Clinical and Cellular Evidence of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Platycodon grandiflorus for Vocal Fold Nodules Complementary Treatment.

Vocal fold nodules (VFNs) are the most frequent cause of hoarseness. The management comprised medical, surgical and physical therapy but the effectiveness is not always satisfactory. In this study, we try to figure out an alternative treatment from our clinical experience summary. We retrospectively reviewed VFNs patients who received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments from July 2018 to August 2020 and traced their Chinese Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-C10) and multidimensional voice program (MDVP) analysis results. For further evaluation, we conducted an inflammatory response of porcine vocal fold epithelial (PVFE) cells with 50 ng/mL TNF-alpha. The inflamed PVFE cells were separately cultured in the aqueous extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (G. glabra) and Platycodon grandifloras (P. grandifloras). In these VFNs patients (n = 22), the average VHI-C10 score decreased from 17.6 to 6.6 (p < 0.001). MDVP analysis revealed improvements in jitter, shimmer, noise-harmonic ratio, and GRBAS scoring system. Of the TCM prescription patterns, G. glabra and P. grandiflorus were used most frequently. In the MTT assay of PVFE cells, no adverse effects of our extracts were observed at doses of 1-200 µg/mL. Western blot analysis revealed downregulation of p65 and mitogen activated protein kinase pathway proteins. The results from both the clinical and in vitro aspects of this study revealed that the herbs G. glabra and P. grandiflorus may offer beneficial outcomes as alternative treatments for VFNs after precise diagnosis.

Down-regulation of AMPD3 Is Associated With Poor Survival in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Adenosine monophosphate deaminase 3 (AMPD3) is an isoenzyme involved in the regulation of the energetic metabolism of mammalian cells. Cancer cells have a high demand for their energy supply. This experimental study aimed to illustrate the role of AMPD3 in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the expression of the AMPD3 gene in human HNSCC tissues to assess the changes in cancerous and noncancerous parts and the correlation with different tumor behavior. The functions of AMPD3 were investigated using wound-healing and migration assays. RESULTS: AMPD3 was significantly down-regulated in cancerous tissues of HNSCC (p=0.001) and this was correlated with more advanced tumor and clinical stages. Patients with high expression had better 5-year survival. AMPD3 knock-down in SCC-4 and SCC-25 cells demonstrated reduction of proliferation but increased migration and invasion. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report evidencing the expression pattern of AMPD3 in HNSCC and demonstrated that high AMPD3 expression might represent a good prognostic biomarker. AMPD3 may have an antiproliferative potential but its down-regulation may not contribute to reducing the migration and invasion of HNSCC cells.

Patient-Related Factors of Medialization Laryngoplasty with Autologous Thyroid Cartilage.

(1) Background: Medialization laryngoplasty with autologous thyroid cartilage (MLATC) is a surgical treatment for glottal closure insufficiency (GCI) resulted from unilateral vocal fold paralysis/paresis (UVFP) and vocal fold atrophy. We aimed to survey the influence of patient-related factors on the outcomes after MLATC. (2) Methods: The study enrolled 35 patients with GCI who underwent MLATC. Patient voice data were recorded before and after MLATC by using multiple acoustic parameters and subjective assessment in a computerized speech laboratory. GCI patients were characterized into subgroups based on three factors: age, ≥60 vs. <60 years; sex, men vs. women; and BMI, ≥24 vs. <24. (3) Results: When the subgroups were compared, men did not have better results after surgery than women. Patients ages < 60 years did not exhibit any significantly different outcome compared with those aged ≥ 60 years. Patients with BMI ≥ 24 did not have any significantly different outcome compared with those with BMI < 24. The subgroups of age, sex, and BMI had no significant difference in cumulative voice recovery and summation of GRBAS (G = grade, R = roughness, B = breathiness, A = asthenia, and S = strain). (4) Conclusions: MLATC is a good alternative surgery with long-term improvement in GCI patients. There is no evidence that age, sex, or BMI affect the functional outcome.