Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) is avascular necrosis of the femoral head caused by long-erm use of corticosteroids, and its pathogenesis is complex and affected by changes in the dynamic balance of the bone microenvironment. With the deepening of research, the role of bone microenvironment in the pathogenesis of SONFH has been gradually revealed. In the case of excessive use of glucocorticoids (GCs), the bone microenvironment changes significantly, causing imbalance in bone lipid metabolism, microcirculation disorders and disorders of immune regulation, which promotes the increase of the number and activity of osteoclasts, and interferes with the differentiation of osteoblasts and adipoblasts. Through the regulation of PI3K/AKT, OPG/RANKL/RANK, MAPK, JAK/STAT, Hedgehog and other signaling pathways, it eventually leads to osteocyte apoptosis, bone microvascular rupture and destruction of trabecular bone structure, which in turn leads to osteonecrosis, bone density reduction and bone microstructure destruction due to bone microcirculation ischemia, and finally leads to necrosis of the femoral head. This article reviews the role of bone microenvironment homeostasis in GCs-induced ONFH and the regulatory mechanism of bone microenvironment, which is helpful to reveal the pathogenesis of SONFH and provide a theoretical basis for exploring effective intervention strategies.
Humans ; Femur Head Necrosis/physiopathology* ; Animals ; Signal Transduction ; Bone and Bones/metabolism* ; Glucocorticoids/adverse effects* ; Cellular Microenvironment

BACKGROUND: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) has been shown to be positively correlated with cardiovascular disease in previous studies. However, it is unclear whether elderly people with long-term high AIP levels are more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between AIP trajectory and CHD incidence in elderly people. METHODS: 19,194 participants aged ≥ 60 years who had three AIP measurements between 2018 and 2020 were included in this study. AIP was defined as log₁₀ (triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The group-based trajectory model was used to identify different trajectory patterns of AIP from 2018 to 2020. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI of CHD events between different trajectory groups from 2020 to 2023. RESULTS: Three different trajectory patterns were identified through group-based trajectory model: the low-level group (n = 7410, mean AIP: -0.25 to -0.17), the medium-level group (n = 9981, mean AIP: 0.02-0.08), and the high-level group (n = 1803, mean AIP: 0.38-0.42). During a mean follow-up of 2.65 years, a total of 1391 participants developed CHD. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the participants in the low-level group, the HR with 95% CI of the medium-level group and the high-level group were estimated to be 1.24 (1.10-1.40) and 1.43 (1.19-1.73), respectively. These findings remained consistent in subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS There was a significant correlation between persistent high AIP level and increased CHD risk in the elderly. This suggests that monitoring the long-term changes in AIP is helpful to identify individuals at high CHD risk in elderly people.

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

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.05.019.].

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

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

Anti-tumor traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of clinic application, in which the star molecules have always been the hotspot of modern drug research, but they are limited by the solubility, stability, targeting, bioactivity or toxicity of the monomer components of traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules and other pharmacokinetic problems, which hinders the traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules for further clinical translation and application. Currently, the nanosystems prepared by supramolecular technologies such as molecular self-assembly and nanomaterial encapsulation have broader application prospects in improving the anti-tumor effect of active components of traditional Chinese medicine, which has attracted extensive attention from scholars at home and abroad. In this paper, we systematically review the research progress in preparation of supramolecular nano-systems from anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine, and summarize the two major categories and ten small classes of carrier-free and carrier-based supramolecular nanosystems and their research cases, and the future development direction is put forward. The purpose of this paper is to provide reference for the research and clinical transformation of using supramolecular technology to improve the clinical application of anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine.

