Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious respiratory disease that has been prevalent since December 2019. Chinese medicine (CM) has demonstrated its unique advantages in the fight against COVID-19 in the areas of disease prevention, improvement of clinical symptoms, and control of disease progression. This review summarized the relevant material components of CM in the treatment of COVID-19 by searching the relevant literature and reports on CM in the treatment of COVID-19 and combining with the physiological and pathological characteristics of the novel coronavirus. On the basis of sorting out experimental methods in vivo and in vitro, the mechanism of herb action was further clarified in terms of inhibiting virus invasion and replication and improving related complications. The aim of the article is to explore the strengths and characteristics of CM in the treatment of COVID-19, and to provide a basis for the research and scientific, standardized treatment of COVID-19 with CM.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; SARS-CoV-2/drug effects* ; COVID-19/therapy* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology* ; Animals

α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor(α7nAChR)is widely expressed in the central nervous system and immune system,and plays a neuro-immunoregulatory role.On the one hand,α7nAChR is involved in the transmission of neurotransmitters,the conduction of excitatory signals and the maintenance of synaptic plasticity,which is of great significance for maintaining the normal and stable neurocognitive function.On the other hand,as an important part of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway,α7nAChR is involved in the regulation of physiological and pathological processes such as inflammatory response,oxidative stress,apoptosis and autophagy in the central system,and plays an immunomodulatory and neuroprotective role,thus being potential target for improving perioperative neurocognitive function.This article reviews the biological characteristics of α7nAChR and its effect on perioperative neurocognitive function,in order to provide ideas and methods for clinical improvement of perioperative neurocognitive function in surgical patients.

"State-target-cause-result"is a new clinical theory combining macroscopic and microscopic syndrome differentiation based on the holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medical research.The"inflammation-cancer transformation"of chronic pancreatitis is a complex pathological process that is associated with the interaction between the pancreas and various pathological factors and multiple objects,involving the imbalance of multiple homeostasis.The microscopic process of"inflammation-cancer transformation"in chronic pancreatitis is the"target,"whereas various factors that could induce its occurrence under chronic inflammatory conditions are the"state."The"inflammation-cancer transformation"of chronic pancreatitis is summarized as yin and yang imbalance,qi movement disorder,endogenous dampness,heat,blood stasis,and turbid phlegm stagnation,unresolved congestion resulting in deficiency caused by stagnation,intermingled deficiency and excess,and internal cancer toxin generation.This paper elucidates the pathogenesis and intervention strategies of the"inflammation-cancer transformation"of chronic pancreatitis from a macro perspective of"state,"focusing on reducing the impact of"state"imbalance on the"target"to establish a balanced pancreas-immune-microbiota state.The aim is to broaden the theory for exploring the mechanism and drug development related to chronic pancreatitis"inflammation-cancer transformation"in both traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

This study investigated the mechanism by which kaempferol(KAE) affected intervertebral disc degeneration(IDD) through the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(p38 MAPK) signaling pathway. Rats were randomly divided into five groups: control group, model group, low-dose KAE group, medium-dose KAE group, and high-dose KAE group. An IDD model was established by needle puncture of the caudal intervertebral discs. Four weeks post-surgery, the rats were administered KAE via gavage for 8 consecutive weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) was performed, and samples were collected. In vitro, an inflammation model of nucleus pulposus cells(NPCs) induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) was constructed. Anisomycin was used to activate the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. NPCs were divided into blank, model, KAE, agonist, and KAE + agonist groups. After 1 day of treatment, cell proliferation activity was assessed using the CCK-8. Protein expression levels were determined by Western blot, and mRNA expression was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining, and immunofluorescence staining was used to detect type Ⅱ collagen and matrix metalloproteinase 3(MMP3). In vivo results indicated significant improvement in the degree of IDD in the treatment groups compared to the model group, with the medium-dose group showing more pronounced therapeutic effects than the low-and high-dose groups. In vitro results demonstrated that KAE treatment significantly enhanced NPC proliferation activity, down-regulated the expression levels of Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-17A(IL-17A), MMP3, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5, and inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK pathway-related proteins. Activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway by anisomycin reduced the therapeutic effects of KAE. The study concluded that KAE could improve the proliferation activity of degenerated NPCs, reduce inflammation levels, and slow the progression of IDD in rats, and the mechanism was likely related to the regulation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.
Animals ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Kaempferols/pharmacology* ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration/genetics* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Nucleus Pulposus/drug effects* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Humans ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects*

