Professor LIU Qingguo's academic thoughts and clinical experience in treating pediatric tic disorders with scalp fire needling is introduced. Professor LIU believes that the core pathogenesis of this disease lies in "wind stirring and qi disorder, leading to the spirit failing to govern the body". Therefore, treatment should focus on "regulating the spirit to stabilize the form and extinguishing wind to stop movement". Clinically, the main acupoints include Shenting (GV24), Benshen (GB13), Xinhui (GV22), Baihui (GV20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), Fengchi (GB20), and Fengfu (GV16), which are rapidly punctured with fine fire needles, leading to significant therapeutic efficacy.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Child ; Tic Disorders/therapy* ; Acupuncture Points ; Male ; Scalp ; Female ; Adolescent ; Child, Preschool

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the molecular mechanism of Xixian Pills for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Forty-eight rats were randomized into 6 groups (n=8), including a normal control group, a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model group, 3 Xixian Pills treatment (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg) groups, and a Tripterygium glycosides tablet (TGT) treatment group. In the latter 4 groups, the rats were treated with daily gavage of Xixian Pills or TGT 2 weeks after CIA modeling for 3 consecutive weeks. The differentially expressed proteins in high-dose Xixian Pills group and the model group compared with the normal control group were screened based on the tandem mass spectrometry tag (TMT) technology, and the core targets and signaling pathways were analyzed. The immune cell infiltration and gene expression data were analyzed using ggplot2 and tidyverse packages, and the correlation coefficients between the core targets and the immune cells were calculated. RESULTS: The CIA rats showed significantly increased serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 and lowered serum IL-10 level. Treatments with high- and medium-dose Xixian Pills and TGT all significantly reduced serum TNF‑α and IL-6 and increased IL-10 levels in CIA rats. Proteomic analysis identified 160 differential proteins between the model group and high-dose Xixian Pills group, and the core targets included CCL5, STAT1, GZMB and IL7R. The areas under the ROC curve of CCL5 and STAT1 were both greater than 0.9. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining revealed increased levels of CCL5 and STAT1 in the ankle joints of CIA rats, which were significantly decreased after treatment with Xixian Pills. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with Xixian Pills offers protection of the joints in CIA rats possibly by inhibiting joint inflammation via regulating protein expressions of CCL5 and STAT1.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Rats ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/metabolism* ; Proteomics ; Tripterygium/chemistry* ; Arthritis, Experimental/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood* ; Interleukin-10/blood* ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction

Objective"Red butterfly sore","yin-yang toxin"and"Bi disease"are different Chinese medicine diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).It is not clear whether there are biological differences between these three types of Chinese medicine diagnoses.The aim of this study was to compare the different TCM diagnoses of SLE patients from the perspective of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines.Methods Patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital from June 1,2021 to December 1,2023 were retrospectively collected,and the differences of T cell subsets,NK cells,B lymphocytes and Th1,Th2 and Th17 cytokines among different groups were compared by one-way ANOVA or nonparametric test.As well as differences in laboratory test indicators such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),C-reactive protein(CRP),immunoglobulin,and complement,receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was used to analyze the value of these indexes in the differential diagnosis of different types of SLE.Results From June 1,2021 to December 1,2023,291 patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital for the first time were collected,and 104 cases meeting the exclusion criteria of this study were included,including 31 cases of red butterfly sores,30 cases of yin-yang toxin and 43 cases of BI disease.The absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,interleukin-10(IL-10)content and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)content were different among the three groups of SLE patients diagnosed by different Chinese medicine,and the absolute number of CD8+T cells in the red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in the yin-yang toxicities group(P=0.039)and the disease group(P=0.008).CD8+T cell percentage in red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in yin-yang toxin group(P=0.014)and disease group(P=0.004),IL-10 and TNF-α levels in red butterfly sore group were significantly lower than those in disease group(P=0.015,P=0.036),and ROC curve analysis showed that,the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from yin-yang toxins(AUC=0.65,AUC=0.61,P<0.05),and the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from diseases(AUC=0.68,AUC=0.66,P<0.01,AUC=0.67,AUC=0.64,P<0.05).Conclusion Immune lymphocyte subtypes,cytokines,especially the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α may play an important role in the identification of different TCM diagnosis of SLE.

