This article systematically reviews and examines the historical evolution of Bambusae Succus as a medicinal material， covering aspects such as nomenclature， origin， geographical distribution， harvesting and processing methods， quality assessment， therapeutic effects and indications， by consulting ancient herbal texts， medical compendia， and modern literature. The aim is to provide a reference for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. Research indicated that Bambusae Succus was first documented in the Shennong Bencaojing during the Han dynasty， with Zhuli being the standard name used throughout history， alongside aliases like Zhuzhi， Zhuyou and Huoquan. Historically， the primary source of Bambusae Succus has been Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis（Danzhu）， although other species such as Pleioblastus amarus and Bambusa emeiensis have also been used medicinally. Ancient records predominantly noted its origin in Yizhou（present-day Chengdu and surrounding areas in Sichuan） and the Wuling region（between present-day Hunan， Guangdong， Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces）， while contemporary sources are mainly from regions south of the Yangtze River and southwestern China. Traditionally， Bambusae Succus was harvested from bamboo that had grown for exactly one year， today， it can be collected year-round without strict age requirements. Ancient preparation methods included direct fire roasting or dry distillation， whereas modern industrial production employs dry distillation， reflux extraction， and percolation. In terms of quality evaluation， ancient texts considered a sweet taste to be superior， while today， clarity and transparency are prioritized. Historically， Bambusae Succus was characterized as sweet and cold nature， targeting the lung and stomach meridians， with uses evolving from clearing heat and resolving phlegm to nourishing Yin， moistening dryness， and relaxing tendons and unblocking meridians. Modern descriptions classify it as sweet， bitter， and cold in nature， affecting the heart， liver， and lung meridians， with functions including clearing heat， resolving phlegm， and facilitating orifices. It is indicated for conditions such as stroke with phlegm confusion， lung heat with phlegm congestion， convulsions， epilepsy， excessive phlegm in febrile diseases， high fever with thirst， irritability during pregnancy， and tetanus， with more clearly defined applications. Based on the results of the research， it is recommended that when developing and utilizing famous classical formulas containing Bambusae Succus， the one-year-old Phyllostachys nigra var. Henonis， which has been highly praised throughout history， should be selected as the source material. Industrial production should adopt the dry distillation method. Furthermore， in-depth research should be conducted on the modern technological characterization of the traditional quality control indicator of sweet taste， and reasonable modern quality control standards should be established.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the specific mechanisms by which electroacupuncture (EA) alleviates anxiety and fear behaviors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), focusing on the role of lipocalin-2 (Lcn2). METHODS: The PTSD mouse model was subjected to single prolonged stress and shock (SPS&S), and the animals received 15 min sessions of EA at Shenmen acupoint (HT7). Behavioral tests were used to investigate the effects of EA at HT7 on anxiety and fear. Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to quantify Lcn2 and inflammatory cytokine levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Additionally, the activity of PFC neurons was evaluated by immunofluorescence and in vivo electrophysiology. RESULTS: Mice subjected to SPS&S presented increased anxiety- and fear-like behaviors. Lcn2 expression in the PFC was significantly upregulated following SPS&S, leading to increased expression of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 and suppression of PFC neuronal activity. However, EA at HT7 inhibited Lcn2 release, reducing neuroinflammation and hypoexcitability in the PFC. Lcn2 overexpression mitigated the effects of EA at HT7, resulting in anxiety- and fear-like behaviors. CONCLUSION EA at HT7 can ameliorate PTSD-associated anxiety and fear, and its mechanism of action appears to involve the inhibition of Lcn2-mediated neural activity and inflammation in the PFC. Please cite this article as: Yang YD, Zhong W, Chen M, Tang QC, Li Y, Yao LL, et al. Electroacupuncture alleviates behaviors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder by modulating lipocalin-2-mediated neuroinflammation and neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):537-547.
