Developments in the study of Chinese herbal medicine's assessment index and action mechanism for diabetes mellitus

In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),based on various pathogenic symptoms and the‘golden chamber’medical text,Huangdi Neijing,diabetes mellitus falls under the category‘collateral disease’.TCM,with its wealth of experience,has been treating diabetes for over two millennia.Different antidiabetic Chinese herbal medicines re-duce blood sugar,with their effective ingredients exerting unique advantages.As well as a glucose lowering effect,TCM also regulates bodily functions to prevent diabetes associated complications,with reduced side effects compared to western synthetic drugs.Chinese herbal medicine is usually composed of polysaccharides,saponins,al-kaloids,flavonoids,and terpenoids.These active ingredients reduce blood sugar via various mechanism of actions that include boosting endogenous insulin secretion,enhancing insulin sensitivity and adjusting key enzyme activity and scavenging free radicals.These actions regulate glycolipid metabolism in the body,eventually achiev-ing the goal of normalizing blood glucose.Using different animal models,a number of molecular markers are available for the detection of diabetes induction and the molecular pathology of the disease is becoming clearer.Nonetheless,there is a dearth of scientific data about the pharmacology,dose-effect relationship,and structure-activity relationship of TCM and its constituents.Further research into the efficacy,toxicity and mode of action of TCM,using different metabolic and molecular markers,is key to developing novel TCM antidiabetic formulations.

Clinical value of the Toronto inflammatory bowel disease global endoscopic reporting score in ulcerative colitis

BACKGROUND Endoscopic evaluation in diagnosing and managing ulcerative colitis(UC)is becoming increasingly important.Several endoscopic scoring systems have been established,including the Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity(UCEIS)score and Mayo Endoscopic Subscore(MES).Furthermore,the Toronto Inflammatory Bowel Disease Global Endoscopic Reporting(TIGER)score for UC has recently been proposed;however,its clinical value remains unclear.AIM To investigate the clinical value of the TIGER score in UC by comparing it with the UCEIS score and MES.METHODS This retrospective study included 166 patients with UC who underwent total colonoscopy between January 2017 and March 2023 at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University(Qingdao,China).We retrospectively analysed endoscopic scores,laboratory and clinical data,treatment,and readmissions within 1 year.Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient,receiver operating characteristic curve,and univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows,version 26.0(IBM Corp.,Armonk,NY,United States)and GraphPad Prism version 9.0.0 for Windows(GraphPad Software,Boston,Massachusetts,United States).RESULTS The TIGER score significantly correlated with the UCEIS score and MES(r=0.721,0.626,both P<0.001),showed good differentiating values for clinical severity among mild,moderate,and severe UC[8(4-112.75)vs 210(109–219)vs 328(219–426),all P<0.001],and exhibited predictive value in diagnosing patients with severe UC[area under the curve(AUC)=0.897,P<0.001].Additionally,the TIGER(r=0.639,0,551,0.488,0.376,all P<0.001)and UCEIS scores(r=0.622,0,540,0.494,and 0.375,all P<0.001)showed stronger correlations with laboratory and clinical parameters,including C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,length of hospitalisation,and hospitalisation costs,than MES(r=0.509,0,351,0.339,and 0.270,all P<0.001).The TIGER score showed the best predictability for patients'recent advanced treatment,including systemic corticosteroids,biologics,or immunomodulators(AUC=0.848,P<0.001)and 1-year readmission(AUC=0.700,P<0.001)compared with the UCEIS score(AUC=0.762,P<0.001;0.627,P<0.05)and MES(AUC=0.684,P<0.001;0.578,P=0.132).Furthermore,a TIGER score of≥317 was identified as an independent risk factor for advanced UC treatment(P=0.011).CONCLUSION The TIGER score may be superior to the UCIES score and MES in improving the accuracy of clinical disease severity assessment,guiding therapeutic decision-making,and predicting short-term prognosis.

Value of fasting plasma glucose to screen gestational diabetes mellitus before the 24th gestational week in women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index

Background:Gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)is usually diagnosed between 24th and 28th gestational week using the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT).It is difficult to predict GDM before 24th gestational week because fast plasma glucose(FPG)decreases as the gestational age increases.It is controversial that if FPG≥5.1 mmol/L before 24th gestational week should be intervened or not.The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of FPG to screen GDM before 24th gestational week in women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index(BMI).Methods:This was a multi-region retrospective cohort study in China.Women who had a singleton live birth between June 20,2013 and November 30,2014,resided in Beijing,Guangzhou and Chengdu,and received prenatal care in 21 selected hospitals,were included in this study.Pre-pregnancy BMI,FPG before the 24th gestational week,and one-step GDM screening with 75 g-OGTT at the 24th to 28th gestational weeks were extracted from medical charts and analyzed.The pregnant women were classified into four groups based on pre-pregnancy BMI:Group A(underweight,BMI<18.5 kg/m^2),Group B(normal,BMI 18.5-23.9 kg/m^2),Group C(overweight,BMI 24.0-27.9 kg/m^2)and Group D(obesity,BMI≥28.0 kg/m^2).The trend of FPG before 24th week of gestation was described,and the sensitivity and specificity of using FPG before the 24th gestational week to diagnose GDM among different pre-pregnancy BMI groups were reported.Differences in the means between groups were evaluated using independent sample t-test and analysis of variance.Pearson Chi-square test was used for categorical variables.Results:The prevalence of GDM was 20.0%(6806/34,087)in the study population.FPG decreased gradually as the gestational age increased in all pre-pregnancy BMI groups until the 19th gestational week.FPG was higher in women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI.FPG before the 24th gestational week and pre-pregnancy BMI could be used to predict GDM.The incidence of GDM in women with FPG≥5.10 mmol/L in the 19th to 24th gestational weeks and pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity was significantly higher than that in women with FPG≥5.10 mmol/L and pre-pregnancy BMI<24.0 kg/m^2(78.5%[62/79]vs.52.9%[64/121],χ^2=13.425,P<0.001).Conclusions:FPG decreased gradually as the gestational age increased in all pre-pregnancy BMI groups until the 19th gestational week.Pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity was associated with an increased FPG value before the 24th gestational week.FPG≥5.10 mmol/L between 19 and 24 gestational weeks should be treated as GDM in women with pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity.

Correlation analysis of gene polymorphisms and β-lactam allergy

A total of 64 patients with β-lactam allergy and 30 control subjects were enrolled in a case-control study. This study is aimed to analyze the relationship between β-lactam allergy and 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms（SNPs） in interleukin-10（IL-10）, IL-13, IL-4Rα, high-affinity immunoglobulin E-receptor β chain（FcεRIβ）, interferon γ receptor 2（IFNGR2）, and CYP3A4, and within the Han Chinese population of Northwest China. Genotyping for the SNPs was conducted using the Sequenom Mass ARRAY platform. SPSS 17.0 was employed to analyze the statistical data and SHEsis was used to perform the haplotype reconstruction and analyze linkage disequilibrium of SNPs of IL-10 and IL-13. The results showed that the genotype distribution of CYP3A4 rs2242480/CT differed significantly between case and control groups of males（P=0.022; odds ratio（OR）=0.167, 95% confidence interval（CI）： 0.032–0.867）. Further analysis showed that CCA, CCG, and TAA haplotypes of IL-10 had no significant correlation in patients with β-lactam allergy. The correlation between CCT and CAC haplotypes of IL-13 and β-lactam allergy needs to be further studied. The analysis did not reveal any differences in the distribution of others gene polymorphisms between cases and controls.