Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has historically played a pivotal role in the prevention and treatment of warm diseases, establishing a comprehensive theoretical framework that underpins its practices. The distinctive and indispensable contributions of aromatic Chinese herbs in dispelling harmful influences and mitigating the spread of these diseases are well recognized; however, further investigation is warranted to elucidate their systematic properties and regularities, and the theory of aromatic Chinese herbs in preventing and treating warm diseases still needs to be comprehensively summarized. This study employs the principles rooted in TCM, with particular emphasis on the framework for warm diseases. An analysis of the disease mechanisms, transmission dynamics, and preventive strategies is conducted during the early stage of infection, throughout the course of the disease, and in the post-illness phase. Furthermore, the characteristics and applications of aromatic Chinese herbs are integrated with insights drawn from modern pharmacological research to explore their specific roles in the prevention and management of warm diseases. The utilization of aromatic Chinese herbs manifests in a variety of therapeutic effects: aromatic medicinals purging filth and dispelling pathogens for preventing epidemic disease, aromatic medicinals regulation for relieving superficies syndrome and dispersing evils, aromatic medicinals ventilation the lung to relieve cough and asthma, aromatic medicinals resolving the dampness to awaken the spleen and stomach, aromatic medicinals opening the orifices to restore consciousness, aromatic and pungent medicinals to regulate qi, aromatic medicinals dredging the vessels to activate blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis, and aromatic medicinals clearing latent heat from the yin level. These properties facilitate tailored approaches to address the diverse manifestations of warm diseases and their associated symptoms, providing clear guidance for clinical application to achieve pre-disease prevention, active disease treatment, complication prevention, and post-recovery relapse avoidance. The use of aromatic Chinese herbs in preventing and treating warm diseases demonstrates theoretical, practical, systematic, and regular characteristics. The theory of the properties of aromatic Chinese herbs has been expanded and sublimated in clinical practice, and its scientific connotation has been expounded in modern research. Under the guidance of the theory of treatment based on syndrome differentiation, and by taking into account the distinct stages and pathologies of warm diseases, the rational selection of aromatic Chinese herbs can improve the clinical efficacy.

Jiuwei Xifeng Granules have become a Chinese patent medicine in the market. Because the formula contains Os Draconis, a top-level protected fossil of ancient organisms, the formula was to be improved by replacing Os Draconis with Ostreae Concha. To evaluate whether the improved formula has the same effectiveness and safety as the original formula, a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, equivalence clinical trial was conducted. This study enrolled 288 tic disorder(TD) of children and assigned them into two groups in 1∶1. The treatment group and control group took the modified formula and original formula, respectively. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks, and follow-up visits were conducted at weeks 2, 4, and 6. The primary efficacy endpoint was the difference in Yale global tic severity scale(YGTSS)-total tic severity(TTS) score from baseline after 6 weeks of treatment. The results showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, the declines in YGTSS-TSS score showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The difference in YGTSS-TSS score(treatment group-control group) and the 95%CI of the full analysis set(FAS) were-0.17[-1.42, 1.08] and those of per-protocol set(PPS) were 0.29[-0.97, 1.56], which were within the equivalence boundary [-3, 3]. The equivalence test was therefore concluded. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary efficacy endpoints of effective rate for TD, total score and factor scores of YGTSS, clinical global impressions-severity(CGI-S) score, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) response rate, or symptom disappearance rate, and thus a complete evidence chain with the primary outcome was formed. A total of 6 adverse reactions were reported, including 4(2.82%) cases in the treatment group and 2(1.41%) cases in the control group, which showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. No serious suspected unexpected adverse reactions were reported, and no laboratory test results indicated serious clinically significant abnormalities. The results support the replacement of Os Draconis by Ostreae Concha in the original formula, and the efficacy and safety of the modified formula are consistent with those of the original formula.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Tic Disorders/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

