Laser Hair Removal: Comparative Study of Light Wavelength and its Effect on Laser Hair Removal

For some people, hirsuteness (having excess body hair) can be an embarrassing problem. Many attempts have been made to find a solution to these problems, including electrolysis, tweezing, shaving, and waxing. However, most of these solutions are painful, are not useful in treating large areas of skin, or are not permanent. Laser hair removal stands out amongst these other methods as a permanent method of reducing hirsuteness that can cover large areas of the body, such as the chest or the legs. While laser hair removal is a widely used technology, few studies have explored the physical aspects of why it works so well. More specifically, there is a significant lack of computer models that show how temperature profiles look inside the hair and surrounding skin. Using the physical properties and dimensions of hair, we constructed a model of the hair that approximates how actual hair resides in the skin. Using COMSOL Multiphysics, we tested this model with five different lasers of varying wavelengths in order to determine the relationship between laser wavelength and temperature in the hair. Using a laser pulse duration of 0.01 seconds (10 milliseconds), we found a positive correlation between wavelength and temperature, with all wavelengths except the lowest (595 nm) achieving a temperature above the threshold temperature required for hair destruction. In addition, while all lasers caused a temperature rise in the surrounding skin, the extent of thermal damage was minimal. However, since we could not find physical properties of the hair follicle itself, we were forced to approximate those properties using the hair shaft properties, ultimately leading us to treat the follicle and shaft as one entity. This is a slight limitation with our design. Regardless, we have provided a greater understanding of the physiological temperatures involved in hair removal, and have reinforced the fact that laser hair removal can be a safe method and effective method for treating hirsuteness by showing that hair follicles can be heated to a temperature that kill them by using lasers, and that this heating does not severely or irreparably damage surrounding skin

Intrapleural hypotonic cisplatin treatment for malignant pleural effusion in 80 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: a multi-institutional phase II trial

To assess the effect and toxicity of hypotonic cisplatin treatment (HPT) consisting of the intrapleural administration of cisplatin in distilled water for malignant pleural effusion in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Non-small-cell lung cancer patients with cytologically proven and previously untreated malignant pleural effusion were enrolled into this study. Firstly, the lung was fully re-expanded by a tube thoracostomy, and then 25 mg cisplatin in 500 ml of distilled water was instilled through a chest tube and then the tube was clamped. After 1 h, the tube was declamped and allowed to drain. The chest tube was removed when the pleural effusion volume decreased to 200 ml or less per day. A complete response (CR) was considered to occur when the pleural effusion disappeared. A partial response (PR) was determined to occur when the volume of pleural effusion remained under ¼ of hemithorax. The response at 4 weeks was evaluated by an extramural review. Out of 84 patients enrolled from February 1998 to August 2002, 80 patients were eligible and analysed in the present study. The toxicity of HPT was acceptable. Neither a haematological toxicity of any grade nor grade 4 nonhaematological toxicity was observed. Grade 3 nonhaematological toxicities were observed, including nausea (4%), vomiting (3%), pyothorax (1%) and dyspnoea (1%). The median time of drainage from HTP was 4 days. Twenty-seven (34%) and 39 (49%) patients achieved CR and PR, respectively, for an overall response rate of 83% (95% confidence interval, 74–91%). The median duration of the response was 206 days. The median survival time of all patients was 239 days. Hypotonic cisplatin treatment for malignant pleural effusion of NSCLC is therefore considered to be feasible and effective. A phase III study of HPT is thus warranted

Educational Case: Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

The following fictional case is intended as a learning tool within the Pathology Competencies for Medical Education (PCME), a set of national standards for teaching pathology. These are divided into three basic competencies: Disease Mechanisms and Processes, Organ System Pathology, and Diagnostic Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology. For additional information, and a full list of learning objectives for all three competencies, see http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2374289517715040

Educational Case: Thyroid Neoplasms

The following fictional case is intended as a learning tool within the Pathology Competencies for Medical Education (PCME), a set of national standards for teaching pathology. These are divided into three basic competencies: Disease Mechanisms and Processes, Organ System Pathology, and Diagnostic Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology. For additional information, and a full list of learning objectives for all three competencies, see http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2374289517715040

Extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma of the parapharyngeal space with a unique translocation, t(19;22) (q13.4;q12.2)

Extraskeletal Ewing sarcomas of the parapharyngeal space are extremely rare. It has been documented that Ewing sarcomas are morphologically and molecularly indistinguishable regardless of the tissue of origin. Around 85% of Ewing sarcomas are associated with translocation t(11;22)(q24.1;12.2) generating the EWSR1–FLI1 fusion oncoprotein. We report a case of an extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma arising in the parapharyngeal space with a unique translocation: t(19; 22) (q13.4;q12.2). To our knowledge this is the first case of an extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma exhibiting this translocation