Chong‐Bin Tsai

PURPOSE: In order to understand and update the prevalence of myopia in Taiwan, a nationwide survey was performed in 1995. METHODS: We stratified the cluster sampling by developmental grading of the city, using a size proportional to the population. Two cities were randomly selected from each city grading. The total number of students enrolled was 11,178, including 5,676 boys and 5,502 girls. The refractive status and corneal radius of each student were measured with an autorefractometer under cycloplegia and checked with retinoscopy. Axial length was measured with biometric ultrasound. RESULTS: The myopic rate was from 12% at the age of 6, it increased to 56% at the age of 12, and then to 76% at the age of 15. A myopic rate of 84% was found for the age range of 16 to 18. The prevalence of high myopia (over -6.0 D) at the age of 18 was 20% in girls and 12% in boys. The mean refractive status became myopic at the age of 9, then increased to -3.92 D in girls and -2.71 D in boys at the age of 18. The increase of axial length is correspondent with the progression of myopia. The anterior chamber depth (ACD) was deeper with age and the severity of myopia, whereas the corneal curvature remained unchanged. The lens thickness became thinner from age 7 to 13, then it became thicker with age and the severity of myopia after age 15. The prevalence and degree of myopia in girls was more severe than in boys. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopia in Taiwan increased year by year. The increase in severity and prevalence of high myopia may be due to earlier onset.

Dermal papillae (DPs) control the formation of hair shafts. In clinical settings, colchicine (CLC) induces patients' hair shedding. Compared to the control, the ex vivo hair fiber elongation of organ cultured vibrissa hair follicles (HFs) declined significantly after seven days of CLC treatment. The cultured DP cells (DPCs) were used as the experimental model to study the influence of CLC on the protein dynamics of DPs. CLC could alter the morphology and down-regulate the expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the marker of DPC activity, and induce IκBα phosphorylation of DPCs. The proteomic results showed that CLC modulated the expression patterns (fold>2) of 24 identified proteins, seven down-regulated and 17 up-regulated. Most of these proteins were presumably associated with protein turnover, metabolism, structure and signal transduction. Protein-protein interactions (PPI) among these proteins, established by Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database, revealed that they participate in protein metabolic process, translation, and energy production. Furthermore, ubiquitin C (UbC) was predicted to be the controlling hub, suggesting the involvement of ubiquitin-proteasome system in modulating the pathogenic effect of CLC on DPC.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of retinoblastoma in Taiwan from 1998 to 2011. DESIGN: This was a retrospective population-based cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. RESULTS: The present study included 154 patients (92 males, 62 females) with retinoblastoma and the documented overall retinoblastoma incidence was 1 in 17 373 live births without a notable trend over the study period. The incidence per million live births examined by gender was 65.8 for males and 48.5 for females. The age-specific sex ratio increased from 1.4 at age younger than 1 year to 3.0 above age 4 years. Enucleation was performed in 109 (70.8%) children with retinoblastoma, and it was more prevalent in males than in females (77.2% vs 61.3%, p=0.0335). Multivariate Cox regression analyses with adjustment for diagnostic age, sex, and birth year elucidated that enucleation was a significant factor associated with survival (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of retinoblastoma in Taiwan exhibited no marked trend over time. There were more cases of males than females and the male-to-female rate ratio increased with age. Survival outcome was significantly associated with the intervention of enucleation.

Autologous breast reconstructions using deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flaps create a large incision, presenting an opportunity for surgical site complications. In this pilot study, we aimed to examine outcomes in DIEP donor site incisions managed with standard dressings (control; n = 5) or closed incision negative pressure therapy (ciNPT; n = 5). We observed no significant differences between group age, body mass index, and past medical history. Both treatment groups had a similar duration of hospital stay, the number of blood transfusions, and pain scores on postoperative day 2 (P > .05). There was a trend of higher drainage (P = .251) and shorter time to incision healing (P = .067) in the ciNPT group than the control though the difference was not statistically significant. We did observe a significant improvement in scar pigmentation, vascularity, and pliability at 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery in the ciNPT group compared with control (P < .05). No surgical site complications were reported in the ciNPT group within the follow-up period. In the control group, one patient developed wound edge fat necrosis requiring reoperation. In conclusion, we report that ciNPT is a useful incision management system for DIEP flap donor site incisions and it facilitated improved scar quality over standard dressings in this small pilot study. Further clinical studies are required to assess the full advantages provided by ciNPT.