OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Bushen Huoxue Granule on the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) in an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease. METHODS: After treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺, 1 mmol/L) for 24 h, the cells were incubated with drug-free serum, Madopar-containing serum or Bushen Huoxue Granule-containing serum (BCS, 5%, 10%, and 20%) for another 24 h. The levels of α-synuclein (α-syn), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and UPS-related proteins were detected by Western blot. The expression levels of α-syn in PC12 cells were also analyzed by Western blot after treated with proteasome inhibitor MG132 and WT-α-syn plasmid transfection, respectively, as well as the alterations induced by subsequent BCS intervention. Immunocytochemistry was performed to determine the changes in α-syn phosphorylation at serine 129 (pSer129-α-syn) expression. The 20S proteasome levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbnent assay. RESULTS: BCS (volume fraction ⩽20%) intervention could alleviate the MMP⁺-induced cell viability decrease (P<0.05). In the MPP⁺ treated cells, α-syn was up-regulated, while TH and proteins of UPS such as ubiquitin (Ub), Ub binding with Ub-activating enzyme (UBE1), Parkin and Ub C-terminal hydrolase-1 (UCHL-1) were down-regulated (P<0.05). BCS intervention could attenuate the above changes (P<0.05). The activity of BCS on blocking α-syn accumulation was weakened by MG132 (P<0.05). While α-syn level was significantly increased in cells transfected with plasmid, and reduced by BCS intervention (P<0.05). pSer129-α-syn was increased in MPP⁺-induced PC12 cells, whereas decreased by later BCS intervention (P<0.05). The 20S proteasome activity of MPP⁺-induced PC12 cells was decreased, but increased after BCS intervention (P<0.05). CONCLUSION BCS intervention protected UPS function, increased 20S proteasome activity, promoted pathological α-syn clearance, restored cell viability, and reversed the damage caused by MPP⁺ in the in vitro model of Parkinson's disease.
PC12 Cells ; alpha-Synuclein/metabolism* ; Rats ; Animals ; 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium/toxicity* ; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Ubiquitin/metabolism* ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Phosphorylation/drug effects* ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase/metabolism*

