Nanofibrous structured biomimetic strategies for skin tissue regeneration

Mimicking porous topography of natural extracellular matrix is advantageous for successful regeneration of damaged tissues or organs. Nanotechnology being one of the most promising and growing technology today shows an extremely huge potential in the field of tissue engineering. Nanofibrous structures that mimic the native extracellular matrix and promote the adhesion of various cells are being developed as tissue‐engineered scaffolds for skin, bone, vasculature, heart, cornea, nervous system, and other tissues. A range of novel biocomposite materials has been developed to enhance the bioactive or therapeutic properties of these nanofibrous scaffolds via surface modifications, including the immobilization of functional cell‐adhesive ligands and bioactive molecules such as drugs, enzymes, and cytokines. In skin tissue engineering, usage of allogeneic skin is avoided to reestablish physiological continuity and also to address the challenge of curing acute and chronic wounds, which remains as the area of exploration with various biomimetic approaches. Two‐dimensional, three‐dimensional scaffolds and stem cells are presently used as dermal regeneration templates for the treatment of full‐thickness skin defects resulting from injuries and severe burns. The present review elaborates specifically on the fabrication of nanofibrous structured strategies for wound dressings, wound healing, and controlled release of growth factors for skin tissue regeneration.     

Low luminance/eyes closed and monochromatic stimulations reduce variability of flash visual evoked potential latency

Context:

Visual evoked potentials are useful in investigating the physiology and pathophysiology of the human visual system. Flash visual evoked potential (FVEP), though technically easier, has less clinical utility because it shows great variations in both latency and amplitude for normal subjects.

Aim:

To study the effect of eye closure, low luminance, and monochromatic stimulation on the variability of FVEPs.

Subjects and Methods:

Subjects in self-reported good health in the age group of 18-30 years were divided into three groups. All participants underwent FVEP recording with eyes open and with white light at 0.6 J luminance (standard technique). Next recording was done in group 1 with closed eyes, group 2 with 1.2 and 20 J luminance, and group 3 with red and blue lights, while keeping all the other parameters constant. Two trials were given for each eye, for each technique. The same procedure was repeated at the same clock time on the following day.

Statistical Analysis:

Variation in FVEP latencies between the individuals (interindividual variability) and the variations within the same individual for four trials (intraindividual variability) were assessed using coefficient of variance (COV). The technique with lower COV was considered the better method.

Results:

Recording done with closed eyes, 0.6 J luminance, and monochromatic light (blue > red) showed lower interindividual and intraindividual variability in P2 and N2 as compared to standard techniques.

Conclusions:

Low luminance flash stimulations and monochromatic light will reduce FVEP latency variability and may be clinically useful modifications of FVEP recording technique.Key Words: Eye closure, flash visual evoked potentials, latency variability, luminance, monochromatic light, visual evoked potentials     

Unmet Needs of Women Living with Parkinson's Disease: Gaps and Controversies

Personalized medicine considering sex, gender, and cultural context has become the vanguard of delivery of care. However, women's issues in Parkinson disease (PD), especially from a psychosocial standpoint, have been an overlooked field. The key research areas include women-inclusive drug and device studies and genetic and hormonal considerations. Moreover, women with PD need to be educated and empowered on how to communicate their symptoms and needs, get engaged in research, get organized as a community, and support one another. Women with PD need tools to help track and convey their unique motor and nonmotor symptoms and psychological and social support needs. The management of PD needs to be customized to include the unique stages of women's lives, including menstrual cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. Specific guidelines for the use of hormonal treatments and customized dopamine replacement dosing need to be developed. Women need guidance on culturally sensitive wellness and self-care strategies that are customized for them. Basic core competencies in knowledge for all clinicians treating women with PD need to be established, including how to accurately diagnose, proactively identify, and treat the symptoms of PD in women and to ensure timely referral for specialty care, advanced therapies, and research studies. Caregivers and families need guidance on holistically supporting women with PD. The voices of women living with PD must be amplified to catalyze real change in this neglected field. This paper provides an overview of the current knowledge, gaps, and possible strategies to deal with the unmet needs of women living with PD with a focus on the clinical and psychosocial aspects. © 2022 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society     

