Referred or secondary otalgia is the complaint of ear pain arising from pathology of non-otologic locations with which the ear shares common neural pathways. The pain can present in various degrees of intensity and characteristics while severity is not proportional to the seriousness of the underlying cause1,2.
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The authors describe the use of superiorly curved scalp Incision for Implantation of Magnetic Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Devices
They describe a new technical aspect to minimise numbness issues in a series of 60 patients from two tertiary referral centres.
An inferiorly-based flap design will help to preserve branches of the great auricular and lesser occipital nerves, which normally sacrificed with the original technique.
Superiorly curved scalp Incision will be suitable for subsequent retroauricular incision that is used in auricular reconstruction in microtia patients.
These easily reproducible technical modification comfortable be used safely for Implantation of Magnetic Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Devices, especially patients with auricular dysplasia where auricular reconstruction is planned
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In the Picardie region of northern France, the prevalence of intracranial suppurative complications (particularly empyema) of ear, nose and throat infections seems to have increased over the last 10 to 15 years.
Three possible reasons for the increased incidence in this region are the inappropriate use of antibiotics, low socioeconomic status, and poor access to high-quality healthcare.
Intracranial complications affect both sexes and all ages.
If a patient suffering from sinusitis or (especially) otitis media complains of headache, the possible presence of an intracranial suppurative complication must be always be considered and should prompt immediate medical imaging (a cranial CT scan and MRI) for confirmation of the diagnosis.
Early diagnosis and multidisciplinary pharmacological and surgical management (focused on the intracranial complication) should enable complete recovery in more than three quarters of these cases
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A peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is a collection of pus between the pharyngeal musculature and palatine tonsil capsule. It is the most common deep space infection of the head and neck region and the most common indication for acute ORL hospital admission 1. Causative microorganisms include Gram negative rods, Gram positive cocci and anaerobes 2. Usual treatment is aspiration +/- incision and drainage of PTA, but there is practice variation based on geographical location 3.
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Summary: As technology and interventional techniques continue to evolve, both the volume and complexity of cardiac catheterizations will increase, leading to a rise in the number of complications. One of the most morbid complications of cardiac catheterization is vascular injury. We report the case of a 31-day-old, 3.0-kg infant with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who experienced a left common iliac artery disruption during cardiac catheterization resulting in a retroperitoneal hemorrhage. The extent of the vascular injury combined with the vessel caliber posed a technically challenging surgical scenario. Ultimately, the vascular supply to the left lower extremity was reconstructed by the plastic surgery team with a reverse autologous vein graft. To our knowledge, this multidisciplinary approach with the involvement of plastic surgery represents a unique case.
Summary: Women desire beautiful breasts that are functional, pain free, and without foreign material. Vertical scars, insufficient elevation, inadequate upper pole fullness, nipple numbness, and loss of breast feeding are undesirable. Relieving pain attributed to enlarged breasts has required significant tissue removal. Software analysis of chest images, physical measurements, and desires are combined to generate a surgical blueprint. The breast is divided horizontally into two components preserving the neurovascular supply and major lactiferous ducts. The skin flap cephalad to the areola provides external coverage. The areola remains attached to a deepithelialized mound, which is rotated into a cone. Dermal straps originating from the base of the cone are looped through the pectoralis major muscle and the cone repeatedly. Weight transfer to the pectoralis major muscles eliminates pain in 54% and decreases pain in 38%. Incisions are concealed at the areola cutaneous junction and in the shadow of the breast. Upper pole fullness increased in 86% without implants or fat transfer. Nipple sensation was increased in 37% and unchanged in 44%. Overall results were excellent in 50% and good in 36%. Complications consisted of dog-ears, periareolar infection, and fat necrosis. No patient required a return to the operation room. Combing computer-aided design with plastic surgical principles creates beautiful, functional breasts without foreign material. Vertical scars are avoided, and weight transfer relieves pain.Circular RNA (circRNA), a class of non-coding RNAs, is a new group of RNAs that are related to tumorigenesis. The role of circRNAs in various diseases has been already highlighted. However, the expression levels and functions of circRNAs related to the melanocytes in the skin are poorly understood. RNA sequence was performed to analyze the expression profiles of circRNAs in black fur skin and white fur skin during different differentiation stages and investigate the relevant metabolism mechanisms. Differentially expressed circRNAs were detected using empirical Bayes sequencing (EBSeq) and then verified through the quantitative real-time PCR method. The EQSeq analysis of circRNAs identified 11 downregulated and 32 upregulated circRNAs in the embryo of black fur skin and white fur skin, as well as 21 downregulated and 17 upregulated circRNA in the postnatal stage. A circRNA–microRNA (miRNA)– messenger RNA (mRNA) network was established to predict the circRNA targets. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were applied to enrich the mRNA data further. Results showed that the specific mRNAs mainly involved in the transcription- related GOs, especially GO:0042802, GO:0005080 and GO:0032403, demonstrate their specific actions in transcriptional regulation. In the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA network, the most enriched GO terms of the mRNAs were pigmentation, protein autophosphorylation, and protein complex. Therefore, the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA pathway may reveal novel mechanisms for pigmentation, and circRNAs may serve as candidates in pigmentation.
