OBJECTIVES To analyze the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT), 670 nm, with doses of 4 and 7 J/cm(2), on the repair of surgical wounds covered by occlusive dressings. BACKGROUND DATA The effect of LLLT on the healing process of covered wounds is not well defined. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the histologic analysis with HE staining, 50 male Wistar rats were submitted to surgical incision...

Circumcision is one of the most common rituals in Jewish and Islamic cultures. It may also be performed for phimosis correction or the treatment of recurrent balanitis. Although circumcision is considered to be a technically easy and safe surgical procedure with no significant risk, it may lead to severe complications such as necrotizing fasciitis or total penis amputation. In this report, we p...

BACKGROUND High dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have emerged as a promising new therapy for treating the rare but potentially fatal drug reaction toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Experimental in vitro studies support the view that IVIG can block the fas-fas ligand mediated apoptosis in TEN. METHODS Ten pediatric patients of TEN were treated with IVIG (0.05 - 0.1 gm/kg/day) along with...

We investigated the expression and distribution of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) (FGF-7) and its receptor (KGFR) during reepithelialization of human skin. KGF mRNA levels increased rapidly by 8-10-fold and remained elevated for several days. In contrast, KGFR transcript levels decreased early but were significantly elevated by 8-9 d. A KGF-immunoglobulin G fusion protein (KGF-HFc), which spe...

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) remodels corneal stroma to compensate refractive errors. The removal of epithelium and the ablation of stroma provoke the disruption of corneal nerves and a release of several peptides from tears, epithelium, stroma and nerves. A myriad of cytokines, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteases participate in the process of corneal wound healing. Their balance w...

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are specialized type I interferon (IFN-α/β)-producing cells that express intracellular toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR9 and recognize viral nucleic acids in the context of infections. We show that pDCs also have the ability to sense host-derived nucleic acids released in common skin wounds. pDCs were found to rapidly infiltrate both murine and human skin w...

Abstract Background Traumatic tympanic membrane (TM) perforations usually heal spontaneously. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the topical application Triticum Vulgare (TV) in experimentally induced traumatic TM rats has a positive effect on wound healing process. Methods were randomly assigned four experimental groups. Drugs introduced twice day for 7 days. On 7th day, specimen...