ObjectiveTo investigate whether visceral fat area （VFA） is an independent risk factor for significant liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） based on clinical data， and to establish an effective diagnostic model. MethodsA total of 222 NAFLD patients who attended Department of Hepatology， Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine， from January 2021 to April 2025 were enrolled， and according to liver stiffness measurement （≥8 kPa or not）， they were divided into significant fibrosis group and non-significant fibrosis group. Propensity score matching （PSM） was performed at a ratio of 1∶1 to balance the baseline data between the two groups. The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation of VFA and other indicators with significant liver fibrosis； univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify whether VFA was an independent risk factor for significant liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients， and the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was plotted to assess the predictive performance of related indicators. ResultsA total of 45 patients with significant liver fibrosis and 177 patients without significant liver fibrosis were enrolled， and after PSM， 90 patients （45 pairs） were finally included in analysis. Compared with the non-significant fibrosis group， the significant fibrosis group had significantly higher levels of body mass index （BMI）， fasting blood glucose （FBG）， glycated hemoglobin （HbA1c）， uric acid （UA）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase （GGT）， controlled attenuation parameter （CAP）， and VFA， as well as a significantly higher proportion of patients with visceral fat obesity or three or more metabolic risk factors （all P<0.05）. VFA， BMI， AST， and HbA1c were strongly correlated with significant liver fibrosis （all r>0.5， all P <0.05）， and ALT， GGT， UA， FBG， and CAP were significantly positively correlated with significant liver fibrosis （r=0.3　—　0.5， all P<0.05）. VFA （odds ratio ［OR］=1.040， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.018　—　1.062， P<0.05）， FBG （OR=2.372， 95%CI： 1.199　—　4.691， P<0.05）， and AST （OR=1.032， 95%CI： 1.003　—　1.058， P<0.05） were independent risk factors for significant liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients. The new diagnostic model based on VFA， FBG， and AST （with an area under the ROC curve ［AUC］ of 0.907） had a significantly better performance than aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index （AUC=0.834）， fibrosis-4 （AUC=0.660）， triglyceride-glucose index （AUC=0.656）， and NAFLD fibrosis score （AUC=0.768） in predicting significant liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients （all P<0.05）. ConclusionVFA is an independent risk factor for significant liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients， and the noninvasive diagnostic model based on VFA， FBG， and AST can effectively predict the onset of significant liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies have indicated that Angong Niuhuang Pills (ANP) reduce cerebral infarct and edema volumes. This study aimed to investigate whether ANP safely reduces cerebral infarct and edema volumes in patients with moderate to severe acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial included patients with acute ischemic stroke with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores ranging from 10 to 20 in 17 centers in China between April 2021 and July 2022. Patients were allocated within 36 h after onset via block randomization to receive ANP or placebo (3 g/day for 5 days). The primary outcomes were changes in cerebral infarct and edema volumes after 14 days of treatment. The primary safety outcome was severe adverse events (SAEs) for 90 days. RESULTS: There were 57 and 60 patients finally included in the ANP and placebo groups, respectively for modified intention-to-treat analysis. The median age was 66.0 years, and the median NIHSS score at baseline was 12.0. The changes in cerebral infarct volume at day 14 were 0.3 mL and 0.4 mL in the ANP and placebo groups, respectively (median difference: -7.1 mL; interquartile range [IQR]: -18.3 to 2.3 mL, P = 0.30). The changes in cerebral edema volume of the ANP and placebo groups on day 14 were 11.4 mL and 4.0 mL, respectively ( median difference: 3.0 mL, IQR: -1.3 to 9.9 mL, P = 0.15). The rates of SAE within 90 days were similar in the ANP (3/57, 5%) and placebo (7/60, 12%) groups ( P = 0.36). Changes in serum mercury and arsenic concentrations were comparable. In patients with large artery atherosclerosis, ANP reduced the cerebral infarct volume at 14 days (median difference: -12.3 mL; IQR: -27.7 to -0.3 mL, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: ANP showed a similar safety profile to placebo and non-significant tendency to reduce cerebral infarct volume in patients with moderate-to-severe stroke. Further studies are warranted to assess the efficacy of ANP in reducing cerebral infarcts and improving clinical prognosis. TRAIL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov , No. NCT04475328.