ObjectiveTo investigate the inhibitory effect of Biejiajian Pills （BJJW） on the growth of liver cancer， as well as its potential mechanism in mediating the AMP-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） pathway through mitochondrial energy metabolism. MethodsHuman hepatoma Huh7 cells were used to establish a nude mouse model of subcutaneous xenograft tumor. A total of 18 tumor-bearing nude mice were randomly divided into model group， BJJW group （2.2 g/kg）， and metformin group （250 mg/kg）， and the corresponding drug was given by gavage for 14 consecutive days. Tumor volume and weight were monitored during the experiment； HE staining was used to observe histopathological changes； the levels of reactive oxygen species （ROS） and adenosine triphosphate （ATP） in tumor tissue were measured； immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to measure the expression levels of proteins associated with the AMPK/mTOR pathway. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the Tukey’s test was used for further comparison between two groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups， and the Dunn’s test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the model group， the BJJW group had a tumor inhibition rate of 45.73%， with significant reductions in both tumor volume and weight （P<0.01）. Pathological examination showed that compared with the model group， the BJJW group had a significant reduction in the number of tumor cells and the presence of extensive necrosis. Mechanistic studies showed that compared with the model group， the BJJW group had a significant increase in ROS level （P<0.001） and a significant reduction in ATP level （P<0.001）， as well as significant increases in p-AMPK/AMPK ratio （0.81±0.20 vs 0.13±0.04， P<0.01） and p-ULK1/ULK1 ratio （0.69±0.17 vs 0.18±0.13， P<0.01） and a significant reduction in p-mTOR/mTOR ratio （1.34±0.16 vs 3.20±0.62， P<0.01）. ConclusionBJJW may inhibit the growth of liver cancer by inducing mitochondrial energy metabolism dysfunction， increasing the level of ROS， reducing the level of ATP， and activating the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.

To investigate body composition and associated factors in adolescents undergoing long-term regular sports training.

BACKGROUND: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common among individuals with underlying chronic illnesses. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the global prevalence and patterns of CAM use among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus were searched from inception until 26th February 2024. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Original articles reporting the use of at least one type of CAM among individuals aged above 18 years old and at all stages of CKD or undergoing any form of kidney replacement therapy. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: Two independent reviewers performed the literature screening. The data were extracted from the included studies by one reviewer and cross-checked by another. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion and consensus among two reviewers. Primary information included prevalence of CAM use, types of CAM used, reasons for CAM use, factors associated with CAM use, and disclosure to healthcare providers. Meta-analyses were performed to determine the pooled prevalence of CAM use and non-disclosure of CAM using a random effect model. RESULTS: Forty-one studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of CAM use was 43% (95% confidence interval: 34%, 51%), I² = 99.46%. The reasons for CAM use included treatment of underlying comorbidities, complications or symptoms, maintenance of general health, and treatment of CKD. Nutritional approaches were the most common CAM modality, with 412 different herbal and dietary supplements reported; psychological and physical approaches included massage therapy, relaxation techniques, and mind-body practices; and other complementary health approaches such as homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurvedic medicine were also frequently reported. Factors associated with CAM use included sociodemographic characteristics such as older age, female gender, or higher income; disease or therapy factors such as not having diabetes, relying on hemodialysis, or poor adherence to medication; and patient or internal factors such as positive attitude towards CAM and perceived safety of CAM. About 66% (61%, 72%) of CAM users did not disclose the use of CAM to their healthcare providers. CONCLUSION CAM use is prevalent among individuals with CKD, and healthcare providers should communicate openly and effectively to emphasize the rational use of CAM to avoid potential harm. Please cite this article as: Chin JW, Abdullah R, Tan BWW, Wong KW, Khor BH. Prevalence and patterns of complementary and alternative medicine usage among adults with chronic kidney disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(4): 370-381.
Adult ; Humans ; Complementary Therapies/statistics & numerical data* ; Prevalence ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/therapy*

The clinical manifestations of colorectal polyps are consistent with the characteristics of dampness, stickiness and heaviness. The TCM constitutions in the prone population are mostly related to dampness. The pathological changes of intestinal flora imbalance, intestinal micro inflammation, neuroendocrine immune network and abnormal aquaporin in colorectal polyps are consistent with the research results of modern mechanism of dampness pathogen. This article believed that the TCM pathogenesis of colorectal polyps caused by damp pathogen is the accumulation of spleen deficiency and dampness caused by improper diet, poor emotion and other factors, and the interweaving of various diseases and pathogens to form tangible foreign bodies. According to the pathogenic characteristics of damp pathogen and the pathogenic factors of colorectal polyps, the influence of damp pathogen on the pathogenesis of colorectal polyps was discussed, in order to provide an effective TCM theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal polyps in clinic.

