OBJECTIVE: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) incorporates traditional diagnostic methods and several major treatment modalities including Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese patent medicine, and non-pharmacological methods such as acupuncture and tuina. Even though TCM is used daily by more than 70,000 healthcare facilities and over 700,000 clinical practitioners in China, there is a poor understanding of the extent to which TCM diagnostic methods are used, how different treatment modalities are deployed in general, and what major factors may affect the integration of TCM and Western medicine. This study aimed to fill this void in the literature. METHODS: In the 2021 National Healthcare Improvement Evaluation Survey, we included three questions gauging the perception and practices of TCM amongst physicians working in TCM-related facilities, investigating the frequency of their deployment of TCM diagnostic methods, and predominant TCM treatment methods. Our empirical analysis included descriptive statistics, intergroup chi-square analysis, and binary logistic regression to examine the association between different types of facilities and individual characteristics and TCM utilization patterns. RESULTS: A total of 7618 clinical physicians comprised our study sample. Among them, 84.27% have integrated TCM and Western medicine in their clinical practice, and 80.77% of TCM practitioners used the 4 diagnostic methods as a tool in their clinical practice. Chinese herbal medicine was the most widely utilized modality by Chinese TCM physicians (used by 88.49% of respondents), compared with the Chinese patent medicine and non-pharmacological TCM methods, which were used by 73.14%, and 69.39%, respectively. Herbal tea as an out-of-pocket health-maintenance intervention is also a notable practice, recommended by 29.43% of physicians. Significant variations exist across certain institutions, departments, and individual practitioners. CONCLUSION Given that most of the surveyed physicians integrated TCM with Western medicine in their clinical practices, the practice of "pure TCM" appears to be obsolete in China's tertiary healthcare institutions. Notably, remarkable variation exists in the use of different TCM modalities across institutions and among individuals, which might be related to and thus limited by the practitioners' experience. Future research focusing on the efficacy and safety of TCM interventions for specific diseases, the development of standardized clinical guidelines, and the enhancement of TCM education and training are called for to optimize TCM-Western medicine integration. Please cite this article as: Guo R, Zeng D, Zhao Q, Zhang XY, Zhang XK, Liu YL. How are different traditional Chinese medicine modalities deployed by clinical practitioners in China? Findings from a national survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 36-45.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; China ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Female ; Male ; Physicians/statistics & numerical data* ; Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data* ; Adult ; Middle Aged

Objective: To explore the current status of hyperopic reserve and its related factors among non-myopia preschool and primary school students aged 5 to 12 years in Guangdong Province, so as to provide a basis for formulating intervention strategies for the pre myopia stage of children. Methods: From October to December 2023, by using stratified cluster random sampling method, a survey on hyperopic reserve among preschool children and primary school students in Guangdong were conducted. And a total of 10 567 children from the senior class of kindergarten to the sixth grade of primary school who completed autorefraction measurements with and without cycloplegia and the questionnaire survey were included in the study. The prevalence characteristics of low hyperopic reserve among non-myopia children were analyzed, and multivariable Logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors. Results: The prevalence rate of low hyperopic reserve among 8 790 non-myopia children was 62.4%. The average spherical equivalent (SE) for children aged 5 to 12 years was 0.88 (0.25, 1.25)D, decreasing from 1.13 ( 0.75 , 1.50)D in senior kindergarten to -1.00 (-2.50, 0.38)D in sixth grade, with the difference was statistically significant ( H=2 475.3, P <0.01). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for confounders including gender, urban and rural, and grade, revealed that parental myopia was a risk factor for low hyperopic reserve in the preschool stage (one parent with myopia: OR=1.62, 95%CI =1.35-1.93; both parents with myopia: OR=2.05, 95%CI = 1.66 -2.55); in the lower primary school stage, parental myopia (one parent with myopia: OR=1.46, 95%CI =1.27-1.68; both parents with myopia: OR=1.58, 95%CI =1.33-1.89), frequently or always reading or using electronic screens while lying down or on one s stomach ( OR=1.43, 95%CI =1.13-1.81), and never or occasionally maintaining a viewing distance of over 3 meters when watching TV/playing video games ( OR=1.34, 95%CI =1.04-1.72) were risk factors; in the higher primary school stage, failing to take a break every hour during near work ( OR=1.79, 95%CI =1.16-2.75) was a risk factor (all P <0.05). Conclusions The emmetropization of children aged 5-12 years in Guangdong Province is accelerated, and non-myopia children generally exhibit insufficient hyperopic reserve. The contributing factors for insufficient hyperopia reserve in non-myopia children vary across different educational stages, necessitating targeted precision interventions.

