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

Patients suffering from nerve injury often experience exacerbated pain responses and complain of memory deficits. The dorsal hippocampus (dHPC), a well-defined region responsible for learning and memory, displays maladaptive plasticity upon injury, which is assumed to underlie pain hypersensitivity and cognitive deficits. However, much attention has thus far been paid to intracellular mechanisms of plasticity rather than extracellular alterations that might trigger and facilitate intracellular changes. Emerging evidence has shown that nerve injury alters the microarchitecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and decreases ECM rigidity in the dHPC. Despite this, it remains elusive which element of the ECM in the dHPC is affected and how it contributes to neuropathic pain and comorbid cognitive deficits. Laminin, a key element of the ECM, consists of α-, β-, and γ-chains and has been implicated in several pathophysiological processes. Here, we showed that peripheral nerve injury downregulates laminin β1 (LAMB1) in the dHPC. Silencing of hippocampal LAMB1 exacerbates pain sensitivity and induces cognitive dysfunction. Further mechanistic analysis revealed that loss of hippocampal LAMB1 causes dysregulated Src/NR2A signaling cascades via interaction with integrin β1, leading to decreased Ca²⁺ levels in pyramidal neurons, which in turn orchestrates structural and functional plasticity and eventually results in exaggerated pain responses and cognitive deficits. In this study, we shed new light on the functional capability of hippocampal ECM LAMB1 in the modulation of neuropathic pain and comorbid cognitive deficits, and reveal a mechanism that conveys extracellular alterations to intracellular plasticity. Moreover, we identified hippocampal LAMB1/integrin β1 signaling as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of neuropathic pain and related memory loss.
Animals ; Laminin/genetics* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Neuralgia/metabolism* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology* ; Male ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries/metabolism* ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism* ; Integrin beta1/metabolism* ; Pyramidal Cells/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction

The prelimbic cortex (PL) plays a critical role in processing both the sensory and affective components of pain. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we observed a reduction in hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I_h) in layer V pyramidal neurons of the contralateral PL in a mouse model of spared nerve injury (SNI). The expression of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 2 (HCN2) channels was also decreased in the contralateral PL. Conversely, microinjection of fisetin, a partial agonist of HCN2, produced both analgesic and anxiolytic effects. Additionally, we found that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) was activated in the contralateral PL, where it formed a complex with HCN2 and phosphorylated its C-terminus. Knockdown of CDK5 restored HCN2 expression and alleviated both pain hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors. Collectively, these results indicate that CDK5-mediated dysfunction of HCN2 in the PL underlies nerve injury-induced mechanical hypersensitivity and anxiety.
Animals ; Hyperpolarization-Activated Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels/metabolism* ; Hyperalgesia/metabolism* ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5/metabolism* ; Neuralgia/metabolism* ; Male ; Anxiety/metabolism* ; Mice ; Potassium Channels/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Disease Models, Animal ; Pyramidal Cells/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE To explore the impact of trauma orthopedic implant management on the operating room in-fection control rate and the medical device vendor follow-up rate.METHODS Trauma orthopedic implant manage-ment was implemented at Shaoxing People's Hospital from Mar.2023 to Mar.2024,involving 2 047 trauma or-thopedic surgeries(study group).For comparison,a control group consisting of 2 067 trauma orthopedic surger-ies from Mar.2022 to Feb.2023 under routine management was selected.The impact of trauma orthopedic im-plant management on operating room efficiency,infection control rate and medical device vendor follow-up rate in both groups were analyzed.RESULTS The study group showed satisfaction rates of 78.65％and 91.35％for cir-culating cooperation familiarity and handwashing cooperation familiarity,respectively,both higher than those in the control group(P＜0.001).The study group also demonstrated higher rates of standardized use of orthopedic trauma implants(96.43％),accurate item-code correspondence(98.19％)and timely availability(98.19％)than those in the control group,with a lower medical device vendor follow-up rate of 3.57％(P＜0.001).The study group's monthly overtime hours,costs,time costs,average cost per re-disinfection and re-cleaning service and monthly re-disinfection re-cleaning frequency were 13.85 hours,235.86 yuan/day,25 233.51 yuan,0.35 yuan/time and 183.81 times/month,respectively,all lower than those in the control group(P＜0.001).The study group had higher rates of consumable access compliance(99.22％),accurate charging(98.58％)and timely delivery(97.90％)than the control group(P＜0.001).The study group also achieved a 100.00％implant regulatory recovery rate,higher than the control group(P＜0.001).Furthermore,the surgical site infection rate in the study group was 1.91％,lower than that in the control group(P＜0.001).CONCLUSIONS This study establishes a trauma orthopedic implant management system integrating supply chain management,an identification system and IoT technology.This model effectively addresses core issues such as the difficulty in regulating multiple vendors,blind spots in virtual warehousing and disorder in item-code tracing under the traditional vendor self-management model.It significantly improves operating room efficiency,reduces the surgical site infection rate,and achieves a notable decrease in the medical device vendor follow-up rate.

