Clinical Study of Qingluo Tongbi Granules in Treating 63 Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Type of Yin-deficiency and Heat in Collaterals

The study is to observe the therapeutic effects of Qingluo Tongbi Granules (清络通痹颗粒QTG) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the changes of immune indexes. In this series there are 63 patients with RA of the type of yin-deficiency and heat in collaterals treated with QTG as the treated group and 55 patients of the same type treated with Tripterygium glycosides as the control group. As a results, in the treated group, the curative rate is 9.52% and markedly effective rate 38.10%, with a total effective rate of 90.48%, while the corresponding rates in the control group are 0, 20.00% and 83.64%, respectively. The curative effect in the treated group is better than that in the control group (P<0.05). Besides, no obvious adverse reactions are found in the treated group. Therefore it is concluded that as a new medicinal preparation QTG is safe and effective in the treatment of RA.

Present situation of minimally invasive surgical treatment for early gastric cancer

Minimally invasive surgery is a kind of surgical operation,which is performed by using professional surgical instruments and equipment to inactivate,resect,repair or reconstruct the pathological changes,deformities and wounds in human body through micro-trauma or micro-approach,in order to achieve the goal of treatment,its surgical effect is equivalent to the traditional open surgery,while avoiding the morbidity of conventional surgical wounds.In addition,it also has the advantages of less trauma,less blood loss during operation,less psychological burden and quick recovery on patients,and these minimally invasive techniques provide unique value for the examination and treatment of gastric cancer patients.Surgical minimally invasive surgical techniques have developed rapidly and offer numerous options for the treatment of early gastric cancer(EGC):endoscopic mucosal resection(EMR),underwater EMR(UEMR),endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD),endoscopic full-thickness resection(EFTR),endoscopic submu-cosal excavation(ESE),submucosal tunnel endoscopic resection,laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery(LECS);Among them,EMR,EFTR and LECS technologies have a wide range of applications and different modific-ations have been derived from their respective surgical operations,such as band-assisted EMR(BA-EMR),conven-tional EMR(CEMR),over-the-scope clip-assisted EFTR,no-touch EFTR,the inverted LECS,closed LECS,and so on.These new and improved minimally invasive surgeries are more precise,specific and effective in treating different types of EGC.

Effect of a Traditional Chinese Medicine combined therapy on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis:a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness of a combined Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) therapy versus conventional treatment on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.METHODS:One hundred twenty outpatients with mild and moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were randomly divided into a TCM group(TCMG)and a brace group(CG).TCMG patients underwent Daoyin,Tuina,and acupotomology therapies.CG patients were treated with a Milwaukee brace.Each patient's Cobb angle was measured after 12 and 24 months of treatment,and pulmonary function was determined after 12 months of treatment.Average electromyogram(AEMG) ratio of the surface electromyogram was measured after 6 and 12 months of treatment and followed-up after 18 and 24 months.RESULTS:The Cobb angle significantly decreased in both groups after 12 months of treatment compared with before treatment(P< 0.05).The percentages of original Cobb angle in TCMG and CG were51.4%and 47.8%(P > 0.05) after 12 months and62.5%and 34.7%(P < 0.05) after 24 months,respectively.Pulmonary function significantly improved after 12 months in TCMG(P < 0.05) but significantly decreased in CG(P < 0.05).The AEMG ratio was significantly lower(P < 0.01) and tended to remain at1 after stopping treatment in TCMG,but increased in CG(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:TCM combined therapy can prevent the progression of scoliosis.The AEMG ratio is a promising index that could replace radiography in the evaluation of treatment effect and progression in scoliosis.

Correlation of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma with HBV Genotypes, Subgenotypes and Gene Mutations in Gansu Province

Objective To investigate the occurrence of basal core promoter(BCP) and pre-C mutations in patients with hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection in Gansu Province, China, and to analyze the correlation of HBV mutation and HBV genotype with primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Methods PCR-RFLP was applied to detect HBV subgenotypes, and the presence of the pre-C and BCP mutations in 62 patients with HCC, 70 patients with hepatitis B induced liver cirrhosis(LC) and 90 patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB). Results In HCC patients, genotype C was the major genotype(70.97%). The pre-C mutation was found in 59.68%, 31.43% and 16.67% patients with HCC, LC and CHB, respectively. The frequency of BCP mutations was significantly different between patients with HCC, LC and CHB(74.19%, 51.43% and 37.78%, respectively; χ2=30.727, 19.540, respectively, P < 0.01). Patients in HCC group had a higher incidence of pre-C as well as BCP mutations compared to the other groups. The prevalence of pre-C and BCP mutations was significantly higher in patients with genotype C1(44.32% and 69.32%, respectively) compared to patients with other subgenotypes(P < 0.05). Conclusions The incidence of pre-C and BCP mutations increases with disease progression. Pre-C and BCP mutations frequently occur in patients with genotype C1. HBV genotype C, pre-C mutations and BCP mutations are closely related to the occurrence of HCC.

Conserved immuno-collagenic subtypes predict response to immune checkpoint blockade

Background:Immune checkpoint blockade(ICB)has revolutionized the treatment of various cancer types.Despite significant preclinical advancements in understanding mechanisms,identifying the molecular basis and predictive biomarkers for clinical ICB responses remains challenging.Recent evidence,both preclinical and clinical,underscores the pivotal role of the extracellular matrix(ECM)in modulating immune cell infiltration and behaviors.This study aimed to create an innovative classifier that leverages ECM characteristics to enhance the effectiveness of ICB therapy.Methods:We analyzed transcriptomic collagen activity and immune signatures in 649 patients with cancer undergoing ICB therapy.This analysis led to the identification of three distinct immuno-collagenic subtypes predictive of ICB responses.We validated these subtypes using the transcriptome data from 9,363 cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)dataset and 1,084 inhouse samples.Additionally,novel therapeutic targets were identified based on these established immuno-collagenic subtypes.Results:Our categorization divided tumors into three subtypes:“soft&hot”(low collagen activity and high immune infiltration),“armored&cold”(high collagen activity and low immune infiltration),and“quiescent”(low collagen activity and immune infiltration).Notably,“soft&hot”tumors exhibited the most robust response to ICB therapy across various cancer types.Mechanistically,inhibiting collagen augmented the response to ICB in preclinical models.Furthermore,these subtypes demonstrated associations with immune activity and prognostic predictive potential across multiple cancer types.Additionally,an unbiased approach identified B7 homolog 3(B7-H3),an available drug target,as strongly expressed in“armored&cold”tumors,relating with poor prognosis.Conclusion:This study introduces histopathology-based universal immunocollagenic subtypes capable of predicting ICB responses across diverse cancer types.These findings offer insights that could contribute to tailoring personalized immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with cancer.