Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the common complications in diabetic patients, and TCM external therapies represented by acupuncture has some advantages in treating DPN, but what combination of TCM external therapies and conventional Western medicine has the best efficacy in treating DPN is still lacking evidence-based medical studies.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the five commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional Western medicine in treating DPN by Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.

The five commonly used external therapies of TCM confirmed by pre-survey were acupuncture, foot bath, acupoint massage, acupoint injection and moxibustion, respectively. The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, SinoMed, VIP, Wanfang Data and CNKI were searched by computer from their inception to December 29th, 2020, to screen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about efficacy and safety of the five commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional Western medicine in treating DPN. RevMan 5.3, Stata 15.0 and ADDIS 1.16.6 software were used for plotting and data analysis.

A total of 44 RCTs were enrolled, including 3 471 patients with DPN. Bayesian network Meta-analysis showed that the five commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with Western medicine were all superior to conventional Western medicine alone in improving overall efficacy rate, of which acupuncture had the best effect〔OR=0.20, 95%CI (0.11, 0.36) 〕. Except for acupoint massage, the other four commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional Western medicine were all superior to conventional Western medicine alone in improving median nerve motor conduction velocity (MNCV) , with acupoint injection being the most effective〔MD=-4.50, 95%CI (-5.91, -3.11) 〕. The five commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional Western medicine were all superior to conventional Western medicine alone in improving median nerve sensory conduction velocity (SNCV) , in which moxibustion had the best effect〔MD=-9.03, 95%CI (-12.59, -5.47) 〕. Except for acupoint massage, the other four commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional Western medicine were all superior to conventional Western medicine alone, with moxibustion having the best effect〔MD=-6.34, 95%CI (-9.31, -3.30) 〕. Except for acupoint massage, the other four commonly used external therapies of TCM combined with conventional western medicine were all superior to conventional Western medicine alone in improving SNCV of the common peroneal nerve, with acupuncture showing the best efficacy〔MD=-5.70, 95%CI (-8.03, -3.31) 〕.

Acupuncture combined with conventional Western medicine is recommended preferentially in treating DPN based on available literature evidence, especially in improving overall efficacy rate and SNCV of the common peroneal nerve, but more high-quality studies are still needed for further validation.

The research on traditional Chinese medicine policies in China's academic circles became increasingly active and the connotations became richer. However, most of the existing research focused on a certain specific field of traditional Chinese medicine policies, lacking all-round comprehensive research. By systematically retrieving China's traditional Chinese medicine-related policies and journal literature from 2011 to 2023 and obtaining the comprehensive statistical system data of traditional Chinese medicine, this article analyzed Chinese medicine policies from the 12th Five-Year Plan to the 14th Five-Year Plan from the perspectives of Chinese medicine, health care, scientific research, education, industry and culture, reviews relevant Chinese medicine policies and measures, sorts out the development status. It found that China had problems such as insufficient basic Chinese medicine service ability, imperfect Chinese medicine health care network, imperfect education model, and weak scientific research strength. It also proposed to strengthen the traditional Chinese medicine medical system, strengthen health care for treating non-sick patients, strengthen the construction of scientific research forces, integrate and innovate the education model, strengthen the supervision of the traditional Chinese medicine industry, and promote the dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine culture and health education.

Sleep duration of the undergraduates are closely related to their health, but there is no conclusion about the best sleep duration for undergraduates. And there is a lack of research about the dose-response relationship between sleep duration and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution.

To explore the relationship between sleep duration and TCM constitution for undergraduates, and to provide reference for their health education about sleep duration.

This study used a combination of purposeful sampling and snowball sampling methods to conduct on-site questionnaire survey on students from 143 universities including Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), Peking University, Northwestern Polytechnical University from January to June 2019. We used the Constitution in Chinese Medicine Questionnaire of 41-item (CCMQ-41) to assess the TCM constitution of undergraduates, and used a self-designed questionnaire to measure socio-demographic information and lifestyle behaviors. This study used the restricted cubic spline fitting multiple linear regression model to analyze the dose-response relationship between sleep duration and TCM constitution with taking sleep duration as the independent variable and TCM constitution score as the dependent variable, and controlling for related confounding variables.

This study collected 1 003 valid questionnaires. The response rate was 98.2%. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the sleep duration was negatively correlated with the score of qi depression (r=-0.067, P=0.034). After controlling for confounders, multiple linear regression analysis showed that there was no linear relationship between sleep duration and TCM constitution scores (P>0.05). The dose-response relationship analysis showed that the highest point of gentleness score and the lowest point of biased constitutions score (except specific diathesis) had a sleep duration of about 8 h. When the sleep duration was >8.5 h, the gentleness score showed a tendency to decrease, and the scores of qi deficiency and qi depression had a tendency to increase (P<0.05) .

Considering the health status of TCM constitutions, the best daily sleep duration for undergraduates is about 8 h. The sleep duration should be restricted to be less than 8.5 h to prevent the possibility of biased constitution.

Menopause will cause series of pathophysiologic changes and long-term complications (coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, osteoporosis, etc.), among which coronary heart disease is a major health threat.

To investigate the effects of menopausal status and aging on common risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in middle-aged women, such as increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and obesity.

A total of 556 healthy premenopausal women aged 45 to 54 years who received regular physical examinations at the physical examination center of Beijing Shijitan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University in 2018 were initially selected, with 89 excluded according to relevant criteria, and 467 women were finally included as study subjects. The included subjects were divided into the pre-menopausal group (n=176) and postmenopausal group (n=291) according to whether they were postmenopausal during a 3-year follow-up period. Changes in BMI, waist circumference, blood glucose, blood pressure, blood lipids and other indicators were monitored, inter- and intra-group comparisons were performed before and after the follow-up period. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the effects of menopausal status and age on the incidence of risk factors for coronary heart disease in middle-aged women.

The average age of 467 subjects was (47.6±2.3) years old. Compared with baseline, waist circumference, uric acid (UA), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels increased, fasting blood glucose (FBG) level decreased after 3 years (P<0.05). The results of inter-group comparison showed that there was no significant difference in waist circumference, BMI, TG, FBG and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels between the two groups after three years (P<0.05) ; the levels of UA, TC and LDL-C in the menopausal group were higher than those in the pre-menopausal group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The results of intra-group comparison showed that the waist circumference in the two groups after 3 years was higher than baseline (P<0.05) ; the levels of UA, TC and TG in the pre-menopausal group after 3 years were higher than the baseline (P<0.05) ; the levels of UA, TC, TG and LDL-C in the postmenopausal group after 3 years were higher than the baseline (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥50 years old was a high-risk factor for increased CIMT in middle-aged women (OR=2.475, 95%CI=1.049-5.838, P=0.038) .

The changes in waist circumference and TG in middle-aged women are mainly affected by age, the changes of LDL-C are mainly affected by menopausal status, and the changes of TC and UA are affected by both menopausal status and increased age. Age ≥50 years is a high risk factor for increased CIMT in middle-aged women, and the changes of metabolic indicators such as UA, TC and LDL-C precede changes in CIMT after menopause.