The outer membrane composed predominantly of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an essential biological barrier for most Gram-negative (G^-) bacteria. Lipopolysaccharide transport protein (Lpt) complex LptDE is responsible for the critical final stage of LPS transport and outer membrane assembly. The structure and function of LptDE are highly conserved in most G^- bacteria but absent in mammalian cells, and thus LptDE complex is regarded as an attractive antibacterial target. In recent 10 years, the deciphering of the three-dimensional structure of LptDE protein facilities the drug discovery based on such "non-enzyme" proteins. Murepavadin, a peptidomimetic compound, was reported to be the first compound able to target LptD, enlightening a new class of antibacterial molecules with novel mechanisms of action. This article is devoted to summarize the molecular characteristics, structure-function of LptDE protein complex and review the development of murepavadin and related peptidomimetic compounds, in order to provide references for relevant researches.

Objective To make an epidemiological investigation on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)dampness syndrome manifestations in the population at risk of cerebrovascular diseases in Guangdong area.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the clinical data related to the risk of cerebrovascular diseases in 330 Guangdong permanent residents.The diagnosis of dampness syndrome,quantitative scoring of dampness syndrome and rating of the risk of stroke were performed for the investigation of the distribution pattern of dampness syndrome and its influencing factors.Results(1)A total of 306(92.73%)study subjects were diagnosed as dampness syndrome.The percentage of dampness syndrome in the risk group was 93.82%(258/275),which was slightly higher than that of the healthy group(48/55,87.27%),but the difference was not statistically significant(χ2 = 2.91,P = 0.112).The quantitative score of dampness syndrome in the risk group was higher than that of the healthy group,and the difference was statistically significance(Z =-2.24,P = 0.025).(2)Among the study subjects at risk of cerebrovascular disease,evaluation time(χ2 = 26.11,P = 0.001),stroke risk grading(χ2= 8.85,P = 0.031),and history of stroke or transient ischemic attack(TIA)(χ2 = 9.28,P = 0.015)were the factors influencing the grading of dampness syndrome in the population at risk of cerebrovascular disease.Conclusion Dampness syndrome is the common TCM syndrome in the population of Guangdong area.The manifestations of dampness syndrome are more obvious in the population with risk factors of cerebrovascular disease,especially in the population at high risk of stroke,and in the population with a history of stroke or TIA.The assessment and intervention of dampness syndrome should be taken into account for future project of stroke prevention in Guangdong.

The maintenance of skeletal muscle quality involves various signal pathways that interact with each other. Under normal physiological conditions, these intersecting signal pathways regulate and coordinate the hypertrophy and atrophy of skeletal muscles, balancing the protein synthesis and degradation of muscle. When the total rate of protein synthesis exceeds that of protein degradation, the muscle gradually becomes enlarged, while when the total rate of protein synthesis is lower than that of protein degradation, the muscle shrinks. Myocyte atrophy mainly involves two protein degradation pathways, namely ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy-lysosome. Protein degradation pathway is activated during muscle atrophy, resulting in the loss of muscle mass. Muscle atrophy can occur under various conditions such as malnutrition, aging and cachexia. Skeletal muscle atrophy caused by orthopedic diseases mainly includes disuse muscular atrophy caused by fracture and denervation muscular atrophy. The signal pathways that control and coordinate protein synthesis and degradation in skeletal muscle include insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1)-Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), myostatin-activin A-Smad, G protein α inhibitory peptide 2 (Gαi2)-PKC, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), ectodysplasin A2 receptor (EDA2R)-NF-κB inducing kinase (NIK) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the protein degradation pathways in skeletal muscle atrophy and the associated signal pathways regulating protein degradation in muscular atrophy.
Humans ; Muscular Atrophy/etiology* ; Muscle, Skeletal/pathology* ; Signal Transduction ; Animals ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/metabolism* ; Myostatin/physiology* ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Autophagy/physiology* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Proteolysis ; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex/physiology*

