OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes after acupoint application in patients with pharyngeal pain in a real-world settings, and analyze the characteristics of effective population and prescription characteristics of acupoint application. METHODS: Based on CHUNBO platform, patients with pharyngeal pain who were candidates for acupoint application on the basis of physician-evaluation, were enrolled in a nationwide, prospective, 69-week multicenter observational study from August 2020 to February 2022. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match the confounding factors and the association rules were used to analyze the characteristics of effective population and prescription characteristics of acupoint application. Outcome assessments included the disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain (within 3, 7, and 14 days), disappearance time of pharyngeal pain, as well as adverse events. RESULTS: Of 7,699 enrolled participants, 6,693 (86.9%) received acupoint application and 1,450 (21.7%) with non-acupoint application. After PSM, there were 1,004 patients each in the application group (AG) and non-application group (NAG). The disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain in the AG at 3, 7, and 14 days were all higher than those in the NAG (P<0.05). The disappearance time of pharyngeal pain in the AG were shorter than that in the NAG (logrank P<0.001, hazard ratio=1.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.41-1.63). The median age of effective cases was 4 years, mainly 3-6 years old (40.21%). The disappearance rate of pharyngeal pain in the application group with tonsil diseases was 2.19 times higher than that in the NAG (P<0.05). The commonly used acupoints for the effective cases were Tiantu (RN 22), Shenque (RN 8) and Dazhui (DU 14). The commonly used herbs for the effective cases were Natrii sulfas, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, and Herba Ephedrae. Among them, Natrii sulfas was applied to RN 8 most frequently (support 84.39%). A total of 1,324 (17.2%) patients experienced AEs, and mainly occurred in the AG, with significant difference in the incidence of AEs between goups (P<0.05). All AEs reported were the first grade, and the average regression days of AEs was 2.8 days. CONCLUSIONS Acupoint application in patients with pharyngeal pain resulted in improved effective rate and shortened duration, especially children aged 3-6 years old, and those with tonsil diseases. Acupoint of RN 22, RN 8 and DU 14, Natrii sulfas, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, and Herba Ephedrae were the most commonly used herbs in the treatment of pharyngeal pain.
Child ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Acupuncture Points ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Prospective Studies ; Pain

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), one of the chronic complications of diabetes, is a serious and irreversible blinding disease. It is difficult to detect in the early stage, to control in the progressive stage, to operate in the advanced stage of DR. Recently, the "14th Five-year plan" for National Eye Health proposed to "improve the management mode of chronic eye disease, and build a chronic disease management system". The project team used artificial intelligence technology based on cloud platform, joint outpatient service, virtual ward to explore the comprehensive management of DR from the aspects of early screening, multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment, and refined blood glucose management during perioperative period. In the future, it is urgent to integrate DR chronic disease management with other systemic chronic diseases to reduce the blindness caused by DR.
Humans ; Diabetic Retinopathy/diagnosis* ; Artificial Intelligence ; Mass Screening ; Blindness/prevention & control* ; Diabetes Mellitus

Objective To explore the value of trans-lymphatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)in the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer. Methods The patients with suspected thyroid cancer underwent conventional ultrasound and trans-lymphatic CEUS examinations before the biopsy.The differences in ultrasound and CEUS characteristics of cervical lymph nodes between the metastatic group and the non-metastatic group were compared,and pathological results were regarded as the golden standard. Results Twenty patients had thyroid cancer,including 12 cases with lymph node metastasis and 8 cases without metastasis.The diagnostic sensitivity(91.7%
Contrast Media ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes/diagnostic imaging* ; Lymphatic Metastasis/diagnostic imaging* ; Thyroid Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Ultrasonography

Objective To explore the association between contrast-enhanced ultrasound and risk of tumor recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC). Methods A total of 287 PTCs in 287 patients who underwent surgery,conventional ultrasound,and contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)were enrolled in this study.According to 2015 American Thyroid Association(ATA)Modified Initial Risk Stratification System,the patients were categorized into three groups:low risk,intermediate risk,and high risk.The CEUS patterns of PTCs were compared between different risk stratifications. Results Hypo-enhancement was presented in 57.6% of ATA low-risk PTCs,iso-enhancement in 62.3% of ATA intermediate-risk PTCs,and hyper-enhancement in 48.2% of ATA high-risk PTCs(
Humans ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/diagnostic imaging* ; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary/diagnostic imaging* ; Thyroid Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effificacy of oral Chinese medicine (CM) in comparison with donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI), for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHODSRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been searched, and the effect of CM compared with donepezil in AD has been investigated. An electronic search of MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Cochrane Library, Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBMdisc), and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to identify articles in English and Chinese from the inception of the database until October 18, 2015. A modifified Jadad score (7-points) to judge the methodological quality of studies, comprehensive meta-analysis was performed with Cochrane Collaboration Revman 5.3. Dichotomous data were analyzed by relative risk (RR) with a 95% confifidence interval (CI), while continuous variables were analyzed by using mean differences (MD) with 95% CI for effect size.