Objective To investigate the expression levels of lysophosphatidylcholine(LysoPC),microtubule associated pro-tein Tau(MAPT)and growth differentiation factor-10(GDF-10)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(SCC),and their correlation with prognosis.Methods In all,128 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who visited Nantong University Affiliated Hos-pital from April 2017 to April 2019 were selected as the study group,and 100 patients with benign oral lesions during the same time period were selected as the control group.The expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 were compared between the 2 groups of patients.The relationship between the expression levels of LysoPC,Tau,GDF-10,the clinical staging,lymph node me-tastasis,and survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients were analyzed,and the assessment values of these factors for prognosis were evaluated.Results The positive rate of Tau and GDF-10 in pathological tissue and LysoPC in serum of the stud-y group were lower than those of the control group(all P＜0.05).Patients with low expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 had a higher proportion of stage Ⅲ to Ⅳ and lymph node metastasis than those with high expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10(all P＜0.05).The 128 patients were followed up for 5 years,86 survived(67.19％),42 died(32.81％).LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 levels were negatively correlated with survival time(all P＜0.05,r=-0.597,-0.622,-0.656).The results of log-rank test showed that the 5-year survival rate of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 low expression group was lower than that of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 high expression group(all P＜0.05).The high expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 were protective factors,while lymph node metastasis and high clinical stage were risk factors(all P＜0.05).Conclusion LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 are all low expressed in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma,and the expression level is correlated with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis.Low expression may indicate a higher risk of death.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes patients under continuous blood glucose monitoring.Methods:A total of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to the Lu′an Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from November 2022 to January 2024 were retrospectively observed, and the blood glucose indexes of patients were monitored by continuous glucose meter [glucose time in range (TIR), mean blood glucose (MBG), estimated hemoglobin A 1c (eHbA 1c), blood glucose standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), largest amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE), mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), means of daily differences (MODD), etc ]. All patients with type 2 diabetes were grouped according to whether they had peripheral neuropathy or not, and were divided into the developing group and the non-developing group. General data and blood glucose indexes of the two groups were collected and sorted out. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of various blood glucose indicators in predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Spearman correlation analysis was also used to evaluate the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy. Results:The disease course, TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD of the occurrence group were significantly different from those of the non-occurrence group (all P<0.05). By plotting the ROC curve, It was found that the area under the curve (AUC) of TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes were 0.942, 0.840, 0.705, 0.759, 0.819, 0.813, 0.857 and 0.677, respectively. The AUC of the combined prediction was 0.971(95% CI: 0.946-0.997), which was higher than that of the single indicator (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation assessment showed a negative correlation between TIR and peripheral neuropathy ( r=-0.738, P<0.05). MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD were positively correlated with peripheral neuropathy ( r=0.554, 0.376, 0.452, 0.490, 0.527, 0.625, 0.272, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Based on continuous blood glucose monitoring, the blood glucose index of type 2 diabetes patients is closely related to peripheral neuropathy, and the above blood glucose index can accurately predict peripheral neuropathy, providing a reference for reducing or preventing the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy.