Sarcopenia,osteoporosis and osteosarcoporosis,which belong to the same category of musculoskeletal unit disease,seriously impair the homeostasis of the musculoskeletal system in the aging process of the human body.In recent years,researchers have applied various emerging technologies to conduct multi-disciplinary,multi-level and multi-dimensional research on musculoskeletal decay disease,and have come to realized that the disease involves complex biochemical and mechanical crosstalk,and the intestinal microecology has also aroused great interest in this crosstalk because of its profound impact on musculoskeletal health.In view of this,this paper takes the close relationship between intestinal microecology and musculoskeletal decay disease as the starting point,and under the guidance of the overall concept,we deeply analyzes the mechanism and regulatory information behind this relationship,and on this basis,we excavates the potential therapeutic targets for musculoskeletal decay disease,so that we can provide new ideas and strategies for the management of the disease in the context of the musculoskeletal subunit.

Genetic risk factors have been shown to contribute to the development of sexual dysfunction. However, the role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene variants in the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) remains unclear. In this study, we recruited 1254 participants who underwent ED assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function-5. The MTHFR c.677C>T variant was also measured by fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No significant difference in the genotypic frequency of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism (CC, CT, and TT) was observed between men from the ED and non-ED groups. In addition, on binary logistic regression analysis, both crude and adjusted models showed that the risk of ED was not significantly associated with the C677T polymorphism. Interestingly, a significantly higher frequency of the 677TT polymorphism was found in severe and moderate ED (P = 0.02). The positive correlation between the MTHFR 677TT polymorphism and severe ED was confirmed by logistic regression analysis, even after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio [OR] = 2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-5.50, P = 0.02). These findings suggest a positive correlation between the MTHFR 677TT polymorphism and the risk of severe ED. Identification of MTHFR gene polymorphisms may provide complementary information for ED patients during routine clinical diagnosis.

Humans ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Smell

Objective:To assess the clinical outcome of patients with spinal tumors who received en bloc resection in our center and to provide theoretical basis for developing novel surgical technique in en bloc resection for spinal tumor.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and follow-up data of 113 patients who received en bloc resection for spinal tumors in Musculoskeletal Tumor Center, Peking University People's Hospital from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2021. There were 68 males and 45 females with an average age of 38.7±16.7 (10-79) years. Primary malignant spinal tumors, primary aggressive spinal tumors and solitary metastatic spinal tumors were diagnosed in 55, 27 and 31 patients, respectively. The surgeries were planned according to the surgical classification for en bloc resection for spinal tumors proposed by Boriani et al, which classified the en bloc resection for spinal tumor into 7 types. The general condition (gender, age, histological diagnosis, location of the lesion, number of involved vertebrae, pre-operative neurological function), surgical procedure (type of surgery, stage of surgery, reconstruction method for anterior structure, duration of surgery, intra-operative haemorrhage, surgical margin), peri- and post-operative complication (intra- and peri-operative complication, post-operative neurological function), and survival [overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and implant survival (IS)] of patients were retrospectively analyzed.Results:All surgeries accomplished uneventfully except one intra-operative death owing to the haemorrhagic shock caused by injury of major blood vessel. Mean duration of surgery and volume of intra-operative haemorrhage was 517.6±267.4 min and 3802.7±3039.4 ml, respectively. R0 resection was achieved in 48 patients. Three patients died in peri-operative period. Intra- and peri-operative complications were identified in 44 patients (38.9%). 109 patients were followed up with a mean time of 39.4±35.2 months. 27 patients died during follow-up period. The average post-operative overall survival (OS) was 115.4[95% CI (97.9, 133.0)]months and the 5-year OS rate was 64.1%[95% CI (52.3%, 75.9%)]. In patients with primary malignant spinal tumors, the OS of patients with R2 resection was significantly poorer than that of patients with R0/R1 resection ( P=0.024); in patients with metastatic tumors, no difference of OS was observed in patients with different surgical margins ( P=0.612). There were 29 recurrences, and the mean RFS was 105.8 [95% CI (87.5, 124.1)] months. In patients with primary malignant and aggressive spinal tumors, the RFS of patients underwent R2 resection was significantly lower than that of patients underwent R0/R1 resection ( P=0.008, P=0.027); in patients with metastatic spinal tumors, no significant difference of RFS was found in patients with different surgical margin (P=0.707). Conclusion:Although en bloc resection for spinal tumors indicates high morbidity, it significantly improves the OS of patients with primary malignant spinal tumors and the local control of primary malignant and aggressive spinal tumors.

