Objective​ To evaluate the clinical characteristics and influencing factors of fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis （RA）， with the aim of providing guidance for clinical treatment. Methods​ Based on the multicenter real-world cohort of the China Registry of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Rheumatism （CERTAIN） platform， patients with RA enrolled from 2019 to 2025 were included. Demographic data， disease assessment indicators， laboratory indices， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome patterns were collected to analyze the TCM syndromes and clinical characteristics of RA patients with fatigue. Spearman correlation analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with fatigue in RA. Results​ A total of 3 021 patients with RA were included， among whom 2 007 （66.43%） had fatigue. Compared with the non-fatigue group， the fatigue group was older and had a longer disease duration， with significantly higher scores for the 28-joint Disease Activity Score （DAS28）， swollen joint count （SJC）， tender joint count （TJC）， Health Assessment Questionnaire （HAQ）， pain visual analog scale （VAS）， and patient global assessment （PGA） （P<0.01）. Among TCM syndromes， fatigue was more common in patients with dampness-heat obstruction， cold-dampness obstruction， and liver-kidney deficiency syndromes （P<0.05）. Multivariate analysis revealed that morning stiffness duration exhibited a stepwise association with fatigue， while poor appetite， insomnia with frequent dreaming， restlessness， high HAQ scores， and high pain VAS scores were identified as risk factors. ConclusionFatigue is a prominent symptom in patients with RA and is more common among those with dampness-heat obstruction， cold-dampness obstruction， and liver-kidney deficiency syndromes. It is closely associated with disease activity， pain， functional limitation， sleep， and emotional status.

Skeletal muscle atrophy refers to a pathological condition characterized by muscle fiber atrophy as well as decreased muscle mass and muscle strength induced by various predisposing factors. It falls under the category of “flaccidity syndrome” in traditional Chinese medicine， and its pathogenesis is mainly associated with disturbed protein homeostasis， mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress injury. Active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine exerts synergistic regulatory effects via multiple pathways， thus possessing unique advantages in the clinical prevention and treatment of skeletal muscle atrophy. This paper reviews the mechanisms by which active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine alleviate skeletal muscle atrophy. Existing studies have demonstrated that such active ingredients can ameliorate skeletal muscle atrophy through multiple approaches： regulating protein metabolic balance （geniposide， matrine， schisandrin A， etc.） and oxidative stress （astragaloside Ⅳ， Gastrodia elata polysaccharide， Angelica sinensis polysaccharide， etc.）， improving mitochondrial function （parthenolide， berberine， curcumin， etc.）， facilitating myogenesis and myogenic differentiation （cucurbitacin Ⅱb， saikosaponin A， saikosaponin D， etc.）， suppressing inflammatory response （ursolic acid， triptolide， emodin， etc.）， ameliorating insulin resistance （akebiasaponin D， etc.）. In the future， active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine are expected to achieve breakthroughs in clinical treatment for skeletal muscle atrophy， providing novel ideas and strategies for the prevention and treatment of degenerative disorders.

