ObjectiveThis paper aims to study the potential active compound components and action mechanism of Shenqi Dihuangtang in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease （DKD） through network pharmacology and in vivo experimental verification. MethodsUltra-high-performance liquid chromatography-Q-exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS） technology was used to clarify the main active chemical components of Shenqi Dihuangtang， and it was combined with network pharmacology methods such as gene ontology （GO） functional annotations and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genome （KEGG） to predict the potential action mechanism of Shenqi Dihuangtang in treating DKD. Subsequently， the DKD model of db/db male mice was established， and the mice were randomly divided into model group， low-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group （6.10 g·kg^-1）， medium-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group （12.19 g·kg^-1）， high-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group （24.38 g·kg^-1）， and daplizin group （1.25 mg·kg^-1）. During the same period， C57BL/6J male mice were selected into normal group and received drug intervention for 8 weeks， respectively. During this period， the body weight and fasting blood glucose （FBG） of the mice were dynamically monitored， and oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） and insulin tolerance test （ITT） were performed at the end of dosing. The levels of serum creatinine （SCr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， uric acid （UA）， albumin （ALB）， and total protein （TP） were measured by an automatic biochemical analyzer， and 24-hour urine protein was measured by a urine protein quantitative kit. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE）， periodic-acid Schiff （PAS）， and Masson staining were employed to observe the renal histopathology. The expression of nephrotic protein Nephrin was observed by immunohistochemistry. Western blot was used to detect the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）-related proteins such as TGF-β₁， Smad2/3， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， neural-cadherin （N-Cadherin）， and snail protein. ResultsUPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS identified 384 active compounds in the aqueous extract of Shenqi Dihuangtang. According to oral bioavailability≥30% and the five drug-like principles， 44 key active ingredients were screened out， and 169 intersection targets highly correlated with DKD were matched. Among them， there was a significant interaction relationship between tumor necrosis factor（TNF）， interleukin（IL）-6， protein kinase B（Akt）1， Caspase-3， Jun proto-oncogene （JUN）， hypoxia inducible factor-1α（HIF-1α）， B cell lymphoma-2（Bcl-2）， matrix metallopeptidase-9（MMP-9）， IL-1β， and TGF-β₁. GO functional annotations were significantly enriched in cellular components such as membrane rafts， membrane microdomains， and collagen-containing extracellular matrix， molecular functions such as DNA-binding transcription factor binding， R-Smad binding， and Smad protein binding， as well as biological processes such as reactions to lipopolysaccharides（LPS）， reactions to bacteria-derived molecules， and wound healing. The KEGG pathway was significantly enriched in lipids and atherosclerosis， TGF-β signaling pathway， phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase （PI3K）/Akt signaling pathway， etc. In vivo experimental results showed that the high-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group could significantly reduce FBG levels in db/db mice （P<0.01）， improve OGTT （P<0.01） and ITT （P<0.01） levels， reduce SCr （P<0.01）， BUN （P<0.01）， UA （P<0.01） and 24-hour BUN （P<0.01）， and increase ALB （P<0.01） and TP （P<0.01） levels. Pathological staining confirmed that the high-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group could significantly reduce the glomerular mesangial matrix area and collagen deposition （P<0.01） and upregulate the positive expression rate of Nephrin （P<0.01）. Western blot results showed that the high-dose Shenqi Dihuangtang group significantly downregulated the expression of TGF-β₁ （P<0.01） and Smad2/3 （P<0.01） signal molecules and inhibited the protein levels of α-SMA （P<0.01）， N-Cadherin （P<0.01）， and Snail （P<0.01）. ConclusionShenqi Dihuangtang can inhibit the TGF-β₁/Smad signaling axis and block the renal EMT process， thereby improving DKD renal fibrosis damage. Further analysis of its key active components and clinical transformation pathways is needed in the future.

Objective: Based on spinopelvic parameters and biomechanical principles, the pedicle-facet joint (PFJ) morphological characteristics of isthmic and degenerative spondylolisthesis were analyzed, and the mechanism of their onset and progression was discussed. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 194 patients with L5 spondylolysis or L5–S1 low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS group), 172 patients with L4–5 degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS group), and 366 patients with nonlumbar spondylolysis (NL group). The spinopelvic parameters and PFJ morphological parameters of the patients were measured, the differences in these parameters among and within the 3 groups were compared, and the correlations were analyzed. Results: Sacral slope (SS) and lumbar lordosis (LL) were the highest in the IS group, the second highest in the DS group, and the lowest in the NL group. Among the 3 groups, the L4 facet joint angle (FJA) was the largest in the IS group, the second largest in the NL group, and the smallest in the DS group. The L4 pedicle-facet joint angle (PFA) was the largest in the DS group, the second largest in the IS group, and the smallest in the NL group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that within each group, SS and LL were negatively correlated with FJA and positively correlated with PFA. Conclusion This study found a correlation between the PFJ morphological characteristics of patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis and spinopelvic parameters, suggesting that the morphological characteristics of PFJs may be caused by varying stresses under different spinopelvic morphologies.

