BACKGROUND:Age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis may share common pathophysiological mechanisms,but there is a lack of direct evidence regarding their relationship.Traditional studies are confounded by confounding factors and reverse causation.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis based on Mendelian randomization design.METHODS:Through a two-way Mendelian randomization analysis,single nucleotide polymorphisms of exposure and outcomes were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies,with deep vein thrombosis data from the FinnGen database in a European population with a sample size of 363 612 and 1 048 575 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In addition,we obtained data on age-related macular degeneration from the IEUOpenGWAS project,also from a European population sample of 105 248 cases covering 11 304 110 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In R4.4.1,we used the TwoSampleMR package(version 0.6.8)to explore the causal effects of exposure factors on outcomes.At the same time,we also conducted a sensitivity analysis via MR-Egger regression,weighted median,weighted model and simple model methods to ensure that the assessment results were robust and reliable.In addition,we used the"heterogeneity"function to test for heterogeneity,and the"horizontal pleiotropy"function and the MR-PRESSO test to further assess horizontal pleotropy.The Cochran's Q test was used to determine whether there was statistical heterogeneity between single nucleotide polymorphisms,and the leave-one-out method was used to assess whether single nucleotide polymorphisms would significantly interfere with Mendelian randomization analysis.Funnel plots were drawn to assess the potential bias of single nucleotide polymorphisms.Forest plots were plotted to show the effect estimates of single nucleotide polymorphisms on exposure and outcomes,and their confidence intervals were plotted.Scatter plots were plotted to evaluate the relationship between the potency of single nucleotide polymorphisms and their causal effect size on outcome estimates.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both forward and reverse studies showed that there was no causal association between age-related macular degeneration and the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis(P＞0.05).Sensitivity analysis showed that the main analysis results were reliable and robust,with no outliers,heterogeneity,and horizontal pleiotropy,and no single nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected the overall effect estimate.Although it is based on European population data,it has methodological reference value for Chinese biomedical research on complex disease associations.In this field,China can carry out multi-center large-sample studies,accurately analyze the internal links between Chinese population-related diseases,and provide a basis for prevention and treatment strategies and clinical practice.

BACKGROUND:Age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis may share common pathophysiological mechanisms,but there is a lack of direct evidence regarding their relationship.Traditional studies are confounded by confounding factors and reverse causation.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the causal relationship between age-related macular degeneration and deep vein thrombosis based on Mendelian randomization design.METHODS:Through a two-way Mendelian randomization analysis,single nucleotide polymorphisms of exposure and outcomes were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies,with deep vein thrombosis data from the FinnGen database in a European population with a sample size of 363 612 and 1 048 575 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In addition,we obtained data on age-related macular degeneration from the IEUOpenGWAS project,also from a European population sample of 105 248 cases covering 11 304 110 single nucleotide polymorphisms.In R4.4.1,we used the TwoSampleMR package(version 0.6.8)to explore the causal effects of exposure factors on outcomes.At the same time,we also conducted a sensitivity analysis via MR-Egger regression,weighted median,weighted model and simple model methods to ensure that the assessment results were robust and reliable.In addition,we used the"heterogeneity"function to test for heterogeneity,and the"horizontal pleiotropy"function and the MR-PRESSO test to further assess horizontal pleotropy.The Cochran's Q test was used to determine whether there was statistical heterogeneity between single nucleotide polymorphisms,and the leave-one-out method was used to assess whether single nucleotide polymorphisms would significantly interfere with Mendelian randomization analysis.Funnel plots were drawn to assess the potential bias of single nucleotide polymorphisms.Forest plots were plotted to show the effect estimates of single nucleotide polymorphisms on exposure and outcomes,and their confidence intervals were plotted.Scatter plots were plotted to evaluate the relationship between the potency of single nucleotide polymorphisms and their causal effect size on outcome estimates.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both forward and reverse studies showed that there was no causal association between age-related macular degeneration and the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis(P＞0.05).Sensitivity analysis showed that the main analysis results were reliable and robust,with no outliers,heterogeneity,and horizontal pleiotropy,and no single nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected the overall effect estimate.Although it is based on European population data,it has methodological reference value for Chinese biomedical research on complex disease associations.In this field,China can carry out multi-center large-sample studies,accurately analyze the internal links between Chinese population-related diseases,and provide a basis for prevention and treatment strategies and clinical practice.

