1.Regulation of Relevant Signaling Pathways by Traditional Chinese Medicine in Intervention of Pancreatic Cancer: A Review
Quanyou ZHAO ; Conghui ZHAO ; Yu ZHANG ; Yiping FU ; Yuting LIU ; Xiaoran WANG ; Zhanzhan LI ; Mingsan MIAO ; Li BAI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2026;32(5):280-289
Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant solid tumor of the digestive system with extremely poor treatment prognosis. Although its incidence rate is low, its mortality rate is extremely high. In recent years, the number of diagnosed cases worldwide has continued to rise, making pancreatic cancer the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Currently, clinical treatment primarily relies on operation and chemotherapy to suppress tumors. However, these approaches face challenges such as suboptimal efficacy, high postoperative recurrence rates, and severe adverse reactions. Therefore, identifying safe and effective treatment modalities remains a pressing challenge for the medical community. In recent years, research on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) interventions for pancreatic cancer has increased significantly. Multiple studies have shown that single-herb TCM, TCM formulas, and their derived single compounds can regulate the levels of tumor cell signaling pathways through multiple action targets. They inhibit the development and progression of pancreatic cancer by inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, promoting cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, reducing cancer cell invasion and migration capabilities, regulating the cell cycle, and modulating the tumor microenvironment. Additionally, TCM has the advantages of significantly enhancing the anticancer efficacy of chemotherapy drugs and causing fewer adverse reactions. However, the specific action mechanisms by which TCM intervenes in pancreatic cancer remain unclear. Further extensive research is still needed to validate the role of regulating classical signaling pathways such as phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), Wnt/β-catenin, nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB), notch, and hedgehog in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, this paper reviewed Chinese and international studies on TCM intervention in pancreatic cancer through relevant signaling pathways in recent years, summarized the potential action mechanisms of TCM in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and provided references for related research in the future.
2.Research progress on the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine in lipid metabolism for obesity treatment via cAMP signaling pathway
Yu ZHANG ; Xiaoran WANG ; Yiping FU ; Yuting LIU ; Quanyou ZHAO ; Linna CUI ; Mingsan MIAO
China Pharmacy 2026;37(4):522-527
Obesity, a global chronic disease, is associated with adipose tissue dysfunction, which is one of the contributing factors to obesity. The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway, a key regulator of lipid metabolism, plays a pivotal role in obesity development. Various of traditional Chinese medicine monomers, such as flavonoids, lignans, phenols, and terpenoids, as well as traditional Chinese medicine compound formulas like Xiaoyao powder, Shengmai powder, and Zexie decoction, can maintain energy homeostasis, balance adipose tissue function, regulate glucose metabolism, improve insulin resistance, and suppress inflammatory responses through cAMP signaling pathway regulation, thereby intervening in lipid metabolism for obesity treatment. Although a substantial amount of basic research has preliminarily elucidated the potential mechanisms by which traditional Chinese medicine intervenes in obesity through the cAMP signaling pathway, clinical translational research remains inadequate. There is an urgent need for large-sample, high-quality randomized controlled trials to validate these findings.
