Impaired blood flow of optic nerve head in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome.

This study prospectively analysed the difference in the blood flow of the optic nerve head (ONH) between patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) and control subjects by laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG), and determined the correlations between LSFG variables and the severity of OSA. A total of 100 participants consecutively underwent full-night polysomnography, ophthalmologic examinations, and LSFG measurements. The LSFG parameters were summarised as the mean blur rate in all areas of the ONH (MA), in the big vessel area of ONH (MV), and in the tissue area of ONH (MT).

Effects of multilevel OSA surgery on patients with poor cardiopulmonary performance: A prospective pilot study.

Objective: Multilevel airway surgery for obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) has benefits in improving sleep quality, but its effect on polysomnography (PSG) and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) parameters, including walking distance and cardiopulmonary performance, in patients with poor pre-operative cardiopulmonary performance remains understudied, which should be further investigated.

Methods: This prospective pilot study enrolled 27 consecutive OSA patients with poor pre-operative 6MWT results. All patients received multilevel OSA surgery, and the alterations of sleep parameters and 6MWT profiles were studied.

Dysregulated neuroimmune interactions and sustained type I interferon signaling after human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection of human iPSC derived microglia and cerebral organoids.

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) affects up to half of HIV-1 positive patients with long term neurological consequences, including dementia. There are no effective therapeutics for HAND because the pathophysiology of HIV-1 induced glial and neuronal functional deficits in humans remains enigmatic. To bridge this knowledge gap, we established a model simulating HIV-1 infection in the central nervous system using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived microglia combined with sliced neocortical organoids.

Minimally invasive, single-stage, multilevel surgery for obstructive sleep apnoea: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Minimally invasive, single-staged multilevel surgery (MISS MLS) could be an optimal treatment for selected patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We aim to systematically review the efficacy of MISS MLS for patients with OSA, as well as the clinical outcomes and possible complications in OSA patients before and after MISS MLS.

Design And Setting: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Inflammatory biomarkers of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios in 563 severe OSA patients before and after surgery.

Background: Evidence has proved that high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were risk factors for cardiovascular comorbidities. The alterations of NLR and PLR following obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment were under studied and thus should be investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the changes of inflammatory biomarkers including NLR and PLR in severe OSA patients after surgical interventions of the upper airway, and their relationships with improvements in polysomnographic (PSG) parameters.

COVID-related dysphonia and persistent long-COVID voice sequelae: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Dysphonia is a common symptom due to the coronavirus disease of the 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Nonetheless, it is often underestimated for its impact on human's health. We conducted this first study to investigate the global prevalence of COVID-related dysphonia as well as related clinical factors during acute COVID-19 infection, and after a mid- to long-term follow-up following the recovery.

Homocysteine Levels in Severe OSA Patients Before and After TORS-OSA Surgery.

Objective: The increased risk of cardiovascular diseases owing to a high level of serum homocysteine has been widely reported. Literature has demonstrated that patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) had a higher homocysteine level than control group. This study aimed to investigate the alteration of serum homocysteine levels in severe OSA patients receiving transoral robotic surgery (TORS).

Is Postextubation Dysphagia Underestimated in the Era of COVID-19? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the incidence rate of postextubation dysphagia (PED) in patients with COVID-19, as well as relative factors potentially influencing the clinical course of dysphagia.

Data Sources: Six databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Web of Science were searched with no restriction on the language.

Review Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed.

Decreased Peripapillary and Macular Vascular Densities in Patients with Moderate/Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome.

Purpose: To compare peripapillary and macular vascular densities (PVDs and MVDs) between patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) and control subjects with symptoms of sleep-related breathing disorders only by swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Participants And Methods: In this prospective study, 192 participants underwent a full-night polysomnography to determine OSA severity and subsequently received OCTA measurements as well as AngioTool software analysis.

Results: A total of 146 patients with OSA (51 mild, 43 moderate, 52 severe) and 24 control subjects (apnea/hypopnea index, AHI <5) were enrolled.

Zbtb20 identifies and controls a thymus-derived population of regulatory T cells that play a role in intestinal homeostasis.

