Bamboo Nodes of Vocal Fold — A Clinical Study of 14 Cases

Objective Bamboo node(BN)of vocal folds is a rare disease which is mostly associated with autoimmune diseases and always involves women as reported in literature.The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics and the treatments in a series of BN cases.Methods We retrospectively collected and reviewed clinical information of all patients who presented bamboo nodes by fibreoptic laryngoscopy from 2011 to 2020 in our hospital,including the demographic information,clinical symptoms,associated autoimmune diseases,voice abuse,treatments,and outcomes.Patients were followed up periodically at clinics with fibreoptic laryngoscopy and/or voice recovery evaluation using the selt assessed voice visual analog scale(VAS).Results Tdtally 14 patients were diagnosed with BN and were included in the study.BN involved both women(8/14,57.1%)and men(6/14,42.9%).Bilateral lesions were found in 13 patients(92.9%).The most common symptom of BN was hoarseness(100%).Ten(71.4%)of 14 patients experienced voice abuse.Thirteen(92.9%)of them were concomitant with autoimmunity disease,and received medication therapy for the underlying autoimmune diseases;one patient received anti-acid treatment for the gastroesophageal reflux disease.Voice rests were performed in all patients.Voice recovered completely in 3 cases(21.4%),improved remarkably in 8 cases(57.1%),improved slightly in 1 case(7.1%),and no improvement in 2 cases(14.3%).Conclusions BNs are mostly associated with autoimmune disease and vocal abuse.It may occur in both females and males・Conservative treatment for the underlying autoimmune diseases and vocal rest are beneficial to voice recovery in most of the patients,and can be used as the first choice of treatment.

Role of JAK-STAT signaling pathway in pathogenesis and treatment of primary Sjögren’s syndrome

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome(pSS)is a systemic autoimmune disease with high prevalence and possible poor prognosis.Though the pathogenesis of pSS has not been fully elucidated,B cell hyperactivity is considered as one of the fundamental abnormalities in pSS patients.It has long been identified that Janus kinases-signal transducer and activator of transcription(JAK-STAT)signaling pathway contributes to rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.Recently,increasing numbers of studies have provided evidence that JAK-STAT pathway also has an important role in the pathogenesis of pSS via direct or indirect activation of B cells.Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1(STAT1),STAT3,and STAT5 activated by various cytokines and ribonucleic acid contribute to pSS development,respectively or synergically.These results reveal the potential application of Janus kinase inhibitors for treatment of pSS,which may fundamentally improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients with pSS.