Objective: Based on spinopelvic parameters and biomechanical principles, the pedicle-facet joint (PFJ) morphological characteristics of isthmic and degenerative spondylolisthesis were analyzed, and the mechanism of their onset and progression was discussed. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 194 patients with L5 spondylolysis or L5–S1 low-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS group), 172 patients with L4–5 degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS group), and 366 patients with nonlumbar spondylolysis (NL group). The spinopelvic parameters and PFJ morphological parameters of the patients were measured, the differences in these parameters among and within the 3 groups were compared, and the correlations were analyzed. Results: Sacral slope (SS) and lumbar lordosis (LL) were the highest in the IS group, the second highest in the DS group, and the lowest in the NL group. Among the 3 groups, the L4 facet joint angle (FJA) was the largest in the IS group, the second largest in the NL group, and the smallest in the DS group. The L4 pedicle-facet joint angle (PFA) was the largest in the DS group, the second largest in the IS group, and the smallest in the NL group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that within each group, SS and LL were negatively correlated with FJA and positively correlated with PFA. Conclusion This study found a correlation between the PFJ morphological characteristics of patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis and spinopelvic parameters, suggesting that the morphological characteristics of PFJs may be caused by varying stresses under different spinopelvic morphologies.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has shown potential therapeutic benefits for individuals with simple obesity. However, some researchers argue that some of the effectiveness of acupuncture may be due to the placebo response. OBJECTIVE: To understand the placebo response of acupuncture treatment in simple obesity, a systematic review and meta-analysis was designed based on the comparison between sham acupuncture before and after treatment. SEARCH STRATEGY: Eight databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, China Biology Medicine Database, and Chinese Scientific Journals Database) were searched from inception to August 1, 2023. The MeSH search terms comprised obesity and acupuncture. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using sham or placebo acupuncture as a control in treating obesity were enrolled. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Two researchers independently extracted data, and the results were cross-checked after completion. Each RCT's detailed sham/placebo acupuncture treatment protocol was assessed according to the SHam Acupuncture REporting guidelines. The revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system were used to determine the risk of bias and quality of evidence, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was defined as the primary outcome. Anthropometric parameters and laboratory test parameters related to obesity were defined as secondary outcomes. We used standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) to calculate treatment effects of outcomes. RESULTS: Fifteen RCTs with a total of 1250 patients were included. The BMI significantly decreased after treatment in the sham acupuncture group compared to baseline (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.09-0.66; I² = 81%, random model; P < 0.01). Treatment duration (P = 0.02) and other interventions significantly impacted the placebo response rate (P = 0.00). CONCLUSION The placebo response of sham acupuncture was strong in the RCTs for simple obesity, and the effect sizes differed between various outcomes. The treatment duration and other interventions emerged as potential influencing factors for the placebo response of sham acupuncture. Please cite this article as: Liu KJ, Jiao RM, Ji J, Yao WW, Han CR, Zhao XY, Zhao JJ. Placebo response in sham acupuncture therapy trials for simple obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(3): 264-273.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Obesity/therapy* ; Placebo Effect ; Placebos ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a well-accepted therapy for atopic dermatitis (AD). However, there are currently no evidence-based guidelines integrating TCM and Western medicine for the treatment of AD, limiting the clinical application of such combined approaches. Therefore, the China Association of Chinese Medicine initiated the development of the current guideline, focusing on key issues related to the use of TCM in the treatment of AD. This guideline was developed in accordance with the principles of the guideline formulation manual published by the World Health Organization. A comprehensive review of the literature on the combined use of TCM and Western medicine to treat AD was conducted. The findings were extensively discussed by experts in dermatology and pharmacy with expertise in both TCM and Western medicine. This guideline comprises 23 recommendations across seven major areas, including TCM syndrome differentiation and classification of AD, principles and application scenarios of TCM combined with Western medicine for treating AD, outcome indicators for evaluating clinical efficacy of AD treatment, integration of TCM pattern classification and Western medicine across disease stages, daily management of AD, the use of internal TCM therapies and proprietary Chinese medicines, and TCM external treatments. Please cite this article as: Du XR, Wu MY, Tao MC, Lin Y, Gu CY, Wu MF, Cao Y, Chen DC, Li W, Wang HW, Wang Y, Wang Y, Lu HZ, Liu X, Su XF, Li FL. Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis with integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):641-653.
