Sodium butyrate prevents radiation-induced cognitive impairment by restoring pCREB/BDNF expression

Sodium butyrate is a histone deacetylase inhibitor that affects various types of brain damages. To investigate the effects of sodium butyrate on hippocampal dysfunction that occurs after whole-brain irradiation in animal models and the effect of sodium butyrate on radiation exposure-induced cognitive impairments,adult C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally treated with 0.6 g/kg sodium butyrate before exposure to 10 Gy cranial irradiation. Cognitive impairment in adult C57BL/6 mice was evaluated via an object recognition test 30 days after irradiation. We also detected the expression levels of neurogenic cell markers(doublecortin)and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Radiation-exposed mice had decreased cognitive function and hippocampal doublecortin and phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. Sodium butyrate pretreatment reversed these changes. These findings suggest that sodium butyrate can improve radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction through inhibiting the decrease in hippocampal phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. The study procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Korea Institute of Radiological Medical Sciences(approval No. KIRAMS16-0002) on December 30, 2016.     

Per‐oral transgastric abdominal surgery

Laparoscopic surgery has several advantages over traditional surgery because it has been shown to be less invasive. The next logical step in the evolution of minimally invasive surgery may be to eliminate all abdominal incisions. The natural orifices provide a port of entry via the gastrointestinal tract to the peritoneal cavity. This approach would require the creation of a perforation, which is considered to be a major complication of endoscopy with significant morbidity and mortality. However, there are several recent studies that have described the technical feasibility and safety of a per‐oral transgastric approach to the peritoneal cavity using conventional endoscopes. Theoretically, this approach could reduce postoperative abdominal wall pain, wound infection, hernia formation, and adhesions. This article aims to summarize the current status of transgastric surgery, currently referred to as natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES), and to address some of its future challenges.     

Reconstruction of the nasal tip including the columella and soft triangle using a mastoid composite graft.

This paper describes the use of a composite graft from the mastoid area consisting of full-thickness skin peripherally and selectively localised fascia-fat tissue underneath the skin centrally for immediate reconstruction of moderate defects of the nasal tip including the columella and soft triangle. Mastoid composite grafting is a simple and safe procedure that avoids partial graft loss and provides adequate augmentation of soft tissue, easy reshaping of the new nostril rim, minimal post-operative shrinkage, and no donor-site morbidity. Then, it results in a satisfactory nasal appearance with adequate tip projection and symmetry. This procedure may represent a preferred method of nasal tip reconstruction.     

Application of a pigment measuring device – Mexameter®– for the differential diagnosis of vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus

Background/purpose: Vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus (ND) present similar hypopigmented macules with significantly different prognoses. Although the distinction between the two diseases is important, differential diagnosis relies on medical history and physical examination, which is far from decisive in some cases. The Mexameter^® is an objective skin color-measuring device, and has been reported to provide a reproducible and sensitive means of quantifying small skin color differences. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of a Mexameter^® for discriminating these diseases.
Methods: A selection of 202 hypopigmented skin lesions (182 from vitiligo and 20 from ND) were the objects of this study. Using a Mexameter, MIs were obtained from lesions and symmetrically located control skin. RMIs, ratios of the MIs of lesional skins to control skins, were calculated.
Results: The mean MIs and RMIs were significantly different for vitiligo and ND. The mean RMI of ND lesions was 74±13, which was significantly higher than that of vitiligo lesions (50±24). No ND lesion had an RMI of <50%.
Conclusion: This study shows that the Mexameter^®, an objective pigment-measuring device, can be used to achieve a more accurate diagnosis of hypopigmentary disorders, and that the relative melanin index (RMI), which represents the relative pigment levels, might be a more effective parameter than the melanin index (MI) itself for comparing pigmentation differences.