Reference role of middle turbinate axilla in lacrimal sac localization assisted by computed tomographic dacryocystography-reference value of middle turbinate in locating lacrimal sac.

BACKGROUND: The middle turbinate axilla (MTA) has always been used as a stable anatomic landmark for endoscopic surgeons to locate the lacrimal sac on the lateral nasal wall. Yet, little is known about whether the lacrimal sac size will affect the positioning effect of MTA on lacrimal sac. The aim of this study was to investigate the regularity of lacrimal sac size and lacrimal sac localization through the reference position of the MTA on computed tomographic dacryocystography (CT-DCG) images. METHODS: A series of 192 endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) surgeries were performed. All the patients had been diagnosed as unilateral nasolacrimal duct obstruction and received CT-DCG examinations. According to the maximum transverse diameter of the lacrimal sac on CT-DCG, the patients were classified into three groups. Measurements were taken on CT-DCG parasagittal images. RESULTS: The average distance from the sac superior fundus (SSF) to the MTA was 7.52 mm ± 3.23 mm, and it increased with the increase of the maximum transverse diameter of the sac among groups (p < 0.01). The average distance from the common canaliculus (CC) to the MTA was 3.95 mm ± 2.49 mm. No significant difference was observed among the groups (p = 0.11). The average distance from the CC to the SSF was 3.41 mm ± 1.31 mm, and it increased with the increase of the sac transverse diameter among groups (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The lacrimal sac can be accurately located on the lateral nasal wall by the reference position of the MTA on CT-DCG images. The distance of the SSF to the MTA and the SSF to the CC is related to the lacrimal sac size. The relative position of the CC to the MTA is relatively stable on CT-DCG images, which make it possible to locate the lacrimal sac of different sizes and the corresponding nasal mucosa incision design in endoscopic DCR.

Maspin suppresses growth, proliferation and invasion in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common malignant tumor. Mammary serine protease inhibitor (Maspin), a member of serpin family, has been reported as a tumor suppressor in various carcinomas. In this study, we detected the expression level of Maspin in cSCC tissues by real-time PCR and western blotting, and found that Maspin was downregulated in the cSCC tissues compared with the adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, Maspin was stably overexpressed in A431 cells, and CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, Transwell assay, Hoechst staining and western blotting were carried out to detect the growth, proliferation, invasion, cell cycle and apoptosis of A431 cells. The results revealed that overexpression of Maspin inhibited growth, proliferation, invasion and cell cycle G1/S/G2 transition and enhanced apoptosis of A431 cells. The pro-apoptotic protein cleaved caspase-3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and Bax increased, and the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 decreased after Maspin overexpression. Therefore, we demonstrated that Maspin suppressed growth, proliferation and invasion by delaying cell cycle transition and promoting apoptosis in cSCC cells, which may provide new insights for the clinical diagnosis and therapy of cSCC.

High Performance Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Enhanced Light-Harvesting Efficiency Based on Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Coated Au-TiO2 Microspheres.

Surface plasmon resonance using noble metal nanoparticles is regarded as an attractive and viable strategy to improve the optical absorption and/or photocurrent in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). However, no significant improvement in device performance has been observed. The bottleneck is the stability of the noble-metal nanoparticles caused by chemical corrosion. Here, we propose a simple method to synthesize high-performance DSSCs based on polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated Au-TiO2 microspheres that utilize the merits of TiO2 microspheres and promote the coupling of surface plasmons with visible light. When 0.4 wt % Au nanoparticles were embedded into the TiO2 microspheres, the device achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 10.49%, a 7.9% increase compared with pure TiO2 microsphere-based devices. Simulation results theoretically confirmed that the improvement of the PCE is caused by the enhancement of the absorption cross-section of dye molecules and photocurrent.

[Clinicopathologic characteristics of angioleiomyoma of the eyelids and orbit].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical pathologic characteristics of angioleiomyoma of the eyelid and orbit. METHODS: Retrospective case series study. The clinical and pathological characteristics of 8 cases of eyelid and orbital angioleiomyoma which were treated in Tianjin Eye Hospital from January 2005 to April 2014 were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: In the 8 cases, 5 were male and 3 were female. The median age was 52.5 years (32.0 to 65.0). Six cases of angioleiomyoma occurred in the orbit. Three of them located in the muscle cone, 2 of them located in superotemporal orbit and 1 of them located in the inferior orbit. The remaining 2 cases of angioleiomyoma occurred in the medial side of the eyelid subcutanously. Five cases were male and three cases were female. Seven cases revealed a solitary eyelid or orbital mass. One case of orbital angioleiomyoma companied with a cavernous hemangioma of ipsilateral lower eyelid. The color Doppler ultrasound of the orbit showed a well-demarcated mass with homogeneous inner-echoes without obviously blood stream signal. The CT showed a circumscribing rounded or irregular shaped soft mass with isotropic density and the CT value were 45 to 50 Hu. Grossly, the tumor appeared as a rounded or irregular oval ranged from 0.7 to 2.8 cm. Six cases had complete fibrous capsule. Microscopically, the tumor was mainly consisted of well-differentiated smooth muscle cells and thick-walled vessels. Five cases were cavernous type, two cases were venous type and one case was solid type according to histological classification. The smooth muscle cells surrounding the vascular walls and the intervascular muscle bundles showed a positive reaction for smooth muscle actin (SMA) and desmin by immunohistochemical staining. Eight patients underwent complete resection of mass. During the surgery, the tumor was observed with clear boundary and capsule surrounded by mild adhesive tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Angioleiomyoma of the eyelids or orbit was a uncommon benign tumor which was usually occured in adults, with well-encapsulated and composed of numerous thick-walled vessels and smooth muscle components. It should be considered in differential diagnosis of a well-circumscribed orbital mass, and distinguished from leiomyoma or cavernous hemangioma in pathological diagnosis.

A functional SNP in the MDM2 promoter mediates E2F1 affinity to modulate cyclin D1 expression in tumor cell proliferation.

BACKGROUND: The MDM2 oncogene, a negative regulator of p53, has a functional polymorphism in the promoter region (SNP309) that is associated with multiple kinds of cancers including non-melanoma skin cancer. SNP309 has been shown to associate with accelerated tumor formation by increasing the affinity of the transcriptional activator Sp1. It remains unknown whether there are other factors involved in the regulation of MDM2 transcription through a trans-regulatory mechanism. METHODS: In this study, SNP309 was verified to be associated with overexpression of MDM2 in tumor cells. Bioinformatics predicts that the T to G substitution at SNP309 generates a stronger E2F1 binding site, which was confirmed by ChIP and luciferase assays. RESULTS: E2F1 knockdown downregulates the expression of MDM2, which confirms that E2F1 is a functional upstream regulator. Furthermore, tumor cells with the GG genotype exhibited a higher proliferation rate than TT, correlating with cyclin D1 expression. E2F1 depletion significantly inhibits the proliferation capacity and downregulates cyclin D1 expression, especially in GG genotype skin fibroblasts. Notably, E2F1 siRNA effects could be rescued by cyclin D1 overexpression. CONCLUSION: Taken together, a novel modulator E2F1 was identified as regulating MDM2 expression dependent on SNP309 and further mediates cyclin D1 expression and tumor cell proliferation. E2F1 might act as an important factor for SNP309 serving as a rate-limiting event in carcinogenesis.

[Clinicopathological observation of solitary fibrous tumor of the orbit].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinicopathological characteristics of orbital solitary fibrous tumor. METHODS: It was a retrospective case series study. The clinical and pathological characteristics of 8 cases of orbital solitary fibrous tumor that were treated in Tianjin Eye Hospital from January 2003 to December 2011 were reviewed and analyzed. Immunohistochemical staining was performed, investigating the expression of CD34, vimentin, S-100 and SMA. RESULTS: In the 8 cases, 5 cases were male and 3 cases were female; 6 cases involved the right orbit and 2 cases involved the left orbit. Patients' ages ranged from 30 to 60 years, and the mean age was 41 years; duration of symptoms ranged from 2 months to 5 years. The locations of the tumor were in the superior or superotemporal orbit (5 cases), lacrimal sac and medial orbit (2 cases), or inferior orbit (1 case). The clinical features mainly included the swelling of the upper lid, unilateral painless orbital or lacrimal sac mass, proptosis and diplopia. CT scan usually revealed a moderately or intensely enhanced mass that was well-circumscribed. Complete tumor removal was performed in all cases. The tumor sizes ranged from 1.2 - 3.1 cm and appeared as a round or irregular oval mass with a thin fibrous capsule; incomplete capsule was found in 3 tumors. Microscopic observation revealed that the tumor was composed mainly of spindle or oval cells in a fascicular, storiform, hemangiopericytoma-like or a "patternless" pattern, with numerous thick bands of collagen that showed diffuse positive staining for CD34 and vimentin. Five cases had been followed-up from 6 to 86 months postoperatively, no evidence of local recurrence had been found in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Orbital solitary fibrous tumor is a spindle cell tumor with diffuse positive staining for CD34 and vimentin. This tumor usually is well circumscribed and encapsulated. Complete excision is the preferred treatment. The tumor should be distinguished from other spindle cell tumors in the orbit.

[The clinicopathologic observation of eosinophilic hyperplastic lymphogranuloma in the orbit].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the knowledge of the clinicopathologic features of eosinophilic hyperplastic lymphogranuloma (Kimura disease) in the orbit. METHODS: It was a retrospective case series study. The clinical and pathological characteristic of 9 cases of Kimura disease from the pathology department of Tianjin Eye Hospital were reviewed, immunohistochemical staining was performed, including for CD20, D79a, CD3, CD45Ro, CD34, Ki67 and IgE. RESULTS: In the 9 cases, 7 cases were male, 2 cases were female; the age of onset were from 13 to 62 years, medium age was 25 years; 7 cases were simple, 2 case were bilateral orbit. These lesions occurred in the superior or superotemporal quadrant of the orbit and the majority of cases extended into deep orbital tissues, 6 cases involved the lacrimal gland, 5 case involved the lateral rectus muscle. The clinical features mainly included lid swelling, eye redness, proptosis and palpable mass, and the disease course ranged from 6 months to 15 years. 3 lymph node enlargements in the submandibular regions and 1 subcutaneous nodule on the bilateral elbow were found in one case. The documentation of peripheral-blood eosinophilia (11% - 14%) was found in 3 cases. The pathological characteristics of Kimura disease were lymphoid tissue hyperplasia with prominent lymphoid follicles, conspicuous eosinophils infiltration and capillary proliferation. Immunohistochemical study in our cases revealed B cells in lymphoid follicles and mostly T cells in the interfollicular regions. CONCLUSION: Kimura disease of orbit is an uncommon lymphoid hyperplasia with prominent eosinophils infiltration and capillary vessels, which commonly occur superotemporal quadrant of the orbit, easy to involve lacrimal gland and lateral rectus muscle.

Treatment of infraorbital dark circles using a low-fluence Q-switched 1,064-nm laser.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the low-fluence 1,064-nm Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (QSNY) laser in treating infraorbital dark circles. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Thirty women with infraorbital dark circles (predominant color dark brown) participated in this open-label study. Participants underwent eight sessions of low-fluence QSNY laser treatment at 4.2 J/cm(2) at 3- to 4-day intervals. A spot size of 3.5 mm was used, with a pulse duration of 8 ns. The melanin deposition in the lesional skin was observed in vivo using reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). Morphologic changes were evaluated using a global evaluation, an overall self-assessment, a narrow-band reflectance spectrophotometer, and a skin hydration measurement instrument. RESULTS: Twenty-six of 30 patients showed global improvement that they rated as excellent or good. Twenty-eight rated their overall satisfaction as excellent or good. The melanin index indicated a substantial decrease, from 225.84 at baseline to 182.65 (p < .05). RCM results showed a dramatic decrease of melanin deposition in the upper dermis. Adverse effects were minimal. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristic finding for dark-brown infraorbital dark circles is melanin deposition in the upper dermis. Treatment of infraorbital dark circles using low-fluence 1,064-nm QSNY laser is safe and effective. The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.

Narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy for early stage mycosis fungoides.

Recently there have been some reports concerned the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides (MF) with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy. In most of the previous reports, NB-UVB phototherapy was given three times a week on non-consecutive days. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of a twice weekly regimen of NB-UVB phototherapy in the treatment of early-stage MF. Eight patients with early stage MF received NB-UVB phototherapy twice weekly. Six patients (75%) had a complete response in a mean of 23.4 treatments, two (25%) had a partial response. Upon discontinuation of treatment, four patients with complete response relapsed in a mean time to relapse of 5 months. The twice weekly regimen of NB-UVB phototherapy is effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of early stage MF.