Appropriate and effective prevention and treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has become a challenge faced by medical institutions. Clinical evidence shows that both the royal TCM-based tendon-regulation manipulation and joint mobilization are effective for KOA, but there are few comparative studies of them in KOA.

To compare the similarities and differences between the royal TCM-based tendon-regulation manipulation and joint mobilization in the treatment of KOA, promoting the normalization and standardization of manipulative medicine worldwide.

From October 2020 to June 2021, 67 KOA patients who met the requirements were recruited from the Massage Department of Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. They were randomly divided into royal TCM-based tendon-regulation manipulation (n=33) and joint mobilization (n=34) . The two groups of patients received 10 treatments for 4 weeks, 4 cases fell off midway, and 63 patients were finally included. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis was adopted. Quantitative data collected were pre- and post-treatment assessment of the clinical responses in two groups with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) . Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews conducted in the participants based on topics of the efficacies and assessment of the two treatments for KOA, and understanding of the massage therapy. The similarities and differences between the two treatments were compared, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Parallel comparison and joint display were used for integrative analysis of the mixed data.

Efficacy evaluation: there was no statistically significant difference in the total score of WOMAC between the two groups after 4 weeks of treatment (P>0.05) , the total scores of WOMAC in both groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05) . According to the interview, there were no significant differences in patient-assessed efficacies (positive, neutral or negative evaluation) between the two treatments. Besides that, patients' positive, neutral and negative perceptions of massage were basically the same before and after treatment, but after treatment, patients' perception of massage inclined to be positive. The results of quantitative analysis showed that the curative effect was not related to previous hospital treatment with massage therapy. The efficacy was also not related to the success of blinding. There was no significant correlation between the success of blinding and the type of treatment or previous massage treatment. Patients' perceptions of massage were not associated with the efficacy, and the type of treatment received by them. Manipulation evaluation: There were no significant differences in the two treatments assessed by patients in terms of strength, pain degree, manipulation characteristics, onset time of curative effect and number of times with the most obvious perceived curative effect after the first or fourth week of treatment.

Quantitative and qualitative studies show that both the royal TCM-based tendon-regulation manipulation and joint mobilization are safe and effective for KOA, and they have no significant differences in patient-assessed efficacy and manipulation skills, as well as patients' perceptions of them.

As an important treatment for chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP) , the effect of acupuncture on CNSLBP has been studied by numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with the development of research on acupuncture. However, there are some problems in the selection of outcome indicators, which severely hinder the generation of high-quality clinical evidence.

To describe the outcome measures used in RCTs of acupuncture for CNSLBP, providing a basis for the carrying out of relevant research.

Four Chinese databases (CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data and SinoMed) and three English databases (PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library) were systematically searched for literature on CNSLBP treated with acupuncture published from January 1, 2017 to March 15, 2022, and the NSLBP core outcome set (COS) used in studies published from database inception to March 15, 2022. According to the enrolment criteria to analyze the following aspects: basic characteristics, classification of clinical outcome indicators, use of composite indicators, and the application of TCM Criteria for Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases & Syndromes (hereinafter referred to as TCMCDTDS) . In addition, 11 studies published from database inception to March 15, 2022 were enrolled to analyze their basic characteristics and use of COSs of NSLBP. In addition, to analyze the studies' basic characteristics and use of NSLBP COS. The similarities and differences between COSs of NSLBP and outcome measures in the RCTs in recent five years were compared.

Of the included 49 RCTs, four are in English and the other 45 are in Chinese, involving 4 272 cases aged from 18 to 69 years (2 049 in the treatment group, and 2 223 in the control group) . The course of CNSLBP was reported in 38 RCTs. A total of 33 outcome indicators were used in all the RCTs, divided into assessing pain, dysfunction, quality of life, activities of daily living, treatment safety, patient satisfaction, disease recognition, psychological status indicators, and other indicators. The outcome indicator number in one RCT were from 1 to 8. The outcomes were measured twice in 42 RCTs, namely before and after treatment. Safety was reported in only two RCTs. The indicator of "effective rate" in the TCMCDTDS was used in 77.55% (38/49) of the RCTs. The COSs of NSLBP in the aforementioned 11 studies include indicators assessing pain, dysfunction, quality of life, psychological status, social functioning and patient satisfaction. Three of the studies graded the domains of outcome measures in terms of importance, four covered patient satisfaction indicators, five covered psychological assessment indicators, nine used different measurement tools for different outcomes, and one used COSs of NSLBP treated with TCM.

The COSs of NSLBP used in studies and outcome measures in the included RCTs have similarities in the contents involving pain level, dysfunction, quality of life, psychological status and patient satisfaction, and differences in the selection of the type of outcome domain, direction of attention, and measurement tools. The RCTs used both primary and secondary outcome measures, had unclear measurement time points, great heterogeneity in the number of used outcome measures, and non-standard application of outcome measures, and valued efficacy outcomes but undervalued safety indicators. In view of this, we put forward the recommendation on the use of outcome measures for future relevant studies: according to the research characteristics, choosing the recognized outcome measures with reference to available COSs of NSLBP and common measurement tools.

At the end of 2014, the department of policies, regulations and supervision of the State Administration of traditional Chinese medicine carried out started to the preparation development and revision of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine at the end of 2014, and made progressdeveloped in 240 clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine in 13 specialized fields. The Chinese society of traditional Chinese medicine undertookakes this part of the work.

In order to understand the current situation of the preparation development and revision of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines for in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, analyze the problems existing in the work of thethis project team from the perspective of methodology and give suggestions, this project team conducted investigated research on the preparation development and revision project team of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of developed by traditional Chinese medicine of the Chinese Academy of traditional Chinese medicine.

The survey will be conducted from June to December 2020. The survey object participants are is the project groups of the preparation development and revision of the clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of Chinese medicine of the Chinese Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each project team member of this project team finishedlls in a questionnaire, and finally gathers the overall opinions of the project team were collected. The Chinese Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued a notice to invite all project teams to participate in the survey by means ofusing questionnaire star electronic questionnaire, and finally collected the answers on the network. Focusing Based on the research theme, the questionnaire includes five aspects: 1. understanding of the clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of for traditional Chinese medicine; 2. guide preparation development and revision procedures and application of methodology application; 3. key issues and key links steps in the preparation development and revision of the guidelines; 4. implementation, promotion and application of the guidelines; 5. overall investigation on about the guidelines preparation development and revision of the guidelines. The questionnaire is semi-structured, with 30 structured questions and 4 open questions. After the completion of the survey, the researchers conducted data summary and descriptive analysis on the results after survey.

The survey finally recovered collected 198 valid questionnaires. The survey results suggest that most project teams (94.45%, 187/198) think that more clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of for traditional Chinese medicine are still needed in this field, and the coverage of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine is still not wide enough, and the clinical application is poor; In terms of the procedures for the preparation development and revision of the guidelines and the application of methodology application, 99.49% (197/198) of the project teams followed the technical plan for the preparation development and revision of the guidelines, and 99.49% (197/198) of the project teams had methodological experts participating in the whole process. In terms of the key issues and key linkssteps in the preparation development and revision of the guidelines, most project teams believed that the main difficulties difficulties mainly focus on theare lack of high-quality clinical research evidence support (89.39%, 177/198), the lack of methodological tools consistent with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine (70.20%, 139/198), the difficulty in unifying clinical classification standards (66.16%, 131/198), and the absence of fixed standards for the selection and dosage of prescriptions and drugs (60.61%, 119/198). In terms of the implementation, promotion and application of the guidelines, 71.21% (141/198) of the project team believed that the promotion and application were in line with expectations, but there were also some difficulties in promotion and application; In terms of overall research investigation on about the preparation development and revision of the guidelines, the vast majority (96.97%, 192/198) of the project teams said that they had invested a lot of human, material, energy and other resources in the preparation development and revision of the guidelines.