Electroacupuncture ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/metabolism* ; Animals ; Lipocalin-2/metabolism* ; Prefrontal Cortex/physiopathology* ; Male ; Mice ; Neurons/physiology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fear ; Behavior, Animal ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/metabolism* ; Anxiety/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points

BACKGROUND: The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment. OBJECTIVE: This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022. INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES. RESULTS: This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs. CONCLUSION The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Placebo Effect ; Placebos ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) published in Chinese between Jan 2021 and Sep 2022. METHODS: Chinese language CHM SRs were identified through literature searches across 3 international and 4 Chinese databases. Methodological quality was appraised using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and quality. RESULTS: Analyses of methodological quality found that among the 213 sampled SRs, 69.5% were of critically low quality, 30.5% were of low quality, and none achieved high or moderate quality. Common shortcomings included the failure to identify the studies excluded from the analysis, failure to disclose funding sources, and limited evaluation of the potential impact of bias on conclusions. Logistic regressions revealed that SRs led by corresponding authors affiliated with universities or academic institutions tended to be of lower quality than SRs led by authors affiliated with hospitals or clinical facilities. CONCLUSION Recent Chinese language CHM SRs exhibited limited methodological quality, making them unlikely to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. Urgent initiatives are needed to enhance training for researchers, peer-reviewers and editors involved in the preparation and publication of SRs. Adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines in Chinese language journals is crucial to improve the relevance of SRs for Chinese medicine development. Addressing deficiencies in methodology and reporting is essential for promoting evidence-based practices and informed clinical decisions in Chinese medicine. Please cite this article as: Jiang Y, Zhong CC, Wang BH, Xu SS, Ho FF, Kwong MH, Ho L, Zhou JHS, Lam KC, Liu JP, Zhang BT, Chung VCH. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on orally administered Chinese herbal medicine published in Chinese between 2021 and 2022: A cross-sectional study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):492-501.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic/standards* ; Humans ; China ; Administration, Oral ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in the treatment of malignant tongue base tumors.Methods:A multicenter study was conducted to collect and analyze the clinical data of patients with malignant tongue base tumors who underwent TORS at five otolaryngology-head and neck surgery centers in China, including Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University between January 2017 and January 2023. Among the patients, 38 were males and 11 were females, with a mean age of 59.0±8.8 years. Baseline characteristics, complications, and follow-up data were compared between groups. Independent sample t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests was used for comparisons of continuous variables; chi-square tests or Fisher′s exact tests was applied for categorical variables. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method to calculate overall survival and disease-free survival, and differences between groups were compared using the log-rank test. Results:Among the 49 patients, 41 (83.7%) were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with a p16 positive rate of 51.2% (21/41). There were no statistically significant differences between the p16-positive group ( n=21) and the p16-negative group ( n=20) in age, sex, or postoperative bleeding (all P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference in TNM stage between the two groups ( χ2=14.556, P=0.020), with the p16-positive group predominantly in stage I (66.7%) and the p16-negative group primarily in stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ (40.0% and 30.0%, respectively). The postoperative tracheotomy rate was 30.6% (15/49), and the incidence of postoperative bleeding was 6.1% (3/49). The 1-year and 3-year overall survival rates were 98.0% and 92.5%, respectively, while, the 1-year and 3-year disease-free survival rates were 89.2% and 84.9%, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the p16-positive and p16-negative groups in 3-year overall survival (100% vs. 83.8%, χ2=1.093, P=0.518) or 3-year disease-free survival (68.2% vs. 88.9%, χ2=2.161, P=0.382). Conclusion:TORS for malignant tongue base tumors demonstrates high clinical safety and favorable oncological outcomes.

Objective:To explore the clinical application value of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in the treatment of tonsil squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted. The clinical data of 157 TSCC patients were collected who received TORS at five medical centers, namely, the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, and Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, from January 1 2017 to July 31 2022. There were 130 males and 27 females, aged 24-85 years. All patients were followed-up at least for 2 years (2-year group), among them, 99 patients had a follow-up of 3 years (3-year group). The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), clinical stage, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection status were analyzed. SPSS 25.0 and SAS 9.4 were used for statistical analysis.Results:The OS and PFS of the 2-year group were 91.7% and 87.9%, respectively. The OS and PFS of the 3-year group were 85.9% and 82.8%, respectively. The prognosis of patients with locally early-stage was better than that of locally advanced patients, with the OS of 94.4% for T1-2 vs. 78.0% for T3 ( P=0.005) and the PFS of 91.2% for T1-2 vs. 75.0% for T3 ( P=0.011) in the 2-year group; the OS of 91.1% for T1-2 vs. 65.0% for T3 ( P=0.004) and the PFS of 88.6% for T1-2 vs. 60.0% for T3 ( P=0.002) in the 3-year group; and also, the OS of 90.0% for stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ vs. 79.5% for stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ ( P=0.204) and the PFS of 86.7% for stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ vs. 76.9% for stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ ( P=0.188) in the 3-year group. The prognosis of HPV-positive TSCC patients was better than that of HPV-negative patients in the 3-year group, with the OS of 90.9% for HPV-positive vs. 80.5% for HPV-negative ( P=0.045) and the PFS of 90.9% for HPV-positive vs. 75.6% for HPV-negative ( P=0.047). The average time of postoperative tracheal cannula indwelling was 25.1 days. The indwelling rate and average indwelling time of the postoperative nasogastric tube were 94.3% (148/157) and 8.5 days, respectively. Conclusion:TORS has outstanding survival benefits for TSCC patients. HPV-positive TSCC patients have a better prognosis than HPV-negative patients. TORS treatment of TSCC patients has advantages in postoperative recovery and quality of life.