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effects of the Anemarrhenae Rhizoma water extract （AR） on Alzheimer's disease （AD） model rats and to explore its potential underlying mechanisms. MethodsMale rats were intraperitoneally injected with D-galactose （100 mg·kg^-1） for 42 days， and on day 14， 1 μL of β-amyloid （Aβ_25-35， 2 g·L^-1） solution was injected into the hippocampus. Rats were randomly divided into a model group， low-dose AR （0.6 g·kg^-1）， medium-dose AR （1.2 g·kg^-1）， high-dose AR （2.4 g·kg^-1）， and a positive control group （donepezil， 5 mg·kg^-1）. Healthy rats receiving only a hippocampal injection of 1 μL of sterile saline served as the sham-operated group. From day 21， rats in the treatment groups were administered the corresponding drugs by gavage once daily for 21 consecutive days， while the blank control and model groups received an equal volume of saline. Learning and memory abilities were assessed using the Morris water maze. Brain tissue damage was observed by hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining， and neuronal apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL） staining. Levels of interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） in brain tissues were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. BV2 microglial cells were co-cultured with Aβ_25-35 （40 μmol·L^-1） for 2 h， and cell viability was determined by the CCK-8 assay to screen the optimal concentration of AR-containing serum （S-AR）. Cells were divided into blank control， Aβ_25-35， S-AR， EX527 ［silent information regulator 1 （SIRT1） inhibitor］， and S-AR+EX527 groups. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of CD16， CD206， and high-mobility group box 1 （HMGB1）. Western blot analysis was performed to measure the protein expression of CD16， inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）， CD206， arginase （Arg）， and proteins related to the SIRT1/HMGB1/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） signaling pathway. ResultsIn vivo experiments showed that， compared with the sham-operated group， the model group exhibited reduced platform crossings and time spent in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， prolonged escape latency， increased hippocampal neuronal apoptosis （P<0.01）， and obvious hippocampal damage. The expression levels of IL-6， TNF-α， IL-10， CD16， and iNOS in brain tissues were significantly elevated （P<0.01）， while CD206 and Arg protein expression showed an increasing trend without statistical significance. Compared with the model group， all AR-treated groups significantly increased platform crossings and target quadrant time （P<0.05， P<0.01）， alleviated hippocampal damage， reduced escape latency and neuronal apoptosis， downregulated the expression of TNF-α， IL-6， CD16， and iNOS （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and upregulated the expression of IL-10， CD206 and Arg （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In vitro experiments demonstrated that， compared with the blank control group， the Aβ_25-35 group showed increased fluorescence intensity of CD206， CD16， and HMGB1， as well as elevated protein expression of iNOS and CD16 （P<0.01）， while CD206 and Arg protein expression exhibited an increasing trend without statistical significance. After S-AR intervention， CD206 fluorescence intensity and the protein expression of Arg and CD206 were significantly increased （P<0.01）， whereas the fluorescence intensity of CD16 and HMGB1 and the protein expression of iNOS and CD16 were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. These effects were reversed by EX527 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Furthermore， compared with the blank control group， the Aβ_25-35 group showed significantly increased cytoplasmic HMGB1 expression and p-p65/p65 ratio （P<0.01）， along with significantly decreased SIRT1 and nuclear HMGB1 expression （P<0.01）. In contrast， the S-AR group exhibited opposite trends compared with the Aβ_25-35 group， and the regulatory effects of S-AR on these proteins were reversed by EX527 （P<0.01）. ConclusionAR exerts neuroprotective effects in AD model rats by regulating microglial polarization and alleviating neuroinflammation， potentially through modulation of the SIRT1/HMGB1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

To thoroughly implement the strategic deployment outlined in the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting the Inheritance and Innovative Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine regarding research on dominant diseases of traditional Chinese medicine and to uphold the development philosophy of equal emphasis on traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine，the China Association of Chinese Medicine has fully played a leading academic role by systematically organizing and conducting a series of academic youth salons on clinical dominant diseases of traditional Chinese medicine. On September 13，2024，the 36^th Youth Salon on Clinical Dominant Diseases was successfully held in Nanjing，focusing on the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and the integrative traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction （ED）. The conference brought together leading experts from traditional Chinese medicine，western medicine，and interdisciplinary fields，facilitating in-depth multidisciplinary discussions that led to key consensus on optimizing traditional Chinese medicine treatment protocols for ED，researching and developing new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine，and advancing interdisciplinary development in traditional Chinese medicine. This salon systematically sorted out the clinical strengths and distinctive features of traditional Chinese medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of ED. Based on current research foundations and clinical needs，it identified key directions for future scientific layout and scientific research tackling： （1） Standardization of syndrome differentiation system of traditional Chinese medicine for ED. （2） Optimization and standardization of intervention methods of integrated traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine. （3） High-quality clinical research guided by evidence-based medicine. （4） In-depth analysis of the pharmacological mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of ED. （5） Clinical translation and application promotion of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine. （6） Interdisciplinary integration and innovation in traditional Chinese medicine. For each research direction，key focus areas，expected objectives，and clinical value were further refined，along with the establishment of a scientifically sound priority funding level evaluation system. Therefore，building on the series of salons on the ED-focused dominant diseases of traditional Chinese medicine，this paper provides standardized guidance for clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine in ED management，effectively contributing to the high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine. It serves as a valuable reference for national scientific and technological strategic layout， research and development decision-making in new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine，research topic planning，and clinical guideline formulation.

