The impact of obesity on adult tracheostomy complication rate.

Objectives/hypothesis: Prospectively compare tracheostomy-related complications in obese patients with complications in nonobese patients.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: Adult patients undergoing tracheostomy were studied.

Local neurotoxins for prevention of laryngeal synkinesis after recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

Objectives: Persistent vocal fold motion impairment after recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is not characteristically due to absent reinnervation, but often results from spontaneous aberrant reinnervation (synkinesis). We administered local neurotoxins to selected laryngeal muscles after RLN injury to determine whether aberrant reinnervation could be selectively inhibited.

Methods: Unilateral RLN transection was performed in 24 male rats.

Characterization of laryngeal muscle stem cell survival and proliferation.

Objectives/hypothesis: Laryngeal muscle and skeletal muscle stem cells (MSC) have been shown to differ in physiological basal activity and responsiveness to stimuli. Given these differences, it is the purpose of this investigation to characterize the in vitro proliferation and survival of laryngeal and skeletal MSC to determine whether intrinsic differences exist that may account for differences noted in vivo.

Study Design: Basic science experiment utilizing rat MSC.

Optimization of autologous muscle stem cell survival in the denervated hemilarynx.

Objective: Current treatments for vocal fold paralysis are suboptimal in that they fail to restore dynamic function. Autologous muscle stem cell (MSC) therapy is a promising potential therapy for vocal fold paralysis in that it can attenuate denervation-induced muscle atrophy and provide a vehicle for delivery of neurotrophic factors, thereby potentially selectively guiding reinnervation. The goal of this project was to characterize optimal conditions for injected autologous MSC survival in the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle following recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury by local administration of adjuvant factors.

Reconstitution of the NF1 GAP-related domain in NF1-deficient human Schwann cells.

Schwann cells derived from peripheral nerve sheath tumors from individuals with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) are deficient for the protein neurofibromin, which contains a GAP-related domain (NF1-GRD). Neurofibromin-deficient Schwann cells have increased Ras activation, increased proliferation in response to certain growth stimuli, increased angiogenic potential, and altered cell morphology. This study examined whether expression of functional NF1-GRD can reverse the transformed phenotype of neurofibromin-deficient Schwann cells from both benign and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.