Chronic liver disease is a major global health concern, posing significant challenges due to its asymptomatic progression and the limitations of conventional treatments. Effective therapeutic strategies remain a pressing need. Curcumin, a natural polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric rhizomes, has demonstrated diverse pharmacological properties. Beyond its well-known antioxidant activity, curcumin exhibits anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-fibrotic effects, along with the ability to regulate cellular autophagy and apoptosis. Recent studies suggest its potential to inhibit the progression of chronic liver disease through multiple molecular pathways. This review summarizes the latest research on curcumin's therapeutic effects in chronic liver disease, focusing on its mechanisms of action and clinical relevance. By integrating findings from experimental and clinical studies, we aim to provide novel insights into curcumin as a promising therapeutic candidate for liver disease management.

Introduction: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is an involuntary loss of urine on physical exertion, sneezing, or coughing. Acupuncture, a worldwide accepted traditional and complementary medicine, has been widely used in China to treat SUI. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for women with SUI. Methods: The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022361059) and this systematic review (SR) was funded by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, SinoMed, Web of Science, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched from their inception to October 2023, for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the treatment of acupuncture with/without pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). Study screening and data extraction were carried out independently by two authors. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) tool 2.0. Meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3.5. Results: A total of 31 RCTs with 2885 patients were included in this SR. The results showed that the combination of acupuncture with PFMT had a better effect than PFMT only in decreasing urine leakage (RR = -1.87, 95 % CI [-2.24, -1.49], 13 studies, 956 patients) and Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICI-Q-SF) scores (RR = -2.26, 95 % CI [-2.64, -1.88], 14 studies, 1015 patients) in women with SUI. Acupuncture compared with sham acupuncture demonstrated improvements in urinary leakage (RR = -4.22, 95 % CI [-5.52, -2.93], 5 studies, 286 patients), and ICI-Q-SF scores with MD and 95 % CI of -3.88(-4.59, -3.17), -8.71(-10.85, -6.57), and -3.10(-3.38, -2.82), respectively. Subgroup analyses of manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture and duration of PFMT treatment can appropriately reduce heterogeneity. For the Egger's test of 1-h pad leakage and of ICI-Q-SF scores, suggesting that there was a small possibility of publication bias in this SR (p = 0.1257 and p = 0.8058, respectively). Adverse events appeared in 12 participants in the acupuncture group and 9 in the sham group. (relative risk = 1.33, 95 % CI = [0.56, 3.15], P = 0.70). The quality of RCTs included in this review was generally poor. Conclusion: Acupuncture has potential in the treatment of SUI in women, and no significant adverse events were reported. However, considering issues with the methodological quality of the included studies, the reliability of this review conclusion may be affected to a certain extent.

Spasmolytic Polypeptide-Expressing Metaplasia (SPEM) is a gastric fundic gland metaplasia resembling deep antral glands, associated with drug injury, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), or bile reflux. Early-stage SPEM acts as a reparative response, but if the damaging stimuli persist, the metaplastic changes may become irreversible, raising the risk of gastric cancer development. Traditionally, SPEM arises via passive transdifferentiation of chief cells following parietal cell loss. However, recent lineage tracing and genetic models challenge this, suggesting active depletion of chief cells and involvement of isthmus stem cells also contribute to SPEM development, intensifying debate over its cellular origins. This review synthesizes SPEM’s physicochemical drivers and critically evaluates evidence for the three proposed sources: (1) passive chief cell transdifferentiation (2), active chief cell loss, and (3) isthmus stem cells. Clarifying the heterogeneity in the origin of SPEM is challenging until more specific cell ablation techniques are developed, but timely classification of existing research may be instructive.

