Int J Med Sci
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Bone Tissue Engineering (BTE) is a field of regenerative medicine continuously improving, thanks to the development of new biomaterials used as grafts or scaffolds for repairing bone defects. In recent years, chitosan, a natural biopolymer extracted mainly from crustacean shells, has demonstrated unique and desirable characteristics for BTE applications, such as: biocompatibility, biodegradability, and osteoconductive behavior. Additionally, the presence of numerous active amine groups in its chemical structure allows it to be easily modified. ⋯ We have demonstrated, in a critical overview, how chitosan-based scaffolds may hold great interest for BTE applications in medical and dental applications. Future research should be focused on the use of chitosan-scaffolds combined with other biomaterials or bioactive molecules, to increase their overall regenerative potential, also in critical-sized defects. In conclusion, chitosan can be considered a promising biomaterial in BTE and clinical dentistry.
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Review
Repeated Low-Level Red-Light Therapy for Controlling Onset and Progression of Myopia-a Review.
Repeated low-level red-light (RLRL), characterized by increased energy supply and cellular metabolism, thus enhancing metabolic repair processes, has gained persistent worldwide attention in recent years as a new novel scientific approach for therapeutic application in myopia. This therapeutic revolution led by RLRL therapy is due to significant advances in bioenergetics and photobiology, for instance, enormous progresses in photobiomodulation regulated by cytochrome c oxidase, the primary photoreceptor of the light in the red to near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, as the primary mechanism of action in RLRL therapy. ⋯ Recent evidence has also suggested that RLRL may inhibit myopia progression by inhibiting spherical equivalent refraction (SER) progression and axial elongation without adverse effects. In this review, we provide scientific evidence for RLRL therapy as a unique paradigm to control myopia and support the theory that targeting neuronal energy metabolism may constitute a major target for the neurotherapeutics of myopia, with emphasis on its molecular, cellular, and nervous tissue levels, and the potential benefits of RLRL therapy for myopia.
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The members of the transmembrane emp24 domain-containing protein (TMED) family are summarized in human as four subfamilies, α (TMED 4, 9), β (TMED 2), γ (TMED1, 3, 5, 6, 7) and δ (TMED 10), with a total of nine members, which are important regulators of intracellular protein transport and are involved in normal embryonic development, as well as in the pathogenic processes of many human diseases. Here we systematically review the composition, structure and function of TMED family members, and describe the progress of TMED family in human diseases, including malignancies (head and neck tumors, lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, urological tumors, osteosarcomas, etc.), immune responses, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, mucin 1 nephropathy (MKD), and desiccation syndrome (SS). Finally, we discuss and prospect the potential of TMED for disease prognosis prediction and therapeutic targeting, with a view to laying the foundation for therapeutic research based on TMED family causative genes.
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Coronary heart disease (CHD) is associated with the development of several diseases. This retrospective population-based cohort study investigated the association between CHD severity and subsequent chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) of varying severity. We used data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. ⋯ Our multivariable analysis demonstrated that the incidence of CRS in the CHD-CABG group was significantly higher than that in the CHD-PCI group (aHR: 1.196, 95% CI: 1.064-1.280, P = 0.0402), but the two groups had similar incidence rates of severe CRS (aHR: 0.795, 95% CI: 0.456-1.388, P = 0.5534). Subgroup analyses revealed that the association between CHD severity and CRS development was more significant among men (P = 0.0016). In conclusion, we determined that severe CHD treated with CABG was associated with a higher incidence of subsequent CRS, and this association was more prominent among men.
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Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels at delivery and postpartum ALT flares among women with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: Pregnant women with CHB from November 2008 to November 2017 were included in this retrospective study. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and a generalized additive model were performed to determine both linear and nonlinear relationships between ALT levels at delivery and postpartum ALT flares. ⋯ The relationship followed an inverted U-shaped curve. Conclusions: The ALT level at delivery was positively correlated with postpartum ALT flares in women with CHB when the ALT level was less than 182.8 U/L. The ALT cutoff (19 U/L) at delivery was more sensitive to predict the risk of ALT flares postpartum.