BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying therapies have been approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The present study aims to examine the safety of teriflunomide in Chinese patients with RMS. METHODS: This non-randomized, multi-center, 24-week, prospective study enrolled RMS patients with variant (c.421C>A) or wild type ABCG2 who received once-daily oral teriflunomide 14 mg. The primary endpoint was the relationship between ABCG2 polymorphisms and teriflunomide exposure over 24 weeks. Safety was assessed over the 24-week treatment with teriflunomide. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients were assigned to variant ( n  = 42) and wild type groups ( n  = 40), respectively. Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation (SD) of pre-dose concentration (variant, 54.9 [38.0] μg/mL; wild type, 49.1 [32.0] μg/mL) and area under plasma concentration-time curve over a dosing interval (AUC tau ) (variant, 1731.3 [769.0] μg∙h/mL; wild type, 1564.5 [1053.0] μg∙h/mL) values at steady state were approximately similar between the two groups. Safety profile was similar and well tolerated across variant and wild type groups in terms of rates of treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE), treatment-related TEAE, grade ≥3 TEAE, and serious adverse events (AEs). No new specific safety concerns or deaths were reported in the study. CONCLUSION: ABCG2 polymorphisms did not affect the steady-state exposure of teriflunomide, suggesting a similar efficacy and safety profile between variant and wild type RMS patients. REGISTRATION NCT04410965, https://clinicaltrials.gov .
Humans ; Crotonates/adverse effects* ; Toluidines/adverse effects* ; Nitriles ; Hydroxybutyrates ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting/genetics* ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult ; Neoplasm Proteins/genetics* ; East Asian People

Understory planting of medicinal plants is a new planting mode that connects Chinese herbal medicine(CHM) with forest resources.The complex and variable understory environmental factors will inevitably affect the yield and quality of understory CHM.This research summarized the research progress on understory planting of medicinal plants based on forest types and environmental factors within the forest from the perspectives of understory light, air temperature and humidity, soil characteristics, and the interaction between crops within the forest.The results showed that the complex and variable light, temperature and humidity, and soil factors(such as fertility, acidity and alkalinity, and microorganisms) under the forest could affect the yield and quality of medicinal plants to varying degrees through physiological activities such as photosynthesis and respiration, resulting in a significant increase or decrease in yield and quality compared to open field cultivation.In addition, the competition or mutual benefit between different crops within the forest could lead to differences in the yield and quality of understory medicinal plants compared to open field cultivation.A reasonable combination of planting could achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages.Therefore, conducting systematic research on the effects of understory environmental factors on the yield and content of medicinal plants with different growth and development characteristics can provide theoretical guidance and technical references for formulating comprehensive strategies for understory planting of medicinal plants, such as selecting suitable medicinal plant varieties, optimizing planting density, and conducting reasonable forest management, thus contributing to the sustainable development and ecological protection of CHM.
Plants, Medicinal/growth & development* ; Forests ; Soil/chemistry* ; Environment ; Ecosystem ; Temperature

OBJECTIVES: To explore the factors related to prognosis and treatment failure in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to collect and analyze clinical data of ALL children admitted to the Department of Pediatric Hematology at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, from January 2012 to December 2019, with follow-up until June 2024. RESULTS: A total of 341 children with ALL were included. Among the 69 children with treatment failure, 55 (80%) experienced relapse, while 14 (20%) had non-relapse-related deaths, and no secondary tumors were observed. Initial WBC count ≥50×10⁹/L, positive minimal residual disease, and severe adverse events were identified as independent risk factors for treatment failure (P<0.05). Among the 55 relapsed patients, early relapses were predominant (36%), and the primary site of relapse was the bone marrow (56%). Immunophenotyping (P=0.009), initial WBC count (P=0.011), and fusion genes (P=0.040) were associated with the timing of relapse. High-risk status, T-cell ALL, relapse, and severe adverse events were independent risk factors affecting long-term survival (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The prognosis of children with ALL is related to risk stratification, immunophenotyping, relapse status, and occurrence of severe adverse events. Among these factors, relapse is the primary cause of treatment failure. Actively preventing relapse may reduce the treatment failure rate and improve long-term survival.
Humans ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy* ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Retrospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Treatment Failure ; Adolescent ; Infant ; Risk Factors