This study investigated the drug delivery performance of oral co-loaded puerarin(PUE) and daidzein(DAZ) mixed micelles(PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs) from the perspectives of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and tissue distribution. The changes in PUE plasma concentration in rats were evaluated based on PUE suspension, single drug-loaded micelles(PUE-FS/PMMs), and co-loaded micelles(PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs). Spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR) were used to monitor systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure for 10 weeks after administration by tail volume manometry. The content of PUE in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, brain, and testes was determined using LC-MS/MS. The results showed that compared with PUE suspension and PUE-FS/PMMs, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs significantly increased C_(max) in rats(P<0.01) and had a relative bioavailability of 122%. The C_(max), AUC_(0-t), AUC_(0-∞), t_(1/2), and MRT of PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs were 1.77, 1.22, 1.22, 1.17, and 1.13 times higher than those of PUE suspension, and 1.76, 1.16, 1.08, 0.84, and 0.78 times higher than those of PUE-FS/PMMs, respectively. Compared with the model control group, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs significantly reduced systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure in SHR rats(P<0.05). The antihypertensive effect of PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs was greater than that of PUE suspension, and even greater than that of PUE-FS/PMMs at high doses. Additionally, the distribution of PMMs in various tissues showed dose dependency. The distribution of PMMs in the kidney and liver, which are metabolically related tissues, was lower than that in the suspension group, while the distribution in the brain was higher than that in the conventional dose group. In conclusion, PUE/DAZ-FS/PMMs not only improved the bioavailability of PUE and synergistically enhanced its therapeutic effect but also prolonged the elimination of the drug to some extent. Furthermore, the micelles facilitated drug penetration through the blood-brain barrier. This study provides a foundation for the development of co-loaded mixed micelles containing homologous components.
Rats ; Animals ; Micelles ; Tissue Distribution ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Rats, Inbred SHR ; Isoflavones/pharmacology*

Objective:To explore the current status of surgery for portal hypertension to grasp current status and future development of surgery in China.Methods:This study is jointly sponsored by China Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Specialist Alliance & Portal Hypertension Alliance in China (CHESS).Comprehensive surveying is conducted for basic domestic situations of surgery for portal hypertension, including case load, surgical approaches, management of postoperative complications, primary effects, existing confusion and obstacles, liver transplantation(LT), laparoscopic procedures and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS), etc.Results:A total of 8 512 cases of portal hypertension surgery are performed at 378 hospitals nationwide in 2021.Splenectomy plus devascularization predominated(53.0%)and laparoscopy accounted for 76.1%.Primary goal is preventing rebleeding(67.0%) and 72.8% of hospitals used preventive anticoagulants after conventional surgery.And 80.7% of teams believe that the formation of postoperative portal vein thrombosis is a surgical dilemma and 65.3% of hospitals practiced both laparoscopy and TIPS.The major reasons for patients with portal hypertension not receiving LT are due to a lack of qualifications for LT(69.3%)and economic factors(69.0%).Conclusions:Surgery is an integral part of management of portal hypertension in China.However, it is imperative to further standardize the grasp of surgical indications, the handling of surgical operation and the management of postoperative complications.Moreover, prospective, multi-center randomized controlled clinical studies should be performed.