3.Data Mining of Professor Zhang Farong's Core Prescription for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Clinical Efficacy
Wei FANG ; Jie XU ; Huanping WANG ; Xiaoran ZHANG ; Hongxia ZHU ; Qiu CHEN
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(22):174-182
ObjectiveTo explore the medication patterns of Professor Zhang Farong in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the clinical efficacy of his core prescription. MethodsClinical case records of T2DM treated by Professor Zhang Farong were collected to establish a prescription database. Frequency statistics, visual analysis, and factor analysis were employed to investigate the characteristics and principle of the prescriptions, and a core prescription was derived. A randomized controlled trial was conducted, enrolling 60 T2DM patients with the dampness-heat syndrome. The patients were allocated into an observation group (core prescription + metformin) and a control group (metformin alone), with both groups undergoing a 12-week treatment course. Changes in TCM symptom scores, glucose metabolism indicators [fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2 hPG), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)], pancreatic function indicators [fasting C-peptide (FCP), 2-hour postprandial C-peptide (2 hCP), and area under the C-peptide curve (AUCcp)], and lipid profiles were measured before and after treatment. The adverse reactions were observed and recorded. ResultsA core prescription named modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction was formulated, comprising Puerariae Lobatae Radix, Coptidis Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Astragali Radix, Lycii Cortex, Mori Cortex, Jineijin Endothelium Corneum Gigeriae Galli, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, Atractylodis Rhizoma, Polygonati Rhizoma, and Pogostemonis Herba. The clinical trial results showed that both groups had significantly decreased FPG, 2 hPG, and HbA1c (P0.05), and the observation group outperformed the control group in recovering the level of HbA1c (P0.05). After treatment, both groups had declined TCM symptoms scores (P0.05), and the declines in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (P0.05). After treatment, the TC and LDL-C levels declined in the observation group (P 0.05), while the lipid levels showed a decreasing trend with no statistically significant difference in the control group. After treatment, both groups showed increases in FCP and AUCcp (P0.05), and the 2 hCP in both groups presented a recovering trend with no statistically significant difference. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups. ConclusionModified Gegen Qinlian Decoction embodies Professor Zhang Farong's academic philosophy of treating consumptive thirst by tonifying the spleen and kidney, replenishing Qi and Yin, clearing deficiency and heat, unblocking stasis in collaterals, and addressing both deficiency and stasis. The combination of the core prescription with metformin alleviates clinical symptoms in T2DM patients with the dampness-heat syndrome, demonstrating potential effects in restoring pancreatic islet function, regulating blood glucose, and improving lipid profiles. It serves as a therapeutic option for T2DM in the patients with the dampness-heat syndrome under syndrome differentiation, meriting broader clinical application.
4.Impact of parental myopia on myopia in schoolchildren and adolescents in China: A national cross-sectional survey.
Xiaoran YU ; Huan WANG ; Sheng MA ; Yanhui DONG ; Yinghua MA ; Yi SONG ; Jun MA ; Zhiyong ZOU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3168-3175
BACKGROUND:
Parental myopia is an important risk factor for myopia in Chinese children and adolescents. This study aimed to assess the influence of parental myopia and the severity of myopia on offspring and to evaluate whether adopting healthy lifestyles can mitigate the effects of parental myopia on offspring.
METHODS:
This cross-sectional study analyzed data from children and adolescents aged 6-17 years with complete vision assessments and parental history of myopia from six provinces in China during 2013-2014. Parental demographic information, children's outdoor activity time, sleep time, and sedentary time were collected via questionnaire. Parental myopia was classified as no myopia, paternal myopia, maternal myopia, and both. The offspring were categorized into 10 groups based on parental myopia prescription. Associations of the above factors with myopia in children and adolescents were evaluated by logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS:
Among 40,864 children and adolescents (50.3% boys and 49.7% girls), 22,537 (55.2%) were diagnosed with myopia. In comparison to offspring devoid of parental myopia, children with one parent affected by myopia exhibited odds ratio (OR) of 1.75 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.62-1.88) for myopia, while those with both parents affected showed OR of 2.27 (95% CI: 2.02-2.55) after adjusted for lifestyle factors. The likelihood of myopia in offspring increased with increasing severity of parental myopia, with a 3.08-fold increase in risk observed when both parents presented high myopia. Nonetheless, children adhering to two or more healthy lifestyle factors demonstrated a diminished risk of myopia compared with those with fewer than two lifestyle factors, especially among offspring of non-myopic or mildly myopic parents.
CONCLUSIONS
Parental myopia has a dose-dependent association with their offspring. Healthy lifestyles may reduce the impact of parental factors on myopia in offspring. The observed associations suggest that although the genetic burden of parental myopia cannot be ignored, healthy lifestyles and nurturing are also very important.
Humans
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Myopia/epidemiology*
;
Child
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adolescent
;
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
China/epidemiology*
;
Parents
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
;
Risk Factors
5.Research on multi-scale convolutional neural network hand muscle strength prediction model improved based on convolutional attention module.
