Biodegradation of poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) patches by human amniotic fluid in an in-vitro simulated fetal environment

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Biodegradation of poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) patches by human amniotic fluid in an in-vitro simulated fetal environment Via leak of cerebrospinal fluid Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 10;12(1):3950. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07681-8. ABSTRACT Open spina bifida or myelomeningocele (MMC) is a devastating neurologic congenital defect characterized by primary failure of neural tube closure of the spinal column during the embryologic period. Cerebrospinal fluid leak caused by the MMC spinal defect in the developing fetus can result in a constellation of encephalic anomalies that include hindbrain herniation and hydrocephalus. The exposure of extruded spinal cord to amniotic fluid also poses a significant risk for inducing partial or complete paralysis of the body parts beneath the spinal aperture by progressive spinal cord damage in-utero. A randomized trial demonstrated that prenatal repair by fetal surgery, sometimes using patches, to cover the exposed spinal cord with a watertight barrier is effective in reducing the postnatal neurologic morbidity as evidenced by decreased incidence and severity of postnatal hydrocephalus and the reduced need for ventricular-peritoneal shunting. Currently, the use of inert or collagen-based patches are associated with high costs and inadequate structural properties. Specifically, the inert patches do not degrade after implantation, causing the need for a post-natal removal surgery associated with trauma for the newborn. Our present study is aimed towards in-vitro degradation studies of a newly designed patch, which potentially can serve as a superior alternative to existing patches for MMC repair. This novel patch was fabricated by blending poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone). The 16-week degradation study in amniotic fluid was focused on tracking changes in crystallinity and mechanical properties. An additional set of designed patches was exposed to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), as a time-paired control. Crystallinity studies indicate the progress of hydrolytic degradation of the patch in both media, with a preference to bulk erosion in ph osphate buffered saline and surface erosion in amniotic fluid. Mechanical testing results establish that patch integrity is not compromised up to 16 weeks of exposure either to body fluids analog (PBS) or to amniotic fluid. PMID:35273223 | PMC:PMC8913814 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-022-07681-8 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Local estrogen for nonsurgical recontouring of auricular cartilage

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Local estrogen for nonsurgical recontouring of auricular cartilage Via Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2022 Feb 18:S1748-6815(22)00073-0. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2022.02.002. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: 5% of children are born with auricular deformities. Permanent recontouring can be achieved through splinting during early infancy. Beyond this time, splinting is ineffective, and patients require surgical correction. Neonatal cartilage malleability is hypothesized to be secondary to retained maternal estrogens, increasing hyaluronic acid concentration. In this article, we evaluate the efficacy of local estrogen treatments for the nonsurgical recontouring of mature auricular cartilage. METHODS: Ears of New Zealand rabbits were folded and splinted and then were randomly assigned to an experimental group, n = 10 (injected estrogen, topical estrogen, saline, or untreated). Treatment ears received injected estrogen or saline twice weekly or topical estrogen daily for 4 weeks. Two weeks post-t reatment, splints were removed, and ear angles were measured. Biopsies were taken for histologic and mechanical analysis, and systemic estrogen levels were assayed. RESULTS: Ear angles stabilized by 9 days post-splinting. Topical estrogen led to a significantly smaller resting angle (121.6° ± 13.5°) compared with saline and control (135.9° ± 11.2° and 145.3° ± 13.0°, respectively). Injected estrogen led to the most pronounced angle decrease (64.5° ± 35.3°). Ears injected with estrogen also showed a significant increase in cartilage thickness. Hyaluronic acid concentration was increased in both estrogen treatment groups compared with saline. At 3 weeks post-treatment, there was no significant differences in the elastic modulus of the cartilage or serum estrogen levels among the groups. CONCLUSION: Results show the potential result of local estrogen treatment to achieve a stable nonsurgical remodeling of mature auricular cartilage. Further study is needed to ev aluate the molecular mechanism and improve the transdermal estrogen delivery to optimize treatment regimen. PMID:35288037 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2022.02.002 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Detection of Vocal Fold Image Obstructions in High-Speed Videoendoscopy During Connected Speech in Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia: A Convolutional Neural Networks Approach

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Detection of Vocal Fold Image Obstructions in High-Speed Videoendoscopy During Connected Speech in Adductor Spasmodic Dysphonia: A Convolutional Neural Networks Approach Via Journal of Voice Adductor spasmodic dysphonia (AdSD) is a neurogenic voice disorder, affecting the intrinsic laryngeal muscle control. AdSD leads to involuntary laryngeal spasms and only reveals during connected speech. Laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) coupled with a flexible fiberoptic endoscope provides a unique opportunity to study voice production and visualize the vocal fold vibrations in AdSD during speech. The goal of this study is to automatically detect instances during which the image of the vocal folds is optically obstructed in HSV recordings obtained during connected speech. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.