Objective:To explore the impact of serum carbamoyl phosphate synthase 1 (CPS1) level on prognosis of patients with hepatitis E-related acute liver failure (HEV-ALF).Methods:This retrospective analysis included 100 HEV-ALF patients, 100 patients with acute hepatitis E (AHE) and 100 healthy controls who admitted or underwent health checkup from December 2018 to June 2019 in six hospitals, including the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. HEV-ALF patients were divided into non-survial ( n=21) and survival ( n=79) subgroups according to results of 30-day follow-up results. HEV-ALF patients were also divided into the high ( n=50) and low ( n=50) serum CPS1 level groups. HEV-ALF patients were further divided into the improvement ( n=55), fluctuation ( n=32) and deterioration ( n=13) subgroups. The general clinical data from all participants were collected. Serum CPS1 levels were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The survival time in the high and low serum CPS1 level groups were presented in the Kaplan-Meier curve. The correlation between serum CPS1 level and HEV-ALF related conventional parameters was also analyzed by linear regression. The efficacy of serum CPS1 level on predicting the 30-day mortality of HEV-ALF patients was estimated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under curve (AUC). Results:Serum CPS1 level was significantly higher in HEV-ALF patients than in AHE patients [958.59 (665.52, 1 105.83) pg/ml vs 549.38 (495.02, 649.08) pg/ml, P<0.001], and serum CPS1 level was significantly higher in AHE patients than in healthy controls [549.38 (495.02, 649.08) pg/ml vs 469.89 (373.32, 564.53) pg/ml, P<0.001]. The level of serum CPS1 was significantly lower in the HEV-ALF survival group than in the HEV-ALF non-survival group [922.6 (652.7, 1, 042.3) pg/ml vs 1 252.8 (933.3, 1 555.8) pg/ml, P<0.001]. In addition, the survival time was shorter in the high serum CPS1 level group than in the low serum CPS1 level group [24.59 (22.11, 27.06) d vs 28.16 (26.25, 30.07) d, P=0.045]. Serum CPS1 levels were increased in the fluctuation and deterioration groups [Fluctuation: 1 328.3 (1 184.3, 1 964.0) pg/ml vs 1 245.7 (1 102.0, 1 937.6) pg/ml, P<0.01; Deterioration: 1 483.6 (1 275.9, 1 656.8) pg/ml vs 1 332.2 (1 197.4, 1 509.8) pg/ml, P<0.01], while decreased in the improvement group [810.3 (599.7, 904.5) pg/ml vs 922.6 (679.5, 1 039.6) pg/ml, P<0.01] over time. Besides, a linear positive correlation was found between serum CPS1 level and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBIL) (ALT: r=0.339, P<0.001; TBIL: r=0.304, P=0.002). The AUC of serum CPS1 level to predict the 30-day mortality of HEV-ALF patients was 0.803 (95% CI 0.666-0.941), the sensitivity and specificity were 66.67% and 97.47%, respectively. Conclusion:Serum CPS1 level was significantly increased in HEV-ALF patients, and closely related to the prognosis of patients with HEV-ALF.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty as a revision procedure for the failed fixation of proximal humeral fractures in the elderly patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 8 patients with failed internal fixation of proximal humeral fractures from May 2014 to March 2020, including 3 males and 5 females, aged from 65 to 75 years old. All 8 patients underwent reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, and the mean time between initial fixation and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty ranged from 8 to 16 months. Range of motion(ROM), University of California at Los Angeles(UCLA) shoulder score, visual analogue scale (VAS), self-rating anxiety scale(SAS), and Constant-Murley score of shoulder function were assessed pre-operatively and at the last follow-up. Complications relating to the surgery were recorded. RESULTS: All 8 patients successfully followed up. The mean follow-up after reverse total shoulder arhroplasty ranged from 16 to 28 months. The range of motion (forward flexion, external rotation, abduction and internal rotation) of the affected shoulder was significantly improved after surgery, and the post-operative VAS, SAS and UCLA scores were also significantly improved. For the Constant-Murley score of shoulder joint function, the total scores and the subscores of pain, daily activities, range of motion and strength test at the last follow-up were all significantly improved. Scapular glenoid notch was observed in patient, which was evaluated as grade 1 on imaging. All the other patients did not develop specific or non-specific complications. CONCLUSION Reverse total shoulder arhroplasty is an appropriate treatment as a revision surgery for failed fixation of proximal humeral fractures. It has shown satisfactory clinical outcomes, accelerating the rehabilitation of shoulder function and improving the quality of life.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged ; Shoulder/surgery* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Shoulder/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Quality of Life ; Shoulder Joint/surgery* ; Shoulder Fractures/surgery* ; Humerus/surgery* ; Range of Motion, Articular

