Combined Effect of Microneedling and Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Acne Scars: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Microneedling is a promising method for the treatment of acne scars, while the effect of microneedling combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) remains unknown. We performed a meta-analysis of controlled studies to compare the efficacy and safety of microneedling treatment with and without additional PRP in patients with acne scars. METHODS: Randomized and non-randomized controlled studies were identified by search of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane's Library databases. Results were pooled with a random-effects model, incorporating the possible heterogeneity. RESULTS: Four randomized and 10 split-face non-randomized controlled studies with 472 patients were included. Compared to microneedling therapy without PRP, combined treatment with microneedling and PRP was associated with increased odds of clinical improvement of >50% in Goodman's qualitative scale [GQS: odds ratio (OR): 2.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.96-4.51, p < 0.001; I 2 = 0%], and a significantly improved mean GQS score (mean difference: -0.32, 95% CI: -0.44 to -0.20, p < 0.001; I 2 = 0%). Combined treatment was associated with a higher patient satisfying rate (OR: 4.15, 95% CI: 2.13 to 8.09, p < 0.001; I 2 = 53%), while the incidence of severe adverse events such as severe erythema (OR: 1.59, 95% CI:.73 to 3.46, P = 0.24; I 2 = 0%) and severe edema (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.47 to 2.76, P = 0.77; I 2 = 0%) were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment with microneedling with PRP is more effective than microneedling without PRP for patients with acne scars.

Synthesis and Properties of Flexible Polyurethane Using Ferric Catalyst for Hypopharyngeal Tissue Engineering.

Biodegradable polyurethane is an ideal candidate material to fabricate tissue engineered hypopharynx from its good mechanical properties and biodegradability. We thus synthesized a hydrophilic polyurethane via reactions among polyethylene glycol (PEG), e-caprolactone (e-CL) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and thrihydroxymethyl propane (TMP). The product possessed a fast degradability due to its good wettability and good mechanical parameters with the elongations at break (137 ± 10%) and tensile strength (4.73 ± 0.46 MPa), which will make it a good matrix material for soft tissue like hypopharynx. Its biological properties were evaluated via in vitro and in vivo tests. The results showed that this hydrophilic polyurethane material can support hypopharyngeal fibroblast growth and owned good degradability and low inflammatory reaction in subcutaneous implantation. It will be proposed as the scaffold for hypopharyngeal tissue engineering research in our future study.

Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polyurethane for hypopharyngeal tissue engineering.

Biodegradable crosslinked polyurethane (cPU) was synthesized using polyethylene glycol (PEG), L-lactide (L-LA), and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), with iron acetylacetonate (Fe(acac)3) as the catalyst and PEG as the extender. Chemical components of the obtained polymers were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, (1)H NMR spectra, and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC). The thermodynamic properties, mechanical behaviors, surface hydrophilicity, degradability, and cytotoxicity were tested via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile tests, contact angle measurements, and cell culture. The results show that the synthesized cPU possessed good flexibility with quite low glass transition temperature (T g , -22°C) and good wettability. Water uptake measured as high as 229.7 ± 18.7%. These properties make cPU a good candidate material for engineering soft tissues such as the hypopharynx. In vitro and in vivo tests showed that cPU has the ability to support the growth of human hypopharyngeal fibroblasts and angiogenesis was observed around cPU after it was implanted subcutaneously in SD rats.

Long non-coding RNA profiling in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance: potential biomarkers for LSCC.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel transcripts that may play important roles in cancer. Our study aimed to resolve the lncRNA profile of larynx squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and to determine its clinical significance. The global lncRNA expression profile in LSCC tissues was measured by lncRNA microarray. Distinctly expressed lncRNAs were identified and levels of AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 lncRNAs in 87 LSCC samples and paired adjacent normal tissue were analyzed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The clinical significance of these lncRNAs in laryngeal cancer was analyzed and survival data were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to check the diagnostic value. In the lncRNA expression profile of tumor samples, 684 lncRNAs were upregulated and 747 lncRNAs were downregulated (fold-change >2.0). Of these, AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were distinctly dysregulated, with AC026166.2-001 exhibiting lower expression in cancer tissues and RP11-169D4.1-001 higher expression. We verified that both AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were expressed at a lower level in cervical lymph nodes compared with paired laryngeal cancer tissues and paired normal tissues. RP11-169D4.1-001 levels were positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.007). From the survival analysis, decreased levels of AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 were associated with poorer prognosis. The area under the ROC curve was up to 0.65 and 0.67, respectively, and the cut-off point of ΔCt was 11.23 and 10.53, respectively. AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 may act as novel biomarkers in LSCC and may be potential therapeutic targets for LSCC patients. Both AC026166.2-001 and RP11-169D4.1-001 could be independent prognostic factors for survival in LSCC.

Skeletal muscle regeneration on protein-grafted and microchannel-patterned scaffold for hypopharyngeal tissue engineering.

In the field of tissue engineering, polymeric materials with high biocompatibility like polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid have been widely used for fabricating living constructs. For hypopharynx tissue engineering, skeletal muscle is one important functional part of the whole organ, which assembles the unidirectionally aligned myotubes. In this study, a polyurethane (PU) scaffold with microchannel patterns was used to provide aligning guidance for the seeded human myoblasts. Due to the low hydrophilicity of PU, the scaffold was grafted with silk fibroin (PU-SF) or gelatin (PU-Gel) to improve its cell adhesion properties. Scaffolds were observed to degrade slowly over time, and their mechanical properties and hydrophilicities were improved through the surface grafting. Also, the myoblasts seeded on PU-SF had the higher proliferative rate and better differentiation compared with those on the control or PU-Gel. Our results demonstrate that polyurethane scaffolds seeded with myoblasts hold promise to guide hypopharynx muscle regeneration.