1.Mechanisms of Zhuyuwan in Treating both Intrahepatic Cholestasis and Ulcerative Colitis Based on Homotherapy for Heteropathy
Jun HAN ; Yueqiang WEN ; Zongying XU ; Dan LUO ; Li ZHOU ; Xueyi LI ; Yufan DAI ; Lele YANG ; Tao SHEN ; Han YU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(13):46-53
ObjectiveThe theory of homotherapy for heteropathy is one of the classical rules in traditional Chinese medicine. Taking this theory as a breakthrough point, this study employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to elucidate the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of Zhuyuwan on both intrahepatic cholestasis (IC) and ulcerative colitis (UC) from the viewpoint of serum metabolic homeostasis. MethodsThe rat models of α-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis and 2,4,6-trinitro-benzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced UC were treated with low (0.6 g·kg-1) and high (1.2 g·kg-1) doses of Zhuyuwan by gavage. In the experiment regarding IC, 24 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into four groups: normal, ANIT model, low-dose Zhuyuwan, and high-dose Zhuyuwan. In the experiment regarding UC, 24 SD rats were randomly allocated into four groups: normal, TNBS model, low-dose Zhuyuwan, and high-dose Zhuyuwan. Firstly, the two disease models and the intervention effects of Zhuyuwan on the two diseases were evaluated based on serum levels of biochemical indicators [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT), and total bile acid (TBA)], colon damage score, colon weight index, disease activity index, and histopathological changes in rats. Secondly, the rat serum samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to screen the common core pathways of the two disease models, and the expression of core genes in the pathways was determined by Real-time PCR, on the basis of which the biological mechanism of the treatment of the two disease models by Zhuyuwan was ultimately elucidated. ResultsThe results of the experiment regarding IC showed that the ANIT model group had higher ALT, AST, γ-GT, and TBA levels than the normal group (P<0.01). Compared with the ANIT model group, the low-dose Zhuyuwan group showed declined ALT and TBA levels (P<0.01) and the high-dose Zhuyuwan group showed lowered ALT, TBA, AST, and γ-GT levels (P<0.01). The results of the experiment regarding UC showed that compared with the normal group, the TNBS model group presented increases in the colonic damage score, colon weight index, and disease activity index (P<0.01). Compared with the TNBS model group, the low-dose Zhuyuwan group showcased declines in colon weight index (P<0.01) and disease activity index (P<0.05), and the high-dose Zhuyuwan group showed reductions in the colon damage score, colon weight index, and disease activity index (P<0.01). GC-MS metabolomics analysis combined with qRT-PCR demonstrated that Zhuyuwan had a similar inverse regulatory effect on arginine metabolism disruption in the above two disease models. ConclusionZhuyuwan exhibited definite therapeutic effects on both IC and UC, and the regulation of arginine biosynthesis pathway is the core mechanism for the treatment of both diseases by Zhuyuwan.
2.Treatment of Esophageal Cancer Based on ZHANG Jiebin's "Water-Fire of Life Gate Theory"
Weicong ZHAO ; Linglin HE ; Xueyi HUANG ; Yuheng JIN ; Guangxing XU
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(23):2504-2508
Guided by ZHANG Jiebin's "water-fire of life gate theory", this paper explored the etiology, pathoge-nesis, and syndrome differentiation-based treatment approach for esophageal cancer. It is proposed that the core pathogenesis of esophageal cancer, derived from the imbalanced state of water and fire in life gate, can be summarized into three manifestations. Firstly, decline of life gate fire leads to failure of qi transformation and accumulation of phlegm and blood stasis; secondly, fire fails to warm the earth resulting in dysfunctional ascending and descending, and qi stagnation and blood stasis; thirdly, deficiency of life gate water contributs to proliferation of cancerous toxins and physical deterioration. In terms of treatment, guided by ZHANG's treatment principles for dysphagia, three treatment methods are proposed, warming and tonifying kidney yang to promote qi transformation through steaming action, warming and nourishing the spleen and stomach to restore central pivot movement, and nourishing kidney water to replenish essence and blood, then support bodily nourishment. Clinical case examples are provided to illustrate the application of these methods.