Metabonomics and proteomics were employed to investigate the mechanism of Yuzhi Zhixue Granules in treating polycystic ovary syndrome with insulin resistance(PCOS-IR). The disease model was established by feeding a high-fat diet and gavage of letrozole solution and it was then treated with different doses of Yuzhi Zhixue Granules. The therapeutic effect of Yuzhi Zhixue Granules was evaluated based on the body mass, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity index, serum levels of adipokines, and histopathological changes of rats. Metabolomics and proteomics were employed to find the action pathways of Yuzhi Zhixue Granules. The results showed that Yuzhi Zhixue Granules reduced the body mass, improved the insulin sensitivity and aromatase activity, improved the levels of leptin, adiponectin and other adipokines, and alleviated insulin resistance, histopathological changes, and metabolic disorders in PCOS-IR rats. Metabolomics results revealed 14 metabolites with altered levels in the ovarian tissue, which were closely related to glutathione metabolism and pyruvate metabolism. Proteomics results showed that the therapeutic effect of Yuzhi Zhixue Granules was mainly related to the adipokine, adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt), forkhead box protein O(FoxO), and mechanistic target of rapamycin(mTOR) signaling pathways. Western blot results showed that compared with the model group, Yuzhi Zhixue Granules treatment decreased the p-AMPK/AMPK and p-FoxO1/FoxO1 levels, increased the p-mTOR/mTOR level, and up-regulated the expression level of recombinant glucose transporter 4(GLUT4). Yuzhi Zhixue Granules can balance amino acid metabolism and pyruvate metabolism by regulating the AMPK/mTOR/FoxO/GLUT pathway to maintain the homeostasis of the ovarian environment and alleviate insulin resistance, thus treating PCOS-IR.
Animals ; Female ; Insulin Resistance ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Rats ; Metabolomics ; Proteomics ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans ; Ovary/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of the Focused Solution Model Nursing intervention on quality of life, negative emotions of the patients with prostate cancer. Methods： A total of 82 prostate cancer patients who were diagnosed and treated at the General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command between September 2022 and September 2024 were included and randomly divided into study group and control group by the method of random number table, with 41 patients in each group. The patients in the study group were treated with Focused Solution Model Nursing intervention. And the routine care was used in the control group The quality of life and negative emotions were compared between the two groups by using the scales of World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF), HAMA and HAMD. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the patients in the study group exhibited significantly higher scores in the physiological, psychological, environmental, and social relationship domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scale (P<0.05). The scores of HAMA and HAMD in study group were lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). Additionally, all subscales of the Social Impact Scale including social exclusion, internalized shame, social isolation and economic discrimination were significantly lower than those of the study group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Focused Solution Model Nursing intervention can effectively improve the quality of life and negative emotions of the prostate cancer patients in the clinical treatment.
Humans ; Male ; Quality of Life ; Prostatic Neoplasms/nursing* ; Emotions ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To investigate the effects of oxymatrine on proliferation and apoptosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its molecular mechanism.Methods Human diffuse large B lymphoma cells OCI-LY19 were randomly divided into control group(normal culture),experimental-L group(25.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine),experimental-M group(50.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine),experimental-H group(100.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine),Oxymatrine+si-NC group(transfected with si-NC+100.00 μmol·L-1oxymatrine),Oxymatrine+si-PD-L1 group[transfected with si-programmed death receptor ligand 1(PD-L1)+100.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine],Oxymatrine+Vector group(transfected with si-NC+100.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine)and oxymatrine+PD-L1 group(transfected with PD-L1+100.00 μmol·L-1 oxymatrine).5-acetylidene-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)assay was used to detect cell proliferation;Western blot assay was used to detect protein expression;flow cytometry assay was used to detect cell apoptosis.Results The EdU cell proliferation rates in control group,experimental-H group,oxymatrine+si-NC group,oxymatrine+si-PD-L1 group,oxymatrine+Vector group and oxymatrine+PD-L1 group were(33.88±2.79)％,(15.23±1.32)％,(15.84±1.58)％,(10.13±0.90)％,(16.14±1.20)％and(20.84±1.88)％,respectively;the expressions of Cyclin-dependent kinase 4(CDK4)protein were 0.92±0.11,0.37±0.04,0.35±0.04,0.24±0.03,0.38±0.06 and 0.71±0.06,respectively;the apoptosis rates were(3.20±0.07)％,(25.35±2.01)％,(24.81±1.91)％,(30.27±1.65)％,(24.39±2.73)％and(17.97±1.27)％,respectively.The above indicators:Experimental-H group were compared with the control group respectively,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05);there were significant differences between oxymatrine+si-PD-L1 group and oxymatrine+si-NC group(all P＜0.05);there were significant differences between oxymatrine+PD-L1 group and oxymatrine+Vector group(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Oxymatrine can inhibit the proliferation of OCI-LY19 cells and induce apoptosis by down-regulating the expression of PD-L1.PD-L1 may be a potential target of oxymatrine in the treatment of diffuse large B lymphoma.

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of genetic and molecular changes in primary myeloid sarcoma(MS).Methods:Fourteen patients with primary MS were selected in Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences,The First People's Hospital of Lianyungang from September 2010 to December 2021.AML1-ETO fusion,PML-RARα fusion and CBFβ breakage were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH),and the mutations of NPM1,CEBPA,FLT3,RUNX1,ASXL1,KIT and TP53 genes were detected by new generation sequencing(NGS).Results:Among 14 patients,the MS occurred in bone,breast,epididymis,lung,chest wall,cervix,small intestine,ovary,lymph nodes and central nervous system.The tumor cells expressed MPO(13 cases),CD34(7 cases),CD43(8 cases),CD68(7 cases),CD99(8 cases)and CD117(6 cases).Cytogenetic abnormalities were observed in 4 cases,including 3 cases of AML1-ETO fusion and 1 case of CBF β breakage,while no PML-RAR α fusion was detected.There were no significant differences in overall survival(OS)and leukemia-free survival(LFS)between patients with and without AML1-ETO fusion/CBFβ breakage(both P＞0.05).Among the 14 patients,the number of NPM1,CEBPA,FLT3-ITD,RUNX1,ASXL1,KIT and TP53 gene mutations was 5,3,5,3,2,2,1.respectively,of which 7 cases had at least one mutation in FLT3-ITD,RUNX1,ASXL1 and TP53 gene.The OS and LFS of patients with FLT3-ITD,RUNX1,ASXL1 or TP53 mutation were shorter than those without mutations(both P＜0.01).Conclusion:The genetic and molecular abnormalities of primary MS can be detected by FISH and NGS techniques.FLT3-ITD,RUNX1,ASXL1 or TP53 mutation indicates a worse prognosis,but further clinical studies are needed to confirm it.

