1.Construction of Perimenopausal Depression Animal Models and Mechanism of Action of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Review
Xiaoting LI ; Shouzhu XU ; Jun KE ; Zhan ZHANG ; Bao XIN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(4):258-267
Perimenopausal depression (PMD) is an affective disorder that occurs in women during the transition from sexual maturity to old age. It can induce various complications, such as insomnia and cognitive decline. The etiology of PMD is complex. Although multiple hypotheses have been proposed, there is still no unified theory that fully explains its pathogenesis. Research into its mechanisms relies heavily on animal experiments, and establishing reliable animal models is crucial for experimental studies. Appropriate animal models can better simulate human pathophysiological states, rapidly evaluate the efficacy and safety of drugs and intervention methods, grasp the essence of the disease, and uncover its intrinsic connections, thereby exploring more advanced intervention strategies. However, there is a lack of systematic review and summarization of literature related to model construction. Additionally, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), adhering to the principles of ''syndrome differentiation and treatment'' and ''holistic concept'', has shown significant efficacy in treating PMD. In recent years, research exploring and analyzing its therapeutic mechanisms has been increasing. Therefore, to gain a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of PMD animal modeling methods and the mechanisms of TCM, this paper reviewed Chinese and English literature on PMD animal models and mechanisms of TCM in PMD treatment. It summarized the construction methods of single-factor and multi-factor PMD models, and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each modeling approach. Furthermore, it delved into the mechanisms of TCM intervention in PMD, revealing that TCM formulas primarily exert their effects by regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, gut-brain axis, cell signaling pathways, neural circuits, hormone levels, and neurotransmitter levels. This review aims to provide a reference for future research in this field. In summary, by summarizing the progress in the methods for PMD animal model construction and the mechanisms of TCM, the paper seeks to offer new insights into the mechanistic research of TCM intervention in PMD.
2.Expert Consensus on Blood Flow and Oxygen Delivery Phenotyping and Clinical Management of Septic Shock(2025)
Wei HUANG ; Xinchen WANG ; Wenzhao CHAI ; Keliang CUI ; Bo YAO ; Zhiqun XING ; Cui WANG ; Jingjing LIU ; Shiyi GONG ; Dongkai LI ; Wanhong YIN ; Xiaoting WANG ; Wei DU
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(1):40-58
Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Septic shock is the primary cause of mortality in sepsis, with its core pathophysiological mechanism being severe ischemia and hypoxia in critical units—composed of microcirculation and the mitochondria of functional cells—resulting from disruptions in blood flow and oxygen flow following a dysregulated host response. Due to the systemically convergent yet clinically heterogeneous nature of the host response, current understanding and management strategies for hemodynamics remain inconsistent, often leading to inadequate resuscitation or overtreatment. To improve the quality of care, based on a systematic review of the "blood flow-oxygen flow" theory, an expert panel emphasizes reevaluating septic shock from an integrated perspective of blood flow and oxygen flow, and has formulated the
3.Expert Consensus on Neurocritical Care Monitoring and Management in Beijing and Tibet(2025)
Drolma PHURBU ; Wenjin CHEN ; Heng ZHANG ; Jian ZHANG ; Xiaomeng WANG ; Guoying LIN ; Wenjun PAN ; Xiying GUI ; Xin CAI ; Chodron TENZIN ; Jianlei FU ; Qianwei LI ; TSEYANG ; Yijun LIU ; Bo LIU ; Tsering DROLMA ; Yudron SONAM ; KYILV ; Samdrup TSERING ; Wa DA ; Juan GUO ; Cheng QIU ; Huan CHEN ; Xiaoting WANG ; Yangong CHAO ; Dawei LIU ; Wenzhao CHAI ; Chenggong HU ; Wanhong YIN ; Shihong ZHU
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(1):59-72
Neurocritical care involves complex pathophysiological mechanisms, and its incidence is higher, injuries are more severe, and treatment is more challenging in high-altitude environments. This consensus, based on the latest domestic and international evidence-based medical data, establishes a standardized, goal-oriented framework for neurocritical care management applicable in high-altitude regions and nationwide. The consensus was developed following international standards for evidence quality assessment and underwent two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, resulting in 32 recommendation statements covering three parts: management systems, monitoring and assessment, and core strategies. Key updates include: advocating for the establishment of independent neurocritical care units and implementing precise tiered diagnosis and treatment based on the "Five Differences in Critical Care" concept; constructing a "trinity" multimodal brain monitoring system centered on cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygenation, and brain function, emphasizing routine bedside transcranial Doppler ultrasound, cerebral oximetry, and continuous electroencephalography monitoring; shifting management strategies from mild hypothermia therapy to targeted temperature management, and defining the "446" target management pathway for the supercritical stage; emphasizing the assessment of static and dynamic cerebrovascular autoregulation functions through multimodal methods to achieve individualized optimal mean arterial pressure management; elevating cerebrospinal fluid management goals to the level of "glymphatic system" function maintenance; implementing a multidisciplinary collaborative, whole-process management model focusing on patients' long-term neurological functional outcomes; de-escalation criteria include multidimensional indicators such as recovery of brain structure, restoration of cerebrovascular autoregulation, improvement in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and reduction in biomarker levels; and integrating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence into post-critical care management and rehabilitation planning. This consensus systematically integrates the entire process of neurocritical care management, reflecting the modern connotation of goal-oriented, dynamic, and multimodal integration in neurocritical care medicine. It aims to adapt to new trends such as deepening understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, the integration of medicine and engineering, and the empowerment of artificial intelligence, thereby further advancing the discipline of critical care medicine.
