OBJECTIVE: To explore the neuroprotective effects of Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction (XFZYD) based on in vivo and metabolomics experiments. METHODS: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was induced via a controlled cortical impact (CCI) method. Thirty rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (10 for each): sham, CCI and XFZYD groups (9 g/kg). The administration was performed by intragastric administration for 3 days. Neurological functions tests, histology staining, coagulation and haemorheology assays, and Western blot were examined. Untargeted metabolomics was employed to identify metabolites. The key metabolite was validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: XFZYD significantly alleviated neurological dysfunction in CCI model rats (P<0.01) but had no impact on coagulation function. As evidenced by Evans blue and IgG staining, XFZYD effectively prevented blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption (P<0.05, P<0.01). Moreover, XFZYD not only increased the expression of collagen IV, occludin and zona occludens 1 but also decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which protected BBB integrity (all P<0.05). Nine potential metabolites were identified, and all of them were reversed by XFZYD. Adenosine was the most significantly altered metabolite related to BBB repair. XFZYD significantly reduced the level of equilibrative nucleoside transporter 2 (ENT2) and increased adenosine (P<0.01), which may improve BBB integrity. CONCLUSIONS XFZYD ameliorates BBB disruption after TBI by decreasing the levels of MMP-9 and COX-2. Through further exploration via metabolomics, we found that XFZYD may exert a protective effect on BBB by regulating adenosine metabolism via ENT2.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism* ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic/metabolism* ; Adenosine/metabolism* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats

OBJECTIVE: To identify the underlying mechanism by which quercetin (Que) alleviates sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS: In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were assigned to sham, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and CLP+Que (50 mg/kg) groups (n=15 per group) by using a random number table. The sepsisrelated ARDS mouse model was established using the CLP method. In vitro, the murine alveolar macrophages (MH-S) cells were classified into control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS+Que (10 μmol/L), and LPS+Que+acetylcysteine (NAC, 5 mmol/L) groups. The effect of Que on oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in mice lungs and MH-S cells was determined, and the mechanism with reactive oxygen species (ROS)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was also explored both in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Que alleviated lung injury in mice, as reflected by a reversal of pulmonary histopathologic changes as well as a reduction in lung wet/dry weight ratio and neutrophil infiltration (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Additionally, Que improved the survival rate and relieved gas exchange impairment in mice (P<0.01). Que treatment also remarkedly reduced malondialdehyde formation, superoxide dismutase and catalase depletion, and cell apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, Que treatment diminished the release of inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6 both in vivo and in vitro (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Mechanistic investigation clarifified that Que administration led to a decline in the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in addition to the suppression of ROS expression (P<0.01). Furthermore, in LPS-induced MH-S cells, ROS inhibitor NAC further inhibited ROS/p38 MAPK pathway, as well as oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell apoptosis on the basis of Que treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION Que was found to exert anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects by suppressing the ROS/p38 MAPK pathway, thereby conferring protection for mice against sepsis-related ARDS.
Animals ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Quercetin/therapeutic use* ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome/enzymology* ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Male ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects* ; Lung/drug effects* ; Mice ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Macrophages, Alveolar/pathology* ; Inflammation/pathology* ; Protective Agents/therapeutic use*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

As a key epigenetic regulator, histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a crucial role in cancer development. Small molecule HDAC inhibitors have been shown to inhibit tumor proliferation and induce apoptosis, attracting significant research attention. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of novel saccharin derivatives as HDAC inhibitors. Biological experiments demonstrated that the target compound 9a exhibited superior HDACs inhibition activity to vorinostat and demonstrating promising in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). All animal experiments in this study were performed in strict accordance with the protocols approved by the Ethical Committee of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Shandong University (Approval No. 230094). This work represents an initial exploration of developing saccharin-based HDAC inhibitors, and the active compound 9a could serve as a lead compound for further study.