Yihao DU ; Mengyu SUN ; Jingjin LI ; Xiaoran WANG ; Tianfu CAO
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(1):90-95
In order to realize the quantitative assessment of muscle strength in hand function rehabilitation and then formulate scientific and effective rehabilitation training strategies, this paper constructs a multi-scale convolutional neural network (MSCNN) - convolutional block attention module (CBAM) - bidirectional long short-term memory network (BiLSTM) muscle strength prediction model to fully explore the spatial and temporal features of the data and simultaneously suppress useless features, and finally achieve the improvement of the accuracy of the muscle strength prediction model. To verify the effectiveness of the model proposed in this paper, the model in this paper is compared with traditional models such as support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), convolutional neural network (CNN), CNN - squeeze excitation network (SENet), MSCNN-CBAM and MSCNN-BiLSTM, and the effect of muscle strength prediction by each model is investigated when the hand force application changes from 40% of the maximum voluntary contraction force (MVC) to 60% of the MVC. The research results show that as the hand force application increases, the effect of the muscle strength prediction model becomes worse. Then the ablation experiment is used to analyze the influence degree of each module on the muscle strength prediction result, and it is found that the CBAM module plays a key role in the model. Therefore, by using the model in this article, the accuracy of muscle strength prediction can be effectively improved, and the characteristics and laws of hand muscle activities can be deeply understood, providing assistance for further exploring the mechanism of hand functions .
Neural Networks, Computer
;
Humans
;
Hand Strength/physiology*
;
Support Vector Machine
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Muscle Strength/physiology*
;
Hand/physiology*
;
Convolutional Neural Networks
6.Nanomedicine-driven tumor glucose metabolic reprogramming for enhanced cancer immunotherapy.
Chenwei JIANG ; Minglu TANG ; Yun SU ; Junjie XIE ; Qi SHANG ; Mingmei GUO ; Xiaoran AN ; Longfei LIN ; Ruibin WANG ; Qian HUANG ; Guangji ZHANG ; Hui LI ; Feihu WANG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(6):2845-2866
Tumors exhibit abnormal glucose metabolism, consuming excessive glucose and excreting lactate, which constructs a tumor microenvironment that facilitates cancer progression and disrupts immunotherapeutic efficacy. Currently, tumor glucose metabolic dysregulation to reshape the immunosuppressive microenvironment and enhance immunotherapy efficacy is emerging as an innovative therapeutic strategy. However, glucose metabolism modulators lack specificity and still face significant challenges in overcoming tumor delivery barriers, microenvironmental complexity, and metabolic heterogeneity, resulting in poor clinical benefit. Nanomedicines, with their ability to selectively target tumors or immune cells, respond to the tumor microenvironment, co-deliver multiple drugs, and facilitate combinatorial therapies, hold significant promise for enhancing immunotherapy through tumor glucose metabolic reprogramming. This review explores the complex interactions between tumor glucose metabolism-specifically metabolite transport, glycolysis processes, and lactate-and the immune microenvironment. We summarize how nanomedicine-mediated reprogramming of tumor glucose metabolism can enhance immunotherapy efficacy and outline the prospects and challenges in this field.
7.Analysis of Inpatient Mortality Cases in a Tertiary General Hospital in Beijing Based on Diagnosis-related Groups
Yufei ZHANG ; Jiong ZHOU ; Xiaojun MA ; Xiaoran WANG
Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital 2025;16(3):697-702
To analyze inpatient mortality cases in a tertiary general hospital in Beijing based on diagnosis-related groups (DRG), with the aim of providing references for healthcare quality management. We retrospectively collected DRG data of hospitalized patients admitted to a tertiary general hospital in Beijing from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2023. Mortality cases were analyzed according to mortality risk stratification, with a focus on the temporal trends, departmental distribution, and DRG composition of low/medium-low mortality risk cases. Among 927 304 DRG-classified hospitalizations, 2346 cases resulted in death (stratified into 130 low-risk, 209 medium-low-risk, 411 medium-high-risk, and 1596 high-risk cases), yielding an overall mortality rate of 0.25%. The mortality rates were 0.02% (130/680 939) in the low-risk group and 0.16% (209/130 449) in the medium-low-risk group. From 2015 to 2023, the mortality rate showed a significant downward trend ( Critical care units accounted for the highest proportion of mortality cases, with surgical patients having complications/comorbidities representing the major DRG-related factors for low/medium-low-risk deaths. Hospitals should prioritize these findings by identifying areas for improvement, implementing multidisciplinary case reviews, and strengthening patient safety measures.