Background and Objectives Pregnant women commonly experience challenging nausea and vomiting, which significantly affect their general well-being and daily life. Although medication is often used for relief, it may not alleviate symptoms completely, emphasizing the need for complementary therapies. Acupuncture is one of the complementary treatments for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP). Studying the outcomes of acupuncture for NVP can shed light on this issue and inform treatment guidelines. Therefore, we systematically evaluated the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in managing NVP, considering the traditional meridian and acupoint theories. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry were searched on May 1, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared acupuncture for NVP with sham acupuncture, placebo, and Western medicine (WM) or acupuncture plus WM with WM alone were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. A meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4.1, and the quality of evidence for each outcome was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Results Twenty-four RCTs (with 26 publications) involving 2,390 women were included. Acupuncture plus WM significantly led to a reduction in Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis (PUQE) scores and ineffective rates compared with WM alone (PUQE: mean difference [MD] −1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] −3.08 to −0.81, P = 0.0008, I2 = 90%, 523 participants, six studies; ineffective rates: risk ratio [RR] 0.27, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.39, P < 0.00001, I2 = 7%, 16 studies). It also resulted in a greater improvement in ketonuria, shorter length of stay, and lower scores on the NVP Quality of Life and Chinese Medicine Syndrome Scale. Acupuncture was superior to WM in terms of reduction in ineffective rates (RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.81, P = 0.006, I2 = 0%, five studies). Acupuncture and WM had comparable results in improvement in PUQE scores (MD −0.80, 95% CI −3.06 to 1.47, P = 0.49, I2 = 89%, three studies) and ketonuria negative rates. The evidence is not clear regarding the impact of acupuncture on depression and anxiety compared with that of sham acupuncture. The incidence of severe adverse events was not significantly different between acupuncture and WM or sham acupuncture. Evidence certainty ranged from moderate to very low. Of the 24 RCTs, 19 used the Neiguan (PC6) acupoint, 16 used the Zusanli (ST36) acupoint, and 13 used the Zhongwan (CV12) acupoint. Conclusion According to the current systematic review and meta-analysis, acupuncture combined with WM may be a more effective treatment for NVP than WM alone. Furthermore, acupuncture may be as effective as WM. PC6, ST36, and CV12 are the most commonly used acupoints. Although more robust and larger studies are required, the current evidence supports the use of acupuncture in NVP treatment, as it has been demonstrated to be safe.

多囊卵巢综合征(polycystic ovary syndrome,PCOS)是一种女性多发的内分泌异常疾病,发病率为6％～10％,其病因尚不清楚[1].PCOS患者在临床上的主要表现为高雄激素血症、卵巢多囊样改变、稀发排卵或无排卵[2],同时伴有多种内分泌及机体代谢异常,包括糖耐量受损、胰岛素抵抗、肥胖等[3].姜黄素是一种多酚类化合物,味微苦,不溶于水[4].有研究报道,姜黄素可改善PCOS患者体内糖代谢异常、减轻胰岛素抵抗(insulin resistance,IR)、抗炎及抗氧化、降低血管内皮生长、改善脂代谢异常症状、减轻体重、改善高雄激素血症、维持健康肠道菌群[5,6].笔者拟就近年姜黄素对PCOS作用机制的研究进展进行综述如下.

Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) is an inflammatory index and has been used as a prognostic index for a variety of tumors. However, the association between GPR and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remained controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to determine the prognostic impact of GPR on HCC patients. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese VIP Database, the US Clinical Trials Registry, and the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry were searched from inception to December 2022. A hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to evaluate the association between preoperative GPR and the prognosis of HCC patients. Ten cohort studies including 4706 HCC patients were identified. This meta-analysis showed that higher GPRs were closely related to worse overall survival (HR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.35-2.39; P < 0.001; I2 = 82.7%), recurrence-free survival (HR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.16-1.46; P < 0.001; I2 = 0%), and disease-free survival (HR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.58-2.15; P < 0.001; I2 = 25.4%) in patients with HCC. This meta-analysis suggests that preoperative GPR appears to be significantly associated with the prognosis of HCC patients who have undergone surgery and may be an effective prognostic marker. Trial registration: PROSPERO: CRD42021296219.

