Am J Otolaryngol
February 2025
Objective: Across social media, nocturnal mouth-taping has been credited with benefits from increased energy and immunity to improved dental health. This scoping review summarizes the literature on mouth-taping and prominent social media claims pertaining to this practice.
Data Sources: PubMed and Embase were searched using terms related to nocturnal mouth-taping.
Background: Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the spine is a rare sequela of chronic sickle cell disease (SCD) in which the shape of the sickled red blood cells interfere with the normal vascular supply of vertebral bodies. In this report, the authors describe a case of progressive spinal AVN treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and kyphoplasty for the patient's persistent lower back pain.
Observations: A 38-year-old male with long-standing spinal AVN due to SCD had been managed conservatively with hydroxyurea and oral opioid analgesics for several years until breakthrough episodes of low-back pain began to occur with an inability to perform activities of daily life.
Definitive diagnoses in neuro-oncology often require invasive procedures, such as surgical biopsies to obtain tissue for histopathologic and molecular interrogation. Patients with small lesions that may respond to nonsurgical treatments, such as chemoradiation, may nevertheless undergo surgery with potential risks to obtain diagnostic tissue. A means for noninvasively obtaining diagnostic information from brain tumors may improve patient care by limiting the need for surgery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) encompasses techniques guided by the tenets of osteopathy aimed at facilitating the body's natural self-healing capabilities as a treatment option for injury or illness. This approach recognizes the interrelationship of structure and function in promoting overall health. The clinical applications of OMM have been highly researched throughout different subspecialties of medicine; however, there is a notable lack of osteopathic-based research targeted toward neurosurgical patient populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Eagle syndrome is characterized by an elongated styloid process, which can cause acute neurological symptoms when the projection impinges on local structures. One method by which Eagle syndrome can cause acute stroke is via internal carotid artery dissection.
Observations: A patient presented with acute aphasia and right-arm weakness.
Background: Treatment of patients with newly diagnosed HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) results in a high rate of 5-year recurrence free survival with few patients requiring adjuvant treatment. We hypothesized that NAC enhances primary tumor HPV-specific T cell responses.
Methods: HPV-specific responses in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) before and after NAC were determined using autologous co-culture assays.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic mucosal inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is associated with extracellular acidification of mucosal tissue. Several extracellular pH-sensing receptors, including G protein-coupled receptor 4 (GPR4), play an important role in the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses, and GPR4 deficiency has been shown to be protective in IBD animal models. To confirm the therapeutic potential of GPR4 antagonism in IBD, we tested Compound 13, a selective GPR4 antagonist, in the interleukin 10-/- mouse model of colitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe noise produced by the inspiral of millions of white dwarf binaries in the Milky Way may pose a threat to one of the main goals of the space-based LISA mission: the detection of massive black hole binary mergers. We present a novel study for reconstruction of merger waveforms in the presence of Galactic confusion noise using dictionary learning. We discuss the limitations of untangling signals from binaries with total mass from 10^{2} M_{⊙} to 10^{4} M_{⊙}.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThrombotic strokes are caused by occlusion of flow in a blood vessel by a clot or thrombus, resulting in disruption of oxygen and nutrients to the brain that can result in neurological deficits. There are many devices now available for safe and effective removal of thrombi from large blood vessels. This report focuses on the Zoom 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurointerv Surg
September 2023
Background: We report the largest multicenter experience to date of utilizing the Comaneci device for endovascular treatment of refractory intracranial vasospasm.
Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing Comaneci mechanical dilatation for vasospasm were extracted from prospectively maintained registries in 11 North American centers (2020-2022). Intra-arterial vasodilators (IAV) were allowed, with the Comaneci device utilized after absence of vessel dilation post-infusion.