Most project teams thought clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines for traditional Chinese medicine had significant guidance in clinical practice, and each project team face some problems and difficulties in guideline development and revisions. We give proposed the following suggestions: in the future, attention should be paid to the preparation development and revision of the guidelines, and relevant financial support should be increased; during the preparation development and revision of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine, all working groups need to have methodological experts participate in the whole process and control the quality; increase training on evidence-based medicine and the formulation of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines; strictly follow the latest technical solutions and methodological processes; during the preparation development and revision of the guidelines, we should pay attention to the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, and aim at clinical practicality and applicability, in order to improve the quality of clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine and promote traditional Chinese medicine to better serve people's health.

Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common disorder. At present, there are great differences in evaluation indicators of clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on OSAHS treated by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM ) . Therefore, it is of great significance to further explore the evaluation indicators of clinical RCTs of OSAHS.

To analyze the evaluation indicators of clinical RCTs on OSAHS treated by TCM, in order to provide reference for the selection of appropriate Chinese medicine for the treatment of OSAHS in RCTs outcome indicators.

The RCTs in the TCM treatment of OSAHS were retrieved from CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed and other data bases from 2015-01-01 to 2021-10-20. The basic characteristics of the collected literature included the first author, sample size, gender, age, course of disease, intervention measures, TCM syndrome type, course of treatment, and outcome indicators. According to the functional attributes, the evaluation indicators were divided into TCM syndrome, physical and chemical indicators, life quality indicators, long-term prognosis indicators, safety events indicators, and Western medicine signs indicators. The quality of the included literature was evaluated using a systematic bias risk assessment tool recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration, and the literature quality was evaluated using RevMan 5.4 software.

A total of 41 RCTs were included, including 2 971 patients, involving 270 outcomes of 70 indicators, which were classified as TCM syndrome, physical and chemical indicators, safety events indicators, Western medicine signs indicators, and quality of life indicators. Among them, physical and chemical indicators, symptoms and signs indicators are the most, quality of life indicators are less. There are 14 items of 2 kinds of combination indicators, 16 items of 3 kinds of combination indicators and 7 items of 4 kinds of combination indicators. The measurement time ranged from 7 days to 6 months, and the most was 1 month (15 RCTs, 36.59%) , followed by 3 months (11 RCTs, 31.70%) .

At present, there are large differences in evaluation indicators of TCM treatment of OSAHS, relatively insufficient attention on TCM syndrome score, poor attention on quality of life indicators, no unified standard for evaluation indicators, large span of measurement time points, and no long-term prognostic indexes.

Neck and shoulder pain ranks the 21st in terms of global economic burden of diseases, but it could be effectively treated and relieved by timely standardized interventions. The application of goal attainment scaling (GAS) will help to assess the effectiveness of interventions in a more targeted manner.

To measure the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health management delivered by Hangzhou community health centers for community-dwelling individuals with chronic neck and shoulder pain using GAS, and to identify the associated factors.

Typical sampling was adopted to choose 262 patients with chronic neck and shoulder pain from three community health centers of Hangzhou from August to September 2020. They were randomly divided into control group (n=131) and intervention group (n=131) , received one-month acupuncture treatment, and one-month acupuncture treatment plus TCM management, respectively. The intervention effect survey was carried out in November 2020 using a self-compiled questionnaire for understanding participants' demographics, level of pain assessed using the Changhai Pain Rating Scale, and effectiveness measured using GAS.

All the participants were included for analysis (n=244, 122 in each group) except for nine missing cases in each group. The post-intervention GAS scores for intervention group and control group were (51.20±7.81) and (42.94±7.57) , showing statistically significant difference (P<0.05) . The intervention group and control group also had statistically significant difference in terms of the number reaching or exceeding the expected target after intervention〔92 (75.4%) vs 44 (36.1%) 〕 (P<0.05) . The post-intervention GAS score in cases in the intervention group differed significantly by education level, marital status, employment status, TCM constitution, and self-assessment health status (P<0.05) . In accordance with the results of stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, TCM constitution, self-rated health, and drinking were associated with the GAS score after acupuncture treatment plus TCM management (P<0.05) .

The comprehensive TCM health management have significant effect on patients with chronic neck and shoulder pain. In view of this, the management is suggested to be implemented in primary care.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture are widely used in the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG), but there is a lack of high-quality evidence to verify their effectiveness and safety. One of the reasons is the lack of recognized and unified outcomes in the randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, which leads to the inability to combine data in secondary studies such as meta-analysis. The construction of the core outcome set (COS) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for MG is conducive to the design of clinical research and the accumulation of high-quality evidence.

To describe the current situation of outcome selection in RCTs of MG treated with TCM, and analyze the existing problems, then put forward suggestions, promoting the construction of a COS of TCM.

Electronic databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, SinoMed, Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were systematically searched for RCTs of MG treated with TCM from inception to April 1, 2022. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, classified the outcomes and counted their frequency of use, and divided the outcomes into different outcome domains according to the functional attributes. Then, we analyzed the current status and existing problems in the selection of outcomes, and put forward corresponding suggestions.

A total of 186 RCTs were included, involving 71 outcomes, with a frequency of use of 724 times in total. The roughly classified seven categories of all outcomes with frequency of use are as follows: MG severity scale (133 times), MG quality of life scale (20 times), TCM syndrome score (70 times), safety outcomes (66 times), blood biochemical outcomes (224 times), muscle strength changes (three times), and others (208 times). According to the functional attributes, the outcomes can be classified into seven outcome domains. A single study selected at least one and at most 12 outcomes. The most frequently used outcomes include effective rate, MG absolute and relative score, and TCM syndrome score. Among the included RCTs, only two reported the primary and secondary outcomes explicitly. The number of follow-up time point ranged from two to seven, and most RCTs chose three evaluation time points. Most RCTs did not report the use of blinding in the process of outcome evaluation.