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a highly infectious bacterium that can aggravate upper gastrointestinal diseases. With the increasingly serious problem of H. pylori drug resistance, it is important to identify new treatment methods. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on the treatment of H. pylori infection and related diseases with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). The effectiveness of CHM has also emerged. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to systematically identify and summarize the charac-teristics of randomized controlled trails (RCTs) evaluating CHM for treating H. pylori infection.Methods: Three Chinese and two English language databases were comprehensively searched. Included studies were RCTs of H. pylori-positive patients evaluating oral CHM with or without Western Medicine (WM) compared to WM alone. A descriptive analysis of study characteristics and association rule mining in R Studio software were used to identify frequent herbal combinations. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool was used to assess study quality. Results: Included were 165 RCTs, with 168 comparisons, involving 16,817 participants. All the RCTs were conducted in China and 68% were published after 2012. The quality of included studies was moderate. The RCTs evaluated 187 herbs that were used in various combinations in 91 types of CHM formulas. Most RCTs compared CHM plus WM to WM only (n = 103 comparisons). Only 68% of the RCTs evaluated a recommended WM triple or quadruple therapy. Results showed that Banxia Xiexin Decoction, Huangqi Jianzhong Decoction, Huanglian Wendan Decoction and Jinghua Weikang Capsule were commonly used. The association rules showed that golden thread (Coptis chinensis Franch.), debark peony root (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), milkvetch root (Astragalus mongholicus Bunge), dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.), dried tangerine peel (Citrus reticulata Blanco), tangshen (Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf.), largehead atractylodes rhizome (Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.), processing liquorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.), pinellia tuber (Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Makino) were commonly used clinically. Conclusion: The findings from this review highlight the potential role of CHM formulas for treating H. Pylori and can be used to inform further clinical trials and systematic reviews.

Autophagy is a conserved cellular self-digesting process that degrades obsoleting proteins and cellular components and plays a crucial role in the tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance of various tumors such as gastric cancer (GC). As a hotspot in molecular biology, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are involved in the regulation of multiple biological processes, such as autophagy. Increasing evidence indicate that various ncRNAs exert double roles in the initiation and progression of GC, either serve as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Recent studies have shown that some ncRNAs could modulate autophagy activity in GC cells, which would affect the malignant transformation and drug resistance. Whether the function of ncRNAs in GC is dependent on autophagy is undefined. Therefore, identifying the underlying moleculr targets of ncRNAs in autophagy pathways and the role of ncRNA-regulated autophagy in GC could develop new treatment interventions for this disease. This review summarizes the autophagy process and its role in GC, and the regulatory mechanisms of ncRNAs, as well as focuses on the dual role of ncRNAs-mediated autophagy in GC, for the development of potential therapeutic strategies in GC patients.

Objectives: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched from inception to May 2022. Two reviewers screened studies, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias independently. The meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Results: Eighty-four RCTs that explored the efficacy of 69 kinds of Chinese herbal formulas with various dosage forms (decoction, granule, oral liquid, pill, ointment, capsule, and herbal porridge), involving 6,944 participants were identified. This meta-analysis showed that the application of CHM for CFS can decrease Fatigue Scale scores (WMD: –1.77; 95%CI: –1.96 to –1.57; p < 0.001), Fatigue Assessment Instrument scores (WMD: –15.75; 95%CI: –26.89 to –4.61; p < 0.01), Self-Rating Scale of mental state scores (WMD: –9.72; 95%CI:–12.26 to –7.18; p < 0.001), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale scores (WMD: –7.07; 95%CI: –9.96 to –4.19; p < 0.001), Self-Rating Depression Scale scores (WMD: –5.45; 95%CI: –6.82 to –4.08; p < 0.001), and clinical symptom scores (WMD: –5.37; 95%CI: –6.13 to –4.60; p < 0.001) and improve IGA (WMD: 0.30; 95%CI: 0.20–0.41; p < 0.001), IGG (WMD: 1.74; 95%CI: 0.87–2.62; p < 0.001), IGM (WMD: 0.21; 95%CI: 0.14–0.29; p < 0.001), and the effective rate (RR = 1.41; 95%CI: 1.33–1.49; p < 0.001). However, natural killer cell levels did not change significantly. The included studies did not report any serious adverse events. In addition, the methodology quality of the included RCTs was generally not high. Conclusion: Our study showed that CHM seems to be effective and safe in the treatment of CFS. However, given the poor quality of reports from these studies, the results should be interpreted cautiously. More international multi-centered, double-blinded, well-designed, randomized controlled trials are needed in future research. Systematic Review Registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022319680], identifier [CRD42022319680].