4.Standards for the Application of Hemodynamic Monitoring Technology in Critical Care
Hua ZHAO ; Hongmin ZHANG ; Xin DING ; Huan CHEN ; Jun DUAN ; Wei DU ; Bo TANG ; Yuankai ZHOU ; Dongkai LI ; Xinchen WANG ; Cui WANG ; Gaosheng ZHOU ; Xiaoting WANG
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(1):73-85
With the rapid advancement of hemodynamic indices and monitoring technologies, their classification methods and application processes have become increasingly complex. Currently, no unified standard hasbeen established, making it difficult to fully meet the clinical requirements for hemodynamic management. To assist in hemodynamic monitoring assessment and therapeutic decision-making in critically ill patients, the Critical Hemodynamic Therapy Collaborative Group, in conjunction with the Critical Ultrasound Study Group, has jointly developed the Standard for the Application of Hemodynamic Monitoring Techniques in Critical Care. The first part of this standard systematically categorizes hemodynamic indicators into flow indicators, pressure and its derivative indicators, and tissue perfusion indicators, while elaborating on the clinical application of each. The second part establishes a standardized clinical implementation pathway for hemodynamic monitoring. It proposes a tiered monitoring strategy-comprising basic, advanced, indication-specific, and special scenario monitoring-tailored to different clinical settings. It emphasizes the central role of critical care ultrasound across all levels of monitoring and establishes hemodynamic assessment standards for organs such as the brain, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. This standard aims to provide a unified framework for clinical practice, teaching, training, and research in critical care medicine, thereby promoting standardized development within the discipline.
5.Explainable Machine Learning Model for Predicting Prognosis in Patients with Malignant Tumors Complicated by Acute Respiratory Failure: Based on the eICU Collaborative Research Database in the United States
Zihan NAN ; Linan HAN ; Suwei LI ; Ziyi ZHU ; Qinqin ZHU ; Yan DUAN ; Xiaoting WANG ; Lixia LIU
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2026;17(1):98-108
To develop and validate a model for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality risk in patients with malignant tumors complicated by acute respiratory failure (ARF) based on an explainable machine learning framework. Clinical data of patients with malignant tumors and ARF were extracted from the eICU Collaborative Research Database in the United States, including demographic characteristics, comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory test indicators, and major interventions within the first 24 hours after ICU admission.The study outcome was ICU death.Enrolled patients were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set at a ratio of 7:3.Predictor variables were selected using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression.Five machine learning algorithms-extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM), Logistic regression, multilayer perceptron (MLP), and C5.0 Decision Tree-were employed to construct predictive models.Model performance was evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, and other metrics.The optimal model was further interpreted using the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) algorithm. A total of 3196 patients with malignant tumors complicated by ARF were included.The training set comprised 2, 261 patients and the validation set 935 patients; 683 patients died during ICU stay, while 2513 survived.LASSO regression ultimately selected 12 variables closely associated with patient ICU outcomes, including sepsis comorbidity, use of vasoactive drugs, and within the first 24 hours after ICU admission: minimum mean arterial pressure, maximum heart rate, maximum respiratory rate, minimum oxygen saturation, minimum serum bicarbonate, minimum blood urea nitrogen, maximum white blood cell count, maximum mean corpuscular volume, maximum serum potassium, and maximum blood glucose.After model evaluation, the XGBoost model demonstrated the best performance.The AUCs for predicting ICU mortality risk in the training and validation sets were 0.940 and 0.763, respectively; accuracy was 88.3% and 81.2%;sensitivity was 98.5% and 95.9%.Its predictive performance also remained optimal in sensitivity analyses.SHAP analysis indicated that the top five variables contributing to the model's predictions were minimum oxygen saturation, minimum serum bicarbonate, minimum mean arterial pressure, use of vasoactive drugs, and maximum white blood cell count. This study successfully developed a mortality risk prediction model for ICU patients with malignant tumors complicated by ARF based on a large-scale dataset and performed explainability analysis.The model aids clinicians in early identification of high-risk patients and implementing individualized interventions.
