BACKGROUND:Currently, there is no effective treatment for keloids that often recur. Its pathogenesis is stil entirely unclear, and fibroblast proliferation and apoptosis have become a research hotspot.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression of Livin, Smac and Caspase-3 in keloids and to analyze their relationship so as to preliminarily explore the significance of Livin, Smac and Caspase-3 in the pathogenesis of keloids.
METHODS:RT-PCR and immunohistochemical methods were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of Livin, Smac and Caspase-3 in keloids (n=20) and normal skin tissues (n=20).
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the normal skin tissue, the mRNA and protein positive expressions of Livin were significantly higher in keloids (P < 0.05), while the mRNA and protein positive expressions of Smac and Caspase-3 were lower in keloids (P < 0.05). There was a negative association between Livin and Smac, Caspase-3 protein expression in keloids. These findings indicate that the high mRNA expression of Livin may cause the imbalance between proliferation and apoptosis of fibroblasts by inhibiting the mRNA expression of Smac and Caspase-3, and eventualy lead to the formation of keloid.

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of double blood supply composite tissue flap with peroneal artery perforator and sural nerve nutrient vessel carrying gastrocnemius muscle in repairing lacunar skin and soft tissue defect of ankle. Methods: From September 2015 to September 2017, 10 patients with lacunar skin and soft tissue defects of ankle were hospitalized in our unit, including 7 males and 3 females, aged 17-62 years, 8 traffic accident injuries and 2 heavy body pressure injuries. After debridement, the wound area ranged from 7 cm×4 cm to 15 cm×9 cm, and the lacunar area ranged from 3.0 cm×2.0 cm×1.0 cm to 7.0 cm×4.0 cm×2.0 cm. The defect was repaired with island composite tissue flap with peroneal artery perforator and sural nerve nutrient vessel and partial gastrocnemius muscle at stage Ⅰ. The area of flaps ranged from 8 cm×5 cm to 16 cm×10 cm, and the area of gastrocnemius muscle flaps ranged from 4 cm×3 cm to 8 cm×5 cm. The donor site was repaired with ipsilateral thigh intermediate split-thickness skin graft or sutured directly. The location of vascular pedicle, survival of tissue flap, follow-up, and occurrence of complications were recorded. Results: The vascular pedicle of this group of cases was located 5-15 cm above the lateral malleolus. The tissue flaps of 10 patients survived completely after operation at stage Ⅰ. Follow-up for 1-12 months showed that the area repaired with tissue flaps had good color, blood supply, and texture, without ulceration, and recovered different degrees of pain sensation and deep tactile sensation, and no short-term or long-term complications occurred. Conclusions The double blood supply composite tissue flap with peroneal artery perforator and sural nerve nutrient vessel carrying gastrocnemius muscle has good blood supply, which can effectively fill the invalid space in repairing lacunar skin and soft tissue defect of ankle, with good effect after operation, and it is worthy of clinical application.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between variant degree of sarcopenia and all-cause mortality in Chinese elderly residents, and to provide insights into the prevention and control of sarcopenia in the elderly population. MethodsData from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 and 2020 were analyzed, and a total of 2 792 subjects aged 65 years or older were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were performed to explore the potential factors influencing all-cause mortality among the elderly in China, and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to visualize the survival of elderly people with variant degree of sarcopenia. Finally, a multiple-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to control the confounding factors and explore the association between sarcopenia and all-cause mortality. ResultsBefore adjusting potential covariates, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models showed that 10-year all-cause mortality was significantly associated with variant degree of sarcopenia, namely possible sarcopenia (HR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.1‒1.68, P<0.001), mild-to-moderate sarcopenia (HR=1.49, 95%CI:1.20‒1.86, P<0.001), and severe sarcopenia (HR=1.68, 95%CI: 1.29‒2.19, P<0.001); after adjusting all confounders, 10-year all-cause mortality remained to be significantly associated with variant degree of sarcopenia, including probable sarcopenia (HR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.15‒1.66, P<0.001), mild-to-moderate sarcopenia (HR=1.48, 95%CI: 1.19‒1.84, P<0.001) and severe sarcopenia (HR=1.71, 95%CI: 1.31‒2.23, P<0.001). ConclusionIn Chinese elderly residents, sarcopenia is positively associated with an increased risk of 10-year all-cause mortality, and the progression of sarcopenia is positively associated with an increased risk of death.