Objective:To investigate the outcome of surgical treatment of malignant tumor at the distal tibial after reconstruction with modular hinged ankle prosthesis.Methods:The data of 9 patients with malignant tumor at the distal tibia at Musculoskeletal Tumor Center of PKUPH from June 2020 to November 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. They were male patients with age of 17 (14, 24) years (range 11-56 years). There were five tumors at the left sides and four at the right sides. There were eight patients with osteosarcoma who received the neo-chemotherapy. Among eight osteosarcomas, one was Enneking IIA and seven Enneking IIB. Furthermore, there was only one patient with renal carcinama and with solitary metastatic lesion at the distal tibia. After the resection of tumor at the distal tibia, talus cartilage was removed and talus component was fixed by lag screws. The proper tibia component was used to restore the defect of tibia and the reduction of tibia and talus components were performed. The following clinical data were collected: baseline demographic features, surgical and follow-up data. The baseline demographic features included gender, age, side, lung or/and other metastasis at initial diagnosis, Enneking stage or systematic progression for renal carcinama, histological type. The surgical data included: surgery time, blood loss, length of bone involved by the tumor, prosthesis type. Monitoring data was also recorded: complications (ankle pain when loading, talar collapse, component loosing, infection and wound dehiscence), local recurrence, pulmonary and systematic metastasis, radiological image and the function at the last follow-up (MSTS and VAS evaluation).Results:Among these nine patients, the average blood loss was 245.6±103.9 ml (range 100-400 ml) and the mean surgery time was 178.9±56.9 mins (range 120-300 min). No patient was lost during the follow-up period and the average follow-up was 21.4±5.6 months (range 12.5-27.2 months). The excision length of tibia was 14 (11, 17) cm (range 11-28 cm). There were one case with 2# prosthetic base, three cases with 3# and five cases with 4#. Five had cement fixation of prosthetic stem and four had the pressing fixation. No pulmonary and other organ metastasis occurred among eight patients with osteosarcoma and one patient with distal tibia matastasis of renal carcinama. One patient with OShad the local recurrence and received the resection. One sustained the deep infection after four months and received the removal of prosthesis and spacer implant. At the final follow-up, except one with deep infection and receiving the removal of prosthesis and spacer implant, eight patients were assessed for the function. The average MSTS was 97.1%±3.3% (range 93%-100%). The VAS of all patients was 0. One patient with prosthesis removal had no functional evaluation. At the final follow-up, all patients walked without crutch. No breakage and loosening of prosthetic stem, talar collapse, prosthetic sinking and ankle pain occurred at the final follow-up.Conclusion:The early satisfactory outcome can be obtained for patients with segmental defect after resection of malignant tumor at the distal tibia, who received the newly designed modular hinged ankle prosthesis. Meanwhile, it's worth promoting in the reconstruction of large segmental defect at the distal tibia.