Effect of Sleep Position on Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Young Children With Unrepaired Incomplete Cleft Palates.

Children with cleft lip/palate are usually faced with upper airway problems after surgical repair. The severity of upper airway obstruction is more likely associated with the age and preoperative diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to investigate the severity of OSA in toddlers before palatoplasty from the perspective of polysomnography. In this retrospective cohort study, 97 children with unrepaired cleft palate and habitual prone sleeping were identified with a mean age of 1.6 years (SD 0.6) and divided into 2 age groups (1.5 year or younger and older than 1.5 year). Detailed information was collected including demographics, sleep parameters, and respiratory disturbances. Polysomnography results showed these children were at high risks of OSA with averagely moderate severity at night during their early childhood [apnea-hypopnea index 7.2±3.2 events/hour; obstructive apnea index (OAI) 6.5±2.8 events/hour]. Positional OAI was greatly lower in prone than that in laterals or in supine. Far more sleep time was spent in prone than in supine (42.9%±42.2% versus 8.5%±15.7%), which were consistent with parental reporting of prone sleeping habits. There were no significant differences found between the 2 age groups in respiratory disturbances such as apnea-hypopnea index, OAI, mean oxygen saturation, and nadir oxygen saturation ( P =0.097-0.988). Thus, prone sleeping with a history of snoring might be indicators for early screening for OSA in the cleft population. Adequate attention should be paid to their upper airway and, if available, overnight polysomnography should be performed to ascertain their potential respiratory problems before repair surgery.

Counterclockwise maxillomandibular advancement: a choice for Chinese patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE: Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) is an effective alternative for treating severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the promotion of MMA in China is limited by many Chinese patients having a convex facial profile. To achieve maximal upper airway enlargement without an esthetic disaster, we added counterclockwise rotation of the maxillomandibular complex (MMC) in the routine MMA. In this paper, we have evaluated the objective and subjective outcomes of this technology. METHODS: In total, 33 severe OSA patients who accepted counterclockwise maxillomandibular advancement (CMMA) were investigated in this study. Genioplasty, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), and turbinate reduction were also performed on selected patients. Polysomnography (PSG) and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) were chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of this technology in treating OSA. Patients' facial appearances were evaluated by cephalometric analysis and 5-point Likert scales. RESULTS: After CMMA, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) decreased from 59.3 ± 14.6 to 10.2 ± 6.7 (P < 0.001), minimum SpO2 (pulse oxygen saturation, %) increased from 74.0 ± 11.7 to 88.8 ± 4.4 (P < 0.001), and ESS decreased from 12.5 ± 2.3 to 7.3 ± 2.1. It is encouraging that soft-tissue cephalometric measurements such as facial convexity angle, nasolabial angle, and labiomental fold were not worsening after surgery. The Likert scales revealed that 28 patients (85%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their facial changes. In addition, no patient complained about dental function after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that CMMA is an effective way to achieve a balance between airway enlargement and facial appearance for Chinese patients with severe OSA.

Evaluation of treatment with unilateral mandibular sagittal split ramus osteotomy and maxillary osteotomy in patients with condylar osteochondroma and mandibular asymmetry: A retrospective case series.

The aim of the study was to describe an approach where condylar resection with condylar neck preservation was combined with Le Fort I osteotomy and unilateral mandibular sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO). Patients with a unilateral condylar osteochondroma combined with dentofacial deformity and facial asymmetry who underwent surgery between January 2020 and December 2020 were enrolled. The operation included condylar resection, Le Fort I osteotomy and contralateral mandibular sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO). Simplant Pro 11.04 software was used to reconstruct and measure the preoperative and postoperative craniomaxillofacial CT images. The deviation and rotation of the mandible, change in the occlusal plane, position of the "new condyle" and facial symmetry were compared and evaluated during follow-up. Three patients were included in the present study. The patients were followed up for 9.6 months on average (range, 8-12). Immediate postoperative CT images showed that the mandible deviation and rotation and occlusion plane canting decreased significantly postoperatively; facial symmetry was improved but still compromised. During the follow-up, the mandible gradually rotated to the affected side, the position of the "new condyle" moved further inside toward the fossa, and both the mandible rotation and facial symmetry were more significantly improved. Within the limitations of the study it seems that for some patients a combination of condylectomy with condylar neck preservation and unilateral mandibular SSRO can be effective in achieving facial symmetry.

The Reliability of Three-Dimensional Landmark-Based Craniomaxillofacial and Airway Cephalometric Analysis.

Cephalometric analysis is a standard diagnostic tool in orthodontics and craniofacial surgery. Today, as conventional 2D cephalometry is limited and susceptible to analysis bias, a more reliable and user-friendly three-dimensional system that includes hard tissue, soft tissue, and airways is demanded in clinical practice. We launched our study to develop such a system based on CT data and landmarks. This study aims to determine whether the data labeled through our process is highly qualified and whether the soft tissue and airway data derived from CT scans are reliable. We enrolled 15 patients (seven males, eight females, 26.47 ± 3.44 years old) diagnosed with either non-syndromic dento-maxillofacial deformities or OSDB in this study to evaluate the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of our system. A total of 126 landmarks were adopted and divided into five sets by region: 28 cranial points, 25 mandibular points, 20 teeth points, 48 soft tissue points, and 6 airway points. All the landmarks were labeled by two experienced clinical practitioners, either of whom had labeled all the data twice at least one month apart. Furthermore, 78 parameters of three sets were calculated in this study: 42 skeletal parameters (23 angular and 19 linear), 27 soft tissue parameters (9 angular and 18 linear), and 9 upper airway parameters (2 linear, 4 areal, and 3 voluminal). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the inter-examiner and intra-examiner reliability of landmark coordinate values and measurement parameters. The overwhelming majority of the landmarks showed excellent intra- and inter-examiner reliability. For skeletal parameters, angular parameters indicated better reliability, while linear parameters performed better for soft tissue parameters. The intra- and inter-examiner ICCs of airway parameters referred to excellent reliability. In summary, the data labeled through our process are qualified, and the soft tissue and airway data derived from CT scans are reliable. Landmarks that are not commonly used in clinical practice may require additional attention while labeling as they are prone to poor reliability. Measurement parameters with values close to 0 tend to have low reliability. We believe this three-dimensional cephalometric system would reach clinical application.

