1.Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus with Traditional Chinese Medicine Classic Prescriptions: A Review
Yu WANG ; Hedi WANG ; Qiang CHEN ; Guanqun HOU ; Yanting LU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(4):266-277
As a chronic and lifelong disease, diabetes mellitus occurs across all age groups and gender groups. Since the disease requires lifelong treatment, it seriously affects the quality of life of patients. With the rising incidence on a global scale, diabetes mellitus has become a global problem that seriously affects public health. Moreover, the complications of this disease have aroused concern from the global medical research community, the World Health Organization, and the public. In the past, Western medicine was used in the clinical treatment of diabetes mellitus, which, however, had drug dependence, unsatisfactory efficacy, and side effects. Long-term oral administration of antidiabetics may cause liver and kidney function damage, hypoglycemia and other adverse symptoms. The treatment of diabetes mellitus has been faced with challenges such as limited efficacy and obvious side effects. Therefore, exploring more effective treatment means, especially tapping the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, is a major issue to be solved. TCM has shown a great application value and a broad prospect in the treatment of diabetes mellitus because of multi-target regulation, a holistic view, synergistic effects, and high safety. TCM has a history of thousands of years in the prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus, with rich experience accumulated and remarkable results achieved. Particularly, TCM demonstrates definite therapeutic effects on the complications. The application of TCM in the treatment of complications has been recognized and accepted by patients because of the definite therapeutic effect. In recent years, great progress has been achieved in the treatment of diabetes mellitus by the combination of Chinese and western medicine, which has made important contributions to the control of diabetes mellitus. This paper reviews the articles about the treatment of diabetes mellitus with TCM classic prescriptions, summarizes the treatment of clinical cases regarding the indications of these prescriptions, and provides an overview of the treatment mechanisms, aiming to offer fresh insights and strategies for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus.
2.Synthesis and anti-breast cancer activity of novel cyclic mono-carbonyl curcumin analogues
Xianhu FENG ; Yongjie CHEN ; Lin CHEN ; Yi HOU ; Wanjun CAO ; Qiang SU
China Pharmacy 2025;36(5):563-567
OBJECTIVE To design and synthesize mono-carbonyl curcumin analogues(MCACs) and investigate the activities of them against breast cancer. METHODS The analogues F1, F2, and F3 were obtained by aldol condensation reaction, and their antitumor activities(including the activities of human breast cancer cell MCF-7 and human lung cancer cell A549) were detected by MTT assay [evaluated with half inhibitory concentration(IC50)]. The results of MTT assay were compared with those of curcumin. Bioinformatics methods were used to collect the core targets of analogues F1, F2 and F3 acting on breast cancer, and then molecular docking verification was carried out. The cell experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of high, medium and low concentrations (16, 8, 4 μmol/L) of F1, F2 and F3 on the expression of the first core target protein as well as the effects of medium concentration of F1, F2 and F3 on the expression of cleaved-caspase-3. RESULTS Compared with curcumin, IC50 of analogues F1, F2 and F3 to A549 and MCF-7 cells(except for IC50 of analogue F2 to A549 cells) were decreased significantly(P< 0.05 or P<0.01); among them, IC50 of analogue F2 to MCF-7 cell was the lowest, being(9.67±1.27) μmol/L. Bioinformatics analysis showed that index of affinity of analogues F1, F2 and F3 with the first core target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), protein kinase B (AKT) and AKT were 5.909 2, 8.402 5 and 6.486 6, respectively; high concentration of F1 could significantly reduce the phosphorylation level of EGFR protein in MCF-7 cells(P<0.01), while low, medium, and high concentrations of F2 and high concentration of F3 could significantly reduce the phosphorylation level of AKT protein in MCF-7 cells(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Medium concentration of F1, F2, and F3 could significantly increase the expression level of cleaved- caspase-3 protein in MCF-7 cells(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Designed and synthesized MCACs F1, F2 and F3 all have good anti- breast cancer activity, and F2 has better anti-breast cancer activity.