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Ischemic Stroke/drug therapy* ; Pilot Projects ; Stroke/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the association between the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and to compare the diagnostic ability of METS-IR with the fatty liver index (FLI) and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) for MAFLD.Methods:This cross-sectional study enrolled 551 individuals participating in community health screenings in Suzhou between September and November 2022. Data collected included basic demographics, clinical indicators, and iLivTouch? (FibroTouch FT5000, Wuxi Hisky Medical Technologies, China) transient elastography results. Participants were categorized into non-MAFLD ( n=218) and MAFLD ( n=333) groups based on an ultrasound attenuation parameter (UAP) cutoff of 244 dB/m measured by iLivTouch. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were employed to assess the relationship between METS-IR and MAFLD. The diagnostic value of METS-IR was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. DeLong′s test was used to compare the diagnostic performance of the different indices. Results:Among the 551 participants, the prevalence of MAFLD diagnosed by transient elastography was 60.4% (333/552). Compared to the non-MAFLD group, the MAFLD group had significantly higher levels of BMI, SBP, DBP, HbA1c, FPG, 2hPG, TC, TG, LDL-C, ALT, AST, GGT, SUA, liver stiffness measurement (LSM), METS-IR, FLI, and HSI, while HDL-C levels were lower (all P<0.05). The MAFLD group also had a higher prevalence of males, overweight/obesity, smoking, hypertension, pre-diabetes, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, metabolic syndrome, and antihypertensive medication use (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for gender, age, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, ALT, AST, and GGT, demonstrated that METS-IR, FLI, and HSI remained significantly associated with an increased risk of MAFLD ( OR=1.148, 1.042, 1.270, respectively; all P<0.001). The areas under the ROC curve for METS-IR, FLI, and HSI in diagnosing MAFLD were 0.733 (95% CI: 0.691-0.774), 0.727 (95% CI: 0.685-0.770), and 0.677 (95% CI: 0.632-0.722), respectively. The sensitivities were 57.40%, 62.20%, and 48.30%; specificities were 78.00%, 72.90%, and 78.40%; and optimal cutoff values were 38.526, 35.225, and 35.386, respectively. DeLong′s test indicated no significant difference in diagnostic performance between METS-IR and FLI ( P=0.722). However, both METS-IR and FLI demonstrated significantly better diagnostic performance than HSI ( P=0.008 and P=0.018, respectively). Conclusion:METS-IR is significantly associated with MAFLD and effectively identifies MAFLD in community settings. Its diagnostic performance is comparable to FLI and superior to HSI.

Objective:To investigate the association of blood lipids and body mass index (BMI) with hyperuricemia (HUA) in the elderly.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. A total of 114 391 elderly individuals received health examinations at primary healthcare institutions in Wujin District from January to December in 2022. The health examination included questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory examination. The multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) plots were used to analyze the association and dose-response relationship of blood lipid and BMI with HUA. The mediating effect model was used to explore the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipid and HUA.Results:Among the 112 415 subjects, 18 506 (16.46%) were checked with HUA. After adjusting for relevant confounders, total cholesterol (TC) ( OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.16-1.23), triglyceride (TG) ( OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.44-1.49), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ( OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.73-0.76), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ( OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.12-1.15) and BMI ( OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.39-1.44) were all associated with HUA (all P0.05). The RCS analysis revealed that TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C each exhibited a nonlinear dose-response relationship with HUA, the inflection points was 3.00 mmol/L, 1.57 mmol/L and 2.50 mmol/L, respectively (all P-nonlinear0.001). The results of interaction showed that there were additive interaction between high TC( S=1.27 , 95% CI: 1.17-1.37), high TG( S=1.32 , 95% CI: 1.25-1.40), high LDL-C( S=1.23 , 95% CI: 1.14-1.34) and overweight/obesity with HUA (all P0.05). The results of mediation effect analysis showed that the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipids (HDL-C, LDL-C, TG and TC) and HUA, from high to low, were as follows: 22.5% (95% CI: 20.8%-24.2%), 13.9% (95% CI: 12.0%-16.2%), 13.5% (95% CI: 12.7%-14.4%) and-3.9% (95% CI:-6.6%--1.8%). Conclusion:The blood lipid levels and BMI are positively correlated with HUA in the elderly.

