Voice change is a common complaint after thyroid surgery and has a significant impact on quality of life. The Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics assembled a task force to establish guideline recommendations on education, care, and management related to thyroid surgery. The guideline recommendations encompass preoperative voice education, management of anticipated voice change during surgery, and comprehensive voice care after thyroid surgery, and include in-depth information and up-to-date knowledge based on validated literature. The committee constructed 14 key questions (KQs) in three categories—preoperative (KQ 1–2), intraoperative (KQ 3–8), and postoperative (KQ 9–14) management—and developed 18 evidence-based recommendations. The Delphi survey reached an agreement on each recommendation. A detailed evidence profile is presented for each recommendation. The level of evidence for each recommendation was classified as high-quality, moderate-quality, or low-quality. The strength of each recommendation was designated as strong or weak considering the level of evidence supporting the recommendation. The guidelines are primarily targeted toward physicians who treat thyroid surgery patients and speech-language pathologists participating in patient care. These guidelines will also help primary care physicians, nurses, healthcare policymakers, and patients improve their understanding of voice changes and voice care after thyroid surgery.

Cigarette smoke exposure has been shown to be associated with chronic rhinosinusitis and tissue remodeling. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) production in nasal fibroblasts and to determine the underlying molecular mechanisms. Primary nasal fibroblasts from six patients were isolated and cultured. After the exposure of fibroblasts to CSE, the expression levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 were measured by real-time PCR, ELISA, and immunofluorescence staining. The enzymatic activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were measured by gelatin zymography. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was analyzed using dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate and Amplex Red assays. PI3K/Akt phosphorylation and NF-κB activation were determined by Western blotting and luciferase assay. CSE significantly increased MMP-2 expression and inhibited TIMP-2 expression but did not affect MMP-9 and TIMP-1 expression. Furthermore, CSE significantly induced ROS production. However, treatment with ROS scavengers, specific PI3K/Akt inhibitors, NF-κB inhibitor, and glucocorticosteroids significantly decreased MMP-2 expression and increased TIMP-2 expression. Our results suggest that steroids inhibit CSE-regulated MMP-2 and TIMP-2 production and activation through the ROS/ PI3K, Akt, and NF-κB signaling pathways in nasal fibroblasts. CSE may contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis by regulating MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expression.

Conclusions. The results suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is due to its inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α expression and interleukin (IL)-8 production. The anti-inflammatory effect of CAPE is possibly through the inhibition of nuclear factor (NF)-κB via the suppression of inhibitor-κB-α (IκB-α) degradation. Objectives. CAPE is a biologically active component of propolis, a resinous material obtained from bee hives, which originates from conifer bark. The effect of CAPE on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory reactions is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of CAPE on cultured human middle ear epithelial cells (HMEECs). Materials and methods. The effect of CAPE on LPS-induced TNF-α expression was evaluated in HMEECs by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). LPS-induced IL-8 production was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and LPS-induced IκB-α degradation was followed by Western blot analysis. Results. CAPE significantly inhibited LPS-induced up-regulation of TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. IL-8 production by LPS was significantly suppressed by the CAPE pretreatment. Furthermore, LPS-induced IκB-α degradation was suppressed by the CAPE pretreatment.

Developing a universal culture platform that manipulates cell fate is one of the most important tasks in the investigation of the role of the cellular microenvironment. This study focuses on the application of topographical and electrical field stimuli to human myogenic precursor cell (hMPC) cultures to assess the influences of the adherent direction, proliferation, and differentiation, and induce preconditioning-induced therapeutic benefits. First, a topographical surface of commercially available culture dishes was achieved by femtosecond laser texturing. The detachable biphasic electrical current system was then applied to the hMPCs cultured on laser-textured culture dishes. Laser-textured topographies were remarkably effective in inducing the assembly of hMPC myotubes by enhancing the orientation of adherent hMPCs compared with flat surfaces. Furthermore, electrical field stimulation through laser-textured topographies was found to promote the expression of myogenic regulatory factors compared with nonstimulated cells. As such, we successfully demonstrated that the combined stimulation of topographical and electrical cues could effectively enhance the myogenic maturation of hMPCs in a surface spatial and electrical field-dependent manner, thus providing the basis for therapeutic strategies.