Fallopian canal arachnoid cyst with acute facial nerve paralysis in children: a report of two cases and literature review

IntroductionSymptoms induced by arachnoid cysts in the fallopian canal are uncommon, and facial nerve paralysis without cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea is comparatively rarer.MethodsHerein, we present two cases of arachnoid cysts in the fallopian canal with acute severe facial nerve paralysis and review the relevant literature.ResultsThe symptoms and imaging findings of these two cases resembled those of facial nerve schwannomas. Cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea occurred upon removal of the arachnoid cyst, and the facial nerve was observed to be separated into multiple filaments or compressed and atrophied. Facial-hypoglossal nerve anastomosis and decompression were conducted after packing the dehiscence of cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea for the two cases.ConclusionArachnoid cysts of the fallopian canal rarely cause facial nerve paralysis. Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is vital for differentiating schwannomas. Different treatment strategies should be adopted for patients with different degrees of facial nerve paralysis; however, concurrent repair of cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea and facial nerves during surgery can occasionally be challenging

Role of corticotropin-releasing hormone in the impact of chronic stress during pregnancy on inducing depression in male offspring mice

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Brain Research on 30/07/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2020.147029 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 81773452).Published versio

Measuring health-related quality of life in chronic otitis media in a Chinese population: cultural adaption and validation of the Zurich Chronic Middle Ear Inventory (ZCMEI-21-Chn)

Background: The demand for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic otitis media (COM) is increasing globally. The currently available Chinese-language patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) specific for COM includes merely a limited range of related symptoms and dimensions. Hence, in this study, we aim to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Zurich Chronic Middle Ear Inventory (ZCMEI-21) in Chinese, to enable a comprehensive evaluation of the patients' subjective health outcome in COM. Methods: We sampled and surveyed 223 COM patients at three tertiary referral centers in China, using the Chinese translation of ZCMEI-21 (ZCMEI-21-Chn) and the EQ-5D questionnaire, a generic measure of HRQoL. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to investigate the structural model fit to the dataset. Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability coefficient were calculated to establish reliability, and correlation was tested between ZCMEI-Chn scores and EQ-5D scores for convergent validity. Results: A total of 208 adult patients with COM were included, with a mean age of 46 years (SD 14 years) and a male proportion of 41% (85/208). A modified bifactor model with ωH of 0.65 and ECV of 0.47 was found to fit the scale scores, indicating fair general factor saturation and multidimensionality of the instrument. ZCMEI-21-Chn demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.88, test-retest reliability = 0.88). The total scores of ZCMEI-21-Chn had a moderate correlation with a question directly addressing HRQoL (r = 0.40, p < 0.001), EQ-5D descriptive system score (r = 0.57, p < 0.001), and EQ-5D visual analogous scale (r = 0.30, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The ZCMEI-21-Chn is valid, reliable and culturally adapted to Chinese adult patients with COM. This study offers clinicians an efficient and comprehensive instrument to quantify COM patients' self-reported health outcomes, which could facilitate the standardization of HRQoL data aggregation in COM on a global scale

Transcript Profiles of Stria Vascularis in Models of Waardenburg Syndrome

Background. Waardenburg syndrome is an uncommon genetic condition characterized by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies. However, the genetic pathway affecting the development of stria vascularis is not fully illustrated. Methods. The transcript profile of stria vascularis of Waardenburg syndrome was studied using Mitf-M mutant pig and mice models. Therefore, GO analysis was performed to identify the differential gene expression caused by Mitf-M mutation. Results. There were 113 genes in tyrosine metabolism, melanin formation, and ion transportations showed significant changes in pig models and 191 genes in mice models. In addition, there were some spice’s specific gene changes in the stria vascularis in the mouse and porcine models. The expression of tight junction-associated genes, including Cadm1, Cldn11, Pcdh1, Pcdh19, and Cdh24 genes, were significantly higher in porcine models compared to mouse models. Vascular-related and ion channel-related genes in the stria vascularis were also shown significantly difference between the two species. The expression of Col2a1, Col3a1, Col11a1, and Col11a2 genes were higher, and the expression of Col8a2, Cd34, and Ncam genes were lower in the porcine models compared to mouse models. Conclusions. Our data suggests that there is a significant difference on the gene expression and function between these two models

Microfluidic assay of circulating endothelial cells in coronary artery disease patients with angina pectoris - Fig 4

<p>(<b>A</b>) Immunofluorescence staining of isolated CECs. Captured CECs (DAPI⁺/CD146⁺/VEGFR1⁺/CD45^-) can be clearly observed at the single cell level, together with residuary leukocytes (DAPI⁺/CD45⁺). (<b>B</b>) Comparative CECs counts among HC group, CSA group and UA group. Data are expressed as the median with IQRs. (<b>C</b>) Comparative CEC counts with increasing TIMI UA/NSTEMI risk score. Data are expressed as the median with IQRs. P-value referred to the results of Mann-Whitney test between groups. Scale bar, 20μm.</p

Baseline characteristics and CEC count for the three comparison groups.

<p>Baseline characteristics and CEC count for the three comparison groups.</p

Calculation of risk score using the TIMI NSTEMI/UA system.

<p>Calculation of risk score using the TIMI NSTEMI/UA system.</p

Correlations between CEC count and typical cardiac biomarkers.

<p>Spearman rank correlation coefficient (<i>ρ</i>) was used to assessed the correlation between CEC counts in CAD patients with angina pectoris and each initial presenting serum cardiac biomarkers. (<b>A</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and cTnI value (<i>ρ</i> = 0.01, <i>p</i> = 0.987). (<b>B</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and AST value (<i>ρ</i> = 0.02, <i>p</i> = 0.910). (<b>C</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and LDH value (<i>ρ</i> = 0.15, <i>p</i> = 0.271). (<b>D</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and CK value (<i>ρ</i> = 0.18, <i>p</i> = 0.181). (<b>E</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and CK-MB value (<i>ρ</i> = -0.14, <i>p</i> = 0.326). (<b>F</b>) No correlation was observed between CEC count and α-HBDH value (<i>ρ</i> = 0.17, <i>p</i> = 0.212).</p

Size distribution of HUVECs.

<p>Min: 16.8μm, max: 35.3μm, mean: 24.0μm, SD: 3.2μm, skewness: -0.072 and kurtosis: 0.882.</p