Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Bulk and single-cell transcriptomics reveal neuroprotective molecular mechanism of Rosa roxburghii polysaccharides in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury","authors":"Jing Zhao ,&nbsp;Rong Fu ,&nbsp;Lan Chu ,&nbsp;Zhang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101937","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101937","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div><em>Rosa roxburghii</em> polysaccharides (RP) have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, but their therapeutic mechanisms in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) remain undefined. Our goal was to clarify functional mechanisms of RP alleviating neuropathological damage caused by CIRI.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Male C57BL/6 mice (n = 18 per group) were used for in vivo experiments to evaluate neuroprotective effects. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was employed to construct CIRI model, and administered RP at doses of 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg. Bulk RNA sequencing combined with network pharmacology analyses was utilized to pinpoint potential RP target genes. Bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seq analyses were conducted on independent sets of brain samples. PPI networks, along with TF and miRNA regulatory networks, were developed for identification. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was conducted to describe cell populations, intercellular communication, and pseudotime trajectories in CIRI. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed to validate gene expression.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>RP significantly alleviated neuronal damage, reduced neuroinflammation, and inhibited neuronal apoptosis in CIRI mice. Twelve candidate target genes were identified, and among them GFAP, HMOX1, LGALS3, and TLR2 were recognized as hub genes based on PPI network analysis and multiple centrality algorithms. These genes were expressed predominantly in immune-related cell types, including microglia, neutrophils, astrocytes, and neural progenitor cells. Microglia showed extensive interactions with other immune cells. Trajectory analysis revealed that M2 microglia were located closer to the root, while M1 microglia were near the terminal branch. HMOX1, LGALS3, and TLR2 were highly expressed in both M1 and M2 microglial subtypes. All four hub genes were upregulated in CIRI and significantly downregulated after RP treatment.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>RP exerts neuroprotective effects in CIRI by modulating key inflammatory targets and immune cell responses. These findings highlight RP's therapeutic potential in ischemic stroke in preclinical mouse models and warrant further investigation into its active components and clinical application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101937"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DMD: Dual attention fusion and multi-scale feature fusion decoding for medical image segmentation","authors":"Xin Wang,&nbsp;Yanmin Niu","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-precision medical image segmentation plays a decisive role in clinical diagnosis, treatment efficacy evaluation, and the development of personalized therapeutic strategies. Although models based on U-Net and its variants have achieved remarkable results across various segmentation tasks, traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are inherently limited by their local receptive fields, restricting their ability to capture long-range dependencies and global contextual information. In contrast, Transformer architectures leverage self-attention mechanisms to model global information, demonstrating superior performance in segmenting complex anatomical structures. However, most existing Transformer-based segmentation frameworks fail to fully integrate multi-scale semantic features extracted by the encoder during the decoding stage, leading to suboptimal feature reconstruction and reduced segmentation accuracy. To address these issues, we propose a novel decoder framework—DMD. First, an Inverted Bottleneck CNN module is introduced in the decoding phase to efficiently capture and enhance the rich semantic features output by the encoder. Second, to resolve the semantic mismatch between encoder and decoder multi-scale features, a Dual Attention Fusion Module (DAFM) is designed, which employs a joint spatial-and-channel attention mechanism to achieve adaptive alignment of cross-scale semantic information. Finally, to mitigate spatial resolution degradation caused by single-scale upsampling, a Multi-scale Feature Fusion Module (MFFM) is constructed to enable deep integration and collaborative optimization of features at different semantic levels. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves Dice scores of 82.93%, 91.32%, and 87.85% on the Synapse multi-organ segmentation, ACDC cardiac MRI segmentation, and Kvasir-SEG gastrointestinal endoscopy image segmentation datasets, respectively, outperforming existing methods and verifying the effectiveness and robustness of the framework in complex medical image segmentation tasks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101873"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ridge regression modeling of background gamma radiation and radiological risk assessment at NAK steel limited dumpsite, Katsina, Nigeria","authors":"Isaiah E. Igwe ,&nbsp;Usman Ibrahim Machika ,&nbsp;Suleiman Bello","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101922","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101922","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid urbanization and industrial activities in Nigeria have raised concerns about gamma radiation exposure, emphasizing