Stem-leaf saponins from Panax notoginseng (SLSP) comprise numerous PPD-type saponins with diverse pharmacological properties; however, their role in Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, remains unclear. This study evaluated the effects of SLSP on suppressing microglia-driven neuroinflammation in experimental PD models, including the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPTP)-induced mouse model and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 microglia. Our findings revealed that SLSP mitigated behavioral impairments and excessive microglial activation in models of PD, including MPTP-treated mice. Additionally, SLSP inhibited the upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and attenuated the phosphorylation of PI3K, protein kinase B (AKT), nuclear factor-κB (NFκB), and inhibitor of NFκB protein α (IκBα) both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, SLSP suppressed the production of inflammatory markers such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells. Notably, the P2Y2R agonist partially reversed the inhibitory effects of SLSP in LPS-treated BV-2 cells. These results suggest that SLSP inhibit microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in experimental PD models, likely through the P2Y2R/PI3K/AKT/NFκB signaling pathway. These novel findings indicate that SLSP may offer therapeutic potential for PD by attenuating microglia-mediated neuroinflammation.
Animals ; Panax notoginseng/chemistry* ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Microglia/immunology* ; Mice ; NF-kappa B/immunology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/immunology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Male ; Parkinson Disease/immunology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Disease Models, Animal ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases/drug therapy* ; Humans

Purpose To investigate the predictive value of the methylation regulator heterogeneous nuclear ribonu-cleoprotein C(HNRNPC)in the extracellular vesicles(EVs)derived from cervical cancer cells for tumor invasion and metastasis.Methods In vitro experiments were conducted using a human normal cervical epithelial cell line(Hcer-Epic),three cervical cancer cell lines(HeLa,SiHa and CaSki)and human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HU-VECs).HNRNPC protein expression was assessed by Western blot.CaSki cells were transfected with either sh-NC or sh-HNRNPC,and EVs were subsequently isolated from culture supernatant.The effects of EVs on the proliferation,migration and invasion of SiHa cells,as well as on angiogenesis in HUVECs,were investigated respectively.For tissue microarray analysis,normal cervical tissues(n=8),low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions(LSIL,n=32)and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions(HSIL,n=37),and cervical carcinoma specimens(n=153)were ob-tained from our institution.Based on HNRNPC immunoscores,cervical cancer patients were divided into two groups:high(n=99)and low(n=54)HNRNPC expression group,and their clinicopathological features and prognosis were compared.Results Compared with HcerEpic cells,the expression of HNRNPC increased in SiHa,HeLa and CaSki cells.In SiHa cells treated with EVs from CaSki cell,the group receiving EVs from sh-HNRNPC-transfected CaSki cells showed significantly reduced proliferation,colony formation,migration,and invasion compared with the sh-NC-EVs group(P＜0.05).Similarly,in HUVECs treated with CaSki-EVs,compared with sh-NC-EVs group,the sh-HNRNPC-EVs group demonsteated significantly lower protein expression of PCNA and VEGFA and reduced angiogene-sis length(P＜0.05).HNRNPC expression gradually increased during the transformation of cervical epithelial cells(F=106.9,P＜0.001),and was significantlyelevated in HSIL and cervical cancer tissues compared with normal tis-sues(P＜0.001).Moreover,in cervical cancer,high HNRNPC expression was significantly related to poorer cellular differentiation,larger tumor size,parametrial and vaginal infiltration,advanced FIGO stage,and pelvic lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05).Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that that patients with high HNRNPC expression had significant-ly shorter overall survival post-surgery compared with those with low expression(P＜0.05).Conclusion EVs contai-ning HNRNPC contribute to cervical cancer progression by promoting tumor growth,invasion,and angiogenesis,there-by accelerating metastasis.In addition,high HNRNPC expression in cervical cancer tissue is related to poor prognosis of patients,indicating that EV-associated HNRNPC may serve as a potential therapeutic target.