Objective: To analyze the relationship between Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores and the pathological results of transperineal magnetic resonance-ultrasound fusion guided biopsy. Methods: The clinical data, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results and prostate puncture biopsies of 517 patients who were assigned to PI-RADS score of 4 or 5 and underwent transperineal magnetic resonance-ultrasound fusion guided biopsy at The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June 2019 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into the PI-RADS 4 and PI-RADS 5 groups according to their PI-RADS scores and were stratified by their prostate specific antigen (PSA) values (PSA<10 ng/ml vs. PSA 10-20 ng/ml). The pathological negative rates from the biopsy, the distribution of the grade groups according to the grading system by World Health Organization/International Society of Urological Pathology (WHO/ISUP), the detection rates of prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer (CsPCa)between the groups were compared. Results: 369 patients with a PI-RADS score of 4 and 148 patients with a PI-RADS score of 5 were included in our research. The overall detection rates of PCa and CsPCa were 77.8% (402/517) and 66.7% (345/517), respectively. In the PI-RADS 4 group, patients with prostate negative biopsies or in WHO/ISUP 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 grade groups accounted for 28.2%, 12.7%, 20.1%, 17.1%, 18.4% and 3.5%, respectively, whereas in the PI-RADS 5 group the rates were 7.4%, 6.8%, 22.3%, 22.3%, 26.4%, and 14.9%, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The detection rates of PCa and CsPCa in the PI-RADS 4 group [71.8% (265/369) vs. 59.1% (218/369), P<0.001] were lower than those of the PI-RADS 5 group [92.6% (137/148) vs. 85.8% (127/148), P<0.001]. In the PI-RADS 4 group, the proportion of patients classified into WHO/ISUP 4-5 grade groups was lower than that of patients in the PI-RADS 5 group [22.0% (81/369) vs 41.2% (61/148) (P<0.001)]. The detection rates of PCa and CsPCa in the PSA<10 ng/ml stratification were less than that in the PSA 10-20 ng/ml stratification[74.1% (281/379) vs. 87.7% (121/138), P=0.001], and [60.9% (231/379) vs. 82.6% (114/138), P<0.001]. For patients with PSA<10 ng/ml, the detection rates of PCa and CsPCa in the PI-RADS 4 group were less than those in the PI-RADS5 group [70.9% (217/306) vs. 87.7% (64/73), P=0.003], and [56.2% (172/306) vs. 80.8% (59/73), P<0.001]. For those with a PSA value of 10-20 ng/ml, the detection rates of PCa and CsPCa in the PI-RADS 4 group were less than those in the PI-RADS 5 group [76.2% (48/63) vs. 97.3% (73/75), P<0.001], and [73.0% (46/63) vs. 90.7% (68/75), P=0.006]. There were statistically significant differences in the proportions of patients with prostate negative biopsy and those falling into WHO/ISUP grade groups 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (P<0.001) between the PI-RADS 4 group and the PI-RADS 5 group in both stratifications. Conclusions: In this study, the detection rates of CsPCa and PCa in the PI-RADS 4 group were less than those in the PI-RADS 5 group. With the increase of PI-RADS scores, the detection rate of high-grade PCa increased. The same results held for patients with PSA<10 ng/ml or with PSA 10-20 ng/ml.
Male ; Humans ; Prostatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/analysis* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Image-Guided Biopsy/methods*