At present, there are many problems in the selection of outcomes in RCTs of MG treated with TCM, including unclear distinction between primary and secondary outcomes, lack of internationally recognized outcomes, insufficient attention given to safety, large inter-study differences in the number of outcomes and evaluation time points, evaluation bias, and failure to include health economic outcomes, and non-standardized TCM curative effect evaluation. According to the existing problems, we proposed the following specific recommendations: promoting the establishment of a COS for TCM clinical research, selecting internationally recognized outcomes (including safety outcomes) with clear defining of the primary and secondary ones, selecting the appropriate treatment cycle and evaluation time point, completing clinical research registration, using blinding method, and standardizing the report of study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population. It's typical clinical manifestation is progressive memory impairment. Ferroptosis, rising as a new research direction on AD biological mechanism in recent years, mainly studies on iron-dependent programmed cell death. A large amount of evidence has shown that AD is closely related to ferroptosis in the brain. However, the exact mechanism of the role ferroptosis has played in AD is still unclear. One of the most popular research results indicates that AD might be induced by iron metabolism disorders, lipid peroxidation, and amino acid metabolism, thereby affecting the deposition of iron ions in the brain. So far, some effective chemical components of traditional Chinese herbs as cures of AD have been studied in depth, such as rhodiola rosea, polygala root, ginkgo biloba, poria cocos, etc. These traditional Chinese herbs have shown remarkable effects in the treatment of AD by means of targeting ferroptosis. In this context, this review systematically elaborates on the metabolism of iron in the brain, the characteristics of ferroptosis, and focuses on the metabolic regulation mechanism of ferroptosis. Meanwhile, this review also discusses the connection between ferroptosis and AD. Furthermore, it lists the effective compositions in traditional Chinese herbs that can improve AD by inhibiting ferroptosis, so as to provide reference information for the development and research of ferroptosis inhibitors in the future.

Massage is an important treatment for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) . As massage-related research advances, numerous randomized controlled trials (RCT) concerning massage therapy in CSR have been published, but high-quality evidence is still limited due to some problems in the choice of outcomes.

To evaluate the outcomes used in RCTs in recent 10 years regarding CSR treated using massage, providing a basis for the choice of core outcomes used in studies about massage in CSR.

RCTs regarding CSR treated using massage were searched in databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data, CQVIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMBase and Cochrane Library from January 2011 to May 2021. Literature screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed by two researchers separately. A qualitative analysis was conducted to analyze the outcomes used in the RCTs.

In all, 66 RCTs were included, in which the outcomes were categorized into 7 categories based on functional attributes: quality of life (95 times, 41.48%) , symptoms and signs (64 times, 27.95%) , physical and chemical examinations (39 times, 17.03%) , safety events (12 times, 5.24%) , economic assessment (12 times, 5.24%) , long-term prognosis (5 times, 2.18%) , and TCM symptoms/syndromes (2 times, 0.87%) . The most frequently used five outcomes were overall response rate, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, Neck Disability Index score, adverse reactions and adverse events, symptom and sign score, and the measurement time points for which were 17 in total in a period from one day after treatment to the sixth month of follow-up. The above-mentioned outcome indexes are mainly measured at 14 days (27.08%) , 14 days (26.67%) , 14 days (29.17%) , 28 days (28.57%) and 14 days (33.33%) after treatment. The number of RCTs using one, two, three, and at least four outcomes was 5, 20, 14, and 27, respectively. Forty-eight RCTs reported the overall response rate.

We found many problems existing in the choice of outcomes used in RCTs assessing massage for CSR. The problems are as follows: primary and secondary outcomes were not defined; alternative outcomes received more attention while endpoint outcomes were neglected; the blinding method was ignored in RCTs using subjective outcomes; there was tremendous heterogeneity between RCTs in the number or combination of outcomes used, composite outcomes were mostly used; there was non-uniformity in measurement times of outcomes. We suggest that further relevant studies should pay attention to sufficient top-level design and preliminary research, and actively take actions to establish a set of core outcomes.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerular disease, and one major cause of malignant hypertension (MHT) secondary to renal parenchymal disease. The clinical conditions and severity of renal lesion have been reported to be more serious when IgAN is accompanied by MHT, but risk factors of MHT in IgAN analyzed from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective are still unclear.

To explore the TCM-related factors and pathogenesis associated with MHT in IgAN patients.

From 518 cases of primary IgAN who were diagnosed by renal biopsy in First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital during December 2013 to September 2021, a sample of 12 cases accompanied by MHT (IgAN-MHT group) computed by PASS 15.0 were selected for correlation power analysis, and they were matched at a ratio of 1∶5 with other randomly selected 85 cases without MHT (IgAN group) . Clinical, pathological and TCM syndromes between the two groups were compared. Lasso regression was used to screen 93 TCM syndromes, among which those with significant associations with IgAN-MHT were identified by multivariate Logistic regression.

Compared with IgAN group, IgAN-MHT group had higher prevalence of headache and dizziness or nausea and vomiting as the first clinical manifestations, and clinically diagnosed nephrotic syndrome, higher levels of baseline mean arterial pressure, highest systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, serum inorganic phosphorus, serum magnesium, and quantitatively estimated 24-hour urinary protein excretion, higher prevalence of CKD stages 3-5, blood stasis syndrome, subtypes of qi-deficiency syndromes (including mental fatigue and lack of strength, limb fatigue, tibia and leg weakness, dizziness, headache with nausea, and vomiting) , subtypes of yin-deficiency syndromes (including blurred vision and eye floaters) , subtypes of blood stasis syndromes (including nail cyanosis, and dark purple tongue) , and intrarenal arteriosclerosis (P<0.05) . Moreover, IgAN-MHT group had lower prevalence of abnormal urine test results as the first clinical manifestations, previous hypertension and clinical diagnosed chronic nephritic syndrome, as well as lower levels of mean serum IgM and IgG levels, and eGFR (P<0.05) . Both groups had no significant difference in the prevalence of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (T) lesions among the two groups (P<0.05) . The common TCM syndrome in IgAN-MHT group was qi-yin deficiency syndrome combined with blood stasis syndrome. Correlation analysis showed that IgAN-MHT was positively associated with blood stasis syndrome (P<0.05) ; in IgAN-MHT group, male and quantitatively estimated 24-hour urinary protein excretion was positively associated with qi-deficiency syndrome (P<0.05) ; serum inorganic phosphorus and potassium was negatively associated with yin-deficiency syndrome (P<0.05) , and renal tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis was positively associated with blood stasis syndrome (P=0.040) . Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that headache〔OR=7.895, 95%CI (1.643, 37.935) , P=0.010〕, blurred vision〔OR=5.499, 95%CI (1.207, 25.053) , P=0.028〕, dry mouth with desire for drink 〔OR=10.079, 95%CI (2.289, 44.373) , P=0.002〕, and nail cyanosis〔OR=18.312, 95%CI (2.179, 153.884) , P=0.007〕 were associated with MHT in IgAN.

IgAN-MHT patients had worse renal function and more serious renal pathological damage. The common TCM syndrome in IgAN-MHT was qi-yin deficiency syndrome with blood stasis syndrome. The clinical and pathological indices of IgAN-MHT patients had a certain level of correlation with qi-deficiency syndrome, yin-deficiency syndrome and blood stasis syndrome. The subtypes of TCM syndromes, such as headache, blurred vision, dry mouth with desire for drink, and nail cyanosis were the influencing factors of MHT in IgAN. Early detection, diagnosis and treatment, concern for and improvement of symptoms related to syndromes of qi-deficiency, yin-deficiency, and blood stasis, may contribute to decreased risk of MHT in IgAN.

