scholarly journals Corneal Allografts: Factors for and against Acceptance

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Justyna Sakowska ◽  
Paulina Glasner ◽  
Maciej Zieliński ◽  
Piotr Trzonkowski ◽  
Leopold Glasner

Cornea is one of the most commonly transplanted tissues worldwide. However, it is usually omitted in the field of transplantology. Transplantation of the cornea is performed to treat many ocular diseases. It restores eyesight significantly improving the quality of life. Advancements in banking of explanted corneas and progressive surgical techniques increased availability and outcomes of transplantation. Despite the vast growth in the field of transplantation laboratory testing, standards for corneal transplantation still do not include HLA typing or alloantibody detection. This standard practice is based on immune privilege dogma that accounts for high success rates of corneal transplantation. However, the increasing need for retransplantation in high-risk patients with markedly higher risk of rejection causes ophthalmology transplantation centers to reevaluate their standard algorithms. In this review we discuss immune privilege mechanisms influencing the allograft acceptance and factors disrupting the natural immunosuppressive environment of the eye. Current developments in testing and immunosuppressive treatments (including cell therapies), when applied in corneal transplantation, may give very good results, decrease the possibility of rejection, and reduce the need for retransplantation, which is fairly frequent nowadays.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alghalya Khalid Sulaiman Al-Maawali ◽  
Phuong Nguyen ◽  
P. Terry Phang

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a complex disorder with important incidence in North America. Perianal fistulas occur in about 20% of patients with CD and are almost always classified as complex fistulas. Conventional treatment options have shown different success rates, yet there are data indicating that these approaches cannot achieve total cure and may not improve quality of life of these patients. Fibrin glue, fistula plug, topical tacrolimus, local injection of infliximab, and use of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are newly suggested therapies with variable success rates. Here, we aim to review these novel therapies for the treatment of complex fistulizing CD. Although initial results are promising, randomized studies are needed to prove efficacy of these approaches in curing fistulizing perianal CD.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (26) ◽  
pp. 85-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Govindan Nair Arun ◽  
Moideen P. Sanu ◽  
Mogarnad Mohan ◽  
Thampy S. Aparna ◽  
Khizer Hussain M. Afroze

Abstract BACKGROUND. Chronic rhinitis is a clinical condition affecting more than 20% of the world population. The standard treatment strategy is medical. Surgical management can be considered in patients with intractable rhinitis. Various surgical techniques have been documented with varying success rates, but none of them is considered as a gold standard. Hence, we are studying the effectiveness of posterior nasal neurectomy (PNN) in patients who have intractable rhinitis, refractory to maximum medical therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A prospective study was conducted in the ENT Department, Padmavathy Medical Foundation, Kollam, Kerala, India, from January 2015 to February 2016. Adult patients, in the age group of 20 to 60 years, diagnosed with chronic rhinitis, presenting two or more symptoms of rhinitis, refractory to maximum medical therapy for a period of at least 3 or more years and whose quality of life was significantly affected were enrolled and PNN was done for them. RESULTS. We observed a statistically significant improvement in subjective symptoms and patient quality of life at the end of 6 months post-operatively. CONCLUSION. PNN is a safe and less invasive procedure, which can provide a significant relief in symptoms of intractable rhinitis. Fewer complications and better results make it superior over vidian neurectomy.


2021 ◽  
pp. flgastro-2020-101713
Author(s):  
Mathuri Sivakumar ◽  
Akash Gandhi ◽  
Eathar Shakweh ◽  
Yu Meng Li ◽  
Niloufar Safinia ◽  
...  

ObjectivePrimary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a progressive, autoimmune, cholestatic liver disease affecting approximately 15 000 individuals in the UK. Updated guidelines for the management of PBC were published by The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in 2017. We report on the first national, pilot audit that assesses the quality of care and adherence to guidelines.DesignData were collected from 11 National Health Service hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland between 2017 and 2020. Data on patient demographics, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) dosing and key guideline recommendations were captured from medical records. Results from each hospital were evaluated for target achievement and underwent χ2 analysis for variation in performance between trusts.Results790 patients’ medical records were reviewed. The data demonstrated that the majority of hospitals did not meet all of the recommended EASL standards. Standards with the lowest likelihood of being met were identified as optimal UDCA dosing, assessment of bone density and assessment of clinical symptoms (pruritus and fatigue). Significant variations in meeting these three standards were observed across UK, in addition to assessment of biochemical response to UDCA (all p<0.0001) and assessment of transplant eligibility in high-risk patients (p=0.0297).ConclusionOur findings identify a broad-based deficiency in ‘real-world’ PBC care, suggesting the need for an intervention to improve guideline adherence, ultimately improving patient outcomes. We developed the PBC Review tool and recommend its incorporation into clinical practice. As the first audit of its kind, it will be used to inform a future wide-scale reaudit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Rose ◽  
Emma Ray ◽  
Rachael H. Summers ◽  
Melinda Taylor ◽  
Helen Kruk ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite high mortality and morbidity, COPD remains under-diagnosed. Case-finding strategies are possible, but patients’ perspectives are unexplored. Using qualitative methods, we explored the patient perspective of a case-finding intervention among at-risk patients in primary care. Semi-structured telephone interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis utilised. Seven patients without (mean age 64.5 years (58–74), n = 4) and 8 with obstructed spirometry (mean age 63.5 (53–75), n = 4) were interviewed. Themes identified were motives, challenges and concerns regarding attending the clinic. These included wanting to be well; to help with research; concern over negative impact to life from COPD diagnosis; perceived utility of the clinic; quality of information given; staff manner, approachability and knowledge; and perceived effects of the clinic on lifestyle, self-management and symptoms. The intervention was generally deemed useful and reassuring, although shared information was too detailed or irrelevant for some. Several reported positive lifestyle changes, improved symptoms and improved self-management.