3.Mechanisms of Zhuyuwan in Treating both Intrahepatic Cholestasis and Ulcerative Colitis Based on Homotherapy for Heteropathy
Jun HAN ; Yueqiang WEN ; Zongying XU ; Dan LUO ; Li ZHOU ; Xueyi LI ; Yufan DAI ; Lele YANG ; Tao SHEN ; Han YU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(13):46-53
ObjectiveThe theory of homotherapy for heteropathy is one of the classical rules in traditional Chinese medicine. Taking this theory as a breakthrough point, this study employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to elucidate the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of Zhuyuwan on both intrahepatic cholestasis (IC) and ulcerative colitis (UC) from the viewpoint of serum metabolic homeostasis. MethodsThe rat models of α-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestasis and 2,4,6-trinitro-benzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced UC were treated with low (0.6 g·kg-1) and high (1.2 g·kg-1) doses of Zhuyuwan by gavage. In the experiment regarding IC, 24 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into four groups: normal, ANIT model, low-dose Zhuyuwan, and high-dose Zhuyuwan. In the experiment regarding UC, 24 SD rats were randomly allocated into four groups: normal, TNBS model, low-dose Zhuyuwan, and high-dose Zhuyuwan. Firstly, the two disease models and the intervention effects of Zhuyuwan on the two diseases were evaluated based on serum levels of biochemical indicators [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT), and total bile acid (TBA)], colon damage score, colon weight index, disease activity index, and histopathological changes in rats. Secondly, the rat serum samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to screen the common core pathways of the two disease models, and the expression of core genes in the pathways was determined by Real-time PCR, on the basis of which the biological mechanism of the treatment of the two disease models by Zhuyuwan was ultimately elucidated. ResultsThe results of the experiment regarding IC showed that the ANIT model group had higher ALT, AST, γ-GT, and TBA levels than the normal group (P<0.01). Compared with the ANIT model group, the low-dose Zhuyuwan group showed declined ALT and TBA levels (P<0.01) and the high-dose Zhuyuwan group showed lowered ALT, TBA, AST, and γ-GT levels (P<0.01). The results of the experiment regarding UC showed that compared with the normal group, the TNBS model group presented increases in the colonic damage score, colon weight index, and disease activity index (P<0.01). Compared with the TNBS model group, the low-dose Zhuyuwan group showcased declines in colon weight index (P<0.01) and disease activity index (P<0.05), and the high-dose Zhuyuwan group showed reductions in the colon damage score, colon weight index, and disease activity index (P<0.01). GC-MS metabolomics analysis combined with qRT-PCR demonstrated that Zhuyuwan had a similar inverse regulatory effect on arginine metabolism disruption in the above two disease models. ConclusionZhuyuwan exhibited definite therapeutic effects on both IC and UC, and the regulation of arginine biosynthesis pathway is the core mechanism for the treatment of both diseases by Zhuyuwan.
4.Establishment and validation of an endoplasmic reticulum stress-related risk model for renal cell carcinoma
Chen YANG ; Zhu JUNMING ; Wang ZHEN ; Wu XIAOHUI ; Xu NING ; Xue XUEYI ; Zheng QINGSHUI
Chinese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2025;52(3):127-133
Objective:To establish a prognostic model based on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes for evaluating the prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma.Methods:This study utilized Non-negative Matrix Factorization to identify molecular subgroups based on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes and employed Weighted Correlation Network Analysis to determine co-expressed genes associ-ated with these subgroups.A risk prognostic model was constructed using univariate Cox regression analysis and Lasso regression analysis.Preliminary experimental validations were conducted to elucidate the biological functions of model genes in renal cell carcinoma.Results:Two molecular subgroups with distinct survival prognoses were identified,and an intersection of related genes was used to construct a nov-el endoplasmic reticulum stress-related prognostic model.Patients in the high-risk group exhibited significantly poorer overall survival in both the training and validation cohorts.In vivo experiments demonstrated that PCK1,a model gene,could inhibit the proliferation,migra-tion,and invasion of renal cell carcinoma cells.Conclusions:The risk scoring model developed in this study effectively predicts the survival probability of renal cell carcinoma patients and can serve as an independent prognostic indicator.This model offers a new direction for per-sonalized treatment strategies in renal cell carcinoma patients.