3.Expression and Clinical Significance of PLCβ4 Gene in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Analyzed Based on TCGA Database and Experimental Validation
Limei WEN ; Yali GUO ; Qiang HOU ; Dongxuan ZHENG ; Wu DAI ; Xiang GAO ; Jianhua YANG ; Junping HU
Cancer Research on Prevention and Treatment 2025;52(6):502-510
Objective To analyze the PLCβ4 gene mRNA expression and its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on TCGA database. Methods Based on the data on 424 clinical samples (including 374 cases of HCC tissues and 50 cases of nontumor liver tissues) in the TCGA database, Kaplan–Meier method, Cox regression analysis, and immune infiltration analysis were performed to evaluate the relationship between PLCβ4 gene and the clinical characteristics and survival prognosis of HCC patients. Correlation analysis between PLCβ4 gene and 24 types of immune cells was applied to investigate the relationship between PLCβ4 gene and immune cell infiltration and mRNA expression level of TP53 gene, a high-frequency mutation gene in HCC. In addition, paraffin sections of highly, moderately, and poorly differentiated tumor tissues and normal liver tissues from HCC patients were collected. The histopathological observation was carried out via HE staining method, and the expression levels of PLCβ4 and Ki-67 proteins in each clinical sample were verified through the immunohistochemical method. Results The expression level of PLCβ4 gene in HCC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (P<0.01), and all patients in the PLCβ4 high-expression group had a significantly longer overall survival than those in the low-expression group (P<0.05), which suggested that PLCβ4 substantially affected the prognosis of HCC patients. Correlation analysis showed that the expression level of PLCβ4 gene was highly correlated with immune cell infiltration and the expression level of TP53 gene. As verified by clinical sample experiments, HE staining experiments and immunohistochemical results revealed that PLCβ4 gene expression in HCC tissue samples was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (P<0.001), and it was negatively correlated with the degree of differentiation. Conclusion PLCβ4 may serve as an independent prognostic factor in HCC and is expected to be a novel molecular target for HCC treatment.
4.Association between the Non-Fasting Triglyceride-Glucose Index and Hyperglycemia in pregnancy during the Third Trimester in High Altitudes
Qingqing WANG ; Hongying HOU ; Ma NI ; Yating LIANG ; Xiaoyu CHEN ; WA Zhuoga DA ; Qiang LIU ; Zhenyan HAN
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences) 2025;46(5):861-871
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between the non-fasting triglyceride and glucose (TyG) index and hyperglycemia in pregnancy during the third trimester in high altitudes. MethodsThis study selected clinical and laboratory data of 774 Tibetan singleton pregnant women who delivered at Chaya People's Hospital of Qamdo city in Xizang autonomous region, from January 2023 to April 2025. The non-fasting TyG index was calculated from non-fasting triglyceride (TG) and random plasma glucose (PG). Based on the tertiles of the non-fasting TyG index values, the individuals were split into three groups (corresponding to non-fasting TyG index of 8.89 and 9.21, respectively). The baseline clinical characteristics, lipid levels and the occurrence of developing hyperglycemia in pregnancy were compared among the three groups. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Chi-square test, or Fisher exact test and the relationship between the non-fasting TyG index and hyperglycemia in pregnancy were examined using multivariate logistic regression models and curve fitting. ResultsA total of 774 Tibetan singleton pregnant women were included, with a average age of 27.3 ± 6.1 years, a pre-delivery body mass index (Pre-BMI) of (25.2±2.3)kg/m2 , a proportion of 26.7% (207/774) primigravid women, the mean non-fasting TyG index was 9.1 ± 0.4。Thirty pregnant women were diagnosed with hyperglycemia in pregnancy, with a detection rate of 3.9% (30/774). Statistically significant differences in serum total cholesterol (TC), TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were identified when comparing different non-fasting TyG groups (all P values <0.05). Subsequent trend test analysis indicated that the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, and PG gradually increased with elevated the non-fasting TyG index ( Ftrend TC=95.61, P<0.001; Ftrend TG=1 051.91, P<0.001; Ftrend LDL-C = 97.20, P < 0.001; Ftrend TG=195.20; P<0.001). After adjustment for maternal age, pre-delivery BMI, altitude, TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C, multivariate Logistic regression models revealed independent positive associations between non-fasting TyG index and hyperglycemia in pregnancy (Model 1: OR=2.72, 95% CI: 1.13-6.53, P=0.026; Model 2: OR=2.56, 95% CI: 1.01-6.50, P=0.048; Model 3: OR=2.72, 95% CI: 1.06-6.97, P=0.037; Model 4: OR=4.02, 95% CI: 1.42-11.40, P=0.009) and the incident of hyperglycemia in pregnancy showed an increasing tendency as increasing with the non-fasting TyG index, however, this association did not statistical significance (P trend >0.05). Curve fitting by restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to assess linearity between non-fasting TyG and hyperglycemia in pregnancy, and there was a linear dose-response relationship between non-fasting TyG and hyperglycemia in pregnancy (P for non-linear = 0.515). ConclusionNon-fasting TyG index in the third trimester is a risk factor for hyperglycemia in pregnancy among the Tibetan singleton pregnant women at high altitudes and there was a possible linear dose-response relationship between the non-fasting TyG index and hyperglycemia in pregnancy.