Dermatitis, Atopic/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Integrative Medicine ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Objective To investigate the rate of greater omentum metastasis in gastric cancer(GC). Methods General informations of patients with GC who underwent radical gastrectomy at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital in May 2020 were collected, and their clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed to find risk factors of greater omentum metastasis. Recurrence and survival were also assessed. Results A total of 59 patients with GC were included in the study, of which 2(3.4%) had greater omentum metastasis. One patient presented a pathological stage of pT4aN3bM0 and another ypT4bN1M0. The 3-year overall survival rate of patients in the study was 87.9%. Conclusions The rate of greater omentum metastasis was relatively low, and patients with greater omentum metastasis had an more advanced pathological stage. To further validate this clinical issue, a prospective randomized controlled clinical study should be conducted between radical gastrectomy with omentectomy and omentum-preserving radical gastrectomy.

Objective:To investigate the influening factors for postoperative paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) and prolonged disorders of consciousness (pDoC) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed; 204 patients with sTBI accepted surgery in Department of Neurosurgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Fuyang Normal University from January 2018 to April 2024 were enrolled. These patients were divided into PSH group and non-PSH group based on postoperative PSH occurrence. These patients were also divided into pDoC group and non-pDoC group depending on whether duration of postoperative pDoC exceeded 28 days. Differences in clinical data between the PSH group and non-PSH group, as well as between the pDoC group and non-pDoC group, were compared respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent influencing factors for PSH or pDoC. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to investigate the predictive value of these influencing factors in PSH or pDoC in patients with sTBI.Results:(1) Of these 204 patients with sTBI, 28 patients (13.7 %) experienced PSH and 176 patients (86.3 %) were without PSH; compared with the non-PSH group, the PSH group had younger age, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score on admission, higher proportions of patients with brain herniation, basilar skull fracture and traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage, higher proportion of patients accepted decompressive craniectomy, higher blood glucose level and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and higher proportion of patients with postoperative hydrocephalus, with significant differences ( P<0.05). Of these 204 patients with sTBI, 77 patients (37.7 %) suffered from pDoC, and 127 (62.3 %) were without pDoC; compared with the non-pDoC group, the pDoC group had older age, lower GCS score on admission, higher proportions of patients with brain herniation, basilar skull fracture and traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage, higher proportion of patients accepted decompressive craniectomy, and higher proportions of patients with postoperative hydrocephalus or postoperative PSH, with significant differences ( P<0.05). (2) Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age, skull base fracture, traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage, blood glucose level, NLR, and postoperative hydrocephalus were independent influencing factors for PSH ( P<0.05); PSH, age, GCS score on admission, and postoperative hydrocephalus were independent influencing factors for pDoC ( P<0.05). (3) Areas under the curve (AUC) of age, skull base fracture, traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage, blood glucose level, NLR and postoperative hydrocephalus in predicting PSH were 0.750, 0.718, 0.760, 0.756, 0.790 and 0.679, respectively; AUC of age, GCS score on admission, postoperative hydrocephalus, postoperative PSH and their combinations in predicting pDoC were 0.598, 0.833, 0.691, 0.630 and 0.925, respectively. Conclusion:The sTBI patients with younger age, skull base fracture, traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage, high blood glucose level and NLR, or hydrocephalus are prone to have postoperative PSH; the sTBI patients with older age, low GCS score on admission, postoperative hydrocephalus or postoperative PSH are prone to have postoperative pDoC.

Aim To investigate the mechanism of in-testinal mucosal barrier protective effect of Qingjie Huagong decoction(QJHGD)on rats with severe acute pancreatitis(SAP).Methods The SAP rat model was constructed,and the sham-operation group,the model group,the group administered with different dosages of QJHGD,and the positive control group were set up respectively.HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes.ELISA was employed to detect the serum levels of diamine oxidase(DAO)and D-lactic acid(D-LA)in rats.Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to observe the mitochondria of ileal tissues.qRT-PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the mRNA and protein expression of PGAM5,Drp1,PINK1,Parkin,LC3B in ileal tissues of rats.Results Compared with the sham-operated group,the pancreas and ileum tissues of rats in the model group showed obvious pathological changes,with abnormal mitochondrial structure and reduced number of autoph-agic vesicles in the ileum tissues.The levels of DAO and D-LA in serum increased(P＜0.01),and the mRNA and protein expression of PGAM 5,Drp 1,PINK1,Parkin,and LC3B in the ileum tissues de-creased significantly.Compared with the model group,pancreatic and ileal pathology were improved,mito-chondrial damage in the ileum was reduced,and the number of autophagic vesicles increased in the QJHGD group.The serum levels of DAO and D-LA were re-duced,and the expression of PGAM5,Drp1,PINK1,Parkin,and LC3B mRNA and protein in the ileal tis-sues increased significantly.Conclusions QJHGD may exert a protective effect on the SAP intestinal mu-cosal barrier by regulating the PGAM5/Drp1/PINK1/Parkin axis in order to elevate the level of mitochondri-al autophagy in the intestinal epithelial cells,thereby improving the level of repair of the intestinal epithelial cells.

