Advances in Research on the Effectiveness and Mechanism of Active Ingredients from Traditional Chinese Medicine in Regulating Hepatic Stellate Cells Autophagy Against Hepatic Fibrosis.

Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is a pathological process of structural and functional impairment of the liver and is a key component in the progression of chronic liver disease. There are no specific anti-hepatic fibrosis (anti-HF) drugs, and HF can only be improved or prevented by alleviating the cause. Autophagy of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is closely related to the development of HF.

Factors associated with persistent positive in HBV DNA level in patients with chronic Hepatitis B receiving entecavir treatment.

Introduction: The clinical significance of persistent positive in Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) DNA level in patients receiving antiviral therapy is not well known. We investigated factors associated with persistent viremia (PV) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) given 78-week entecavir.

Methods: A total of 394 treatment-naïve CHB patients who had undergone liver biopsy at baseline and week 78 of treatment were analyzed in this prospective multicentre study.

An-Luo-Hua-Xian Pill Improves the Regression of Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Treated with Entecavir.

Background And Aims: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can cause liver fibrosis and lead to cirrhosis and cancer. As the effectiveness of antiviral therapy to reverse liver fibrosis is limited, We aimed to evaluate the effect of An-Luo-Hua-Xian pill (ALHX) on fibrosis regression in CHB patients treated with entecavir (ETV).

Methods: Treatment-naïve patients with CHB were randomly treated with ETV alone or combined with ALHX (ETV+ALHX) between October 1, 2013 and December 31, 2020.

A new long-snouted marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of China illuminates pachypleurosauroid evolution.

Sauropterygia is the largest, most successful group of Mesozoic marine diapsids, spanning from the late Early Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. Plesiomorphic for sauropterygians, pachypleurosauroids are important for our understanding on the early evolution of this group. Here, we present a new pachypleurosaurid, Luopingosaurus imparilis gen.

Randomised controlled trial: effect of metformin add-on therapy on functional cure in entecavir-treated patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Introduction And Objectives: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance, indicating functional cure or resolved chronic hepatitis B (CHB), remains difficult to achieve via nucleos(t)ide analogue monotherapy. We investigated whether metformin add-on therapy could help achieve this goal in entecavir-treated patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative CHB.

Patients And Methods: Patients with HBeAg-negative CHB who met eligibility criteria (entecavir treatment for > 12 months, HBsAg < 1000 IU/mL) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 24 weeks of either metformin (1000 mg, oral, once a day) or placebo (oral, once a day) add-on therapy.

Influence of weight management on the prognosis of steatohepatitis in chronic hepatitis B patients during antiviral treatment.

Background: Although concomitant nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is common in chronic hepatitis B (CHB), the impact of viral factors on NASH and the outcome of CHB patients concomitant with NASH remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the outcomes of NASH in CHB patients receiving antiviral treatment.

Methods: In the post-hoc analysis of a multicenter trial, naïve CHB patients receiving 72-week entecavir treatment were enrolled.

Serum N-glycan markers for diagnosing liver fibrosis induced by hepatitis B virus.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the primary cause of hepatitis with chronic HBV infection, which may develop into liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Detection of early-stage fibrosis related to HBV infection is of great clinical significance to block the progression of liver lesion. Direct liver biopsy is regarded as the gold standard to detect and assess fibrosis; however, this method is invasive and prone to clinical sampling error.

Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Predicts One-year Recurrent Cardiovascular Events: Potential Biomarker of "Toxin Syndrome" in Coronary Heart Disease.

Objective: To examine the prognostic value of serum levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) thus explore a potential biomarker of "toxin syndrome" in CHD.

Methods: In this prospective nested case-control study, 36 of 1,503 Chinese patients with stable CHD experienced at least 1 recurrent cardiovascular event (RCE) during 1-year follow-up. Serum levels of ADMA at the start of follow-up were compared between these 36 cases and 36 controls which matched to cases in terms of gender, age, history of hypertension, and myocardial infarction.

