Minimally conscious state （MCS） is at the edge between closed and open consciousness， but it still belongs to the category of "wind-strike block" syndrome. The basic pathogenesis of MCS is the obstruction of pathogenic qi， orifices closed and spirit hidden， with pathological factors including phlegm， fire， and blood stasis. Wind movement and water retention may also be present， and often leading to deficiency syndrome due to the exhaustion of qi， blood， yin， and yang at later stages. Treatment chooses Shexiang （Moschus） as the chief medicinal， emphasizing combination of medicinals and urgency of medication administration； the key therapeutic method is to open the orifices， with focuses on expelling pathogens and reinforcing healthy qi. For patients with severe phlegm or fire， use Xiaochengqi Decoction （小承气汤） to open the lower orifices， discharge heat and unblock the bowels， combined with Shexiang （Moschus） and Niuhuang （Bovis Calculus） to open the upper orifices， awaken the spirit and guide qi. For patients with turbid phlegm as the predominant， temporarily replace Shexiang （Moschus） with Baizhi （Angelicae dahuricae radix）， using Ditan Decoction （涤痰汤） to eliminate phlegm to open the orifices， when turbid phlegm gradually subsided， Shexiang （Moschus） could be added. For patients with blood stasis as the predominant， Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction （通窍活血汤） will be used to activate blood and open orifice， if the blood circulates， the endogenous wind will be calmed， the water will be induced， the orifices will open and the consciousness will restore. For patients with closed orifices and body deficiency， the treatment should open the orifices and reinforce healthy qi， and consider the root and branch simultaneously； qi deficiency syndrome can be addressed with Buyang Huanwu Decoction （补阳还五汤） to boost qi and reinforce healthy qi； yin deficiency syndrome can be treated with Shaoyao Gancao Decoction （芍药甘草汤） combined with Fengsui Pill （封髓丹） to nourish yin， soften sinews， and secure kidney essence； yang deficiency can be managed by using Dihuang Yinzi Decoction （地黄饮子） to enrich yin， supplement yang， and open the orifices.