Aim To explore the effect of total flavonoid extract(TFE)of Ampelopsis megalophylla on the pro-liferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cells and its mechanism in autophagy inhibition.Methods For human cervical cancer cell Hela,human lung cancer cell A549,human liver cancer cell SMMC-7721,human breast cancer cell MCF-7,MDA-MB-231 and human normal liver cell L-02,MTT method was used to select sensitive cell lines.The inhibitory effect of TFE combined with autophagy inhibitor 3-methylade-nine(3-MA)on sensitive cell proliferation was detec-ted using MTT assay.The morphological changes of cells were observed using transmission electron micros-copy and Hoechst 33258 single staining method.The changes in cell apoptosis rate were detected using An-nexin V-FITC/PI dual staining method.The expression levels of apoptosis related proteins and pathway pro-teins(death receptor pathway,mitochondrial pathway,endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway)were detected uisng Western blot.The expression of the key protein Cyt-c in mitochondrial pathway was determiend by im-munofluorescence,and the autophagy agonist rapamy-cin was selected for reverse validation.Results TFE could inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner,and MCF-7 cells were sensitive cell lines.Compared with the TFE group,the TFE+3-MA group significantly increased the inhibition rate of MCF-7 cells at 24,48,and 72 h(P＜0.01).The number of cells decreased,the gap increased,the number of apoptotic bodies increased,and the apoptosis rate increased(P＜0.01).The ex-pression levels of Bax/Bcl-2(P＜0.01),cleaved-caspase3(P＜0.01),Cyt-c(P＜0.05),FADD,and cleaved-caspase-12 all increased,and the expres-sion of apoptotic protein Cyt-c in nucleus increased.The fluorescence of the TFE+RA group decreased,re-versing the mitochondrial pathway apoptosis induced by TFE.Conclusions TFE can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells.When inhib-iting autophagy,it may promote the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells through the mitochondrial pathway,and activa-ting autophagy can reverse apoptosis.

Objective:To investigate the expression of microRNA-34a (miR-34a)and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in neonatal rats with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The expression of mirna-34a and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) was determined by tumor necrosis factor.Methods:A total of 80 7-day-old newborn SD rats were randomly(random number) divided into two groups, 40 in each group, NARDS animal models were established by intraperitoneal injection of 4 mg/kg LPS solution for 3,6,12 and 24 hours respectively. Normal control group was established by intraperitoneal injection of 4 mL/kg isotonic Nacl solution. The wet/dry weight ratio of lung was measured to observe the changes of lung histopathology. The expression of miR-34a in lung tissues and cells was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qrt-PCR).Results:the wet/dry weight of lung in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining showed diffuse changes in lung tissue, thickening of alveolar septum, partial alveolar fusion and decreased number of alveoli in experimental group. The expression levels of miR-34a and TNF-α in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group at each time point.Conclusions:It is speculated that miR-34a can promote the release of more inflammatory factors by positively regulating the expression of TNF-α, thus affecting the occurrence and development of lung injury. The expression of miR-34a positively correlated with TNF-α. miR-34a may affect the regulation mechanism of lung injury by mediating the expression of TNF-α through some signal pathway or inflammatory reaction, it provides a new therapeutic target for the treatment of neonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome (NARDS).

Objective:To investigate the effects of oral probiotics on intestinal microbiota and cognitive dysfunction in breast cancer chemotherapy patients. Methods:Thirty breast cancer patients who received anthracycline chemotherapy between December 2021 and June 2022 in the Department of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University were included in this study. The patients were randomly divided into the observation and control groups (15 cases per group). During chemotherapy, the observation group was additionally given oral probiotics. The fecal microbiota compositions before and after chemotherapy were detected using 16S rDNA sequencing. The changes in patients' subjective and objective cognitive function levels were evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive (FACT-Cog), respectively. Results:The microbiota diversity, as indicated by the Chao, Ace, Shannon and Simpson indices, showed no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05). As compared with the control group, the relative abundance of the genus Actinomyces in the feces was significantly higher than in the observation group (P<0.05). By contrast, the relative abundance of the genera Acetoanaerobium, Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis, and unclassified_Frankineae bacteria was significantly lower in the observation group (P<0.05). The total scores of the objective and subjective cognitive function as well as the scores of each dimension in both groups were markedly decreased after chemotherapy (P<0.05). The scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group after chemotherapy (P<0.05). During chemotherapy, the presence of the gastrointestinal adverse reactions (constipation, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal distension) in the observation group were significantly lower than in control group (P<0.05). Conclusion:Oral probiotics could improve the cognitive impairment and reduce the presence of the gastrointestinal side effects in the breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, which may be caused by modulating the intestinal microbiota.