Irritable bowel syndrome （IBS） is a functional bowel disorder characterized primarily by abdominal pain and altered defecation habits. In recent years， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has made progress in multiple aspects of IBS research and treatment， including syndrome distribution， development of TCM formulas， clinical efficacy evaluation， external therapies， and psychosocial regulation. However， it still faces challenges such as over-reliance on symptomatic manifestations rather than biomarkers for diagnostic criteria， and the lack of high-quality evidence-based data supporting the efficacy of TCM formulas in treating IBS. This paper proposed that TCM diagnosis and treatment of IBS should adhere to the strategy of integrating the holistic concept with syndrome differentiation and treatment， combining TCM external therapies such as acupuncture， moxibustion and acupoint application）， and emphasizing individualized diagnosis and treatment for psychosomatic abnormalities. Future research should integrate multi-omics technologies， artificial intelligence and other methods to deepen the understanding of the pathogenesis of IBS and the mechanisms of TCM formulas， so as to promote the standardization and internationalization of TCM in the diagnosis and treatment of IBS.

Objective To explore the current situation of disease perception in patients with tophi and its correlation with the quality of life. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 303 gout patients admitted to the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital from January 2023 to December 2024. The patients were classified into tophi gout (n=150) and non-tophi gout (n=153) groups based on whether they were tophi gout or not. The current disease perception status and quality of life of the two groups were compared using Simplified Chinese Version of the Disease Cognition Questionnaire (BIPQ) and Short Form of Health Survey (SF-36). Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of the quality of life of patients with tophi gout. Results Compared with the non-tophaceous gout group, the tophaceous gout group had a higher BIPQ score, and a lower SF-36 score (P<0.05). Among patients with tophaceous gout, 80 cases had good quality of life, and 70 cases had poor quality of life. These patients were included in the good quality of life group (n=80) and the poor quality of life group (n=70), respectively. Compared with the good quality of life group, patients in the poor quality of life group had longer gout course and average duration of each gout attack, as well as higher 20-item tophi impact questionnaire (TIQ-20) score and BIPQ score (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the course of gout (OR=1.070, 95% CI: 1.017-1.126, P=0.009), TIQ-20 score (OR=1.048, 95% CI: 1.022-1.075, P<0.001), and BIPQ score (OR=1.055, 95%CI: 1.009-1.104, P=0.019) were risk factors affecting the quality of life in patients with tophaceous gout (P<0.05). Conclusion The course of gout, TIQ-20 score and BIPQ score are risk factors affecting the quality of life of patients with tophi gout.

Background: and Purpose Live cell-based assays (LCBA) are increasingly used for serological antibody detection due to their ability to preserve antigen conformation, offering moderately higher sensitivity than fixed cell-based assays. However, the clinical necessity of prioritizing LCBA for the detection of aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG) in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) remains unclear, especially when compared to its established role in diagnosing myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. Methods: We compared the performance of live cell-based assays using immunofluorescence (LCBA-IF) and fixed cell-based assays using immunofluorescence (FCBA-IF) in detecting AQP4-IgG in 90 cases of NMOSD meeting 2015 International Panel for Neuromyelitis Optica Diagnosis criteria, alongside 40 controls. Additionally, we further investigated the relationship between AQP4-IgG titers as measured by LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF and clinical parameters in NMOSD patients. Results: Results showed 96.9% agreement between LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF (Cohen’s κ=0.935), with a strong Spearman correlation (0.977, p<0.001). Both methods demonstrated 100% specificity, with LCBA-IF showing slightly higher sensitivity compared to FCBA-IF. Within LCBAIF-tested groups, statistically significant differences in annualized relapse rates were observed across all pairwise comparisons (low-titer vs. moderate-titer, low-titer vs. high-titer, and moderate-titer vs. high-titer; all p<0.050). However, this association reached statistical significance in some FCBA-IF-tested groups. Conclusions Overall, there is a strong concordance between LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF in detecting AQP4-IgG, where LCBA-IF shows slightly higher sensitivity. Furthermore, there is a potential link between elevated AQP4-IgG titers and an increased risk of relapse, and this correlation may appear more pronounced when using LCBA-IF.

