ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy of Shenqi Yangxin decoction in the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy （ICM） with Qi and Yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome and its effect on serum hydrogen sulfide （H₂S） and calcium ion （Ca²⁺）. MethodsA total of 64 ICM patients with Qi and Yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a control group （n=32） and a treatment group （n=32）. All patients received conventional Western medicine treatment. The treatment group was additionally given Shenqi Yangxin decoction. The TCM syndrome score， Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire （MLHFQ） score， left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF）， N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide （NT-proBNP）， 6-minute walk test （6MWT）， New York Heart Association （NYHA） cardiac function classification， and serum H₂S and Ca²⁺ levels were compared between the two groups pre- and post-treatment. ResultsTwo cases dropped out from each group during the study. Finally， 30 patients in each group were included in the analysis. There were no significant differences in age， gender， course of coronary heart disease， underlying diseases， and laboratory tests between the two groups. Compared with baseline， the TCM syndrome score， MLHFQ score， and NT-proBNP in both treatment group and control group decreased significantly （P<0.01）， LVEF， 6MWT， and H₂S increased significantly （P<0.01）， and serum Ca²⁺ increased （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the MLHFQ score and NT-proBNP in the treatment group decreased （P<0.05）， the TCM syndrome score decreased significantly （P<0.01）， LVEF， 6MWT， and serum Ca²⁺ increased （P<0.05）， and H₂S increased significantly （P<0.01）. The improvement degree of the NYHA cardiac function classification in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group， but there was no significant difference. ConclusionShenqi Yangxin decoction is effective in treating ICM patients with Qi and Yin deficiency and blood stasis， which could significantly improve cardiac function and quality of life， and its therapeutic effect may be related to the regulation of serum H₂S and Ca²⁺ levels.

Introduction: The 2021 IDF-DAR risk calculator had been previously evaluated in multiple studies and subsequently widely accepted and applied in clinical practice as a practical standardized tool for patient risk stratification. Recently updated, the 2026 IDF-DAR Risk calculator enables a more individualized, evidence-related evaluation of patientrelated and disease-related risk factors, incorporating modern diabetes technologies, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), automated insulin delivery (AID) systems, and advanced insulin formulations to enhance risk stratification. This tool allows medical professionals to tailor Ramadan practices based on overall factors toward promoting safe fasting. Methodology: This prospective multicentre observational study recruited adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes attending public hospitals nationwide. People with diabetes (PwD) intending to perform Ramadan fasting were invited to participate and assessed using the 2026 IDF-DAR Risk Calculator in the 6-week pre-Ramadan period between 30th January and 19th March 2026. Results: A total of 458 PwD were evaluated and stratified into low (15.7%), moderate (41%), and high risk (43.3%) categories. Most participants had Type 2 diabetes (83.6%), with 60.3% having a disease duration exceeding 10 years and 43% exhibiting poor glycemic control (hemoglobin A1c >9%). Insulin therapy was used by 76.4% of participants, including two individuals with Type 1 diabetes using AID systems. Most participants reported no recent hypoglycemia (76.4%), 81.0% performed glucose monitoring, and 3.3% used CGM. Severe comorbidities were uncommon, with 1.1% having unstable macrovascular disease and 4.4% advanced chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <30). Notably, 72.2% received structured Ramadan education. Conclusion Majority of PwD attending tertiary diabetes clinics were in the moderate- to high-risk category and intended to fast despite medical advice against fasting in some cases. Although most participants were on insulin therapy, hypoglycemia was low in the pre-Ramadan period. Integration of modern technologies, advanced insulin therapies, and structured education may support safer fasting practices.
Risk Assessment ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Hospitals ; Fasting

