The influence of morphological distribution of melanin on parameter selection in laser thermotherapy for vascular skin diseases.

Port wine stains (PWSs) are congenital vascular malformations that progressively darken and thicken with age. Currently, laser therapy is the most effective way in clinical management of PWS. It is known that skin pigmentation (melanin content) affects the radiant exposure that can be safely applied to treat PWS. However, the effect of melanin distribution in the epidermis on the maximum safe radiant exposure has not been studied previously. In this study, 10 different morphological distributions of melanin were proposed according to the formation and migration characteristics of melanin, and the two-scale heat transfer model was employed to investigate the influence of melanin distribution on the threshold radiant exposure of epidermis and blood vessels. The results show that melanin distributions do have a strong effect on laser parameter selection. When uniform melanin distribution is assumed, the threshold radiant exposure to damage a typical PWS blood vessel (50 µm diameter) is 8.62 J/cm2 lower than that to injure epidermis. The optimal pulse duration is 1-5 ms for a typical PWS blood vessel of 50 µm when melanin distribution is taken into consideration. PWS blood vessels covered by non-uniformly distributed melanin are more likely to have poor response to laser treatment.

Formononetin attenuates hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced apoptosis and NF-κB activation in RGC-5 cells.

OBJECTIVES: Diabetic retinopathy is a common diabetic eye disease caused by changes in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Several studies suggest that the oxidative stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy in adults. Formononetin is a flavone with powerful antioxidant properties that exists naturally in various plants and Chinese medicine. In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the antioxidative effects of formononetin on H2O2-induced apoptosis of RGC-5 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Exposure of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to the indicated concentrations of formononetin and H2O2 for 24 h, analyzed by MTT assay. Cells were stained with Annexin V-FITC and PI, analyzed by flow cytometry. And the level of superoxide anions, malondialdehyde (MDA, a marker of lipid peroxidation), 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, indicator of oxidative DNA damage) and MnSOD (manganese superoxide dismutase) activity were measured by kits. RESULTS: Formononetin reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced apoptosis and improved the levels or activity of indicators of oxidative stress. Formononetin also inhibited the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), which is a significant transcription factor for RGC-5 apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Formononetin may be developed as a antioxidant drug to treat diabetic retinopathy.

[Immune functional changes in patients of acute Henoch-Schonlein purpura and regulatory effect of integrated Traditional Chinese and Western medicine on it].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes of immune function in children with acute Henoch-Schonlein purpura (AHSP) and the effects of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine (TCM-WM) on it. METHODS: Immunological criteria in TCM-WM group (n = 35) treated by Yinfu Decoction (YFD) combined with transfer factor and 35 patients in the control group (n = 35) treated by conventional treatment were observed and compared before and after treatment. Also the criteria were compared with those of 40 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Before treatment, the levels of IgA, IgM, CD4, CD4/CD8 ratio, rosette forming rate of RBC-C3b receptor in patients were higher than those in the healthy subjects, but the levels of CD8 was obviously lower, the difference was significant (P < 0.01). The above-mentioned criteria were all improved in the two treated groups after treatment, and the improvement was more significant in the TCM-WM group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Besides, the cure-markedly effective rate in the former was better than that in the latter significantly (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: There exist multiple immune functional disturbance in AHSP patients. Combined treatment of YFD and transfer factor has obvious immune regulatory effect and is an effective therapy with few side-effects and low recurrence rate.