5.Biparametric MRI-based peritumoral radiomics for preoperative prediction of extracapsular extension in prostate cancer
Honghao XU ; Qicong DU ; Yuanhao MA ; Xueyi NING ; Baichuan LIU ; Xu BAI ; Di CHEN ; Yun ZHANG ; Zhe DONG ; Chuang JIA ; Xiaojing ZHANG ; Xiaohui DING ; Baojun WANG ; Aitao GUO ; Jian XUE ; Xuetao MU ; Huiyi YE ; Haiyi WANG
Chinese Journal of Radiology 2025;59(9):1055-1062
Objective:To investigate the value of biparametric-MRI (bpMRI) based peritumoral radiomics for preoperative prediction of extraprostatic extension (EPE) in prostate cancer (PCa).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, consecutive bpMRI of patients undergoing prostatectomy for PCa were retrospectively collected from the First Medical Center (center 1) and the Third Medical Center (center 2) of Chinese PLA General Hospital. A total of 274 patients were finally enrolled. Patients at center 1 from January 2020 to December 2022 were randomly divided into a training set (149 cases) and an internal validation set (63 cases) by stratified random sampling. Patients at center 2 from January 2023 to March 2024 were assigned to the external test set (62 cases). Patients were categorized into EPE-positive group and EPE-negative group according to pathological assessment postoperatively. In the training set, there were 49 cases in EPE-positive group and 100 cases in EPE-negative group. In the internal validation set, there were 26 cases in EPE-positive group and 37 cases in EPE-negative group. In the external test set, there were 22 cases in EPE-positive group and 40 cases in EPE-negative group. Axial T 2WI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images were manually annotated to obtain index lesion regions of interest (ROIs), with the peritumoral ROIs subsequently delineated by semi-automatic segmentation technique. Radiomics features were extracted from intra-tumoral, peri-tumoral, and intra-tumoral plus peri-tumoral ROIs. The training set data was employed to select and optimize features to build the radiomics models. The logistic regression analysis was used to develop radiomics, clinical, and integrated models. The predictive performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the external test set, and compared by the DeLong test. The sensitivity and specificity were compared by the exact McNemar test. Results:In the external test set, the peri-tumoral radiomics model based on bpMRI showed the highest performance in evaluating EPE, with an AUC of 0.739 (95% CI 0.611-0.842), which was identified as the optimal radiomics model. EPE grade ( OR=6.151, 95% CI 3.371-11.226, P<0.001) was incorporated into the clinical model, with an AUC of 0.780 (95% CI 0.657-0.875) in the external test set. The integrated model had an AUC of 0.817 (95% CI 0.698-0.904) in the external test set. There was no statistically significant difference in comparisons of AUCs among the three models (all P>0.05). The sensitivity of the integrated model (68.2%) showed no significant difference from those of the clinical model and the optimal radiomics model (77.3% and 86.4%, respectively; P=0.500 and P=0.289). However, the specificity of the integrated model (85.0%) was significantly higher than those of the clinical model (67.5%, P=0.016) and the optimal radiomics model (50.0%, P<0.001). Conclusion:A bpMRI-based peritumoral radiomics integrating clinical model demonstrates high performance for preoperative prediction of EPE in PCa.
6.A controlled study on the efficacy of combined indoor light therapy for depression and its effects on physiological indicators
Li YANG ; Ruojia REN ; Wenting LU ; Tianyu ZHAO ; Shijie GUO ; Bufan LIU ; Fanfan HUANG ; Huan CHEN ; Na JIN ; Yuehang XU ; Quan LIN ; Xueyi WANG
Chinese Journal of Psychiatry 2025;58(3):211-219
Objective:To investigate the efficacy of lightroom therapy on depressive mood and sleep problems in patients with depression, and the potential effects on physiological indices related to circadian rhythms.Methods:From October 2021 to July 2023, 54 patients with acute-phase depression hospitalized in the Mental Health Center of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University were recruited. The participants were randomly assigned to either medication combined with the bright light therapy group (bright light group, n=36) or medication combined with the dim light therapy group (dim light group, n=18). Both groups received light therapy for 2 weeks, at 10 000 lx in the bright light group and 300 lx in the dim light group. Both groups received 30 minutes of light therapy from 7:30-8:00 a.m daily over two weeks, followed up for 1 week post-treatment. