Traditional treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus （T1DM） primarily involves insulin replacement， yet some patients encounter issues such as significant blood glucose fluctuations， high risk of hypoglycemia， and weight gain. In recent years， the adjuvant therapeutic role of non-insulin hypoglycemic drugs in T1DM has gradually gained attention. This article reviews the mechanisms of action and clinical research progress of five types of non-insulin hypoglycemic drugs in the treatment of T1DM： amylin analogues （pramlintide）， biguanides （metformin）， sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor， dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor， and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. It is found that these drugs can enhance clinical benefits for T1DM patients by improving insulin sensitivity， delaying gastric emptying， promoting urinary glucose excretion， and regulating incretin levels， thereby reducing glycated hemoglobin levels， decreasing insulin dosage， and managing body weight. Simultaneously， these drugs also present limitations such as low patient compliance due to complex dosing regimens， increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis， and heterogeneity in glycemic control. Future research could focus on developing individualized treatment strategies， combining pharmacogenomics with novel biomarkers to precisely identify subpopulations of patients who may benefit， and delving into the potential value of these drugs in delaying diabetic vascular complications and improving patients’ quality of life.

Objective To systematically analyze the characteristics of the disease burden of hypertensive heart disease (HHD) in the elderly (≥60 years) globally and in China from 1990 to 2021, and to predict its future trends from 2022 to 2040, with the aim of providing data support for optimizing comprehensive prevention and control strategies for HHD. Methods Based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database, the number of prevalent cases and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of HHD in the elderly were extracted for the world, China, and five regions categorized by sociodemographic index (SDI). Joinpoint regression was used to analyze the temporal trends of age-standardized prevalence rate and age-standardized DALYs rate of HHD in the elderly. A three-factor decomposition method was applied to evaluate the relative contributions of aging, population growth, and epidemiological changes to the variations in the elderly HHD burden. Additionally, a Bayesian age-period-cohort model was used to predict the elderly HHD burden from 2022 to 2040. Results In 2021, the number of prevalent elderly HHD cases reached 10 283 000 globally and 3 412 400 in China, representing increases of 179.20% and 159.20% respectively, compared with 1990. The DALYs of elderly HHD were 18 812 700 person-years globally and 4 731 400 person-years in China, rising by 76.08% and 29.45% respectively from 1990. Meanwhile, the growth rates of the number of prevalent cases and DALYs of elderly HHD varied across different SDI regions. From 1990 to 2021, the age-standardized prevalence rate of elderly HHD in China, as well as the age-standardized DALYs rate of elderly HHD both globally and in China, showed significant downward trends (all average annual percentage changes<0, all P<0.001). In 2021, the 70-74 years age group accounted for the highest proportion of prevalent cases and DALYs of elderly HHD, both globally and in China. Decomposition analysis revealed that population growth was the dominant factor driving the increase in the elderly HHD burden across all regions. The prediction model results indicated that the number of prevalent cases and DALYs of elderly HHD would continue to rise globally and in China from 2022 to 2040, with the growth rate of the elderly HHD burden in China between 2021 and 2040 expected to exceed the global average. Conclusion Over the past 32 years, although the age-standardized disease rates of elderly HHD have mainly shown a downward trend globally and in China, the absolute number of the disease burden has increased substantially. The projection model indicates a continued upward trajectory, with the growth rate in China higher than the global average. Therefore, there is an urgent need to implement precise prevention and control strategies to effectively mitigate the disease burden of elderly HHD.

