Compared to patients without OSAHS or those with mild disease, RNFL thickness was lower in patients with moderate/severe OSAHS. Lowest saturation of oxygen in the moderate/severe OSAHS group correlated with decreased RNFL thickness. Patients with moderate and severe OSAHS are at increased risk for glaucoma.

This long-term study has demonstrated that the RF turbinoplasty for allergic rhinitis appears to be an effective and safe tool for treating allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy.

The study demonstrates that radiofrequency appears to be an effective and safe tool for treating allergic rhinitis with poor response to medical therapy. In the future, radiofrequency has the potential to be one of the most popular surgical modalities for the treatment of allergic rhinitis refractory to medical therapy.

The results of this study demonstrate that, with regular instillation, topical 0.05% atropine is an effective agent for controlling myopia progression in a majority of school-aged children for at least a period of 1 year.

No abstract

High mortality and morbidity rates for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Taiwan primarily result from uncontrolled tumor metastasis. Previous studies have identified that Terminalia catappa leaf extracts (TCE) exert hepatoprotective, antioxidative, antiinflammatory, anticancer, and antimetastatic activities. However, the effects of TCE on HCC and the underlying molecular mechanisms of its activities have yet to be fully elucidated. The present study's findings demonstrate that TCE concentration dependently inhibits human HCC migration/invasion. Zymographic and western blot analyses revealed that TCE inhibited the activities and expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Assessment of mRNA levels, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR, and promoter assays confirmed the inhibitory effects of TCE on MMP-9 expression in HCC cells. The inhibitory effects of TCE on MMP-9 proceeded by upregulating tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), as well as suppressing nuclear translocation and DNA binding activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and activating protein-1 (AP-1) on the MMP-9 promoter in Huh7 cells. In conclusion, TCE inhibits MMP-9 expression and HCC cell metastasis and, thus, has potential use as a chemopreventive agent. Its inhibitory effects are associated with downregulation of the binding activities of the transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1.

Circadian misalignment plays an important role in disease processes and can affect disease severity, treatment outcomes, and even survivorship. In this study, we aim to investigate whether expression and daily oscillation patterns of core circadian clock genes were disturbed in patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea (OSA) syndrome. We performed real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions to examine the expression of the nine core circadian clock genes in leukocytes of peripheral blood collected at 12 AM, 6 AM, 12 PM, and 6 PM from 133 patients with OSA and 11 normal controls. Daily expression patterns of the nine circadian clock genes were observed in normal controls, but three of these genes (BMAL1, CLOCK, CRY2) were disrupted in patients with OSA. The expressions of eight circadian clock genes (except PER1) at midnight were significantly downregulated in patients with severe OSA. Binary logistic regression analysis selected CRY1 and PER3 as independent factors for severe OSA and showed that the combined expressions of CRY1 and PER3 enhanced the capability of predicting severe OSA (Odds ratio, 5.800; 95% CI, 1.978 to 17.004; p = 0.001). Our results show that combined expressions of CRY1 and PER3 at midnight could be a potential predictor for severe OSA.

This study demonstrated an initial increase in diffuse RNFL thickness after a single APAC episode, followed by a subsequent decrease.