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical course of two children with PICALM-MLLT10-positive acute leukemia treated at Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, between July 2021 and July 2023. The patients were diagnosed with acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia with central nervous system involvement and high-risk acute myeloid leukemia, respectively. Both achieved bone marrow complete remission after conventional chemotherapy combined with venetoclax. Following conversion to molecular negativity, they underwent sequential allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. At the latest follow-up, both patients were alive and in good clinical condition. These observations suggest that proceeding to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after venetoclax-based chemotherapy may improve the long-term survival of children with PICALM-MLLT10-positive leukemia.
Humans ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Male ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Child ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics* ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of endocrinotherapy combined with Shenqi Pills on hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC). METHODS: Eighty patients who were diagnosed with HSPC and renal-yang deficiency at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Mayang Miao Autonomous County from 1st April 2021 to 30th April 2024 were randomly divided into 2 groups. The patients in the control group were treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). And the patients in treatment group were treated with Shenqi Pills orally on the basis of the control group. The baseline data of the two groups were analyzed. After 36 months of treatment, the differences between the two groups were compared in terms of overall survival (OS), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, PSA response rate, Functional Assessment Scale for Prostate Cancer Therapy (FACT-P), Chinese medicine evidence scores, testosterone level and safety. RESULTS: A total of 80 study subjects were included in this study, including 42 cases in the treatment group and 38 cases in the control group. There was no statistical difference in the baseline data between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). At the end of the observation period, a statistically significant difference in OS was found in the treatment group compared to the control group in the subgroup of patients with a disease duration ranged of 0-6 months (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in PSA levels in the treatment group at 3 months (P>0.05). And the differences in the proportion of PSA50 (98.1% vs 91.4%), PSA90 (92.9% vs 84.6%) and the proportion of decrease in PSA (56.7% vs 33.8%) in the treatment group were found compared to those in the control group after 6 months of tre atment. After 12 months of treatment, the scores of FACT-4 and renal-yang deficiency in the treatment group were (95.28±7.93) and (15.73±5.70) respectively, compared to the scores in the control group (［85.46±10.12］ and ［18.20±4.27］ (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in serum testosterone (［0.60±0.24］ nmol/L vs ［1.09±2.10］ nmol/L) between the two groups (P>0.05). After 24 months of treatment, there were significant differences in in the FACT-4 total score (［97.95±7.54］ vs ［80.33±8.58］), renal-yang deficiency syndrome score (［14.64±5.15］ vs ［24.94±8.75］) between the treatment group and the control group (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in serum testosterone ( ［0.73±1.01］ nmol/L vs ［0.59±0.25］ nmol/L) between the two groups (P> 0.05). Better therapeutic results were showed in the treatment group in terms of total FACT-P score, physical situation score, social and family situation score, emotional state score, functional state score, additional score and renal-yang deficiency symptom score (P<0.05). After treatment, there was no serious adverse reaction in the course of treatment, and no obvious abnormality was found in the liver and kidney function of the patients from two groups. CONCLUSION Endocrinotherapy combined with Shenqi Pills is safe and effective in HSPC and can reduce the risk of death in HSPC patients, and the earlier the intervention, the longer the overall survival of the patients. In addition, this treatment regimen can increase the PSA response rate, improve patients' quality of life, and reduce the renal-yang deficiency syndrome score without the risk of elevating serum testosterone levels.
Humans ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Androgen Antagonists/therapeutic use* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Testosterone

OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the effects of deep acupuncture at Weizhong acupoint (BL40) on bladder function and brain activity in a rat model of overactive bladder (OAB), and investigated the possible mechanisms around the acupuncture area that initiate the effects of acupuncture. METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups, comprising a control group, model group, group treated with deep acupuncture at BL40, group treated with shallow acupuncture at BL40, group treated with acupuncture at non-acupoint next to BL40, and group treated with acupuncture at Xuanzhong (GB39). Urodynamic evaluation was used to observe the urination, and functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to observe the brain activation. The mechanism of acupuncture at BL40 in regulating bladder function was explored by toluidine blue staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the mechanism was verified by stabilizing mast cells (MCs) or blocking tibial nerve. RESULTS: Deep acupuncture at BL40 significantly increased the intercontraction interval in OAB rats and enhanced the mean amplitude of low frequency fluctuation of primary motor cortex (M1), periaquaductal gray matter (PAG), and pontine micturition center (PMC). It also increased the zero-lag functional connectivity between M1 and PAG and between PAG and PMC. Shallow acupuncture at BL40 and acupuncture at non-acupoint or GB39 had no effect on these indexes. Further studies suggested that deep acupuncture at BL40 increased the number and degranulation rate of MCs as well as the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine, substance P, and histamine in the tissues around BL40. Blocking the tibial nerve by lidocaine injection or inhibiting MC degranulation by sodium cromoglycate injection obstructed the effects of acupuncture on restoring urinary function and modulating brain activation in OAB rats. CONCLUSION Deep acupuncture at BL40 may be more effective for inhibiting OAB by promoting degranulation of MCs around the acupoint and stimulating tibial nerve, thereby regulating the activation of the brain area that controls the lower urinary tract. Please cite this article as: Liu X, Zhang CY, Du XY, Li SS, Wang YQ, Zheng Y, Deng HZ, Fang XQ, Li JY, Wang ZQ, Xu SF, Mi YQ. Acupuncture at Weizhong (BL40) attenuates acetic acid-induced overactive bladder in rats by regulating brain neural activity through the modulation of mast cells and tibial nerves. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 46-55.
Animals ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive/physiopathology* ; Mast Cells/physiology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Female ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Rats ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Tibial Nerve/physiopathology* ; Acetic Acid ; Urinary Bladder/physiopathology*

