Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) is a progressive and lethal condition with few effective treatment options. Improvements in quality of life for patients with PPF remain limited even while receiving treatment with approved antifibrotic drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the potential to improve cough, dyspnea and fatigue symptoms of patients with PPF. TCM treatments are typically diverse and individualized, requiring urgent development of efficient and precise design strategies to identify effective treatment options. We designed an innovative Bayesian adaptive two-stage trial, hoping to provide new ideas for the rapid evaluation of the effectiveness of TCM in PPF. An open-label, two-stage, adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial will be conducted in China. Based on Bayesian methods, the trial will employ response-adaptive randomization to allocate patients to study groups based on data collected over the course of the trial. The adaptive Bayesian trial design will employ a Bayesian hierarchical model with "stopping" and "continuation" criteria once a predetermined posterior probability of superiority or futility and a decision threshold are reached. The trial can be implemented more efficiently by sharing the master protocol and organizational management mechanisms of the sub-trial we have implemented. The primary patient-reported outcome is a change in the Leicester Cough Questionnaire score, reflecting an improvement in cough-specific quality of life. The adaptive Bayesian trial design may be a promising method to facilitate the rapid clinical evaluation of TCM effectiveness for PPF, and will provide an example for how to evaluate TCM effectiveness in rare and refractory diseases. However, due to the complexity of the trial implementation, sufficient simulation analysis by professional statistical analysts is required to construct a Bayesian response-adaptive randomization procedure for timely response. Moreover, detailed standard operating procedures need to be developed to ensure the feasibility of the trial implementation. Please cite this article as: Zhang C, Nie YS, Zhang CT, Yang HJ, Zhang HR, Xiao W, Cui GF, Li J, Li SJ, Huang QS, Yan SY. An adaptive Bayesian randomized controlled trial of traditional Chinese medicine in progressive pulmonary fibrosis: Rationale and study design. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(2): 138-145.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Bayes Theorem ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/therapy* ; Quality of Life ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Research Design ; Adaptive Clinical Trials as Topic

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are major outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria. Unlike most Gram-negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii can still survive and acquire polymyxin resistance after complete loss of LPS. Previous studies of LPS-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii mostly focused on LPS-deficient strains induced by polymyxin, whose background was complex and unstable. To investigate LPS loss-mediated polymyxin resistant-Acinetobacter baumannii, this study constructed a stable and clear background LPS-deficient strain by knocking out lpxC gene in Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 with CIRSPR/Cas9, and then studied the phenotypic changes of the lpxC-deficient strain including morphology, growth rate, antibiotic susceptibility, virulence, membrane permeability, and membrane potential. Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Welfare Committee Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, CAMS and PUMC (approval number: IMB-20240119D₉). The results indicated that the lpxC gene of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 was successfully knocked out. After losing the lpxC, the strain underwent the morphological change from rod-shaped to spherical. Furthermore, it leads to reduced growth rate, enhanced membrane permeability, decreased membrane potential, lower virulence, and increased antibiotic susceptibility to β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, macrolides, glycopeptides. The lpxC deletion results in significant changes in membrane homeostasis and adaptability of Acinetobacter baumannii. Understanding the phenotypic changes of colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii mediated by LPS loss is useful for exploring the resistance mechanism of Acinetobacter baumannii and developing new therapeutic strategies.

Demyelination of the central nervous system often occurs in neurodegenerative diseases， such as multiple sclerosis （MS）. The myelin sheath， a layer of myelin membrane wrapping the axon， plays a role in the rapid conduction and metabolic coupling of impulses for neurons. The exposure of the axon will lead to axonal degeneratio， and further neuronal degeneration， which is the main cause of dysfunction and even disability in patients with demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to the demyelination of mature myelin sheath， remyelination disorder is also one of the major reasons leading to the development of the diseases. The myelin sheath is composed of oligodendrocytes （OLs） derived from oligodendrocyte progenitor cells （OPCs） which are differentiated from neural stem cells （NSCs）. The process of myelin regeneration， i.e.， remyelination， is the differentiation of NSCs into OLs. Recent studies have shown that this process is regulated by a variety of genes. MicroRNAs， as important regulators of neurodegenerative diseases， form a complex regulatory network in the process of myelin regeneration. This review summarizes the main molecular pathways of myelin regeneration and microRNAs involved in this process and classifies the mechanisms and targets. This review is expected to provide a theoretical reference for the future research on the treatment of demyelinating diseases by targeting the regulation of microRNAs.

