Local vibration therapy promotes the recovery of nerve function in rats with sciatic nerve injury.

OBJECTIVE: It has been reported that local vibration therapy can benefit recovery after peripheral nerve injury, but the optimized parameters and effective mechanism were unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of local vibration therapy of different amplitudes on the recovery of nerve function in rats with sciatic nerve injury (SNI). METHODS: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to SNI and then randomly divided into 5 groups: sham group, SNI group, SNI + A-1 mm group, SNI + A-2 mm group, and SNI + A-4 mm group (A refers to the amplitude; n = 10 per group). Starting on the 7th day after model initiation, local vibration therapy was given for 21 consecutive days with a frequency of 10 Hz and an amplitude of 1, 2 or 4 mm for 5 min. The sciatic function index (SFI) was assessed before surgery and on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days after surgery. Tissues were harvested on the 28th day after surgery for morphological, immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: Compared with the SNI group, on the 28th day after surgery, the SFIs of the treatment groups were increased; the difference in the SNI + A-2 mm group was the most obvious (95% confidence interval [CI]: [5.86, 27.09], P < 0.001), and the cross-sectional areas of myocytes in all of the treatment groups were improved. The G-ratios in the SNI + A-1 mm group and SNI + A-2 mm group were reduced significantly (95% CI: [-0.12, -0.02], P = 0.007; 95% CI: [-0.15, -0.06], P < 0.001). In addition, the expressions of S100 and nerve growth factor proteins in the treatment groups were increased; the phosphorylation expressions of ERK1/2 protein in the SNI + A-2 mm group and SNI + A-4 mm group were upregulated (95% CI: [0.03, 0.96], P = 0.038; 95% CI: [0.01, 0.94], P = 0.047, respectively), and the phosphorylation expression of Akt in the SNI + A-1 mm group was upregulated (95% CI: [0.11, 2.07], P = 0.031). CONCLUSION: Local vibration therapy, especially with medium amplitude, was able to promote the recovery of nerve function in rats with SNI; this result was linked to the proliferation of Schwann cells and the activation of the ERK1/2 and Akt signaling pathways.

The clinical manifestation, survival outcome and predictive prognostic factors of 137 patients with primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (PGIL): Strobe compliant.

This retrospective study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in patients with primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (PGIL) of Chinese population.From January 2001 to December 2015, 137 patients diagnosed with PGIL were recruited. The clinical features, treatment, and follow-up information were analysed.The median patient age was 62.3 years. With 18.47 months follow-up, the 2-year progress-free survival and overall survival rate was 74.9% and 75.5%, respectively. The overall response rate was 33.6%. Age≥60 years, advanced Lugano staging (≥stage IIE), elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, ≥2 extra-nodal involved sites, National Comprehensive Cancer Network International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI)≥4, Ki-67≥50% were associated with worse prognosis in univariate analysis (P < .05). By multivariate analyses, we determined that the involvement of extra-nodal involved sites was the only statistically significant poor prognostic factor in PGIL.Age, staging, LDH levels, NCCN-IPI, Ki-67 especially involvement of multiple extra-nodal sites were associated with poor overall survival of PGIL.

Combination of a 2940 nm Er:YAG laser with recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (rb-bFGF) and light-emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) for the treatment of striae alba: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Striae distensae (SD) are a common dermatologic problem that plagues many people. Although there are many therapeutic modalities have been used to treat SD, effective method has been disappointing for striae Alba. AIMS: To evaluate the clinical and histopathologic efficacy and safety of the 2940-nm erbium yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) ablative fractional laser (AFL) with recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (rb-bFGF) and light-emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) for the treatment of striae alba. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty volunteers with striae distensae alba were enrolled. The subjects completed treatments with the 2940-nm Er:YAG AFL 6 times at 4-week intervals. Following this treatment, the subjects were required to spray rb-BFGF for 1 week at home. They then received LED-RL once every 7 days for three sessions between the two laser treatments. Two independent investigators evaluated clinical improvement at pretreatment and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment, patients also provided self-assessments of clinical improvement. Two biopsies were obtained from two subjects, both of the same sites of striae alba, one before the first treatment and one 6 months after the last session. RESULTS: All 30 subjects demonstrated clinical improvement after treatment. Skin biopsies after treatment showed an increase in epidermal thickness, dermal thickness, and collagen and elastin density when compared to that at the baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of the 2940-nm Er:YAG laser with rb-bFGF and LED-RL for the treatment of striae alba was a safe and effective approach for improving the appearance of striae alba.