5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an important brain intestinal peptide that affects gastrointestinal function in patients with diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome. In recent years, it has been found that any abnormality in any of the signal transduction processes such as synthesis, release, binding to receptors and reuptake of 5-HT may lead to the development of diarrhoeal irritable bowel syndrome. In order to explore the potential therapeutic value of serotonin in diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome, but also to provide a theoretical reference and basis for Chinese medicine for the prevention and treatment of diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome. Through reviewing a large number of domestic and foreign literatures, the author found that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) had a significant effect in the treatment of diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome by regulating 5-HT. Therefore, the author reviewed the modern medical understanding of 5-HT, the correlation between 5-HT and diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome, and the research progress of TCM intervention with 5-HT in the treatment of diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome, in order to explore the potential therapeutic value of 5-HT in diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome. Meanwhile, it also provides a theoretical reference and basis for TCM in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome.

With the change of modern lifestyle and the aggravation of social aging, the incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is increasing year by year, which has become a major problem threatening the health of middle-aged and elderly men. At present, western medicine is mainly based on surgery and oral drugs treatment, which has certain adverse reactions and complications. However, the clinical application of filiform acupuncture in the treatment of BPH has a significant effect, but there is a lack of evidence-based evidence.

To systematically review the clinical efficacy of acupuncture therapy in treating BPH.

The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for BPH were retrieved from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, SinoMed, PubMed and Cochrane Library by computer from inception to October1, 2021, including the experimental group treated by acupuncture, with or without the drugs used in the control group and the control group treated by conventional western medicine. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, the literature was extracted and evaluated by using RevMan 5.3 software.

A total of 17 articles and 1 547 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that the clinical effective rate and maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group〔OR=3.21, 95%CI (2.25, 4.57) , P<0.000 01; MD=2.48, 95%CI (1.26, 3.70) , P<0.000 1〕. The international prostate symptom score (IPSS) , residual urine volume (PVR) , prostate volume (PV) , and quality of life (QOL) score in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group〔MD=-2.39, 95%CI (-3.84, -0.94) , P=0.001; MD=-10.59, 95%CI (-15.20, -5.98) , P<0.000 01; MD=-3.50, 95%CI (-5.07, -1.93) , P<0.000 1; MD=-0.68, 95%CI (-0.99, -0.37) , P<0.000 1〕. The clinical effective rate and Qmax of acupuncture alone in treating BPH were higher than those of western medicine〔OR=3.53, 95%CI (2.20, 5.68) , P<0.000 01; MD=2.75, 95%CI (1.62, 3.88) , P<0.000 01〕. The PVR, PV and QOL of acupuncture alone in treating BPH were lower than those of western medicine〔MD=-9.41, 95%CI (-15.87, -2.94) , P=0.004; MD=-2.99, 95%CI (-4.86, -1.12) , P=0.002; MD=-0.74, 95%CI (-1.33, -0.15) , P=0.01〕. The clinical effective rate of acupuncture+western medicine for BPH was higher than that of western medicine〔OR=2.84, 95%CI (1.67, 4.82) , P=0.000 1〕; IPSS, PVR, PV and QOL of acupuncture+western medicine for BPH were lower than that of western medicine〔MD=-2.88, 95%CI (-3.43, -2.32) , P<0.000 01; MD=-12.25, 95%CI (-16.92, -7.57) , P<0.000 01; MD=-4.41, 95%CI (-8.03, -0.79) , P=0.02; MD=-0.59, 95%CI (-1.03, -0.15) , P=0.008〕. There were no obvious adverse reactions in both groups. The sensitivity analysis of IPSS, Qmax, PVR, PV and QOL results showed that the change effect model had no significant effect on the combined results. Funnel plot analysis was performed on RCTs of clinical response rate, IPSS, Qmax, PVR, and QOL, and the results showed that the funnel diagram of clinical response rate was basically symmetrical on both sides. The funnel plots of IPSS, Qmax, PVR, and QOL were scattered, and there was publication bias.

Based on the current clinical evidence, the clinical efficacy and Qmax of acupuncture therapy for BPH were higher than those of the control group, and the IPSS, PVR, PV, and QOL were lower than those of the control group. Since funnel plots of IPSS, Qmax, PVR and QOL are scattered and have publication bias, the results of this study need further verification.

TCM manipulation is an important way for the treatment of cervical spondylosis. A large number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about TCM manipulation for cervical spondylosis have been published as relevant research develops. However, various levels of qualities of these RCTs may be non-beneficial to the promotion of TCM manipulation and the generation of high-quality clinical evidence.

To evaluate the quality of RCTs of TCM manipulation for cervical spondylosis.

We searched RCTs of TCM manipulation for cervical spondylosis in databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library from inception to June 2021. RCTs enrollment and data extraction were performed by two researchers, separately. Quality assessment was conducted using the PEDro Rating Scale, The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias, and the CONSORT 2010 Statement and other six indicators (whether the RCT is multicenter, with ethical approval, informed consent, quality control for intervention, efficacy assessment criteria, and acknowledgement) .

Finally, 81 RCTs were included, of which 28 were published from 2006 to 2014, annually averaged 3.11, other 53 were published from 2015 to 2021, annually averaged 7.57. By the PEDro Rating Scale, the quality of only 7 (8.6%) RCTs was rated as high-quality (≥7 points) . By the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias, the percentage of RCTs with high risk of bias was the least, followed by that of those with low risk of bias. Most of RCTs had unclear risk of bias due to reported incomplete information. By the CONSORT 2010 Statement, the rates of title, abstract, methods, results, discussion and other information reported by the included RCTs were insufficient. By other six indicators, the rate of RCTs with a multicenter design, ethical approval, quality control for intervention, and acknowledgement was low.

The quality of current RCTs about TCM manipulation for cervical spondylosis is generally low. The improvement recommendation for relevant researchers is writing RCTs about the TCM manipulation for cervical spondylosis standardly in accordance with the PEDro Rating Scale, the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias, and the CONSORT 2010 Statement.

Accessory breast plasma cell mastitis (PCM) is uncommon in clinical practice with rare reports.

To investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods and the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical efficacy of accessory breast PCM.

The clinical diagnosis and treatment data of 15 patients with accessory breast PCM admitted to Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University from January 2017 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, the general information, diagnostic methods, treatment methods and outcomes of 15 cases with accessory breast PCM were summarized.

A total of 15 female patients of childbearing age with accessory breast PCM were included in this paper, with onset within 2-5 years after pregnancy. The etiology was complex and the course of accessory breast PCM was protracted, which was similar to breast PCM in pathogenetic characteristics, using pathological examination results as gold standard for diagnosis. After the combination of internal and external treatment of TCM, the symptoms of 15 patients were relieved, local lesions disappeared, and there was no recurrence after six months of follow-up.

Accessory breast PCM is rare in clinical practice, which is easy to be misdiagnosed or missed, and difficult to be treated clinically. The combination of internal and external treatment of TCM has a significant effect on accessory breast PCM.

Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about motion style acupuncture in the treatment of acute nonspecific low back pain (ANSLBP) have been published recently, but there is no new systematic evaluation for effectiveness and safety of this treatment in ANSLBP.

To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of motion style acupuncture in treating ANSLBP by meta-analysis.

RCTs, crossover studies or cohort studies about effectiveness and safety of motion style acupuncture in treating ANSLBP were retrieved in electronic databases of CNKI, CBM, Wanfang Data, VIP, PubMed, the National Library of Medicine, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to March 25th, 2021. Revman 5.3 was used to complete the Meta-analysis.