Objective:To investigate the correlations of urinary adverse reactions with dose to the bladder and urethra during external pelvic irradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer.Methods:This study retrospectively collected relevant dosimetric parameters and urinary symptoms, such as frequent, urgent, and painful urination, from locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with external pelvic irradiation in the Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. The dosimetric parameters examined in this study included the maximum, minimum, and mean doses to bladder and urethra (i.e., Dmax, Dmin and Dmean), mean doses received in an area of 0.1, 1, and 2 cm 3 around the planning target volume, D0.1 cm 3, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3, and percentages of irradiated volumes in the whole organ volume under doses of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 Gy, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15 Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy, V50 Gy. Then the correlations between urinary symptoms and these dosimetric parameters were analyzed using the independent-sample t-test and the Logistic regression model. Results:The median volumes of bladder and urethra were 294.8 and 4.71 cm 3, respectively. Patients were divided into two groups based on the median division. The univariate analysis showed that urethral Dmax, Dmin, Dmean, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy and V50 Gy correlated with urinary complications ( t = 14.30, 21.65, 32.19, 33.36, 16.62, 17.91, 21.52, 20.11, 12.27, 37.25, 30.18, 36.24 and 21.98, P<0.05). The multivariate analysis further indicates that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy, V40 Gy and Bladder V40 Gy, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3 were independent predictors of grade 2 urinary adverse reactions ( P<0.05). Conclusions:This study reported the correlations of relevant dosimetric parameters of urethra with urinary toxicity during external pelvic irradiation. It holds that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy and V40 Gy should be restricted to minimize the risks of grade 2 urinary complications.

"Tendon Constraining Bone"is an essential theory in osteology and traumatology of traditional Chinese medicine,originating from the statement in Suwen(Plain Questions)that"convergent tendon controlling bones and joints".Since the Yuan and Ming dynasties,the theory of"Tendon Constraining Bone"was formed based on the understanding of anatomical relationships and the need for pathogenesis interpretation,developed by medical practitioners such as ZHU Danxi and ZHANG Jie.The"Tendon Constraining Bone"theory summarizes the physiological connections between tendons and bones and between tendons and zang-fu organs and meridians.Tendons and bones are structurally connected and functionally related,reflected in sturdy bones and tough tendons,upright bones and soft tendons with smoothly-flowing qi and blood,all tendons being related to joints,and thews being related to bones.Tendons and bones are related by meridians and zang-fu organs,specifically reflected in the Yangming channel governing the nourishment of tendons,liver governing tendons,kidneys governing bones,Taiyang channel governing tendons,and Shaoyang channel governing bones.The abnormality of"Tendon Constraining Bone"is the general pathogenesis of various tendon and bone diseases,and it can be caused by changes in the tendon and bone structure,nourishment deficiency,or the pathogenic qi retention.The pathological manifestations of abnormal"Tendon Constraining Bone"are manifested in form and state.Abnormalities in form can manifest as tendon rupture,bone fractures,tendon dislocation,and bone dislocation,whereas abnormalities in state can manifest as tendon urgency,bone pain,tendon laxity,and bone softness.The"Tendon Constraining Bone"theory has influenced the development of treatment principles such as combining motion and quiescence,paying equal attention to bone and flesh,and combining internal and external treatment.This theory has guided the application of basic treatment method such as connecting and rectifying tendons and bones,smoothing tendons and relieving bones,and nourishing tendons and strengthening bones.Therefore,the"Tendon Constraining Bone"theory can significantly guide tendon and bone disease diagnosis and treatment.

Objective To investigate the value of non-contrast CT(NCCT)-based radiomics for identifying acute unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)with negative hyperdense artery sign(HAS).Methods All 80 patients with acute unilateral MCAO confirmed by angiography(MR angiography[MRA]or CT angiography[CTA]or DSA)and presenting with negative NCCT presentation for HAS were enrolled from January 2015 to June 2023 in the Emergency Department of Stroke Center of Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou university.On the NCCT images,the occluded segment of the middle cerebral artery on the affected side of each case and the corresponding segment of the vessel on the normal side were used as the regions of interest,and a total of 108 radiomic features were extracted.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)was used to screen the key features,construct and calculate the radiomics score,and four imaging histology models,support vector machine(SVM),light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM),GradientBoosting and adaptive boosting(AdaBoost),were built respectively to predict MCAO.Predictive performance was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves,and comparisons between the modeled receiver operating characteristic curves were made using the Delong test.Finally,the value of the application of radiological modeling was assessed by clinical decision curve analysis(DCA).Results The NCCT images based on 160 vessels were finally screened for 6 key features,including skewness,energy,gray level size zone matrix(GLSZM)-gray uneven,GLSZM-low gray area emphasis,GLSZM-size area non-uniform standardization,GLSZM-area entropy.The area under the curve(AUC)of the SVM-test was 0.688(95％CI 0.497-0.878)with an accuracy of 0.688;the AUC of the LightGBM-test was 0.787(95％CI 0.620-0.955)with an accuracy of 0.781;the AUC of the GradientBoosting-test was 0.654(95％CI 0.457-0.852)with an accuracy of 0.688;the AUC of the AdaBoost-test was 0.707(95％CI 0.515-0.899)with an accuracy of 0.750.The Delong test showed a statistically significant difference between LightGBM-test and GradientBoosting-test(P=0.040),and no statistically significant difference in performance between the remaining models(all P＞0.05).DCA showed that the LightGBM-test performed better.Conclusion NCCT-based radiomics has good diagnostic efficacy for identifying acute unilateral MCAO with negative HAS,and this conclusion needs to be further verified by multi-center and large sample studies.

