Hearing Loss ; complications ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; Humans ; Multiple Acyl Coenzyme A Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; complications ; diagnosis

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of AlumaTM functional aspiration controlled electrothermal stimulation (FACES) radiofrequency in the treatment of skin wrinkles and laxity on the face and neck. Methods A total of 30 volunteers with aging skin were recruited in the study. All volunteers were treated with AlumaTM FACES radiofrequency for 6 times at 2-week interval. Photographs were taken for volunteers before every treatment and 1 month after the last treatment. Improvement in lesions was objectively assessed by two separate physicians based on the photographs of volunteers taken before the first,fourth and sixth treatment, and 1 month after the last treatment. Patient satisfaction was measured by ques-tionnaire. Adverse effects were recorded. Results Totally, 24 volunteers completed the treatment. Improve-ment of lesions was achieved in 66.7% of the volunteers after 3 treatments, 90.5% after 5 treatments, and 94.4% one month after the last treatment. About 50% of the volunteers were satisfied with the effect after 3 treatments, 90.5% after 5 treatments, and 100% one month after the last treatment. Slight purpura was the most common side effect. Conehusion Radiofrequency therapy is effective for skin wrinkles and laxity on the face and neck, without obvious side effect.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) versus pulsed dye laser(PDL)for the treatment of port wine stains(PWS). Methods Forty?five patients with PWS were enrolled in this study. The PWS lesions in each patient were randomly divided into PDT and PDL areas. Hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether of 5 mg/kg was injected intravenously into the PDT area protected from light, followed by 20?minute irradiation with a 532?nm, solid?state, continuous?wave laser(power density:80-100 mw/cm2;spot diameter: 7 cm)10 minutes later. The PDL area was treated with a single session of 595?nm pulsed dye laser radiation(spot diameter:7 mm;pulse width:10 ms;energy density:10-12 J/cm2). The interval between PDT and PDL treatment was no shorter than two months. Follow up visits were scheduled on day 4 and week 8 after each treatment. Adverse reactions were recorded, and photographs were taken before and 8 weeks after the treatment for evaluation of lesion regression. Results In the case of PDT area, 10 cases(22.22%)were nearly cured, 22(48.89%)achieved marked improvement, 9(20.00%)improvement, 4(8.89%)no improvement. As far as the PDL area is concerned, 6 cases(13.33%)were nearly cured, 16(35.56%)achieved marked improvement, 18(40.00%)improvement, and 5 (11.11%)no improvement. The response rate was significantly higher in the PDT area than in the PDL area(Z=2.48, P<0.05). Hyperpigmentation, which spontaneously subsided within 3 to 6 months, was the main adverse reaction. No significant difference was found in the incidence rate of adverse reactions between the PDL and PDT areas(24.44%vs. 15.56%, Z=1.26, P>0.05). Conclusion For the treatment of PWS, both PDT and PDL are effective and safe, and single?session PDT appears to be superior to single?session PDL.

Objective To investigate the skin reactions induced by to pical 0.1% tretinoin and its vehicle in mice.Methods 0.1% tretinoin and its v ehicle were applied separately on mice backs,once a day for 30 days.The skin r eactions,including erythema and scaling,were observed macroscopically and meas ured by biological instruments.Results Macroscopically the skin reactions of erythema and scaling induced by topical tretinoin occurred on day 3 after applic ation,reached its peak on day 6 and disappeared on day 12,and neither erythema nor abnormal scaling appeared in spite of continuing application until day 30.The erythema value measured was enhanced significantly on day 1 after applicatio n,reached its peak on day 6,maintained until day 9 and became normal on day 11.From then to day 30,it maintained at the normal level.The scaling value measu red enhanced significantly on day 3 after application,reached its peak on day 9 and became normal on day 27.Topical application of the vehicle induced neither skin reaction nor any change of erythema and scaling value.Conclusions Topic al application of 0.1% tretinoin induces skin reaction characterized by erythema and scaling.The reaction,transient but not related to the vehicle,experience s a process of "occurrence-peak-disappearance".

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of frequency difference and intensity difference on mismatch negativity (MMN) change in normal persons. Emphatically to observe the effect on the latency and amplitude of normal people's MMN, as well as the threshold of the acoustic difference which may induce the MMN. METHODS Twenty-four adults were included in this study. Their thresholds of pure tone audiometry were within 20dBHL. The MMN were measured by using the Smart EP ( ear potentiometer provided by the company of Intelligent Hearing) and the rule of the change by the difference of frequency and intensity to the latency and amplitude of normal people’s MMN were studied. RESULTS Along with the decreasing of the difference of the frequency, the MMN latency prolonged gradually. The amplitude of the MMN decreased gradually as the decreasing of the intensity difference. CONCLUSION A stable MMN graph is an important indicator of objective physiological test with hearing distinguish.

