1.Progress in artificial intelligence for predicting therapeutic efficacy of intravitreal injection
Xiaofeng WU ; Jiayi ZHANG ; Chunyan XIAO ; Yanshuang GENG ; Yonggang LIU ; Boxuan SONG ; Jiawei WANG
International Eye Science 2026;26(4):687-693
Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(anti-VEGF)therapy has been widely used, but the variability in its therapeutic efficacy limits individualized treatment. In recent years, the application of artificial intelligence(AI)has opened up new avenues for personalized treatment response prediction, and its core branches include machine learning(ML)and deep learning(DL). This review systematically retrieved and analyzed 41 relevant studies published up to April 2025. Comprehensive analysis reveals that AI predictive models are evolving from forecasting single endpoints(such as visual acuity or central retinal thickness)to integrating multi-dimensional endpoints(encompassing anatomical, functional, and treatment demand parameters)and generating predictive imaging outputs. In terms of technical approaches, DL models(28 studies, accounting for 68.3%)dominate this field due to their robust image interpretation capabilities, while ML models(10 studies, 24.4%)retain significant value in the analysis of structured clinical data. Cross-disease comparisons indicate that research efforts are most concentrated on age-related macular degeneration(ARMD)and diabetic macular edema(DME), with shared conceptual frameworks for model construction, yet distinct anatomical and functional indicators are prioritized for each disease. Currently, the field confronts several key challenges, including insufficient prospective clinical validation, limited model interpretability(the “black box problem”), and a scarcity of high-quality multi-center datasets. Moving forward, it is imperative to advance real-world validation and develop explainable AI techniques to expedite the clinical translation of these predictive models.
2.Guidelines for standardized implementation of pharmacist-managed clinics (2026 edition)
Pengxiang ZHOU ; Maobai LIU ; Xiaoli DU ; Xiaoyang LU ; Mei DONG ; Rong DUAN ; Ruigang HOU ; Xiaoyu LI ; Qi CHEN ; Yanxiao XIANG ; Weiyi FENG ; Rong CHEN ; Deshi DONG ; Yong YANG ; Li LI ; Xiaocong ZUO ; Jinfang HU ; Hongliang ZHANG ; Qingchun ZHAO ; Qi LIN ; Yang HU ; Jiaying WU ; Rongsheng ZHAO
China Pharmacy 2026;37(9):1105-1112
OBJECTIVE To formulate Guidelines for the standardized implementation of pharmacist-managed clinics ( 2026 edition ) in response to the challenges faced by such clinics in China, including uneven development, large discrepancies in service specifications, insufficient patient awareness, and limited medical insurance coverage. METHODS Led by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Professional Committee of the Chinese Hospital Association, the Evidence-based Pharmacy Professional Committee of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, and the Hospital Pharmacy Professional Committee of the Cross-strait Medical and Health Exchange Association, a total of 19 domestic hospital pharmacy experts were organized. Through a systematic review of national policies and literature research, current practical experience was summarized. Consensus on the contents of the guidelines was reached after in-depth discussions. RESULTS &CONCLUSIONS The guidelines covered five sections: definition and connotation of pharmacist-managed clinics, establishment requirements, implementation and management, post competency, and practical research. Firstly, the definition and connotation included three operational forms of pharmacist-managed clinics (independent mode, physician-pharmacist joint mode, and online pharmacist-managed clinic mode) and classified service modes (specialty-specific, drug-specific, and disease-specific pharmacist-managed clinics). The establishment requirements were further refined, covering system construction (pharmaceutical service management system, quality control and assessment mechanism), personnel qualifications (professional credentials, continuing education and professional training, etc), service recipients, as well as service venues and facilities. Subsequently, the implementation and management of pharmacist-managed clinics were proposed, involving service procedures, intervention measures, documentation and records, patient education and follow-up, humanistic care, as well as risk management and quality control. Finally, post competency encompassed the competency requirements for pharmacists providing services in pharmacist-managed clinics, as well as the suggestions on teaching methods; practical research encouraged the conduct of high-quality pharmaceutical practice in the setting of pharmacist-managed clinics. The guidelines provide valuable guidance for the standardized implementation of pharmacist-managed clinics in China in terms of establishment, management, teaching, and research, fill the guideline gap in this field, and can promote the high-quality development of pharmacist-managed clinics.
3.Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer after Neoadjuvant Therapy: Essential or Optional?