Objective To investigate the clinical feasibility and safety of direct aspiration thrombectomy used as a preferred strategy for patients with acute posterior circulation-large vessel occlusion(PC-LVO).Methods The patients with acute PC-LVO,who received direct aspiration therapy as the preferred thrombectomy strategy at the Department of Neurology,Baise Municipal People's Hospital of China from January 2020 to December 2022,were enrolled in this study.The baseline data were collected from all the included patients,and the surgical procedure and related parameters were recorded,the clinical effectiveness,safety and prognosis were evaluated.Results A total of 36 patients were included in this study with an average age of 61.31 years,and 75.0％of them were males.The median time from the onset of disease to the perform of puncturing was 419.5 minutes,and the median time from puncturing to vessel recanalization was 60 minutes.The vascular recanalization rate was up to 91.7％,the incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 11.1％,and the incidence of operation-related complications was 8.3％.The postoperative 90-day good prognosis(mRS score ≤3 points)was obtained in 41.7％of patients,and the mortality rate was 25％.Conclusion For patients with acute PC-LVO,direct aspiration therapy used as the preferred strategy of mechanical thrombectomy has a high vascular recanalization rate and an acceptable safety.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between hemoglobin and serum uric acid in adults with various glucose metabolism status. Methods: The demographic data and biochemical indicators of the adult population who had received physical examination in the Second Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital from January 2018 to December 2021 were collected. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the level of serum uric acid: the normal uric acid group and the hyperuricemia group. The relationship between hemoglobin (stratified into four levels of Q₁ to Q₄ by the quartile) and serum uric acid was quantified by using Pearson correlation and logistic regression analysis. The effects of age and glucose metabolism status on the relationship between hemoglobin and serum uric acid were analyzed. Results: A total of 33 183 adults were enrolled with age (50.6±10.0) years. The level of hemoglobin in the normal uric acid group (142.61±14.24) g/L was significantly lower than that in the hyperuricemia group [(151.79±11.24) g/L, P<0.001]. Univariate Pearson correlation analysis showed that hemoglobin was positively associated with serum uric acid (r=0.444, P<0.001). After adjusting for related confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hemoglobin was associated with serum uric acid, and the OR values (95%CI) of hemoglobin Q₂ to Q₄ group were 1.29 (1.13-1.48), 1.42 (1.24-1.62) and 1.51 (1.32-1.72), respectively (P_trend<0.001) when compared with hemoglobin Q₁ group. Subgroup analysis and hierarchical interaction analysis suggested that with the increase of hemoglobin, the serum uric acid in the age<60 years subgroup, normal glucose subgroup and prediabetes subgroup increased gradually (P_trend<0.05 and P_interaction<0.001). Conclusion: The association between hemoglobin and serum uric acid in adults is affected by age and glucose metabolism status.
Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Uric Acid ; Hyperuricemia/epidemiology* ; Hemoglobins ; Prediabetic State ; Glucose ; Risk Factors

Objective:To compare the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy on the target volume and organs at risk for locally advanced bulky (>4 cm) cervical cancer. Methods:From March 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, 146 patients pathologically diagnosed with cervical cancer were selected and randomly divided into two groups using random number table method: the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group ( n=73) and CCRT group ( n=73). Patients in the NACT+CCRT group received 2 cycles of paclitaxel combined with cisplatin NACT, followed by CCRT, the chemotherapy regimen was the same as NACT. In the CCRT group, CCRT was given. Statistical description of categorical data was expressed by rate. The measurement data between two groups were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test for comparison of two independent samples, and the rate or composition ratio of two groups was compared by χ2 test. Results:Before radiotherapy, GTV in the NACT+CCRT group was (31.95±25.96) cm 3, significantly lower than (71.54±33.59) cm 3 in the CCRT group ( P<0.01). Besides, CTV and PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were also significantly lower compared with those in the CCRT group (both P<0.05). In terms of target volume dosimetry, D 100GTV, D 95CTV, V 100GTV, V 100CTV and V 95PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were significantly higher than those in the CCRT group (all P<0.05). The complete remision (CR) rates in the NACT+CCRT and CCRT groups were 86.3% and 67.6%, with statistical significance between two groups ( P<0.01) . Regarding organs at risk, NACT+CCRT group significantly reduced the dose to the bladder, rectum, small intestine and urethra compared with CCRT group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:NACT can reduce the volume of tumors in patients with large cervical masses, increase the radiation dose to tumors, reduce the dose to organs at risk, and make the three-dimensional brachytherapy easier. Therefore, NACT combined with CCRT may be a new choice for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer with large masses.