5.Health status of photovoltaic module production workers in Shanghai
Zhiping DUAN ; Qinyu ZHANG ; Xuetao ZHANG ; Qiang HOU ; Yulai TIAN ; Jiming ZHANG ; Zhijun ZHOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(2):153-159
Background Photovoltaic (PV) cells can convert solar energy into electricity and alleviate the dilemma of energy supply shortage. Shanghai's PV module industry is booming, but there are few reports on the health status of the workers and there is an urgent need for health risk assessment. Objective To evaluate the health status of PV module production workers and the association between work and health status, in order to provide a direction for the health management of the workers. Methods Among the PV module production workers who completed prescriptive occupational health examination by a designated medical institution in 2021, 2453 workers with more than one year of working age were selected as the exposure group and 538 newly hired workers as the control group. On the basis of the Technical specifications for occupational health surveillance (GBZ 188−2014), the health examination included physical examination and laboratory examination and information such as sociodemographics, living habits, and disease history. We compared the indicators of pure-tone hearing test, blood routine examination, electrocardiogram (ECG), liver function, and kidney function between the two groups. The blood routine results included erythrocyte-related indicators, leukocyte-related indicators, and platelet-related indicators, and the results of liver function included hepatocyte injury indicators, hepatic secretory function indicators, and hepatic synthesis function indicators. The workers were divided into four groups by quartiles of working age. Trend chi-square test was used to analyze differences in health status between the four working age groups. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between working age and health indicators. Results Among the exposure group workers, 2035 (83.0%) were male and 418 (17.0%) were female. The median (P25, P75) age was 34.0 (30.0, 39.0) years and the median (P25, P75) working age was 6.0 (3.0, 10.0) years. The abnormality rate of blood routine was 61.7%. Among them, the abnormality rates of platelet-related indicators and liver secretory function indicators were 39.8% and 48.1% respectively. The risks of abnormal hepatocyte injury-related indicators, fatty liver, and platelet-related indicator abnormalities among the exposure group were 1.471 (95%CI: 1.060, 2.054), 1.691 (95%CI: 1.208, 2.385), and 7.576 (95%CI: 4.967, 11.994) times higher than those in the control group respectively. The single-factor analysis demonstrated a positively linear trend between working age and hypertension prevalence, electrical audiometry abnormality rate, or liver secretory function indicator abnormality rate. Corrected for gender, age, smoking status, hypertension, etc., the results of logistic analysis showed that quartile working age was positively related to abnormal liver secretion function and abnormal platelet-related indicators respectively (OR=1.047, P=0.005; OR=1.037, P=0.014), and inversely associated with the abnormal rate of renal function (OR=0.953, P=0.044). Conclusion Negative associations between health status and working age are identified in PV module production workers. The target PV module production employees are in younger age, and with the increase of working age, the abnormalities of liver function and platelets may increase. Therefore, the enterprises should extend occupational health work from workplace to workers.
6.Research on aging population of working age in North America: Current situation and policies
Caoyan QI ; Ziyi CHEN ; Qiankui ZHAO ; Yuan SUN ; Qiang HOU ; Guodong LU ; Wuzhong LIU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(9):971-976
Although there are continuous progresses in economy and society, the accelerated aging process has brought widespread impacts on various aspects of society and economy in China, especially on the supply of the working-age population. Effectively addressing labor force aging has become an urgent challenge for China's economic and social development. North American countries, particularly the United States and Canada, are also facing severe aging population issues, and have entered an aging society earlier than China. These countries have alleviated labor supply shortages through proactive immigration policies, while implementing flexible retirement, reemployment of elderly individuals, and vocational training policies to effectively encourage elderly workers to remain in their jobs. Additionally, the occupational health programs of large enterprises in North America have yielded positive returns on their health investments. Building upon an overview of the current situation and corresponding measures in response to the aging working-age population in North America, this paper presented constructive recommendations to address the aging population issue in China.