Improving the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) holds important clinical and social significance. Immunotherapy is an emerging therapy approach for cancers, which mainly include immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), immune vaccine and adoptive cell therapy. ICI have achieved good clinical translation in treatment of metastatic CRC with deficient DNA mismatch repair/high microsatellite instability (dMMR/MSI-H) status. The application of some ICI, such as PD-1 inhibitors pembrolizumab and nivolumab, in this type patients have been approved by the FDA. In addition,numerous positive results are acquired in clinical trials of neoadjuvant therapy for resectable dMMR/MSI-H CRC. These results greatly bolstered the exploration enthusiasm of CRC immunotherapy. However, the proficient DNA mismatch repair/microsatellite stability (pMMR/MSS) CRC, which accounting for the vast majority in related patients, hardly benefit from ICI therapy. Various combination strategies, mainly including ICI combined with traditional chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapy, have been attempted to alter the “cold tumors” microenvironment characteristics of pMMR/MSS CRC in clinical trials, whereas no breakthrough results were reached. Theoretically, tumor vaccines are ideal choice to break down the barrier of insufficient immune infiltration in solid tumors. However, the outcomes of related clinical trials in CRC patents are not satisfactory, and partially due to the weak specificity of the applied tumor-associated antigens. Clinical studies of adoptive cell therapy in CRC are also actively underway. The favorable efficacy of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, cytokine-induced killer (CIK) and dendritic cell-CIK in CRC have been confirmed, while the CAR-T and TCR-T therapies need more exploration based on screening more suitable antigens and optimizing engineering design. In this review, we made a summary based on the mainline of clinical studies related to diverse immunotherapies, so as to clarify the progress of CRC immunotherapy and provide bases for exploration of better treatment options.

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by clinical manifestations of cognitive decline,abnormal mental behavior and decreased ability to engage in daily activities.The etiology of this disease is diverse and the onset is insidious.Traditional neuropsychological assessments are time-consuming,imaging detection sensitivity is low,and drug development progress is slow.With the rapid development of cognitive neuroscience and digital technology,digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality are receiving increasing attention.This article aims to review the clinical research on digital technology in the prediction,screening,auxiliary diagnosis and treatment of AD in recent years,as well as the progress and breakthroughs in multiple fields such as AD gait,fine motor and speech,providing a directions for clinical diagnosis and further exploration.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the economics of serplulimab combined with chemotherapy regimens for the first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer （ES-SCLC） from the perspective of health system in China. METHODS A partitioned survival model was constructed based on the ASTRUM-005 clinical trial and related literature data， with a model simulation time frame of 10 years and a 3-week cycle， and both cost and utility values were discounted using a 5% discount rate. The quality-adjusted life year （QALY） was used as a model output indicator and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio （ICER） was calculated to evaluate the economics of serplulimab combined with chemotherapy regimens （serplulimab group） versus chemotherapy alone regimens （chemotherapy alone group） for the first-line treatment of ES-SCLC. One-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were used to verify the robustness of the results of the base-case analysis and to conduct a scenario analysis for the serplulimab patient assistance program. RESULTS The results of the base-case analysis showed that compared with chemotherapy alone group， ICER of serplulimab group was 758 690.27 yuan/QALY， which was higher than 3 times China’s per capita gross domestic product （GDP） in 2022 as the willingness-to-pay （WTP） threshold. The results of the scenario analysis