All the finally enrolled 17 articles used a design of RCT, including 1 226 patients, and 610 of them were treated with motion style acupuncture (observation group) , and other 616 patients were treated with positive control, blank control, placebo acupuncture or dummy acupuncture (control group) . Meta-analysis showed that, compared with controls treated with Western medicine, the observation group had significantly lower post-treatment VAS score〔MD=-1.54, 95%CI (-2.43, -0.65) , P=0.000 7〕, and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score〔MD=-3.08, 95%CI (-4.92, -1.24) , P=0.001〕, and significantly higher post-treatment ROM of lumbar vertebra〔MD=-1.42, 95%CI (-1.62, -1.22) , P<0.000 01〕and overall response rate〔RR=1.27, 95%CI (1.19, 1.35) , P<0.000 01〕, but there was no significant difference in post-treatment ODI score between the two groups〔MD=-5.11, 95%CI (-19.12, 8.91) , P=0.48〕. Compared with controls treated with dummy acupuncture, the observation group had significantly lower post-treatment VAS score〔MD=-1.70, 95%CI (-2.05, -1.35) , P<0.000 01〕and RMDQ score〔MD=-3.06, 95%CI (-4.50, -2.70) , P<0.000 01〕. Compared with controls treated with physical therapy, the observation group had significantly lower post-treatment VAS score〔MD=-1.60, 95%CI (-2.06, -1.14) , P<0.000 01〕and RMDQ score〔MD=-3.00, 95%CI (-4.31, -1.69) , P<0.000 01〕. Compared with controls treated with Tuina, the observation group had significantly lower post-treatment VAS score〔MD=-1.50, 95%CI (-1.65, -1.35) , P<0.000 01〕, and significantly higher overall response rate〔RR=1.19, 95%CI (1.09, 1.30) , P=0.000 1〕. Only one RCT reported that the incidence of adverse events in observation group was 13.33% (4/30) during treatment.

Available documentary evidence showed that, motion style acupuncture can effectively relieve the pain and lumbar dysfunction, and improve the ROM of lumbar vertebra and overall response rate in patients with ANSLBP, with high safety, but which still needs to be confirmed by more high-quality, large-sample RCTs.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) has an increasing incidence as aging advances. As the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitution theory is of great significance in guiding PMOP prevention and treatment, studying the associated factors of yang-deficiency constitution, a common imbalanced constitution in PMOP patients, will contribute to the development of personalized treatment of PMOP.

To perform an analysis of the distribution of TCM constitution and associated factors of yang-deficiency constitution in PMOP patients in the community.

From November 2017 to July 2018, an interviewer-administered questionnaire survey for screening PMOP was conducted with a random sample of residents (45-80 years old) from 10 communities of Beijing's Chaoyang and Fengtai Districts. The general data collected include age, age at menopause, retirement status, types of job (mental, physical, or both) , educational level, monthly household income, height, weight, body mass index (BMI) , grip strength-weight index, history of fractures, history of falls, family history of osteoporosis, nighttime sleep duration, habits of eating leftovers, diet type (meat-based, plant-based, or meat-plant based) . TCM constitution was analyzed using the TCM Constitution Questionnaire. The associated factors of yang-deficiency constitution in PMOP cases were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.

Four hundred and thirty-two cases were found with PMOP, four of them were excluded due to missing data of TCM constitution, and the other 428 cases were finally included. The residents with gentleness constitution numbered the most (n=175) . Among residents with biased constitution, those with yang-deficiency constitution numbered the most (n=107) . Through multivariate Logistic regression analysis, it was found that BMI<18.5 kg/m², frequently eating leftovers, and meat-based diet were associated with increased risk of PMOP in yang-deficiency residents (P<0.05) .

This cross-sectional survey indicates that yang-deficiency constitution may be highly prevalent in PMOP residents, and was associated with BMI<18.5 kg/m² often eating leftovers, and meat-based diet.

Ischemic stroke is the most common cerebrovascular accident and is increasingly becoming a serious global health problem. Mitochondrial quality control disorder is an important mechanism of neuronal death induced by cerebral ischemia, and the maintenance of mitochondrial function is essential for promoting neuronal survival and improving neurological function. Mitochondrial quality control mainly involves mitochondrial oxidative stress, mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial autophagy, mitochondrial biogenesis, etc., which is an important condition for stabilizing the normal structure of mitochondria and exerting the normal function of mitochondria. In recent years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has significantly improved the clinical symptoms of patients with ischemic stroke by affecting the structure and function of mitochondria through multi-perspective, multi-pathway, multi-target regulation of mitochondrial quality control, which has received extensive attention from scholars. This article summarizes the experimental studies and clinical observations on the application of effective compound components of TCM and TCM compound to regulate mitochondrial quality control in the treatment of ischemic stroke in recent years, further explains the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke, clarifies the regulatory mechanism of TCM on mitochondrial quality control, and summarizes the scientific connotation and shortcomings of TCM in the treatment of ischemic stroke, in order to provide ideas and methods for further clinical application of TCM in the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Post-stroke mild cognitive impairment (PSMCI) is a common complication after stroke, which negatively affects patients' full recovery from stroke and imposes financial and emotional pressure on their families.

To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion on Governor vessel on the cognitive function and TCM syndromes in PSMCI due to deficiency of kidney essence.

Eligible patients with PSMCI (n=60) who were treated in Rehabilitation Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of CM from July 2020 to July 2021 were selected, and evenly randomized to a control group (routine basic treatment plus routine cognitive rehabilitation training) and a moxibustion group 〔routine basic treatment plus routine cognitive rehabilitation training and moxibustion on the Governor vessel acupoints (once daily, five times per week) 〕, received four consecutive weeks of treatment. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) , and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used to assess the cognitive function. Symptoms of kidney essence deficiency was assessed by the Scale for the Differentiation of Syndromes of Vascular Dementia (SDSVD) . And quality of life was measured by the Specifications for Stroke-Quality of Life (SS-QOL) . The overall clinical efficacy and safety of the two treatments were evaluated.

Pre- and post-treatment comparisons of scores of MMSE and MoCA, SDSVD, and SS-QOL revealed that moxibustion group patients group had greater improvements in cognitive function, symptoms of kidney essence deficiency, and quality of life than control group patients (P<0.05) . Moreover, moxibustion group patients had better clinical outcomes (P<0.05) . The safety of treatment showed no significant intergroup differences (P>0.05) .

Moxibustion of the Governor vessel helps to better improve the cognitive function and TCM symptoms of PSMCI patients due to deficiency of kidney essence with good clinical efficacy and safety.

There is growing evidence that highly educated young people from economically developed regions are becoming the main users of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) .

This study adopts a combined variable-centered and person-centered approach grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to explore the factors influencing acceptance of TCM. It examines variables such as demographics, chronic disease status, health literacy, traditional cultural identity, and scientific thinking, with a particular emphasis on parents' willingness to seek TCM pediatric treatments for their children.