7.Occupational health strategies and insights for elderly workers in Japan and South Korea in the context of declining birth rates and aging populations
Meiling OU ; Jinxiong CEN ; Guodong LU ; Qiang HOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(9):982-987
China has a large, advanced, and rapidly aging population, coupled with a trend of decreasing birth rates that is exacerbating the issue of an aging society. It is expected that by 2030, China will become a hyper-aged society. As the demographic dividend gradually diminishes, the working-age population is shrinking in size and becoming increasingly older, making elderly labor force an important resource. Japan and South Korea have accumulated rich experience in promoting the healthy employment and occupational health services for the elderly workforce. It is necessary for China to thoroughly consider the issue and implement corresponding measures. This article compared and analyzed the current employment situation of aging populations in China, Japan, and South Korea, revealing that Japan and South Korea presented certain advantages in healthy employment policies, occupational health measures for the elderly, and digital economy. Taking into account the circumstances in China, we can further strengthen occupational health promotion activities, optimize employment structure, utilize new technologies such as artificial intelligence, promote active aging, ensure the sustainable development of elderly labor force resources, steadily enhance comprehensive national strength, and meet the increasing demand for better quality of life among the people.
8.Kidney function among male workers of a lithium-ion battery-related enterprise in Shanghai
Qinyu ZHANG ; Zhiping DUAN ; Qiang HOU ; Jiming ZHANG ; Zhijun ZHOU
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(4):390-396
Background Under the guidance of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, the demand for lithium-ion batteries has increased significantly. However, during the production, use, and maintenance of lithium-ion batteries, workers are inevitably exposed to various occupational hazards, and some chemicals are nephrotoxic. Objective To evaluate the kidney function and potential determinants among male workers in a lithium-ion battery-related enterprise in Shanghai. Methods The data of occupational health examination carried out by an occupational disease prevention and control institution for workers in a lithium-ion battery-related enterprise in Shanghai were collected. The workers participating pre-employment occupational health examination were treated as a control group, and the other group was recruited from those participating periodic health examination. Serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, uric acid, and renal ultrasound were used to assess the kidney function of workers. Kidney function was classified according to the reference range of kidney function indicators in Diagnostics (9th Edition, national planning textbook for high education in medicine). Binary logistic regression and generalized linear regression were used to identify potential determinants of abnormal values in kidney function indicators in workers. Results There were 6184 workers in the control group (pre-employment) with a mean age of (27.40±4.50) years. There were 3526 workers on the job with a mean age of (29.40±4.99) years and the median time of service was 2.00 (1.00, 3.42) years. The prevalence rates of high serum creatinine, high urea nitrogen, and high uric acid, and abnormal kidney ultrasound among the control group were 0.66%, 2.47%, 30.32%, and 10.12%, respectively; the indicators in the on-the-job workers were 0.96%, 3.35%, 38.25%, and 12.68%, respectively, significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After adjusting for worker age, length of service, smoking status, drinking status, hypertension, and hyperglycemia, the binary logistic regression models showed that regular smokers had a higher risk of high urea nitrogen than nonsmokers (OR=1.411, 95%CI: 1.011, 1.969). The risk of high uric acid was lower in older workers (OR=0.966, 95%CI: 0.953, 0.979), and higher in workers with more years of service (≤1 year, OR=1.295, 95%CI: 1.093, 1.534; >1-3 years, OR=1.747, 95%CI: 1.494, 2.042; >3 years, OR=1.866, 95%CI: 1.511, 2.304), hypertension (OR=1.400, 95%CI: 1.055, 1.859), and hyperglycemia (OR=1.565, 95%CI: 1.221, 2.006). Workers who were older (OR=1.038, 95%CI: 1.022, 1.054) and had longer working years (>1-3 years, OR=1.518, 95%CI: 1.201, 1.920), occasional smoking habits (OR=1.239, 95%CI: 1.039, 1.478), regular drinking habits (OR=1.875, 95%CI: 1.139, 3.087), and hypertension (OR=1.465, 95%CI: 1.075, 1.998) were at a higher risk of renal ultrasound abnormalities. The generalized linear models showed that length of service (>1-3 years, β=1.120, 95%CI: 0.360, 1.880; >3 years, β=1.451, 95%CI: 0.543, 2.358), smoking status (occasional, β=0.818, 95%CI: 0.156, 1.479; regular, β=0.841, 95%CI: 0.066, 1.616), and hypertension (β=2.742, 95%CI: 1.390, 4.094) were the influencing factors of serum creatinine concentration in the workers. Age (β=0.014, 95%CI: 0.009, 0.019) and length of service (>1-3 years, β=0.079, 95%CI: 0.012, 0.146) were the influencing factors of urea nitrogen. Age (β=−1.759, 95%CI: −2.288, −1.231), length of service (≤1 year, β=10.676, 95%CI: 4.035, 17.316; >1-3 years, β=26.117, 95%CI: 19.962, 32.272; >3 years, β=34.558, 95%CI: 26.116, 43.001), hypertension (β=23.162, 95%CI: 11.617, 34.707), and hyperglycemia (β=15.017, 95%CI: 4.853, 25.180) were the influencing factors of uric acid. Conclusion The prevalence of abnormal kidney function of workers in selected lithium-ion battery-related enterprise is varied by age, length of service, smoking status, drinking status, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. There may be a trend that the longer the time working in a lithium-ion battery-related enterprise, the worse the workers' kidney function. Therefore, the enterprise should pay attention to the possible reasons for their changes and take targeted interventions.
