Exploration on the underlying mechanism of female predominance in spasmodic dysphonia: an anatomical study of nodose ganglion in rats.

To study the gender differences of amount of neurons in the nodose ganglions of rats. Fourteen Sprague-Dawley rats (7 males and 7 females) were selected. Bilateral nodose ganglions were dissected and serial sections of nodose ganglion were cut in a cryostat, followed by Cresyl-violet staining for neurons. Eight to ten consecutive sections from mid-portion of each nodose ganglion sample, which represent the most neuron number per section, were counted and averaged. Gender difference in the amount of neurons in the nodose ganglions was compared. No gender difference of neuron numbers was found in either side of nodose ganglion (p > 0.05). However, average neuron number of nodose ganglions on the left side of male (654 ± 60) and female (616 ± 37) were significantly more than that on the right side of male (470 ± 22) and female (453 ± 40) respectively (p < 0.05). There is no gender difference in total neuron number of nodose ganglions between male and female rat. However, the neuron number in the left nodose ganglion is greater than that in the right one. The difference may be due to the fact that left and right nodose ganglion is receiving different visceral sensory impulses separately, which is associated with different physiological functions. Further work should be carried out with retrograde tracing on neurons of nodose ganglions in an animal model, which are directly related to laryngeal sensory transmission, in order to determine the gender difference in the neuron number and morphology related to laryngeal functions.

[The clinical classification systems and surgical methods for nasal inverted papilloma].

Nasal inverted papilloma (NIP) is one primary benign lesion that occurs in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. In this paper, several clinical classifications of NIP were summarized. The most important classification, which was developed by Krouse in 2000, and endoscopic technique was applied to treat NIP in different Surgical methods.

Effects of aging and levodopa on the laryngeal adductor reflex in rats.

Dopaminergic neurotransmission plays an essential role in sensorimotor function, and declines with age. Previously, we found the laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR) was increased in excitation by a dopamine receptor antagonist. If this airway-protective reflex is similarly affected by aging, it will interfere with volitional control in older adults. The current study tested whether the LAR was affected by aging, and whether such deficits were reversed by levodopa administration in aging rats. We recorded thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle activity at rest and during elicitation of LAR responses by stimulation of the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (iSLN) in 6-, 18- and 30-month-old rats under alpha-chloralose anesthesia. Using paired stimuli at different inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs), LAR central conditioning, resting muscle activity, and reflex latency and amplitudes were quantified. Numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) were measured using tyrosine hydroxylase staining. We found: (1) increased resting TA muscle activity and LAR amplitude occurred with fewer dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc in 18- and 30-month-old rats; (2) decreases in LAR latency and increases in amplitude correlated with reduced numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc; (3) test responses were greater at 1000ms ISI in 18-month-old rats compared with 6-month-old rats; and (4) levodopa administration further increased response latency but did not alter muscle activity, response amplitude, or central conditioning. In conclusion, increases in laryngeal muscle activity levels and reflex amplitudes accompanied age reductions in dopaminergic neurons but were not reversed with levodopa administration.

Myosin heavy chain isoform expression in the Vastus Lateralis muscle of aging African green vervet monkeys.

Non-human primates (NHP) represent an emerging animal model for the study of physical function, and provide opportunities for exploration of relationships of muscle biomolecular changes with age. One such primate model, the African green vervet monkey, has been used extensively in biomedical research but little is known regarding skeletal muscle composition, expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms, and changes with age. In the present study we examined the effects of age on vastus lateralis (VL) muscle fiber-type composition, fiber cross-sectional area (CSA), and MHC isoforms expressed in 4 young and 4 older adult vervet monkeys. Proteomics analysis, using a human and nonhuman primate protein database, showed five MHC isoforms (I, IIA, IIX, IIB, and IIB') expressed in female vervet VL muscle, which matched the human MHC isoforms. Fast type II fibers predominated and no pure type IIB or IIB' containing fibers were detected. Hybrid fibers containing IIB/IIB' MHC decreased in the old vervets. The CSA of both type I and type II fibers was significantly smaller in older vervet while type IIA fibers showed the most severity of atrophy. The decrease of fast MHC and atrophy of muscle fiber with aging recapitulate observations in human VL muscle. These findings, along with its homology of MHC between the vervet and human suggested that the vervet monkey may be a suitable preclinical model for understanding the cellular and molecular basis of sarcopenia and for developing new interventions to ameliorate the impact of disorders that affect skeletal muscle structure and function.

[Acoustic analysis of the voice restored by using a tracheoesophageal slit-like fistula].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of voice restored by using a tracheoesophageal slit-like fistula objectively through acoustic analysis. METHODS: Seven objective voice parameters (fundamental frequency, intensity, duration, formant F1, F2, F3 and their energy, jitter, and shimmer) of esophageal speech, Blom-Singer prosthesis voice, tracheoesophageal slit-like fistula voice, primary or modified surgical restored, and normal voice were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: T test was used for statistical analysis. The maximum phonation time of slit-like fistula voice was shorter than that of normal voice, longer than that of esophageal voice, no significant difference compared with that of Blom-Singer prosthesis voice. Its sound intensity of it was similar to that of normal voice and Blom-Singer voice, better than that of esophageal voice. Its fundamental frequency was lower than that of normal voice. Its shimmer and jitter was more than that of normal voice, less than that of esophageal voice, and similar to that of Blom-singer one. Compared with esophageal voice, all formants but F1 of it were not statistically different. No statistical difference between the 2 groups of slit-like fistula patients, i.e., the instant slit-like fistula construction after total laryngectomy and the second stage slit-like fistula construction. CONCLUSION: The voice quality of the patients with tracheoesophageal slit-like fistula is similar to that of the normal and could meet the needs of daily life.