Introduction: Hypertension is common in obesity and increases cardiovascular risk. Bariatric surgery improves metabolic health, but subgroup differences in blood pressure response remain unclear. This study examined 1-year changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) after bariatric surgery across sex, age group, and diabetes status. Methodology: This study included 32 obese adults undergoing bariatric surgery, with blood pressure measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Generalized estimating equation models were used to evaluate changes in SBP and DBP over time, adjusting for age, sex, surgery type, diabetes category, baseline body mass index, antihypertensive medication use, and baseline blood pressure. Interaction terms were tested to assess differences in blood pressure trajectories across subgroups. Results: Participants were predominantly female (67.4%), with a mean age of 36.9 ± 6.2 years and a mean body mass index of 40.7 ± 8.8 kg/m². Hypertension and diabetes were present in 40.6 and 31.3% of participants, respectively. There was a significant time effect for both SBP (p <0.001) and DBP (p = 0.004). At 12 months post-surgery, mean SBP decreased by 15 mmHg and DBP by 7.9 mmHg compared with baseline (both p <0.001). No significant interactions were observed between time and sex, diabetes category, or age category, indicating that blood pressure improvements were comparable across subgroups. Conclusion Bariatric surgery was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in both SBP and DBP, with similar improvement patterns observed across demographic and metabolic subgroups. These findings support the effectiveness of bariatric surgery as a strategy for blood pressure reduction and cardiovascular risk management in patients with obesity.
Blood Pressure ; Bariatric Surgery

It is proposed that although allergic rhinitis manifests primarily in the nasal orifices， its root lies in deficiency of the lung and spleen and insecurity of the lung defensive qi， while deficiency of healthy qi with latent pathogen， triggering by external stimuli， and constraint of defensive yang constitute the key pathogenesis. The onset of disease is not caused solely by newly contracted external pathogens. Rather， on the basis of insecurity of the lung-defense qi， external stimuli such as wind-cold and abnormal qi， dust mites， pollen， and sudden climatic changes， activate the latent pathogen， resulting in constraint of defensive yang， disharmony between nutritive and defensive qi， impaired diffusion of lung qi， failure to contain body fluids， and dysfunction of the nasal orifices. The disease progression can be summarized as following steps， deficiency of healthy qi with latent pathogen， activation by external stimuli， constraint of defensive yang， dysfunction of the nasal orifices， incomplete elimination of the pathogen and incomplete recovery of healthy qi. The general therapeutic principle is to consolidate the defensive qi and vent the latent pathogen while regulating the lung and nasal orifices simultaneously. The empirical prescription Xingui Fangzhi Decoction （辛桂防芷汤） is used as the basic formula and modified dynamically according to the attack and remission stages. During the attack stage， treatment focuses on dispelling wind and cold， regulating defensive qi， and venting the latent pathogen； during the remission stage， it emphasizes supplementing qi， consolidating the defensive exterior， and reinforcing the spleen to resolve the latent pathogen.

BackgroundSleep disorder in the first trimester is a fairly common health problem， and previous studies have mainly reflected the overall sleep quality through scale assessments， which may not accurately capture the differences among various subtypes. ObjectiveTo explore the latent profiles of sleep quality in first-trimester pregnant women and identify the physiological， psychological and social factors， in order to provide practical references for the development of personalized interventions for sleep disorders in first-trimester pregnant women. MethodsA total of 1 066 first-trimester pregnant women who visited the obstetric outpatient clinic of a tertiary A hospital in Shenzhen from October 2021 to October 2022 were investigated using the general information questionnaire， Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI）， Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale （EPDS）， Chinese version of short International Physical Activity Questionnaire （IPAQ-S-C） and Social Capital Assessment Tool in Pregnancy for Maternal Health （SCAT-MH）. Then the sleep profiles were identified through latent profile analysis， and the robust mixture regression model was employed to determine the influencing factors of sleep profiles. ResultsA 3-profile solution showed the best fit： 732 cases （68.67%） of good sleep quality group， 87 cases （8.16%） of low sleep efficiency group， and 247 cases （23.17%） of daytime dysfunction group. In comparison with subjects in good sleep quality group， first-trimester pregnant women in low sleep efficiency group were at a younger age （OR=0.951， 95% CI： 0.922~0.980）， held a Bachelor's degree or above （OR=1.869， 95% CI： 1.260~2.773） and exhibited lower levels of social capital （OR=0.962， 95% CI： 0.951~0.973）， while those in daytime dysfunction group were at an older age （OR=1.072， 95% CI： 1.027~1.120） and had higher levels of depression （OR=1.166， 95% CI： 1.115~1.218）. Pregnant women who were workers （OR=0.507， 95% CI： 0.293~0.876） were less likely to report daytime dysfunction. ConclusionThree latent profiles with significant heterogeneity are derived from the sleep quality of first-trimester pregnant women， and levels of depression and social capital are the main influencing factors of sleep quality. ［Funded by Industry-University-Research Innovation Fund for Chinese Universities （number， 2023HT018）］