Objective: To analyze the structural changes in whole blood and apheresis platelet donations in Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion (CSBT) sentinel units from 2021 to 2025, and to provide evidence for donor recruitment and blood service management. Methods: Aggregated data reported by sentinel sites were collected and stratified according to six indicators: age, sex, donation history, donation volume, donation site, and organization mode. Pearson χ test, Cramer′V coefficient, Cochran-Armitage trend test and simple linear regression were adopted for analysis. Results: A total of 16 256 973 whole blood donations and 1 576 546 apheresis platelet donations were included. Among whole-blood donations, the proportion of donors aged 18-22 years decreased from 27.30% to 10.60%. The proportion of male donors increased from 58.81% to 63.13%; the proportion of people aged 30 and above increased from 58.40% to 75.30%; the proportion of fixed locations rose from 28.37% to 36.57%; the proportion of social groups increased from 21.69% to 39.69%. The 400-mL donations decreased from 62.12% to 53.46%, while individually initiated voluntary donations remained above 50%. Apheresis platelet donations were predominantly from males, individuals aged 30-39 years, and repeat donors; 2-treatment-unit apheresis platelet donations increased from 67.19% to 74.93%, and individually initiated donations accounted for 92.97%-96.02%. Statistically significant overall annual compositional differences were observed for all six indicators (all P<0.001), whereas linear trends for some sub-categories were not statistically significant. Conclusion: In the participating CSBT sentinel units, among whole blood donations, the proportions of donors aged 18-22 years, university-organized group donations, and donations at blood mobiles decreased, whereas the proportions of organizational group donations and donations at fixed venues increased. The apheresis platelet donation cohort is relatively mature and is evolving toward a high-efficiency donation model. Individual voluntary donation remains the primary organization mode for both donation types. Strategies such as youth donor recruitment, optimized layout of fixed donation sites, and retention of repeat donors should be strengthened to improve the resilience of blood supply.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is aggressive, with high recurrence rates and poor prognosis. Paclitaxel (PTX) remains a key chemotherapeutic agent for TNBC, but its efficacy diminishes due to the emergence of drug resistance, largely driven by cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation and tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment (TIME). Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is highly expressed in TNBC, and is a potential target for TNBC treatment. In this study, we developed a biomimetic codelivery system using albumin nanoparticles (termed S/P NP) to co-encapsulate PTX and shikonin (SHK), a natural inhibitor of PKM2. By inhibiting PKM2, SHK suppressed β-Catenin signaling, thereby reversing CSC stemness and preventing VM formation. The S/P NP system exhibited tumor-targeting delivery effect and significantly inhibited TNBC growth and lung metastasis. Mechanistically, the treatment reversed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem-like properties of TNBC cells, suppressed VM formation, and remodeled the TIME. It reduced immunosuppressive cells (M2 macrophages, MDSCs) while promoting anti-tumor immunity (M1 macrophages, dendritic cells, cytotoxic T cells, and memory T cells). This dual-action strategy holds promise for improving TNBC therapy by targeting CSCs, VM, and the immune microenvironment, and for overcoming PTX resistance and reducing metastasis.

