ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS); however, its underlying neurological pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Endogenous formaldehyde (FA), a metabolic byproduct of methylation-demethylation cycles, has recently been implicated in neurotoxicity, oxidative damage, and cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate whether excessive FA contributes to myelin sheath demyelination in mice and to evaluate the protective effects and mechanisms of two FA-elimination strategies: sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃), a classical FA scavenger, and polyethylene glycol-modified astaxanthin nanoparticles (PEG-ATX@NPs), a brain-targeted nano-antioxidant formulation. MethodsA chronic demyelination model was established by feeding female C57BL/6J mice a diet containing 0.2% cuprizone (CPZ) for four weeks, followed by a two-week intervention period. Eighty mice were randomly assigned to four groups: NS (normal saline), CPZ+NS, CPZ+NaHSO₃, and CPZ+PEG-ATX@NPs. Behavioral tests, including open-field, Y-maze, and pole-climbing assays, were conducted to assess locomotor activity, motor coordination, and working memory. FA levels in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were measured using an Na-FA fluorescent probe and quantified via in vivo and ex vivo fluorescence imaging. Neuroinflammatory responses were evaluated by measuring TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels using ELISA, while oxidative stress was assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence intensity. Demyelination was examined via Luxol fast blue staining, and microglial activation was analyzed by Iba1 immunofluorescence. Correlation analyses were performed to explore relationships among FA levels, inflammatory cytokines, ROS intensity, and behavioral parameters. ResultsCompared with the NS group, mice in the CPZ+NS group exhibited significant weight loss, impaired motor coordination and memory, and markedly reduced myelin regeneration (P<0.05). FA levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord (P<0.05). FA-associated fluorescence in brain and spinal tissues, as well as ROS intensity across all tissues examined, also increased substantially (P<0.05). CPZ treatment induced pronounced microglial activation and severe demyelination in the corpus callosum (P<0.01). Both NaHSO₃ and PEG-ATX@NPs effectively reduced FA accumulation in the brain and spinal cord, attenuated demyelination, suppressed microglial activation, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, and improved motor and cognitive performance. These results confirm that CPZ induced severe demyelination accompanied by oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal FA accumulation. Following intervention with either NaHSO₃ or PEG-ATX@NPs, endogenous FA levels in the CNS were substantially reduced. Both treatments alleviated demyelination and significantly decreased the number of activated microglia. Levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were downregulated. Behavioral performance improved significantly, as evidenced by enhanced locomotor activity, better coordination, and improved memory function. These findings indicate that both FA-scavenging agents mitigate CPZ-induced biochemical and behavioral abnormalities. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that excessive endogenous FA is closely associated with cognitive impairment, inflammatory dysregulation, and demyelination in a CPZ-induced chronic demyelination mouse model. Clearing abnormally elevated FA effectively reduces neuroinflammation, suppresses microglial overactivation, decreases oxidative stress, and alleviates demyelination, ultimately improving motor and cognitive outcomes in mice. These results suggest that targeting endogenous FA represents a promising therapeutic strategy for MS and other demyelinating disorders. Further investigations are warranted to explore the long-term safety, dosage optimization, and molecular pathways involved in FA-mediated neurotoxicity.

ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS); however, its underlying neurological pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Endogenous formaldehyde (FA), a metabolic byproduct of methylation-demethylation cycles, has recently been implicated in neurotoxicity, oxidative damage, and cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate whether excessive FA contributes to myelin sheath demyelination in mice and to evaluate the protective effects and mechanisms of two FA-elimination strategies: sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃), a classical FA scavenger, and polyethylene glycol-modified astaxanthin nanoparticles (PEG-ATX@NPs), a brain-targeted nano-antioxidant formulation. MethodsA chronic demyelination model was established by feeding female C57BL/6J mice a diet containing 0.2% cuprizone (CPZ) for four weeks, followed by a two-week intervention period. Eighty mice were randomly assigned to four groups: NS (normal saline), CPZ+NS, CPZ+NaHSO₃, and CPZ+PEG-ATX@NPs. Behavioral tests, including open-field, Y-maze, and pole-climbing assays, were conducted to assess locomotor activity, motor coordination, and working memory. FA levels in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were measured using an Na-FA fluorescent probe and quantified via in vivo and ex vivo fluorescence imaging. Neuroinflammatory responses were evaluated by measuring TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels using ELISA, while oxidative stress was assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence intensity. Demyelination was examined via Luxol fast blue staining, and microglial activation was analyzed by Iba1 immunofluorescence. Correlation analyses were performed to explore relationships among FA levels, inflammatory cytokines, ROS intensity, and behavioral parameters. ResultsCompared with the NS group, mice in the CPZ+NS group exhibited significant weight loss, impaired motor coordination and memory, and markedly reduced myelin regeneration (P<0.05). FA levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord (P<0.05). FA-associated fluorescence in brain and spinal tissues, as well as ROS intensity across all tissues examined, also increased substantially (P<0.05). CPZ treatment induced pronounced microglial activation and severe demyelination in the corpus callosum (P<0.01). Both NaHSO₃ and PEG-ATX@NPs effectively reduced FA accumulation in the brain and spinal cord, attenuated demyelination, suppressed microglial activation, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, and improved motor and cognitive performance. These results confirm that CPZ induced severe demyelination accompanied by oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal FA accumulation. Following intervention with either NaHSO₃ or PEG-ATX@NPs, endogenous FA levels in the CNS were substantially reduced. Both treatments alleviated demyelination and significantly decreased the number of activated microglia. Levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were downregulated. Behavioral performance improved significantly, as evidenced by enhanced locomotor activity, better coordination, and improved memory function. These findings indicate that both FA-scavenging agents mitigate CPZ-induced biochemical and behavioral abnormalities. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that excessive endogenous FA is closely associated with cognitive impairment, inflammatory dysregulation, and demyelination in a CPZ-induced chronic demyelination mouse model. Clearing abnormally elevated FA effectively reduces neuroinflammation, suppresses microglial overactivation, decreases oxidative stress, and alleviates demyelination, ultimately improving motor and cognitive outcomes in mice. These results suggest that targeting endogenous FA represents a promising therapeutic strategy for MS and other demyelinating disorders. Further investigations are warranted to explore the long-term safety, dosage optimization, and molecular pathways involved in FA-mediated neurotoxicity.

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

Three evaluation methods were recommended for the key properties of the intravascular catheter lubricating coating such as stability,lubricity and integrity,including insoluble particle test method,friction test procedure and appearance detection method.Fifteen batches of microcatheters produced by different manufacturers were selected for testing to clarify the three methods in test principle,step,result,characteristic.References were provided for the design,production,evaluation and regulation of intravascular catheters with lubricant coatings.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(1):66-72]

OBJECTIVE To stimulate the debridement and dressing process under the approximately real clinical scene by fluorescence labeling and understand the contamination status of the operators' bodies and their surround-ings so as to improve the strategies.METHODS A total of 41 trainees were recruited from Enterostomal Therapist Nursing Education Program of Peking University School of Medicine and International School of Wound Thera-pists of Peking University First Hospital in 2023.The examination was designed by stimulating the debridement and dressing operations with fluorescence labeling,the orange was used to simulate the wound of the patients,and the pad towel was placed under the orange to represent the contaminated surroundings of the wound.A round le-sion area with diameter of 2 cm was uniformly marked on the surface of the orange peel by the operators,the trai-nees were asked to remove the lesion tissues and take dressings.The fluorescent powders were smeared evenly on the orange and pad towel before the examination,and no fluorescence labeling for the surroundings was guaranteed.The trainees were required to wear hats,masks,isolation gowns and gloves during the operations,and take off the gloves and trace the scope of fluorescent contamination with ultraviolet radiator after the examina-tion.RESULTS The contamination rate was 92.68％for the trainees' bodies,100.00％for their surroundings.The hands and forearms were the most severe contaminated body sites,and the contamination rates were 85.37％(35/41)and 34.15％(14/41),respectively.The downside of the pad towel was the most frequently contaminated area of the surroundings,with the proportion of 90.24％(37/41);the right side of the pad towel was the area with the contamination disseminated farthest,with the median distance of dissemination 13.50 cm.In addition,the dressing change carts of 75.61％(31/41)of the trainees were contaminated.CONCLUSIONS The operations of de-bridement and dressing change may lead to varying degrees of contamination of their bodies and surroundings.It is necessary to strengthen the hand hygiene and protective isolation during the process of dressing change and pay attention to the disinfection of the dressing change carts so as to minimize the risk of hospital-associated infec-tions.

