Inflammatory diseases (IDs) are a general term of diseases characterized by chronic inflammation as the primary pathogenetic mechanism, which seriously affect the quality of patient′s life and cause significant social and medical burden. Current drugs for IDs include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, immunomodulators, biologics, and antioxidants, but these drugs may cause gastrointestinal side effects, induce or worsen infections, and cause non-response or intolerance. Given the outstanding performance of metal polyphenol network (MPN) in the fields of drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and catalytic therapy, its application in the diagnosis and treatment of IDs has attracted much attention and significant progress has been made. In this paper, we first provide an overview of the types of IDs and their generating mechanisms, then sort out and summarize the different forms of MPN in recent years, and finally discuss in detail the characteristics of MPN and their latest research progress in the diagnosis and treatment of IDs. This research may provide useful references for scientific research and clinical practice in the related fields.

[Objective]To explore the regulatory mechanism of hypoxia exposure on carbon metabolism pathway in spleen of mice.[Methods]C57BL/6 mice were raised at altitudes of 400 m and 4 200 m,with 5 mice in each group.After 30 days,spleen tissues were aseptically removed for analysis of differentially expressed genes,proteins,and metabolites using transcriptome sequencing,proteomics,and non-targeted metabolomics.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were conducted to explore key pathways.The key genes and protein in the pathway were validated by RT-qPCR and Western blot.[Results]Transcriptome sequencing revealed a significant difference in the expression of 4 213 genes in hypoxic exposure,of which 1 947 were up-regulated and 2 266 were down-regulated.The analysis of differentially expressed proteins showed that 166 proteins were up-regulated and 39 proteins were down-regulated.The results of non-targeted metabolomics showed that 133 different metabolites were screened under high altitude hypoxia condition,of which 95 were up-regulated and 38 were down-regulated.KEGG enrichment analysis showed that differentially expressed genes,differentially expressed proteins and differentially expressed metabolites were enriched into the carbon metabolic pathway.Therefore,the key genes and proteins in the carbon metabolic pathway were verified.The mRNA and protein expressions of PGAM2、ENO3、PRPS2、PGLS、RPE、IDH3A、SUCLA2 and MDH2 were significantly down-regulated in the carbon metabolism pathway.[Conclusion]Low oxygen environment at high altitude weakens glycolysis,tricarboxylic acid cycle and pentose phosphate pathway by inhibiting the carbon metabolism pathway of the body,resulting in oxidative stress and energy metabolism imbalance.

Objective:To explore the mechanism of Lingze Tablets(LZT)acting on BPH in rats based on the VEGFA/TNF/IL-6 signaling pathway.Methods:We equally randomized 30 SPF SD male rats into five groups,normal control,BPH model con-trol,low-dose LZT,medium-dose LZT and high-dose LZT,and established a BPH model in the latter four groups by induction with non-castrate testosterone propionate.After the modeling,we treated the rats in the normal and model groups by intragastrical adminis-tration of physiological saline,and those in the latter three groups with low-,medium-,and high-dose LZT respectively,all for 28 suc-cessive days.Then we collected the prostate tissue from the animals for observation of the changes in the prostatic indexes and histo-morphology,detected the expressions of the proteins related to the VEGFA/TNF/IL-6 signaling pathway,and compared the data ob-tained among different groups.Results:Compared with the normal controls,the rats in the model control group showed significant pros-tatic hyperplasia,markedly increased prostatic index([0.84±0.01]g,P<0.05),thickness of the prostatic epithelia and infiltra-tion of the luminal area,and dramatically up-regulated protein expressions of VEGFA(0.60±0.02,P<0.05),TNF(0.76±0.02,P<0.05)and IL-6(0.64±0.02,P<0.05).In comparison with the model controls,the rats in the low-,medium-and high-dose LZT groups exhibited significantly decreased prostatic indexes([0.76±0.02]g,[0.58±0.02]g and[0.52 0.01]g,all P<0.05),improved prostatic histomorphology,and down-regulated expressions of VEGFA(0.45±0.01,0.35±0.01 and 0.31±0.02,all P<0.05),TNF(0.45±0.01,0.33±0.01 and 0.27±0.01,all P<0.01)and IL-6(0.44±0.01,0.36±0.01 and 0.30±0.01,all P<0.01)in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion:LZT produces therapeutic effect on BPH by negatively regulating the VEGFA/TNF/IL-6 signaling pathway,reducing the expression levels of VEGFA,TNF and IL-6 pro-teins,and regulating cell proliferation,apoptosis and inflammatory response.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Objective To propose an evaluation and screening indicator for the reliability of emergency ventilators.Methods Firstly,a regression model was used to clean the data and remove noise to ensure the accuracy of regression analysis.Then,four groups of highly correlated data combinations,including inspiratory tidal volume-minute expiratory volume,peak airway pressure-minute expiratory volume,peak airway pressure-inspiratory tidal volume and positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP)-mean airway pressure,were determined with the methods of curve fitting and transfer function,and the difference between the theoretical output and the actual output of the data combinations was regarded as an indicator to judge whether the ventilator functioned well or not;finally,the indicator proposed was applied to single and multiple ventilators,and the feasibility of the indicator was determined by the proportion of the ventilators functioning well.Results The evaluation results with a single ventilator showed the four groups of data combinations had the actual output fitted well with the theoretical output,and all the differences between the theoretical output and the actual output were lower than the threshold;the results with multiple ventilators indicated there were 71.49％ventilators functioning well,which was very close to the actual result that 72％ventilators behaved well.Conclusion The evaluation and screening indicator for emergency ventilators has high feasibility,and theoretical support is provided for reliability assessment and selection of series of emergency treatment equipment.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(7):8-16]