ObjectiveTo establish preliminary diagnostic criteria for spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome in ischemic stroke patients and provide a basis for standardized diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke. MethodsRelevant literature on the diagnostic criteria for spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome in ischemic stroke patients was retrieved， and data were mined and extracted to form an item pool. Based on the formation of the item pool， this study used the Delphi method to initiate two rounds of questionnaire surveys with selected experts to complete the initial screening of items and the discrimination of symptom importance. A prospective clinical investigation method was adopted to collect clinical information from patients， and statistical analysis methods and data mining techniques were comprehensively used to determine their primary and secondary symptoms. Based on the clear main and secondary symptoms identified， combined with expert group discussions， the study established preliminary diagnostic criteria for spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome in ischemic stroke patients. ResultsA total of 25 relevant syndrome differentiation standards were included. After splitting， standardizing， and screening the items， the study established a pool of 48 items. The first round of questionnaire survey consulted 30 experts， with both the positive coefficient of experts and the effectiveness rate of the questionnaire reaching 100%. The Kendall's coefficient of concordance was 0.359. According to the item screening criteria， 26 items were retained in this round of questionnaire survey. A total of 176 cases were collected through clinical information investigation， including 94 cases with spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome and 82 cases without spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome. The statistical results were as follows： ① Descriptive statistics： The main symptoms with a frequency of ≥ 30% included mental fatigue and lack of strength， weakness of the lower back and knees， etc. The secondary symptoms with a frequency of ≥ 10% and ≤ 30% were lassitude and disinclination to talk， shortness of breath， etc. ② Binary logistic regression analysis： The main symptoms with an odds ratio （OR） value of ≥ 3 were mental fatigue and lack of strength， weakness of the lower back and knees， etc. The secondary symptoms with an OR value of ≥ 1 and ≤ 3 were lassitude and disinclination to talk， shortness of breath， etc. Artificial neural network： The main symptoms with a weight value（W_ij）of ≥ 0.5 and < 1 were mental fatigue and lack of strength， lassitude and disinclination to talk， etc. The secondary symptoms with W_ij of ≥ 0.3 and < 0.5 were shortness of breath， flaccid limbs， etc. In the second round of questionnaire survey， a total of 37 experts were consulted， with both the positive coefficient of experts and the effectiveness rate of the questionnaire reaching 100%. The Kendall's coefficient of concordance was 0.237. According to the criteria to determine primary and secondary symptoms based on the Delphi method， the main symptoms included in this round of the questionnaire were mental fatigue and lack of strength， lassitude and disinclination to talk， etc.， and the secondary symptoms were shortness of breath， dizziness， etc. ConclusionThe main symptoms of spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome in ischemic stroke patients are mental fatigue and lack of strength， weakness of the lower back and knees， loose stool， pale and edematous tongue texture possibly with tooth marks， and deep and thready pulse or weak pulse. The secondary symptoms include shortness of breath， dizziness， tinnitus and deafness， decreased appetite or postprandial abdominal distension， pale complexion， frequent micturition at night， dull tongue texture， and white and slippery tongue coating. The preliminarily established diagnostic criteria for spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome in ischemic stroke patients can provide a standardized and objective basis， thereby better guiding clinical diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of stellate ganglion block(SGB)with those of conventional western medication in the treatment of insomnia.Methods A computerized retrieval of academic papers concerning the clinical randomized controlled trials of SGB versus conventional western medication in the treatment of insomnia from the databases of PubMed,Embase,Cochrane Library,CNKI,Wanfang Data knowledge service platform,VIP database and CBM database was conducted.The retrieval time period was from the establishment of the database to June 13,2023.NoteExpress v3.5 software was used to make literature screening,Stata17.0 software was used to perform meta-analysis of the obtained data,TSA0.9.5.10 beta software was used to make sequential analysis,and GRADEpro was used to perform the grade classification.Results A total of 11 articles including 875 patients with insomnia were included in this analysis.Compared with the conventional western medication,SGB showed certain advantages in the following aspects:improving total clinical effectiveness(RR total=1.24,95％CI:1.16-1.32,P＜0.01),increasing the proportion of patients who could sleep for more than 3 hours after treatment(RR total=1.24,95％CI:1.09-1.41,P=0.001),increasing total sleep time(SMD=1.53,95％CI:0.89-2.16,P＜0.01),reducing sleep latency(MD=-14.08,95％CI:-18.72--9.43,P＜0.01),decreasing PSQI score(MD=-3.54,95％CI:-4.31--2.78,P＜0.01),and reducing the recurrence rate within 6 months(RR=0.19,95％CI:0.10-0.37,P＜0.01).However,the difference in the proportion of patients who could sleep for more than 6 hours after treatment between the two groups was not statistically significant(RR=1.31,95％CI:0.97-1.76,P=0.078).The traditional SGB therapy had a certain risk of adverse events,ultrasound-guided SGB therapy was much safer.Trial sequential analysis showed that the cumulative sample size of the effective rate crossed the conventional threshold and TSA threshold,the positive results had been obtained in advance although it did not reach RIS.The quality of evidence evaluated by GRADE for the sleep latency,PSQI and recurrence rate within 6 months was medium grade,and the quality for the remaining indexes was low grade.Conclusion Compared with conventional western medication for the treatment of insomnia,the effect of SGB in increasing the total response rate,the proportion of patients who get sleeping for more than 3 hours after treatment and the total sleep duration,in reducing sleep latency,PSQI score and recurrence rate within 6 months has gained some certain evidence supports.The SGB and conventional western medication have similar efficacy in improving the proportion of patients who get sleeping for more than 6 hours after treatment.The results of this study are stable and reliable,but the current level of evidence grade is lower,therefore,large-sample randomized controlled trials need to be conducted before its clinical efficacy can get further evidence-based support.

Alzheimer's disease （AD） is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of cognitive and memory functions. Its pathological features mainly include neurofibrillary tangles formed by the aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins and amyloid plaques formed by the accumulation of β-amyloid. The exact pathogenesis of AD has not been fully elucidated， and there are currently no effective specific drugs or radical treatments available in clinical practice. In recent years， the incidence of AD has been on the rise， severely affecting life and health， making the search for effective drugs and therapeutic components for AD treatment crucial. Modern medical research has found that the brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）/tropomyosin receptor kinase B （TrkB） signaling pathway is closely related to neurogenesis， apoptosis， neuroinflammation， synaptic plasticity， and oxidative stress， playing a vital role in the pathophysiological development of AD. Additionally， Chinese medicine has a long history of treating neurodegenerative diseases with few adverse reactions and features a multi-target， multi-link， and multi-pathway approach to treatment. Therefore， the author reviewed the latest research reports in China and abroad to elaborate on the role of the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway in the onset and progression of AD， and summarized the research progress on the regulation of the BDNF/TrkB pathway by Chinese medicine compounds and monomers in AD intervention. This study is expected to provide references for the development of clinical drugs for the prevention and treatment of AD and to broaden the perspective on Chinese medicine treatment of AD.