Objective This study aimed to comprehensively analyze and compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis of Chinese patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-low early breast cancer(BC)and HER2-IHC0 BC. Methods Patients diagnosed with HER2-negative BC(N=999)at our institution between January 2011 and December 2015 formed our study population.Clinicopathological characteristics,association between estrogen receptor(ER)expression and HER2-low,and evolution of HER2 immunohistochemical(IHC)score were assessed.Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the long-term survival outcomes(5-year follow-up)between the HER2-IHC0 and HER2-low groups. Results HER2-low BC group tended to demonstrate high expression of ER and more progesterone receptor(PgR)positivity than HER2-IHC0 BC group(P<0.001).The rate of HER2-low status increased with increasing ER expression levels(Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test,P<0.001,Pearson's R=0.159,P<0.001).Survival analysis revealed a significantly longer overall survival(OS)in HER2-low BC group than in HER2-IHC0 group(P=0.007)in the whole cohort and the hormone receptor(HR)-negative group.There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of disease-free survival(DFS).The discordance rate of HER2 IHC scores between primary and metastatic sites was 36.84%. Conclusion HER2-low BC may not be regarded as a unique BC group in this population-based study due to similar clinicopathological features and prognostic roles.

Objective:To understand the impact of diet on glycemic control in community-managed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and provide evidence for implementing prevention strategies and measures for diabetes patients.Methods:Eight communities were randomly selected from Changshu and Wuhan in 2015, and T2DM patients managed in the community were selected to conduct questionnaire surveys, physical measurements, and blood glucose testing. Factor analysis was used to obtain dietary patterns. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting glycemic control.Results:Finally, 1 818 T2DM patients were included, and the control rate of FPG was 57.59% (95% CI: 55.30%-59.86%), and the control rate of 2 h postprandial blood glucose (2 h PBG) was 24.90% (95% CI: 22.93%- 26.91%). Five dietary patterns were obtained by factor analysis: animal food pattern, fruit-aquatic products-potato patterns, vegetable-grain pattern, egg-milk-bean pattern, and oil-salt patterns. No-conditional multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, the reduced probability of FPG control was related to animal food pattern ( OR=0.71, 95% CI: 0.52-0.98) and fruit-aquatic products-potato patterns ( OR=0.71, 95% CI: 0.51-0.97). The decrease in the 2 h PBG control probability was related to fruit-aquatic products-potato patterns ( OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.90). The increased probability of FPG and 2 h postprandial glucose control were both related to vegetable-grain pattern ( OR=1.41, 95% CI: 1.03-1.94; OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.13-2.51) and egg-milk-bean pattern ( OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.25-2.46; OR=1.56, 95% CI: 1.00-2.42). Compared with the Q4 group of egg-milk-bean pattern, the FPG control rate of the combination of "fruit-aquatic products-potato pattern ( Q4 group), vegetable-grain pattern ( Q2 group), egg-milk-bean pattern ( Q3 group)" was higher ( OR=6.79, 95% CI: 1.15-40.23, P=0.035). Compared with the Q4 group of vegetable-grain pattern, the combination of "fruit-aquatic products-potato pattern ( Q4 group), vegetable-grain pattern ( Q3 group), egg-milk-bean pattern ( Q2 group), oil-salt pattern ( Q2 group)" had higher control rate of 2 h PBG ( OR=12.78, 95% CI: 1.26-130.05, P=0.031). Conclusions:A proper combination of dietary patterns and dietary patterns are more conducive to the control of FPG and 2 h PBG in T2DM patients managed in the communities of Wuhan and Changshu. Patient nutrition education should be strengthened, and the food-matching ability of patients should be improved.