OBJECTIVE To stimulate the debridement and dressing process under the approximately real clinical scene by fluorescence labeling and understand the contamination status of the operators' bodies and their surround-ings so as to improve the strategies.METHODS A total of 41 trainees were recruited from Enterostomal Therapist Nursing Education Program of Peking University School of Medicine and International School of Wound Thera-pists of Peking University First Hospital in 2023.The examination was designed by stimulating the debridement and dressing operations with fluorescence labeling,the orange was used to simulate the wound of the patients,and the pad towel was placed under the orange to represent the contaminated surroundings of the wound.A round le-sion area with diameter of 2 cm was uniformly marked on the surface of the orange peel by the operators,the trai-nees were asked to remove the lesion tissues and take dressings.The fluorescent powders were smeared evenly on the orange and pad towel before the examination,and no fluorescence labeling for the surroundings was guaranteed.The trainees were required to wear hats,masks,isolation gowns and gloves during the operations,and take off the gloves and trace the scope of fluorescent contamination with ultraviolet radiator after the examina-tion.RESULTS The contamination rate was 92.68％for the trainees' bodies,100.00％for their surroundings.The hands and forearms were the most severe contaminated body sites,and the contamination rates were 85.37％(35/41)and 34.15％(14/41),respectively.The downside of the pad towel was the most frequently contaminated area of the surroundings,with the proportion of 90.24％(37/41);the right side of the pad towel was the area with the contamination disseminated farthest,with the median distance of dissemination 13.50 cm.In addition,the dressing change carts of 75.61％(31/41)of the trainees were contaminated.CONCLUSIONS The operations of de-bridement and dressing change may lead to varying degrees of contamination of their bodies and surroundings.It is necessary to strengthen the hand hygiene and protective isolation during the process of dressing change and pay attention to the disinfection of the dressing change carts so as to minimize the risk of hospital-associated infec-tions.