OBJECTIVE: To derive the Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome classification and subgroup syndrome characteristics of ischemic stroke patients. METHODS: By extracting the CM clinical electronic medical records (EMRs) of 7,170 hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke from 2016 to 2018 at Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Province, China, a patient similarity network (PSN) was constructed based on the symptomatic phenotype of the patients. Thereafter the efficient community detection method BGLL was used to identify subgroups of patients. Finally, subgroups with a large number of cases were selected to analyze the specific manifestations of clinical symptoms and CM syndromes in each subgroup. RESULTS: Seven main subgroups of patients with specific symptom characteristics were identified, including M3, M2, M1, M5, M0, M29 and M4. M3 and M0 subgroups had prominent posterior circulatory symptoms, while M3 was associated with autonomic disorders, and M4 manifested as anxiety; M2 and M4 had motor and motor coordination disorders; M1 had sensory disorders; M5 had more obvious lung infections; M29 had a disorder of consciousness. The specificity of CM syndromes of each subgroup was as follows. M3, M2, M1, M0, M29 and M4 all had the same syndrome as wind phlegm pattern; M3 and M0 both showed hyperactivity of Gan (Liver) yang pattern; M2 and M29 had similar syndromes, which corresponded to intertwined phlegm and blood stasis pattern and phlegm-stasis obstructing meridians pattern, respectively. The manifestations of CM syndromes often appeared in a combination of 2 or more syndrome elements. The most common combination of these 7 subgroups was wind-phlegm. The 7 subgroups of CM syndrome elements were specifically manifested as pathogenic wind, pathogenic phlegm, and deficiency pathogens. CONCLUSIONS There were 7 main symptom similarity-based subgroups in ischemic stroke patients, and their specific characteristics were obvious. The main syndromes were wind phlegm pattern and hyperactivity of Gan yang pattern.
Humans ; Syndrome ; Ischemic Stroke ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Liver ; Phenotype

The global patent data on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)in IncomPat Global Patent Database as of August 29,2022 were retrieved.The development trend and layout of ECMO industry were analyzed in terms of global patent application trend,patent distribution,patent technology,major patent applicants and their patent layout.Some suggestions were put forward for the innovation and development of ECMO industry in China so as to provide references for the formulation of national industrial policy,planning of industry technology direction and enterprise technology research and development and patent layout.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2023,44(10):68-75]

Objective: To understand the current situation regarding pediatric off-label use of drugs recommendations in Chinese clinical practice guidelines and to make recommendations for standardized reporting format regarding off-label use of drugs for children. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out by systematically searching the databases for Chinese guideline consensus articles published in journals between 2018 and 2020 and extracting recommendations regarding off-label use of drugs from those articles. The essential characteristics of the included guidelines, the ranking of off-label drug types, the order of drug information, the type of off-label drug use, and the percentage of citation studies on which the recommendations were based were analyzed. Results: Among 108 studies that included Chinese off-label guidelines and consensus, 364 recommendations on pediatric off-label use of drugs were included. The Chinese Medical Association published the most, 48 out of the 108 studies (44.4%), and of those 14 studies (13.0%) were on infectious and parasitic diseases. Of the 364 recommendations on off-label use of drugs, the most commonly addressed drugs were 16 recommendations (4.4%) for cyclosporine A, 11 recommendations (3.0%) for methotrexate , and 11 recommendations (3.0%) for fentanyl. The most commonly addressed drug categories were as follows: 68 recommendations (18.6%) were immune system drugs, 66 recommendations (18.1%) were anti-infectives, and 56 recommendations (15.4%) were oncology drugs. The most commonly addressed drug information accounts were as follows: 364 recommendations (100.0%) were indications, 204 recommendations (56.0%) were dosages, and 198 recommendations (54.4%) were the route of administration. Based on the instructions approved by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration, the main forms of the off-label drug were as follows: 175 recommendations (48.1%) were unapproved indications, 127 recommendations (34.9%) were unapproved populations, and 72 recommendations (19.8%) were unapproved ages. Only 129 recommendations (35.4%) were cited, mainly including clinical guidelines (48 studies, 23.4%), reviews (22 studies, 10.7%), and pediatric randomized controlled trials (22 studies, 10.7%). Conclusions: Off-label use of drugs is commonly recommended in pediatric guidelines and consensus documents written by Chinese authors. However, the reporting of the recommendations varies widely, and the quality of the supporting evidence is poor.
Child ; China ; Consensus ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Off-Label Use ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Haemonchosis remains a significant problem in small ruminants. In this study, the assay of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with the lateral flow strip (LFS-RPA) was established for the rapid detection of Haemonchus contortus in goat feces. The assay used primers and a probe targeting a specific sequence in the ITS-2 gene. We compared the performance of the LFS-RPA assay to a PCR assay. The LFS-RPA had a detection limit of 10 fg DNA, which was 10 times less compared to the lowest detection limit obtained by PCR. Out of 24 goat fecal samples, LFS-RPA assay detected H. contortus DNA with 95.8% sensitivity, compared to PCR, 79.1% sensitivity. LFS-RPA assay did not detect DNA from other related helminth species and demonstrated an adequate tolerance to inhibitors present in the goat feces. Taken together, our results suggest that LFS-RPA assay had a high diagnostic accuracy for the rapid detection of H. contortus and merits further evaluation.

