Prevalence and risk factors of tuberculosis among people living with HIV/AIDS in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and risk factors associated with tuberculosis (TB) among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. After the literature was screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, STATA® version 17.0 software was used for the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity among study data was assessed using I2 statistics. Subgroup analysis and meta-regressions were performed to further explore the source of heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 5241 studies were retrieved. Of these, 44 studies were found to be eligible. The pooled prevalence of HIV/TB co-infection was 6.0%. The risk factors for HIV/TB co-infection included a low CD4+ T cell count, smoking, intravenous drug use and several other sociodemographic and clinical factors. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination history was a protective factor. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of TB was observed among people living with HIV/AIDS in China. Low CD4+ T cell count, smoking, and intravenous drug use were the primary risk factors for HIV/TB co-infection, whereas BCG vaccination history was a protective factor. Checking for TB should be prioritized in HIV screening and healthcare access. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Registered on PROSPERO, Identifier: CRD42022297754.

Erythropoietin promotes myocardial infarction repair in mice by improving the function of Sca-1+ stem cells.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of death in the world. With the improvement of clinical therapy, the mortality of acute MI has been significantly reduced. However, as for the long-term impact of MI on cardiac remodeling and cardiac function, there is no effective prevention and treatment measures. Erythropoietin (EPO), a glycoprotein cytokine essential to hematopoiesis, has anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenetic effects. Studies have shown that EPO plays a protective role in cardiomyocytes in cardiovascular diseases, such as cardiac ischemia injury and heart failure. EPO has been demonstrated to protect ischemic myocardium and improve MI repair by promoting the activation of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). This study aimed to investigate whether EPO can promote MI repair by enhancing the activity of stem cell antigen 1 positive stem cells (Sca-1+ SCs). Darbepoetin alpha (a long-acting EPO analog, EPOanlg) was injected into the border zone of MI in adult mice. Infarct size, cardiac remodeling and performance, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and microvessel density were measured. Lin- Sca-1+ SCs were isolated from neonatal and adult mouse hearts by magnetic sorting technology, and were used to identify the colony forming ability and the effect of EPO, respectively. The results showed that, compared to MI alone, EPOanlg reduced the infarct percentage, cardiomyocyte apoptosis ratio and left ventricular (LV) chamber dilatation, improved cardiac performance, and increased the numbers of coronary microvessels in vivo. In vitro, EPO increased the proliferation, migration and clone formation of Lin- Sca-1+ SCs likely via the EPO receptor and downstream STAT-5/p38 MAPK signaling pathways. These results suggest that EPO participates in the repair process of MI by activating Sca-1+ SCs.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treatment of COVID-19 and Viral Disease: Efficacies and Clinical Evidence.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an uncontained, worldwide pandemic. While battling the disease in China, the Chinese government has actively promoted the use of traditional Chinese medicine, and many studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine for treating COVID-19. The present review discusses the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in curing COVID-19 and provides clinical evidence from all confirmed cases in China. Applications of traditional Chinese medicine and specific recipes for treating other viral infections, such as those caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and influenza A viruses (including H1N1), are also discussed. Studies have reported that traditional Chinese medicine treatment plays a significant role in improving clinical symptoms. Therefore, further investigation may be of high translational value in revealing novel targeted therapies for COVID-19.

[Optimization of isolation and culture of Lin- Sca-1+ cardiac stem cells from newborn mice].

Cardiac stem cells (CSCs) transplantation has been recognized to be effective on the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI), but some techniques still need to be developed in the isolation and culture of CSCs, which is the key problem restricting the clinical application of CSCs. This study was focused on the isolation of Lin- (lineage-negative) Sca-1+ (stem cell antigen-1-positive) CSCs from newborn C57BL/6J mice (0-3 d) by mixed enzymatic-explant isolation in combination with immunomagnetic separation. The digesting time, digesting frequency, incubation temperature, stirring speed, centrifugation time and rotational speed were strictly controlled in the experiment. In order to increase the survival rate of CSCs, the medium changing time and manner were optimized in primary CSCs culture. The percentages of Sca-1+ cells in primary and passage cells were detected by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that: (1) the proportion of Lin- Sca-1+ cells within the collected cells could be as high as (85.03 ± 5.60)% after isolation and purification; (2) In vitro culture of Lin- Sca-1+ CSCs grew into spheres on the 5th day, and over the whole bottom of the dish on the 7th day. The growth curve showed that the cells were in logarithmic growth phase on the 3rd day; (3) Immunofluorescence staining data showed that the expression of Sca-1, the CSCs membrane-specific marker, was decreased after subculture, and flow cytometry data showed that the percentages of Sca-1+ cells were (71.82 ± 2.63)%, (58.38 ± 3.70)% and (46.19 ± 4.72)% in passage 1 (P1), P3, and P5 CSCs, respectively. The above results suggest that high purity of Lin- Sca-1+ CSCs can be obtained by enzymolysis combined with immunomagnetic separation method. Moreover, the CSCs culture system is stable. In our experiment, the Sca-1+ CSCs isolation and culture method has been successfully established, and it is simple, stable, effective and reliable. The method can provide a stable methodological basis for the treatment of MI by Lin- Sca-1+ CSCs transplantation.

