The Association Between Hemoglobin Glycation Index and Carotid Artery Plaque in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

This study aimed to examine the association between the hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) and carotid artery plaque (CAP) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 10,778 patients with CHD. The participants were divided into three groups by HGI tertiles (T1 HGI<-0.44, T2 -0.44 ≤ HGI ≤ 0.15, T3 HGI>0.15). The presence of CAP was used to diagnose by carotid ultrasonography. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between the HGI and CAP. The association between HGI and CAP was also assessed according to sex, age, smoking status, and drinking status. We further assessed the association between HGI and the ultrasound characteristics of CAP. The baseline analysis showed substantial differences in relevant parameters between the three groups of patients with CHD according to the tertiles of the HGI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HGI was significantly associated with CAP (odds ratio [OR] 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-1.39). The association between HGI and CAP exists among different sex, age, smoking, and drinking status. Furthermore, there was a significant and positive association between HGI and all four different echogenicities of the CAP.

Applications of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in non-drug therapy of traditional Chinese medicine: a review.

Non-drug therapies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including acupuncture, massage, tai chi chuan, and Baduanjin, have emerged as widespread interventions for the treatment of various diseases in clinical practice. In recent years, preliminary studies on the mechanisms of non-drug therapies of TCM have been mostly based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology. FNIRS is an innovative, non-invasive tool to monitor hemodynamic changes in the cerebral cortex. Our review included clinical research conducted over the last 10 years, establishing fNIRS as a reliable and stable neuroimaging technique. This review explores new applications of this technology in the field of neuroscience. First, we summarize the working principles of fNIRS. We then present preventive research on the use of fNIRS in healthy individuals and therapeutic research on patients undergoing non-drug therapies of TCM. Finally, we emphasize the potential for encouraging future advancements in fNIRS studies to establish a theoretical framework for research in related fields.

Pediatric tuina for allergic rhinitis in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of pediatric tuina for allergic rhinitis treatment in children. Methods: Three English, four Chinese, one Japanese, and two Korean databases were searched for relevant literature published till February 2021, and eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included for analysis. Data were screened and extracted independently using predesigned forms. The methodological quality evaluation was performed using the tool of Cochrane bias risk assessment, and meta-analysis was performed through Review Manager 5.3. Results: A total of 12 RCTs, which included 716 children, were selected for meta-analysis. Compared with Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, Western medicine, and other therapies, pediatric tuina alone or in combination with other treatments had a higher clinical effectiveness (relative risk = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.25) in treating children with allergic rhinitis. Pediatric tuina also effectively improved the following signs and symptoms of allergic rhinitis in children: nasal congestion (mean difference [MD] = -0.44, 95% CI = -0.70 to -0.19), runny nose (MD = -0.39, 95% CI = -0.55 to -0.23), sneezing (MD = -0.23, 95% CI = -0.38 to -0.08), and turbinate swelling (MD = -0.26, 95% CI = -0.48 to -0.04); all differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: The present study provided favorable evidence for the treatment of allergic rhinitis in children with pediatric tuina. However, owing to the impact of research quality, this evidence needs to be validated via strictly designed clinical trials.

Correlation between the triglyceride-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and other unconventional lipid parameters with the risk of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes in patients with coronary heart disease: a RCSCD-TCM study in China.

OBJECTIVE: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often accompanied by undiagnosed dyslipidemia. Research on the association of unconventional lipid markers with prediabetes (pre-DM) and T2DM simultaneously is limited in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. METHODS: This study included 28,476 patients diagnosed with CHD. Their lipid levels, including triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), were measured, and non-traditional lipid parameters were calculated. The patients were divided into three groups based on the diabetic status including normoglycemic (NG), pre-DM, and T2DM. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare the association of TG/HDL-C and other non-traditional lipid parameters with pre-DM and T2DM. The tertiles of TG/HDL-C included T1 (TG/HDL-C < 1.10), T2 (1.10 ≤ TG/HDL-C ≤ 1.89) and T3 (TG/HDL-C > 1.89). Low and high TG/HDL-C was defined with sex-specific cutoff points. RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression results showed that the non-traditional lipid parameters, including non-HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/HDL-C and TG/HDL-C, were all correlated with the risk of pre-DM and T2DM. Meanwhile TG/HDL-C showed the strongest correlation (odds ratio [OR]: 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16-1.23), (OR: 1.36; 95% CI 1.33-1.39). When dividing TG/HDL-C into tertiles, using T1 as a reference, T3 was observed to have the highest association with both pre-DM and T2DM (OR: 1.60; 95% CI 1.48-1.74), (OR: 2.79; 95% CI 2.60-3.00). High TG/HDL-C was significantly associated with pre-DM and T2DM (OR: 1.69; 95% CI 1.52-1.88), (OR: 2.85; 95% CI 2.60-3.12). The association of TG/HDL-C with T2DM and pre-DM existed across different sex, age, smoking, and drinking statuses. CONCLUSION: Elevated non-traditional lipid parameters were significantly associated with pre-DM and T2DM in CHD patients, especially TG/HDL-C. High TG/HDL-C was the risk factor with a strong correlation with the risk of pre-DM and T2DM.

Regulation of innate and adaptive immunity using herbal medicine: benefits for the COVID-19 vaccination.