Objective"Red butterfly sore","yin-yang toxin"and"Bi disease"are different Chinese medicine diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).It is not clear whether there are biological differences between these three types of Chinese medicine diagnoses.The aim of this study was to compare the different TCM diagnoses of SLE patients from the perspective of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines.Methods Patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital from June 1,2021 to December 1,2023 were retrospectively collected,and the differences of T cell subsets,NK cells,B lymphocytes and Th1,Th2 and Th17 cytokines among different groups were compared by one-way ANOVA or nonparametric test.As well as differences in laboratory test indicators such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),C-reactive protein(CRP),immunoglobulin,and complement,receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was used to analyze the value of these indexes in the differential diagnosis of different types of SLE.Results From June 1,2021 to December 1,2023,291 patients diagnosed with SLE in our hospital for the first time were collected,and 104 cases meeting the exclusion criteria of this study were included,including 31 cases of red butterfly sores,30 cases of yin-yang toxin and 43 cases of BI disease.The absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,interleukin-10(IL-10)content and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)content were different among the three groups of SLE patients diagnosed by different Chinese medicine,and the absolute number of CD8+T cells in the red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in the yin-yang toxicities group(P=0.039)and the disease group(P=0.008).CD8+T cell percentage in red butterfly sore group was significantly higher than that in yin-yang toxin group(P=0.014)and disease group(P=0.004),IL-10 and TNF-α levels in red butterfly sore group were significantly lower than those in disease group(P=0.015,P=0.036),and ROC curve analysis showed that,the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from yin-yang toxins(AUC=0.65,AUC=0.61,P<0.05),and the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α can effectively distinguish red butterfly sores from diseases(AUC=0.68,AUC=0.66,P<0.01,AUC=0.67,AUC=0.64,P<0.05).Conclusion Immune lymphocyte subtypes,cytokines,especially the absolute number and percentage of CD8+T cells,IL-10 and TNF-α may play an important role in the identification of different TCM diagnosis of SLE.

Objective To investigate the expression levels of lysophosphatidylcholine(LysoPC),microtubule associated pro-tein Tau(MAPT)and growth differentiation factor-10(GDF-10)in oral squamous cell carcinoma(SCC),and their correlation with prognosis.Methods In all,128 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who visited Nantong University Affiliated Hos-pital from April 2017 to April 2019 were selected as the study group,and 100 patients with benign oral lesions during the same time period were selected as the control group.The expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 were compared between the 2 groups of patients.The relationship between the expression levels of LysoPC,Tau,GDF-10,the clinical staging,lymph node me-tastasis,and survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients were analyzed,and the assessment values of these factors for prognosis were evaluated.Results The positive rate of Tau and GDF-10 in pathological tissue and LysoPC in serum of the stud-y group were lower than those of the control group(all P＜0.05).Patients with low expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 had a higher proportion of stage Ⅲ to Ⅳ and lymph node metastasis than those with high expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10(all P＜0.05).The 128 patients were followed up for 5 years,86 survived(67.19％),42 died(32.81％).LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 levels were negatively correlated with survival time(all P＜0.05,r=-0.597,-0.622,-0.656).The results of log-rank test showed that the 5-year survival rate of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 low expression group was lower than that of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 high expression group(all P＜0.05).The high expression levels of LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 were protective factors,while lymph node metastasis and high clinical stage were risk factors(all P＜0.05).Conclusion LysoPC,Tau and GDF-10 are all low expressed in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma,and the expression level is correlated with clinical stage and lymph node metastasis.Low expression may indicate a higher risk of death.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes patients under continuous blood glucose monitoring.Methods:A total of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to the Lu′an Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from November 2022 to January 2024 were retrospectively observed, and the blood glucose indexes of patients were monitored by continuous glucose meter [glucose time in range (TIR), mean blood glucose (MBG), estimated hemoglobin A 1c (eHbA 1c), blood glucose standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), largest amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE), mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), means of daily differences (MODD), etc ]. All patients with type 2 diabetes were grouped according to whether they had peripheral neuropathy or not, and were divided into the developing group and the non-developing group. General data and blood glucose indexes of the two groups were collected and sorted out. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of various blood glucose indicators in predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Spearman correlation analysis was also used to evaluate the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy. Results:The disease course, TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD of the occurrence group were significantly different from those of the non-occurrence group (all P<0.05). By plotting the ROC curve, It was found that the area under the curve (AUC) of TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes were 0.942, 0.840, 0.705, 0.759, 0.819, 0.813, 0.857 and 0.677, respectively. The AUC of the combined prediction was 0.971(95% CI: 0.946-0.997), which was higher than that of the single indicator (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation assessment showed a negative correlation between TIR and peripheral neuropathy ( r=-0.738, P<0.05). MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD were positively correlated with peripheral neuropathy ( r=0.554, 0.376, 0.452, 0.490, 0.527, 0.625, 0.272, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Based on continuous blood glucose monitoring, the blood glucose index of type 2 diabetes patients is closely related to peripheral neuropathy, and the above blood glucose index can accurately predict peripheral neuropathy, providing a reference for reducing or preventing the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy.