Objective To investigate the application effect of cold snare endoscopic mucosal resection(CS-EMR)in the treatment of 6 to 9 mm colorectal small polyps.Methods A total of 82 patients with small colonic polyps in our hospital from March 2022 to August 2023 were collected and divided into the observation group(45 cases received CS-EMR)and the control group[37 cases received hot snare endoscopic mucosal resection(HS-EMR)]according to different surgical methods.The clinical efficacy,polyp resection status,complete polyp resection rate,perioperative indicators and occurrence of complications were compared between the two groups.Results Follow-up for 1 month after operation,the effective rate of treatment in the observation group was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the polyp resection status or perioperative indicators between the two groups(P>0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the complete polyp resection rates of patients with different pathological types or total complete resection rate between the two groups(P>0.05).The incidence of delayed bleeding and endoscopic hemostasis rate in the observation group were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion The complete resection rate of 6～9 mm colorectal polyps through CS-EMR was comparable to that of HS-EMR,and CS-EMR has a better efficacy and lower risk of perioperative bleeding,along with higher safety.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of nutritional risk related indicators in the prognosis of elderly esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients undergoing radical radiotherapy.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. The clinical data of ESCC patients aged ≥ 70 years who received radical radiotherapy in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the radiotherapy planning system, the maximum transverse diameter of gross tumor volume of primary tumors (GTVt) and GTVt volume in the esophagus were calculated. The nutritional risk related indicators of ESCC patients before and after radiotherapy were calculated and recorded, including body mass index (BMI), geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR); Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and log- rank test was performed; Cox proportional risk model was used to analyze the factors influencing the prognosis of patients. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), short-term efficacy, and adverse reactions of patients with different clinicopathological characteristics were compared.Results:The last follow-up time was 30 December, 2023. The 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS rates of 161 elderly patients with ESCC were 79.5%, 33.9%, and 16.1% respectively, with a median OS time of 25.8 months (95% CI: 20.11-31.49 months); the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year PFS rates were 65.8%, 28.9%, and 14.8%, respectively, with a median PFS time of 20.0 months (95% CI: 16.31-23.69 months). There were statistically significant differences in the median OS time of patients with different age, lesion contrast length, maximum transverse diameter of GTVt, GTVt volume, short-term efficacy, BMI before radiotherapy, BMI after radiotherapy, GNRI after radiotherapy, NLR before radiotherapy, and NLR after radiotherapy (all P < 0.05); there were statistically significant differences in the median PFS time of ESCC patients with different age, maximum transverse diameter of GTVt, GTVt volume, short-term efficacy, BMI before radiotherapy, BMI after radiotherapy, GNRI after radiotherapy, and NLR before radiotherapy (all P <0.05). The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the maximum transverse diameter of GTVt was an independent influencing factor of the patients' OS ( P < 0.05); GTVt volume, short-term efficacy, GNRI after radiotherapy, and NLR before radiotherapy were independent influencing factors for OS and PFS of the patients (all P < 0.05). Among 161 elderly patients with ESCC, 45 achieved complete remission (CR), 111 achieved partial remission (PR), and 5 achieved stable disease (SD). There were statistically significant differences in the proportions of patients with different maximum transverse diameter of GTVt, GTVt volume, BMI after radiotherapy, GNRI after radiotherapy, and NLR before radiotherapy reaching CR and PR+SD (all P < 0.05). Among the 161 patients, grade 0, 1, 2, and 3 radiation-induced esophagitis (RE) occurred in 59, 54, 42, and 6 cases, respectively during treatment and within 3 months after treatment; among them, ≥ grade 2 RE occurred in 48 cases (29.8%); grade 0, 1, 2, and 3 radiation pneumonitis (RP) occurred in 95, 38, 25, and 3 cases, respectively; among them, ≥ grade 2 RP occurred in 28 cases (17.4%). Conclusions:Nutritional risk related indexes GNRI and NLR may be predictive indicators for the prognosis of elderly ESCC patients undergoing radical radiotherapy.

