Objectives To investigate the effects of electric field on the healing of lens epithelial cell wounds. Design Experimental study. Participants The cultured bovine lens epithelial cells and monolayers. Methods Small circle wounds were made by stabbing the cultured bovine lens epithelial monolayers with a glass needle and exposed to an applied electric field at a physiological strength of 200 mV/mm for 2 hours (n=37), and the wounds with no electric field exposure were used as control (n=29). With an image analyzer (Leica), the wound areas at 0, 1 and 2 hours after wounding were measured. Wounds were stained with F-actin fluorescence antibodies to observe the arrangement of microfilament cytoskeleton. Main Outcome Measures The wound areas and the arrangement of microfilament cytoskeleton of wounds. Results Compared to control wounds, the healing of wounds exposed to electric field was reduced, the mean area of field-exposed wounds at 2 hours after wounding (19106?m2?2167?m2) was significantly more than that of control wounds (8555?m2?1911?m2) (t=2.942, P=0.0045). The arrangement of microfilament cytoskeleton in control wounds was centripetally and a purse string-like arrangement of microfilament cytoskeleton was showed in field-exposed wounds. Conclusion Applied electric field at a physiological strength inhibits the healing of lens epithelial wounds.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo ; complications ; Humans ; Otologic Surgical Procedures ; adverse effects

Objective To investigate the effects of direct current electric fields on the orientation responses of vascular endothelial cells and the influence of the cytoskeleton filament actin on the orientation responses of cells in direct current electric fields. Methods Cultured vascular endothelial cells, with or without treatment with the actin inhibitors cytochalasin B or Y27632, were exposed to a direct current electric field of 200 mV/mm, and cell images were taken at 0, 4 and 8 hours during the exposure. Cells not exposed to the electric field were used as a control.Cell orientation was quantified using an image analyzer. Immunofluorescence staining of the cells for F-actin was observed through confocal microscopy. Results Cells in the control cultures oriented randomly with no predominant polarity. Cells exposed to the direct current electric field showed significant re-orientation to align their long axes perpondicular to the field vector. Neither cytochalasin B nor Y27632 reduced the re-orientation induced by the field, and earlier orientation response was observed in Y27632-treated cells. F-actin staining showed that the orientation of F-actin stress fibres was at random in control cells and perpendicular to the field vector in the field-exposed cells without any drug treatment. Although the formation of stress fibres was inhibited in the cytochalasin B-or Y27632-treated cells, the cells in the direct current electric fields kept their re-orientation responses, similar to the cells without any drug treatment. Conclusions A direct current electric field can induce vascular endothelial cells to re-orient, but the re-orientation response is independent of actin polymerization and actin stress fiber formation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of endoscopic ethmoid and maxillary surgery on chronic hypertrophic rhinitis. METHOD: A total of 54 cases of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis were treated by endoscopic ethmoid and maxillary surgery between 2003 and 2004, undergoing postoperative follow-up of more than one year. Age of patients ranged from 17 to 60 years, with a mean of 35 years. All of them were identified with nasal endoscopy and CT before surgery. RESULT: Fifty (92.59%) of 54 cases showed their nasal obstruction symptoms were relieved completely or improved significantly, with nearly normal infraturbinal appearance. CONCLUSION Endoscopic ethmoid and maxillary surgery is an effective approach for the treatment of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis, with good preservations of infraturbinal structure and function.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Endoscopy ; methods ; Ethmoid Sinus ; surgery ; Ethmoid Sinusitis ; complications ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Male ; Maxillary Sinus ; surgery ; Maxillary Sinusitis ; complications ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Rhinitis ; complications ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the expressions of interleukin (IL) 13 and its receptor IL-13Rα2 in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (ECRSwNP) and non-ECRSwNP and their clinicopathological implications.Methods A total of 60 consecutive patients with CRSwNP who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) were divided into two groups of ECRSwNP (n =27) and non-ECRSwNP (n =33) based on tissue eosinophil count (more than five cells per high power field) with postoperative pathological examination.Before ESS,the severities of symptoms,nasal polyps,and sinonasal diseases on CT were scored,peripheral blood eosinophil count and percentage,and total serum IgE level were measured.IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 expressions in polyp tissues were examined with immunohistochemistry.SPSS 16.0software was used to analyze the data.Results There was no significant differences between ECRSwNP and non-ECRSwNP groups in the mean symptom scores (t =0.102,P ＞ 0.05),but ECRSwNP,compared to nonECRSwNP,demonstrated a higher incidence of bilateral polyps (x2 =15.879,P ＜ 0.01),a higher mean score of nasal polyps (3.6 ± 1.1 vs 2.1 ± 0.8,t =4.009,P ＜ 0.01) or diseases on CT (t =4.428,P ＜0.01).And also a significant difference existed between two groups in mean blood eosinophil count (t =3.148,P ＜ 0.01) or percentage (t =3.038,P ＜ 0.01),but no significant difference in total serum levels of IgE (t =0.659,P ＞ 0.05).There was a closed correlation between tissue eosinophil count and blood eosinophil count (r =0.683,P ＜0.01) or percentage (r =0.631,P ＜0.01) in ECRSwNP,but not in nonECRSwNP.The expressions of both IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 increased significantly in ECRSwNP compared to non-ECRSwNP (scores 8.1 ± 1.6 vs.5.4 ± 1.6; 8.8 ± 1.4 vs.4.8 ± 1.6,t value was 4.749,8.010,P＜ 0.01).Conclusions IL-13 and IL-13Rα2 are associated closely with pathogenesis of ECRSwNP.Subtyping CRSwNP and studying underly mechanism can be helpful to make treatment strategy for CRSwNP.