Background/Aims: Four-week treatment of linvencorvir (RO7049389) was generally safe and well tolerated, and showed anti-viral activity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of 48-week treatment with linvencorvir plus standard of care (SoC) in CHB patients. Methods: This was a multicentre, non-randomized, non-controlled, open-label phase 2 study enrolling three cohorts: nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC)-suppressed patients received linvencorvir plus NUC (Cohort A, n=32); treatment-naïve patients received linvencorvir plus NUC without (Cohort B, n=10) or with (Cohort C, n=30) pegylated interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α). Treatment duration was 48 weeks, followed by NUC alone for 24 weeks. Results: 68 patients completed the study. No patient achieved functional cure (sustained HBsAg loss and unquantifiable HBV DNA). By Week 48, 89% of treatment-naïve patients (10/10 Cohort B; 24/28 Cohort C) reached unquantifiable HBV DNA. Unquantifiable HBV RNA was achieved in 92% of patients with quantifiable baseline HBV RNA (14/15 Cohort A, 8/8 Cohort B, 22/25 Cohort C) at Week 48 along with partially sustained HBV RNA responses in treatment-naïve patients during follow-up period. Pronounced reductions in HBeAg and HBcrAg were observed in treatment-naïve patients, while HBsAg decline was only observed in Cohort C. Most adverse events were grade 1–2, and no linvencorvir-related serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions 48-week linvencorvir plus SoC was generally safe and well tolerated, and resulted in potent HBV DNA and RNA suppression. However, 48-week linvencorvir plus NUC with or without Peg-IFN did not result in the achievement of functional cure in any patient.

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.

Background/Aims: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who failed antiviral therapy are at increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study assessed the potential role of metformin and statins, medications for diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperlipidemia (HLP), in reducing HCC risk among these patients. Methods: We included CHC patients from the T-COACH study who failed antiviral therapy. We tracked the onset of HCC 1.5 years post-therapy by linking to Taiwan’s cancer registry data from 2003 to 2019. We accounted for death and liver transplantation as competing risks and employed Gray’s cumulative incidence and Cox subdistribution hazards models to analyze HCC development. Results: Out of 2,779 patients, 480 (17.3%) developed HCC post-therapy. DM patients not using metformin had a 51% increased risk of HCC compared to non-DM patients, while HLP patients on statins had a 50% reduced risk compared to those without HLP. The 5-year HCC incidence was significantly higher for metformin non-users (16.5%) versus non-DM patients (11.3%; adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio [aSHR]=1.51; P=0.007) and metformin users (3.1%; aSHR=1.59; P=0.022). Statin use in HLP patients correlated with a lower HCC risk (3.8%) compared to non-HLP patients (12.5%; aSHR=0.50; P<0.001). Notably, the increased HCC risk associated with non-use of metformin was primarily seen in non-cirrhotic patients, whereas statins decreased HCC risk in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Conclusions Metformin and statins may have a chemopreventive effect against HCC in CHC patients who failed antiviral therapy. These results support the need for personalized preventive strategies in managing HCC risk.

