ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy on the long-term prognosis for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy （DCM） of yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 371 DCM patients with yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. The yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy was defined as the exposure factor. Patients were categorized into exposure group （186 cases） and non-exposure group （185 cases） according to whether they received yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy combined with conventional western medicine for 6 months or longer. The follow-up period was set at 48 months， and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess the cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events （MACE） in both groups. Cox regression analysis was used to explore the impact of yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy on the risk of MACE， and subgroup analysis was performed. Changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF）， left ventricular fractional shortening （LVFS）， left ventricular end-diastolic diameter （LVEDD）， and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire （MLHFQ） score were compared between groups at the time of first combined use of yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy （before treatment） and 1 year after receiving the therapy （after treatment）. ResultsMACE occurred in 31 cases （16.67%） in the exposure group and 47 cases （25.41%） in the non-exposure group. The cumulative incidence of MACE in the exposure group was significantly lower than that in the non-exposure group ［HR=0.559， 95%CI（0.361，0.895）， P=0.014］. Cox regression analysis showed that yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy was an independent factor for reducing the risk of MACE in DCM patients ［HR=0.623， 95%CI（0.396，0.980）， P=0.041］， and consistent results were observed in different subgroups. Compared with pre-treatment， the exposure group showed decreased TCM syndrome score and MLHFQ score， reduced LVEDD， and increased LVEF and LVFS after treatment （P＜0.05）； in the non-exposure group， TCM syndrome score decreased， LVEF and LVFS increased， and LVEDD reduced after treatment （P＜0.05）. After treatment， the exposure group had higher LVEF and LVFS， smaller LVEDD， and lower TCM syndrome score and MLHFQ score compared with the non-exposure group （P＜0.05）. ConclusionCombining yang-reinforcing and blood-activating therapy with conventional western medicine can reduce the risk of MACE in DCM patients with yang deficiency and blood stasis syndrome， meanwhile improving their clinical symptoms， cardiac function， and quality of life.

Background: Obesity and chronic pain are related in both directions, according to earlier observational research.This research aimed to analyze the causal association between obesity and chronic pain at the genetic level, as well as to assess whether common factors mediate this relationship. Methods: This study used bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique to analyze the association between obesity and chronic pain. Obesity's summary genome-wide association data were obtained from European ancestry groups, as measured by body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC), genome-wide association study data for chronic pain also came from the UK population, including chronic pain at three different sites (back, hip, and headache), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multisite chronic pain (MCP). Secondly, a two-step MR and multivariate MR investigation was performed to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders. Results: The authors discovered a link between chronic pain and obesity. More specifically, a sensitivity analysis was done to confirm the associations between greater BMI, WC, and HC with an increased risk of CWP and MCP.Importantly, the intermediate MR results suggest that education levels and smoking initiation may mediate the causal relationship between BMI on CWP, with a mediation effect of 23.08% and 15.38%, respectively. Conclusions The authors’ findings demonstrate that the importance of education and smoking in understanding chronic pain’s pathogenesis, which is important for the primary prevention and prognosis of chronic pain.

Background: Obesity and chronic pain are related in both directions, according to earlier observational research.This research aimed to analyze the causal association between obesity and chronic pain at the genetic level, as well as to assess whether common factors mediate this relationship. Methods: This study used bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique to analyze the association between obesity and chronic pain. Obesity's summary genome-wide association data were obtained from European ancestry groups, as measured by body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC), genome-wide association study data for chronic pain also came from the UK population, including chronic pain at three different sites (back, hip, and headache), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multisite chronic pain (MCP). Secondly, a two-step MR and multivariate MR investigation was performed to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders. Results: The authors discovered a link between chronic pain and obesity. More specifically, a sensitivity analysis was done to confirm the associations between greater BMI, WC, and HC with an increased risk of CWP and MCP.Importantly, the intermediate MR results suggest that education levels and smoking initiation may mediate the causal relationship between BMI on CWP, with a mediation effect of 23.08% and 15.38%, respectively. Conclusions The authors’ findings demonstrate that the importance of education and smoking in understanding chronic pain’s pathogenesis, which is important for the primary prevention and prognosis of chronic pain.

Background: Obesity and chronic pain are related in both directions, according to earlier observational research.This research aimed to analyze the causal association between obesity and chronic pain at the genetic level, as well as to assess whether common factors mediate this relationship. Methods: This study used bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique to analyze the association between obesity and chronic pain. Obesity's summary genome-wide association data were obtained from European ancestry groups, as measured by body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC), genome-wide association study data for chronic pain also came from the UK population, including chronic pain at three different sites (back, hip, and headache), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multisite chronic pain (MCP). Secondly, a two-step MR and multivariate MR investigation was performed to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders. Results: The authors discovered a link between chronic pain and obesity. More specifically, a sensitivity analysis was done to confirm the associations between greater BMI, WC, and HC with an increased risk of CWP and MCP.Importantly, the intermediate MR results suggest that education levels and smoking initiation may mediate the causal relationship between BMI on CWP, with a mediation effect of 23.08% and 15.38%, respectively. Conclusions The authors’ findings demonstrate that the importance of education and smoking in understanding chronic pain’s pathogenesis, which is important for the primary prevention and prognosis of chronic pain.