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

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of duodenal duplication in children.Methods:From Jan 2017 to Jun 2023, clinical data of 8 child patients complaining nonspecific intraabdominal symptoms at Department of General Surgery, Hu'nan Children's Hospital undering surgery were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Five patients had duodenal duplication resected, 3 patients underwent fenestration and mucous membraine removel.Postoperative pathology showed cyst type in 6 cases, tubular type in 2 cases,all with lining of intestinal mucosa, and smooth muscle, including 1 case with ectopic pancreas tissues, 2 cases with ectopic gastric mucosa tissues. Postoperative follow-up were 10-48 months. During the follow-up period, there was no abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension, and other symptoms, and the children recovered well.Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of duodenal duplication are no specific. Definite diagnosis depends on pathology. Duodenal duplication resection or fenestration plus mucosal stripping is the treatment of choice. The prognosis is good.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel intravascular lithotripsy(IVL)balloon—Vesscrack shockwave balloon—for vascular preparation before stent implantation in patients with severe coronary artery calcification(CAC).Methods This was a prospective,single-arm,multicenter study conducted in China from June 2022 to October 2022.Patients with severe CAC were treated with the Vesscrack shockwave balloon for lesion preparation,followed by drug-eluting stent(DES)implantation.Of these,33 patients underwent optical coherence tomography(OCT).The primary endpoint was procedural success,defined as successful stent implantation with residual stenosis≤30％and the absence of in-hospital major adverse events,including cardiac death,target vessel-related myocardial infarction,or target lesion revascularization.Results A total of 170 patients[mean age:(65.9±7.9)years,116 males]were enrolled.After treatment with IVL and DES,the minimum lumen diameter increased significantly compared to baseline[(2.34±0.40)mm vs.(0.95±0.33)mm,P＜0.001],the degree of stenosis was significantly reduced[(13.24±6.60)％vs.(65.18±10.59)％,P＜0.001].Procedural success was achieved in 100％of cases,and device success was 98.8％.The 30-day patient-related cardiovascular clinical composite endpoint(POCE)rate was 0.0,with no target lesion failure,no confirmed or potential thrombotic events were observed.The shockwave energy generator demonstrated excellent stability and ease of use.Among the 33 patients assessed with OCT,after IVL intervention,the maximum calcified area of the lumen[(3.51±1.51)mm2 vs.(2.85±1.80)mm2,P＜0.001],and the minimum lumen area within the target lesion[(3.08±1.04)mm2 vs.(2.02±0.75)mm2,P＜0.001],and after DES intervention,the luminal area of the largest calcified site[(6.59±1.64)mm2 vs.(2.85±1.80)mm2,P＜0.001]and the minimum luminal area within the target lesion[(6.19±1.45)mm2 vs.(2.02±0.75)mm2,P＜0.001]were significantly increased,and the differences were statistically significant.Conclusions The Vesscrack shockwave balloon is effective and safe for vascular preparation in patients with severe CAC prior to stent implantation.It achieves significant calcified plaque modification,high procedural success rates,and minimal complications.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel intravascular lithotripsy(IVL)balloon—Vesscrack shockwave balloon—for vascular preparation before stent implantation in patients with severe coronary artery calcification(CAC).Methods This was a prospective,single-arm,multicenter study conducted in China from June 2022 to October 2022.Patients with severe CAC were treated with the Vesscrack shockwave balloon for lesion preparation,followed by drug-eluting stent(DES)implantation.Of these,33 patients underwent optical coherence tomography(OCT).The primary endpoint was procedural success,defined as successful stent implantation with residual stenosis≤30％and the absence of in-hospital major adverse events,including cardiac death,target vessel-related myocardial infarction,or target lesion revascularization.Results A total of 170 patients[mean age:(65.9±7.9)years,116 males]were enrolled.After treatment with IVL and DES,the minimum lumen diameter increased significantly compared to baseline[(2.34±0.40)mm vs.(0.95±0.33)mm,P＜0.001],the degree of stenosis was significantly reduced[(13.24±6.60)％vs.(65.18±10.59)％,P＜0.001].Procedural success was achieved in 100％of cases,and device success was 98.8％.The 30-day patient-related cardiovascular clinical composite endpoint(POCE)rate was 0.0,with no target lesion failure,no confirmed or potential thrombotic events were observed.The shockwave energy generator demonstrated excellent stability and ease of use.Among the 33 patients assessed with OCT,after IVL intervention,the maximum calcified area of the lumen[(3.51±1.51)mm2 vs.(2.85±1.80)mm2,P＜0.001],and the minimum lumen area within the target lesion[(3.08±1.04)mm2 vs.(2.02±0.75)mm2,P＜0.001],and after DES intervention,the luminal area of the largest calcified site[(6.59±1.64)mm2 vs.(2.85±1.80)mm2,P＜0.001]and the minimum luminal area within the target lesion[(6.19±1.45)mm2 vs.(2.02±0.75)mm2,P＜0.001]were significantly increased,and the differences were statistically significant.Conclusions The Vesscrack shockwave balloon is effective and safe for vascular preparation in patients with severe CAC prior to stent implantation.It achieves significant calcified plaque modification,high procedural success rates,and minimal complications.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of duodenal duplication in children.Methods:From Jan 2017 to Jun 2023, clinical data of 8 child patients complaining nonspecific intraabdominal symptoms at Department of General Surgery, Hu'nan Children's Hospital undering surgery were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Five patients had duodenal duplication resected, 3 patients underwent fenestration and mucous membraine removel.Postoperative pathology showed cyst type in 6 cases, tubular type in 2 cases,all with lining of intestinal mucosa, and smooth muscle, including 1 case with ectopic pancreas tissues, 2 cases with ectopic gastric mucosa tissues. Postoperative follow-up were 10-48 months. During the follow-up period, there was no abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension, and other symptoms, and the children recovered well.Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of duodenal duplication are no specific. Definite diagnosis depends on pathology. Duodenal duplication resection or fenestration plus mucosal stripping is the treatment of choice. The prognosis is good.

As artificial intelligence technology rapidly advances, its deployment within the medical sector presents substantial ethical challenges. Consequently, it becomes crucial to create a standardized, transparent, and secure framework for processing medical data. This includes setting the ethical boundaries for medical artificial intelligence and safeguarding both patient rights and data integrity. This consensus governs every facet of medical data handling through artificial intelligence, encompassing data gathering, processing, storage, transmission, utilization, and sharing. Its purpose is to ensure the management of medical data adheres to ethical standards and legal requirements, while safeguarding patient privacy and data security. Concurrently, the principles of compliance with the law, patient privacy respect, patient interest protection, and safety and reliability are underscored. Key issues such as informed consent, data usage, intellectual property protection, conflict of interest, and benefit sharing are examined in depth. The enactment of this expert consensus is intended to foster the profound integration and sustainable advancement of artificial intelligence within the medical domain, while simultaneously ensuring that artificial intelligence adheres strictly to the relevant ethical norms and legal frameworks during the processing of medical data.
Artificial Intelligence/legislation & jurisprudence* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Computer Security/standards* ; Confidentiality/ethics* ; Informed Consent/ethics*