This study systematically reviewed the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding acupuncture for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMbase, Scopus, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, VIP database, and China biomedical literature service system (SinoMed) from database inception until August 1st, 2022. The Cochrane's risk of bias assessment tool was used to assess the risk of bias in all included studies, and Review Manager 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis of the extracted data. As a result, 12 RCTs, involving 1 087 patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome, were ultimately included. The Meta-analysis results showed that the visual analog scale (VAS) score of pain in the observation group was lower than those in the oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication control [SMD=-1.67, 95%CI (-2.44, -0.90), Z=4.26, P<0.000 1] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, SMD=-1.98, 95%CI (-2.48, -1.48), Z=7.74, P<0.000 01]. The pain rating index (PRI) score in the observation group was lower than those in the lidocaine injection control [MD=-2.17, 95%CI (-3.41, -0.93), Z=3.44, P=0.000 6] and other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-5.75, 95%CI (-9.97, -1.53), Z=2.67, P=0.008]. The present pain intensity (PPI) score in the observation group was lower than that in other treatment control [low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, MD=-1.04, 95%CI (-1.55, -0.53), Z=4.01, P<0.000 1]. In conclusion, compared with oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, low-frequency electrical stimulation, tuina, and electromagnetic wave irradiation combined with piroxicam gel, acupuncture is more effective in reducing pain in patients with lumbar myofascial pain syndrome; acupuncture also exhibites advantage over lidocaine injection in improving PRI score and showed better outcomes over tuina and low-frequency electrical stimulation in improving PRI and PPI scores.
Humans ; Piroxicam ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Pain ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes/therapy* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use* ; Lidocaine

OBJECTIVE: To explore influence of external factors of wind, cold and dampness on clinical symptoms in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients with different constitutions of traditional Chinese medicine. METHODS: A cross-sectional stratified study was performed to select 108 patients with GradeⅡKOA in Kellgren & Lawrence (K-L) classification, including 22 males and 86 females, aged from 47 to 75 years old with an average of (60.7±6.0) years old;body mass index(BMI) ranged from 17.87 to 31.22 kg·m^-2 with an average of (23.80±2.86) kg·m^-2. According to Classification and Judgment of TCM Physique (ZYYXH/T157-2009), the types of TCM physique were determined and divided into 4 layers according to the deficiency and actual physique. Among them, there were 24 patients without biased physique, 12 males and 12 females, aged from 51 to 73 years old with an average of(62.8±6.0) years old, BMI ranged from 17.87 to 31.14 kg·m^-2 with an average of (24.32±3.25) kg·m-2;there were 46 patients with virtual bias constitution, including 7 males and 39 females, aged from 47 to 70 years old with an average of (60.0±5.8) years old, BMI ranged from 19.38 to 31.22 kg·m^-2 with an average of(23.42±2.97) kg·m^-2;There were 26 patients with solid bias constitution, including 2 males and 24 females, aged from 48 to 75 years old with an average of (60.4±5.8) years old, BMI ranged from 21.16 to 30.76 kg·m^-2 with an average of (24.15±2.33) kg·m^-2;there were 9 patients with special constitution, 1 male and 8 female, aged from 53 to 75 years old with an average of (59.8±7.5) years old, BMI ranged from 19.26 to 26.67 kg·m^-2 with an average of (23.79±2.49) kg·m^-2. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used to evaluate severity of clinical symptoms. The wind-cold-dampness external factor score was calculated through the questionnaire of wind-cold-dampness syndrome scale to evaluate degree of influence of wind-cold-dampness external factor. Pearson correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis were used to calculate the correlation coefficient between severity of external factors affecting wind, cold and dampness and severity of clinical symptoms in patients with different TCM constitution stratification. RESULTS: There was no statistical significance between total score of wind-cold-dampness and WOMAC score in patients with no biased constitution and special condition. Total wind-cold-dampness score of patients with virtual biased constitution was positively correlated with WOMAC stiffness score (r=0.327, P=0.032), and total wind-cold-dampness score of patients with solid biased constitution was positively correlated with WOMAC pain score (r=0.561, P=0.005) and WOMAC overall score (r=0.446, P=0.033). After further adjusting for the interaction of external factors of wind-cold-dampness, there was no statistical significance between wind-cold-dampness scores and WOMAC scores in patients with solid biased constitution. The score of dampness and pathogenic factors was positively correlated with WOMAC stiffness score (r=0.414, P=0.007). CONCLUSION The external factors of wind-cold dampness have different effects on the clinical symptoms of KOA patients with different TCM constitutions. Compared with other constitutions, the rigid symptoms of patients with asthenic biased constitutions are more susceptible to dampness pathogenic factors.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; Syndrome ; Wind ; Cold Temperature