Background: Obesity and chronic pain are related in both directions, according to earlier observational research.This research aimed to analyze the causal association between obesity and chronic pain at the genetic level, as well as to assess whether common factors mediate this relationship. Methods: This study used bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique to analyze the association between obesity and chronic pain. Obesity's summary genome-wide association data were obtained from European ancestry groups, as measured by body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC), genome-wide association study data for chronic pain also came from the UK population, including chronic pain at three different sites (back, hip, and headache), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multisite chronic pain (MCP). Secondly, a two-step MR and multivariate MR investigation was performed to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders. Results: The authors discovered a link between chronic pain and obesity. More specifically, a sensitivity analysis was done to confirm the associations between greater BMI, WC, and HC with an increased risk of CWP and MCP.Importantly, the intermediate MR results suggest that education levels and smoking initiation may mediate the causal relationship between BMI on CWP, with a mediation effect of 23.08% and 15.38%, respectively. Conclusions The authors’ findings demonstrate that the importance of education and smoking in understanding chronic pain’s pathogenesis, which is important for the primary prevention and prognosis of chronic pain.

Background: Obesity and chronic pain are related in both directions, according to earlier observational research.This research aimed to analyze the causal association between obesity and chronic pain at the genetic level, as well as to assess whether common factors mediate this relationship. Methods: This study used bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) technique to analyze the association between obesity and chronic pain. Obesity's summary genome-wide association data were obtained from European ancestry groups, as measured by body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC), genome-wide association study data for chronic pain also came from the UK population, including chronic pain at three different sites (back, hip, and headache), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multisite chronic pain (MCP). Secondly, a two-step MR and multivariate MR investigation was performed to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders. Results: The authors discovered a link between chronic pain and obesity. More specifically, a sensitivity analysis was done to confirm the associations between greater BMI, WC, and HC with an increased risk of CWP and MCP.Importantly, the intermediate MR results suggest that education levels and smoking initiation may mediate the causal relationship between BMI on CWP, with a mediation effect of 23.08% and 15.38%, respectively. Conclusions The authors’ findings demonstrate that the importance of education and smoking in understanding chronic pain’s pathogenesis, which is important for the primary prevention and prognosis of chronic pain.

Dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)is a common disease leading to heart failure,arrhythmia,and sudden death.The etiology of DCM is complex and diverse,and the mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.Conventional interventions have a limited ability to improve the prognosis of patients,who have a 10-year survival rate of less than 25％.This study aimed to summarize the construction and characteristics of a DCM animal model and evaluate the clinical compatibility of the model with traditional Chinese and Western medicines.Analysis was based on domestic and overseas research into DCM animal models,Western clinical diagnostic criteria,and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation.The DCM modeling method mainly involved gene editing,drug induction,immune induction,viral infection,and rapid pacing induction.Experimental animals included muroids,zebrafish,Drosophila,and pigs,of which mice and rats were most commonly used.Gene editing was the most commonly used method for modelling DCM,followed by doxorubicin-induction.In the literature,the experimental animals,drugs,single or cumulative doses,administration method,and modeling period used varied among studies involving DCM animal models.The level of clinical anastomosis according to traditional Chinese and Western medicines varied considerably,being generally lower in traditional Chinese medicine than Western medicine in the same model.In addition,the modeling standards for DCM animal models were mostly based on Western medicine theories.The differentiation of syndrome models and information collection for the four diagnoses have not been standardized and unified.In the future,stable and homogeneous animal models of high clinical consistency combining both disease and syndrome need to be established to provide a basis for DCM mechanism research and drug development.

