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Hepatic fibrosis (HF) is the common pathological process of various chronic liver diseases and is associated with the progression of liver diseases, and it is also a key factor affecting the outcome of liver diseases and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The early process of HF is reversible, but without timely intervention and treatment, HF may gradually aggravate and progress to liver cirrhosis and even HCC, which will endanger people's health. Therefore, it is of great significance to actively prevent and treat HF; however, due to the complex pathogenesis of HF, Western medicine treatment is limited and there is still a lack of effective and widely accepted anti-fibrotic drugs, and thus there is a huge demand for medical treatment. With the efforts of scholars in China and globally, traditional Chinese medicine treatment has become a hotspot and a key breakthrough point in reversing HF and preventing its progression, with the advantages of multiple targets and pathways. This article elaborates on the advantages and characteristics of TCM treatment of HF from the aspects of syndrome differentiation, method of treatment, drug compatibility, and modern molecular mechanism.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#Tibetan tea is a kind of dark tea, due to the inherent complexity of natural products, the chemical composition and beneficial effects of Tibetan tea are not fully understood. The objective of this study was to unravel the composition of Tibetan tea using knowledge-guided multilayer network (KGMN) techniques and explore its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms in mice.MATERIALS/METHODS: The C57BL/6J mice were continuously gavaged with Tibetan tea extract (T group), green tea extract (G group) and ddH 2 O (H group) for 15 days. The activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mice was detected.Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the antioxidant and lipid-lowering effects of Tibetan tea in mice. Furthermore, the expression levels of liver antioxidant and lipid metabolism related genes in various groups were detected by the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method. @*RESULTS@#The results showed that a total of 42 flavonoids are provisionally annotated in Tibetan tea using KGMN strategies. Tibetan tea significantly reduced body weight gain and increased T-AOC and SOD activities in mice compared with the H group. Based on the results of transcriptome and qPCR, it was confirmed that Tibetan tea could play a key role in antioxidant and lipid lowering by regulating oxidative stress and lipid metabolism related pathways such as insulin resistance, P53 signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, fatty acid elongation and fatty acid metabolism. @*CONCLUSIONS@#This study was the first to use computational tools to deeply explore the composition of Tibetan tea and revealed its potential antioxidant and hypolipidemic mechanisms, and it provides new insights into the composition and bioactivity of Tibetan tea.
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Liver transplantation is one of the best approaches for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. The concept of transplant oncology could shed light on the whole process management of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. The success rate of operation and perioperative safety were the major concerns in the past, whereas the focus of treatment is gradually shifting to cancer treatment and improving patient survival and quality of life, with the promotion of neoadjuvant and postoperative adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. The prognosis of different group of patients might be heterogeneous. Therefore, refined stratification should be carried out for heterogeneous patients before and after liver transplantation to achieve the best prognosis. The present study classified patients for three clusters: primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients within the transplant criteria, hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver resection, and patients after down-staging or neoadjuvant therapy. Fine stratified management are essential for the whole process management in the new era of transplant oncology.
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Objective:To compare the similarities and differences of clinical characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative and HIV-positive patients with talaromycosis marneffei (TSM).Methods:The clinical data of 175 inpatients diagnosed with TSM in First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from May 2012 to April 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into HIV-positive group and HIV-negative group according to the results of HIV confirmation test. The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination indicators (white blood cell count, hemoglobin, albumin, CD4 + T lymphocyte count and C-reactive protein (CRP)) between the two groups were compared. Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:Among 175 TSM patients, 85 were HIV-positive and 90 were HIV-negative patients. The main clinical manifestations of fever and lymphadenopathy in the HIV-positive group and HIV-negative group were 71 (83.53%) cases and 73 (81.11%) cases, 50 (58.82%) cases and 47 (52.22%) cases, respectively, and there were both no statistical differences ( χ2=0.175 and 0.771, respectively, both P>0.05), while respiratory symptoms, weight loss and subcutaneous masses were 62 (72.94%) cases and 81 (90.00%) cases, 73 (85.88%) cases and 56 (62.22%) cases, one (1.18%) case and 16 (17.78%) cases, respectively, the differences were all statistically significant ( χ2=8.514, 12.630 and 13.737, respectively, all P<0.01). Hemoglobin in HIV-positive group and HIV-negative group were 90.50 (77.00, 113.95) g/L and 88.65 (72.85, 99.93) g/L, respectively. The difference was statistically significant ( Z=2.023, P=0.043). The ratios of albumin<30 g/L, CRP>10 mg/L in the two groups were 69.41%(59/85) and 60.00%(54/90), 94.37%(67/71) and 94.19%(81/86), respectively, and the differences were both not statistically significant ( χ2=1.693 and 0, respectively, both P>0.05). The ratios of cases with white blood cell counts >10×10 9/L and CD4 + T lymphocyte count<50/μL in the positive and negative groups were 3.53%(3/85) and 81.11%(73/90), 80.77%(63/78) and 1.75%(1/57), respectively, the differences were both statistically significant ( χ2=107.095 and 82.467, respectively, both P<0.01). Conclusions:In TSM patients, HIV-negative with subcutaneous masses, and increased white blood cell counts are common. Decreased body weight and CD4 + T lymphocyte count<50/μL in HIV-positive patients are more common than HIV-negative patients.