Tujia ethnic group medicine Xuetong is derived from Kadsura heteroclita, the stem of which has the medicinal value for anti-rheumatoid arthritis, liver protection, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation effects, and has been widely used in Hunan and Guangdong in China. The selection of reliable and stable reference genes is the basis for subsequent molecular research on K. heteroclita. In this study, GAPDH, TUA, Actin, UBQ, EF-1α, 18S-rRNA, CYP, UBC, TUB, H2A, and RPL were selected as candidate reference genes in Kadsura heteroclita. The gene expression levels of the 11 candidate reference genes of K. heteroclita in its 6 different parts(stem-inside of the cambium, stem-outside of the cambium, fruit, flower, root, and leaf) and under different intervention conditions [drought stress, salt stress, and methyl jasmonate(MeJA) treatment] were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR). The expression stability of the 11 candidate reference genes was comprehensively analyzed and evaluated by geNorm, NormFinder, ΔCT algorithm, and RefFinder software. The results showed that the expression of UBC and RPL was relatively stable in 6 different parts, and UBC and GAPDH genes were relatively stable under different intervention conditions. To verify the reliability of reference genes for K. heteroclita, this study further examined the relative expression levels of KhFPS, KhIDI, KhCAS, KhSQE, KhSQS, KhSQS-2, KhHMGS, KhHMGR, KhMVD, KhMVK, KhDXR, KhDXS, KhPMVK, and KhGGPS in different parts and under different intervention conditions, which might relate to the synthesis of the main component(Xuetongsu) of K. heteroclita. The results showed that with UBC and RPL or UBC and GAPDH as the reference genes, the expression trends of these 14 genes were basically consistent in different parts or under different intervention conditions for K. heteroclita. In conclusion, UBC can be used as a reference gene of K. heteroclita for its different parts and different intervention conditions, which lays a foundation for further research on the biosynthetic pathway of main components in K. heteroclita.
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Reference Standards ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

This study aims to explore the synergistic effects of the main components in salvianolic acids for Injection(SAFI) on key pathological events in cerebral ischemia, elucidating the pharmacological characteristics of SAFI in neuroprotection. Two major pathological gene modules related to endothelial injury and neuroinflammation in cerebral ischemia were mined from single-cell data. According to the topological distance calculated in network medicine, potential synergistic component combinations of SAFI were screened out. The results showed that the combination of caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B scored the highest in addressing both endothelial injury and neuroinflammation, demonstrating potential synergistic effects. The cell experiments confirmed that the combination of these two components at a ratio of 1∶1 significantly protected brain microvascular endothelial cells(bEnd.3) from oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R)-induced reperfusion injury and effectively suppressed lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced neuroinflammatory responses in microglial cells(BV-2). This study provides a new method for uncovering synergistic effects among active components in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and offers novel insights into the multi-component, multi-target acting mechanisms of TCM.
Brain Ischemia/metabolism* ; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology* ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Benzofurans/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Drug Synergism ; Caffeic Acids/pharmacology* ; Polyphenols/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Alkenes/pharmacology* ; Endothelial Cells/drug effects* ; Depsides