Di ZHANG ; Luo YANG ; Yuan ZHENG ; Qi ZHOU
Cancer Research and Treatment 2026;58(1):208-220
Purpose:
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on survival outcomes in breast cancer (BC) patients who have already undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) followed by surgery.
Materials and Methods:
Data from a population-based cohort (2010-2020) were analyzed for BC patients treated with NAC and surgery. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression identified prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), and a nomogram was developed and validated. Personalized scores from the nomogram were used for risk stratification to assess the effect of postoperative AC.
Results:
A total of 15,921 BC patients were analyzed, with 11,144 in the training cohort and 4,777 in the validation cohort. The key prognostic indicators for OS included age, race, marital status, histological grade, BC subtype, T category, N category, type of surgery, and response to NAC (all p < 0.05). The nomogram effectively predicted individualized OS rates and stratified patients into various risk categories. Postoperative AC was found to significantly enhance OS in the high-risk subgroup (p=0.011 in the training cohort, p=0.012 in the overall population). However, for the low-risk subgroup, there was no significant survival benefit from postoperative AC (p=0.130 for the training cohort, p=0.588 for the overall population), suggesting that some patients might safely forgo unnecessary postoperative AC.
Conclusion
This study efficiently differentiates between varying levels of risk, enabling clinicians to identify patients unlikely to benefit from postoperative AC and thus reduce the likelihood of overtreatment.
4.Clinical and Neuroelectrophysiological Characteristics of Split Face Phenomenon in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Dong ZHANG ; Wenqing WANG ; Jingwen XU ; Xiaoqing LYU ; Yuying ZHAO ; Chuanzhu YAN
JOURNAL OF RARE DISEASES 2026;5(2):184-190
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a chronic, progressive degenerative disease affecting both upper and lower motor neurons, primarily characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy. Notably, the same muscle group may exhibit asynchronous involvement. This study aims to investigate the involvement patterns of the orbicularis oculi (OOc) and orbicularis oris (OOr) in ALS patients, compare the findings with healthy controls (HCs) and myasthenia gravis (MG) patients, and explore the characteristics and clinical significance of facial muscle involvement in ALS. Clinical and neuroelectrophysiological data were collected and analyzed in ALS patients (ALS group), HCs (HCs group) and MG patients (MG group). Clinical data included age, gender, clinical symptoms and signs, and the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) score. Split-face (SF) phenomenon was defined as OOc muscle strength being greater than OOr muscle strength. The negative peak amplitudes of compound motor action potential (CMAP) recorded from OOc and OOr, namely CMAPOOc and CMAPOOr, were collected for electrophysiological evaluation. Number of patients enrolled in each group: 137 in the ALS group, 42 in the HCS group, and 33 in the MG group.Of the 137 ALS patients, 74 presented clinical SF manifestation. The CMAPOOc amplitude in the ALS group was 2.00 (1.66, 2.40) mV, showing no significant difference compared with 2.20 (1.86, 2.58) mV in the HCs group ( More than half of ALS patients have SF phenomenon, and neuroelectrophysiological indicators can provide objective evidence for SF. SF is correlated with bulbar onset, severe bulbar symptoms and rapid disease progression, and can serve as a potential indicator for the differential diagnosis between ALS-BO and MG.