Objective To analyze the changes of serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 23(FGF23)and secreted frizzled-related protein 4(SFRP4)in patients with diabetic retinopathy and their diagnostic value.Methods A total of 98 patients with diabetes who visited the hospital from July 2020 to May 2023 were re-garded as research objects.According to whether the patients had retinopathy,they were separated into reti-nopathy group(38 cases)and non retinopathy group(60 cases).Another 86 healthy individuals who under-went physical examination in the hospital were regarded as the health group.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was applied to detect serum levels of FGF23 and SFRP4 in each group,Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum FGF23 and SFRP4 levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy.The clinical data of the retinopathy group and the non retinopathy group were compared.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors affecting diabetic retinopathy.Receiver operating character-istic curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum FGF23 and SFRP4 levels for diabetic retinopa-thy.Results The serum levels of FGF23 and SFRP4 increased sequentially in the health group,non retinopa-thy group,and retinopathy group(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between serum FGF23 and SFRP4 levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy(r=0.463,P＜0.001).There were statistically significant differences in the diabetes course and percentage of hypertension between the non retinopathy group and the retinopathy group(P＜0.05).Hypertension,diabetes course,ser-um FGF23,SFRP4 levels were risk factors for retinopathy in diabetes patients(P＜0.05).The area under the curve of the combination of serum FGF23 and SFRP4 in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy was 0.965,the sensitivity was 89.47％,and the specificity was 95.00％,which were superior to the single diagnosis of FGF23 and SFRP4(Zcombination-FGF23=2.437,P=0.015,Zcombination-SFRP4=3.674,P＜0.001).Conclusion The levels of se-rum FGF23 and SFRP4 are elevated in patients with diabetic retinopathy.The combined detection of FGF23 and SFRP4 has high clinical diagnostic value for diabetic retinopathy.

Objective To use the GEO dataset and bioinformatics techniques,such as LASSO logistic regression,ssGSEA,and WGCNA,to screen for RA diagnostic markers and investigate the impact of earthly flavonoids in Smi-lax glabra Roxb.on specific immune cell infiltration,to screen for rheumatoid arthritis(RA)diagnostic markers on specific immune cell infiltration and to analyze the combination of flavonoids in Smilax glabra Roxb.and diagnostic markers.Methods The normal control group and RA gene chip were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.The R 4.3.0 WGCNA software package was used to integrate and analyze the dataset,identify co-expres-sion modules and associated trait information,and screen key modules closely related to RA.LASSO regression a-nalysis was performed using the glmnet package in R to identify characteristic genes for RA.The area under the re-ceiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of the characteristic genes in RA.The gene expression data of the normal control group and RA group were subjected to quantitative immune cell infiltration analysis using the GSVA,limma,and GSEABase packages in R.The chemical components of earth-worm flavonoids in Smilax glabra Roxb.were analyzed based on UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS.The correlation between flavonoids and characteristic genes was assessed through molecular docking.Results The LASSO regres-sion algorithm selected 5 characteristic genes(apolipoprotein D,zinc finger and BTB domain containing 16,C-C chemokine receptor type 5,matrix metalloproteinase 1,coronin-1A).The area under ROC curve of all 5 character-istic genes was greater than 0.85,which exhibited positive correlations with various immune cells.Twenty earth-worm flavonoids of Smilax glabra Roxb.were identified using UHPLC-Q-Exactive/MS,and Mulberrin and Neobavaisoflavone were well combined with 5 immune characteristic genes.Conclusion Flavonoids compounds of Smilax glabra Roxb.have good combination with RA immune characteristic genes,providing a scientific basis for RA immunomodulation therapy and early diagnosis.