Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on the survival of patients with stage I gastric cancer and high-risk factors: a real-world retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy for improving the survival of patients with stage I gastric cancer (GC) and high-risk factors in a real-world setting. METHODS: The clinical data of patients who were diagnosed with stage I GC from March 1, 2012 to October 31, 2020 were collected. Prognostic analysis was performed to explore the high-risk factors that affected the survival of the patients. A Cox multivariate regression model was used to compare the hazard ratios for the mortality risk of patients, especially those with high-risk factors. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were utilized to assess the survival time. RESULTS: Prognostic analysis demonstrated that female sex, tumor invasion into blood vessels, and Ib stage were independent risk factors. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of the TCM group those of the non-TCM group were 100.0% 91.0%, 97.6% 64.5%, and 81.4% 55.5%, respectively. A significant difference in median overall survival (mOS) was found between the two groups (χ = 7.670, = 0.006). Subgroup analysis showed that the mOS of female patients and stage Ib patients in the TCM group were longer than those in the non-TCM group ( ≤ 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: TCM treatment can improve the survival of patients with stage I GC and high-risk factors.

Research progress of lncRNA and Traditional Chinese Medicine / 国际中医中药杂志

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) contains rich information and functions. The research on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) targeting lncRNA mainly involves tumors, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine and metabolic related diseases, osteoporosis and other diseases, which are used to explore the mechanism of TCM and the differetiation of TCM syndromes or constitution, etc. LncRNA has important application prospects in the field of TCM. The study of lncRNA may provide new ways and technical methods for the research of modern TCM.

A survey of chronic pain in China.

There is an extensive body of research about chronic pain and treatment in developed countries. In contrast there is a lack of research on this topic in developing countries including China. This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of chronic pain in different regions of China. Data on pain and its treatment were collected from 9357 participants using questionnaires and telephone-based interviews, from 31 regions of China. Gathered data were then coded into electronic data acquisition system and descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed. Out of 9298 participants, the ratio of chronic pain was 31.54% with the proportion of male having chronic pain (33.86%) was higher than that of female (29.53%). The average age of participants with pain (45.02 ± 15.07 years) was higher than free-pain participants (36.19 ± 11.12 years). There were also significant differences between groups in occupation, education levels, and illness history. Proportion of patients with pain duration of 1 year was 12.104%, between 1 and 5 years was 60%, and over 10 years was 10.74%. There were 63.9% of patients with moderate pain and 36.1% with severe pain. About 43.042% of patients thought that pain resulted in sleep disorder, 38.99% thought that it causes anxiety, and about 33% thought depression and irritable bowel was the result of their pain. For the chronic pain, more than half of patients used naprapathy, cupping, and other physical therapies. Up to 2016, the ratio of pain incidence was over 30% in China. The location of pain was focused on back and upper limb. There has been a lack of proper treatment. Patients with pain had obvious economic burden, and their quality of life and psychology were significantly affected.

Efficacy analysis of prussian blue or its combination with hemoperfusion in the treatment of acute thallium poisoning / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective@#To investigate the efficacy of prussian blue (PB) or its combination with hemoperfusion (HP) in the treatment of acute thallium poisoning.@*Methods@#Forty-seven patients with acute thallium poisoning with complete data hospitalized in the 307th Hospital of PLA from September 2002 to December 2017 were enrolled, and they were divided into mild poisoning group (blood thallium < 150 μg/L, urinary thallium < 1 000 μg/L) and moderate-severe poisoning group (blood thallium ≥ 150 μg/L, urinary thallium ≥ 1 000 μg/L) according to the toxic degrees. All patients were given symptomatic supportive treatments such as potassium supplementation, catharsis, vital organ protections, neurotrophic drugs, and circulation support. The mild poisoning patients were given PB with an oral dose of 250 mg·kg-1·d-1, while moderate-severe poisoning patients were given PB combined HP continued 2-4 hours each time. The PB dose or frequency of HP application was adjusted according to the monitoring results of blood and urine thallium. Data of gender, age, pain grading (numeric rating scale NRS), clinical manifestations, blood and urine thallium before and after treatment, length of hospitalization and prognosis were collected.@*Results@#Of the 47 patients, patients with incomplete blood and urine test results, and used non-single HP treatment such as plasmapheresis and hemodialysis for treatment were excluded, and a total of 29 patients were enrolled in the analysis. ①Among 29 patients, there were 20 males and 9 females, median age of 40.0 (34.0, 49.0) years old; the main clinical manifestations were nervous system and alopecia, some patients had digestive system symptoms. There were 13 patients (44.8%) in the mild poisoning group with painless (grade 0) or mild pain (grade 1-3) with mild clinical symptoms, the length of hospitalization was 17.0 (14.2, 21.5) days. There were 16 patients (55.2%) in the moderate-severe poisoning group with moderate pain (grade 4-6) or severe pain (grade 7-10) with severe clinical symptoms, the length of hospitalization was 24.0 (18.0, 29.0) days. ② After treatment, the thallium concentrations in blood and urine in the mild poisoning group were significantly lower than those before treatment [μg/L: blood thallium was 0.80 (0, 8.83) vs. 60.00 (40.00, 120.00), urine thallium was 11.30 (0, 70.10) vs. 370.00 (168.30, 610.00), both P < 0.01], the thallium concentrations in blood and urine in the moderate-severe poisoning group were also significantly lower than those before treatment [μg/L: blood thallium was 6.95 (0, 50.50) vs. 614.50 (245.00, 922.00), urinary thallium was 20.70 (1.95, 283.00) vs. 5 434.00 (4 077.20, 10 273.00), both P < 0.01]. None of the 29 patients died, and their clinical symptoms were improved significantly. All the 27 patients had good prognosis without sequela in half a year follow-up, and 2 patients with severe acute thallium poisoning suffered from nervous system injury.@*Conclusion@#In the acute thallium poisoning patients, on the basis of general treatment, additional PB in mild poisoning group and PB combined with HP in moderate-severe poisoning group can obtain satisfactory curative effects.