Vaccination is a major achievement that has become an effective prevention strategy against infectious diseases and active control of emerging pathogens worldwide. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, several diverse vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 have been developed and deployed for use in a large number of individuals, and have been reported to protect against symptomatic COVID-19 cases and deaths. However, the application of vaccines has a series of limitations, including protective failure for variants of concern, unavailability of individuals due to immune deficiency, and the disappearance of immune protection for increasing infections in vaccinated individuals. These aspects raise the question of how to modulate the immune system that contributes to the COVID-19 vaccine protective effects. Herbal medicines are widely used for their immune regulatory abilities in clinics. More attractively, herbal medicines have been well accepted for their positive role in the COVID-19 prevention and suppression through regulation of the immune system. This review presents a brief overview of the strategy of COVID-19 vaccination and the response of the immune system to vaccines, the regulatory effects and mechanisms of herbal medicine in immune-related macrophages, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes T and B cells, and how they help vaccines work. Later in the article, the potential role and application of herbal medicines in the most recent COVID-19 vaccination are discussed. This article provides new insights into herbal medicines as promising alternative supplements that may benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. Graphical abstract: http://links.lww.com/AHM/A31.

Symptoms associated with nucleic acid turning-negative-time in COVID-19 patients?

To explore on the association between nucleic acid turning-negative-time and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with the Omicron variant. Method: For this retrospective cross-sectional study, we enrolled 189 patients with COVID-19 (age 20-90 years) were included. multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the TCM symptoms affecting the nucleic acid turning-negative-time of COVID-19 patients, during the process of data analysis, taking with nucleic acid turning-negative-time as the dependent variable, and TCM symptoms as independent variables, and at the same time, sex, age, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease were as confounding variables. Results: The study found that the most common TCM symptoms of COVID-19 patients with Omicron were cough, dry throat, expectoration, fever, sore throat, pharyngeal itching, running nose, and nasal congestion. Regression analysis showed that the fit regressive equation showed a significant difference (F = 4.286, P < 0.001), R = 0.400, the adjusted R 2 = 0.123, and three variables in the regression equation showed significant difference (P < 0. 05). The results showed that nucleic acid turning-negative-time was mostly related to constipation, fever, and expectoration. If the patients had the symptoms of constipation, fever, and expectoration; that is, if patients showed these symptoms, the turning-negative-time of nucleic acid in patients with Omicron will be prolonged. Conclusions: Treatment based on symptoms for patients with constipation, fever, and expectoration may have important clinical significance for the COVID-19 patients with Omicron.

Prevalence of depression in myocardial infarction: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Depression is common in the aftermath of myocardial infarction (MI) and may not only lead to impaired long-term quality of life, but also cause increased mortality among patients with MI. The reported prevalence of depression among patients with MI varied considerably across studies, for which a pooled prevalence was obtained in the only 1 meta-analysis conducted in March 2004. Subsequently, numerous relevant studies have been published, indicating the need for an update on the pooled prevalence. Therefore, this study was aimed at updating the pooled prevalence of depression among patients with MI. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search in 3 electronic databases, PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO, was performed in April 2018. The heterogeneity across studies was examined by the Cochran's Q test and quantified by the I statistic. If significant heterogeneity was observed, meta-regression analyses and subgroup analyses were performed to identify the source of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed by a funnel plot and verified by the Egger's and Begg's tests. RESULTS: Nineteen eligible studies conducted in 10 countries were included, which consisted of 12,315 patients with MI, among whom 3818 were identified with depression. High heterogeneity was observed across the eligible studies (I = 98.4%), with the reported prevalence of depression ranging from 9.17% to 65.88%. The pooled prevalence of depression among patients with MI was 28.70% (95% CI: 22.39-35.46%) by a random effects model. Subgroup analyses showed that the pooled prevalence differed significantly by region, tool used to identify depression, study quality, sex, race, anterior MI, and diabetes status (P < .05). Meta-regression analyses did not identify any moderators of heterogeneity, and the heterogeneity was high within most subgroups. Nonetheless, for unmarried subjects, the heterogeneity was low (I = 19.5). The Egger's test and the Begg's test indicated no evidence of publication bias (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Given the high pooled prevalence of depression found in this study and the association between depression and adverse health outcomes among patients with MI, more psychological resources including early assessment and effective treatment of depression should be allocated to patients with MI.

Clinical utility of miniprobe endoscopic ultrasonography for prediction of invasion depth of early gastric cancer: A meta-analysis of diagnostic test from PRISMA guideline.

BACKGROUND: Recently, some studies assessed the clinical utility of miniprobe endoscopic ultrasonography for prediction of invasion depth of early gastric cancer (GC). However, the results remain inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the clinical utility of miniprobe endoscopic ultrasonography for diagnostic of invasion depth of early GC. METHODS: We systematically searched several online electronic databases including PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Web of Science, Embase, and Wanfang from initial library to July 20, 2018, identifying the study about miniprobe endoscopic ultrasonography for diagnostic of invasion depth of early GC. Bivariate mixed effects models were used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) with theirs 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Nineteen studies with 3401 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The bivariate mixed effect model indicated that the overall diagnostic sensitivity was 0.86 (95%CI: 0.79-0.91) and the specificity was 0.73 (95%CI: 0.66-0.78). The area under the curve was 0.84 (95%CI: 0.81-0.87). We also estimated the other pooled parameters as follows: the pooled PLR was 3.13 (95%CI: 2.55-3.84), the pooled NLR was 0.19 (95%CI: 0.13-0.28), the diagnostic score was 2.78 (95%CI: 2.33-3.23), and the diagnostic odds ratio was 16.1 (95%CI: 10.23-25.36). Subgroup analysis indicated that ethnicity may be the decisive factor on heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that the miniprobe endoscopic ultrasonography had a moderate diagnostic ability for invasion depth of early GC. The diagnostic utility was influenced by ethnicity. Further research is required to confirm the present findings and explore the potential factors of heterogeneity.