Objective To evaluate the long-term effects and safety of diode laser in hair removal.Methods A retrospective study was conducted.In this study,350 patients with hypertrichosis were treated by an 800-nm diode laser with a pulse duration of 30 ms for various sessions.Two groups were divided based on the treatment sessions:group A receiving 6(≥4 for axillae)or more treatments,group B less than 6(＜4 for axillae)treatments.Patients were followed up for 8 months to 3 years(mean 22.5 months)by return visit or telephone.Evaluation of efficacy and side effects were performed.Results Follow-up and evaluation were completed in 235 patients,and a total of 375 sites treated.After 2-18 treatments,a total effective rate of 80.53%(302/375)was achieved.Significant higher effective rates were observed in group B compared with group A at all sites 86.84%(33/38)vs 35.00%(7/20)on the lips,68.42%(26/38)vs 30.77%(4/13)on the face and neck,92.00%(46/50)vs 55.56%(5/9)in lower extremities,86.96%(20/23)vs 50.00%(4/5)on the trunk.93.81%(91/97)vs 55.56%(5/9)at the axillae,92.16%(47/51)vs 73.68%(14/19)in the upper extremities(all P＜0.05),Side effects were noted in only 6 cases,including hyperpigmentation,itching,and development of follicular papules,blisters and white hair.Neither hypopigmentation nor scarring was observed.Conclusions Diode laser system is effective and safe for hair removal.The effect varies with lesional sites and treatment sessions.

Objective To explore the roles of follicular helper T cells (Tfh) in the pathogenesis of pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid (BP).Methods Venous blood was collected from 20 patients (including 10 cases of pemphigus and 10 cases of BP) and 20 age- and sex-matched normal human controls.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure the levels of serum interleukin (IL)-21 and anti-BP180-NC16A antibody,and flow cytometry to detect the percentage of Tfh in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).The relationship of anti-BP180-NC16A antibody titer to Tfh and IL-21 levels was assessed by linear correlation analysis.Results The serum IL-21 level and Tfh percentage in PBMCs were significantly higher in patients with pemphigus than in the normal controls (95.33 ± 33.69 vs.54.50 ± 18.13 pg/ml,t =3.38,P＜ 0.01;12.08％ ± 4.74％ vs.6.15％ ± 1.62％,t =3.74,P ＜ 0.01),and higher in patients with BP than in the normal controls ( 106.70 ± 44.91 vs.55.37 ± 15.89 pg/ml,t =3.41,P ＜ 0.01; 11.85％ ± 3.14％ vs.6.03％ ± 1.74％,t =5.13,P ＜ 0.01 ).The titer of anti-BP180-NC 16A antibody was positively correlated with the percentage of Tfh (r =0.67,P＜ 0.05) and serum level of IL-21 (r=0.77,P＜ 0.01) in patients with BP.Conclusions There is a significant increase in the percentage of Tfh and serum level of IL-21 in patients with pemphigus and BP,hinting a certain role of Tfh and IL-21 in the pathogenesis of pemphigus and BP.

Objective To investigate the effect of adenovirus-mediated IL-24 (Ad-IL-24)gene expression on the apoptosis in a human squamous cell carcinoma cell line COLO 16, and to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods Cultured COLO 16 cells were divided into two groups to be transfected with an adenovirus vector carrying the IL-24 gene (Ad-IL-24 group)or green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP group), while those receiving no treatment served as the control group. After culture for different durations, qPCR was performed to quantify IL-24 gene expression, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay to evaluate the proliferative activity of COLO 16 cells, flow cytometry to detect the apoptosis of COLO 16 cells, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) to observe the morphological changes of COLO 16 cells, Western blot to determine the levels of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins and to evaluate the activation of caspase-3, qPCR to determine the levels of Bax and Bcl-2 mRNAs, an immunofluorescence assay to observe the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins. Statistical analysis was carried out by a two-sample t-test with the SPSS 19.0 software. Results MTT assay showed that the proliferation of COLO 16 cells in the Ad-IL-24 group was significantly inhibited as early as 4 days after the transfection; thereafter, the inhibitory effect increased in a time-dependent manner, and peaked on day 6(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in cellular proliferative activity between the Ad-GFP group and control group (P>0.05). Flow cytometry revealed that the apoptosis rate was significantly higher in the Ad-IL-24 group(13.10%± 0.92%)than in the control group(3.69%± 0.36%, P<0.05)and Ad-GFP group(3.39%± 1.06%, P<0.05), but no significant difference was observed between the control group and Ad-GFP group (P>0.05). LSCM demonstrated that the apoptosis of COLO 16 cells was accelerated in the Ad-IL-24 group. The immunofluorescence assay, Western blot and qPCR all showed that the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax were increased, but those of Bcl-2 were decreased in the Ad-IL-24 group compared with the Ad-GFP group and control group. Moreover, Western blot showed a protein band that could specifically bind to the anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibody in the Ad-IL-24 group, but not in the Ad-GFP group or control group. Conclusions Ad-IL-24 can induce apoptosis in human COLO 16 squamous cell carcinoma cells, probably by up-regulating Bax expression, down-regulating Bcl-2 expression, and activating caspase 3.