From July to September 2023, a total of 717 parents were conveniently sampled from a kindergarten, primary school, and middle school in Guangdong Province and surveyed via the self-developed DiggMind online psychological assessment platform. Parents' demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, education, occupation, residence, and chronic illness) were collected, and the six dimensions of the UTAUT model as well as three additional influencing variables (i.e., health literacy, traditional cultural identity, and scientific thinking) were measured using a 6-point Likert scale (with higher scores indicating greater alignment with the respondent's situation). The data were analyzed using path analysis, latent profile analysis, and Logistic regression analysis.

The UTAUT model accounted for 72% of the variance in intentions and actual behaviors related to the use of TCM pediatrics. The latent profile analysis of the six dimensions of the UTAUT model—performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, risk awareness, usage intention, and usage behavior—showed that the current sample was optimally categorized into four subgroups. These subgroups, reflecting increasing levels of acceptance toward TCM pediatrics, were labeled as "Resistant""Skeptical""Accepting"and "Firmly Committed". Parents' scientific thinking and traditional cultural identity demonstrated a significantly positive impact on the acceptance of TCM pediatrics (P<0.05), whereas variables such as education level, type of residence, and occupational prestige showed no statistically significant effects (P>0.05) .

This study reveals that the true driving force behind the "higher intellectuals" group's trust in TCM culture lies in their intrinsic qualities, rather than external factors such as education, occupation, or residence. These findings serve as a bridge facilitating the integration of modern scientific theories with traditional medical practices.

The development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been listed as a national development strategy with vigorous improvement of TCM service capacity in primary care institutions as the important elements, however, there are few studies on the disease spectrum of TCM in community health service institutions.

To analysis the TCM disease spectrum in outpatient clinics of contracted residents by family doctors in Shenzhen community health service centers (abbreviated as CHSC) and understand the capability of TCM in Shenzhen health centers, thus providing a theoretical basis for promoting the development of TCM in primary care in China.

From May to June 2022, the records of outpatient consultations with treatment cost of 10 Shenzhen CHSCs from 2021-01-01 to 2021-06-30 were extracted by the unified information platform of the Health Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (Hangchuang Community Health Service Center Business System) . The 385 138 records with purpose of TCM treatment, matching diagnosis and treatment costs, first diagnosis can be coded in Classification and Codes of Diseases and ZHENG of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCD) were collected. The disease spectrum was analyzed based on the classification of disease in TCD, mainly involving department categories, specialty system classifications, and TCM disease terms.

A total of 385 138 records of TCM diagnosis and treatment were selected in this study, including 170 077 (44.16%) male cases and 215 061 (55.84%) female cases, with an average age of (36.7±9.4) years. All of the 7 TCD categories of disease spectrum were involved, including internal medicine accounting for 56.98% (219 445 cases) , pediatrics accounting for 20.56% (79 201 cases) , otolaryngology accounting for 12.45% (47 965 cases) , gynecology accounting for 7.95% (30 620 cases) , surgery accounting for 1.51% (5 797 cases) , orthopedics accounting for 0.37% (1 407 cases) and ophthalmology accounting for 0.18% (703 cases) . Apart from the specialty system classifications of tumor diseases, cancer diseases in each category, classifications of middle canthal disease, black eye disease, pupillary disease, traumatic eye disease in Ophthalmology, the disease spectrum involves all specialty system classifications in 7 categories. The cumulative diagnosis and treatment volume of several disease spectrums accounted for 90.00% of the total diagnosis and treatment in each category. The top 5 system diseases in the spectrum included respiratory system diseases accounting for 54.19% (208 701 cases) , musculoskeletal system diseases accounting for 19.05% (73 369 cases) , gynecological system diseases accounting for 7.95% (30 620 cases) , cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system diseases accounting for 7.15% (27 539 cases) , and the digestive system diseases accounting for 4.98% (19 162 cases) . Patients aged <15 years and 15-24 years mainly suffered from diseases related to the respiratory and digestive systems, and the incidence of diseases such as paralysis, dizziness, headache, insomnia, fatigue were increased with the increase of age; cold ranked the first for patients aged below 45 years, the paralysis of muscle and joint pain ranked the first for patients aged above 45 years.

The TCM diseases spectrum in Shenzhen CHSCs is wide, but the categories are relatively concentrated and single, mainly involving internal medicine, concentrating on respiratory system diseases, musculoskeletal system diseases, gynecological system diseases, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system diseases, and digestive system diseases. It is necessary to strengthen and expand the TCM diagnosis and treatment capabilities in CHSCs to better meet diverse health needs of the residents.

China is facing an increasing number of chronic disease patients. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important indicator assessing the effect of prevention and treatment measures for chronic diseases, so it is important to select an appropriate HRQoL measurement tool for these patients.

To compare the validity, consistency and correlation of the Chinese Medicinal Quality of Life scale (CQ-11D) , Short-form 6-dimension version 1 (SF-6Dv1) , and the 3-level version of EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L) in terms of utility values measuring HRQoL in chronic disease patients, and to identify a scale that is most applicable to Chinese chronic disease patients.

From February 2021 to April 2021, this study recruited the initial sample of Chinese people using quota sampling with quotas based on sex and age from a total of 28 representative provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities selected from seven geographical regions (north China, northeast China, east China, central China, southwest China, northwest China, and south China, with 2 to 6 selected from each of the regions) . A face-to-face survey was used to collect the sample people's basic demographic information and the situation of chronic diseases, and self-reported HRQoL measured using the CQ-11D, SF-6Dv1 and EQ-5D-3L, respectively, then according to the survey results, those with chronic diseases were selected, and the utility values of the three scales in them were analyzed. Bland-Altman chart and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to analyze the consistency and correlation of the three scales. Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for univariate analysis to determine whether or not there is a statistically significant difference between the utility values of the scales across age or sex groups.

A total of 692 chronic disease patients were finally included. The mean (standard deviation) of utility scores of CQ-11D, SF-6Dv1 and EQ-5D-3L scales were (0.855±0.168) , (0.793±0.132) and (0.876±0.136) , respectively. The top three prevalent chronic diseases were hypertension (n=275) , arthritis (n=128) and hyperlipidemia (n=124) . Histogram showed that EQ-5D-3L had obvious ceiling effect, and CQ-11D was more widely distributed. The Bland-Altman chart showed that the consistency between the three scales was relatively good, and the points within the 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were all about 95%. The strength of correlation between CQ-11D and visual analogue score (VAS) was the highest (P<0.001) . The ICC among the three scales ranged from 0.528 to 0.625, showing a moderate level of correlation (P<0.001) . Both Bland-Altman chart and ICC analysis showed that SF-6Dv1 and EQ-5D-3L had the best consistency. The results of analysis for the three chronic diseases in subgroups were similar to those in the total sample. Univariate analysis showed that male patients with hypertension or hyperlipidemia had higher utility scores of three scales than their female counterparts (P<0.05) . And the utility scores of three scales were the lowest in 60-year-olds and above among patients with hyperlipidemia.

The ceiling effect of EQ-5D-3L scale is obvious in patients with chronic diseases. CQ-11D demonstrated a wide range of distribution of utility values in measuring the three chronic diseases, which may be more suitable for measuring HRQoL in Chinese chronic disease population, as no ceiling effect was observed and its correlation with VAS was the strongest.