Background Diarrhea disease is a common intestinal infectious disease, and its incidence is affected by meteorological conditions. A better understanding of its epidemiological patterns and influencing factors, together with the construction of reliable prediction models, is of great significance for precise public health prevention and control. Objective To clarify the epidemic characteristics of adult diarrhea disease in Shanghai, analyze the associations of meteorological factors and a web search index with adult diarrhea disease, and develop and compare forecasting models to support precise regional prevention and control. Methods Weekly surveillance data of adult diarrhea disease cases from the Shanghai Comprehensive Surveillance Information System for Diarrhea Diseases, together with concurrent meteorological observation data and web search index (Baidu index) data from 2014 to 2019, were collected. A distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was adopted to analyze the associations of multiple meteorological factors and the web search index with the number of diarrhea disease cases. By integrating meteorological factors and web search index data, three types of forecasting models were developed, including autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), Random Forest, and extreme gradient boosting (Xgboost), and their predictive performances were evaluated. Results Adult diarrhea disease in Shanghai exhibited seasonal variation, with an major incidence peak in summer and winter peaks in some years. The number of cases declined annually after 2015. Mean temperature was significantly associated with the risk of diarrhea disease, and both low and high temperature exposures were associated with increased risks. The highest risk was observed at 32.8°C (RR=2.04, 95%CI: 1.62, 2.55), while the strongest effect of low temperature was observed at 0.9 °C (RR=1.53, 95%CI: 1.25, 1.88). When relative humidity exceeded 69%, the risk of diarrhea disease increased with relative humidity, reaching a peak at 81% (RR=1.20, 95%CI: 1.07, 1.35). When weekly cumulative precipitation exceeded 16 mm, the risk also increased with increasing precipitation, reaching a maximum at 105 mm (RR=1.23, 95%CI: 1.07, 1.42). The web search index was positively associated with the risk of diarrhea disease. Model prediction indicated that both the Random Forest model and the Xgboost model adequately captured the overall trend in diarrhea disease cases, with R² values generally exceeding 0.7. Notably, the Xgboost model demonstrated greater accuracy in capturing peak intensities. Conclusion Meteorological factors are associated with adult diarrhea disease in Shanghai. The web search index may serve as an auxiliary indicator for diarrhea forecasting. Machine learning models, with advantages in integrating multisource data, may provide effective predictive tools for the prevention and control of diarrhea disease.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on oral microbiota and metabolites in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: This prospective study was conducted in 47 MAFLD patients complicated with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 48 MAFLD patients without CHB enrolled from November, 2023 to January, 2024. Fasting tongue coating samples were collected from the patients for analyzing microbial community structures and metabolites using high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics techniques, and their associations with clinical indicators and biological pathways were explored using correlation analysis and functional annotation. RESULTS: The levels of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and severity of fatty liver were all significantly lower in MAFLD+CHB group than in MAFLD group. Microbiota analysis showed that the abundances of Patescibacteria (at the phylum level), Hydrogenophaga, and Absconditabacteriales (at the genus level) were significantly increased, while the abundance of Megasphaera was decreased in MAFLD+CHB group. The differential microbiota were significantly correlated with TC, GGT and low-density lipoprotein (r=-0.68‒0.75). Metabolomics analysis revealed that 469 metabolites (including lipids and amino acids) were upregulated and 2306 (including organic oxygen-containing compounds and phenylpropanoids) were downregulated in MAFLD+CHB group, for which KEGG enrichment analysis suggested abnormal activation of the linoleic acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways. Correlation analysis between microbiota and metabolites indicated that Patescibacteria and Megasphaera, which were positively correlated with lipid metabolites and negatively with fatty acid metabolites, respectively, jointly affected glycolipid metabolism and oxidative stress pathways. CONCLUSIONS Compared to patients with MAFLD alone, MAFLD patients with concurrent chronic HBV infection showed lower levels in some lipid metabolism indicators and the degree of hepatic steatosis, accompanied by alterations in oral microbiota structure and metabolic profiles. The precise mechanisms involved require further investigation to be fully elucidated.
Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Prospective Studies ; Microbiota ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/microbiology* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Fatty Liver/microbiology* ; Middle Aged ; Mouth/microbiology* ; Metabolomics

This study compared the differences in intestinal absorption characteristics of eleven active components in Rubus multibracteatus(RM) extract(protocatechuic acid, tiliroside, scutellarin, luteoloside, astragalin, epicatechin, catechin, xanthotoxin, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide) between normal rats and inflammatory pain model rats using the in-vitro everted intestinal sac model. The RM extract was administered at absorption concentrations of 25.0, 50.0, and 100.0 mg·mL~(-1). The contents of the eleven components in intestinal absorption solution samples were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS), and their cumulative absorption(Q) and absorption rate constant(K_a) were calculated to evaluate the absorption characteristics of these components in normal rats and inflammatory pain model rats. The results show that except for catechin, epicatechin, and caffeic acid, the cumulative absorption-time curves of the other eight components(protocatechuic acid, tiliroside, scutellarin, luteoloside, astragalin, xanthotoxin, p-coumaric acid, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide) exhibit an upward trend without saturation, with correlation coefficients(R~2) all > 0.9, indicating linear absorption. However, the overall absorption of all components is not dose-dependent with increasing concentration, suggesting that their absorption mechanisms are not solely passive diffusion. In both normal and model rats, the jejunum shows the highest absorption for all components except xanthotoxin. The overall absorption of seven components(excluding protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, apigenin-7-O-glucuronide, and luteoloside) in normal rats is better than that in model rats across all intestinal segments. These findings indicate that the pathological state of inflammatory pain alters the intestinal absorption of RM extract, and its mechanism needs further investigation.
Animals ; Rats ; Intestinal Absorption/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Pain/metabolism* ; Intestines/drug effects* ; Intestinal Mucosa/metabolism*

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

During the past decate, Chinese pathologists have made remarkable achievements in the area of soft tissue tumors. They have not only done in-depth researches in selected entities like liposarcoma and round cell sarcomas, but have also issued expert consenses and guideline, as well as published professional books and translation books, with purpose to comprehensively improve the level of diagnosis nationwide.