多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)是一种复杂的内分泌疾病,可影响女性的生殖、生理状态,若治疗不及时,易出现病情加重或并发症增多等问题.不良的生活习惯会增加育龄期女性的PCOS患病率.近年国内外PCOS诊疗指南均提出将生活方式干预作为PCOS的首选基础治疗,认为其对改善临床症状与控制病情具有重要作用,治疗应当贯穿疾病始终,包括运动习惯、饮食模式、睡眠质量、心理因素等方面.因此,应积极推广生活方式干预与中西医治疗手段相结合,以达到更好的临床治疗效果.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China Department of Internal Medicine, First A­liated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, First A­liated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China Department of Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First A­liated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin 150040, China

溃疡性结肠炎为临床常见消化系统疾病,中医治疗溃疡性结肠炎具有一定优势.经方芍药甘草汤可从酸甘化阴、敛木扶土、气血相生、降逆通腑4个方面治疗溃疡性结肠炎,且现代药理研究证实芍药甘草汤具有镇痛抗炎、抗凋亡、修复肠黏膜屏障、恢复免疫平衡等作用,可有效治疗溃疡性结肠炎.本文从理论、药理及临床全方面阐释芍药甘草汤治疗溃疡性结肠炎的研究结果,提出特色诊疗思路,为该经典方剂治疗溃疡性结肠炎提供理论支持和文献参考.

多囊卵巢综合征(polycystic ovary syndrome,PCOS)是妇科最常见的一种以排卵障碍、生殖功能异常与内分泌代谢严重紊乱并见的复杂性病症.近年来,高雄激素血症(hyperandrogenism,HA)已逐渐成为PCOS临床表现和生化指征的核心.随着HA群体不断扩大,女性生活质量不断提高,PCOS-HA的病因病机与治疗已成为不可避免的话题.西医发病机制尚未完全阐明,研究发现THADA基因是形成PCOS-HA的关键.中医认为本病病因病机与肝、脾、肾三脏功能失调有关,多表现为肾虚、脾虚、肝郁、痰湿和血瘀;西医治疗多从西药及手术治疗为主,辅以运动、情绪调节;中医治疗分为辨证论治、周期疗法、单味药物的应用、针灸疗法及中西医结合疗法等.中西医疗法各有所长,二者结合,优势互补,可成为今后治疗PCOS-HA的研究方向,值得进一步探讨.

Liver fibrosis is a common pathological process of chronic liver diseases, including viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease, and ultimately progresses to irreversible cirrhosis and cancer. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are activated to produce amounts of collagens in response to liver injury, thus triggering the initiation and progression of fibrogenesis. Natural killer (NK) cells serve as the essential component of hepatic innate immunity and are considered to alleviate fibrosis by killing activated HSCs. Current antifibrotic interventions have improved fibrosis, but fail to halt its progression in the advanced stage. Clarifying the interaction between NK cells and HSCs will provide clues to the pathogenesis and potential therapies for advanced liver fibrosis.