Preparation and preliminary in vivo evaluation of 166Ho‐labeled microspheres for possible use in radioembolic therapy of liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver cancer is an increasingly prevalent and highly morbid disease with critical significance in the Asian and African subcontinents. Among the various therapies currently used in the clinic to combat the global menace of HCC, radioembolization with suitable therapeutic isotopes is an effective targeted approach. In the Indian context, the significant cost and logistical disadvantage of imported radioembolic formulations for HCC therapy make it essential to develop more feasible indigenous alternatives—using locally available radioisotopes and microspheric carriers—that can serve the nuclear medicine community. With this aim Ho‐166 was produced with good specific activity (>13 GBq mg^?1) and purity (>99%) by reactor irradiation. Various commercially available microspheres were labeled with this therapeutic radioisotope, characterized for yield and stability of the radiolabeling, and tested for their in vivo retention and stability in Wistar rat model by viable surgery. Under the optimized reaction conditions, ¹⁶⁶Ho‐labeled microspheres were prepared with high yield (>94%‐99%) and in vitro stability (>95%) in saline and serum. Retention studies in animal model showed that ¹⁶⁶Ho‐labeled microspheres remained stable in vivo and showed excellent retention in the site of interest (~95% at 72‐hour p.i.). The study indicates good potential and warrants further investigation for application of these indigenous radiolabeled microspheres for HCC therapy. The successful application of this technology in the clinic would lead to logistically advantageous and cost‐effective indigenous alternatives to expensive imported therapeutic solutions.     

Categorical and anti-categorical approaches to US racial/ethnic groupings: revisiting the National 2009 H1N1 Flu Survey (NHFS)

Intersectionality theory calls for the understanding of race/ethnicity, sex/gender and class as interlinked. Intersectional analysis can contribute to public health both through furthering understanding of power dynamics causing health disparities, and by pointing to heterogeneities within, and overlap between, social groups. The latter places the usefulness of social categories in public health under scrutiny. Drawing on McCall we relate the first approach to categorical and the second to anti-categorical intersectionality. Here, we juxtapose the categorical approach with traditional between-group risk calculations (e.g. odds ratios) and the anti-categorical approach with the statistical concept of discriminatory accuracy (DA), which is routinely used to evaluate disease markers in epidemiology. To demonstrate the salience of this distinction, we use the example of racial/ethnic identification and its value for predicting influenza vaccine uptake compared to other conceivable ways of organizing attention to social differentiation. We analyzed data on 56,434 adults who responded to the NHFS. We performed logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios and computed the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AU-ROC) to measure DA. Above age, the most informative variables were education and household poverty status, with race/ethnicity providing minor additional information. Our results show that the practical value of standard racial/ethnic categories for making inferences about vaccination status is questionable, because of the high degree of outcome variability within, and overlap between, categories. We argue that, reminiscent of potential tension between categorical and anti-categorical perspectives, between-group risk should be placed and understood in relationship to measures of DA, to avoid the lure of misguided individual-level interventions.     

Management of dentoalveolar injuries in children: a case report

Children aged 6-15 years old experience more injuries to their teeth and the injuries sustained are more serious as evidenced by a higher percentage of luxations, avulsions, fractures and dislocations. The mandible is the most frequently fractured facial bone and mandibular alveolar injuries have been reported to range between 8.1-50.6%. Those with mandibular or midface fractures have a higher incidence of associated chest, extremity, abdomen and cervical spine injuries. The growing patient with facial injuries presents the clinician with a series of thought-provoking circumstances. Dentoalveolar and mandibular injuries are especially important to understand because of the potential complications related to tooth eruption, alveolar development, occlusion and facial growth. However, the principles involved in the treatment for children need to be modified by certain anatomical, physiological and psychological factors specifically related to childhood. This case report documents the trauma, management and follow-up care of an 11-year-old boy who sustained undisplaced infraorbital, nasal fractures and mandibular dentoalveolar fracture along with other associated injuries of the extremities.