ObjectiveTo explore the association between triglyceride-glucose （TyG） index and major adverse cardiovascular events （MACEs） risk in coronary heart disease （CHD） patients with blood stasis syndrome after percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI）. MethodsA total of 857 CHD patients with blood stasis syndrome after PCI were enrolled and divided into four groups according to the baseline TyG index quartiles， Q1 （TyG ＜ 8.51）， Q2 （8.51 ≤ TyG ＜ 8.88）， Q3 （8.88 ≤ TyG ＜ 9.22）， and Q4 （TyG ≥ 9.22）. The clinical outcome was defined as a compound endpoint of cardiovascular events including cardiac death， non-fatal myocardial infarction， unplanned revascularization， in-stent restenosis and stroke. The machine learning Boruta algorithm was used for feature selection related to MACEs risk. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to compare the differences in MACEs risk among the four groups. Restricted cubic spline （RCS） and subgroup analysis were performed to determine the relationship between the TyG index and MACEs risk. The area under the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve （AUC）， calibration curve and Hosmer-Lemeshow test， and decision curve analysis （DCA） were plotted to evaluate the predictive value of the TyG index for MACEs risk. ResultsThe median follow-up time of the included patients was 2.45 years. During the follow-up period， 313 cases （36.52%） of new MACEs occurred. The incidence of MACEs in Q1， Q2， Q3， Q4 group was 28.17% （60/213）， 29.05% （61/210）， 39.45% （86/218） and 49.07% （106/216）， respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested statistically significant differences in MACEs risk among the four groups （P＜0.001）. Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis found that the risk of MACEs in patients with high TyG index increased by 60.1% （P＜0.01）. Using Q1 as the reference， the MACEs risk in Q2， Q3 and Q4 groups gradually increased， and the trend was statistically significant （P＜0.05）. RCS model suggested that the TyG index was nonlinearly associated with the MACEs risk （P＜0.001）. The TyG index had a good predictive performance for MACEs risk according to ROC analysis （AUC=0.758， 0.724-0.792） and Hosmer-Lemeshow test （χ² = 4.319， P = 0.827）. Additionally， DCA analysis also suggested a good clinical efficacy of the TyG index for predicting MACEs. Subgroup analysis showed that different baseline TyG index was positively correlated with the MACEs risk in the stratification of age， male， BMI， history of diabetes and hypertension， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）≥1.8 mmol·L^-1（P＜0.05）. ConclusionThe elevated TyG index is closely corrected with an increased risk of MACEs in CHD patients with blood stasis syndrome after PCI， indicating a guiding significance for early risk stratification and clinical decisions.

ObjectiveTo explore the impact of blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals combined with conventional western medicine on the major adverse cardiovascular events （MACE） in patients with coronary heart disease （CHD） after percutaneous coronary intervention （PCI）. MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted to collect data on consecutive cases of CHD after PCI. According to whether blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals were used， the cases were divided into a Chinese herbal medicinals （CHM） group and control group. The primary outcome was the incidence of MACE one year after PCI， while the secondary outcomes included TCM syndrome score and echocardiography left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF）. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the influencing factors of MACE. ResultsA total of 844 patients who met the criteria were included， with 617 in the CHM group and 227 in the control group. The main blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals being used were Danshen （Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae， 46.35%）， Chuanxiong （Rhizoma Chuanxiong， 45.87%）， and Chishao （Radix Paeoniae Rubra， 42.30%）. After a median follow-up of 12.73 months， the incidence of MACE in the CHM group （142/617， 23.01%） was significantly lower than that in the control group （68/227， 29.96%） with significant difference （OR=0.70， 95%CI 0.50 to 0.98， P = 0.04）. The LVEF of the CHM group ［（60.06±6.13）%］ was higher than that of the control group ［（58.27±7.36）%］ with significant difference （t = 0.356， P＜0.01）. The TCM syndrome score in the CHM group decreased to 12.66±4.47， while that in the control group increased to 13.81±3.88， with the results favoring the CHM group （t = 2.78， P＜0.01）. Univariate analysis showed correlations between the incidence of MACE after PCI and the use of blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals， LVEF， usage of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system （RAAS） inhibitors， TCM syndrome score， and usage of β blockers （P＜0.05）. Multivariate analysis showed that the use of blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals was significantly associated with the reduction of MACE （P＜0.01）， while the baseline LVEF decline， TCM syndrome score increase， no use of RAAS inhibitors or β blockers were the risk factors of MACE after PCI （P＜0.05）. ConclusionThe use of blood-invigorating and stasis-dissolving medicinals based on the conventional western medicine can reduce the risk of MACE one year after PCI of CHD， improve the TCM syndromes and protect heart function.

Dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)is a common disease leading to heart failure,arrhythmia,and sudden death.The etiology of DCM is complex and diverse,and the mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.Conventional interventions have a limited ability to improve the prognosis of patients,who have a 10-year survival rate of less than 25％.This study aimed to summarize the construction and characteristics of a DCM animal model and evaluate the clinical compatibility of the model with traditional Chinese and Western medicines.Analysis was based on domestic and overseas research into DCM animal models,Western clinical diagnostic criteria,and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation.The DCM modeling method mainly involved gene editing,drug induction,immune induction,viral infection,and rapid pacing induction.Experimental animals included muroids,zebrafish,Drosophila,and pigs,of which mice and rats were most commonly used.Gene editing was the most commonly used method for modelling DCM,followed by doxorubicin-induction.In the literature,the experimental animals,drugs,single or cumulative doses,administration method,and modeling period used varied among studies involving DCM animal models.The level of clinical anastomosis according to traditional Chinese and Western medicines varied considerably,being generally lower in traditional Chinese medicine than Western medicine in the same model.In addition,the modeling standards for DCM animal models were mostly based on Western medicine theories.The differentiation of syndrome models and information collection for the four diagnoses have not been standardized and unified.In the future,stable and homogeneous animal models of high clinical consistency combining both disease and syndrome need to be established to provide a basis for DCM mechanism research and drug development.