It is regarded that the general qi is the combination of spleen-kidney qi and heart-lung yang qi in the chest， which is filled between the muscles and is able to maintain the normal shape of the muscles. Accordingly， it is proposed that the core pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis （ALS） is the deficiency sinking of general qi， with "deficiency" as the root， and "toxin" and "wind-heat" as the key factors for the rapid progression of the disease. The development process of ALS was classified into the initial onset stage， the increasingly progressive stage， and the rapid exacerbation stage， and differentiated and treated by deficiency， toxin， and wind-heat. Based on clinical experience， the wind medicinals were preferred. We formed self-prescribed Juxian Decoction （举陷汤） and modified from the perspective of "deficiency， toxicity， wind-heat" based on the wind medicinals of Huangqi （Radix Astragali）， Shengma （Actaea cimicifuga L.）， Chaihu （Bupleurum spp.） and so on. For the initial onset stage， Yiqi Shengji Juxian Decoction （益气生肌举陷汤）， Wenyang Liyan Juxian Decoction （温阳利咽举陷汤） could be used； for the increasingly progressive stage， Jiedu Juxian Decoction （解毒举陷汤） could be used； for the rapid exacerbation stage， Yinqiao Shufen Juxian Decoction （银翘疏风举陷汤）， Yangxue Xifeng Juxian Decoction （养血熄风举陷汤） could be used.

Post-stroke depression is a common complication after a stroke. Based on the theory of ＂deficiency of heart qi leading to sadness＂recorded in Huangdi Neijing, our team proposes that deficiency of heart qi is the basic pathogenesis of post-stroke depression, with sadness being its main manifestation. Therefore, we advocate treating post-stroke depression from the perspective of the heart, and clinically, it can be divided into four stages: heart-liver stage, heart-lung stage, heart-spleen stage, and heart-kidney stage. Treating post-stroke depression with the principle of regulating qi and nourishing the heart, patients in the heart-liver and heart-lung stages are mainly middle-aged and young adults, with a pathological nature of qi stagnation and mild deficiency of heart qi, and therefore, the method of promoting the flow of meridians and regulating qi should be adopted. In contrast, patients in the heart-spleen and heart-kidney stages are mainly middle-aged and elderly, with a pathological nature of qi deficiency and severe deficiency of heart qi, and therefore, nourishment and tonification should be prioritized. In response to the above four stages, our team has achieved good clinical efficacy by administering Xiaoyao Powder, Baihe Dihuang Decoction, Ganmai Dazao Decoction and Jingui Shenqi Pill respectively. This study discusses the approach to treating post-stroke depression from the perspective of a "deficiency of heart qi leading to sadness" by examining three aspects: the theoretical basis of Chinese and Western medicine to treat post-stroke depression from the heart, the basic pathogenesis and staging of post-stroke depression, and the treatment principle of regulating qi and nourishing the heart. The study also briefly analyzes the clinical experience of the medications used for this condition to provide a reference for the treatment of post-stroke depression.

Chaihu Guizhi Decoction is an excellent prescription of ZHANG Zhongjing;however,nowadays the application of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction is primarily derived from the text.The xiang thinking is the source of traditional Chinese medicine thinking.Understanding Chaihu Guizhi Decoction from the xiang thinking,it is easy to perceive the true meaning of ZHANG Zhongjing,and grasp the location of the disease and the patient's overall qi,so as to make better use of this formula.This article discusses the understanding of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction from five perspectives:firstly,it gives an overview of the xiang thinking,pointing out the source and essential value of the xiang thinking;secondly,it analyses the disease position and the patient's qi of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction under the perspective of the xiang thinking as a whole;thirdly,it discusses the disease position and the patient's qi of the original text of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction from the xiang thinking;fourthly,it discusses how to understand the principle of formula formation and the main and minor parts of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction by xiang thinking;finally,it analyses the primary medicines in Chaihu Guizhi Decoction by using xiang thinking based on the records of Shennong Bencao Jing.Based on these five points,we hope to reveal the traditional Chinese medicine thinking behind Chaihu Guizhi Decoction,and provide new ideas for the clinical application of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction.