the need for accurate monitoring to protect public health. This study addresses the limited application of advanced statistical techniques for radiological risk assessment in Nigerian industrial dumpsites<em>,</em> assessing both distribution patterns and potential health risks through statistical analysis and modeling. Measurements of naturally occurring radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K) were conducted using a NaI(Tl) gamma ray detector. Analysis revealed gamma dose rates ranging from 24.85 to 222.31 nGy/h, with an average of 47.55 nGy/h, below the global average of 57 nGy/h. Though most measurements (average: 47.55 nGy/h) were below the global average (57 nGy/h), localized hotspots (e.g., 222.31 nGy/h) were identified. Key radiological parameters, including the gamma index, radium equivalent, and hazard indices, were within internationally accepted safety limits. Similarly, the estimated annual effective dose remained below the 1 mSv/year threshold for public exposure. A ridge regression model was developed to address multicollinearity among predictors and serve as a predictive model for estimating background radiation levels based on radiological factors such as the gamma index and radium equivalent. The annual effective dose ranged from 0.030 to 0.273 mSv/y, with a mean of 0.058 mSv/y, and the excess lifetime cancer risk was between 0.107 and 0.954 × 10⁻⁶, averaging 0.204 × 10⁻⁶, suggesting that health risks are minimal overall, though some localized anomalies do need to be monitored. The model achieved a high prediction accuracy of 98 %, effectively identifying anomalous areas and demonstrating strong agreement with measured gamma dose rates. Additionally, assessments of the annual gonadal dose equivalent and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) indicated low radiation-related health risks across the site. These findings provide a baseline for industrial dumpsite radioactivity and establish a framework for ongoing radiological monitoring and risk assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101922"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Programmed cell death in osteosarcoma: apoptosis, ferroptosis and pyroptosis","authors":"Zhaoyan Ding ,&nbsp;Yunping Li ,&nbsp;Guijun Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuanming Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101936","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101936","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, characterized by high aggressiveness and metastatic potential. Sequential treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, and targeted therapy forms the standard care. Radiotherapy is reserved for unresectable tumours or margin-positive resections, given its limited efficacy in OS. Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a crucial role in bodily growth and development and is regulated by numerous genes. It is noteworthy that in addition to apoptosis, ferroptosis and pyroptosis are also involved in the development of OS. This review provides an overview of the regulatory mechanisms of apoptosis, ferroptosis and pyroptosis in OS, with a focus on developing new therapeutic strategies of this disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101936"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigation of medical students’ perceptions of AI and its influence on their preference for the radiology specialty","authors":"Abdulrahman Tajaldeen","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101932","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101932","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The applications of AI have recently witnessed a significant improvement, including in several industries, such as healthcare. Despite the increased potential of AI applications in the radiology field, there are misconceptions about AI's abilities and their role in radiology. There is a common belief that AI applications will replace the radiologists/doctors due to their advanced ability in detecting lesions in medical imaging.</div></div><div><h3>Material and methods</h3><div>An online survey was designed utilizing QuestionPro software to evaluate the impact of AI on medical students’ preferences for the radiology specialty. The questionnaire consisted of 19 questions, including multiple choice, Likert scale items, true/false questions, and narrative questions for additional comments. A total of 198 responses were received from the three colleges. The participants included 122 males (61.6 %) and 76 females (38.4 %).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>About 53 % of the respondents who considered radiology their first choice agreed with the anxiety statement. Moreover, the percentage of agreement with the statement increased dramatically for those participants in the lower-choice rank. The percentage agreement with the anxiety statement was 56 % for those who selected radiology as their second choice and 69 % for those who made it their third choice.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The anxiety of medical students who pursue the radiology specialty is affected by the potential influence of AI in the field. Enhancing the educational background of medical students about AI in the radiology field, such as incorporating AI topics into the curriculum, could encourage students to select radiology as a future specialty, work collaboratively with AI technology, and reduce the anxiety of medical students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101932"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization combined with intensity-modulated radiation therapy in the treatment of intermediate and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma","authors":"Cong Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaoli Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101908","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101908","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common malignant tumor with limited treatment options, especially for patients in the middle and late stages. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are important methods for treating hepatocellular carcinoma, but their combined efficacy has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of TACE combined with IMRT in patients with intermediate and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>This study included 170 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, of whom 85 received TACE treatment (control group) and 85 received TACE combined with IMRT treatment (observation group). Evaluate the impact of two treatment methods on tumor response and liver function indicators. Use multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the impact of intervention methods and other factors on patient survival status, and use the Andersson model to analyze the interaction between intervention methods and other factors.</div></div><div><h3>Result</h3><div>After treatment, the observation group showed significantly higher rates of complete remission, partial remission, and stable progressive disease compared to the control group. The total bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time, and alpha fetoprotein levels in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group at 2, 4, and 6 months after treatment (P values &lt; 0.05). The incidence of adverse events in the observation group increased compared to the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Survival analysis showed that the survival rate and progression free survival rate of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Intervention methods, age, tumor progression, and Child Pugh score all have a significant impact on the survival status of patients. There is an antagonistic effect between intervention methods, tumor progression, and Child Pugh score.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>TACE combined with IMRT has a good therapeutic effect on hepatocellular carcinoma, which can improve liver function and significantly improve patient survival rate with high safety. The interaction between intervention methods, tumor progression, and liver function scores has a significant impact on survival status. Combination therapy can be an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101908"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine learning-driven immune signature identification for enhanced prognostic stratification and personalized therapy in colorectal Cancer: An AI-powered multi-omics approach","authors":"Zhiyu Shi ,&nbsp;Liyu Shan ,&nbsp;Changlong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101933","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101933","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and objective</h3><div>Colorectal cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with complex immune microenvironment interactions critically influencing patient prognosis. This study aimed to develop and validate an AI-powered prognostic signature based on immune-related genes to improve risk stratification in colorectal cancer patients.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We performed comprehensive bioinformatics analysis using transcriptomic data from TCGA and GEO databases to identify differentially expressed genes. Immune-related genes were systematically screened through intersection with established databases, followed by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). LASSO regression was employed for biomarker selection and Cox regression for prognostic model construction. External validation was performed across independent datasets, with experimental validation using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry on clinical specimens.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>From 1531 differentially expressed genes, we identified 104 immune-related genes significantly associated with colorectal cancer progression. WGCNA revealed nine co-expression modules, with three showing strongest clinical correlations. LASSO regression selected four key biomarkers: FABP4, NMB, JAG2, and INHBB. The AI-powered risk model successfully stratified patients into high-risk and low-risk groups with significantly different survival outcomes in training (p = 0.026) and validation cohorts (p = 2e-04). Time-dependent ROC analysis demonstrated robust predictive performance with AUC values exceeding 0.65 for survival predictions. Immune microenvironment analysis identified M0 macrophages as significantly correlated with risk signature. Experimental validation confirmed elevated INHBB, JAG2, and NMB expression and decreased FABP4 expression in tumor tissues.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our AI-powered four-gene signature provides superior risk stratification capabilities and offers valuable insights into immune microenvironment dynamics in colorectal cancer. The identified biomarkers represent potential therapeutic targets with promise for personalized medicine implementation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145003554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Log-transformed approaches to variance estimation using auxiliary data","authors":"Poonam Singh ,&nbsp;Prayas Sharma ,&nbsp;Anjali Singh ,&nbsp;Tolga Zaman ,&nbsp;Walid Emam","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101913","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101913","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reliable statistical inference requires accurate population variance estimate, especially in domains where measurement limitations and intrinsic variability impact data. Applying traditional estimators to skewed or