showed that compared with chemotherapy alone group， the ICER of serplulimab group was 172 275.74 yuan/QALY， which was below above WTP threshold. The one-way sensitivity analysis showed that the progress-free survival utility value， serplulimab price and so on had a significant impact on the model results. The results of the probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that the probability of the serplulimab group being economic was 0 when the serplulimab patient assistance program was not considered， but 100% when the patient assistance program was considered. CONCLUSIONS At a WTP threshold of 3 times China’s per capita GDP in 2022， the serplulimab group is no cost-effectiveness compared to the chemotherapy alone group； however， this result is reversed when the patient assistance program is taken into account.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion combined with coptis chinensis ointment sealing on plaque psoriasis complicated with obesity. METHODS: A total of 52 patients of plaque psoriasis complicated with obesity were randomized into an observation group (26 cases) and a control group (26 cases, 2 cases dropped off). Coptis chinensis ointment sealing was adopted in the control group. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, moxibustion was applied at ashi point (area of local target lesions), Zhongwan (CV 12) and bilateral Zusanli (ST 36), Fenglong (ST 40), Quchi (LI 11), Tianshu (ST 25), Shangjuxu (ST 37) in the observation group. The treatment was given 30 min each time, once a day for 4 weeks in both groups. The psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score, obesity related indexes (body mass, waist circumference, body mass index [BMI]), triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid and plasma glucose were compared before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the PASI scores were decreased compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.01), and the PASI score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05); the body mass, waist circumference, BMI, triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid and plasma glucose were decreased compared with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.01, P<0.05), the triglyceride and cholesterol in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 53.8% (14/26) in the observation group, which was superior to 20.8% (5/24) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Moxibustion combined with coptis chinensis ointment sealing can effectively improve the clinical symptoms in patients of plaque psoriasis complicated with obesity.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Blood Glucose ; Ointments ; Uric Acid ; Psoriasis/therapy* ; Triglycerides ; Obesity/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effect of maximal oxygen pulse (O ₂P _max) on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and confirmed the predictive effect on acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). METHODS: This retrospective study included 91 participants who underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), lung function testing, a dyspnea scale assessment, and a 3-year follow-up. The participants were divided into two groups according to the O ₂P _max value. Exercise capacity, ventilatory conditions, gas exchange efficiency, and dyspnea symptoms were compared, and the correlations between O ₂P _max and these indices were evaluated. The ability of O ₂P _max to predict AECOPD was examined. RESULTS: Exercise capacity, ventilatory conditions, and gas exchange efficiency were lower, and dyspnea symptom scores were higher in the impaired O ₂P _max group ( P < 0.05). O ₂P _max was positively correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC)%, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV ₁)%, FEV ₁/FVC%, anaerobic threshold (AT), work rate (WR)%, aximal oxygen uptake (V̇O _2max)%, V̇O ₂/kg _max, V̇O ₂/kg _max%, WR _AT, WR _max, V̇O _2AT, V̇O _2max, and V̇ _Emax, and was negatively correlated with EqCO _2AT, and EqCO _2max ( P < 0.05). Most importantly, O ₂P _max could be used to predict AECOPD, and the best cut-off value was 89.5% (area under the curve, 0.739; 95% CI, 0.609-0.869). CONCLUSION O ₂P _max reflected exercise capacity, ventilation capacity, gas exchange capacity, and dyspnea symptoms in patients with COPD and may be an independent predictor of AECOPD.