The use of electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui acupoints may improve the learning and memory impairment in cerebral ischemic stroke patients with cognitive impairment induced by one pathogenic factor known as abnormal free radical metabolism.

To explore the possible mechanism of using electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui acupoints to improve the learning and memory impairment in a rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion induced learning and memory impairment by observing the changes of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in brain tissues of the model.

This experiment was conducted from August 2019 to August 2020. Eighteen SPF male SD rats were selected and equally randomized into three groups by use of random allocation using SPSS 22.0: sham operation group (receiving a neck incision for separating the neck artery, then being caught at a fixed time point), model group (receiving occlusion of the middle cerebral artery for inducing ischemia-reperfusion injury, then being assessed with a Zea-Longa score of 1-3 points in the fully awake state, and being caught at a fixed time point) and electroacupuncture group (first receiving interventions similar to those given to rats in the model group, then on the first day after being successfully modeled, receiving a 30-minute electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui acupoints with dense-sparse waves in the frequency range of 1 Hz/20 Hz, once daily, for two consecutive weeks). When the intervention ended, Morris water maze experiment was used to test the learning and memory ability of all rats. The SOD activity and MDA content in brain tissues of rats were measured by WST-1 assay, and thiobarbituric acid assay, respectively.

The rats in both model group and electroacupuncture group were modeled successfully. On the 13th day of training trial, compared with rats in the sham operation group, those in the model group showed an increased escape latency and decreased number of crossing the platform (P<0.05) ; rats in the electroacupuncture group showed a shortened escape latency and an increased number of crossing the platform than did those in the model group (P<0.05). Rats in the model group exhibited decreased SOD activity and increased MDA content than did those in the sham operation group (P<0.05). Rats in the electroacupuncture group had higher SOD activity and lower MDA content than did those in the model group (P<0.05) .

Electroacupuncture at Shenting and Baihui acupoints could improve the learning and memory impairment in a rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the mechanism may be related to enhancing SOD activity and reducing the accumulation of MDA in the brain tissue.

Primary traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health service has been attracting continuously improving attention. However, primary TCM health service system still has problems, which have constrained the development of TCM in China.

To analyze the current situation of primary TCM health service system in China and explore the strategies to continuously improve the capacity of primary TCM health service.

In December 2022, data were retrieved from the China Health Statistics Yearbook, National Statistics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the official websites of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. The index system was constructed from the three levels of health input, service output and health needs, and the combination of rank-sum ratio method and the WHO health system performance module framework was used to comprehensively evaluate the current situation of primary TCM health service.

In terms of health input, from 2017 to 2021, the number of primary healthcare institutions providing TCM health services except for township health centers has increased, and the number of TCM clinical departments beds in community health service centers (stations), township health centers, and outpatient clinics has shown an increasing trend, but the proportion of TCM clinical departments beds in outpatient clinics to the total number of outpatient departments has decreased; the proportion of TCM practicing (assistant) physicians in community health service centers (stations), township health centers and clinics has increased significantly, while the proportion of TCM practicing (assistant) physicians in village clinics remained stable, and the proportion of TCM practicing (assistant) physicians in outpatient clinics decreased by years; in the past five years, the absolute value of financial input for primary healthcare institutions has steadily increased, while the financial allocation for TCM organizations has fluctuatingly decreased. In terms of service output, from 2017 to 2021, the proportion of TCM consultations to the total consultations in various institutions has steadily increased according to a certain increase (except for TCM outpatient clinics), while the proportion of TCM consultations in village clinics alone has always remained above 30.0%; in addition to township health centers, the per capita burden of consultations of TCM practicing (assistant) physicians in other primary healthcare institutions was generally on a downward trend. The comprehensive evaluation found that 2017, 2018 and 2021 were in a suitable state of resource allocation, while 2019 and 2020 were in an unbalanced state of resource allocation.

At present, the construction of primary TCM health service system in China has been effectively implemented, but there are still some problems in the process of orderly promotion. Problems such as insufficient resources for primary TCM, unbalanced service and utilization, insufficient advantages of TCM, imperfect personnel training mechanism and low financial input have constrained the development TCM. In order to promote the continuous improvement of the health service capacity of primary TCM health service institutions, it is necessary to consolidate the functions of government, further promote TCM culture, establish incentive mechanism to optimize the training mode of talents, strengthen the close integration of TCM health services with health insurance policies, and build a TCM medical association supported by "information integration".

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases annually in China. The integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine is helpful to alleviate and control symptoms of IBD. Quality of life (QoL) is an important index to evaluate the clinical efficacy of IBD. However, there are few studies about IBD patient-reported outcomes (PROs) based on TCM theories.

To determine the framework and items, and then use them to develop the IBD PROs scale using TCM theories.

Under the guidance of the TCM theory of "body and mind harmony, and man's adaptation to his total environment" , literature review, core-group discussion and expert consultation were carried out. The conceptual framework and item pool of the draft of an IBD PROs scale were developed, then the corresponding items were determined, forming the draft of the IBD PROs scale. Then the draft scale was pre-tested in IBD patients treated in Department of Spleen and Stomach Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January to June 2021. The dispersion tendency, Cronbach's α and correlation analysis were used for further item selection.

The final IBD PROs scale is composed of two domains: body and mind harmony (12 body-related items, and 9 mind-related items) and man's adaptation to his total environment (6 items) .

The IBD PROs scale developed based on theories of TCM could be used to evaluate the QoL of IBD patients. But further clinical research is still needed to verify its reliability and validity.

With the increasing aging and the transformation of the disease spectrum of residents, there is increasing national attention to the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) services. It is of great significant in better utilizing the proper value of TCM community services in the future to understand the current situation and influencing factors of TCM community services utilization.

To understand the current situation and influencing factors of TCM community services utilization among residents in the main urban areas of Chongqing from demander's perspective, so as to provide reference for the sustainable development of TCM community services.

On December 1, 2021, 23 community health service centers were selected by quota sampling method in proportion to the population in 9 central urban areas of Chongqing, and the residents in each community health service center and its surrounding communities by incidental sampling method were selected to conduct questionnaire surveys. The actual number of questionnaires distributed was 840 with 806 valid questionnaires and effective rate of 96.0%. Based on Anderson's health service utilization behavior analysis framework, the factors influencing individual service utilization behavior were summarized into three categories: tendency characteristics, enabling resources and demand factors. At the same time, the dimension of personal TCM culture was added. Binary Logistics regression was used to analyze the influence of the four dimensions on the utilization of TCM in the community.

The utilization rate of TCM community services among the surveyed residents was only 35.9% (289/806), 12 indicators in 4 dimensions were associated with the TCM community services utilization, including propensity characteristics (age, marital status), enabling resources (type of medical insurance, medical expenditure in the last 2 weeks, whether the institutions can meet the basic medical needs of families, whether institutions provide TCM services), demand factors (chronic diseases, self-perception of physical condition in 2 weeks, demand for TCM community services), personal TCM culture (TCM referral willingness, TCM culture trust level, community TCM cultural atmosphere) (P<0.05) .

There are multidimensional and multifactorial influences on the TCM community services utilization among residents. Therefore, targeted measures should be taken to promote residents' utilization of TCM community services.