Magnesium (Mg) is a promising biodegradable metal offering many potential advantages over current scaffold technologies. Many studies have reported on the corrosion characteristics the Mg and its bioeffects in vitro and in vivo, but there are few studies on the biological effects of the corrosive products of Mg - the micron-size Mg particles (MgMPs). In this study, the effects of size-selected commercial MgMPs on bone turnover and macrophages were investigated in vivo and in vitro. We found that MgMPs were susceptible to engulfment by macrophages, leading to cell lysis, likely resulting from H2 gas production. We also found that the inflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α were induced more strongly by titanium particles (TiMPs) group than by either MgMPs or control. Examination of the expression of bone remodeling markers revealed that MgMPs are beneficial for bone regeneration. Micro-CT scanning indicated that, 30 days postimplantation, unlike TiMPs, MgMPs had no adverse effect on either bone quality or quantity. We have investigated the bioeffects of micron-size MgMPs in vivo and in vitro, and our results indicate that MgMPs may promote bone regeneration without inducing inflammation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 923-931, 2016.

Objectives. To evaluate the effect of adding Di-tan decoction (DTD) and/or electroacupuncture (EA) to standard swallowing rehabilitation training (SRT) on improving PSD. Methods. In total, 80 PSD patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to the DTD, EA, DTD + EA or control group at a 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 ratio. All patients received basic treatment and standard SRT. The DTD group received DTD orally, the EA group received EA, the DTD + EA group received both DTD and EA simultaneously, and the control group received only basic treatment and standard SRT. The interventions lasted for 4 weeks. The outcome measurements included the Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) and Swallowing-Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL), performed and scored from baseline to 2, 4, and 6 weeks after intervention, and the Videofluoroscopic Dysphagia Scale (VDS), scored at baseline and 4 weeks after intervention. Scores were compared over time by repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) among all groups. Interactions between interventions were explored using factorial design analysis. Results. (1) The effective rates (ERs) for PSD treatment were higher in the DTD, EA and DTD + EA groups than in the control group (all P  < 0.05). The ER was higher in the DTD + EA group than in the DTD or EA group (both P  < 0.05). (2) There were significant group effects, time effects and interactions for the SSA and SWAL-QOL scores (all P  < 0.05). All groups showed decreasing trends in SSA scores and increasing trends in SWAL-QOL scores over time from baseline to 6 weeks after intervention (all P  < 0.01). (3) Factorial design analysis for ΔVDS showed that there was a significant main effect for DTD intervention (F = 11.877, P  < 0.01) and for EA intervention (F = 29.357, P  < 0.01). However, there was no significant interaction effect between DTD and EA (F = 0.133, P  = 0.717). Multiple comparisons showed that the DTD, EA and DTD + EA groups all had higher ΔVDS values than the control group ( P  < 0.05). The DTD + EA group had a higher ΔVDS than the DTD or EA group (both P  < 0.05). (4) Most adverse reactions were mild and transient. Conclusions. Adding DTD or EA to SRT can better improve PSD than applying SRT alone. Adding DTD and EA simultaneously can accelerate and amplify the recovery of swallowing function versus DTD or EA alone, and both are effective and safe treatments, alone or jointly, for PSD and are a powerful supplement to routine treatments.

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