Dyspnea/etiology* ; Exercise Tolerance ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Retrospective Studies

Objective:To establish the normal reference value of lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) under quantitative CT (QCT) in Chinese healthy adult females and to explore the regional differences.Methods:Total of 35 431 healthy women who met the inclusion criteria of Chinese health quantitative CT big data program were selected in this study. The BMD of the central plane of L 1 and L 2 vertebrae was measured by Mindways′s QCT system, and the mean value was taken. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the BMD differences of lumbar vertebrae in women of different ages and regions. The subjects were grouped by an age interval of 10 years, and the level of BMD in different regions of the same age group were compaired. Results:The peak BMD of Chinese healthy adult women appeared in the age group of 20-29 years (Northeast China(183.01±24.58) mg/cm 3, North China (188.93±24.80) mg/cm 3, East China (187.54±27.71) mg/cm 3, South China (186.22±33.72) mg/cm 3, Central China (176.33±24.91) mg/cm 3, Southwest China(182.25±28.00) mg/cm 3), and then it decreased with age. The level of BMD in different regions decreased with the age. Before the age of 70 years, BMD in Central and Southwest China was always at a low level((176.23±24.91) to (90.38±28.12) mg/cm 3, 182.25±28.00 to (88.55±25.68) mg/cm 3), lower than those in Northeast China ((183.01±24.58) to (99.69±27.85) mg/cm 3), North China ((188.93±24.80) to (95.89±26.12) mg/cm 3), East China ((187.54±27.71) to (95.65±27.86) mg/cm 3). After 70 years of age, BMD tended to be the same in different regions ( P>0.05). The BMD values in Central China and Southwest China were similar in the age group of 40-60 years ( P>0.05). The BMD values in the health adult femles in the age group of 60 years in different regions of Chinawere all lower than those of bone mass abnormality (all P<0.05). The detection rate of osteoporosis in females over 50 years was the highest in Southwest China (25.65%) and it was the lowest in North China (17.30%). Conclusions:This study establishes reference values of BMD under QCT in healthy Chinese women, which can be used as a reference basis for identifying women with low BMD who are at risk of osteoporosis. The BMD value is the lowest in Southwest China and the highest in South China.

Objective:To investigate the inhibitory effects of Danshen injection against ovarian cancer cell proliferation induced by the interaction between platelets and cancer cells. Method:The induction of platelets on SKOV3 growth in vitro and the inhibitory effect of Danshen injection at 12，24，and 48 g·L^-1 were observed by 3-（4，5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2，5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide （MTT） and cell colony formation assays. The content of transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁） in the platelet-tumor cell interaction system and platelet supernatant and the effect of Danshen injection on TGF-β₁ secretion were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The influences of tumor cell culture supernatant on platelet aggregation and secretion and the inhibitory effect of Danshen injection were determined by microplate assay and ELISA. The effects of Danshen injection on platelet nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB） signaling pathway were assayed by Western Blot. Result:Compared with the blank group， the platelet induction group exhibited significantly elevated absorbance at A₅₇₀ （P<0.01）， while the absorbance at A₅₇₀ in the platelet + Danshen injection group was significantly lower than that in the platelet induction group （P<0.01）. The comparison with the Danshen injection group revealed that the cell proliferation inhibitory rate in the platelet + Danshen injection group at the same dose was more significant （P<0.01）. The number of colonies in the platelet induction group was obviously increased in contrast to that in the blank group（P<0.05）， while the number of colonies in the platelet + Danshen injection group was significantly lower than that in the platelet induction group（P<0.05，P<0.01）. As demonstrated by comparison with the blank group， TGF-β₁ content in the supernatant of the platelet induction group rose remarkably（P<0.01）， whereas that in the platelet + Danshen injection group declined（P<0.01）. Compared with the Danshen injection （24 g·L^-1） group， the platelet + Danshen injection group displayed more obvious inhibition（P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， Danshen injection significantly reduced the TGF-β₁ content in platelet supernatant（P<0.05，P<0.01）. There was no significant change in the content of TGF-β₁ in SKOV3 supernatant treated with Danshen injection. The platelet aggregation， thromboxane A₂（TXB₂）， and serotonin （5-HT） secretion in the SKOV3 cell supernatant induction group were significantly increased as compared with those in the blank group （P<0.01）， while such indexes in the cell supernatant induction + Danshen injection group were obviously decreased （P<0.01）. Compared with the Danshen injection （24 g·L^-1） group， the cell supernatant induction + Danshen injection group displayed more obvious inhibition at the same dose（P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， the platelet induction group exhibited obviously up-regulated phosphorylated TGF-β-activated kinase-1 （TAK-1） and NF-κB， but down-regulated phosphorylated inhibitory protein of NF-κB （IκB）（P<0.01）， which however were significantly reversed in the platelet + Danshen injection group（P<0.01）. Conclusion:Danshen injection affect the proliferation of SKOV3 cells by inhibiting their interaction with platelets， which may be related to the inhibited secretion of TGF-β₁.