8.Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with TBE conditioning in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma
Junli CHEN ; Yi MA ; Ruiqing ZHAO ; Xiubin XIAO ; Xilin CHEN ; Shunzong YUAN ; Shihua ZHAO ; Yun LU ; Honghao GAO ; Yueqi WANG ; Hua YIN ; Nana CHENG ; Pan FENG ; Xiaoran BAI ; Wenrong HUANG
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2025;46(11):1038-1043
Objective:To assess the safety and efficacy of thiotepa, busulfan, and etoposide (TBE) conditioning followed by autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (TBE auto-HSCT) in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) patients.Methods:Clinical data from 27 PCNSL patients who received TBE auto-HSCT at the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital between November 1, 2021, and April 30, 2024, were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Twenty-seven patients [16 males, 11 females; median age 57 (23–72) years] were included, with 12 (44.4%, 12/27) over 60. Twenty-five had newly diagnosed PCNSL and 2 were relapsed. Median time from diagnosis to transplantation was 6.9 (5.0–10.0) months. TBE auto-HSCT increased complete remission (CR) rate from 63.0 to 96.3% ( P= 0.005), and 9 of 10 patients in partial remission achieving CR post-transplant. Median follow-up was 24.5 months (range 2.0–36.0). Two-year progress-free and OS rates were (87.2±6.9) % and (88.6±6.2) %, respectively. Common grade 3 nonhematologic adverse events were diarrhea (18.5%, 5/27) and bacterial infections (14.8%, 4/27). One patient (64 years old) died from carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infection within 2 months post-transplant, yielding a 100-day treatment-related mortality of 3.7% (1/27) . Conclusion:TBE-conditioned high-dose chemotherapy with auto-HSCT is effective, safe, and well-tolerated in PCNSL patients, including the elderly.
9.Analysis of primary teeth crown dimensions and dental arch physiological data of individual normal occlusion children in 67 children of 3.5-4.5 years of age
Xiaoran WU ; Bin XIA ; Lihong GE ; Jiangxia MIAO ; Yuqing CUI ; Xiaohua LIN ; Xiaoyu WANG ; Boshang SUN ; Yuanyuan WANG
Chinese Journal of Stomatology 2025;60(12):1378-1385
Objective:To digitally measure the three-dimensional (3D) size of primary tooth crowns and the dimensions of the dental arch in children with individual normal primary dentition, preliminarily obtaining baseline data on the 3D size of primary tooth crowns as well as the length and width of the dental arch, and their influence factors. This study aims to provide a data foundation for the design of reference models for primary dentition.Methods:From May to June 2021, 122 caries-free children aged 3.5-4.5 years with individual normal occlusion were selected from five kindergartens in Haidian District, Beijing. Impressions were taken and plaster models were cast. After preliminary screening, 67 eligible models were scanned to obtain digital dental models. Digital measurement software was used for landmark-based measurements. Parameters included 3D crown dimensions (mesiodistal diameter, buccolingual diameter, and occlusogingival height), dental arch dimensions (length and width at specific regions), and occlusal measurements (overjet and overbite at the primary central incisors, and Bolton index for anterior and full dentition). Gender differences in crown dimensions and bilateral symmetry of homologous teeth, as well as the correlations between arch dimensions and gender, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were analyzed.Results:The homonymous teeth of 67 children exhibited strong bilateral symmetry in all 3D dimensions ( P>0.05). Gender differences were observed in the buccolingual dimension for all deciduous molars except for the right mandibular first deciduous molar ( P<0.05). For the occlusogingival dimension, gender differences were found in the right maxillary first and second deciduous molars, left maxillary first deciduous molar, and left mandibular first and second deciduous molars ( P<0.05). For the mesiodistal dimension, only the left mandibular second deciduous molar and right mandibular deciduous canine showed gender differences ( P<0.05). All significant differences above indicated larger dimensions in boys compared to girls. In both maxillary and mandibular arches, the lengths and widths at various locations were significantly larger in boys than in girls ( P<0.05). Univariate correlation analysis revealed that body weight was positively correlated with the width of the terminal plane in both the maxilla and mandible and the total length of the mandibular dental arch, while BMI was positively correlated with the width of the maxillary terminal plane and the widths at all measured sites in the mandible ( P<0.05). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that, after controlling for relevant variables, BMI was a significant positive predictor for the lengths and widths at various sites of the dental arch ( P<0.05), and height was a positive predictor for dental arch length ( P<0.05), as well as body weight was a positive predictor for the width in the molar region ( P<0.05). Overjet at the primary central incisors was 2.28 (1.57, 2.66) mm, and overbite was 1.13 (0.75, 1.92) mm. The anterior Bolton index was 0.79±0.03, and the overall Bolton index was 0.94±0.03. Conclusions:Primary tooth crowns of individual normal occlusion children demonstrate strong bilateral symmetry in homologous teeth. Most primary molars exhibit gender differences in buccolingual and occlusogingival dimensions, with larger values in boys. Arch dimensions (length and width) are consistently larger in boys.