Objective:The objective of this longitudinal study is to longitudinally monitor the lexical development and language proficiency of Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CI) over a three-year post-implantation period while also investigating whether early receptive and expressive vocabulary skills can serve as predictors for later language abilities in CI recipients.Methods:In this study, 42 children with CIs were selected as participants, including 19 males and 23 females, and with a mean age at CI activation of 16.6±4.9 months. Receptive and expressive vocabulary skills were assessed using the Infant Checklist of the Early Vocabulary Inventory for Mandarin Chinese (EVI) at one-year post-activation (T1). Additionally, expressive vocabulary sizes were evaluated using the EVI-Toddler Checklist, while syntactic ability was measured by the Grammatical Complexity test of the Mandarin-Chinese Communicative Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers at two years post-activation (T2). The comprehensive language development level of preschool children, including language comprehension, expression, and grammar ability, was examined during the third year post-activation (T3) using the Revised Scale for Assessment of Language Disorders in Preschool Children. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 22.0.Results:One year after CI activation, children exhibited a mean receptive vocabulary size of 155.7±52.8 and an expressive vocabulary size of 85.1±63.9. T2′s expressive vocabulary size was 455.7±167.7, while the Grammatical Complexity score was 36.5±13.0. The original language development score was determined to be 53.6±14.2 at T3. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations between T1′s receptive and expressive vocabulary with tests conducted at T2 and subsequent language development measured at T3 ( P<0.01). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between expressive vocabulary at T1 and both tests conducted at T2 ( P<0.01), but no significant correlation with subsequent language development measured at T3. Regression analysis showed that T1 receptive vocabulary significantly predicted T2 expressive vocabulary and Grammatical Complexity scores and T3 language development scores. Moreover, the syntactic ability assessed during T2 independently predicted subsequent language proficiency measured at T3. Conclusions:Early receptive vocabulary and grammar ability two years post CI activation significantly predict later language proficiency in children with cochlear implants. Thus, during rehabilitation, emphasis should be placed on enhancing vocabulary and grammar comprehension.

AIM To investigate the clinical effects of Modified Banxia Xiexin Decoction combined with Lizhong Decoction on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus due to Cold-heat Complex in the Middle Energizer.METHODS One hundred and sixty-eight patients were randomly assigned into control group(84 cases)for 12-week intervention of conventional treatment,and observation group(84 cases)for 12-week intervention of Modified Banxia Xiexin Decoction,Lizhong Decoction and conventional treatment.The changes in clinical effects,compliance rate of blood glucoses,discontinuation and reduction rate of hypoglycemic drugs,continuous glucose parameters(TIR,GVP,FPG-ARV,MAGE),FPG,2 hPG,HbA1c,FINS,HOMA-β,HOMA-IR,lnISI,intestinal flora metabolites(SCFAs,CA,DC A,CDCA,CA/CDCA),score for Cold-heat Complex in the Middle Energizer and incidence of adverse reactions were detected.RESULTS The observation group demonstrated higher marked improvement rate,total effective rate,compliance rate of blood glucoses and discontinuation and reduction rate of hypoglycemic drugs,than the control group(P＜0.05).After the treatment,the two groups displayed increased TIR,FINS,HOMA-β,lnISI,SCFAs,CDCA(P＜0.05),and decreased GVP,FPG-ARV,MAGE,FPG,2 hPG,HbA1c,HOMA-IR,CA,DC A,CA/CDCA,score for Cold-heat Complex in the Middle Energizer(P＜0.05),especially for the observation group(P＜0.05).No significant difference in incidence of adverse reactions was found between the two groups(P＞0.05).CONCLUSION For the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus due to Cold-heat Complex in the Middle Energizer,Modified Banxia Xiexin Decoction combined with Lizhong Decoction can improve islet β cell function and insulin resistance,enhance insulin sensitivity index and compliance rate of blood glucoses,reduce blood glucose fluctuation and dosages of hypoglycemic drugs,regulate intestinal flora metabolites,and affect glucose metabolism.