9.The significance of hypermethylation level of CDO1 gene and HOXA9 gene in serum in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer
Qiannan HOU ; Yu YUAN ; Yan LI ; Zhaolin GONG ; Qiang ZHANG ; Dan FENG ; Yuanfu GONG ; Linhai WANG ; Pei LIU ; Xiaobing XIE ; Li HE
Chinese Journal of Laboratory Medicine 2024;47(4):401-406
Objective:To explore the clinical application and triage management value of using blood circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) (cysteine dioxygenase type 1 gene, CDO1, and Homeobox protein A9 gene, HOXA9) hypermethylation level to detect and diagnose ovarian cancer.Methods:A case-control study was conducted on patients who went for surgery at Chengdu Womens and Childrens Central Hospital from November 2022 to October 2023. Blood samples were collected before surgery for evaluation of cancer antigen 125 (CA125), human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), risk of ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA) score, and DNA methylation testing. The basic clinical information, biomarkers, and transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) information were collected simultaneously. Information from a total of 151 patients was collected, including 122 cases with benign pathology and 29 ovarian cancer cases. The pathologic diagnosis of ovarian tissue was defined as the gold standard. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify high-risk factors for ovarian cancer. The clinical efficacy of DNA methylation detection for ovarian cancer was analyzed using the area under curve (AUC).Results:The results showed that the age, menopausal status, CA125 and HE4 detection, ROMA score, positivity rate of CDO1 gene and HOXA9 gene single or combined testing in ovarian cancer patients were higher than those in the benign group and showed significant differences ( P<0.05). Among these detection protocols, the AUC of CDO1 and HOXA9 dual gene methylation testing for ovarian cancer was the highest at 0.936 (95% CI, 0.878-0.994), with 89.7% (95% CI 73.6%-96.4%) sensitivity and 97.5% (95% CI 93.0%-99.2%) specificity, respectively. The positive detection rate of CDO1 and HOXA9 dual gene methylation in early ovarian cancer FOGO I-II stage is 12/14 higher than other tests. Conclusion:Blood cfDNA methylation detection, a simple, non-invasive, and highly sensitive detection method, is superior to the current ovarian cancer testing in the risk assessment and early detection.
10.A nomogram model for predicting spontaneous rupture and bleeding of renal angiomyolipoma
Yakun HOU ; Xingyu ZHOU ; Yu GAO ; Hongwen SONG ; Qiang LIU ; Yujie WANG ; Wenguang WANG
Journal of Modern Urology 2024;29(1):51-55
【Objective】 To establish a risk model for predicting spontaneous rupture bleeding of renal angiomyolipoma (RAML) in order to better assess and deal with the risk. 【Methods】 The information of 436 RAML patients diagnosed during Jan.2018 and Dec.2022 was retrospectively analyzed.According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 216 patients were included and divided into the rupture bleeding group (n=35) and non-rupture bleeding group (n=181).The factors influencing spontaneous rupture bleeding were identified using univariate and multivariate analysis, and a nomogram was constructed accordingly with R language.The nomogram was evaluated using Calibration curve and area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). 【Results】 It was found that clinical manifestations, tumor diameter, tumor convexity, tumor blood supply, and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) were significantly correlated with rupture bleeding.The Calibration curve fitted well with the nomogram.The AUC was 0.956 (95%CI: 0.856-0.943), indicating that the nomogram had good statistical performance. 【Conclusion】 The model can effectively predict the risk of spontaneous rupture bleeding of renal angiomyolipoma.

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