5.Textual Research on Key Information and Modern Clinical Application of Classical Famous Formula Liumotang
Xinyu ZHANG ; Chong LI ; Yixuan HU ; Luming LIANG ; Ye ZHAO ; Xiaoting LU ; Yu WANG
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(3):201-212
Liumotang comes from the Yuan dynasty's Effective Prescription Handed Down for Generations of Physicians. It is composed of six medicinal materials: Arecae Semen, Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum, Aucklandiae Radix, Linderae Radix, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, and Aurantii Fructus. It is a classical formula for treating abdominal pain due to Qi stagnation and constipation accompanied by heat. This study systematically collated the records of Liumotang in ancient medical books and modern clinical literature and conducted in-depth analysis and textual research on its formula source, main diseases, composition, dosage, medical books, container capacity, processing, preparation method, usage, drug basis, formula meaning, and other key information, so as to provide a powerful reference for the development and clinical application of compound preparations of the classical formula Liumotang. The results show that Liumotang was first seen in Effective Prescription Handed Down for Generations of Physicians, and many medical books of the past dynasties have imitated this. In terms of drug basis, the dried and mature seeds of the palm plant Areca catechu, resin-containing wood of the Daphneaceae plant Aquilaria sinensis, the dried roots of the Asteraceae plant woody Aucklandia lappa, the dried tuber root of the Lauraceae plant Lindera aggregata, the dried roots and rhizomes of the knotweed plant, R. palmatum, R.tangutikum, and R. officinale, and the dried and unripe fruits of the citrus genus C. aurantium and its cultivated varieties from the family Rutaceae were selected. In terms of dosage, through the textual research on bowls in the Ming and Qing dynasties, combined with the conversion of medicines and bowl capacity in the Qing dynasty, it was estimated that the dosage of each drug in the Yuan dynasty was 10.86 g. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the dosage of drugs was mostly equal, but the dosage of drugs was somewhat different. In terms of processing, preparation method, and usage, in the medical books of the past dynasties, the processing of drugs has slightly changed, but raw drugs are used in all preparations. The preparation method and usage did not change much during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, except for certain differences in dosage. In terms of syndrome, Liumotang was first used to treat abdominal pain due to Qi stagnation and constipation accompanied by heat. Medical books of the past dynasties often omit the symptoms of heat. In modern clinical practice, Liumotang is mainly used in the digestive system and urinary system diseases and is mostly used to treat constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, biliary reflux gastritis, functional constipation, slow transit constipation, and other diseases, with no adverse reactions found yet. The above results provide a reliable scientific basis for the development and clinical treatment of Liumotang compound preparations.
6.Enzyme-directed Immobilization Strategies for Biosensor Applications
Xing-Bao WANG ; Yao-Hong MA ; Yun-Long XUE ; Xiao-Zhen HUANG ; Yue SHAO ; Yi YU ; Bing-Lian WANG ; Qing-Ai LIU ; Li-He ZHANG ; Wei-Li GONG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(2):374-394
Immobilized enzyme-based enzyme electrode biosensors, characterized by high sensitivity and efficiency, strong specificity, and compact size, demonstrate broad application prospects in life science research, disease diagnosis and monitoring, etc. Immobilization of enzyme is a critical step in determining the performance (stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility) of the biosensors. Random immobilization (physical adsorption, covalent cross-linking, etc.) can easily bring about problems, such as decreased enzyme activity and relatively unstable immobilization. Whereas, directional immobilization utilizing amino acid residue mutation, affinity peptide fusion, or nucleotide-specific binding to restrict the orientation of the enzymes provides new possibilities to solve the problems caused by random immobilization. In this paper, the principles, advantages and disadvantages and the application progress of enzyme electrode biosensors of different directional immobilization strategies for enzyme molecular sensing elements by specific amino acids (lysine, histidine, cysteine, unnatural amino acid) with functional groups introduced based on site-specific mutation, affinity peptides (gold binding peptides, carbon binding peptides, carbohydrate binding domains) fused through genetic engineering, and specific binding between nucleotides and target enzymes (proteins) were reviewed, and the application fields, advantages and limitations of various immobilized enzyme interface characterization techniques were discussed, hoping to provide theoretical and technical guidance for the creation of high-performance enzyme sensing elements and the manufacture of enzyme electrode sensors.
