There have been few studies on congenital nasal dermoid and sinus cysts (NDSCs) in infants. This study was performed to obtain clinical data for the diagnosis and treatment of NDSCs in infants. We performed a retrospective analysis of 11 infants admitted with NDSCs between 2014 and 2019. Patient demographics, lesion site, preoperative radiological findings, surgical technique, intraoperative findings, and postoperative sequelae were analyzed. In total, 11 infants (average age, 19 months; lowest age, 10 months) were included in this study. All patients presented with a nasal root mass, 2 patients also had nasal tip fistula, and only 1 case had a history of preoperative infection. Preoperative enhanced computed tomography (CT) examination showed nasal surface lesion (type I) in 3, nasal intraosseous (type II) in 5, intracranial epidural (type III) in 2, and intracranial dural (type IV) in 1 patient. The main surgical methods included direct resection with a vertical midline incision (9 patients), vertical incision + transnasal endoscopic resection + skull base repair (1 patient), and transverse incision of the lower margin of the left eyebrow (1 patient). All wounds healed well without serious complications. Using the 4-type classification method in combination with the preoperative CT findings to analyze the extent of NDSC in infants is helpful for formulating the surgical plan. Using vertical incision approach alone or combined with nasal endoscopy for minimally invasive surgery can meet the needs of complete resection and reconstruction. Our results provide clinical data that can help establish standardized criteria for the diagnosis and treatment of NDSCs in infants.

Background: Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a multifactorial syndrome caused by many risk factors, such as craniofacial anomalies, adenotonsillar hypertrophy, obesity, and airway inflammation. Although new treatment patterns have recently been proposed, treatment methods for children remain particularly challenging and controversial. This randomized controlled trial was designed to investigate the efficacy of adenotonsillectomy and/or orthodontic treatment for children who have mild OSAHS with mandibular retrognathia. Methods: A sample of 352 children with mild OSAHS and mandibular retrognathia, who are aged between 7 and 10 years, will be enrolled in the study. They will be randomized into four groups: the drug treatment group, the surgical treatment group, the orthodontic treatment group, or the surgery and postoperative orthodontic group. After randomization the children will receive treatments within 4 weeks. Outcome assessment will take place at the following points: (1) baseline, (2) 7 months after the treatment starting point, (3) 12 months after the treatment starting point, and (4) 24 months after the treatment starting point. The primary endpoint of the trial is the mean change in obstructive apnea/hypopnea index. Other endpoints will consist of the lowest oxygen saturation, apnea index, and hypopnea index assessed by polysomnography, subjective symptoms (assessed by the OSA-20 questionnaire), cephalometric measurements, and morphologic analysis of the upper airway. Discussion: The results of this study will provide valuable evidence for the merits and long-term efficacy of different treatment approaches and contribute to facilitating the multidisciplinary treatment of pediatric OSAHS. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03451318. Registered on 2 March 2018 (last update posted 19 April 2018).

Background: Retinoblastoma is the most common malignant rare intraocular tumor of childhood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported participating in its progression, but their significance remains inconclusive. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to explore specific lncRNA biomarker in patients with retinoblastoma. Materials and methods: Eligible articles were searched from the Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and the Cochrane library. Hazard ratios (HRs) and odds ratios (ORs) were extracted or calculated to evaluate the relationship between lncRNAs and retinoblastoma. The meta-analysis part was conducted with STATA v.15 software. Results: A total of 9 articles with 834 retinoblastoma patients are yielded. Heterogeneity among HRs of overall survival (OS) is notably high (I² = 91.3%, p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis suggests that elevated expression of lncRNA BDNF-AS and MT1JP are favorable factors in OS (pooled HR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.72–2.07, I² = 0%). Six articles included optic nerve invasion as a clinicopathological outcome and showed a notable correlation (pooled HR = 2.38, 95% CI 1.26–3.50, I² = 0.0%). We validate our analysis via the public dataset and also sum up the studies of lncRNA BDNF-AS and MT1JP in other cancers. Conclusion: Differential expression of lncRNAs has been reported in retinoblastoma. Some of them showed potential in retinoblastoma prognosis and progression.

Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate a comprehensive profile of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced early diabetic retinopathy (DR) mice to identify a risk scoring signature based on micorRNAs (miRNAs) for early DR diagnosis. Methods: RNA sequencing was performed to obtain the gene expression profile of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in early STZ-induced mice. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined with log2|fold change (FC)| > 1 and p value < 0.05. Functional analysis was carried out based on gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis and the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. We predicted the potential miRNAs via online tools and ROC curves were then conducted. Three potential miRNAs with AUC > 0.7 were explored via public datasets and a formula was further established to evaluate DR severity. Results: In total, 298 DEGs (200 up-regulating and 98 down-regulating) were obtained through RNA sequencing. Hsa-miR-26a-5p, hsa-miR-129-2-3p and hsa-miR-217 were three predicted miRNAs with AUC > 0.7, suggesting their potential to distinguish healthy controls from early DR. The formula of DR severity score = 19.257 − 0.004 × hsa-miR-217 + 5.09 × 10⁻⁵ × hsa-miR-26a-5p − 0.003 × hsa-miR-129-2-3p was established based on regression analysis. Conclusions: In the present study, we investigated the candidate genes and molecular mechanisms based on RPE sequencing in early DR mice models. Hsa-miR-26a-5p, hsa-miR-129-2-3p and hsa-miR-217 could work as biomarkers for early DR diagnosis and DR severity prediction, which was beneficial for DR early intervention and treatment.

Introduction: Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NVAMD) is a leading cause of severe vision impairment in the elderly. Aging is one of the most pivotal underlying molecular mechanisms of NVAMD. Methods: In this study, we identified the potential aging-related genes involved in NVAMD. Considering that noncoding RNAs are vital regulators of NVAMD progression, we further explored and constructed an aging-originated circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network of NVAMD. Differential expression of 23 aging-associated genes was identified based on sequencing data and the Human Aging Genomic Resources tool at a threshold of p < 0.05, and log2|fold change| > 1. Results: We screened 12 microRNAs (miRNAs) using public datasets and miRNet database. A total of 13 circRNAs were subsequently mined using the starBase tool. Merging these 13 circRNAs, 12 miRNAs, and 15 genes together, we obtained 281 pairs of circRNA-miRNA and 30 pairs of miRNA-mRNA. Conclusion: We created an aging-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, which could be a promising target for future AMD treatments.