2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Mackie Ogilvie ◽  
Peter R. Braude ◽  
Paul N. Scriven

Since the early 1990s, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has been expanding in scope and applications. Selection of female embryos to avoid X-linked disease was carried out first by polymerase chain reaction, then by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and an ever-increasing number of tests for monogenic diseases have been developed. Couples with chromosome rearrangements such as Robertsonian and reciprocal translocations form a large referral group for most PGD centers and present a special challenge, due to the large number of genetically unbalanced embryos generated by meiotic segregation. Early protocols used blastomeres biopsied from cleavage-stage embryos; testing of first and second polar bodies is now a routine alternative, and blastocyst biopsy can also be used. More recently, the technology has been harnessed to provide PGD-AS, or aneuploidy screening. FISH probes specific for chromosomes commonly found to be aneuploid in early pregnancy loss are used to test blastomeres for aneuploidy, with the aim of replacing euploid embryos and increasing pregnancy rates in groups of women who have poor IVF success rates. More recent application of PGD to areas such as HLA typing and social sex selection have stoked public controversy and concern, while provoking interesting ethical debates and keeping PGD firmly in the public eye.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Bravo-Escobar ◽  
Alicia González-Represas ◽  
Adela María Gómez-González ◽  
Ángela Heredia-Torres

AbstractExploring new models of medical care requires evaluating the impact of new care strategies not only on physiological parameters but also on the quality of life of the patient. On the other hand the presence of anxiety together with depression requires further consideration when planning appropriate management strategies. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a home-based cardiac rehabilitation program incorporating an e-Health technology on health-related quality of life associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in moderate-risk patients. A multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to compare a traditional hospital based cardiac rehabilitation program (n = 38, 35 male) with a mixed home surveillance program where patients exercised at home with a remote electrocardiographic monitoring device (n = 33, 31 male). The Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey and the Goldberg questionnaire were used to evaluate quality of life and the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression respectively. The results of this study show that the type of cardiac rehabilitation program did not influence the improvement in quality of life (p = 0.854), but the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression did (p = 0.001). Although both programs achieved a decrease in anxiety and depression symptoms and improved functional capacity (p ≤ 0.001), a significant interaction effect was found between the group with or without anxiety and depression symptoms and the type of program in the bodily pain dimension (p = 0.021). Trial registration: Retrospectively registered NCT02796404 (10/06/2016) in clinialtrials.gov.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. e245699
Author(s):  
Matthew Steward ◽  
Anthony Hall ◽  
Ross Sayers ◽  
Christopher Dickson

A 62-year-old man presents with breathlessness 6 months following right pneumonectomy for lung adenocarcinoma. Previous investigations had not yielded a diagnosis and his symptoms were progressing. The patient described worsened symptoms when stood up (platypnoea), with profound hypoxia until laid supine (orthodeoxia). Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome due to a right-to-left interatrial shunt was diagnosed on contrast-enhanced transoesophageal echocardiography with the patient undergoing successful percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure. Patent foramen ovale is often asymptomatic with a population prevalence of around 20%–30%. Anatomical shifts postpneumonectomy can open, or worsen a previously closed interatrial communication leading to right-to-left shunting of blood. Platypnoea-orthodeoxia is under-recognised, impairing quality of life and patient outcome. Investigations can be falsely reassuring, or poorly sensitive for the causative pathology. Percutaneous closure is safe with high success rates and this case highlights the need for a high index of suspicion for shunts, particularly in postpneumonectomy patients.


1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 405-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Mars ◽  
Catherine Asher-Mcdade ◽  
Viveca Brattström ◽  
Erik Dahl ◽  
John Mcwilliam ◽  
...  

One hundred and forty-nine dental casts of subjects with complete unilateral clefts of the lip and palate from six European cleft palate centers were assessed by means of the Goslon Yardstick. The Yardstick proved capable of discriminating between the quality of the dental arch relationships between the six centers. Two centers showed especially poor results. Three centers obtained satisfactory results although differing surgical techniques were used in these centers. One of the centers showing satisfactory dental arch relationships employed a more complex and expensive treatment program than the other two centers, which both used simpler centralized treatment regimens.


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