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for resection of tumors in the parapharyngeal spaces.Methods:The clinical data of 57 patients who underwent TORS for parapharyngeal space tumors from September 2018 to February 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were treated at five medical institutions: The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The patients were 28 males and 29 females, aged 17-77 years (median age, 47 years). The pathological types, locations, and sizes of the tumors, operation time, intraoperative bleeding volumes, postoperative hospital stays, and postoperative complications were evaluated. The data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 software.Results:Postoperative pathological examination revealed 11 types of benign tumors. Among 57 cases, 27 cases had their tumors in the prestyloid spaces, predominantly with pleomorphic adenoma ( n=17), and 30 cases in the retrostyloid spaces, predominantly with schwannoma ( n=22). The tumor volumes ranged from 0.6 to 130.1 cm3, the intraoperative bleeding volumes ranged from 5 to 1 000 ml, the operation time ranged from 20 to 390 min, and the postoperative hospital stays ranged from 2 to 25 days. The total costs for individual cases were 36 000-100 000 yuan, with the highest cost in the case suffering from cerebrovascular accident. Four patients(7.0%) had tracheotomy and 36(63.2%) had nasogastric tube placement. Among the 57 patients, 5 had postoperative cavity effusion, 2 had wound dehiscence, 2 had cerebrovascular accidents, 1 had Horner syndrome, and 2 had other complications. The patients were followed up for 1-67 months, with only 1 patient with intracranial and extracranial communication relapsed. Conclusion:TORS is a safe and feasible approach for treating parapharyngeal space tumors, offering advantages such as minimal invasiveness, reduced blood loss, and faster recovery. It is suitable for parapharyngeal space tumors of various pathological types and locations. The postoperative complications are manageable, with favorable long-term follow-up results and low recurrence rates.

Objective:To discuss the correlation of pathologic findings after radical prostatectomy and preoperative 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT parameters with the prognosis of patients with prostate cancer. Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 48 patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital between January 2019 and August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT imaging before surgery. The age, the preoperative serum total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), prostate volume, tumor diameter, TNM staging, the pathologic data after radical prostatectomy [International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade, resection margin status, nerve invasion], and preoperative maximum standard uptake value (SUV max) were collected. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the efficacy of PET/CT parameter SUV max in predicting tumor recurrence after prostate cancer surgery. The recurrence-free survival (RFS) was analyzed by using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test was performed. Cox proportional risk model was used to analyze the factors influencing RFS after radical prostatectomy. Results:All 48 patients were acinar adenocarcinoma. The median level of the patients' serum tPSA was 19.16 (10.50, 30.99) ng/ml; the median prostate volume was 36.20 (31.83, 45.48) ml; the median tumor diameter was 2.80 (1.60, 4.00) cm; the median PSAD was 0.48 (0.31,1.02) ng·ml -1·cm -3. The primary SUV max of prostate cancer was 13.61 (8.10, 20.20) . Of the 48 patients, 1 case died of heart disease and 1 case died of COVID-19 within 3 to 6 months after surgery, and the rest 46 patients were analyzed for prognosis. Among 46 cases, 26 were in the ISUP low-grade group and 20 were in the high-grade group; 17 were positive and 29 were negative for nerve invasion; 7 were positive and 39 were negative for margin status. The median follow-up time was 18.5 (8-64) months. There were 30 recurrence-free patients and 16 recurrent patients by the follow-up in April 2024. The median RFS time was 15 months; and there were statistically significant differences in RSF among the ISUP high-grade and low-grade groups, preoperative SUV max ≥ 16.77 and < 16.77 groups, positive and negative resection margin groups (all P < 0.01). SUV max was positively correlated with ISUP pathological grade and tPSA level ( r value was 0.634, 0.584, respectively; both P < 0.01). The differences in preoperative serum tPSA level, PSAD, tumor diameter, and SUV max were statistically significant between the ISUP low-grade group and the high-grade group (all P < 0.01); the differences in preoperative serum tPSA, PSAD, and tumor diameter were statistically significant between the nerve invasion positive group and nerve invasion negative group (all P < 0.01); the differences in preoperative serum tPSA, PSAD, tumor diameter, and SUV max between patients with positive resection margins or not were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the tumor resection margin status (negativity vs. positivity: HR = 7.82,95% CI: 1.97-31.07, P < 0.01), ISUP pathological grade (low grade vs. high grade: HR = 4.34,95% CI:1.21-15.62, P < 0.05), and the preoperative SUV max (<16.77 vs. ≥ 16.77: HR = 4.18, 95% CI:1.36-12.85 , P < 0.05) were independent influencing factors for RFS in patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy. Conclusions:Pathological grading after radical prostatectomy and the preoperative 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT parameters are associated with the prognosis of patients with prostate cancer.