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Sox10 is a robust and sensitive immunostain for melanocytic neoplasia. The strong nuclear signal, the clean background, and the limited expression in normal cutaneous structures make it a highly useful marker in the histopathologic evaluation of skin tumors.
Human skin is composed of the superimposition of tissue layers of various thicknesses and components. Histological staining of skin sections is the benchmark approach to analyse the organization and integrity of human skin biopsies; however, this approach does not allow 3D tissue visualization. Alternatively, confocal or two-photon microscopy is an effective approach to perform fluorescent-based 3D imaging. However, owing to light scattering, these methods display limited light penetration in depth. The objectives of this study were therefore to combine optical clearing and light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) to perform in-depth optical sectioning of 5 mm-thick human skin biopsies and generate 3D images of entire human skin biopsies.
A benzyl alcohol and benzyl benzoate solution was used to successfully optically clear entire formalin fixed human skin biopsies, making them transparent. In-depth optical sectioning was performed with LSFM on the basis of tissue-autofluorescence observations. 3D image analysis of optical sections generated with LSFM was performed by using the Amira® software.
This new approach allowed us to observe in situ the different layers and compartments of human skin, such as the stratum corneum, the dermis and epidermal appendages. With this approach, we easily performed 3D reconstruction to visualise an entire human skin biopsy. Finally, we demonstrated that this method is useful to visualise and quantify histological anomalies, such as epidermal hyperplasia.
The combination of optical clearing and LSFM has new applications in dermatology and dermatological research by allowing 3D visualization and analysis of whole human skin biopsies.
Skin imaging analysis, acting as a supplement to noninvasive bioengineering devices, has been widely used in medical cosmetology and cosmetic product evaluation. The main aim of this study is to assess the differences and correlations in measuring skin spots, wrinkles, vascular features, porphyrin, and pore between two commercially available image analysis software.
Seventy healthy women were included in the study. Before taking pictures, the dermatologist evaluated subjects' skin conditions. Test sites included the forehead, cheek, and periorbital skin. A 2 × 2 cm cardboard was used to make a mark on the skin surface. Pictures were taken using VISIA® under three kinds light conditions and analyzed using VISIA® and IPP® respectively.
(1) Skin pore, red area, ultraviolet spot, brown spot, porphyrin, and wrinkle measured with VISIA® were correlated with those measured with IPP® (P < .01). (2) Spot, wrinkle, fine line, brown spot, and red area analyzed with VISIA® were correlated with age on the forehead and periorbital skin (P < .05). L-value, Crow's feet, ultraviolet spot, brown spot, and red area analyzed with IPP® were correlated with age on the periorbital skin (P < .05). (3) L-value, spot, wrinkle, fine line, porphyrin, red area, and pore analyzed with VISIA® and IPP® showed correlations with the subjective evaluation scores (P < .05).
VISIA® and IPP® showed acceptable correlation in measuring various skin conditions. VISIA® showed a high sensibility when measured on the forehead skin. IPP® is available as an alternative software program to evaluate skin features.
Previous studies have reported decreased dermal echogenicity and increased skin oxidative stress in overweight males. However, it is unknown whether these skin parameters of overweight and obese people are similar to those of individuals exhibiting a normal body weight following weight loss. The purpose of this study was to (1) compare the changes in the dermal structure parameters and levels of skin oxidative stress before and after weight loss in overweight and obese people in Japan and (2) to clarify how these aspects changed when body weight would be reduced to normal body weight.
Male volunteers with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 were recruited. The dermal structure was visualized and dermal echogenicity and thickness were measured using ultrasound scanners. The mRNA expression level of heme oxygenase-1 in the hair follicles was quantitatively analyzed as a marker of skin oxidative stress.
When overweight individuals in their 20s to 30s reduced their weight to normal, decreased dermal thickness in the abdominal region was observed in 50% of the subjects; however, no increase in dermal echogenicity was observed. A decrease in dermal thickness and an increase in dermal echogenicity in the thighs was observed in 83.3% of the subjects. No decrease in the level of dermal oxidative stress was observed.
The dermal structure in the thighs of overweight young individuals can be improved to the level of the structure in those of normal body weight individuals following weight loss.
Light-responsive compounds have been used to manipulate biological systems with spatial and temporal control of the event of interest. Illumination of alkylcobalamins with green light (500 – 570 nm) produces carbon-centered radicals, which have been demonstrated to effectively cause DNA damage. Molecules that cause DNA and RNA strand scission are useful for studying polynucleotide structure and the binding of small molecules and proteins to polynucleotides. Most molecules that cause DNA damage in a light-dependent manner require high energy, short wavelength ultraviolet light, which is readily absorbed by nucleotide bases causing damage to the polynucleotides. Therefore, using alkylcobalamins is advantageous for causing strand scission of polynucleotides, because they are activated by light wavelengths that are not absorbed by nucleotide bases. Green light illumination of methylcobalamin effectively causes DNA strand scission based on gel mobility assays. This cleavage is due to the generation of carbon-centered radicals based on the results of a radical trapping study. In addition, synthesis of an alkylcobalamin with a DNA binding moiety, spermine, improves DNA cleavage efficacy by an order of magnitude in comparison to methylcobalamin.
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