Objective. Dingkun Pill (DKP) is a proprietary Chinese medicine that has been utilized for patients with gynecological diseases, and its clinical application has been widely accepted in China. However, the effects of DKP on reproduction and metabolism in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have never been systematically evaluated. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DKP in treating reproductive and metabolic abnormalities with PCOS. Methods. We searched in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database up until January 2022 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The methodological quality of the included RCTs was estimated using the Cochrane collaboration risk-of-bias instrument, and the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan. Results. A total of 22 RCTs (including 1994 participants) were identified. DKP, combined with ovulation-inducing drugs (OID) or combined oral contraceptives (COC) was superior to OID or COC alone in improving the pregnancy rate (relative risk (RR) 1.84, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.11 and RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.64, respectively), ovulation rate (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.84 and RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.37, respectively), endometrial thickness (weighted mean difference (WMD) 2.50, 95% CI 1.91 to 3.09 and WMD 0.62, 95% CI 0.08 to 1.16, respectively), luteinizing hormone (WMD −1.93, 95% CI −2.80 to−.07 and WMD −1.79, 95% CI −2.66 to−0.92, respectively), and testosterone (standardized mean difference (SMD) −2.12, 95% CI −3.01 to−1.24 and SMD −1.21, 95% CI −1.64 to−0.78, respectively). DKP combined with COC led to a greater improvement in homeostasis model assessment-β (WMD 20.42, 95% CI 16.85 to 23.98) when compared with COC alone. There was a significant difference between DKP and COC in terms of decreasing total cholesterol (WMD −0.37, 95% CI −0.72 to−0.02), triacylglycerol (WMD −0.85, 95% CI −1.50 to−0.20), and free fatty acid (WMD −130.00, 95% CI −217.56 to−42.22). However, DKP did not affect the follicle stimulating hormone, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Adverse reactions were more common in COC alone compared to DKP and COC in combination (RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.63). Conclusion. DKP shows promise in modifying reproductive and metabolic parameters in patients with PCOS and may be used as a primary choice in conventional or complementary therapies for PCOS. The quality of the evidence analyzed was suboptimal, and therefore, our results should be interpreted cautiously. More prospective large-scale and well-designed RCTs, as well as longer intervention durations are required in the future to draw more reliable conclusions.

多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)是妇科常见的生殖内分泌疾病,高雄激素血症是PCOS的核心病理特征.近年来,针灸越来越多的应用于PCOS的降雄治疗,且临床疗效显著,相关的机制研究也在逐渐展开.文章介绍了针灸改善PCOS高雄激素血症的相关机制,并着重总结概述了针刺治疗、针刺联合生活方式调整治疗、针刺联合药物治疗以及灸法治疗的临床研究现状,以期为本病的基础研究及临床实践提供理论依据和参考.

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a multi-factorial heterogeneous syndrome that has both adverse reproductive and metabolic implications for affected women and its management is a challenging clinical problem. Curcumin, as a phenolic compound with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties exerting positive effects on the lipid profile and insulin resistance, appears to be a valuable treatment regimen for patients with PCOS. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of curcumin in the treatment of PCOS. Methods Chinese databases (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medicine Databases, VIP database, Wanfang Database, and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry) and English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Clinical trials) were thoroughly investigated through screening randomized controlled trials on curcumin in PCOS published from the date of inception to May 2022. Standardized data search and abstraction were conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics. Results A total of 447 patients from seven randomized controlled trials were included in the meta‐analysis. Results showed that the ingestion of curcumin decreased body mass index (WMD -0.267, 95% CI -0.450 to -0.084, P = 0.004, I2 = 0.0%), fasting plasma glucose (WMD -3.618, 95% CI -5.165 to -2.071, P < 0.001, I2 = 20.4%), insulin (WMD -1.834, 95% CI -2.701 to -0.968, P < 0.001, I2 = 8.4%), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (WMD -0.565, 95% CI -0.779 to -0.351, P < 0.001, I2 = 0.0%), total cholesterol (WMD -15.591, 95% CI -27.908 to -3.273, P = 0.013, I2 = 68.9%), C-reactive protein (WMD -0.785, 95% CI -1.553 to -0.017, P = 0.045, I2 = 23.9%), and increased the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (WMD 0.011, 95% CI 0.005 to 0.017, P = 0.001, I2 = 39.6%). As for safety, the treatment group did not cause significant adverse reactions than that in the control group. Conclusion In light of presented findings, curcumin has beneficial effects on serum markers of inflammation, weight loss and glucose and lipid metabolism in patients with PCOS. The incidence of adverse reactions does not increase with the application of curcumin. However, a larger, more definitive study is needed to further investigate these results. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022332394.

