Consensus recommendations on the use of an erbium-doped 1,550-nm fractionated laser and its applications in dermatologic laser surgery.

Background: Nonablative fractional photothermolysis has revolutionized the way we treat a number of common skin conditions with laser technology.

Objective: A comprehensive guide is needed for clinicians using this technology to treat specific skin conditions in various skin types.

Materials And Methods: Recommendations were made from a recent round table discussion among experienced physicians and a review of recent literature findings.

Nogo receptor 1 regulates formation of lasting memories.

Formation of lasting memories is believed to rely on structural alterations at the synaptic level. We had found that increased neuronal activity down-regulates Nogo receptor-1 (NgR1) in brain regions linked to memory formation and storage, and postulated this to be required for formation of lasting memories. We now show that mice with inducible overexpression of NgR1 in forebrain neurons have normal long-term potentiation and normal 24-h memory, but severely impaired month-long memory in both passive avoidance and swim maze tests.

Anti-inflammatory effects in the skin of thymosin-beta4 splice-variants.

The intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) network of T-cell receptor gammadelta+ (Vgamma5+) dendritic epidermal T cells (DETC) in murine skin down-regulates cutaneous inflammation, although the mechanism is unknown. Thymosin-beta4 (Tbeta4), identified by serial analysis of gene expression as a predominant transcript in gut IEL, encodes both a ubiquitous actin-binding protein (UTbeta4) with demonstrated capacity to inhibit neutrophilic infiltration, and a splice-variant limited to lymphoid tissue (LTbeta4) with unknown bioactivity. Freshly isolated Vgamma5+ DETCs expressed both forms, while only LTbeta4 was preferentially up-regulated after cellular activation in vitro.

Tissue engineering skeletal muscle for orthopaedic applications.

With current technology, tissue-engineered skeletal muscle analogues (bioartificial muscles) generate too little active force to be clinically useful in orthopaedic applications. They have been engineered genetically with numerous transgenes (growth hormone, insulinlike growth factor-1, erythropoietin, vascular endothelial growth factor), and have been shown to deliver these therapeutic proteins either locally or systemically for months in vivo. Bone morphogenetic proteins belonging to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily are osteoinductive molecules that drive the differentiation pathway of mesenchymal cells toward the chondroblastic or osteoblastic lineage, and stimulate bone formation in vivo.