RNA-Seq investigation and in vivo study the effect of strontium ranelate on ovariectomized rat via the involvement of ROCK1.

Strontium ranelate (SrR) is an anti-osteoporosis drug with excellent osteogenic and angiogenic capacity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the osteogenesis and angiogenesis effects of SrR and the underlying mechanism involved. RNA-Seq was conducted to examine the effects of SrR on gene expression in ovariectomy rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (OVX-rBMSCs). To validate the different expressed gene in vitro, the effects of gene interference and overexpression in osteogenic induction environment of OVX-rBMSCs and in primary osteoblasts were studied. RNA-Seq showed that ROCK1 significantly increased after SrR treatment in OVX-rBMSCs, and further validated by real-time PCR and western blotting. Overexpression of ROCK1 promoted osteogenic differentiation of OVX-rBMSCs and induced cell viability and inhibited apoptosis of primary osteoblasts, which was reversed by inhibition of ROCK1 by RNA interference or ROCK1 inhibitor (Y-27632) after SrR treatment. Furthermore, the SrR was loaded on nano-structured hydroxyapatite (nano-HAp) particulates to promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis in repairing of the femoral condyle bone defect using ovariectomy rat model. Taken together, ROCK1 is one of the targets that SrR promotes the osteogenic differentiation of OVX-rBMSCs and cell viability of primary osteoblasts, the nano-HAp particles could act as carriers for SrR to repair bone defects.

Intramuscular injection of bone marrow mononuclear cells contributes to bone repair following midpalatal expansion in rats.

Healing from injury requires the activation and proliferation of stem cells for tissue repair. Previous studies have demonstrated that bone marrow is a central pool of stem cells. The present study aimed to investigate the route undertaken by bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) following BMMC transplantation by masseter injection in a rat model of midpalatal expansion. The rats were divided into five groups according to the types of midpalatal expansion, incision and BMMC transplantation. Samples of midpalatal bone from the rats in each group were used for histological and immunohistochemical assessments to track and evaluate the differential potentials of the transplanted BMMCs in the masseter muscle and midpalatal bone. Bromodeoxyuridine was used as a BMMC tracing label, and M­cadherin was used to detect muscle satellite cells. The BMMCs injected into the masseter were observed, not only in the masseter, but also in the blood vessels and oral mucosa, and enveloped the midpalatal bone. A number of the BMMCs transformed into osteoblasts at the boundary of the neuromuscular bundle, and were embedded in the newly formed bone during midpalatal bone regeneration. The results of the present study suggested that BMMCs entered the circulation and migrated from muscle to the bone tissue, where they were involved in bone repair. Therefore, BMMCs may prove useful in the treatment of various types of cancer.

Dose-dependent Effects of Strontium Ranelate on Ovariectomy Rat Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells.

In clinic, strontium ranelate (SrR) is a useful drug to treat osteoporosis by orally taken method, but some side effect appeared in recent years. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SrR on cells by direct application, to study the possibility of local application of this drug. Qualitative ALP staining, quantitative ALP activity assay, alizarin red staining, realtime PCR and westernblot assay were used to evaluate the osteogenesis ability of SrR under normal or osteogenic induction environment of ovariectomy bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (OVX-BMSCs). The angiogenesis ability of SrR was studied by immunofluorescence staining of CD31 and vWF of OVX-BMSCs under angiogenesis induction environment, transwell, tubeformation and realtime PCR assay of HUVECs. Signaling pathway of PI3K/AKT/mTOR was also studied. The result demonstrated that SrR could enhance proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of OVX-BMSCs. The osteogenesis effect of SrR has been proved by the better performed of ALP activity, alizarin red staining and the remarkable up-regulation of ALP, Col-I, Runx2, OCN, BMP-2, BSP, OPG of the OVX-BMSCs, and reduction of RANKL. In addition, SrR promotes angiogenesis differentiation of both OVX-BMSCs and HUVECs. Higher intensity of immunostaining of CD31 and vWF, better result of transwell and tubeformation assay could be observed in SrR treated group, and increasing mRNA levels of VEGF and Ang-1 in the OVX-BMSCs, VEGF in HUVECs were learnt. Signaling pathway assay showed that PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway was involved in this SrR triggered angiogenesis procedure. The thrombosis marker ET-1, PAI-1 and t-PA were up-regulated, but no significant differences for low concentration (<0.5mM). The concentration between 0.25-0.5mM may be more appropriate for local application, and locally application of SrR could be considered as a promising way for bone regeneration.