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD 17) was used to assess patients′ depressive symptoms, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess patients′ sleep quality at baseline, at the end of every week. The 32-Item Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) was used at the end of week 2 to assess the risk of manic switching after treatment. Daily measurements of body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure were taken before and after light therapy, along with recording adverse events related to the therapy. Paired t- tests were used to compare changes in physiological indicators before and after treatment, and repeated measures ANOVA was applied to compare clinical symptom changes between the two groups. Results:Thirty-one and fifteen patients completed this study in the bright light and dim light groups, respectively, with no statistically significant difference in dropout rates( P>0.05). There were significant interaction effects between the time and group for HAMD 17 and PSQI score( F=5.51,4.11, both P<0.05). Both groups showed significant reductions in HAMD 17 and PSQI scores at baseline, week 1, week 2, and week 3 ( P<0.001). In the bright light group, body temperature increased significantly post-treatment on days 1-4, day 7, and day 12 (all P<0.05). Heart rate elevated on day 5 ( P<0.05).Systolic blood pressure decreased on days 4, 5, 11, and 12 compared to the pre-treatment baseline(all P<0.05). In the dim light group, systolic blood pressure increased on day 11 ( P<0.05). Diastolic blood pressure in the bright light group decreased on days 1, 5, and 6( P<0.05). No serious adverse events, vision loss, ocular structural changes occurred in either group. No hypomania or mania episodes were observed. The incidence of adverse events did not differ significantly ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Medication combined with indoor bright light is more effective than the combination of dim light for depressive symptoms and sleep problems in patients with depression. Patients receiving bright light also may exhibit a higher body temperature, accelerated heart rate, and reduced blood pressure.
7.Retrospective clinical analysis of eculizumab treatment for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy: a report of 11 cases
Xueyi LUO ; Rui MA ; Huifang WANG ; Lu BAI ; Yun HE ; Yuanyuan ZHANG ; Tingting HAN ; Daoxing DENG ; Yuhong CHEN ; Wei HAN ; Xiaohui ZHANG ; Lanping XU ; Yu WANG ; Xiaojun HUANG ; Yuqian SUN
Chinese Journal of Hematology 2025;46(5):431-436
Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of eculizumab in treating hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) .Methods:This retrospective study included 11 patients who developed TA-TMA after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and subsequently received eculizumab treatment at Peking University People′s Hospital between June 2018 and May 2024. The incidence of TA-TMA, treatment details, and clinical outcomes were analyzed.Results:Among the 11 included patients [4 males, 7 females; median age: 29 years (range: 9-56) ], underlying diseases were severe aplastic anemia (SAA) in 5 patients, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 3 patients, and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 3 patients. The median time to TA-TMA diagnosis was 48 days post-transplantation (range: 4-213 days), and all patients met the diagnostic criteria for high-risk TA-TMA. The median interval from TA-TMA diagnosis to the initiation of eculizumab treatment was 12 days (range: 1-56 days). Patients received a median of 3 doses of eculizumab (range: 1-14). Ten of the 11 patients were assessed as having no response (NR) to eculizumab at the end of treatment or at death. One patient achieved a partial response (PR) but subsequently died after TA-TMA relapsed due to infection. At the last follow-up, all patients were either lost to follow-up or had died. The median follow-up duration was 88 days (range: 33-326 days), and the median time from TA-TMA diagnosis to the last follow-up was 31 days (range: 21-113 days) .Conclusion:Eculizumab demonstrated poor efficacy in this TA-TMA cohort. This might be attributable to the critical and complex condition of the patients, delayed initiation of eculizumab treatment, and insufficient dosage.
8.Application and prospect of artificial intelligence in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer
Jianmin XU ; Xueyi ZHANG ; Wenju CHANG
Chinese Journal of Digestive Surgery 2025;24(6):701-705
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, its applica-tion in diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) has deepened, covering preoperative diagnosis, surgical assistance, and prognostic evaluation. AI can accurately detect precancerous lesions and tumor characteristics during screening of CRC, improving diagnostic precision.During surgery, AI provides real-time feedback and navigation support, helping surgeons improve precision and reduce complications. After surgery, AI integrates multidimensional data to optimize treatment decisions and resource allocation. However, current AI models still face challenges in accuracy, generalization, and integration with existing medical systems, and societal issues such as privacy and ethics need to be addressed. With ongoing technological advancements, AI is expected to play a greater role in minimally invasive surgeries for CRC, particularly in robotic surgery, offering more precise and personalized treatment options in the future. The authors summarize application and prospect of artificial intelligence in minimally invasive treatment of colorectal cancer, aiming to provide references for clinical practice.
