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Innate immunity provides the initial response against pathogens and includes the inflammatory response. Regulation of the initiation and duration of neutrophil and mononuclear cell influx during inflammation determines both the successfulness of pathogen elimination and the level of resulting tissue damage. Zebrafish embryos provide excellent opportunities to visualize the inflammatory response. Neutrophil granules may be stained with Sudan black, and variation in neutrophil counts may be used to monitor the level of the response. Inflammation may be triggered by injuring the caudal fin, providing an opportunity for testing possible anti-inflammatory compounds in a whole-animal system. The use of homeopathic compounds as anti-inflammatory treatments is common in alternative medicine. Effects of unfractionated essential oil from Thymus vulgaris and its specific component, carvacrol, have been examined in cells in culture and in rodents. Our work extends this research to zebrafish, and includes toxicity and morphological studies as well as examination of anti-inflammatory effects following tail fin injury. Our results show that zebrafish are more sensitive to thyme oil compared to cells in culture, that cardiac defects arise due to thyme oil treatment, and that thyme oil reduces neutrophil infiltration during an inflammatory response.

NA Laryngoscope, 2018.

12085 Background: The majority of the 17 million individuals living with a cancer diagnosis in the United States have experienced pain, either from the disease itself or from its treatment. Pain negatively impacts psychosocial quality of life and is associated with poorer overall outcome. However, the impact of pain on daily living differ among cancer survivors, and there is a paucity of research on chronic pain, especially high-impact chronic pain (HICP) in this growing population. We estimated the prevalence of chronic pain, and HICP among cancer survivors, and described the association between depression and these outcomes. Methods: This study used data from the 2015-2017 National Health Interview Survey. Outcomes of interest were chronic pain, defined as pain on most days or every day in the past six months, and HICP, defined as chronic pain that limited life or work activities on most days or every day during the past six months. Weighted, adjusted multivariable logistic regressions estimated association between depression and chronic pain and HICP among cancer survivors, while controlling for age, gender, marital status, education, employment, health insurance, smoking status, number of doctor’s visit, general health, and comorbidities. Results: Among 49,326 survey respondents, 11.7% (n = 5,335) had a cancer diagnosis. An estimated 43.6% of cancer survivors reported chronic pain; and 19.2% reported HICP. We found an association between depression and both chronic pain and HICP in unadjusted analyses. In the adjusted models, cancer survivors depressed within the last month had more than double the odds of reporting both chronic pain (aOR = 2.32; 95% CI 1.75, 3.07) and HICP (aOR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.50, 3.01). Other factors associated with both chronic pain and HICP among cancer survivors included being a current smoker (aORchronic pain = 1.63; 95% CI 1.14, 2.34; aORHICP = 1.83; 95% CI 1.18, 2.84) and being unemployed (aORchronic pain = 1.44; 95% CI 1.10,1.90; aORHICP = 3.10; 95% CI: 2.00−4.81). Cancer survivors with ≥2 comorbidities also had 55% increased odds of reporting chronic pain (aOR = 1.55; 95% CI 1.17,2.04) compared with those without comorbidities. Conclusions: Over 40% of cancer survivors may have a history of chronic pain, and survivors reporting being depressed are significantly more likely to report both chronic pain and HICP. The association between depression and pain in cancer survivors calls for personalized management of chronic pain, especially in cancer survivors with a history of depression.