Forensic medicine has been designated as a first-level discipline,presenting new opportunities and challenges for the development of forensic medicine.Since the 1980s,the establishment of foren-sic medicine discipline and the cultivation of high-level forensic talents have become hot topics in the development of forensic medicine in China.Since the 13th Five-Year Plan,the forensic team of Shanxi Medical University has been aiming at the forefront,proposing the development goals of"Five First-class"and the discipline development path"Six Major Achievements".It has selected benchmark disci-plines,identified gaps in disciplinary development,unified thoughts,formulated completion timelines,concentrated superior resources,assigned tasks to individuals,and created an"Organized Fill-in-the-Blank Format"forensic medicine discipline construction model with the characteristics of the new era.The construction model of forensic medicine has achieved good results in the goals,discipline frame-work,scientific research,talent cultivation,discipline team and platform construction,forming a rela-tively complete discipline construction and management system,and accumulating valuable experience for the construction of first-level discipline and high-level talent cultivation of forensic medicine.

Jiegengtang is a basic formula for treating sore throat and cough. By means of bibliometrics， this study conducted a textual research and analysis on the key information such as formula origin， decocting methods， and clinical application of Jiegengtang. After the research， it can be seen that Jiegengtang is firstly contained in Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Disease， which is also known as Ganjietang， and it has been inherited and innovated by medical practitioners of various dynasties in later times. The origins of Chinese medicines in this formula is basically clear， Jiegeng is the dried roots of Platycodon grandiflorum， Gancao is the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis， the two medicines are selected raw products. The dosage is 27.60 g of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and 13.80 g of Platycodonis Radix， decocted with 600 mL of water to 200 mL， taken warmly after meals， twice a day， 100 mL for each time. In ancient times， Jiegengtang was mainly used for treating Shaoyin-heat invasion syndrome， with cough and sore throat as its core symptoms. In modern clinical practice， Jiegengtang is mainly used for respiratory diseases such as pharyngitis， esophagitis， tonsillitis and lung abscess， especially for pharyngitis and lung abscess with remarkable efficacy. This paper can provide literature reference basis for the modern clinical application and new drug development of Jiegengtang.

Jiegengtang is a basic formula for treating sore throat and cough. By means of bibliometrics， this study conducted a textual research and analysis on the key information such as formula origin， decocting methods， and clinical application of Jiegengtang. After the research， it can be seen that Jiegengtang is firstly contained in Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Disease， which is also known as Ganjietang， and it has been inherited and innovated by medical practitioners of various dynasties in later times. The origins of Chinese medicines in this formula is basically clear， Jiegeng is the dried roots of Platycodon grandiflorum， Gancao is the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis， the two medicines are selected raw products. The dosage is 27.60 g of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and 13.80 g of Platycodonis Radix， decocted with 600 mL of water to 200 mL， taken warmly after meals， twice a day， 100 mL for each time. In ancient times， Jiegengtang was mainly used for treating Shaoyin-heat invasion syndrome， with cough and sore throat as its core symptoms. In modern clinical practice， Jiegengtang is mainly used for respiratory diseases such as pharyngitis， esophagitis， tonsillitis and lung abscess， especially for pharyngitis and lung abscess with remarkable efficacy. This paper can provide literature reference basis for the modern clinical application and new drug development of Jiegengtang.

