Medical conditions associated with coffee consumption: Disease-trajectory and comorbidity network analyses of a prospective cohort study in UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Habitual coffee consumption has been associated with multiple health benefits. A comprehensive analysis of disease trajectory and comorbidity networks in relation to coffee consumption is, however, currently lacking. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to comprehensively examine the health outcomes associated with habitual coffee consumption, through clarifying its disease trajectory and comorbidity networks. METHODS: Based on the UK Biobank cohort, we included 395,539 individuals with available information on coffee intake collected at recruitment between 2006 and 2010. These individuals were categorized as having low (<1 cup per day), moderate (1-3 cups), and high (≥4 cups) levels of coffee intake, and were followed through 2020 to ascertain 496 medical conditions. Cox regression was used to assess the associations between high-level coffee intake and the risk of medical conditions with a prevalence ≥0.5% in the study population, after adjusting for multiple confounders, using low-level coffee intake as the reference. Disease-trajectory and comorbidity network analyses were then applied to visualize the temporal and nontemporal relationships between the medical conditions that had an inverse association with high-level coffee intake. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 11.8 years, 31 medical conditions were found to be associated with high-level coffee intake, among which 30 showed an inverse association (HRs ranged from 0.61 to 0.94). The inverse associations were more pronounced for women, compared with men. Disease-trajectory and comorbidity network analyses of these 30 conditions identified 4 major clusters of medical conditions, mainly in the cardiometabolic and gastrointestinal systems, among both men and women; 1 cluster of medical conditions following alcohol-related disorders, primarily among men; as well as a cluster of estrogen-related conditions among women. CONCLUSIONS: Habitual coffee consumption was associated with lower risks of many medical conditions, especially those in the cardiometabolic and gastrointestinal systems and those related to alcohol use and estrogen regulation.

Shexiang Baoxin Pills Inhibited Proliferation and Migration of Human Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells via PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathway.

Background: Proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells in the coronary artery contribute to the deterioration of coronary artery disease (CAD). Aim: This research was designed to study the function of Shexiang Baoxin pills (SBPs) on the proliferation and migration of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs) and their mechanism. Methods: Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) was applied to stimulate the proliferation and migration of HCASMCs. The function of ox-LDL and SBP on HCASMCs was evidenced by the cell counting kit-8 assay, cell cycle, and Transwell assay. Network pharmacology was employed to predict the potential targets and pathways of SBP on CAD. Western blot assay and molecular docking were conducted to validate the potential targets and pathways. Results: The current research revealed that 2.5 mg/L SBP significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCASMCs. Besides, network pharmacology revealed 11 candidate targets. Molecular docking and Western blot assay validated that the activation of the top 2 targets STAT3 and MAPK14 was associated with the inhibition of HCASMCs. Moreover, the Western blot assay also detected that HCASMCs treated with ox-LDL promoted the phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and SBP inhibited the activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in HCASMCs stimulated by ox-LDL. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the treatment of CAD using SBP may result from the suppression of the proliferation and migration of HCASMCs. The mechanism of this function partly resulted from relieving the phosphorylation of targets STAT3 and MAPK14 and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. This study enhanced our comprehension of SBP and provides new targets for the treatment of CAD.

Comparative study between macrolide regulatory proteins MphR(A) and MphR(E) in ligand identification and DNA binding based on the rapid in vitro detection system.

The macrolide regulatory protein MphR(A) has been widely studied and used in various aspects such as metabolism monitoring, exogenous gene expression, and in vivo and in vitro macrolide antibiotic screening. Another macrolide regulatory protein, MphR(E), has rarely been reported. In this study, in vitro ELISA-type systems were established for MphR(A) and MphR(E) to study their correlation. The reactivity of 14 macrolide antibiotics and pseudo-macrolide antibiotics was tested in the systems. The results indicated that the ligand identification spectra of MphR(A) and MphR(E) were basically consistent. The binding characteristics of MphR(A) and MphR(E) with three corresponding promoter DNA sequences were preliminarily studied. According to the ELISA-type analysis results, MphR(A) and MphR(E) have consistent DNA binding properties, which bind to A-DNA/B-DNA more easily than to C-DNA. This study has confirmed that MphR(E) can bind to the promoter DNA sequences mrx(E) and mph(E) in plasmid pRSB111, and different DNAs can affect the sensitivity of the in vitro detection systems.

[Exploration on the essence of TCM syndrome with systems approach].

Based on rethinking the pervious studies influenced by naive reductionism, the essence of TCM syndrome was tried to be explored with systems approach in this paper. It may be regarded as a certain kind of state in which the system reacts to the pathogenic causes, namely, the holistic emergent phenemenon from the viewpoint of systematology.

[Recent advances of research on warming therapy].

Therapeutic method is an important component of traditional Chinese medicine theory. Research on warming therapy focuses on pharmacology at present. Studying the feature of nerve-body fluid-metabolism-function in cold syndrome is of importance for illustrating the nature of warming therapy and elucidating the function of medication. This review presents the research and development of warming therapy in order to provide enlightenment for the research of therapeutic method from the aspects of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.

[Towards integrative postmodern individualized medicine in terms of hierarchic emergence].

The paper discusses the possibility and necessity for establishing a postmodern individualized medicine in terms of hierarchic emergence, a basic concept of contemporary system science. Through analysis of the strong and weak points of modern individualized medicine, personalized medicine and genomic medicine, the author found that Chinese traditional individualized medicine has its strong points in implementing whole (holistic) emergence and weak points in lower hierarchic emergence compared with the other three modern medical disciplines. Thus the author concluded that there are possibility and necessity to integrate the strong points of these medical systems for establishing a holistic and deepgoing patient-centered postmodern individualized medicine.