Ovarian tumor (OT) is the most lethal form of gynecologic malignancy, with minimal improvements in patient outcomes over the past several decades. Metastasis is the leading cause of ovarian cancer-related deaths, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Psychological stress is known to activate the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), a factor associated with poor prognosis in OT patients. However, the precise mechanisms linking NR3C1 signaling and metastasis have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic restraint stress accelerates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis in OT through an NR3C1-dependent mechanism involving nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1). Mechanistically, NR3C1 directly regulates the transcription of NUPR1, which in turn increases the expression of snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (SNAI2), a key driver of EMT. Clinically, elevated NR3C1 positively correlates with NUPR1 expression in OT patients, and both are positively associated with poorer prognosis. Overall, our study identified the NR3C1/NUPR1 axis as a critical regulatory pathway in psychological stress-induced OT metastasis, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for intervention in OT metastasis.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the expression of parathyroid hormone-like hormone (PTHLH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and analyze its correlation with clinical prognosis, its regulatory effects on HCC cell behaviors, and the signaling pathways mediating its effects. METHODS: We analyzed the differential expression of PTHLH in HCC and adjacent tissues and its association with patient prognosis based on data from TCGA and GEO databases and from 70 HCC patients treated in our hospital. The effects of PTHLH knockdown and overexpression on proliferation, migration, and invasion of cultured HCC cells were investigated using CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, Transwell migration and invasion assays, and the signaling pathways activated by PTHLH were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: TCGA and GEO database analysis showed significant overexpression of PTHLH mRNA in HCC tissues, which was associated with poor prognosis of the patients (P<0.05). High PTHLH mRNA expression was a probable independent prognostic risk factor for HCC (P<0.05). In the clinical samples, PTHLH mRNA and protein expressions were significantly higher in HCC tissues than in the adjacent tissues (P<0.001 or 0.01). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses suggested that high PTHLH mRNA expression was an independent risk factor to affect postoperative disease-free survival of HCC patients (P<0.05). The prognostic prediction model based on PTHLH mRNA expression showed an improved accuracy for predicting the risk of postoperative recurrence in HCC patients. In cultured HCC cells, PTHLH overexpression significantly promoted cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion, and caused activation of the ERK/JNK signaling pathway in Huh7 and Hep3B cells. CONCLUSIONS High PTHLH expression promotes HCC progression and is associated with poor patient prognosis. Its pro-tumor effects may be mediated by activation of the ERK/JNK signaling pathway.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism* ; Liver Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Prognosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein/genetics* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Disease Progression ; Signal Transduction ; Male ; RNA, Messenger/genetics* ; Female

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of birth defect-related mortality. However, more recent CHD mortality data for China are lacking. Additionally, limited studies have evaluated sex, rural-urban, and region-specific disparities of CHD mortality in China. METHODS: We designed a population-based study using data from the Dataset of National Mortality Surveillance in China between 2008 and 2021. We calculated age-adjusted CHD mortality using the sixth census data of China in 2010 as the standard population. We assessed the temporal trends in CHD mortality by age, sex, area, and region from 2008 to 2021 using the joinpoint regression model. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2021, 33,534 deaths were attributed to CHD. The period witnessed a two-fold decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality from 1.61 to 0.76 per 100,000 persons (average annual percent change [AAPC] = -5.90%). Females tended to have lower age-adjusted CHD mortality than males, but with a similar decline rate from 2008 to 2021 (females: AAPC = -6.15%; males: AAPC = -5.84%). Similar AAPC values were observed among people living in urban (AAPC = -6.64%) and rural (AAPC = -6.12%) areas. Eastern regions experienced a more pronounced decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality (AAPC = -7.86%) than central (AAPC = -5.83%) and western regions (AAPC = -3.71%) between 2008 and 2021. Approximately half of the deaths (46.19%) due to CHD occurred during infancy. The CHD mortality rates in 2021 were lower than those in 2008 for people aged 0-39 years, with the largest decrease observed among children aged 1-4 years (AAPC = -8.26%), followed by infants (AAPC = -7.01%). CONCLUSIONS CHD mortality in China has dramatically decreased from 2008 to 2021. The slower decrease in CHD mortality in the central and western regions than in the eastern regions suggested that public health policymakers should pay more attention to health resources and health education for central and western regions.
