Health Care Science最新文献

A series of measures to implement national volume-based procurement (NVBP) and follow-on NVBP in China have significantly reduced insulin prices and increased patient affordability. However, NVBP may lead to a higher burden of insulin-related consumables (such as injection pens and needles), which might discourage patients from using insulin in the pooled list and increase the risk of needle reuse. This article emphasizes that it is essential NVBP be implemented for both drugs and consumables, which will contribute to the achievement of universal insulin access.

Persistent physical symptom (PPS) is a common condition in sub-healthy population and patients with chronic disease, and significantly influences the quality of life. Many PPS cannot be explained by any known disease, and thereby are attributed to socio-psychological reasons and treated by psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavior treatment. However, it is not ideal to rationalize and manage the PPS lack of pathophysiological explanation relying on psychological approaches. The entrenched disease-centered biomedical mode limits the perception of PPS. Traditional medicine is a unique methodology of medicine independent from biomedical mode. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), achieved knowledge of health and disease from extensive observation and developed theoretical framework based on ancient mathematics using the principles of ancient naive materialism and dialectical materialism, has amassed extensive experience in symptom management. Particularly, the system of body constitution in TCM serves a reference model of evidence-based integration of traditional and modern medicine in healthcare, and offers a promising approach for managing PPS. Nine types of body constitution were identified and validated through a series of scientific research. Individuals with a specific type of body constitution tend to present a corresponding cluster of symptoms, physical signs, disease susceptibility and prognosis. Adjustment of unhealthy constitution helps the symptom control and disease management. Standardized protocol of body constitution classification was established as an industry standard, and that of body constitution adjustment was compiled as clinical guidelines for quality control. Taken together, such evidence-based integration of traditional medicine with modern medicine provides new avenues for managing PPS effectively.

Jaradat et al. (2025) first describe the goalie phenomenon in youth sports in which children with undiagnosed asthma gravitate toward less physically demanding positions, such as goalkeepers, to avoid exercise-induced respiratory symptoms like breathlessness, wheezing, or coughing. This compensatory behavior may inadvertently mask underlying health conditions, underscoring the importance of clinical vigilance and early diagnostic assessment in pediatric athletes

The recent decision of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to halt new clinical trials involving the transfer of US patient cells for processing in designated countries, prominently including China, frames vital biomedical collaboration through an adversarial geopolitical lens. While data security and patient consent are paramount, this sweeping measure risks stifling innovation in critical fields like genetic engineering and cell therapy, disproportionately impacting patients with rare and complex diseases. The FDA's new policy overlooks China's established regulatory frameworks for biomedical ethics and data security, disregards the tangible benefits of past and present Sino-US scientific collaboration, and ultimately undermines the global fight against shared health challenges of the 21st century. Prioritizing open, transparent, and equitable international scientific cooperation, underpinned by robust mutual standards, is not merely preferable—it is essential for human health.

On June 18, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an immediate halt on new clinical trials exporting live cells from US citizens to China and other designated “hostile countries” for genetic engineering or processing before reinfusion [1]. Citing concerns over inadequate patient consent regarding international transfer and potential misuse of sensitive genetic data, this action leverages recent US data security rules and executive orders aimed at countering perceived foreign threats. While protecting patient rights and data is nonnegotiable, the FDA's approach, painting collaborative biomedical research with broad geopolitical suspicion, represents an alarming step towards scientific decoupling with profound negative consequences for global health progress.

Modern biomedical breakthroughs, particularly in complex fields like gene editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas9 and base editing [2]), cell therapies (e.g., CAR-T [3] and stem cells), and new alternative methodologies (e.g., organoids and organs-on-chips [4-6]), are inherently global endeavors. Rare diseases, aggressive cancers, and novel infectious threats do not respect national borders. Tackling them requires pooling diverse patient populations, specialized expertise, advanced technological capabilities, and significant resources that no single nation possesses in abundance.

China has emerged as a major contributor in these fields during the past decade [7, 8]. Its significant investments in biotechnology infrastructure, large and genetically diverse patient populations, and growing cadre of highly skilled researchers offer invaluable assets. Numerous peer-reviewed studies published in leading journals, including The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Nature, and Science, attest to the quality and impact of research emerging from Chinese universities or institutions [7-9]. Co

The milestone reported by He et al.—demonstrating pig-to-human lung xenotransplantation in a brain-dead recipient—is a seminal moment in organ xenografting. It extends the horizons of xenotransplantation beyond the breakthroughs achieved in porcine heart and kidney grafts and aligns with the emergent clinical data on porcine liver applications [1].

Pioneering porcine heart transplants into terminal human recipients demonstrated that genetic engineering and immunosuppression could transiently forestall immune rejection [2, 3], though the patients finally did not survive for a number of reasons related to infection. Likewise, porcine kidney grafts functioned for several days post-transplant in brain-dead human models [4]. Out of the four clinical cases transplanted so far, only one is reported to still function [5].

Recent forays into porcine liver xenotransplantation mark a new frontier. At Anhui Medical University, surgeons successfully performed a heterotopic auxiliary transplant of a gene-edited pig liver into a living human liver cancer patient (2024) [6]; the graft produced bile and demonstrated function in vivo without acute rejection. Similarly, at Xijing Hospital, a genetically modified porcine liver was implanted into a brain-dead patient and maintained function for 10 days [7, 8]. These short-term successes, while preliminary, emphasize the growing momentum in xenotransplant research [9, 10].

He et al. used lungs from donors lacking α‑Gal, Neu5Gc, and Sda antigens, alongside human complement regulators like CD46 and CD55 [1]. These modifications mirror those used in liver and renal models and underscore the importance of extensive glyco-immunological tuning [10]. The Anhui auxiliary liver case similarly employed 10-gene-edited pigs with multiple human transgenes to temper immune activation [6].

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) remains a leading challenge in lung transplantation due to the organ's delicate microvascular network. He et al. reported stable early lung function post-transplant, though longer-term studies remain necessary [1]. In the liver context, thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy are prominent, driven by porcine vWF and cross-species incompatibility. Strategies integrating human thrombomodulin and complement inhibitors have partially mitigated this in preclinical models, but effective durability remains elusive [10].

Anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody use in He et al.'s protocol aligns with emerging preferences for targeted costimulation blockade in xenografts. This contrasts with earlier reliance on anti-CD154, which was associated with thrombosis [11, 12]. These strategies echo liver xenograft protocols, which have begun using tacrolimus, steroids, and B-cell depletion with preliminary success and no acute rejection in the reporte