A 4-Week Straw Phonation in Water Exercise Program for Aging-Related Vocal Fold Atrophy.

Purpose: This study evaluated the efficacy of a 4-week straw phonation in water (SPW) exercise program on aging-related vocal fold atrophy (VFA), with a secondary objective to examine the immediate effects of SPW exercises.

Method: Thirty-eight older adults aged 60 years and above formally diagnosed with aging-related VFA were randomly assigned into an experimental group undergoing SPW exercises with an 8-cm depth of straw submersion into water for 4 weeks plus vocal hygiene practice ( = 20), and a control group with only vocal hygiene practice ( = 18). Outcome measures included laryngeal endoscopic measures of glottal gap, auditory-perceptual ratings of voice quality, acoustic measures, aerodynamic measures, and standardized self-assessment questionnaire scores.

A comparison of the anti-tumor effects of a chimeric versus murine anti-CD19 immunotoxins on human B cell lymphoma and Pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines.

Precursor B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B ALL) affects five to six thousand adults and almost three thousand children every year. Approximately 25% of the children and 60% of the adults die from their disease, highlighting the need for new therapies that complement rather than overlap chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Immunotherapy is a class of therapies where toxicities and mechanisms of action do not overlap with those of chemotherapy.

Chimeric, divalent and tetravalent anti-CD19 monoclonal antibodies with potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity against human B-cell lymphoma and pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines.

CD19 is an attractive therapeutic target for treating human B-cell tumors. In our study, chimeric (c) divalent (cHD37) and tetravalent (cHD37-DcVV) anti-CD19 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were constructed, expressed and evaluated for their binding to human 19-positive (CD19(+)) tumor cell lines. They were also tested for proapoptotic activity and the ability to mediate effector functions.