9.Application and prospect of artificial intelligence in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer
Jianmin XU ; Xueyi ZHANG ; Wenju CHANG
Chinese Journal of Digestive Surgery 2025;24(6):701-705
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, its applica-tion in diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) has deepened, covering preoperative diagnosis, surgical assistance, and prognostic evaluation. AI can accurately detect precancerous lesions and tumor characteristics during screening of CRC, improving diagnostic precision.During surgery, AI provides real-time feedback and navigation support, helping surgeons improve precision and reduce complications. After surgery, AI integrates multidimensional data to optimize treatment decisions and resource allocation. However, current AI models still face challenges in accuracy, generalization, and integration with existing medical systems, and societal issues such as privacy and ethics need to be addressed. With ongoing technological advancements, AI is expected to play a greater role in minimally invasive surgeries for CRC, particularly in robotic surgery, offering more precise and personalized treatment options in the future. The authors summarize application and prospect of artificial intelligence in minimally invasive treatment of colorectal cancer, aiming to provide references for clinical practice.
10.Biparametric MRI-based peritumoral radiomics for preoperative prediction of extracapsular extension in prostate cancer
Honghao XU ; Qicong DU ; Yuanhao MA ; Xueyi NING ; Baichuan LIU ; Xu BAI ; Di CHEN ; Yun ZHANG ; Zhe DONG ; Chuang JIA ; Xiaojing ZHANG ; Xiaohui DING ; Baojun WANG ; Aitao GUO ; Jian XUE ; Xuetao MU ; Huiyi YE ; Haiyi WANG
Chinese Journal of Radiology 2025;59(9):1055-1062
Objective:To investigate the value of biparametric-MRI (bpMRI) based peritumoral radiomics for preoperative prediction of extraprostatic extension (EPE) in prostate cancer (PCa).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, consecutive bpMRI of patients undergoing prostatectomy for PCa were retrospectively collected from the First Medical Center (center 1) and the Third Medical Center (center 2) of Chinese PLA General Hospital. A total of 274 patients were finally enrolled. Patients at center 1 from January 2020 to December 2022 were randomly divided into a training set (149 cases) and an internal validation set (63 cases) by stratified random sampling. Patients at center 2 from January 2023 to March 2024 were assigned to the external test set (62 cases). Patients were categorized into EPE-positive group and EPE-negative group according to pathological assessment postoperatively. In the training set, there were 49 cases in EPE-positive group and 100 cases in EPE-negative group. In the internal validation set, there were 26 cases in EPE-positive group and 37 cases in EPE-negative group. In the external test set, there were 22 cases in EPE-positive group and 40 cases in EPE-negative group. Axial T 2WI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images were manually annotated to obtain index lesion regions of interest (ROIs), with the peritumoral ROIs subsequently delineated by semi-automatic segmentation technique. Radiomics features were extracted from intra-tumoral, peri-tumoral, and intra-tumoral plus peri-tumoral ROIs. The training set data was employed to select and optimize features to build the radiomics models. The logistic regression analysis was used to develop radiomics, clinical, and integrated models. The predictive performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the external test set, and compared by the DeLong test. The sensitivity and specificity were compared by the exact McNemar test. Results:In the external test set, the peri-tumoral radiomics model based on bpMRI showed the highest performance in evaluating EPE, with an AUC of 0.739 (95% CI 0.611-0.842), which was identified as the optimal radiomics model. EPE grade ( OR=6.151, 95% CI 3.371-11.226, P<0.001) was incorporated into the clinical model, with an AUC of 0.780 (95% CI 0.657-0.875) in the external test set. The integrated model had an AUC of 0.817 (95% CI 0.698-0.904) in the external test set. There was no statistically significant difference in comparisons of AUCs among the three models (all P>0.05). The sensitivity of the integrated model (68.2%) showed no significant difference from those of the clinical model and the optimal radiomics model (77.3% and 86.4%, respectively; P=0.500 and P=0.289). However, the specificity of the integrated model (85.0%) was significantly higher than those of the clinical model (67.5%, P=0.016) and the optimal radiomics model (50.0%, P<0.001). Conclusion:A bpMRI-based peritumoral radiomics integrating clinical model demonstrates high performance for preoperative prediction of EPE in PCa.

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail