Transient Alterations of Cutaneous Sensory Nerve Function by Noninvasive Cryolipolysis.

Cryolipolysis is a noninvasive, skin cooling treatment for local fat reduction that causes prolonged hypoesthesia over the treated area. We tested the hypothesis that cryolipolysis can attenuate nociception of a range of sensory stimuli, including stimuli that evoke itch. The effects of cryolipolysis on sensory phenomena were evaluated by quantitative sensory testing (QST) in 11 healthy subjects over a period of 56 days. Mechanical and thermal pain thresholds were measured on treated and contralateral untreated (control) flanks. Itch duration was evaluated following histamine iontophoresis. Unmyelinated epidermal nerve fiber and myelinated dermal nerve fiber densities were quantified in skin biopsies from six subjects. Cryolipolysis produced a marked decrease in mechanical and thermal pain sensitivity. Hyposensitivity started between two to seven days after cryolipolysis and persisted for at least thirty-five days post treatment. Skin biopsies revealed that cryolipolysis decreased epidermal nerve fiber density, as well as dermal myelinated nerve fiber density, which persisted throughout the study. In conclusion, cryolipolysis causes significant and prolonged decreases in cutaneous sensitivity. Our data suggest that controlled skin cooling to specifically target cutaneous nerve fibers has the potential to be useful for prolonged relief of cutaneous pain and might have a use as a research tool to isolate and study cutaneous itch-sensing nerves in human skin.

Activation of endogenous neural stem cells in experimental intracerebral hemorrhagic rat brains.

BACKGROUND: Many researchers suggest that adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is incapable of completing self-repair or regeneration. And there are accumulating lines of evidence which suggest that endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) are activated in many pathological conditions, including stroke in the past decades, which might partly account for rehabilitation afterwards. In this study, we investigated whether there was endogenous neural stem cell activation in intracerebral hemorrhagic (ICH) rat brains. METHODS: After ICH induction by stereotactical injection of collagenase type VII into globus pallidus, 5-Bromo-2 Deoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered intraperitoneally to label newborn cells. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect Nestin, a marker for neural stem cells, and BrdU. RESULTS: Nestin-positive or BrdU-Labeled cells were predominantly located at 2 sites: basal ganglion around hemotoma, ependyma and nearby subventricular zone (SVZ). No positive cells for the 2 markers were found in the 2 sites of normal control group and sham group, as well as in non-leisioned parenchyma, both hippocampi and olfactory bulbs in the 4 groups. Nestin+ cells presented 4 types of morphology, and BrdU+ nucleus were polymorphologic. Positive cell counting around hemotoma showed that at day 2, Nestin+ cells were seen around hemotoma in model group, the number of which increased at day 4, day 7 (P <0.01), peaked at day 14 (P <0.05), and reduced significantly by day 28 (P <0.01). CONCLUSION: Endogenous neural stem cells were activated in experimental intracerebral hemorrhagic rat brains.

[Effects of nao-yi-an granule on the expression of heme oxygenase-1 in brains of intracerebral hemorrhagic rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of the traditional Chinese medicine complex nao-yi-an granule(NYA) on the expression of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) in the brains of intracerebral hemorrhagic (ICH) rats. METHODS: After inducing ICH rat models with collagenase VII, we used the immunohistochemical method and HO-1 immunoreactive cell count to observe the HO-1 expression. RESULTS: Following ICH, the expression of HO-1 in the rat brains was observed at 12 h, peaking at 2 d and persisting until 7 d; and NYA could increase the expression at 24 h obviously. CONCLUSION: Expression of HO-1 increases following ICH,; upregulation of HO-1 expression may be one of the neuroprotective mechanisms of NYA.