[Complementary treatment of 141 HIV/AIDS patients with pulmonary infection by qingfei peiyuan micro-pill: a clinical observation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Qingfei Peiyuan Micro-pill (QPM) on HIV/AIDS patients with pulmonary infection of phlegm heat obstructing lung syndrome (PHOLS). METHODS: Totally 141 HIV/AIDS patients with pulmonary infection of PHOLS were randomly assigned to the treatment group (94 cases) and the control group (47cases). On the basis of Western medicine, patients in the treatment group took QPM. The therapeutic course for all was 28 days. The improvement of symptoms and signs was observed. The body temperature (BT), chest X ray, and white blood cells (WBCs) were detected. RESULTS: The Chinese medical syndrome score was lower in the treatment group than in the control group at the 7th, 21st, and 28th day of treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). The efficacy was better in the treatment group than in the control group at the 7th, 21st, and 28th day of treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). The BT was lower in the treatment group than in the control group on the 7th day. There was no statistical difference in the patient number with normal WBCs on the 7th day (P > 0.05). But there was statistical difference in the patient number with normal WBCs on the 14th, 21st, and 28th day of treatment (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in the patient number with normal chest X ray on the 7th and 28th day of treatment (P > 0.05). But there was statistical difference in the patient number with normal chest X ray on the 14th and 21 st day of treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: QPM had certain complementary effect on HIV/AIDS patients with pulmonary infection of PHOLS.

[Preliminary study on features of syndrome distribution and cluster analysis for AIDS patients with pulmonary infection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate Chinese medical features of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with pulmonary infection. METHODS: Using cluster analysis method, Chinese medical syndromes of 196 AIDS patients with pulmonary infection were analyzed. The distribution features of each syndrome type were analyzed according to the severity and CD4+ numerical analysis. RESULTS: Basic Chinese medical syndrome types could be summed up as three kinds: exterior invasion of wind heat and phlegm heat obstructing Fei syndrome (61 cases, 31.1%), Fei-Pi deficiency and Fei stagnation of phlegm syndrome (64 cases, 32.7%), Fei-Shen deficiency and yin deficiency induced inner heat syndrome (71 cases, 36.2%). There was statistical difference in the severity degree and the distribution of CD4 among the three syndrome types (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: AIDS patients with pulmonary infection involve Fei, Shen, and Pi. The pathogenic factors were related to "wind", "heat", "phlegm", and "xu". The Chinese medical syndrome distribution was closely correlated with patients' immunity.

Research on Chinese medicine syndrome distribution of asymptomatic HIV infection patients / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore Chinese medicine syndrome distribution laws of asymptomatic HIV infection patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using Chi-square test, Chinese medicine syndrome distribution laws were compared and analyzed in 1 156 asymptomatic HIV infection patients from March 2009 to October 2011 from four aspects, i.e., age, possible infection time, disease duration, and different routes of infection.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Qi deficiency syndrome (QDS) and internal dampness-heat accumulation syndrome (IDHAS) were dominant in all syndrome types. Along with aging, QDS showed a growing tendency, while IDHAS showed obvious declining tendency. There was no obvious change in other syndrome types. There was statistical difference in the distribution of each syndrome type among each age period (P < 0.01). Within 15 years, along with the increase of infection time, QDS showed a growing tendency, while IDHAS ratio showed an obvious declining tendency. No obvious laws were found in other syndrome types. There was statistical difference in the distribution of each syndrome type (P < 0.01). Along with the prolongation of disease duration, the case number of each syndrome showed a decreasing trend, but QDS and IDHAS still accounted for higher ratios in each stage. There was statistical difference in the distribution of each syndrome type (P < 0.01). As for infection routes, QDS was predominant in paid blood donation, blood transfusion infection, intravenous drugs. IDHAS was predominant in sexual transmit. No obvious laws were found in other syndrome types. There was statistical difference in the distribution of each syndrome type (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>DIS, IDHAS, and no confirmable syndrome typing were dominant in asymptomatic HIV infection patients. Deficiency and dampness were important pathological factors for them.</p>