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To examine the relationship between physical appearance concern and psychological distress in female adolescent patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was the aim of this study. A total of 84 adolescent SLE female patients and 80 age-matching healthy adolescents were evaluated for levels of appearance concern and a range of illness-specific measures to determine how these demographic and clinical variables were related to the dependent variable psychological distress. The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index was used to assess disease activity. Assessment of depression was conducted through the children depression inventory (CDI). Appearance concern was measured using the Self-Perception Profile for Children. The total CDI was 18.5 ± 4.3, indicating that these patients had more depressive symptoms, comparing with age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, a total of 32 (38.1 %) patients had CDI larger than 19 points, indicating that they have relatively higher risk in developing depression. The CDI in control group was significantly lower than that in the SLE group (11.4 ± 1.7 vs. 18.5 ± 4.3, t = 9.93, p < 0.05). Using correlation and multiple regression analyses, we found that both appearance concern and age were predictive of depression in patients with SLE, and the former was highly correlated. This indicates that appearance concern may be associated with depression in female adolescent SLE patients. The results suggest that appearance concern is strongly associated with depression in female adolescent patients with SLE and should be routinely assessed.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effect of various power settings of the potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) green laser on the vaporization of biological tissue under water and its potential and feasibility to treat patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and other urological disorders., Background Data: BPH, ureteral strictures, and bladder tumors are common urological diseases in elderly men. KTP green laser vaporization is a safe and effective procedure used to treat urological diseases., Methods: Porcine muscles were vaporized at different power levels (7.5-57 W) under water by the KTP green laser system. Fresh canine prostate tissues were also vaporized with a 43-W green laser. Laser vaporization of human urological tissue was performed clinically., Results: The porcine muscles were vaporized under water for 10 sec. Increasing laser power appeared to increase the depth and diameter of vaporization while maintaining or decreasing the depth of necrosis. With the 60-W KTP green laser system, laser prostatectomy was performed on 15 patients with BPH. This green laser system was also used to treat 12 strictures and 9 superficial bladder tumors. All patients received spinal anesthesia, and isotonic saline at room temperature was used as irrigation solution. Postoperative insertion of an indwelling catheter was mandatory., Conclusions: With increasing laser power settings, the vaporization depth and width increased significantly, but the depth of necrosis declined slightly. Green laser vaporization is a treatment method that can be adopted to treat patients with BPH, urethral stricture, and other urological diseases safely and effectively.