OBJECTIVE To explore the impact of trauma orthopedic implant management on the operating room in-fection control rate and the medical device vendor follow-up rate.METHODS Trauma orthopedic implant manage-ment was implemented at Shaoxing People's Hospital from Mar.2023 to Mar.2024,involving 2 047 trauma or-thopedic surgeries(study group).For comparison,a control group consisting of 2 067 trauma orthopedic surger-ies from Mar.2022 to Feb.2023 under routine management was selected.The impact of trauma orthopedic im-plant management on operating room efficiency,infection control rate and medical device vendor follow-up rate in both groups were analyzed.RESULTS The study group showed satisfaction rates of 78.65％and 91.35％for cir-culating cooperation familiarity and handwashing cooperation familiarity,respectively,both higher than those in the control group(P＜0.001).The study group also demonstrated higher rates of standardized use of orthopedic trauma implants(96.43％),accurate item-code correspondence(98.19％)and timely availability(98.19％)than those in the control group,with a lower medical device vendor follow-up rate of 3.57％(P＜0.001).The study group's monthly overtime hours,costs,time costs,average cost per re-disinfection and re-cleaning service and monthly re-disinfection re-cleaning frequency were 13.85 hours,235.86 yuan/day,25 233.51 yuan,0.35 yuan/time and 183.81 times/month,respectively,all lower than those in the control group(P＜0.001).The study group had higher rates of consumable access compliance(99.22％),accurate charging(98.58％)and timely delivery(97.90％)than the control group(P＜0.001).The study group also achieved a 100.00％implant regulatory recovery rate,higher than the control group(P＜0.001).Furthermore,the surgical site infection rate in the study group was 1.91％,lower than that in the control group(P＜0.001).CONCLUSIONS This study establishes a trauma orthopedic implant management system integrating supply chain management,an identification system and IoT technology.This model effectively addresses core issues such as the difficulty in regulating multiple vendors,blind spots in virtual warehousing and disorder in item-code tracing under the traditional vendor self-management model.It significantly improves operating room efficiency,reduces the surgical site infection rate,and achieves a notable decrease in the medical device vendor follow-up rate.

As artificial intelligence technology rapidly advances, its deployment within the medical sector presents substantial ethical challenges. Consequently, it becomes crucial to create a standardized, transparent, and secure framework for processing medical data. This includes setting the ethical boundaries for medical artificial intelligence and safeguarding both patient rights and data integrity. This consensus governs every facet of medical data handling through artificial intelligence, encompassing data gathering, processing, storage, transmission, utilization, and sharing. Its purpose is to ensure the management of medical data adheres to ethical standards and legal requirements, while safeguarding patient privacy and data security. Concurrently, the principles of compliance with the law, patient privacy respect, patient interest protection, and safety and reliability are underscored. Key issues such as informed consent, data usage, intellectual property protection, conflict of interest, and benefit sharing are examined in depth. The enactment of this expert consensus is intended to foster the profound integration and sustainable advancement of artificial intelligence within the medical domain, while simultaneously ensuring that artificial intelligence adheres strictly to the relevant ethical norms and legal frameworks during the processing of medical data.
Artificial Intelligence/legislation & jurisprudence* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Computer Security/standards* ; Confidentiality/ethics* ; Informed Consent/ethics*

Objective:To compare the feasibility and efficacy of translocator protein (TSPO) molecular probes N, N-diethyl-2-(2-(4- 18F-fluorophenyl)-5, 7-dimethylpyrazolo[1, 5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl)acetamide ( 18F-FDPA) and 18F-(R)-( N-sec-butyl)-3-fluoromethyl- N-methyl-4-phenylquinoline-2-carboxamide (LW223) for the detection of abdominal vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques (VAP) in rabbit models. Methods:Nine healthy New Zealand white rabbits were divided into group A (control group, n=3), group B (VAP group, n=3) and group C (VAP treatment group, n=3) using completely randomized design. Animals were injected with 18F-FDPA and 18F-LW223 at the end of 12, 16 and 24 weeks. PET/CT and CT angiography (CTA) was performed 40-50 min post injection. All rabbits were sacrificed at the end of 24 weeks after imaging studies. All abdominal aortas were collected for pathological and immunofluorescence examination. Repeated measures analysis of variance (Bonferroni test) and paired t-test were used to analyze the data. Results:Target-to-background ratio (TBR; abdominal aortic lesion/left ventricular blood pool) values of 18F-FDPA in 3 groups at the end of 12, 16 and 24 weeks were significantly different ( F values: 68.09-144.88, all P<0.001). At the end of 12 weeks, there was no increased uptake of 18F-FDPA in the abdominal aorta region in 3 groups. The local 18F-FDPA uptake of the abdominal aorta in group B was significantly higher than the uptake in group C and that in group A at the end of 16 and 24 weeks( P<0.05 or P<0.001), and there were significant differences between group C and group A, with higher uptake in group C (both P<0.01). In 3 groups, there was no significant 18F-LW223 uptake in the abdominal aorta region at 3 time points of PET/CTA imaging. At the end of 12, 16 and 24 weeks, TBR values of 18F-FDPA and 18F-LW223 in 3 groups exhibited statistical differences ( t values: 2.88-36.79, all P<0.05). HE, immunofluorescent CD68 and TSPO staining showed more macrophage infiltration in group B than group C. Conclusion:18F-FDPA can be used to detect VAP in rabbits′ abdominal arteries at early time compared to 18F-LW223, and to evaluate the changes in the stability of vulnerable plaque after lipid-lowering drug intervention.