6.Advances in reno-protective effects of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of hyperuricemia
Xiaoting ZHOU ; Yu DUAN ; Xingyuan LI ; Qin LIU ; Aijun LIU
Journal of Pharmaceutical Practice and Service 2026;44(4):167-172
Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a common metabolic disorder characterized by persistently elevated serum uric acid levels, leading to uric acid-related renal injury through complex mechanisms involving inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrosis. Key traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulas (e.g., Simiao Powder, Tongfengning) and individual herbal compounds (alkaloids, flavonoids, polysaccharides) with urate-lowering and renal protective properties were systematically summarized, including their mechanisms of regulating uric acid transporters (organic anion transporter 3, urate anion transporter 1, glucose transporter type 9), inhibiting inflammatory responses (via NF-κB signaling), reducing oxidative stress (via mitochondrial pathways and antioxidant enzyme enhancement), and attenuating renal fibrosis (via PI3K/AKT signaling). The challenges of current studies mainly focus on unclear mechanisms of action and insufficient clinical research. Future research may further explore TCM resources, clarify dual-action mechanisms of urate reduction and renal protection, and identify new therapeutic strategies for hyperuricemia-related renal injury.
7.Research progress on effects, toxic mechanisms, and risk assessment of organophosphate flame retardants on blood system
Ziyuan LI ; Lin LU ; Xiaoting JIN ; Yuxin ZHENG
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2026;43(4):509-515
Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) have been widely used as the main alternatives to bromine-based flame retardants, resulting in their widespread detection in environmental media and even in human blood. The potential health risks arising therefrom, particularly the direct impacts on the blood system, have become a focus in the field of environmental health. This article systematically reviewed the latest research progress on the hematotoxicity of OPFRs, covering three core aspects: the toxic effects aspect, which systematically elaborated on the bidirectional interference of OPFRs with coagulation function, their toxic effects on the hematopoietic system, and their disruptive effects on blood biochemical metabolism; the mechanistic analysis aspect, which dissected the multi-pathway, multi-target toxic mechanism network of OPFRs, including common pathways based on oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, the direct and indirect regulation of coagulation function mediated by nuclear receptors and endocrine disruption, and the disturbance of blood cell production at the source through disruption of the hematopoietic microenvironment; and the risk assessment aspect, which, in response to the limitations of traditional methods, focused on the application prospects and core advantages of novel approaches based on structure-activity relationships in filling data gaps and achieving precise risk prediction. This review aims to systematically summarize the research progress on the mechanisms of OPFR-induced hematotoxicity, providing systematic theoretical support for subsequent in-depth mechanistic studies, targeted epidemiological investigations, and the optimization of risk assessment models.
8.Research progress of Dexamethasone intravitreal implants in the treatment of diabetic macular edema
Xiaoting YUAN ; Jiao HUANG ; Xiaojuan CHENG ; Rong LI ; Lishuai XU
International Eye Science 2025;25(1):82-87
Diabetic macular edema(DME), a serious complication of diabetic retinopathy(DR), is a chronic condition caused by multiple factors. Throughout its progression, inflammatory factors and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)play a critical role. Anti-VEGF drugs have shown significant effectiveness in the treatment of DME; however, some patients may experience persistent DME after injection or require frequent injections. Dexamethasone intravitreal implants(DEX implants)serve as a sustained-release implant characterized by a reasonable release profile and high bioavailability. They offer safe, effective, and prolonged anti-inflammatory effects, aiding in the repair of retinal barrier and reduction of exudation. To further enhance patients' visual quality, exploring the efficacy of DEX implants in combination with existing treatment regimens has great clinical significance. This review primarily discusses the research advancements in DEX implants, focusing on their pharmacological properties, indications for use, and their combination with existing drugs and treatment methods. It also evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of combination therapy or switching to DEX implants compared to current standard treatments, aiming to provide guidance for personalized treatment options for patients with DME.
9.Differential expression and prognostic significance of exosomal miRNA derived from bone marrow stromal cells in the bone marrow supernatants of patients with AML
Wei Dai ; Xiaoting Wang ; Wenjuan Fu ; Qiushuang Li ; Tianhui Zhou ; Mengyuan Lu ; Huifang Huang
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(11):2113-2123
Objective:
To investigate the aberrant alterations of microRNAs ( miRNAs) in exosomes derived from bone marrow stromal cells ( BMSCs) in the bone marrow supernatants of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their impact on the prognosis of AML patients .
Methods:
Bone marrow supernatant samples were col- lected from three AML patients and three healthy donors . Exosomes were isolated using a commercial kit , identif- ying the morphology and marker expression , and subjected to miRNA sequencing to determine differentially ex- pressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) . The DE-miRNAs were then intersected with the exosomal miRNA expression pro- files of primary AML cells (GSE64029) to exclude AML cell - derived signals and to identify BMSC-derived DE - miRNAs . Subsequently , candidate miRNAs were identified through Cox regression and Lasso regression analyses based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) . A prognostic risk model for AML was constructed , and pa- tients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups according to the median risk score . The prognostic value and clinical relevance of the model were further validated . Finally , the target genes of the candidate miRNAs were pre- dicted , followed by pathway enrichment analysis , construction of key regulatory networks , and correlation analysis between the expression levels of key miRNAs and their corresponding target genes .
Results:
Isolated exosomes ex- hibited a typical cup-shaped morphology with intact structures with particle size of 30 - 150 nm , and expressed exo- somal markers CD63 , ALIX , and TSG101 . miRNA sequencing identified 103 DE-miRNAs in AML patients com- pared with healthy donors; after intersection with the GSE64029 dataset , 83 BMSC-derived DE-miRNAs were re- tained . Among these , five candidate miRNAs ( miR-25-3p , miR-532-5p , miR-194-5p , miR-10a-5p , and miR- 20a-5p) were used to construct the prognostic model . Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated significantly lon- ger overall survival in the low-risk group compared with the high-risk group (P < 0. 05) . The areas under the ROC curve for the training/validation cohorts were 0. 80/0. 74 , 0. 80/0. 78 , and 0. 79/0. 64 at 1 , 2 , and 3 years , re- spectively . The prognostic model was significantly associated with risk stratification , patient age , and FAB classifi- cation (P < 0. 05) . KEGG pathway enrichment revealed that target genes of the candidate miRNAs were closely linked to cancer-related signaling pathways , including hepatocellular carcinoma , breast cancer , and non-small cell lung cancer. Correlation analysis indicated that the candidate miRNAs were significantly associated with key genes such as HIF1A , CREB1 , PIK3CA , IGF1R , PIK3R1 , TIAM1 , CRK , and PTEN (P < 0. 05) .
Conclusion
AML patients exhibit distinct miRNA expression profiles in BMSC-derived exosomes . A five-miRNA signature ( miR-25 - 3p , miR-532-5p , miR-194-5p , miR-10a-5p , and miR-20a-5p) demonstrates robust prognostic performance , sup- porting its potential clinical utility in risk stratification and outcome prediction for AML.
10.Clinical Observation of Acupuncture Based on Huang Yuanyu's Theory"Ascending and Descending of Visceral Qi Movement"for Chronic Insomnia Disorder
Ruicong HUANG ; Meihong LI ; Jia ZHENG ; Xiaoting OU ; Xiaoyu CHEN
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(7):1700-1705
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in treating chronic insomnia disorder based on Huang Yuanyu's theory of"central qi ascending and descending,harmony of the four dimensions"regarding visceral qi movement.Methods Sixty patients diagnosed with chronic insomnia disorder at the Preventive Treatment Department of Yangjiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March 2022 to February 2023.The patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group according to a random number table,with 30 cases in each group.The observation group received acupuncture therapy,while the control group received oral administration of Alprazolam Tablets.The treatment duration spanned 4 weeks with 1 course per week.Clinical efficacy was evaluated after 1 month,and the changes in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)scores and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale(HAMA)scores were observed.The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD)scores were compared between groups before and after treatment.Results(1)After treatment,the PSQI scores of the two groups of patients were significantly improved(P<0.05),and the observation group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the PSQI scores,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).(2)After treatment,the HAMA scores and HAMD scores in the two groups of patients were significantly improved(P<0.05),an the observation group in improvement of HAMA and HAMD was significantly superior to the control group,with statistically statistical significance(P<0.05).(3)The total effective rate was 83.33%(25/30)in the observation group and 70.00%(21/30)in the control group.The efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture based on the ascending and descending of visceral qi movement theory significantly alleviates anxiety and depressive states while improving sleep quality in patients with chronic insomnia disorder,demonstrating notable clinical efficacy.


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