The expression of BTB-ZF transcription factors such as ThPOK in CD4 T cells, Bcl6 in T follicular helper cells, and PLZF in natural killer T cells defines the fundamental nature and characteristics of these cells. Screening for lineage-defining BTB-ZF genes led to the discovery of a subset of T cells that expressed Zbtb20. About half of Zbtb20 T cells expressed FoxP3, the lineage-defining transcription factor for regulatory T cells (T).

Alterations of Ocular Surface and Tear Film in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) results in repeated oxygen desaturation, repeated arousals, and episodic nocturnal activation of sympathetic nervous system during sleep. Untreated OSA is strongly associated with an increase of cardio- and cerebrovascular disorders, as well as the damages of ophthalmological microstructures. However, previous literature only simply studied the association between the ophthalmic disorders and OSA.

Effects of TORS-OSA Surgery on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, Overactive Bladder Symptoms, and Nocturia in Male Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome.

Objective: To determine the presence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms in men with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) and the effects of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for the treatment of OSA on these conditions.

Materials And Methods: One hundred twenty-three patients with a diagnosis of OSA were prospectively enrolled. The evaluations of LUTS and OAB symptoms were based on self-administered questionnaires containing international prostate symptom score (IPSS) and OAB symptom score (OABSS), respectively.

OSA Treatment on Cardio- and Cerebrovascular Comorbidities: A Long-term Nationwide Cohort Study.

Objective: To compare the cardio- and cerebrovascular outcomes and survival rates of surgical and nonsurgical interventions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on a national population-based database.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

H3K23/H3K36 hypoacetylation and HDAC1 up-regulation are associated with adverse consequences in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

The aim of this study is to determine the roles of global histone acetylation (Ac)/methylation (me), their modifying enzymes, and gene-specific histone enrichment in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Global histone modifications, and their modifying enzyme expressions were assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 56 patients with OSA and 16 matched subjects with primary snoring (PS). HIF-1α gene promoter-specific H3K36Ac enrichment was assessed in another cohort (28 OSA, 8 PS).

Eligibility for live, interactive otolaryngology telemedicine: 19-Month experience before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan.

Background: Unequal access to healthcare is a global medical problem. Telemedicine, recently made possible by technological advances, may mitigate this inequity. However, the usefulness of telemedicine for procedure-driven disciplines, such as otolaryngology, under infectious conditions (e.

Strongyloides stercoralis and HTLV-1 coinfection in CD34+ cord blood stem cell humanized mice: Alteration of cytokine responses and enhancement of larval growth.

Viral and parasitic coinfections are known to lead to both enhanced disease progression and altered disease states. HTLV-1 and Strongyloides stercoralis are co-endemic throughout much of their worldwide ranges resulting in a significant incidence of coinfection. Independently, HTLV-1 induces a Th1 response and S.

Neonatal mortality among outborn versus inborn babies.

Background: Most previous studies reported there were higher survival rates if low birth weight babies were born in tertiary perinatal centers (inborn) than elsewhere (outborn). The objective of this study is to examine whether the number and ratio of outborn babies decrease and the neonatal mortality differs between inborn and outborn babies.

Methods: We used the pooled data of the Taiwan Clinical Effectiveness Index for the years 2011-2016 obtained from the Joint Commission of Taiwan to study the outborn/inborn number and neonatal mortality rate.

Transoral robotic OSA surgery.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the primary treatment of obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA). Most sleep physicians are in agreement that a certain number of OSA patients cannot or will not use CPAP. Although other conservative therapies such as oral appliance, sleep hygiene and sleep positioning may help some of these patients, there are many who fail all conservative treatments.

A novel algorithm to predict oxygen desaturation in sedated patients with obstructive sleep apnea utilizing polysomnography: A STROBE-compliant article.

This retrospective study aimed at identifying the predictors of oxygen desaturation (OD) (i.e., SpO2 < 95%) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) requiring deep sedation and developing an algorithm to predict OD.

Computer-Assisted Quantitative Analysis of Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome.

Objectives: To use computer-assisted quantitative measurements of upper airway changes during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and to correlate these parameters with disease severities and physiologic changes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA).

Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary academic medical center.