Tumor is one of the major diseases that endanger people’s health. At present, the treatments used for tumor include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and so on. Nonetheless, the traditional treatments have some disadvantages, such as insufficient treatment effect, liable to cause multidrug resistance, toxicity and side effect. Further research and exploration of tumor treatment schemes are still necessary. As the energy converter of cells, mitochondria are currently considered to be one of the most important targets for the design of new drugs for tumor, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. Nano-drug delivery carriers have the characteristics of being easily modified with active targeting groups, and it can achieve accurate targeted drug delivery to cells and organelles. This paper reviews the application of mitochondrial targeted nanoparticles in tumor diagnosis and treatment from the aspects of inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor recurrence and metastasis, and inducing cell autophagy.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of cnithol on acute pancreatitis(AP)rats and its regulatory mechanism on phosphoinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt)signaling pathway.Methods SPF-grade SD male rats were randomly divided into control group,model group(50 μg·kg-1 hyranin+10 mg·kg-1 LPS),positive control group(2 mg·kg-1 dexamethasone),experimental-L group(20 mg·kg-1 osthol)and experimental-H group(40 mg·kg-1 osthol),experimental-H+740Y-P group(40 mg·kg-1 osthol+2 mg·kg-1 PI3K activator 740Y-P),15 mice in each group.The activities of amylase and lipase in serum of rats were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer 24 h after the last administration.The levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-6(IL-6)in serum,the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)and the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD)in pancreas were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was used to observe the pathological changes of pancreatic tissue and score the pathological damage.Western blot was used to detect the expression of PI3K/Akt pathway related proteins in rat pancreas.Results The activities of serum amylase in control group,model group,positive control group,experimental-H group and experimental-H+740Y-P group were(135.67±12.89),(1 027.84±32.16),(174.31±15.27),(186.70±17.39)and(835.92±28.78)U·mL-1,respectively;the contents of TNF-α were(35.69±3.10),(223.54±15.23),(48.76±4.25),(52.31±4.68)and(208.46±13.65)pg·mL-1,respectively;the contents of MDA were(2.15±0.14),(6.37±0.42),(2.78±0.17),(2.81±0.15)and(5.96±0.36)nmol·mg-1,respectively;the histopathological injury scores were 1.12±0.07,10.23±0.38,3.14±0.21,3.25±0.23 and 9.68±0.40,respectively;p-PI3K/PI3K ratios were 0.82±0.05,1.96±0.15,1.07±0.06,1.10±0.07 and 1.69±0.14,respectively.The above indexes were compared with the control group in the model group,the positive control group,experimental-H group and the model group,and the above indexes of experimental-H+740Y-P group and experimental-H group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Gossetin can play a therapeutic role in AP,and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Objective To study the pharmacokinetic characteristics of buspirone hydrochloride tablets in healthy adult populations under conditions of fasting and postprandial administration.Methods A single-center,randomized,three-cycle partially repeated crossover trial design was adopted,and 36 subjects were enrolled on fasting/postprandial,one tablet of the test preparation was taken in one cycle,one tablet of reference preparation(5 mg of buspirone tablets)was taken once in each of 2 cycles,the drug concentration of buspirone in plasma was determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry,and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by WinNonlin software.Results Main pharmacokinetics of buspirone after oral administration of test and reference preparations in fasting group,the Cmax was(285.72±286.08)and(308.94±341.03)pg·mL-1;AUC0-t were(577.09±491.10)and(618.62±642.56)pg·mL-1·h;AUC0-∞ were(586.85±510.04)and(655.92±687.95)pg·mL-1·h;tmax was 0.75(0.33-4.00)and 0.75(0.33-1.75)h.Main pharmacokinetics of buspirone after oral administration of test and reference preparations in the postprandial group,the Cmax were(676.36±603.64)and(760.33±610.27)pg·mL-1;AUC0-t were(1 755.58±1 001.69)and(1 743.00±1 073.33)pg·h·mL-1;AUC0-∞ were(1 839.97±1 044.60)and(1 818.00±1 106.95)pg·mL-1·h;tmax was 1.25(0.25-4.50)and 1.00(0.25-3.50)h.The 90％confidence intervals of the AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ geometric mean ratios of the test preparation and the reference preparation in the fasting test and the postprandial test all fell between 80.00％and 125.00％,and the 95％upper confidence limit of of Cmax was ≤0 and geometric mean ratios point estimates fall between 80.00％and 125.00％.Conclusion Two kinds of buspirone hydrochloride are bioequivalent in Chinese healthy adult subject.