The medicinal plants with roots and rhizomes as the medicinal parts account for about 1/3 of Chinese medicinal herbs. Root and rhizome medicinal materials are widely used in clinical practice, whereas their wild resource reserves are insufficient to meet the market demand. With the expansion of planting areas, the formation of large-scale production areas, and the increase in planting years, diseases and insect pests of these medicinal plants, which are diverse and have broad transmission routes, strong concealment, and heavy damage, have become more and more serious. The prevention and control of these diseases and insect pests is characterized by multiple ways of pesticide application, large consumption of pesticides, susceptibility to soil barrier, difficulty in the control, and unstable control efficiency. Organophosphorus pesticides(OPPs) are widely used in the cultivation of Chinese medicinal plants because of their diverse varieties, broad-spectrum, good efficacy, and low residues, and have a positive effect on the yield and quality of Chinese medicinal materials. However, the abuse of OPPs not only increases the planting cost, but also affects the quality and safety of Chinese medicinal plants, the safety of clinical use of Chinese medicine, and the ecological safety of production areas. This paper reviewed the research and development progress of OPPs, the registration status of OPPs used in root and rhizome medicinal materials, residue limit standards, residue status, and rapid detection technology progress of OPPs. This review aims to provide research ideas and references for standardizing the use of OPPs in root and rhizome medicinal materials, reducing OPP residues, and establishing a fast, efficient, accurate, and reliable method for the detection of OPP residues in Chinese herbal medicine.
Organophosphorus Compounds ; Pesticide Residues/analysis* ; Pesticides/analysis* ; Plants, Medicinal ; Rhizome/chemistry*

Haemonchosis remains a significant problem in small ruminants. In this study, the assay of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) combined with the lateral flow strip (LFS-RPA) was established for the rapid detection of Haemonchus contortus in goat feces. The assay used primers and a probe targeting a specific sequence in the ITS-2 gene. We compared the performance of the LFS-RPA assay to a PCR assay. The LFS-RPA had a detection limit of 10 fg DNA, which was 10 times less compared to the lowest detection limit obtained by PCR. Out of 24 goat fecal samples, LFS-RPA assay detected H. contortus DNA with 95.8% sensitivity, compared to PCR, 79.1% sensitivity. LFS-RPA assay did not detect DNA from other related helminth species and demonstrated an adequate tolerance to inhibitors present in the goat feces. Taken together, our results suggest that LFS-RPA assay had a high diagnostic accuracy for the rapid detection of H. contortus and merits further evaluation.