Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40964826›Full record

ArticleThe Laryngoscope2026

Vocal Fold Scar Treatment via Controlled Dexamethasone Delivery With a Light-Activatable Implant.

Denzel Ryan D Cruz, Nour Awad, Avery Zheng, Alexander Karabachev, Charles Farbos de Luzan, Yoonjee C Park, Gregory R Dion

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Laryngoscope, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Denzel Ryan D CruzMedical Scientist Training Program, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1289-6962
Nour AwadDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0009-0002-6900-2146
Avery ZhengDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-9875-4511
Alexander KarabachevDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1747-1194
Charles Farbos de LuzanDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9163-6922
Yoonjee C ParkDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1454-0326
Gregory R DionDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4389-3104

Funding

LCenter for Clinical and Translational Science and TrainingUL1TR001425 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI HEUBI, JAMES E., KISSELA, BRETT M · 2015 to 2024
$37.5M
Center for Clinical and Translational Science and TrainingUM1TR005265 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI Jareen Meinzen-Derr, Jeffrey Robert Strawn · 2025 to 2026
$10.6M
INJECTABLE, TUNABLE THERAPEUTIC IMPLANT TO REDUCE VOCAL FOLD SCARR21DC021038 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · PI DION, GREGORY ROBERT, PARK, YOONJEE · 2023 to 2024
$442k
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001425NCATS NIH HHS UM1 TR005265NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC021038
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveIntralesional steroid injections for vocal fold (VF) scarring are rapidly cleared, limiting their effectiveness. This study evaluates the efficacy of a light-activatable dexamethasone implant compared to a single steroid injection for VF scar healing.

methodsTen rabbits underwent endoscopic VF injury and were treated with either a dexamethasone injection or a light-activatable implant; injured-only and no-injury VFs served as controls. On days 0 and 21, VF implants were irradiated with a near-infrared pulsed laser for 1 min. Larynges were harvested after 42 days. High-speed video (> 10 kHz) of excised larynges captured VF vibrations for kymographic analysis. Normal force, structural stiffness, and displacement were measured. Data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests.

resultsCompared to injury-only VFs, implant-treated VFs demonstrated significantly reduced normal force and stiffness (5.28 ± 0.77 mN vs. 2.34 ± 0.66 mN, p < 0.0001; 17.74 ± 2.45 mN/mm vs. 6.80 ± 1.32 mN/mm, p < 0.0001), and increased displacement at 1.96 mN (0.14 ± 0.02 mm vs. 0.29 ± 0.05 mm, p < 0.0001) along the injury zone. Implant-treated VFs exhibited larger amplitude ratios and improved tissue architecture than untreated scars. No differences in quantitative measures were observed between implant-treated and injection-treated groups.

conclusionA light-activatable dexamethasone implant improved VF biomechanics, vibratory behavior, and histological outcomes in a rabbit injury model comparable to a single steroid injection. This novel approach shows promise for delivering controlled, repeatable therapy to VF scars.

Indexed as

CicatrixDexamethasoneGlucocorticoidsVocal CordsAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalDrug ImplantsInjections, IntralesionalRabbitsWound HealingDexamethasoneDrug ImplantsGlucocorticoidscontrolled‐releasedrug deliverytherapeutic implantvocal fold scarring

Identifiers

PMID40964826
PMCPMC12581502

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.