Over the past decade, the field of bone tumor pathology in China has made remarkable progress. These achievements are reflected not only in the innovation and standardization of diagnostic techniques, which have significantly improved diagnostic accuracy, but also in the in-depth exploration of tumor pathogenesis and the continuous refinement of treatment protocols. More than one hundred research papers on bone tumor pathology published in the Chinese Journal of Pathology stand as a testament to the relentless efforts and practical contributions of Chinese pathologists in this field. On the occasion of the Chinese Journal of Pathology′s 70th anniversary, we summarize the progress in bone tumor pathology while also looking forward to the future, aiming to promote greater advancements in this field.

ObjectiveTo explore the correlation between the occurrence of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis（RA） and traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） syndrome. MethodsThe cross-sectional study selected 6713 RA patients from 122 centres nationwide， in which general information such as name， gender， age， height， body weight， and course of disease were collected by completing a questionnaire； patients were classified into eight types of syndrome according to the information of their four examinations，i.e. wind-dampness obstruction syndrome， cold-dampness obstruction syndrome， dampness-heat obstruction syndrome， phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome， stasis-blood obstructing collateral syndrome， qi-blood deficiency syndrome， liver-kidney insufficiency syndrome， and qi-yin deficiency syndrome. According to the occurrence of cardiovascular events， they were divided into the occurrence group and the non-occurrence group， and the condition assessment data and laboratory examination indexes were recorded. The test of difference between groups was used to analyse the possible risk factors for the occurrence of RA cardiovascular events， and binary logistic regression was used to analyse the correlation between TCM syndromes and RA cardiovascular events. ResultsA total of 6713 RA patients were included， including 256 cases in occurrence group and 6457 in non-occurrence group. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of height， gender， insomnia， appetite， white blood cell（WBC）， hemoglobin（HGB）， platelets（PLT）， rheumatoid factor（RF）， anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline（CCP）， alanine aminotransferase（ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase（AST）， γ-glutamyl transpeptidase（GGT）， urea creatinine（CREA）， and glucose（GLU）（P＞0.05）. The TCM syndromes between groups showed significant statistic differences（P＜0.05）. Patients in occurrence group had longer disease duration， heavier body weight， and older age； more severe conditions such as disease activity（DAS-28）， number of painful joints（TJC）， number of swollen joints（SJC）， health questionnaire scores（HAQ）， visual analog scores（VAS）， restlessness， and fatigue； higher blood sedimentation rate（ESR）， low-density lipoprotein（LDL-C）， triglyceride（TG）， total cholesterol（TC）， D-Dimer， and lower high-density lipoprotein（HDL-C）（P＜0.05）. The distribution of syndrome types showed that dampness-heat obstruction syndrome accounted for the largest proportion of patients in both groups and was higher in RA cardiovascular events. Logistic regression analysis showed that the occurrence of RA cardiovascular events was strongly associated with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome［OR=5.937， 95%CI （4.434， 7.949）， P＜0.001］. ConclusionThe occurrence of RA cardiovascular events were associated with TCM syndromes， and the probability of cardiovascular events in the RA patients with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome was 5.937 times higher than patients with other TCM syndromes.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), whose etiology is influenced by genetic and clinical risk factors, considerably impacts women's quality of life. However, the genetic underpinnings in non-European populations and comprehensive risk models integrating genetic and clinical factors remain underexplored. This study constructed the first polygenic risk score (PRS) for POP in the Chinese population by utilizing 20 disease-associated variants from the largest existing genome-wide association study. We analyzed a discovery cohort of 576 cases and 623 controls and a validation cohort of 264 cases and 200 controls. Results showed that the case group exhibited a significantly higher PRS than the control group. Moreover, the odds ratio of the top 10% risk group was 2.6 times higher than that of the bottom 10%. A high PRS was significantly correlated with POP occurrence in women older than 50 years old and in those with one or no childbirths. As far as we know, the integrated prediction model, which combined PRS and clinical risk factors, demonstrated better predictive accuracy than other existing PRS models. This combined risk assessment model serves as a robust tool for POP risk prediction and stratification, thereby offering insights into individualized preventive measures and treatment strategies in future clinical practice.
Humans ; Female ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; Risk Assessment/methods* ; China/epidemiology* ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Genetic Risk Score ; East Asian People