It is very limited that the benefit of perioperative chemotherapy in early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the 5-year survival rate is only 5% higher than surgery. Antibodies that block programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death-ligand 1 significantly improve the survival of advanced NSCLC. The value of immunotherapy in early NSCLC is also being explored. This paper firstly summarized and analyzed the progress of immunotherapy in the perioperative period of NSCLC. Secondly, the safety and feasibility of surgical resection after neoadjuvant immunotherapy were discussed. Finally, the clinical value of different therapeutic efficacy prediction indicators was summarized, in order to clarify the current status of immunotherapy in the perioperative period, so as to improve the clinical benefits of early NSCLC patients.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Coupled with the substantial workload, the clinical management of lung cancer is challenged by the critical need to efficiently and accurately process increasingly complex medical information. In recent years, large language models (LLMs) technology has undergone explosive development, demonstrating unique advantages in handling complex medical data by leveraging its powerful natural language processing capabilities, and its application value in the field of lung cancer diagnosis and treatment is continuously increasing. The paper systematically analyzes that the exceptional potential of LLMs in lung cancer auxiliary diagnosis, tumor feature extraction, automatic staging, progression/outcome analysis, treatment recommendations, medical documentation generation, and patient education. However, they face critical technical and ethical challenges including inconsistent performance in complex integrated decision-making (e.g., TNM staging, personalized treatment suggestions) and "black box" opacity issues, along with dilemmas such as training data biases, model hallucinations, data privacy concerns, and cross-lingual adaptation challenges ("data colonization"). Future directions should prioritize constructing high-quality multimodal corpora specific to lung cancer, developing interpretable and compliant specialized models, and achieving seamless integration with existing clinical workflows. Through dual drivers of technological innovation and ethical standardization, LLMs should be prudently advanced for holistic lung cancer management processes, ultimately promoting efficient, standardized, and personalized diagnosis and treatment practices.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of early, short-term, low-dose corticosteroid administration for the prevention and treatment of early acute lung injury (EALI) in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, from January 2019 to January 2022. Patients were divided into an early steroid therapy group and an observation group based on whether they received corticosteroids in the early postoperative period. In the early steroid therapy group, in addition to standard postoperative care, patients received a low-dose intravenous push of methylprednisolone (80-120 mg/d) for 3 consecutive days. In the observation group, patients received standard postoperative care without intravenous corticosteroids for the first 3 days. Chest plain CT scans were performed on postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 3 or 4 to evaluate lung injury. CT scores and the incidence of postoperative EALI were recorded. Results A total of 521 patients were included (268 males, 253 females; age range: 11-80 years). There were 318 patients in the observation group and 203 in the early steroid therapy group. On POD 1, the incidence of EALI was 16.0% in the observation group and 13.8% in the early steroid therapy group, with no statistical difference (P=0.486). Correspondingly, there was no statistical difference in chest CT scores among EALI-positive patients between the two groups (P=0.927). On POD 3-4, the incidence of EALI was significantly lower in the early steroid therapy group (22.7%) compared to the observation group (33.6%) (P=0.007). Although chest CT scores among EALI-positive patients were lower in the early steroid therapy group, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.377). The overall incidence of EALI within the first 4 postoperative days was significantly lower in the early steroid therapy group (26.1%) than in the observation group (37.4%) (P=0.007). Radiological progression (defined as new-onset EALI or progression of existing EALI) occurred in 14.8% of the early steroid therapy group, significantly lower than the 28.9% in the observation group (P<0.001). The early steroid therapy group had a shorter postoperative length of stay (P<0.001), while there was no statistical difference in the incidence of poor wound healing between the groups (P=0.762). Conclusion Early postoperative corticosteroid use effectively reduces the incidence of EALI on POD 3-4, lowers the risk of radiological progression, and decreases the overall incidence of postoperative EALI. This is achieved without prolonging the length of stay or increasing the risk of poor wound healing. Therefore, early administration of low-dose corticosteroids is beneficial in suppressing the occurrence and progression of EALI. Its early use is recommended for patients at high risk for postoperative EALI.