Objective:To investigate the effect of intradialytic cerebral blood flow (CBF) fluctuation on cognitive decline in middle-aged and elderly maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.Methods:It was a prospective cohort study. MHD patients aged ≥50 years from Beijing Shijitan Hospital were enrolled from January 2023 to June 2023. Middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity (MFV) was serially monitored via transcranial Doppler (TCD) during dialysis sessions. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline and after 12-month follow-up using standardized neuropsychological tests: montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), auditory verbal learning test (AVLT 5), complex figure test (CFT), trail making test-B (TMT-B), Stroop color and word test (SCWT), and symbol digit modalities test (SDMT). ΔMFV was calculated as pre-to-post dialysis MFV difference. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze the association of ΔMFV and cognition.Results:A total of 121 MHD patients were recruited with an age of (63.63±8.44) years. There were 97 males (80.2%), and the dialysis vintage was (55.08±54.73) months. Significant intradialytic MFV reductions were observed ( P<0.05). At 12 months, cognitive decline manifested in global cognition (MoCA), memory (CFT-memory), executive function (TMT-B, SCWT-C, SCWT-T), attention (SDMT), visuospatial ability (CFT-copy)(all P<0.05). Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed ΔMFV independently predicted declines in: MoCA ( B=0.066, 95% CI 0.018-0.113, P=0.007), AVLT5 ( B=0.050, 95% CI 0.004-0.097, P=0.035), TMT-B ( B=-1.955, 95% CI -3.453--0.457, P=0.011), SCWT-C ( B=0.298, 95% CI 0.112-0.484, P=0.002), SCWT-T ( B=-1.371, 95% CI -2.303--0.439, P=0.004). Conclusions:Hemodialysis induces acute CBF reductions detectable by TCD. Cumulative intradialytic CBF fluctuations may accelerate cognitive deterioration in middle-aged and elderly MHD populations, particularly affecting memory and executive domains.

In recent years,significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease.In line with global advancements,two anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibodies have been approved and successfully launched in China for clinical use.Lecanemab and Donanemab were officially used in June 2024 and April 2025 in China,respectively.In order to standardize the rational and safe application of anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease in China,this article integrates recom-mendations from the clinical trials and real-world experience from the author's team and domestic peers to further update the recom-mendations for the clinical use of anti-amyloid-β monoclonal antibody based on the 2024 version.It includes indications for therapy,pre-treatment evaluation and preparation,administration protocols and safety measures during treatment,and post-treatment monitor-ing strategies.

Objective To investigate the correlation between serum homeodomain interacting protein ki-nase 2(HIPK2),annexin A5(ANXA5)and coronary stenosis and prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Methods A total of 277 AMI patients who received interventional treatment in this hospi-tal from January 2021 to July 2023 were selected as the AMI group,and another 140 cases with normal or very mild stenosis in coronary angiography during the same period were selected as the control group.According to the degree of coronary artery stenosis(Gensini score),the AMI patients were divided into mild coronary arter-y stenosis group(86 cases),moderate coronary artery disease group(111 cases)and severe coronary artery disease group(80 cases).According to the prognosis,they were divided into poor prognosis group(80 cases)and good prognosis group(197 cases).Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels and Gensini score in patients with AMI.Multivariate unconditional Logistic regres-sion was used to determine the relationship between serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels and prognosis of AMI patients.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the predictive efficiency of serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels on prognosis of AMI patients.Results Compared with the control group,the ser-um HIPK2 level in the AMI group increased and the ANXA5 level decreased,and the differences were statisti-cally significant(P＜0.05).The serum HIPK2 levels in the mild coronary artery stenosis group,moderate coronary artery stenosis group and severe coronary artery stenosis group increased successively,while the ANXA5 levels decreased successively,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Gensini score was positively correlated with serum HIPK2 level and negatively correlated with serum ANXA5 level in AMI patients(P＜0.05).The Gensini score of AMI patients was positively correlated with the serum HIPK2 level(r=0.785,P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with the serum ANXA5 level(r=-0.798,P＜0.05).Compared with the good prognosis group,the serum HIPK2 level in the poor prognosis group increased(P＜0.05),and the ANXA5 level decreased(P＜0.05).After adjusting for confounding factors,high HIPK2 was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in AMI patients(P＜0.05),and high ANXA5 was an independ-ent protective factor(P＜0.05).The area under the curve of the combined prediction of serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels for the prognosis of AMI patients was 0.875,which was greater than 0.778 and 0.784 predic-ted by serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels alone(P＜0.05).Conclusion The serum HIPK2 level is increased and the ANXA5 level is decreased in patients with AMI,which is related to the aggravation of coronary steno-sis and the poor prognosis.The combination of serum HIPK2 and ANXA5 levels is more effective in predic-ting the prognosis of patients with AMI.