COE inhibits vasculogenic mimicry in hepatocellular carcinoma via suppressing Notch1 signaling.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) has been suggested to be present in various malignant tumors and associated with tumor nutrition supply and metastasis, leading to poor prognosis of patients. Notch1 has been demonstrated to contribute to VM formation in hepathocellular carcinoma (HCC). Celastrus orbiculatus extract (COE), a mixture of 11 terpenoids isolated from the Chinese Herb Celastrus orbiculatus Vine, has been suggested to be effective in cancer treatment. AIM OF THE STUDY: In the current study, experiments were carried out to examine the effect of COE on VM formation and HCC tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CCK-8 assay and Nikon live-work station were used to observe the viability of malignant cells treated with COE. Cell invasion was examined using Transwell. Matrigel was used to establish a 3-D culture condition for VM formation. Changes of mRNA and protein expression were examined by RT-PCR and Western Blot respectively. Tumor growth in vivo was monitored using in vivo fluorescence imaging device. PAS-CD34 dual staining and electron microscopy were used to observe VM formation. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was used to examine Notch1 and Hes1 expression in tumor tissues. RESULTS: Results showed that COE can inhibit HCC cells proliferation and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. VM formation induced by TGF-ß1 was blocked by COE. In mouse xenograft model, COE inhibited tumor growth and VM formation. Both in vitro and in vivo studies showed that COE can downregulate expression of Notch1 and Hes1. CONCLUSION: The current results indicate that COE can inhibit VM formation and HCC tumor growth by downregulating Notch1 signaling. This study demonstrates that COE is superior to other anti-angiogenesis agents and can be considered as a promising candidate in HCC treatment.

Enhancement of Extracts from Celastrus orbiculatus on Maturation and Function of Dendritic Cells in vitro and in vivo / 中草药·英文版

Objective To examine the immunoregulation of Celastrus orbiculatus extracts(COE),a traditional Chinese medicine,on maturation and function of dendritic cells(DCs)in vitro and in vivo.Methods In vitro,after treated with COE indifferent nontoxic concentrations(0,10,20,40,80,and 160 μg/mL)for 5 d,the surface immunological molecules andcytokine secretion of mice bone marrow-derived DCs in response to COE were analyzed by flow cytometric analysis(FACS)and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),respectively.In vivo,mouse hepatoma cells(Hepal-6,1 ×106)were injected sc and were treated with different dosages of COE(10,20 or 40 mg/kg/d).Effects on tumor growth were determined by tumor volume and histology analysis after 28 d administration of COE.The relative proportions ofmature DCs and CD8+ T cells were measured in mononuclear cells that had been isolated from spleen by FACS.Results COE stimulated IL-2 and IFN-γ secretion of DCs,simultaneously enhanced the maturation of DCs byenhancing immunological molecule(CD40,CDS0,CD86,H-2Kb,and I-Ab)expression in a dose-dependent manner.Furthermore,the chcmotactic responses of DCs were significantly higher in COE-treated than untreated DCs,in association with higher chcmokine receptor 7 expression.Furthermore,COE increased DCs produce IFN-γ and IL-2 ina dose-dependent manner when the concentration of COE less than 40 μg/mL,decreased DCs produce IL-10 and IL-4also in a dose-dependent manner.In in vivo studies,COE can not only suppress growth of malignant hepatocellularcarcinomas but also stimulate maturation of DCs,associated with strongly enhanced CD8+ CTL responses.ConclusionThese data provide new insight into the mechanism of action of COE and indicate that the stimulation of maturation andfunction of DCs by COE contributes to its immunoregulatory effects.