10.Feasibility and efficacy of lingual mucosal replacement ureteral stricture repair and plasty for the treatment of polyps in long ureteral segments
Luyi WANG ; Jiawei WU ; Xiaoran LI ; Enguang YANG ; Danyang WANG ; Junsheng BAO
Chinese Journal of Urology 2025;46(2):114-118
Objective:To explore the feasibility and and clinical efficacy of lingual mucosa replacement ureteral stenosis repair and plasty for the treatment of long segment ureteral polyps.Methods:Clinical data of 3 patients (4 sides) with long-segment ureteral polyps admitted to the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from October 2017 to October 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Two cases were male and one case was female. The ages were22, 16, and 45 years old. Preoperative urologic ultrasound, CT urography and ureteroscopy were performed. The lesions were located on the left side in 3 cases and on the right side in 1 case; the stenosis was located in the middle and upper ureter; the length of the ureteral stenosis was 6, 7, 6, and 6 cm, respectively; and the preoperative blood creatinine was 72, 85, and 70 μmol/L, respectively. Three cases underwent ureteral stenosis repair and plasty with tongue mucosal substitution. During the operation, the ureter was fully exposed and longitudinally incised, polyps were removed, and 7.0-10.0 cm long and 1.5-2.0 cm wide lingual mucosa was harvested according to the length of the stenosis, and then the lingual mucosa was transplanted to the muscular layer and the inner surface of the sheath in the stenosed ureter, fixed with 6-0 thread until the muscular layer was rolled into shape and wrapped with a large omentum. All of them left one double-J tube in the ureter on the affected side. Perioperative results and complications were recorded. The patients' blood creatinine and anterior and posterior renal pelvic diameters were compared before and after treatment.Results:In our study, all three 4-sided surgeries were successfully completed without any serious intraoperative or postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo score ≥ grade Ⅲ). Mean surgical. Time was (240.0±49.0) min, intraoperative bleeding was 50 ml, postoperative drain retention time was (6.3±2.5) d, and median postoperative hospitalization time was 6.5(3, 9)d. The double J-tube was removed at 3 months postoperatively, and renal function and imaging tests were reviewed. Because the postoperative follow-up results of patient 1 were missing, the mean value of blood creatinine in the other 2 patients was 73.0 μmol/L at 3 months postoperatively, which was significantly improved compared with the preoperative value of 58.2 μmol/L, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). And the average value of anterior and posterior renal pelvic separation diameters of the other 2 patients after surgery was <5 mm, which was significantly improved compared with the preoperative value of 17.9 mm, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05).There was no restenosis in all 2 patients after surgery, and the intravenous urography showed that the ureter was patent after the surgery, and the degree of urinary obstruction did not aggravate. The group was followed up for 3 to 8 months (mean 4.7 months), and no recent complications have occurred so far. Conclusions:Lingual mucosa replacement ureteral stenosis repair and plasty for the treatment of ureteral polyps in the long segment has a high success rate and precise efficacy, and its operation is feasible.

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