Clinical evaluation of a new fractional ablative 2910 nm erbium laser on photodamaged skin: A pilot study.

Objective: To examine the efficacy and safety of a new fractional, ablative erbium:glass fiber (Er:glass) laser (2910 nm) at improving clinical signs of photodamaged skin.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-seven healthy participants aged 38-75 years with photodamaged skin were enrolled into two treatment groups. Group A (n = 14) received up to four laser treatments with mild settings, and focal facial subunits were treated with deeper settings.

Eccentric Versus Concentric Exercises in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: A Randomized Comparative Study.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of concentric vs. eccentric exercise in improving shoulder function, pain, and tendon characteristics for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Methods: Forty patients with rheumatoid arthritis and rotator cuff tendinopathy were divided into either concentric or eccentric exercise groups, with 20 patients in each group.

Sparsity-based method for ring artifact elimination in computed tomography.

Ring artifact elimination is one of the popular problems in computed tomography (CT). It appears in the reconstructed image in the form of bright or dark patterns of concentric circles. In this paper, based on the compressed sensing theory, we propose a method for eliminating the ring artifact during the image reconstruction.

Safety and Efficacy of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Treatment of Seborrheic Keratoses.

Background: Nanosecond pulsed electric field technology (also known as Nano-Pulse Stimulation or NPS) is a nonthermal, drug-free, energy-based technology that has demonstrated effects on cellular structures of the dermis and epidermis in previous clinical studies.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single NPS treatment for clearing seborrheic keratoses (SKs).

Materials And Methods: This study was a prospective, randomized, open-label, multisite, nonsignificant risk trial in which each subject served as their own control.

Safety and Efficacy of Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Treatment of Sebaceous Gland Hyperplasia.

Background: Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) technology involves delivery of ultrashort pulses of electrical energy and is a nonthermal, drug-free technology that has demonstrated favorable effects on cellular structures of the dermis and epidermis.

Objective: Determine the tolerability and effectiveness of nsPEF treatment of sebaceous gland hyperplasia (SGH).

Methods: This study was a prospective, randomized, open-label, multisite, nonsignificant risk trial in which each subject served as their own control.

Fast-adapting mechanoreceptors are important for force control in precision grip but not for sensorimotor memory.

Sensory feedback from cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the fingertips is important in effective object manipulation, allowing appropriate scaling of grip and load forces during precision grip. However, the role of mechanoreceptor subtypes in these tasks remains incompletely understood. To address this issue, psychophysical tasks that may specifically assess function of type I fast-adapting (FAI) and slowly adapting (SAI) mechanoreceptors were used with object manipulation experiments to examine the regulation of grip force control in an experimental model of graded reduction in tactile sensitivity (healthy volunteers wearing 2 layers of latex gloves).

Peripheral Innervation in Children With Global Developmental Delay: Biomarker for Risk for Self-Injurious Behavior?

The relation between somatosensory mechanisms and self-injury among children with neurologic impairments associated with developmental delay is not well understood. We evaluated the feasibility of procuring skin biopsies to examine epidermal nerve fiber density and reported self-injury. Following informed parental consent, epidermal skin biopsies were obtained from a distal leg site with no pre-existing skin damage from 11 children with global developmental delay (55% male; mean age = 36.

Postganglionic sudomotor denervation in patients with multiple system atrophy.

Objective: To evaluate postganglionic autonomic involvement in multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Methods: We quantified sudomotor innervation in skin biopsy of 29 patients with MSA (19 male and 10 female; age 60.0 ± 7.

Enlarged vestibular aqueduct in congenital non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss in egypt.

To estimate the frequency of isolated enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) in patients with non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in an Egyptian population sample and to correlate its size with the degree of hearing loss. The study group comprised 16 patients (32 ears) suffering from non-syndromic SNHL since childhood. After a complete basic audiological evaluation, all patients were submitted to non contrast CT scan of the petrous bone in both axial & coronal planes.

Variation in quantitative sensory testing and epidermal nerve fiber density in repeated measurements.

Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is commonly used to evaluate peripheral sensory function in neuropathic conditions. QST measures vary in repeated measurements of normal subjects but it is not known whether QST can reflect small changes in epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFd). This study evaluated QST measures (touch, mechanical pain, heat pain and innocuous cold sensations) for differences between genders and over time using ENFd as an objective-independent measure.

A randomized, controlled, open-label study of the long-term effects of NGX-4010, a high-concentration capsaicin patch, on epidermal nerve fiber density and sensory function in healthy volunteers.

Unlabelled: Desensitization of nociceptive sensory nerve endings is the basis for the therapeutic use of capsaicin in neuropathic pain syndromes. This study evaluated the pharmacodynamic effects of a single 60-minute application of NGX-4010, a high-concentration (8% w/w) capsaicin patch, on both thighs of healthy volunteers. Epidermal nerve fiber (ENF) density and quantitative sensory testing (QST) using thermal, tactile, and sharp mechanical-pain (pinprick) stimuli were evaluated 1, 12 and 24 weeks after capsaicin exposure.

Sensory deficit in Parkinson's disease: evidence of a cutaneous denervation.

Sensory disturbances are part of the clinical picture of Parkinson's disease. Abnormalities in sensory processing, through a basal ganglia involvement, are thought to be responsible for the sensory dysfunction since sensory nerve conduction velocity (NCV) is usually normal. However, NCV does not examine small fibres or terminal endings of large sensory fibres, whereas skin biopsy is more suitable for these purposes.

Stimulated growth of human and pig epidermal nerve fibers by tape stripping.

Nerve growth studies in adults usually rely upon nerve regeneration that follows axon disruption. In this study elongation of the epidermal nerve fibers occurred in human and pig epidermis stimulated to hypertrophy by removing the stratum corneum with repetitive applications of tape (tape stripping). Epidermal thickening was accompanied by elongation of the epidermal nerve fibers.

Light patch: preliminary report of a novel form of blue light delivery for the treatment of actinic keratosis.

Objective: To evaluate a novel light patch formulated for blue light delivery and topical activation of gamma-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) during photodynamic therapy for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK).

Materials And Methods: Ten volunteers with past unsuccessful treatment of AK were enrolled. Areas with AK lesions were treated with 20% ALA (Levulan) for an incubation period of 1 hour.

Confocal microscopy study of nerves and blood vessels in untreated and treated port wine stains: preliminary observations.

Background And Objective: Vascular ectasia in port wine stain birthmarks (PWS) might result from reduced innervation with loss of autonomic stimulation. We investigated this theory and evaluated nerve and blood vessel density, and mean blood vessel size in untreated and treated PWS skin.

Methods: Skin biopsy specimens were obtained from uninvolved skin, untreated PWS, PWS with a good response to laser treatment and PWS with a poor response to laser treatment.