This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of sea buckthorn oil patches in treating traumatic tympanic membrane (TM) perforations. We enrolled 370 patients with traumatic TM perforations of different sizes. These patients were randomly assigned to control group and treatment group. In the treatment group, a sterile cotton patch with sea buckthorn oil was used to cover the TM perforations. In the control group, patients were treated with a sterile cotton patch. The healing rate and time were compared between the two groups. We found that the overall healing rate was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group. For middle and large TM perforations, sea buckthorn oil treatment led to a significant increase in the healing rate. At 2 months after injury, the duration of healing was, generally, shorter in the treatment group than in the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, sea buckthorn oil patches are effective in treating middle and large TM perforations, which results in increased healing rates and decreased healing time.

Background. Suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) is a key biomarker in inflammation and cardiovascular diseases, but limited data is available on its role in allergic rhinitis (AR). Objective. The aim of this study is to explore the role of serum soluble ST2 (sST2) in evaluating disease severity and predicting the efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in house dust mite- (HDM-) induced AR patients. Methods. Eighty healthy controls (HC group) and 160 HDM-induced AR patients, including 40 mild patients (MAR group) and 120 moderate-severe patients (MSAR group), were recruited in this study. Serum was collected from all participants and levels of sST2 were determined by ELISA and the relationship between sST2 levels and disease severity was assessed. In the MSAR group, 109 patients received 3 years of SLIT, and the relationship between serum levels of sST2 and efficacy of SLIT was exampled. Results. Serum sST2 levels were increased in HDM-induced AR patients compared to the HC group ( P < 0.001 ), and the concentrations were higher in the MSAR group than in the MAR group and HC group (all P < 0.05 ). Moreover, sST2 levels positively correlated with the total nasal symptom score (TNSS), visual analogue scale (VAS), and specific IgE levels ( P < 0.05 ). Seventy-eight MSAR patients accomplished SLIT, and they were divided into an effective group ( n = 40 ) and an ineffective group ( n = 38 ). The serum sST2 levels in the effective group were lower than those in the ineffective group ( P < 0.001 ). In addition, patients in the effective group levels exhibited significantly lower sST2 levels post-SLIT than pre-SLIT ( P < 0.001 ), but no statistic difference was observed in the ineffective group ( P > 0.05 ). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed promising accuracy for predicting clinical efficacy of SLIT in AR patients ( area   under   the   curve = 0.839 , P < 0.001 ). Conclusion. Serum sST2 is a potential biomarker for assessing disease severity and may serve as a sensitive biomarker for predicting the therapeutic response of SLIT in HDM-induced AR patients.

Objective To investigate the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods In this study, we investigated miRNA profiles in the upper airway (UA) skeletal muscles of four patients with OSAHS and four matched controls using the miRCURY miRNA array. In another cohort of 12 OSAHS cases and 7 controls, the mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and Lin-28 homolog A (Lin28A), targets of the downregulated let-7 family members, were measured by real-time quantitative-PCR. The potential targets of the miRNAs were predicted by miRNA target prediction databases miRanda, Microcosm, and Targetscan. Results The array identified 370 differentially expressed miRNAs, of which 181 were upregulated and 189 were downregulated in OSAHS patients (based on a fold-change >2.0 and p < 0.05). Upregulation of IL-6 and Lin28A was validated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. The 612 targets predicted by all three algorithms were subjected to gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. The results revealed perturbations in signaling pathways and cellular functions. Conclusion This study demonstrated profoundly altered miRNA expression profiles in upper airway muscular tissues of patients with OSAHS, which might contribute to the formation and development of OSAHS.

Objective: Previous studies have shown that patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) may have various vestibular abnormalities, and these mainly present as subclinical lesions. In this study, we attempted to combine ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and cervical (VEMPs) to investigate vestibular dysfunction in patients with OSAS. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with severe OSAS and 42 healthy controls were enrolled and divided into two groups according to results of polysomnography. All parameters of VEMP graphs were analyzed. Results: The response rate of ocular VEMPs was significantly lower in patients with severe OSAS (85.5%) than in controls (96.4%). The mean n1 latency of patients with severe OSAS (10.6 AE 1.0 months) was significantly longer than that of controls (10.2 AE 1.1 months). With regard to cervical VEMP, p1-n1 amplitudes were significantly different between the groups. Other VEMP parameters were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusions: VEMPs can potentially be used to evaluate vestibular system lesions at the early stage of OSAS, including not only the vestibular nerve, but also the otolith organs involved.

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common inflammatory airway disease, and allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the only disease-modifying treatment for it. However, not all AR patients respond to AIT, and early prediction of patient response is extremely important. This study aimed to example serum levels of multiple cytokines in AR and explore their association with the efficacy of AIT. Methods A total of 74 AR patients treated with sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) were prospectively recruited. Serum samples were obtained before the onset of SLIT and cytokine levels detected by multiplex analysis. All patients were followed for >1 year, and associations between cytokine levels and the early efficacy of SLIT were evaluated. Significantly distinctive cytokines were further verified in another independent cohort. Results Sixty patients completed the visit schedule set: 35 patients were put into a responder group and 25 a nonresponder group. Multiple-cytokine profiling showed that cytokine levels differed significantly between the two groups. The responder group had higher concentrations of BAFF and CCL11 and lower levels of CCL2, CCL7, IFNγ, IL8, IL10, IL16, and IL33 than the nonresponder group ( P <0.05). Receiver-operating characteristic curves highlighted that serum BAFF, IFNγ, IL10, and IL33 levels were strongly predictive of the efficacy of SLIT (area under the curve <0.7, P <0.05). Serum IL10 and IL33 were overexpressed in nonresponders in the validation cohort. Patients in the responder group exhibited significantly higher IL10 levels and lower IL33 post-SLIT than pre-SLIT ( P <0.05), but no statistical difference was found in nonresponders ( P <0.05). Conclusion Our data indicated that serum multiple-cytokine profiling was associated with response to SLIT and that IL10 and IL33 might serve as novel biomarkers for early prediction of efficacy and be involved in the therapeutic mechanisms of SLIT in AR patients.