Three evaluation methods were recommended for the key properties of the intravascular catheter lubricating coating such as stability,lubricity and integrity,including insoluble particle test method,friction test procedure and appearance detection method.Fifteen batches of microcatheters produced by different manufacturers were selected for testing to clarify the three methods in test principle,step,result,characteristic.References were provided for the design,production,evaluation and regulation of intravascular catheters with lubricant coatings.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(1):66-72]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the damage mechanism of pathogenic E.coli on mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells(BMEC cells)and mouse alveolar macrophages(MH-S cells),as well as the lung and brain of healthy mice.In this study,BMEC cells and MH-S cells were infected with pathogenic E.coli strains,and cell morphological changes were observed.Plate counting method was used to detect the adhesion and invasion ability of the strains to cells and the number of bacteria in the lungs and brains of mice.RT-qPCR was used to detect the ex-pression of TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 genes in cells and mouse organs at different time periods.West-ern blot was used to detect the expression of p-NF-κB,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins related to inflammation in cells and mouse organs after infection.The results showed that the cell culture medium of the infection group was turbid,the cell vision became dark and blurred,some cells shrank and died,and more fragments were produced.The adhesion rate and invasion rate of BMEC cells at 3 h were significantly lower than those at 6 h(P＜0.050),and the adhesion rate and inva-sion rate of MH-S cells at 3 h were significantly higher than those at 6 h(P＜0.010).Infected mice had a large area of swelling and bleeding in the brain,and the lungs had different degrees of swell-ing and bleeding.The bacterial load in the brain and lung was the highest at 12 h.Compared with the control group,the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in the infection group were significantly increased at 3 h and 6 h(P＜0.050),and the mRNA expression levels of inflam-matory factors in BMEC cells and MH-S cells were the highest at 6 and 3 h,respectively.The mR-NA expression of inflammatory factors in the brain and lung of infected mice showed a trend of in-creasing first and then decreasing with time,with the highest expression at 12 h after infection.The expression levels of p-NF-κB protein in BMEC cells,MH-S cells,lung and brain tissues of mice in the infection group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.001),and the expression levels of p-JAK2 protein and p-STAT3 protein were significantly lower than those in the control group(P＜0.050).The above results showed that pathogenic E.coli could adhere and invade BMEC cells and MH-S cells,colonize in lung and brain tissues of mice,promote the expres-sion of NF-κB protein in cells and tissues,inhibit the expression of JAK2 protein and STAT3 pro-tein,and then stimulate cells and tissues to produce inflammatory response.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the combination of chemotherapy with staged Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) therapy could enhance health-related quality of life (QoL) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and prolong the time before deterioration of lung cancer symptoms, in comparison to chemotherapy alone. METHODS: A prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted from December 14, 2017 to August 28, 2020. A total of 180 patients with stage I B-IIIA NSCLC from 5 hospitals in Shanghai were randomly divided into chemotherapy combined with CHM (chemo+CHM) group (120 cases) or chemotherapy combined with placebo (chemo+placebo) group (60 cases) using stratified blocking randomization. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life-Core 30 Scale (QLQ-C30) was used to evaluate the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) during postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early-stage NSCLC. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed in the safety analysis. RESULTS: Out of the total 180 patients, 173 patients (116 in the chemo+CHM group and 57 in the chemo+placebo group) were included in the PRO analyses. The initial mean QLQ-C30 Global Health Status (GHS)/QoL scores at baseline were 57.16 ± 1.64 and 57.67 ± 2.25 for the two respective groups (P>0.05). Compared with baseline, the chemo+CHM group had an improvement in EORTC QLQ-C30 GHS/QoL score at week 18 [least squares mean (LSM) change 17.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 14.29 to 21.38]. Conversely, the chemo+placebo group had a decrease in the score (LSM change -13.67, 95% CI -22.70 to -4.63). A significant between-group difference in the LSM GHS/QoL score was observed, amounting to 31.63 points (95% CI 25.61 to 37.64, P<0.001). The similar trends were observed in physical functioning, fatigue and appetite loss. At week 18, patients in the chemo+CHM group had a higher proportion of improvement or stabilization in GHS/QoL functional and symptom scores compared to chemo+placebo group (P<0.001). The median time to deterioration was longer in the chemo+CHM group for GHS/QoL score [hazard ratio (HR)=0.33, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.48, P<0.0010], physical functioning (HR=0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.75, P=0.0005), fatigue (HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.72, P<0.0001) and appetite loss (HR=0.65, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.00, P=0.0215). The incidence of AEs was lower in the chemo+CHM group than in the chemo+placebo group (9.83% vs. 15.79%, P=0.52). CONCLUSION The staged CHM therapy could help improve the PROs of postoperative patients with early-stage NSCLC during adjuvant chemotherapy, which is worthy of further clinical research. (Registry No. NCT03372694).
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/surgery* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Patient Reported Outcome Measures ; Quality of Life ; Aged ; Postoperative Period ; Prospective Studies