Objective:To establish a new classification system for distal clavicle fracture and evaluate its clinical effectiveness.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 101 patients with distal clavicle fracture admitted to First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2015 to March 2022, including 57 males and 44 females, aged 19-86 years [(53.8±14.0)years]. Before treatment, patients were routinely subjected to bilateral anteroposterior radiography of the shoulder joints to measure the length of the fractured fragments, coracoclavicular distance, and acromioclavicular distance. According to the correlation between the location of the fracture line and the insertion of the coracoclavicular ligament, distal clavicle fracture was divided into three types: type I, with the fracture line lateral to the coracoclavicular ligament region; type II, with the fracture line in the coracoclavicular ligament region; type III, with the fracture line medial to the coracoclavicular ligament region. According to the injury severity of the coracoclavicular ligament and acromioclavicular ligament, type I was further subdivided into type IA, IB, IC and ID, and type II fracture was further subdivided into type IIA, IIB, IIC, IID and IIE. All the 101 patients were classified and randomly reclassified at an interval of 3 months by 10 senior and 10 junior shoulder surgeons according to the new classification method. Kappa coefficients were used to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer consistency of the new classification. Fifty-two patients with stable fracture (types IA, IB, IIC, and IID) were treated non-surgically, while 49 patients with unstable fracture (types IC, ID, IIA, IIB, IIE, and III) were treated surgically, including 26 patients with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction, 9 with locking plate fixation, 8 with clavicle hook plate fixation, 4 with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction combined with locking plate fixation, and 2 with anatomic coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction combined with tension screw fixation. The patients were assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Constant-Murley shoulder score before treatment and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment. The coracoclavicular distance and acromioclavicular distance on the anteroposterior radiographs of the healthy and affected shoulder joints were measured at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment, and fracture healing time and complications were observed.Results:The length of the fractured fragments was 12.9 (9.7, 17.6)mm in patients with type I fracture, 24.7 (21.8, 27.8)mm in patients with type II fracture, and 43.6 (41.2, 46.9)mm in patients with type III fracture ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the coracoclavicular distance and acromioclavicular distance of the affected and healthy shoulders among the patients with types IA, IB, IIC, IID, and III fracture ( P>0.05); For the patients with types IC, IIA, IIB and IIE fracture, the coracoclavicular distance of the affected shoulder was significantly increased compared with that of the healthy shoulder ( P<0.01), while there was no significant difference in the acromioclavicular distance of the affected and healthy shoulders ( P>0.05). Both of the inter- and intra-observer consistency of the new classification was good. The inter- and intra-observer Kappa values were 0.69 and 0.71 respectively among the senior shoulder surgeons, and 0.61 and 0.64 respectively among the junior shoulder surgeons. All the patients were followed up for 18-104 months [28(23, 32)months]. At 3, 6, 12 and 18 months after treatment, the VAS scores of non-surgical patients were 3(2, 3)points, 2(1, 2)points, 1(0, 1)points and 0(0, 1)points respectively, significantly decreased compared with 6(5, 6)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the VAS scores of surgical patients were 3(2, 3)points, 2(1, 2)points, 1(1, 1)points and 0(0, 1)points respectively, significantly decreased compared with 6(5, 7)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the Constant-Murley shoulder scores of non-surgical patients were (76.6±5.3)points, (84.3±5.0)points, (88.4±4.0)points and (91.9±3.8)points respectively, significantly higher than (42.7±5.2)points before treatment ( P<0.01); the Constant-Murley shoulder scores of surgical patients were (77.4±4.6)points, (84.4±4.7)points, (87.6±3.7)points and (91.7±4.0)points respectively, significantly higher than (42.8±5.3)points before treatment ( P<0.01). At 3, 6, 12 and 18 months after treatment, the coracoclavicular distance of the affected shoulder in non-surgical patients was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P>0.05), while the acromioclavicular distance of the affected shoulder in surgical patients was significantly reduced compared with that before treatment ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the coracoclavicular distance of the healthy shoulder or bilateral acromioclavicular distance in non-surgical and surgical patients at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after treatment compared with those before treatment ( P>0.05). Fractures were healed within 12 months after treatment in all the patients, without dislocation or subluxation of the acromioclavicular joint, internal fixation failure or internal fixator breakage. Eight patients treated with clavicular hook plate fixation had shoulder pain associated with limited mobility after operation, and all underwent a second operation to remove the clavicular hook plate at 12 months after operation. Conclusions:The new classification system for distal clavicle fracture is established, which comprehensively considers the position of the fracture line, injury of the coracoclavicular and acromioclavicular ligaments, and fracture stability. The new classification system exhibits good inter- and intra- observer consistency, and the effectiveness of its preliminary clinical application is satisfactory.