Acute exacerbation of carpal tunnel syndrome after Radiesse® injection for hand rejuvenation.

A calcium hydroxyapatite filler (CaHA, Radiesse® ; Merz Aesthetics, Franksville, WI, USA) became the first FDA-approved injectable filler for volume loss correction of the dorsal hands during rejuvenation.1 Within three months, the filler is processed by macrophage phagocytosis, and CaHA stimulates neocollagenesis for sustained results. The material does not stimulate calcifications or foreign body reactions, and allergy testing is not required. In fact, its chemically inert behavior contributes to its high degree of biocompatibility and favorable safety profile. Marmur et al. reported no long-term adverse events at 6 month follow-up. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Label-retaining cells of the bladder: Candidate urothelial stem cells

Adult tissue stem cells replicate infrequently, retaining DNA nucleotide label (BrdU) for much longer periods than mature, dividing cells in which the label is diluted during a chase period. Those "label-retaining cells" (LRCs) have been identified as the tissue stem cells in skin, cornea, intestine, and prostate. However, in the urinary tract uroepithelial stem cells have not yet been identified. In this study, BrdU administration identified urothelial LRCs in the rat bladder with 9% of the epithelial basal cells retaining BrdU label 1 yr after its administration. Markers for stem cells in other tissues, Bcl, p63, cytokeratin 14, and β1 integrin, were immunolocalized in the basal bladder epithelium in or near urothelial LRCs, but not uniquely limited to these cells. Flow cytometry demonstrated that urothelial LRCs were small, had low granularity, and were uniquely β4 integrin bright. Urothelium from long-term labeled bladders was cultured and LRCs were found to be significantly more clonogenic and proliferative, characteristics of stem cells, than unlabeled urothelial cells. Thus, this work demonstrates that LRCs in the bladder localize to the basal layer, are small, low granularity, uniquely β4 integrin rich, slowly cycling and demonstrate superior clonogenic and proliferative ability compared with unlabeled epithelial cells. We propose that LRCs represent putative urothelial stem cells. Copyright © 2008 the American Physiological Society.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Plasmin induces acantholysis in skin organ cultures

Addition of human plasminogen to three different pemphigus plasma samples showed a synergistic effect on acantholysis in the skin organ culture model. Human plasmin itself, without addition of pemphigus plasma, induced typical acantholytic changes in the skin explants, causing different types of acantholysis in a dose- and time-dependent manner: in the presence of 3 CU plasmin per ml culture medium, focal suprabasilar acantholysis of pemphigus vulgaris type could be detected after 72 h incubation, whereas 15 CU/ml caused extended acantholysis of pemphigus foliaceus type in the upper epidermal layers after 24 h, and extended acantholysis of benign chronic pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey disease) type comprising all layers of the epidermis after 48 h incubation. Plasminogen activator levels (Mr 55,000 urokinase type) in tissue extracts of skin explants and in culture media were reduced after 24 and 48 h incubation with pemphigus IgG as compared to control experiments with normal human IgG; this probably resulted from urokinase inactivation by reaction with inhibitors. These results lend support to the hypothesis proposed by Hashimoto et al. in 1983 that the plasminogen activator-plasmin system could play an essential role in the protease mechanisms of pemphigus acantholysis

The Role of Fish Oil in Psoriasis

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, patients received 10 fish or olive oil capsules three times daily for the whole study in addition to applying betamethasone diproprionate to their psoriatic plaques for the first 3 weeks. Most patients gradually worsened upon discontinuation of corticosteroids. Using survival analysis methods, no significant difference was found between the fish and olive oil groups. The authors attempt to put the role of fish oil in the therapy of psoriasis into perspective and discuss the efficacy of fish oil when used alone versus in combination therapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65334/1/j.1365-4362.1990.tb03477.x.pd