ObjectiveTo investigate MR imaging features of endolymphatic sac and vestibular aqueduct in patients with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) and its correlation with hearing loss.MethodsMR imaging findings of LVAS were analyzed in 31 cases (62 ears) retrospectively.MR imaging features were grouped into 4 types.In the first type,the signals of endolymphatic and vesitibular aqueduct were hypointense without any hyperintense area.In the second type,the signals of endolymphatic sac and vestibular were hyperintense which were confined within vestibular fissure.In the third type,the area from vestibular aqueduct backward out of the edge of the petrous bone was hyperintense,but its lower boundary was above posterior semicircular.In the fourth type the area which was hyperintense was below the posterior semicircular.To avoid errors in visual inspection,the hyperintense and hypointense area of endolymphatic and the signal intensity of vestibular aqueduct and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)were measured.The differences of signal intensity among the vestibular endolymphatic sac between the high-signal areas and lowsignal areas were compared with paired t-test.The correlation of the endolymphatic sac MRI classification and degree of hearing losswasanalyzedby correctedChi-squaretestandSpearmancorrelation analysis.ResultTen ears belonged to type Ⅰ (moderate hearing loss in 1 ear,severe in 4 ears,profound in 5 ears),17 ears belonged to type Ⅱ ( moderate hearing loss in 1 ear; severe in 5 ears,profound in 11 ears),23 ears to type Ⅲ (moderate hearing loss in 3 ear,severe in 5 ears,profound in 15 ears) and 12 ears belonged to Ⅳ(mild hearing loss in 1 ear,moderate in 1 ear,severe 3 ear,profound in 7 ears).The boundary between hyperintense and hypointense area was clear,and the signal intensity ratios was 2.02 ± 0.06.The signal ratios of hyperintense and hypointense area to vestibular and CSF were 0.95 ±0.12,0.49 ±0.10,0.99 ± 0.08 respecitively.So there was statistical significant difference between hyperintense and hypointense area ( t =- 24.966,P ＜ 0.05 ),but there was no statistical significant difference between hyperintense area and vesitbular( t =-24.966,P ＞ 0.05).There was no difference of hearing loss between different MRI types ( likelihood ratio =5.02,P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusions Not only endolymphatic sac enlarged but also perilymph herniated into skeletal fissures of vestibular aqueduct in patients with LVAS.The signal intensity of the endolymphatic sac did not show significant correlation with degree of hearing loss.

Objective To investigate the effect of psychological intervention on level of hope and quality of life in the breast cancer patients.Methods Ninety five breast cancer patients were randomized into intervention group and control group for an eight-week observation.Herth hope index(HHI)and Quality of life core questionnaire for European tumor patients(QLQ-C30)were used to observe the effect of psychological intervention on level of hope and quality of life in the breast cancer patients.Results Hope scores in total and in three subcategories were higher in intervention group((40.43±4.25),(13.28±1.61),(13.62±1.70),(13.53±1.52))than that in control group((37.82±4.49),(12.29±1.89),(12.90±1.67),(12.63±1.51))with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).Scores for general quality of life,body function and role function were higher in intervention group((82.27±15.11),(75.89±12.24),(72.34±22.86))than that in control group((65.82±14.16),(68.30±16.42),(53.06±27.36))with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).Scores for fatigue,pain,insomnia and loss of appetite were lower in intervention group((39.48±14.62),(25.18±16.98),(29.79±24.31),(18.44±21.77))than that in control group((49.43±17.58),(36.74±19.54),(46.26±28.72),(40.82±22.84))with statistically significant differences(P＜0.01).Conclusion-Psychological intervention could improve the level of hope and quality of life in the breast cancer patients.