Background Results of genetic testing for antipsychotic drugs can guide the rational use of drugs in clinical practice and help improve the clinical symptoms of patients with schizophrenia.However,there is currently limited evidence in China regarding the impact of genetic testing results on medication adherence,social function and drug side effects of antipsychotic drug treatment.Objective To explore the improvement of clinical symptoms,medication adherence and social function in patients with schizophrenia under the guidance of antipsychotic drug gene testing results and examine the safety of drug treatment,so as to provide references for ifor precise treatment of schizophrenia patients.Methods Patients with acute schizophrenia who received hospitalization at Dazhou Minkang Hospital from July 2019 to August 2021 as well as met the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases,tenth edition(ICD-10)were selected as research subjects(n=144).Based on random number table,subjects were divided into study group and control group,with 72 cases in each group.Control group received drug treatment based on the doctor's clinical experience,while study group received drug treatment based on the results of gene testing for antipsychotic drug.Both treatments lasted for 12 weeks.At baseline as well as 2,4,8 and 12 weeks after treatment,Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS),8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale(MMAS-8),Social Functional Rating Scale(SFRS)and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale(TESS)were adopted for assessment.Result Time effect and group effect of the reducing rate of PANSS,MMAS-8 and SFRS scores in the groups were statistically significant(Ftime=95.251,6.650,14.101,Fgroup=38.055,58.175,128.221,P<0.01).The interaction effect of the reduction rates of MMAS-8 scores in two groups was statistically significant(Finteraction=5.837,P<0.01).The group effect and interaction effect of the severity scores of drug side effects and patient pain scores in two groups were statistically significant(Fgroup=7.553,81.533,Finteraction=8.693,9.322,P<0.01).Conclusion In terms of improving clinical symptom relief,medication adherence,social function and drug side effects,medication for patients with schizophrenia guided by genetic testing of antipsychotic drugs may be more effective than that relying on medication based on clinical experience.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of brexpiprazole in treating acute schizophrenia.Methods Patients with schizophrenia were randomly divided into treatment group and control group.The treatment group was given brexpiprozole 2-4 mg·d-1 orally and the control group was given aripiprazole 10-20 mg·d-1orally,both were treated for 6 weeks.Clinical efficacy of the two groups,the response rate at endpoint,the changes from baseline to endpoint of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS),Clinical Global Impression-Improvement(CGI-S),Personal and Social Performance scale(PSP),PANSS Positive syndrome subscale,PANSS negative syndrome subscale were compared.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events in two groups were compared.Results There were 184 patients in treatment group and 186 patients in control group.After treatment,the response rates of treatment group and control group were 79.50％(140 cases/184 cases)and 82.40％(150 cases/186 cases),the scores of CGI-I of treatment group and control group were(2.00±1.20)and(1.90±1.01),with no significant difference(all P＞0.05).From baseline to Week 6,the mean change of PANSS total score wese(-30.70±16.96)points in treatment group and(-32.20±17.00)points in control group,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).The changes of CGI-S scores in treatment group and control group were(-2.00±1.27)and(-1.90±1.22)points,PSP scores were(18.80±14.77)and(19.20±14.55)points,PANSS positive syndrome scores were(-10.30±5.93)and(-10.80±5.81)points,PANSS negative syndrome scores were(-6.80±5.98)and(-7.30±5.15)points,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of treatment-related adverse events between the two group(69.00％vs.64.50％,P＞0.05).Conclusion The non-inferiority of Brexpiprazole to aripiprazole was established,with comparable efficacy and acceptability.

Objective To explore the effect of Shexiang Baoxin pill on cardiac tissue angiogenesis in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR).Method Twenty 12 week old male SHR were randomly divided into experimental group and model group,with 12 week old male SD rats as the normal control group.The experimental group rats were orally administered with Shexiang Baoxin pill(45 mg·kg-1)daily,and their blood pressure was monitored using a non-invasive tail artery blood pressure gauge every four weeks.Eight weeks later,cardiac tissue was taken for platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1(PECAM-1/CD31)immunofluorescence staining to observe CD31 expression level.Use protein blotting to detect the expression levels of myocardial endothelial growth factor(VEGF),myocardial endothelial growth factor receptor 2(VEGF-R2),basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF)and phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-Akt)/protein kinase B(Akt)proteins.Result There was significant increase in blood pressure between the experimental group,model group and normal group at the same time point(all P＜0.01),but there was no statistically significant difference in blood pressure changes between the experimental group and model group at the same time point(all P＞0.05).The CD31 expression rates of the normal group,model group and experimental group were(3.79±0.84)％,(2.54±0.42)％and(3.56±0.49)％;VEGF levels were 0.95±0.10,0.73±0.08 and 0.94±0.15;VEGF-R2 levels were 0.85±0.10,0.61±0.14 and 0.80±0.10;bFGF levels were 0.84±0.04,0.51±0.21 and 0.74±0.14;p-Akt/Akt levels were 0.85±0.15,0.57±0.13 and 0.80±0.20,respectively.The differences between the normal group and the model group,as well as the experimental group and the model group,were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Shexiang Baoxin pill can promote the neovascularization of microvessels in the heart tissue of spontaneously hypertensive rats,and its mechanism may be related to the activation of PI3K/Akt phosphorylation,upregulation of bFGF,VEGF and their receptor VEGF-R2 in myocardial tissue.