7.Meta-analysis of the clinical efficacy and safety of Jianwei xiaoshi oral liquid in the treatment of functional dyspepsia in children
Ping RONG ; Guiyun PAN ; Juan WEI ; Tengda LI ; Xilian ZHANG
China Pharmacy 2025;36(7):867-873
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Jianwei xiaoshi oral liquid in the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD) in children, and provide evidence-based basis for clinical use of the drug. METHODS Retrieved from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, CBM, Cochrane Library and PubMed, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Jianwei xiaoshi oral liquid in the treatment of FD in children were collected from the inception to Apr. 2024. The control group was treated with conventional western drugs (including gastrointestinal motion-promoting, antacids or acid-suppressing drugs), and the trial group was treated with Jianwei xiaoshi oral liquid alone or combined with conventional Western drugs (drug dosage and course of treatment were the same as the control group). Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software after quality evaluation with the Cochrane risk bias assessment tool 6.1. RESULTS Totally 16 literature were employed which included 1 962 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that the total clinical effective rate of Jianwei xiaoxi oral liquid in the treatment of FD in children of trial group was significantly higher than that of the control group [RR=1.18, 95%CI (1.13, 1.22), P<0.000 01]. In this study, subgroup analysis was conducted on the usage and dosage, course of treatment, and combination or not in trial group, as well as the type of conventional Western drugs. The results showed that the total clinical effective rate of trial group was significantly higher than that of control group; the relief time of abdominal distension and abdominal pain in trial group [MD=-2.54, 95%CI (-3.10, -1.98)], loss of appetite relief time [MD=-2.12, 95%CI (-2.63, -1.61)], nausea and vomiting relief time [MD=-1.70, 95%CI (-2.27, -1.14)], and belching relief time [MD=-1.61, 95%CI (-2.44, -0.78)] were shorter than that of the control group significantly (P<0.05). In addition, compared with control group, the levels of gastrin [SMD=1.63, 95%CI (0.98, 2.29)] and motilin [SMD=2.06, 95%CI (1.58, 2.54)] as well as gastric antral emptying rate [MD=5.99, 95%CI (2.78, 9.21)] in trial group were increased significantly, while the level of somatostatin was decreased significantly [SMD=-1.30, 95%CI (-1.57, -1.02)] (P≤0.000 3). CONCLUSIONS Jianwei xiaoshi oral liquid, whether used alone or in combination with other medications, and regardless of the treatment course or dosage and usage, is effective in treating FD in children, with good safety.
9.Experimental validation of the accuracy of reported dose-length product values in different CT scanner models
Bin YANG ; Shicai ZHANG ; Xiankai HUO ; Zhenhe LIU ; Pengcheng WANG
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health 2025;34(2):155-160
Objective To evaluate the accuracy of dose-length product (DLP) values in CT dose reports by comparing them with the DLP values measured using a pencil-type ionization chamber. Methods Experiments were conducted using four CT scanners with different detector row numbers from two manufacturers (A and B), along with a head phantom and a pencil-type ionization chamber. Other scanning parameters were fixed, while pairwise combinations of kV and mAs were tested. The DLP values were measured under various scanning conditions using the pencil-type ionization chamber (DLPmeasured) and the corresponding DLP values in CT dose reports were recorded (DLPreported). All data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results Differences were observed between DLPreported and DLPmeasured values. The smallest mean absolute value of ΔDLP was approximately 2.526 mGy·cm observed on the 40-row CT scanner of manufacturer A. There was a difference between the ΔDLPs of the four CT scanners. Both DLPreported and DLPmeasured exhibited a linear relationship with mAs. Conclusion The percentage errors between DLPreported and DLPmeasured values for all four CT scanners were within the national standard tolerance of 15%. DLP values in CT dose reports can serve as a reference for assessing patient radiation dose during scanning. However, for radiation dose-related research, data measured using dosimetric instruments such as pencil-type ionization chamber are recommended.
10.The application of medicine and food homology in the management of chronic heart failure
Huoli Yin ; Herong Cui ; Zixuan Zhang ; Yi Li ; Longyu Tang ; Yiting Wang ; Qing Xia ; Dongling Liao ; Haimin Lei
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences 2025;2025(2):137-146
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a pathological state in which the cardiac ejection fraction is insufficient to meet an individual's metabolic needs owing to changes in the cardiac structure or function. Various etiologies such as myocardial infarction and inflammation are implicated, and the main symptoms are dyspnea, lower limb edema, fatigue, and discomfort during rest or exercise. CHF is the primary outcome of cardiovascular disease, and the increasing morbidity and mortality rates highlight the significant risks of this condition. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the pathogenesis of CHF is deficiency of heart qi and heart yang, which predominantly affects the heart, but may also impede the function of other zang-organs such as the spleen and kidney, and aggravate the symptoms of heart failure. With technological advancements and enhanced awareness of health conditions and disease prevention, China has promoted traditional medicine practices such as medicine and food homology (MFH), which has received increasing attention in recent years. This concept stipulates that certain medicines and foods have the same origin; ergo, these foods have medicinal properties, with many being used in the prevention and treatment of CHF. However, the efficacy and safety of MHF substances have yet to be determined, and there is no consensus regarding the development of disease prevention and treatment strategies. This article therefore reviews the current evidence for MFH in the prevention and treatment of CHF by summarizing the therapeutic potential of this practice and discussing treatment strategies and aims to improve the understanding of Chinese medicine and food homologous substances in the treatment of this condition, as well as highlight the current literature and avenues for future research.


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