The 95% ethanol extract from bulbs of Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis(BNTC) was eluted with 30%, 60%, and pure methanol on D-101 macroporous resin. The elution fractions were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, thin layer chromatography, D-101 macroporous resin, semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), and HPLC. The purified compounds were identified using one-dimensional and two-dimensional spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and other techniques. A total of 15 compounds were isolated and identified as 5-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-2(1H)-one(1), 3,5-di(hydroxyphenyl)-N-methyl-3,6-dihydropyridine-2(1H)-one(2), protocatechualdehyde(3), protocatechuic acid(4), 3,4-dihydroxyacetophenone(5), syringic acid(6), vanillic acid(7), p-hydroxybenzoic acid(8),(2S)-4'-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavan(9), 2,4,6-trimethoxyacetophenone(10), N-trans-ferulic acid p-hydroxyphenylethylamine(11), N-cis-p-coumaroyltyramine(12), N-trans-p-coumaroyltyramine(13), piscidic acid(14), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(15). Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds with similar structure that have not been reported yet, named narcissus A and narcissus B. Compounds 8-13 were isolated and identified from the genus Narcissus for the first time, and compounds 14 and 15 were isolated from BNTC for the first time. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibited the release of NO from RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)(P<0.001), with compound 1 having an IC_(50) value of(72.76±2.97) μmol·L~(-1) and compound 2 having an IC_(50) value of(63.59±0.96) μmol·L~(-1).
Mice ; Animals ; Narcissus/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Macrophages/immunology* ; RAW 264.7 Cells

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effects and mechanisms of abscisic acid(ABA)in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine(MPTP)-induced Parkinson's disease(PD)mouse models.Methods Eight-week-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups,control group(Ctrl),MPTP group,and MPTP+ABA group,12 mice in each group.Except for the control group,mice in the other groups were intraperitoneally injected with MPTP 25 mg/kg daily for 8 consecutive days to establish a subacute PD model.The MPTP+ABA group received intraperitoneal injections of ABA 25 mg/kg daily for 11 consecutive days,starting 3 days prior to MPTP administration.Behavioral tests were performed 24 hours after the last administration.On day 3,the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)and glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)in the substantia nigra pars compacta(SNc)and striatum(STR)was analyzed by Western blotting,and mRNA levels of inflammatory factors were measured by Real-time PCR.Immunofluorescent staining was used to detect the expression of TH,GFAP,and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1(Iba1).Results Compared with the control group,MPTP-treated mice exhibited impaired motor function,a reduced number of TH-positive dopaminergic neurons in the SNc,down-regulated TH protein expression in both the SNc and striatum,up-regulated GFAP protein expression,increased numbers of GFAP-and Iba1-positive cells,and elevated levels of pro-inflammatory factors.In contrast,the MPTP+ABA group showed improved motor function,increased TH-positive neurons in the SNc,up-regulated TH protein expression,down-regulated GFAP protein expression,reduced numbers of GFAP-and Iba1-positive cells,and decreased pro-inflammatory factor levels compared to the MPTP group.Conclusion ABA ameliorates motor dysfunction in MPTP-induced PD model mice,reduces degeneration and death of dopaminergic neurons in the SNc,suppresses the proliferation and activation of astrocytes and microglia in the SNc and striatum,and alleviates neuroinflammation.These results suggest that ABA exerts neuroprotective effects in MPTP-induced PD model mice.

To reduce the dependency on high-carbon-load chromatographic columns,a new method has been established for the determination of the content of docusate sodium using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). Tetrapropylammonium chloride was used as the ion-pair reagent with a mobile phase, composition of acetonitrile:10 mmol/L tetrapropylammonium chloride solution = 66∶34, adjusting pH to 6.5 with 0.1% phosphoric acid solution,flow rate of 1.5 mL/min, detection wavelength of 214 nm,column temperature of 35 °C, and an injection volume of 25 μL,and quantified by an external standard method. The main peak of docusate sodium exhibited a tailing factor of 1.34. The method showed good linearity within the range of 0.02 mg/mL to 0.40 mg/mL, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.999 9. It also demonstrated good repeatability, with recovery ranging from 97.0% to 98.2% (n=6). The quantification limit was 3.31 μg/mL, and the detection limit was 2.76 μg/mL.In summary,the new method shows good durability, a wide linear range, and high sensitivity, it is suitable for the determination of docusate sodium.