heavy-tailed populations frequently results in inefficient results. We provide a novel class of generalized logarithmic variance estimators that use logarithmic transformations and auxiliary data to stabilize variance and improve estimator performance in order to overcome this constraint. We calculate the suggested estimators’ bias and Mean Squared Error (MSE) expressions and assess their effectiveness using comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations with different sample sizes. The suggested estimator, <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>T</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>r</mi><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo></mrow></msub></math></span>, produces a significant reduction in MSE up to 57% increase in efficiency (PRE) at n=600 when compared to the usual estimator. The suggested methodologies resilience and suitability for high-variability situations are further confirmed using real-world datasets. In every context, the findings show that the suggested estimators perform better than the current ones in terms of lower MSE and greater PRE. This research demonstrates how logarithmic transformations may be used to create variance estimators that are more accurate and effective, especially when auxiliary variables are provided.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101913"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145003555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Radiative flow of hybrid nanofluid (TiO2+Ag/Blood and Au + Al2O3/Blood) over a sheet with Cattaneo–Christov heat transport","authors":"Azhagu Ramar ,&nbsp;S.K. Sudarmozhi ,&nbsp;P.D. Selvi ,&nbsp;Faiza Benabdallah ,&nbsp;Nadia Batool","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101930","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101930","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the radiative flow and heat transport characteristics of two biologically compatible hybrid nanofluids-TiO₂+Ag/blood and Au + Al₂O₃/blood-over an exponentially stretching sheet, incorporating the Cattaneo-Christov heat flux model. The effects of velocity slip, thermal slip, nanoparticle volume fraction, thermal relaxation time, Prandtl number, heat generation, and nondimensional suction are examined. The governing non-conservative partial differential equations are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations via similarity transformations and numerically solved using the BVP4C MATLAB solver. The results reveal that increasing thermogenesis, slip velocity, and nanoparticle volume fraction enhances heat transfer, while increased thermal slip and Prandtl number reduce the temperature near the surface. Additionally, higher nanoparticle concentrations, suction, and velocity slip parameters decrease the velocity profile. This comprehensive analysis provides critical insights into modulating thermal and velocity fields in biologically relevant hybrid nanofluid systems, offering valuable guidance for the design of advanced biomedical devices and thermal management technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101930"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144996708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Untargeted metabolomics of spinal cord reveals analgesic mechanism of silver-needle thermotherapy for myofascial pain syndrome","authors":"Junlong Yang ,&nbsp;Xianglong Lv ,&nbsp;Yunting Chen ,&nbsp;Changyu Shen ,&nbsp;Huaqiao Chen ,&nbsp;Lin Wang ,&nbsp;Jing Yao ,&nbsp;Yuanxin Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101923","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101923","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To elucidate the spinal analgesic mechanism of silver-needle thermotherapy in myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) using untargeted metabolomics.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>An MPS rat model was established by blunt impact and treadmill exercise. Rats were divided into normal (N), model (M), and silver-needle thermotherapy (S) groups. Pain sensitivity was assessed via mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT). Electromyography (EMG) recorded MTrP activity, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining evaluated muscle pathology, and immunofluorescence quantified spinal calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) expression. Untargeted metabolomics of spinal cord tissue was performed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to group M, group S showed significantly increased MWT (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), normalized EMG signals, and improved muscle histopathology. Silver-needle thermotherapy downregulated spinal CGRP and SP expression (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Metabolomics identified 52 differential metabolites in spinal cord tissue. Enrichment analysis revealed involvement of three key pathways: 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism (upregulated citric acid and 3-methyl-2-oxobutanoic acid; downregulated N-acetylornithine), cytochrome P450-mediated xenobiotic metabolism (upregulated nicotine), and starch/sucrose metabolism (downregulated D-fructose 6-phosphate).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Silver-needle thermotherapy alleviates MPS by modulating spinal metabolic pathways linked to neuronal excitability, neuroinflammation, and energy regulation. Untargeted metabolomics effectively uncovered these spinal mechanisms, advancing understanding of MPS pathophysiology and silver-needle analgesia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16920,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences","volume":"18 4","pages":"Article 101923"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144996707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}