不孕症是一种生殖健康缺陷性疾病,给患者心理和家庭生活带来了很大的影响.目前,西医学治疗不孕症的临床妊娠率依然较低,且不良反应较多;中医学治疗不孕症已有三千多年的历史,随着研究的不断发展,中医学者普遍认为肾虚血瘀是导致不孕症的主要病因,补肾活血法治疗肾虚血瘀型不孕取得了较好的疗效,越来越受到中医学者的认可和重视,逐渐成为不孕症研究的热点.该文从中医学对不孕症病因病机的认识和补肾活血法治疗肾虚血瘀型不孕的认识,以及补肾活血法治疗不孕的临床应用三个方面进行综述.

Objective: to observe the clinical effect of electroacupuncture on postpartum urinary retention (PPUR) through a randomized controlled study. Methods: seventy-two PPUR puerperae who met the inclusion criteria were divided into the observation group (electroacupuncture at Ciliao (BL32) and Zhongliao (BL33) group) and the control group (sham acupuncture group) according to the random number table method, with 36 cases in each. Urine catheters were retained. After 3 days of treatment, the therapeutic effect of PPUR was compared between the two groups. Results: in the observation group, the first urination time was significantly earlier than that in the control group, the first urination volume was significantly more than that in the control group, the bladder residual urine volume was significantly less than that in the control group, and the urinary infection was significantly less than that in the control group, the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.001). Compared with the control group, there were statistically significant differences in catheter removal, independent urination, cured cases, effective cases, ineffective cases, and total effective cases in the observation group (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: the therapeutic value of electroacupuncture at BL32 and BL33 for primiparae with PPUR is significantly obvious. This therapy is worthy of clinical promotion. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of World Journal of Acupuncture Moxibustion House.

Treatment of malignant tumors encompasses multidisciplinary comprehensive diagnosis and treatment and reasonable combination and arrangement of multidisciplinary treatment, which is not a simple superimposition of multiple treatment methods, but a comprehensive consideration of the characteristics and specific conditions of the patients and the tumor. The mechanism of tumor elimination by restoring the body’s immune ability is consistent with the concept of “nourishing positive accumulation and eliminating cancer by itself” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The formation and dynamic changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) involve many different types of cells and multiple signaling pathways. Those changes are similar to the multitarget and bidirectional regulation of immunity by TCM. Discussing the relationship and mutual influence of TCM and antitumor therapy on the TME is a current research hotspot. TCM has been applied in the treatment of more than 70% of cancer patients in China. Data have shown that TCM can significantly enhance the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, enhance tumor-suppressing effects, and significantly improve cancer-related fatigue, bone marrow suppression, and other adverse reactions. TCM treatments include the application of Chinese medicine monomers, extracts, classic traditional compound prescriptions, listed compound drugs, self-made compound prescriptions, as well as acupuncture and moxibustion. Studies have shown that the TCM functional mechanism related to the positive regulation of cytotoxic T cells, natural killer cells, dendritic cells, and interleukin-12, while negatively regulating of regulatory T cells, tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressive cells, PD-1/PD-L1, and other immune regulatory factors. However, the application of TCM in cancer therapy needs further study and confirmation. This article summarizes the existing research on the molecular mechanism of TCM regulation of the TME and provides a theoretical basis for further screening of the predominant population. Moreover, it predicts the effects of the combination of TCM and antitumor therapy and proposes further developments in clinical practice to optimize the combined strategy.