oral and general health. Oral microbiological research has become the forefront of international microbiological research. Standardized and unified nomenclature for oral microorganisms in Chinese is of great significance to support the development of oral medicine research. Standardized translation of microbial names is the basis for writing canonical and authoritative professional textbooks and reference books, which helps students to accurately acquire the characteristics and classifications of oral microbes. Unified translation of oral microorganisms is also conducive to academic communication and cooperation, and plays an important role in oral health education and science popularization, which enables oral microbiology knowledge to be accurately disseminated to the public. Therefore, in order to standardize the words in scientific research, funding application, publications, academic exchanges and science popularization within the field of oral medicine, we have fully discussed and revised the Chinese names of oral microorganisms in 2017 edition and ones of newly discovered oral microbes, finally reaching a consensus to form the 2023 edition of Chinese names of oral microorganisms.

Objective:To compare the short-term therapeutic effects of Gamma 3 U-Blade system and Gamma 3 nails in the treatment of elderly patients with osteoporotic unstable intertrochanteric fracture.Methods:The data of 70 elderly patients with osteoporotic unstable intertrochanteric fracture were retrospectively analyzed who had been admitted to the Department of Orthopedics, Wuhan Fourth Hospital from June 2018 to December 2020. They were divided into 2 groups according to their treatments. In the U-Blade group of 35 cases subjected to fixation with Gamma 3 U-Blade system, there were 14 males and 21 females with an age of (77.7 ± 4.8) years; in the Gamma 3 nail group of 35 cases subjected to fixation with Gamma 3 nails, there were 14 males and 21 females with an age of (79.3 ± 5.2) years. The 2 groups were compared in terms of operation time, intraoperative blood loss, apex distance, fracture union time, postoperative complications, timed up and go (TUG) at postoperative 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months, and hip function at postoperative 9 months.Results:There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing comparability ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference either in operation time, intraoperative blood loss or apex distance between the 2 groups ( P>0.05). The fracture union time [(12.0 ± 0.2) weeks] and Harris hip score at postoperative 9 months [90 (90, 91)] in the U-Blade group were insignificantly different from those in the Gamma 3 nail group [(12.0 ± 0.3) weeks and 91 (89, 91)] ( P>0.05). The rate of implant-related complications in the U-Blade group [0% (0/35)] was significantly lower than that in the Gamma 3 nail group [17.1% (6/35)] and the TUGs at postoperative 2 weeks and 3 months [(80.2 ± 3.6) s and 45 (43, 49) s] in the former were significantly shorter than those in the latter [(89.3 ± 4.2) s and 56 (54, 59) s] ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of elderly patients with osteoporotic unstable intertrochanteric fracture, compared with traditional Gamma 3 nails, Gamma 3 U-Blade system can reduce implant-related complications and facilitate early recovery of walking ability.

Blumea balsamifera belonging to Blumea of Compositae family is a perennial herb or subshrub ，which is the only source of Traditional Chinese medicine Aipian and ethnic medicine essential oil of B. balsamifera . B. balsamifera contains volatile oil，flavonoids，sesquiterpenoids，phenylpropanoids，etc.，and shows antibacterial ，anti-inflammatory，analgesic，treating burns and scalds，neuroprotective and antioxidant effects ，etc. In this paper ，the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities are summarized by reviewing the domestic and foreign research literatures ，and it is expected to provide a reference for the in-depth research and development and utilization of B. balsamifera .