The latest research progress: Active components of Traditional Chinese medicine as promising candidates for ovarian cancer therapy.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ovarian cancer ranks the first in the mortality of gynecological tumors. Because there are no obvious symptoms in the early stage of ovarian cancer, most patients are in the advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. The incidence of ovarian cancer is increasing year by year, and the incidence of ovarian cancer has a trend of younger age. In recent years. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a significant impact on improving the quality of life of cancer patients, reducing drug toxicity, preventing metastasis and recurrence, enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and prolonging survival time, so patients have benefited a lot. AIM OF THE STUDY: This review summarizes the mechanisms and molecular pathways through which active ingredients of TCM act in ovarian cancer. It explores the advantages of TCM in treating ovarian cancer. This review provides theoretical support for the use of TCM in the treatment of ovarian cancer, offering new perspectives for its clinical prevention and treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review conducted a literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for relevant studies on TCM active ingredients in preventing ovarian cancer. The search terms included "ovarian cancer" combined with "Chinese herbal medicine," "Herbal medicine," "Traditional Chinese medicine," and "Active ingredients of Chinese medicine". Based on existing experimental and clinical research, the paper systematically summarized and analyzed the mechanisms of TCM in treating ovarian cancer. RESULTS: Active ingredients of TCM inhibit the occurrence and development of ovarian cancer through inducing tumor cell apoptosis, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, suppressing tumor cell migration and invasion, inducing tumor cell autophagy, promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy and chemotherapy drugs. Chinese medicine provides a comprehensive treatment option for ovarian cancer patients, synergizing with radiotherapy and chemotherapy drugs to enhance treatment effectiveness and introduce new hope and possibilities in clinical therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Active ingredients of TCM can inhibit the occurrence and development of ovarian cancer, but further clinical research is needed to support their application.

Exploring causal correlations between inflammatory cytokines and varicose veins: A Mendelian randomization analysis.

This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between inflammatory cytokines and the risk of varicose veins. The data were sourced from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of European individuals. Multiple Mendelian randomization (MR) methods were used to evaluate the association between inflammatory cytokines and varicose veins. The study found significant associations between elevated levels of certain inflammatory biomarkers (e.g., CASP-8, Vascular endothelial growth factor A levels (VEGF_A)) and an increased risk of varicose veins, while others (e.g., 4EBP1, MMP-10) showed a protective effect. The MR-Egger Intercept and heterogeneity tests indicated no significant pleiotropy or heterogeneity. This comprehensive MR analysis identifies several cytokines as potential contributors to the pathogenesis of varicose veins, offering insights into novel therapeutic targets. Our findings underscore the importance of inflammation in varicose veins and suggest that targeting specific cytokines could be a promising strategy for the treatment and prevention of varicose veins.

Potential Causal Association between Depression and Oral Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, oral diseases are common, pose an economic burden, and significantly decline the quality of life of affected individuals. Recently, researchers have substantially highlighted the effect of depression on oral disease incidence and development. In this study, we elucidated the correlation between depression and oral diseases. METHODS: Using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR), the association between depression and the risk of 17 oral diseases was evaluated. Three methods were used to perform MR analysis: the inverse variance-weighted, weighted median, and MR-Egger methods. Furthermore, Cochran's Q test, MR-Egger intercept test, MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier test, and leave-one-out analysis were performed to analyze sensitivity. RESULTS: After implementing multiple test corrections, we observed that genetic susceptibility to depression was associated with an increased risk of mouth ulcers, toothache, loose teeth, bleeding gums, painful gums, chronic periodontitis, chronic tonsil and adenoid diseases, peritonsillar abscess, and excessive tooth attrition. However, a causal relationship between depression and other oral diseases was not observed. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the causal relationship between depression and several oral diseases, thereby providing a novel viewpoint on the prevention and treatment of oral diseases. Our findings suggest the integration of depression control into routine clinical care to enhance the effectiveness of oral disease treatment.