Objective:To explore the prognostic influencing factors of patients with pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), to develop a nomogram-based predictive model for the overall survival (OS) of LCNEC patients and to make validation.Methods:The clinical data of 2 947 patients with LCNEC in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (the modeling group) and 147 patients with LCNEC in Beijing Chest Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from 2010 to 2023 (the validation group). The data of patients in the both groups were compared. Cox proportional hazards model was used to screen out the factors influencing the OS of patients with LCNEC. A nomogram model was constructed to predict the OS based on the multivariate analysis result. Internal validation of the predictive model's performance was conducted through 500 repeated samplings based on the Bootstrap method. The predictive performance of the nomogram model was evaluated by using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The consistency index (CI) was used to analyze the discrimination of the nomogram model in predicting the survival of LCNEC patients; calibration curves were used to analyze the consistency between the survival predicted by the nomogram model and the actual survival outcomes; and the decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to assess the net benefit of the model for actual clinical decision-making.Results:The differences in the proportions of patients with different age, gender, race, tumor staging, N stage, M stage, hepatic metastasis or not, pulmonary metastasis or not, chemotherapy and radiotherapy or not between the modeling group and the validation group were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The median OS time of LCNEC patients in the modeling group was 14.0 months, with the 1-year OS rate of 53.3% and the 5-year OS rate of 21.2%; the median OS time of LCNEC patients in the validation group was 17.5 months, with the 1-year OS rate of 58.7%; there was no statistically significant difference in OS between the 2 groups ( P = 0.280). In the modeling group, the median OS time of female and male LCNEC patients was 18.0 and 12.0 months, respectively, and the difference in OS between the 2 groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.05); for patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ LCNEC, the median OS time was 48.0, 16.0, and 6.0 months, respectively, and the difference in OS among the 3 groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.05); the median OS time of patients receiving surgery and not receiving surgery was 28.0 and 8.0 months, respectively, and the difference in OS between the 2 groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The differences in OS among female and male, patients in stages Ⅰ-Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ, patients who underwent surgery or not were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis in the modeling group showed that patients aged >60 years old (>60 years old vs. ≤60 years old: HR = 1.234, 95% CI: 1.114-1.367, P < 0.01), M 1 stage (M 1 stage vs. M 0 stage, HR = 2.646,95% CI: 2.385-2.935, P < 0.001), T 2-4 stage (T 2-4 stage vs. T 1 stage: HR = 1.199, 95% CI: 1.147-1.252, P < 0.001), N 1-3 stage (N 1-3 stage vs. N 0 stage: HR = 1.281, 95% CI: 1.225-1.340, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors of the OS in patients with LCNEC; female (female vs. male: HR = 0.877, 95% CI: 0.805-0.956, P = 0.003), surgery (yes vs. no: HR = 0.612, 95% CI: 0.554-0.676, P < 0.001), chemotherapy (yes vs. no: HR = 0.520, 95% CI: 0.470-0.575, P < 0.001) were independent protective factors of the OS in patients with LCNEC. A nomogram model for predicting 1, 3, and 5-year OS rates of LCNEC patients was constructed based on age, gender, T stage, N stage, M stage, surgery and chemotherapy. The result of ROC curve analysis indicated that the AUC of the nomogram model for predicting 1, 3, and 5-year OS rates in the modeling group was 0.822, 0.821 and 0.821, respectively, while the AUC of 1-year OS rate predicted by the validation group was 0.660. The CI of the modeling group and the validation group was 0.756 and 0.660, respectively. The calibration curve showed that 1, 3, and 5-year OS rates predicted by the modeling group were highly consistent with the actual OS rates. The DCA showed that the nomogram model for predicting OS in the modeling group and the validation group both had good clinical net benefits. Conclusions:The constructed nomogram model for predicting the prognosis of LCNEC patients is proved to be reliable and has good clinical values.