Humans ; Heart Defects, Congenital/mortality* ; Male ; Female ; China/epidemiology* ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Adult ; Child ; Adolescent ; Infant, Newborn ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Rural Population

Objective:To conduct a visual analysis of the research hotspots and development frontiers in-hospital stroke from both Chinese and English literature.Methods:Relevant literature on in-hospital stroke was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database, with the search period extending from the inception of each database to June 2024. CiteSpace 6.2R3 was used to analyze the cooperation networks of authors, countries/regions, and institutions, and to conduct co-occurrence, clustering, and emerging keyword analyses.Results:A total of 465 English papers and 72 Chinese papers were included, showing a year-on-year increase in the overall number of publications. The research in English literature was concentrated in United States, with close cooperation between European and American countries, and comprehensive universities as the main research institutions. In Chinese literature, major research institutions were located in teaching hospitals, with limited collaboration between institutions. The research hotspots and frontiers can be categorized into three themes: risk factors, reperfusion therapy, and quality improvement.Conclusions:Research in in-hospital stroke in both Chinese and English literature is at a stable development stage, with both commonalities and differences in research directions. Future studies should focus on enhancing cooperation between authors, disciplines, institutions, and countries, further exploring the risk factors and mechanisms of in-hospital stroke, implementing precision treatment, building prevention and treatment systems, and expanding the breadth and depth of research in this field.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical equivalence between a domestic calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment and the originator product in the treatment of stable plaque psoriasis.Methods:A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, three-arm, parallel-group, active- and placebo-controlled study was conducted, and 449 patients aged 18 - 65 years with stable plaque psoriasis were enrolled from 25 hospitals (such as the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University). Eligible patients had a baseline physician's global assessment (PGA) score of ≥ 3 points, baseline body surface area (BSA) involvement of 5% - 30%, and a target lesion psoriasis area and severity index (TL-PASI) for plaque elevation of ≥ 3 points. Participants were randomly assigned in a 2:2:1 ratio to the test group ( n = 179), reference group ( n = 180), and placebo group ( n = 90), and applied the domestic calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment, originator product, and ointment base respectively, once daily in the evening for 4 weeks. Efficacy and safety were assessed at weeks 1, 2, and 4. The primary efficacy endpoints were the treatment success rates and clinical success rates in each group at week 4. The per-protocol set (PPS) was used for the primary efficacy analysis, and the intention-to-treat (ITT) set for supplementary efficacy analysis. Equivalence between the test and reference preparations was tested using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method adjusted for randomization strata. Superiority of the test and reference preparations over the placebo was also tested. Measurement data were compared among the 3 groups using analysis of variance or non-parametric tests, while treatment success rates, clinical success rates, and incidence rates of adverse reactions were compared using the chi-square test. Results:The ITT, PPS, and safety sets included 447, 420, and 448 patients, respectively. In the ITT set, patients were aged 43.6 ± 12.8 years, including 320 (71.6%) males and 127 (28.4%) females, and the disease duration was 11.21 ± 9.05 years; 316 (70.7%) had a PGA score of 3 points and 131 (29.3%) had a PGA score of 4 - 5 points. No significant differences in the baseline characteristics (including age, sex, disease duration and disease severity) were observed among the 3 groups (all P > 0.05). Based on the PPS analysis, the treatment success rates were 57.9% (99/171) in the test group, 50.3% (86/171) in the reference group, and 7.7% (6/78) in the placebo group, and the clinical success rates were 57.9% (99/171), 50.3% (86/171), and 10.3% (8/78), respectively; both the test and reference groups were superior to the placebo group in both treatment and clinical success rates (all P < 0.001) ; the rate differences for treatment success (90% confidence interval [ CI]: -1.3% - 16.4%) and clinical success (90% CI: -1.3% - 16.3%) between the test and reference groups were entirely within the pre-defined equivalence margin (-20% - 20%). Subgroup analyses by baseline PGA scores: for patients with a baseline PGA score of 3 points, the treatment success rates in the test, reference, and placebo groups were 60.8% (73/120), 52.1% (62/119), and 11.1% (6/54), respectively, and the corresponding clinical success rates were 61.7% (74/120), 53.8% (64/119), and 13% (7/54), respectively; the test and reference groups did not differ significantly in treatment or clinical success rates (both P > 0.05), but both showed higher success rates than the placebo group (all P < 0.001) ; the results of statistical comparisons among the 3 groups in patients with a baseline PGA score of 4 - 5 points were consistent with those observed in patients with a baseline PGA score of 3 points. The percentage reductions in PGA and TL-PASI scores from baseline to weeks 1, 2, and 4 showed significant differences among the 3 groups, which were significantly higher in the test and reference groups than in the placebo group (all P < 0.001), but did not differ between the test and reference groups (all P > 0.05). The primary adverse reactions were local skin reactions, such as pruritus, pain, and erythema. The incidence rates of adverse reactions were 8.9% (16/179) in the test group, 7.3% (13/179) in the reference group, and 7.8% (7/90) in the placebo group, with no significant difference among the 3 groups ( P > 0.05) . Conclusions:The domestic calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate ointment demonstrated clinical equivalence to the originator product in the treatment of stable plaque psoriasis, and the two agents exhibited comparable efficacy for patients with varying degrees of disease severity, and were comparable in the speed and degree of clinical improvement, with similar favorable safety profiles.