Laryngeal chondroma

Cartilaginous tumors of laryngeal skeleton are a rarity: Laryngeal chondroma is an unusual cause of upper airway obstruction. The present report illustrates a case of a 13 year old male presenting with mass in the subglottis. Histopathology of the mass revealed laryngeal chondroma.     

Particle-Mediated Intravascular Delivery of Oligonucleotides to Tumors: Associated Biology and Lessons from Genotherapy

For a solid tumor to become life-threatening, an adequate blood supply has to be established. Although neovascularization has dire consequences for the host, it furnishes a common route through which tumors may be accessed and eradicated by drugs. The fact that a tumor's vasculature is relatively more permeable than that of healthy host tissue means selective delivery of drugs may be achieved. The role played by the cells making up the tumor vascular bed, vascular endothelial cells (VECs), has to be evaluated closely in attempts to design ways for enhancing drug delivery to solid tumors via the vasculature. The two major roles of VECs in the body, as barrier and as transport, are both highly pertinent to drug delivery. Our review examines how VECs may be manipulated in vivo to improve the selective delivery of carriers for oligonucleotide constructs to solid tumors. It also discusses how oligonucleotide drugs may be targeted against tumor VECs on the premise that by killing these cells, the tumor itself will perish. Cationic liposomes and microspheres are the major delivery vehicles discussed, with added analyses of such other nucleic acid carriers as nanospheres, dendrimers, and polyethyleneimine.     

频率医学睡眠对慢性失眠症的治疗作用

目的:探讨"频率医学睡眠"治疗慢性失眠症的疗效.方法:选取2019 年5-7 月在原乡奥伦达医学博物馆高端医学门诊就诊的慢性失眠症患者15 例作为研究对象,应用"频率医学睡眠",包括Healy微电刺激、睡眠扑满SleepBank、Tim-eWaver时光波量子仪多维干预及精油芳香疗愈.治疗1 周,治疗前后采用匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表(PSQI)评定临床疗效.结果:PSQI睡眠质量分别为(2.17 ±0.58)和(1.33 ±0.65);睡眠时间分别为(1.58 ±0.90)和(0.67 ±0.49);匹兹堡问卷总分分别为(9.92 ±1.56)和(7.17 ±2.48),以上差异均具有统计学意义(P均<0.05).结论:频率医学睡眠能够改善慢性失眠症患者的睡眠质量、增加睡眠时间.     

Prognostic significance of circulating immune complexes in cancer patients.

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were estimated in 100 cancer patients and 25 healthy control volunteers by means of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation test and latex agglutination inhibition (LAI) test. Pathological levels of CIC were found in 47% of the patients by PEG precipitation test and in 59% of the patients by LAI test; both tests were positive in 33% of the patients. Consequently, the use of the two assays resulted in 73% seropositivity for CIC. The PEG precipitation test detects antigen-antibody complexes formed in the ratio of 2:1 (Ag2Ab), while the LAI test could detect immune complexes formed over an extended range of antigen-antibody ratio including complexes as small as 8S. CIC values were significantly higher by combined assays (P less than 0.001) as compared to individual assays (P less than 0.01) when compared with the control group. It was found that 75% of post-operative follow-up patients became seronegative for CIC in the combined assays, whereas the 25% of post-operative patients who remained seropositive for CIC showed recurrence within three months after surgery. Immune-complex deposition was demonstrated on malignant cells in vitro by direct immunofluorescence studies in 73.3% of patients, while 60% of patients revealed complement-fixing antigen-antibody complexes. It was found that 20% of patients showing positive immunofluorescence with anti-C3-antisera had decreased levels of CIC. Complement-mediated cytotoxic injury results in reduction of tumor cell mass and subsequent decrease in CIC. Necrotizing and leucocytoclastic vasculitis in the tumor mass was initiated by raised CIC levels in vivo in 71% of patients. Necrosis of malignant tumors was seen in 58% of patients, and hemorrhage in 36% of patients. These changes were considered to be an aftermath of immuno-complex vasculitis initiated by CIC.     

Can postoperative pulmonary complications after elective cholecystectomy be predicted?

To determine predictors of postoperative morbidity in elective cholecystectomy patients, the authors examined prospectively the consequences of age, sex, active and past smoking, respiratory history, obesity, type of surgical incision, and preoperative pulmonary function, upon the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications and length of hospitalization. They identified 31 (14.8%) complications in 209 patients; 21 had atelectasis, 8 purulent bronchitis, and 2 pneumonia. These patients averaged 1.5 days longer in the hospital (p less than 0.001 by analysis of variance) than control patients. Abnormal spirometry (MEFV) and the single-breath nitrogen test (SBN2) were significant predictors of postoperative pulmonary complications (p less than 0.001 by discriminant analysis method). Active smoking and history of respiratory disease were associated with abnormal small airway function (p less than 0.001 by chisquare test), but did not predict postoperative morbidity. By analysis of variance, only a reduction in preoperative FVC emerged as predictive of prolonged hospitalization (p less than 0.001). These results were used to determine if the selection of patients by preoperative pulmonary function testing permits more cost-effective administration of respiratory therapy (RT) services. Neither the MEFV nor SBN2 had sufficient specificity to enhance the cost effectiveness of postoperative RT.     

Transcranial lateral perforating gunshot injury through skull base presenting without residual damage: A fortunate survivor

We reported a case of a 32 years old male presenting with a perforating gunshot injury in craniocerebral region 3 h after the assault. The bullet entered above the right zygomatic arch, travelling through the coronal plane, and exited from the left zygomatic arch. The patient was fully conscious at presentation and developed facial nerve palsy during his hospital stay. Non-contrast CT scan of the head revealed fractures of the right orbit, bilateral maxilla, bilateral pterygoid plates, ethmoid air cells, vomer and left zygoma, and without any cerebral damage. He was treated conservatively and the facial palsy was resolved. The patient survived without any complications. Such case has not been described in the available literature till date.     

The use of chitosan formulations in cancer therapy

With the advent of the theranostics era in biomedical research, gene therapy is poised to offer more, provided that more efficient delivery vehicles are discovered and developed. Chitosan is a biomatrix that is abundant, biocompatible, biodegradable, versatile, inexpensive and safe. These features have paved the way for its use in gene therapy, mainly for delivery of therapeutic plasmids and more recently for siRNA. Recent studies show that chitosan per se exhibits anticancer properties both in vitro and in animal models, most probably through the p21/Cip and p27/Kip pathways. This review looks at the in vivo studies using chitosan technology towards cancer gene therapy, drawing some support from non-cancer studies. The future of this promising technology lies in the evolution of new ideas for enhanced nucleic acid drug pharmacokinetics and, consequently, pharmacodynamics for cancer patients.