Objective Focusing on gynecological surgery,we constructed a prediction model for surgical duration by extracting features from unstructured surgical planning texts and integrating multimodal data via artificial intelligence technology.Methods The clinical data of 34 614 patients who underwent gynecologic surgeries at West China Second University Hospital,Sichuan University between January 2022 and October 2024 were collected.An embedding-transformer model was constructed to convert surgical planning texts into a one-dimensional numerical feature,referred to as the step feature.The predictive value of the step feature was assessed by comparing the performance improvements of linear regression,random forest,eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost),support vector regression,K-nearest neighbor regression,and artificial neural network algorithms in two scenarios—with and without the step feature as an input.The out-of-sample prediction accuracy of the models was assessed using mean absolute error(MAE),root mean squared error(RMSE),and R-squared(R2).Furthermore,the model interpretability was examined using SHapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP)values.Results SHAP results showed that the step feature had the highest predictive contribution.Temporal factors in surgical scheduling also influenced gynecological surgery duration.The XGBoost model demonstrated optimal performance on the test set,significantly improving prediction accuracy with a 40.43%increase in R2,while reducing MAE and RMSE by 21.27%and 20.13%,respectively,compared to the baseline model without the step feature.Conclusion The embedding-transformer model developed in this study effectively extracts features from surgical planning texts and enhances the predictive performance of machine learning models.The XGBoost prediction model can assist hospital administrators in implementing more refined management of gynecological surgeries and improving the utilization efficiency of surgical resources.

ObjectiveTo investigate the value of different noninvasive diagnostic models in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices since there is a high risk of esophageal and gastric varices in patients with compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis and significant portal hypertension， and to provide a basis for the early diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices. MethodsA total of 108 patients with significant portal hypertension due to compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis who attended Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from November 2017 to November 2023 were enrolled， and according to the presence or absence of esophageal and gastric varices under gastroscopy， they were divided into esophageal and gastric varices group （GOV group） and non-esophageal and gastric varices group （NGOV group）. Related data were collected， including age， sex， imaging findings， and laboratory markers. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups； the least significant difference t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of five scoring models， i.e.， fibrosis-4 （FIB-4）， LOK index， LPRI， aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index （APRI）， and aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio （AAR）. The binary logistic regression method was used to establish a combined model， and the area under the ROC curve （AUC） was compared between the combined model and each scoring model used alone. The Delong test was used to compare the AUC value between any two noninvasive diagnostic models. ResultsThere were 55 patients in the GOV group and 53 patients in the NGOV group. Compared with the NGOV group， the GOV group had a significantly higher age （52.64±1.44 years vs 47.96±1.68 years， t=0.453， P<0.05） and significantly lower levels of alanine aminotransferase ［42.00 （24.00 — 17.00） U/L vs 82.00 （46.00 — 271.00） U/L， Z=-3.065， P<0.05］， aspartate aminotransferase ［44.00 （32.00 — 96.00） U/L vs 62.00 （42.50 — 154.50） U/L，Z=-2.351， P<0.05］， and platelet count ［100.00 （69.00 — 120.00）×10⁹/L vs 119.00 （108.50 — 140.50）×10⁹/L， Z=-3.667， P<0.05］. The ROC curve analysis showed that FIB-4， LOK index， LPRI， and AAR used alone had an accuracy of 0.667， 0.681， 0.730， and 0.639， respectively， in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices （all P<0.05）， and the positive diagnostic rates of GOV were 69.97%， 65.28%， 67.33%， and 58.86%， respectively， with no significant differences in AUC values （all P>0.05）， while APRI used alone had no diagnostic value （P>0.05）. A combined model （LAF） was established based on the binary logistic regression analysis and had an AUC of 0.805 and a positive diagnostic rate of GOV of 75.80%， with a significantly higher AUC than FIB-4， LOK index， LPRI， and AAR used alone （Z=-2.773，-2.479，-2.206， and-2.672， all P<0.05）. ConclusionFIB-4， LOK index， LPRI， and AAR have a similar diagnostic value for esophageal and gastric varices in patients with compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis and significant portal hypertension， and APRI alone has no diagnostic value. The combined model LAF had the best diagnostic efficacy， which provides a certain reference for clinical promotion and application.

Objective To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on the behaviors of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced depression-like mice and explore the potential molecular mechanism of the antidepressant effect of EA using transcriptomics sequencing technology.Methods Thirty-six male specific pathogen-free-grade C57BL/6J mice were divided into the normal,the model,and the EA groups using the random number table method,with 12 mice per group.The EA group received a daily 20-minute EA at the"Baihui"and"Yintang"acupoints for 7 days.After 7 days of EA treatment,1.5 mg/kg LPS was injected intraperitoneally into the model and EA groups,whereas the normal group received an injection of an equal volume of saline solution.Depressive behaviors were assessed using the open-field test,tail-suspension test,and other relevant tests.Pathologic morphology of the hippocampus tissue was determined using hematoxylin-eosin staining.Transcriptomics technology was used to identify differentially expressed genes in the hippocampus,and bioinformatics analysis was performed.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was performed to detect the mRNA expressions of hematopoietic cell kinase(Hck),adhesion G protein-coupled receptor E1(Adgre1),Toll-like receptor 2(Tlr2),and Gm49037 in the hippocampus.Results Compared to the normal group,mice in the model group exhibited a decrease in total travel distance,central travel distance,center area time(P＜0.01),as well as an increase in tail-suspension immobility time(P＜0.05).Hippocampal neurons were loosely arranged,and some neurons had blurred boundaries.Compared to the model group,mice in the EA group showed an increase in open-field total travel distance,central travel distance,center area time(P＜0.05),as well as a decrease in tail-suspension immobility time(P＜0.01);Additionally,hippocampal neurons were more tightly arranged,exhibiting clearer morphology and structure.Transcriptomic analysis revealed that 779 differentially expressed genes were identified in the model group compared to the normal group,whereas 172 genes differed between the EA and model groups.Nineteen genes were upregulated in the model group but downregulated in the EA group,and ten genes were down-regulated in the model group but up-regulated in the EA group.Gene Ontology Functional Analysis indicated that these genes primarily function in immune responses,Toll-like receptor activity,cell surface receptor signaling pathways,and interleukin-10 production.Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed enrichment in inflammation-related pathways,including Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway.Compared to the normal group,Hck,Adgre1,and Tlr2 mRNA expressions were elevated in the model group(P＜0.01),whereas there was a decrease tendency for Gm49037 mRNA expression and there was no significant difference(P＞0.05);compared to the model group,Hck,Adgre1,and Tlr2 mRNA expressions were decreased in the EA group(P＜0.05),whereas there was an increase tendency for Gm49037 mRNA expression and there was no significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion EA alleviated depressive-like behavior and pathological damage in the hippocampus in LPS-induced mice,which may be related to attenuating hippocampal inflammatory pathways,and Hck,Adgre1,and Tlr2 genes may be the potential targets for its effect.