RESULTSSix studies involving 596 AD patients through Jadad assessment with low bias were included in the meta-analysis. No signifificant difference was observed in cognitive improvement and daily abilities of patients using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (MD: 0.69, 95% CI:-0.17 to 1.56) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale (MD: 0.94, 95% CI:-1.54 to 3.43). There were no signifificant differences in status of illness or MD for mild-moderate AD patients at 24 weeks (MD: 0.62, 95% CI:-2.99 to 4.23) and 48 weeks (MD:-0.73, 95% CI:-5.02 to 3.56). Severe AD patients were also assessed at 24 weeks (MD: 3.13, 95% CI:-6.92 to 13.18) and 48 weeks (MD: 4.23, 95% CI:-6.38 to 14.84). Furthermore, compared with donepezil, Xin (Heart)-regulating CM and Shen (Kidney)-tonifying groups were observed (MD:-1.50, 95% CI:-3.08 to 0.08; MD:-1.92, 95% CI:-3.50 to-0.33; respectively). CM had fewer side effects in AD patients.

CONCLUSIONCompared with donepezil, oral CM showed no signifificant difference in effectiveness in AD patients, and more evidence is needed to verify the fifindings.

We have carried out the chemical investigation on the roots of Alangium chinense. The chemical constituents from the roots of A.chinense were isolated and purified by various chromatographic techniques, such as silica gel, MCI-Gel resin, Sephadex LH-20 and high performance liquid chromatography. As a result, three alkaloids (1-3) were isolated from 90% EtOH extracts of the roots of this plant. Their structures were elucidated by physical-chemical properties and spectral data. Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, determined as 8-hydroxy-3-hydroxymethyl-6,9-dimethyl-7H-benzo[de]isoquinolin-7-one. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was evaluated by the MTT method. Compound 1 displayed cytotoxicity against NB4, A-549, SHSY5Y, PC-3 and MCF-7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 4.2, 3.5, 5.7, 2.8 and 3.9 μmol•L⁻¹, respectively.

Objective To understand the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and related risk factors in residents aged 18-65 years in Beijing and provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of hypercholesterolemia.Methods The data were collected from Beijing Non-communicable and Chronic Disease Survey and stratified cluster sampling method was used to select study subjects,and questionnaire investigation,physical measurement and laboratory examination were conducted to collect information.Results The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and borderline hypercholesterolemia was 6.26％ and 21.34％ respectively in 17 662 residents surveyed,the average total cholesterol level was (4.69 ± 0.95) mmol/L.The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 6.33％ in men and 6.20％ in women,the difference was not significant (Z=1.64,P=0.10).The prevalence was higher inurban area than in suburb (6.73％ vs.5.59％;Z=-7.27,P＜0.01).The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia increased with age (trend x2=308.85,P＜0.01).The trend was observed in men (trend x2=81.65,P＜0.01),in women (trend x2=318.04,P＜0.01),in urban area (trend x2=201.77,P＜0.01) and in suburb (trend x2=114.65,P＜0.01).Multiple logistic regression showed age,being female (OR=1.23,95％CI:1.04-1.45),overweight (OR=1.56,95％CI:1.34-1.81),obesity (OR=1.82,95％CI:1.54-2.16),smoking (OR=1.24,95％CI:1.03-1.50),alcohol use (OR=1.40,95％CI:1.12-1.75),beef and mutton intake ＞ 1 time per week (OR=1.19,95％CI:1.02-1.39) were risk factors.Conclusion The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in Beijing was lower than national level,and age,gender,location,BMI,smoking,alcohol use,beef and mutton intake were main influencing factors.

The study is aimed to test the effect of Huangqin Tang (HQT) on serum metabolic profile in rats with ulcerative colitis, and explore its possible action mechanism for ulcerative colitis (UC) rats. The model of UC rats with cell immunoreactivity was made using a compound method (trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid plus ethanol). Rats were randomly divided into the control group, the model group, and HQT group. Ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were employed to analyze the metabolic profile among normal group, the model group, HQT group. Potential biomarkers were screened in the serum based on the variable importance projection (VIP) value > 1, P< 0.05. As compared with the normal group, 16 potential biomarkers such as valine, tryptophan, lactic acid and urea were found and identified in the serum of model group rats. As compared with the model group, a part of the biomarkers were restored nearly to a normal state after HQT administration for 10 days. Metabolomic analysis revealed that the HQT has a certain therapeutic effect in UC rats, and the mechanism may be related to regulation of lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and energy metabolism.

A new furan-2-carboxylic acid, 5-[3-(hydroxymethyl)-4,5-dimethoxyphenyl]-3-methylfuran-2-carboxylic acid(1),has been isolated from the bark of Cassia alata by using various chromatographic techniques. It displayed cytotoxicity against NB4, A549, SHSY5Y, PC3 and MCF7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 2.5, 1.2, 2.2, 3.6 and 1.9 μmol•L⁻¹, respectively.

A new isoindole alkaloid (1), has been isolated from the leaves of Cassia siamea by using various chromatographic techniques. Compound 1 is a new compound, determined as 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methyl-6-prenylisoindolin-1-one, and it displayed cytotoxicity against NB4, A549, SHSY5Y, PC3 and MCF7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 3.2,4.6,2.8,6.4, 2.5 μmol•L⁻¹, respectively.