Objective: To analyze the school tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks and preventive treatment in Hefei from 2022 to 2024, so as to provide reference for TB prevention and control in schools. Methods: Data were collected on all school based TB outbreaks occurring during 2022-2024 in Hefei, defined as ≥2 epidemiologically linked TB cases within the same school during a single semester. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi square test. Results: Close contacts exhibited significantly higher TB incidence (2.88%) and latent mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) rates (13.80%) in the school TB outbreaks, compared to non close contacts (0.12% and 2.63%, respectively). Among close contacts, secondary school students showed lower TB incidence (0.48%) and LTBI prevalence (3.42%) than both primary school or younger children (0.68%, 6.95%) and college students ( 0.78% , 6.50%), with statistically significant differences ( χ 2=360.91, 6.37; 791.71, 102.03, all P <0.05). The proportion of LTBI individuals recommended for preventive therapy was higher in primary school or younger groups (98.59%) than in secondary (95.25%) or college students (86.34%) ( χ 2=25.86, P <0.01). However, among those recommended, close contacts had higher uptake (85.82%) and completion rates (87.25%) of preventive therapy than non close contacts (69.63% and 70.57%); similarly, secondary school students demonstrated higher uptake (91.21%) and completion rates (86.45%) compared to primary school or younger (88.57%, 83.87%) and college students (57.28%, 64.08%) ( χ 2=30.52, 26.72; 125.17, 38.84, all P <0.01). Subsequent TB incidence among LTBI close contacts (13.30%) and among those who did not complete preventive therapy (22.73%) were significantly higher than among non close contacts (2.80%, 2.41%), respectively ( χ 2=32.19, 13.87, both P <0.05). Conclusions In school TB outbreaks, close contacts face higher LTBI prevalence and subsequent TB risk than non close contacts. College students show notably low adherence to preventive therapy. It is necessary to take targeted measures to improve the compliance of preventive measures among students.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Yishen Qubi Tongluo Formula （益肾祛痹通络方， YQTF） in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis（RA）. MethodsNetwork pharmacology was employed to retrieve and screen the active components and potential targets of YQTF as well as RA-related targets using databases including TCMSP， BATMAN， ETCM and GEO. The intersection of targets related to active components and RA-related targets was identified， and a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed. Gene Ontology （GO） functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis were performed， and a drug-active component-common target network of YQTF in the treatment of RA was established. The core components of YQTF were molecularly docked with key targets. Human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell line MH7A was divided into blank group， model group， methotrexate group and YQTF group. The blank group was cultured with 10% fetal bovine serum， while the other three groups were stimulated with 10 μg/L of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） for 24 h to establish the RA cell model. On this basis， the methotrexate group was treated with methotrexate suspension at a concentration of 20 μmol/L， and the YQTF group was treated with 10% YQTF-medicated serum. After 48 h of intervention， the levels of TNF-α and interleukin-17A（IL-17A）contents in cell supernatants were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and mRNA expressions of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）， protein kinase B（AKT） and mammalian target of rapamycin（mTOR） were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR）. ResultsNetwork pharmacological analysis identified 209 active components and 583 potential target genes of YQTF， as well as 818 RA-related targets. A total of 29 common targets were obtained from the intersection of drug-related targets and RA-related targets. Quercetin，β-sitosterol， kaempferol， stigmasterol and luteolin were the core active components of YQTF for the treatment of RA， while matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP9）， prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 （PTGS2）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， tumor protein p53 （TP53） and transcription factor AP-1 subunit JUN were the key targets. The GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the involved biological processes and pathways were mainly associated with antioxidant responses， PI3K-AKT signaling pathway and Toll-like receptor （TLR） signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that MMP9 and PTGS2 exhibited high binding affinities with quercetin， β-sitosterol， kaempferol， stigmasterol and luteolin； TLR4 exhibited high binding activities with β-sitosterol， stigmasterol and luteolin； and TP53 showed high binding affinity with luteolin. The results of cell experiments showed that compared with the control group， the contents of TNF-α and IL-17A as well as the mRNA expressions of AKT and mTOR in the model group significantly increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， all the above indicators significantly decreased in the YQTF group， while the contents of TNF-α and the mRNA expression of AKT significantly decreased in the methotrexate group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionThe mechanism of YQTF in the treatment of RA may be associated with reducing inflammatory cytokine secretion and inhibiting the activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the factors associated with unplanned readmission within 30 days after discharge in adult patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and to develop and validate a risk prediction model. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent isolated CABG at the Nanjing First Hospital between January 2020 and June 2024. Data from January 2020 to August 2023 were used as a training set, and data from September 2023 to June 2024 were used as a validation set. In the training set, patients were divided into a readmission group and a non-readmission group based on whether they had unplanned readmission within 30 days post-discharge. Clinical data between the two groups were compared, and logistic regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for unplanned readmission. A risk prediction model and a nomogram were constructed, and internal validation was performed to assess the model’s performance. The validation set was used for validation. Results A total of 2 460 patients were included, comprising 1 787 males and 673 females, with a median age of 70 (34, 89) years. The training set included 1 932 patients, and the validation set included 528 patients. In the training set, there were statistically significant differences between the readmission group (79 patients) and the non-readmission group (1 853 patients) in terms of gender, age, carotid artery stenosis, history of myocardial infarction, preoperative anemia, and heart failure classification (P<0.05). The main causes of readmission were poor wound healing, postoperative pulmonary infections, and new-onset atrial fibrillation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that females [OR=1.659, 95%CI (1.022, 2.692), P=0.041], age [OR=1.042, 95%CI (1.011, 1.075), P=0.008], carotid artery stenosis [OR=1.680, 95%CI (1.130, 2.496), P=0.010], duration of first ICU stay [OR=1.359, 95%CI (1.195, 1.545), P<0.001], and the second ICU admission [OR=4.142, 95%CI (1.507, 11.383), P=0.006] were independent risk factors for unplanned readmission. In the internal validation, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.806, and the net benefit rate of the clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) was >3%. In the validation set, the AUC was 0.732, and the DCA net benefit rate ranged from 3% to 48%. Conclusion Females, age, carotid artery stenosis, duration of first ICU stay, and second ICU admission are independent risk factors for unplanned readmission within 30 days after isolated CABG. The constructed nomogram demonstrates good predictive power.

The 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GI) was held from January 23 to 25, 2025. Several significant studies on the treatment of esophageal and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer were presented at the symposium, highlighting notable advances, particularly in the perioperative and advanced settings. Immunotherapy has demonstrated significant promise in the neoadjuvant treatment of esophageal cancer, showing potential to become a standard treatment. Furthermore, the long-term survival benefits of combining immunotherapy with chemotherapy for advanced GEJ cancer were further validated. This article summarizes and interprets the researches presented at the symposium concerning perioperative and advanced treatments for esophageal and GEJ cancers.

The 2025 European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) convened in Paris, France, centering on the optimization and innovation of immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Key topics at the congress included the application strategies for perioperative immunotherapy, breakthroughs in combination therapy models for advanced NSCLC, and the emerging roles of biomarkers in predicting diverse treatment outcomes. This paper integrates data from several key pivotal studies to systematically analyze the clinical value of neoadjuvant therapy within the perioperative setting, the potential of targeted combination regimens, and the challenges of managing drug resistance, thus offering new directions for clinical practice.