INTRODUCTION Injection laryngoplasty is a common procedure for patients with vocal fold dysfunction, but the literature on its benefits has been mainly focused on those related to structural lesions or laryngeal nerve involvement. Stroke patients may be at increased risk of aspiration due to insufficient vocal fold motion. However, how injection laryngoplasty can be of benefit in stroke patients has not been reported yet. PATIENT CONCERNS Six chronic stroke patients with long-standing swallowing difficulties and who showed severe aspiration despite long-term swallowing rehabilitation. DIAGNOSIS Laryngoscope evaluation revealed insufficient glottic closure as the cause of aspiration. INTERVENTIONS Injection laryngoplasty was done per-orally under local anaesthesia with calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse Voice, 1-1.5 mL) in an office setting. Respiratory pressures and peak cough flows were assessed at baseline and at 2 weeks follow-up. OUTCOMES At 2 weeks, the mean peak cough flow (Δ = +95.09 L/min) increased significantly after the procedure. The maximal expiratory (Δ = +18.40 cm H2O) and inspiratory (Δ = +20.20 cm H2O) pressures also improved, indicating that injection laryngoplasty was effective in augmenting respiratory and cough parameters. All cases showed improvement in the Functional Oral Intake Scale (Δ = +4). Feeding tubes were successfully removed.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/dup-697.html  CONCLUSION Injection laryngoplasty proved to be both successful and safe in improving glottic closure with immediate results in those who had failed to show a positive response after long-term swallowing rehabilitation. The positive and dramatic clinical outcomes were observed through changes in the coughing force. Our case series support the use of injection larygnoplasty as a powerful adjunctive treatment method to prevent aspiration pneumonia in post-stroke patients with vocal fold insufficiency. Pre- and post-injection peak cough flow changes may reflect improvement in glottic closure and indicate the safety of swallowing with reduced risk of aspiration.This study compared the surgical outcomes of two surgical methods for treating multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) combined with cervical kyphotic deformity (CKD) (1) the ELTA method consisted of expansive open-door laminoplasty (EOLP) followed by three-segment anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF), and (2) the LAPI method consisted of long-segment ACDF followed by long-level posterior instrumented fusion (PIF). Surgical treatment of CKD combined with MCSM remains challenging. Surgical considerations should include adequate spinal cord decompression and restoration of satisfactory cervical sagittal alignment (CSA). In certain situations, a solid PIF structure is vital to prevent failure.We included 105 patients who underwent the aforementioned surgical methods for MCSM combined with CKD from January 2013 to December 2017. The minimum follow-up period was 1 year. Comparative analysis was performed to compare the two surgical strategies' preoperative and postoperative functional outcomes, inc low degree of CKD, whereas the LAPI method was indicated for MCSM patients who had poor function scores and a high degree of CKD.Elderly individuals with non-dipper hypertension are at high risk of cardiovascular disease because of increased stiffness of peripheral arteries. Since, vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in elderly Chinese. We examined whether reduced plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] may help promote this stiffness.Hypertensive patients at least 60 years old without history of peripheral arterial disease at our hospital were retrospectively divided into dipper and non-dipper groups according to the results of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Plasma levels of 25(OH)D were measured by enzyme immunoassay. Peripheral arterial stiffness was measured based on the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI).Of the 155 patients enrolled, 95 (61.3%) were diagnosed with non-dipper hypertension and these patients had significantly lower plasma levels of 25(OH)D than the 60 patients with dipper hypertension (19.58 ± 5.97 vs 24.36 ± 6.95 nmol/L, P  less then  .01) as well as significantly higher CAVI (8.46 ± 1.65 vs 7.56 ± 1.08 m/s, P  less then  .01). Vitamin D deficiency was significantly more common among non-dipper patients (57.9% vs 31.7%, P  less then  .01). Multivariate regression showed that age and 25(OH)D were independently related to CAVI, with each 1-ng/ml decrease in 25(OH)D associated with a CAVI increase of +0.04 m/s.Non-dipper hypertension is associated with vitamin D deficiency and reduced plasma levels of 25(OH)D. The latter may contribute to stiffening of peripheral arteries, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.BACKGROUND Fatigue is one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). The effective management of depression-related fatigue has an important impact on the patient's abilities, functioning, and quality of life (QOL). Moxibustion has been widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to manage fatigue. Recent studies have also demonstrated that moxibustion is effective for treating cancer-related fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, there is not sufficient data supporting the effect of moxibustion for depression-related fatigue. Therefore, this randomized, assessor-blinded, wait-list controlled trial is designed to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and feasibility of moxibustion treatment for depression-related fatigue. METHODS One hundred and seventy-six participants who meet the diagnostic criteria for depression in the International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10), and who also have a score of ≥1 on the 13 item of the Hamilton Depression acy of moxibustion as an adjunct to antidepressants for depression-related fatigue, and promote a more widespread foundation for the selection of moxibustion in the clinical setting as well as for future research in moxibustion therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION This study protocol was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800016905).