The core of diagnosing and treating diseases in traditional Chinese medicine lies in syndrome differentiation. The eight principles of syndrome differentiation serve as guidance for syndrome differentiation. As one of the eight principles of syndrome differentiation， the differentiation of deficiency and excess is the basic and critical method. Ischemic stroke is currently the leading cause harming the health of Chinese residents. Although the hypotheses about the cause of ischemic stroke have evolved from external wind to the later internal wind and to the modern theory of toxin damaging the brain collaterals， they all believe that this disease is rooted in internal deficiency and external excess. According to available studies， although stroke is characterized by complex pathogenesis and rapid progression of syndromes， the key cause evolution has a regularity， that is， from excess to deficiency. This article analyzes the historical evolution of the etiology， pathogenesis， and syndrome differentiation schemes of stroke. There are diverse schemes for the syndrome differentiation of stroke， which make it difficult to choose in clinical practice. In view of this problem， this paper puts forward a new approach of staging sequential treatment of ischemic stroke based on the differentiation of deficiency and excess according to the evolution law of the key cause of stroke. Furthermore， we conducted a randomized controlled study on 100 patients with ischemic stroke to evaluate this new approach. The results showed that the staging sequential treatment of ischemic stroke based on the differentiation of deficiency and excess demonstrated definite clinical efficacy. In addition， this article reviews the previous research results of our team and the research achievements of other teams to preliminarily explore the relationship between stroke syndromes and biomarkers， aiming to provide an objective basis for unveiling the pathogenesis of stroke. In summary， according to the key cause evolution （from excess to deficiency）， the treatment of ischemic stroke by stages based on differentiation of deficiency and excess can facilitate the rapid intervention and improve the clinical efficacy on ischemic stroke.

ObjectiveTo explore the common syndrome elements of cerebral ischemic stroke （CIS） complicated with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome （OSAHS）， reveal the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes of the disease， clarify the syndrome differentiation and syndrome types， provide evidence for clinical syndrome differentiation， and provide reference for establishing the TCM syndrome type standards of CIS complicated with OSAHS. MethodThe clinical information form of CIS complicated with OSAHS formulated by the research group was used for syndrome survey， and the four-examination information of 300 patients with CIS complicated with OSAHS was collected. The four-examination information of patients was analyzed by latent structure method and comprehensive cluster analysis， and the common syndrome elements of CIS complicated with OSAHS were extracted by combining the TCM basic theory and clinical experience. On this basis， the characteristics of TCM syndromes and the syndrome types in line with reality were summarized. ResultThe top five syndrome elements in patients with CIS and OSAHS are sleep snoring， open mouth breathing， physical obesity， night awakening and dizziness. The top five tongue and pulse manifestations are enlarged tongue， slippery pulse， slippery coating， thick and white coating and purple tongue. The disease locations are the lung， spleen， stomach， kidney， liver and brain. The nature of disease includes deficiency， depression， blood stasis， phlegm， dampness and fire. The clinical syndrome types include the syndrome of stagnation of phlegm and dampness， syndrome of phlegm-dampness blocking the mind， syndrome of spleen deficiency with dampness， syndrome of Yin deficiency leading to fire hyperactivity， syndrome of Qi depression blocking collaterals， syndrome of liver depression and blood stasis， syndrome of Qi deficiency with dampness， and syndrome of Yang deficiency induced water retention. ConclusionIn addition to the common phlegm-， dampness- and blood stasis-related syndromes in patients with CIS and OSAHS， there are also depression- and deficiency-related syndromes. The main etiology and pathogenesis is the disturbance of Qi movement. In clinical practice， attention should be paid to the specific situation of individual patients to differentiate between deficiency and excess， and the treatment should be performed by the method of soothing and reinforcing， or unblocking and clearing， or both.