Insights on Skin Quality and Clinical Practice Trends in Asia Pacific and a Practical Guide to Good Skin Quality from the Inside Out

ObjectiveWe sought to examine the current skin quality trends and gaps in clinical practice in the Asia Pacific region and develop a practical guide to improve skin quality.MethodsMedical practitioners from 11 countries in the Asia Pacific region completed an online survey on current trends in skin quality treatment. A panel of 12 leading experts convened for a virtual meeting to develop a practical guide for skin quality improvement.ResultsA total of 153 practitioners completed the survey. The four most common skin quality issues were uneven skin tone, skin surface unevenness, skin laxity, and sebaceous gland hyperactivity and enlarged pores. Most practitioners reported using a combination of treatment modalities for each skin quality issue. It was also observed that each treatment modality could be used to treat several skin quality issues. A multimodal approach targeting different interrelated issues across the tissue planes was recommended for balanced results. The panel developed a practical guide for the appropriate combinations and sequence of treatments, and created treatment protocols for specific skin quality outcome goals. The guide employed an “inside-out” approach, treating the deeper tissue planes prior to the superficial layers to achieve harmonious results.LimitationsFuture studies are needed to support the recommended treatment protocols for skin quality improvement.ConclusionThese findings provide valuable insights on current skin quality trends and gaps in clinical practice. The practical guide provides a framework for practitioners to customize their treatment plan according to each patient’s needs.     

Mechanism of spinal cord injury regeneration and the effect of human neural stem cells-secretome treatment in rat model

BACKGROUND Globally, complete neurological recovery of spinal cord injury(SCI) is still less than 1%, and 90% experience permanent disability. The key issue is that a pharmacological neuroprotective-neuroregenerative agent and SCI regeneration mechanism have not been found. The secretomes of stem cell are an emerging neurotrophic agent, but the effect of human neural stem cells(HNSCs) secretome on SCI is still unclear.AIM To investigate the regeneration mechanism of SCI and neuroprotective-neuro...     

Functional outcome after violence related traumatic brain injury

Violent injuries have become an increasingly prevalent cause of traumatic brain injury TBI . These injuries can be classified as either penetrating or non penetrating in nature. While much of the research on violence has been within a military population, there exists a marked difference between military and civilian injuries. Prior work has reported relatively poor outcomes for those individuals who have suffered penetrating TBIs, but little has been done to assess specific functional outcome parameters in survivors. We examined 25 subjects that had sustained blunt injuries and 25 cases with penetrating injuries as a result of a violent act. Cases were matched by initial Glasgow Coma Scale GCS , age and educational level. Mean GCS for this study sample was 8.8. The following outcome variables were assessed at rehabilitation admission and discharge and at 1 year post injury: Disability Rating Scale DRS , Rancho Los Amigos Scale LCFS , Functional Independence Measure FIM ambulation, expression items , length of stay, and cost of care. Student s t tests were performed to assess for differences between the two groups. No significant differences were noted between the groups for any of the outcome variables. Although penetrating injuries may have a higher initial mortality, those who survive to come to rehabilitation appear to have similar outcomes to those patients with non penetrating violence related injuries.     

Abstract 22: Acute neuroradiograhic predictors of rehabiliation costs.

Objective: To examine acute neuroradiographic and injury predictors of rehabilitation costs in a large traumatic brain injury (TBI) population. Design: Multiple regression-based within-group design. Setting: Urban university-based neurotrauma center and rehabilitation hospital. Participants: 293 persons presenting to a level 1 trauma center with a primary diagnosis of moderate or severe TBI who required inpatient rehabilitation. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Multiple variables derived from demographics, injury characteristics, ratings of various computed tomography (CT) scan indicators of neuropathology, and charges for rehabilitation services. Results: Several key variables that are predictive of rehabilitation outcome (including age, cause of injury, admission Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score) and several CT-derived neuroradiographic variables were entered into a multiple regression model to predict the total dollar charges for all rehabilitation services. The variables that emerged as statistically significant were (in order of amount of variance accounted for in the predictive model: presence of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (F change=17.89; P<.0001), admission GCS total score (F change=13.59; P<.0001), presence of frontal lobe contusion (F change=8.26; P<.004), presence of left parietal contusion (F change=7.15; P<.008), presence of right epidural hemorrhage (F change=4.51; P=.035), and presence of a punctate hemorrhage (F change=4.89; P=.028). Conclusions: Charges for TBI rehabilitation are an important consideration. The ability to predict the relative cost of rehabilitation can facilitate planning and may be helpful in more accurately determining the allocation of resources. The presence of SAH was an important predictor of charges and may reflect a risk factor for secondary brain injury not captured by other measures.     

Social influence, AIDS/STD knowledge, and condom use among male clients of female sex workers in Bali.

The importance of social networks is increasingly being recognized in research on HIV risk behaviors. The objective of this article is to examine the association of AIDS and sexually transmitted disease (STD) knowledge, perceived susceptibility to HIV/STD infection, condom beliefs, demographic variables, and peer influence on the condom use of clients of Indonesian sex workers. Data for the study are drawn from the Bali STD/AIDS study conducted from 1997 to 1999 in Bali, Indonesia. During the project 2,026 men were selected for interviews in low price brothels. Statistical methods included multivariate regression models. Results of the study showed that younger men, men who have resided in Bali for at least a year, and more educated men were more likely to use condoms. Furthermore, men with stronger AIDS and STD knowledge and condom beliefs were more likely to use condoms. Men whose friends knew that they visited sex workers were less likely to use condoms. However, men who reported that their friends used condoms with sex workers and that their friends encouraged them to use condoms with sex workers were more likely to use condoms with sex workers. Implications for prevention of HIV infection are discussed.     

Microscopic diffusion anisotropy in formalin fixed prostate tissue: Preliminary findings

Diffusion tensor microimaging at 16.4 T with 40 μm isotropic voxels was used to investigate anisotropic water diffusion in prostate tissue at spatial resolution approaching the cellular scale. Nine normal glandular tissue samples were collected from the peripheral zone of six formalin fixed radical prostatectomy specimens. Fibromuscular stromal tissue exhibited microscopic diffusion anisotropy (mean fractional anisotropy range 0.47–0.66) significantly higher (P < 0.01, Student's t‐test) than in epithelium‐containing voxels (mean fractional anisotropy range 0.31–0.54) in six of the seven normal tissue samples in which both compartments could be measured. Fiber tracking demonstrated principle stromal fiber directions consistent with myocyte orientation seen on light microscopy of the same sample. Diffusion tensor microimaging may be valuable for investigation of variable results from attempts to measure diffusion anisotropy in the prostate in vivo. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.