ObjectiveThis paper aims to investigate and evaluate the staged efficacy and safety of the representative empirical prescription of the “Zhu Ke Jiao” theory， Qijia Rougan prescription， combined with entecavir in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B. MethodsA multicenter randomized controlled clinical study was conducted， and 101 patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B-related hepatic fibrosis （CHB-HF） who met the diagnosis and inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to an observation group （Qijia Rougan prescription + entecavir） and a control group （entecavir）. The treatment duration was 24 weeks. Liver stiffness measurement （LSM）， fibrosis-4 index （FIB-4）， portal vein diameter， hepatitis B serology， biochemical indicators， hepatic fibrosis markers in serum ［hyaluronic acid （HA）， laminin （LN）， procollagen Ⅲ peptide （PⅢP）， and type Ⅳ collagen （Ⅳ-C）］， and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores were used as efficacy evaluation indicators. Efficacy assessments and explorations of different staged subgroups of Qijia Rougan prescription were conducted according to LSM values based on the Metavir pathological staging standard. ResultsA total of 98 cases were included for statistical analysis， with 49 cases in the observation group and 49 in the control group. The general data of the patients in both groups were comparable. Compared with the same group before treatment， the observation group showed a significant reduction in LSM and FIB-4 （P<0.01）， as well as notable improvements in LN， Ⅳ-C， and various TCM syndrome scores （P<0.05， P<0.01）. When compared to the control group after treatment， the observation group demonstrated significant improvements in LSM， FIB-4， and various TCM syndrome score indicators （P<0.05， P<0.01）， indicating that the observation group performed better than the control group. Subgroup analysis of the regression of hepatic fibrosis stages showed that compared to the same group before treatment， the observation group had better improvement in regression of stages F2 and F3 （P<0.05）. When compared to the control group after treatment， the observation group exhibited superior improvement in regression of stage F3 （P<0.05）. No adverse events occurred in either group during the treatment period. ConclusionCompared with entecavir alone， the combination of Qijia Rougan prescription and entecavir significantly improves the degree of hepatic fibrosis and clinical TCM symptoms in patients. The optimal intervention period is primarily during stage F3， which is a potential “interception” point of the “Zhu Ke Jiao” theory.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a kind of transcripts which are longer than 200nt and have not protein-coding ability due to the lack of an open reading frame. However, lncRNAs can be involved in tumorigenesis and progression in various ways at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Bladder cancer associated transcript 1 (BLACAT1) as a lncRNA located on human chromosome 1q32.1, is ectopic expression in various tumors (bladder cancer, gastric malignant tumor, lung carcinoma, et al) and can regulate tumor cell proliferation, anti-apoptosis, invasion and metastasis by different mechanisms leading to occurrence and development of tumors. In this review, we summarized current studies of the functions and mechanisms of BLACAT1 in malignant tumors.

Objective: To explore the clinical value of new rapid pathological diagnosis technology in biliary biopsy by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Methods: 7 patients with biliary biopsy by ERCP were selected. In the biliary biopsyoperation, a new type of rapid pathological diagnostic technique is used to perform cytological initial diagnosis of the biopsy tissue. According to the results of rapid pathological diagnosis of biliary biopsy operation, we analyzed the clinical value of new rapid pathological diagnosis technology in the biliary biopsy operation. Results: The new rapid pathological diagnosis technology requires little space and no pollution. The diagnosis takes about 2 to 3 minutes and does not affect the normal biopsy operation. 7 patients with biliary biopsy by ERCP under the assistance of this technique, 5 patients (71.4%) confirmed the requirement of biopsy quality and quantity for the first biopsy with the assistance of this technology and 2 patients (28.6%) met the requirements for biopsy quality and quantity after biopsy again. Conclusions Because of the blindness of biliary biopsy by ERCP, the quality and quantity of biopsy tissue are often not guaranteed. The new rapid pathological diagnosis technology can provide real-time pathological diagnosis during biliary biopsy by ERCP and improve the quality and quantity of biliary biopsy tissue, and the cost of this technology is low, which is suitable for popularization and implementation in hospitals at all levels.