On-treatment quantitative hepatitis B e antigen predicted response to nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: To investigate potential predictors for treatment response to nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

Methods: Seventy-six HBeAg-positive CHB patients received 96-wk NAs optimized therapy (lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil) were studied retrospectively. Serum hepatitis B surface antigen, HBeAg, hepatitis B core antibody, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and alanine aminotransferase levels were quantitatively measured before and during the treatment at 12 and 24 wk.

Systematic review on randomized controlled trials of coronary heart disease complicated with depression treated with Chinese herbal medicines.

Objectives: This systemic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) complicated with depression.

Methods: All databases were retrieved till September 30, 2014. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CHMs with placebo or conventional Western medicine were retrieved.

Multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis of the correlation of Chinese medicine syndrome evolvement and cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

Objective: To analyze the correlation of Chinese medicine syndrome evolvement and cardiovascular: events in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: This prospective cohort study investigated and: collected the clinical information of patients with stable CHD and observed the syndrome type at the baseline and 6-month at follow-up, as well as the cardiovascular events during the 6-month and 12-month follow-up. The patients were divided into the event group and the non-event group.

A new marine reptile from the Triassic of China, with a highly specialized feeding adaptation.

The Luoping fauna (Anisian, Middle Triassic) is probably the oldest of Triassic faunas in Guizhou-Yunnan area, China. The reptilian assemblage is comprised of ichthyosaurs, a number of sauropterygians (pachypleurosaur-like forms), saurosphargids, protorosaurs, and archosauriforms. Here, we report on a peculiar reptile, newly found in this fauna.

Analysis on outcome of 3537 patients with coronary artery disease: integrative medicine for cardiovascular events.

Aims. To investigate the treatment of hospitalized patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and the prognostic factors in Beijing, China. Materials and Methods.

Inhibitory effect of Shikonin on Candida albicans growth.

Our study showed that Shikonin (SK) could provide an action against almost all Candida albicans isolates tested. More importantly, to some Fluconazole (FCZ)-resistant Candida albicans, the action of SK (MIC(80) value 4 µg/mL) was shown to be >16 times higher than that of FCZ (MIC(80) >64 µg/mL). To clarify the mechanism underlying this action, we performed a comparative study in untreated control C.

Time course analysis of Candida albicans metabolites during biofilm development.

Biofilm-associated infections are difficult to treat because of their decreased susceptibility to antimicrobial therapy. Candida albicans is the most common fungal pathogen associated with colonization and biofilm formation on the surfaces of indwelling medical devices which show intrinsic resistance to many commonly used antifungal agents. In this study, a metabonomic method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed to characterize metabolic profiles during the whole biofilm developmental phases compared to the planktonic mode in C.

A multi-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of Xiongshao Capsule in preventing restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention: a subgroup analysis of senile patients.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Xiongshao Capsule (XS), consisting of Chuangxiongol and paeoniflorin, in preventing restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in senile coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

Methods: A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 335 CHD patients were randomly assigned to treatment with oral administration of XS, or a placebo for 6 months after successful PCI.

[Occult hepatitis B virus infection in chronic viral hepatitis patients with non-A to E hepatitis virus infection].

Objective: To observe the status of occult hepatitis B virus infection in chronic viral hepatitis patients with non-A to E hepatitis virus infection and explore the diagnostic value of fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) technique for occult hepatitis B virus infection.

Methods: The amount of HBV-DNA in serum and liver tissue from 57 patients with non-A to E hepatitis virus infection who were diagnosed as chronic viral hepatitis by Menghini method liver biopsy were detected by using FQ-PCR technique, then the relation between the viral load of HBV DNA in liver tissue and hepatic inflammatory activity were analyzed.

Results: Thirteen (22.

[Role of hepatitis C virus superinfection in hepatic pathologic changes of patients with chronic hepatitis B: a retrospective short-term and long-term comparative study].

Objective: To observe the effect of hepatitis C virus (HCV) superinfection on the short-term and long-term hepatic pathological changes in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Methods: HCV-RNA of twice corresponding period serum samples was detected via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay from 230 patients with CHB for whom liver biopsy was performed at an interval of 0.5-15 years, respectively.