Unlabelled: COVID-19 emergency use authorizations and approvals for vaccines were achieved in record time. However, there remains a need to develop additional safe, effective, easy-to-produce, and inexpensive prevention to reduce the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection. This need is due to difficulties in vaccine manufacturing and distribution, vaccine hesitancy, and, critically, the increased prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with greater contagiousness or reduced sensitivity to immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can reduce the risk of hospitalization from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) when administered early. However, SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) have negatively affected therapeutic use of some authorized mAbs. Using a high-throughput B cell screening pipeline, we isolated LY-CoV1404 (bebtelovimab), a highly potent SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein receptor binding domain (RBD)-specific antibody.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Warthin's tumor, also known as papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum, is one of the most common benign salivary gland neoplasms. The current first-line treatment for Warthin's tumor is parotidectomy. However, surgical resection has the risk of complications including facial nerve weakness and Frey's syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Platinum and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy with surgery (NAC + S) is a novel de-intensified treatment modality that is currently under investigation.
Methods: All patients treated for HPV positive OPSCC with NAC + S at a single institution between 2006 and 2020 were contacted to complete the University of Washington Quality of life questionnaire (UW-QOL) at least 2 years following the completion of treatment.
Results: The UW-QOL surveys were received from 25 of 48 eligible patients (52.
We have previously shown that DNA vaccines expressing codon optimized alphavirus envelope glycoprotein genes protect both mice and nonhuman primates from viral challenge when delivered by particle-mediated epidermal delivery (PMED) or intramuscular (IM) electroporation (EP). Another technology with fewer logistical drawbacks is disposable syringe jet injection (DSJI) devices developed by PharmaJet, Inc. These needle-free jet injection systems are spring-powered and capable of delivering vaccines either IM or into the dermis (ID).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Office-based procedures in otolaryngology are increasingly utilized to increase efficiency, reduce cost, and eliminate risks associated with surgery. Gland-preserving surgical management of sialadenitis and sialolithiasis are often performed in the operating room, although many surgeons are moving this practice to clinic. We aim to determine the difference in patient charges and perioperative outcomes for salivary gland procedures performed in the clinic versus the OR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The present study was aimed at determining common causes of sialendoscopy device malfunctions and identifying a uniform algorithm to manage device failures.
Materials And Methods: The FDA Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database was searched for various keywords related to sialendoscopy. Reports between the dates of December 1, 2009 to March 31, 2020 were downloaded for review and included in the study.
Purpose: The present study was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple rapid technique for de-epithelializing cutaneous flaps and grafts in parotidectomy reconstruction.
Materials And Methods: 109 patients who underwent a parotidectomy with abdominal free dermal fat graft (FDFG) reconstruction between 2018 and 2021 were evaluated based on demographic factors, past medical/surgical history, type of parotidectomy performed, operative factors, and post-operative complications. These data were then stratified based on de-epithelialization technique as well as tumor malignancy status to determine any differences in complication rates or perioperative factors between electrocautery (EC) and cold knife (CK) techniques within both benign and malignant subgroups.
Severe meningitis, especially basilar meningitis, can lead to hydrocephalus requiring external ventricular drain (EVD) placement. There are differences in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from an EVD compared to a lumbar puncture (LP). Hence, it becomes difficult to compare LP and EVD samples for diagnosis and monitoring of meningitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate 2-year follow-up swallowing function in patients with human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+ OPSCC) who completed neoadjuvant chemotherapy and transoral robotic surgery (NAC+S).
Study Design: Retrospective analysis of patients with OPSCC treated with NAC+S between 2010 and 2021.
Setting: A single academic institution.
Significance: The human vocal fold (VF) oscillates in multiple vectors and consists of distinct layers with varying viscoelastic properties that contribute to the mucosal wave. Office-based and operative laryngeal endoscopy are limited to diagnostic evaluation of the VF epithelial surface only and are restricted to axial-plane characterization of the horizontal mucosal wave. As such, understanding of the biomechanics of human VF motion remains limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEar-nose-throat (ENT) manifestations are among the most frequently observed clinical features of systemic illnesses. The patients often present with overt findings of head and neck lesions such as salivary gland swelling or lymphadenopathy. In contrast, patients may present with covert findings of auditory, nasal, and laryngeal symptoms that are less obvious and are often overlooked.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur annual summer shadowing program for preclinical medical students faced significant challenges due to COVID-19-related safety and resource concerns during Summer 2020. We created a pilot 7-week virtual shadowing program with the goal of providing virtual observational clinical experiences to increase students' clinical exposure and understanding of medical specialties. Faculty and preclinical medical students were matched via student preference selection and mentor availability.
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