Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. is a rare herb belonging to the family Hypoxidaceae, popularly known as “Kali Musli” in India, “Sam Cau”, “Tien Mao” in Vietnam, “Xian Mao” in China. This species is native and widely distributed in Asian countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, South China, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Philippines. C. orchioides contains several classes of chemicals, including saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, phytosterols, steroids, free reducing sugars starch, proteins, resins, tannins, mucilage, fats, and inorganic compounds. Rhizoma Curculiginis is used in traditional medicine remedies in various countries for the treatment of a range of ailments, including impotency, aphrodisiacs, tonics, jaundice, and skin conditions. The scientific evidence indicates its aphrodisiac, spermatogenic, estrogenic, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiosteoporosis, antidepressant, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antidiabetic, antimicrobial. Antiasthmatic, antistress, anticancer, antigout, antihypertensive, antimalarial, and cardiovascular activities. As traditional herbal medicine, C. orchioides has been investigated for its pharmacological activity against diabetes, fungi, bacteria, inflammation, osteoporosis, oxidative stress, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Findings of bioactive compounds and the biological effects of the extract of C. orchioides provide scientific support for the folk use of this plant in the traditional, unvalidated herbal drugs as aphrodisiac and rejuvenating tonics.

Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv. is a precious medicinal species native to the tropical forests of Vietnam. Due to habitat loss and over-harvesting, this species is endangered in Vietnam. To conserve the species, we investigated genetic variability and population structure using nine microsatellites for 148 individuals from seven populations across the current distribution range of P. vietnamensis in Vietnam. We determined a moderate genetic diversity within populations (H_O = 0.367, H_E = 0.437) and relatively low population differentiation (the Weir and Cockerham index of 0.172 and the Hedrick index of 0.254) and showed significant differentiation (P < 0.05), which suggested fragmented habitats, over-utilization and over-harvesting of P. vietnamensis. Different clustering methods revealed that individuals were grouped into two major clusters, which were associated with gene flow across the geographical range of P. vietnamensis. This study also detected that ginseng populations can have undergone a recent bottleneck. We recommend measures in future P. vietnamensis conservation and breeding programs.

Background: Cardiomyopathy, including dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a major cause of heart failure (HF) and a leading indication for heart transplantation. Of these patients, 20–50% have a genetic cause, so understanding the genetic basis of cardiomyopathy will provide knowledge about the pathogenesis of the disease for diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and genetic counseling for families. Methods: This study collected nine patients from different Vietnamese families for genetic analysis at The Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam. The patients were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy based on clinical symptoms. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed in the Vietnamese patients to identify variants associated with cardiomyopathy, and the Sanger sequencing method was used to validate the variants in the patients’ families. The influence of the variants was predicted using in silico analysis tools. Results: Nine heterozygous variants were detected as a cause of disease in the patients, three of which were novel variants, including c.284C>G, p.Pro95Arg in the MYL2 gene, c.2356A>G, p.Thr786Ala in the MYH7 gene, and c.1223T>A, p.Leu408Gln in the DES gene. Two other variants were pathogenic variants (c.602T>C, p.Ile201Thr in the MYH7 gene and c.1391G>C, p.Gly464Ala in the PTPN11 gene), and four were variants of uncertain significance in the ACTA2, ANK2, MYOZ2, and PRKAG2 genes. The results of the in silico prediction software showed that the identified variants were pathogenic and responsible for the patients’ DCM. Conclusions: Our results contribute to the understanding of cardiomyopathy pathogenesis and provide a basis for diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and genetic counseling.

Over the past few years, the number of diabetes patients in the world has increased rapidly, with many serious complications, making it one of the most pressing concerns in society. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), there were 537 million people worldwide (aged 20–79) suffering from diabetes in 2021. This number is expected to rise to 783 million in 2045¹ 1 International Diabetes Federation (IDF). International Diabetes Federation Atlas. 10th ed. Brussels; 2021. Available from: http://www.diabetesatlas.org http://www.diabetesatlas.org... . Vietnam is among the top 10 countries with the highest increase rate of diabetes cases, at 5.5% per year. As reported by the Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology (VADE), there are currently 5 million Vietnamese people living with diabetes, accounting for 6% of the population. This number is predicted to increase to 7 or 8 million by 2025² 2 Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology (VADE). Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology repost. 2020. Available from: https://vade.org.vn https://vade.org.vn... . Diabetes is estimated to be the cause of death for at least 80 people each day. The percentage of undiagnosed diabetes cases in Vietnam is nearly 62.6%³ 3 Somvong V. The prevalence of pre-diabetes in outpatient department of Bach Mai Hospital. Vietnam J Diabetes Endocrinol. 2019;36:21-6. Available from: https://www.vjde.vn/journal/article/view/105 https://www.vjde.vn/journal/article/view... . If left undetected and untreated in the early stages, pre-diabetes can increase the risk of dangerous complications and severely affect the patient’s health.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common genetic cardiovascular disease and a major cause of sudden death. It is also involved with increased morbidity and mortality of various cardiovascular diseases. Genetic factors have been identified as playing an important role in determining the phenotypic manifestation of cardiac hypertrophy. However, only 50–60% of HCM patients have been identified as having mutations in known genes, suggesting that studies are needed to find more disease genes. HCM is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in genes encoding for sarcomeric proteins and proteins involved in many cardiomyocyte signaling pathways that activate protein tyrosine kinases. The role of specific protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) in these pathways is unknown. Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology allow the application of genetic analysis-based diagnostics to become more widespread and help differentiate HCM from other cardiomyopathies. The results of genetic diagnosis will provide insights into the cell biology and pathogenesis of HCM as a basis for developing therapies that can prevent or treat patients. In this study, whole exome sequencing was performed on two patients who were diagnosed with HCM to screen the associated mutations. Two heterozygous mutations c.836A>C, p.Tyr279Ser and c.83A>C, p.His28Pro have been identified in the PTPN11 and PRKAG2 gene, respectively. These results have provided an understanding of the cause of the patient’s disease, helping clinicians diagnose and provide genetic counseling to the patient's family.