scholarly journals Choroidal vascularity index in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Loiudice ◽  
Marco Pellegrini ◽  
Michele Marinò ◽  
Barbara Mazzi ◽  
Ilaria Ionni ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hemodynamic changes have been observed in patients with Graves’ disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate choroidal vascular change using the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, 40 patients affected by TAO were recruited. Forty healthy individuals, matched for age and sex, served as controls. Foveal enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography scans were obtained from all participants. Images were binarized using the ImageJ software and luminal area (LA) and total choroidal area (TCA) were measured. CVI was calculated as the proportion of LA to TCA. The relation between CVI or subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and clinical activity score, exophthalmometric value, diplopia status, gender, and age was evaluated. Results CVI was significantly higher in patients with TAO (P = 0.004). No significant difference was observed in SFCT (P = 0.200) and TCA (P = 0.153) comparing TAO patients and healthy controls. LA was significantly higher in TAO group (P = 0.045). On multiple regression analysis, CVI was associated with TCA (P = 0.043). No association was found between SFCT or CVI and TCA, clinical activity score, exophthalmometric value, Inami value, diplopia status, gender or age (P > 0.05). Conclusions This is the first study that has demonstrated an increase in CVI in eyes with TAO compared with healthy controls and has assessed its association with clinical features.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amany Abd El-Fattah El-Shazly ◽  
Mahmoud Ahmed Elsamkary ◽  
Tamer Abdel Fattah Badran ◽  
Randa Hesham Ali Abdelgawad

Abstract Purpose: to study the structural and functional changes of the optic nerve & macula in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients. Methods: Cross-sectional clinical study including 40 cases with TAO and 40 age and sex-matched healthy participants as a control. Complete ophthalmological assessment, evaluation of the proptosis, spectral domain OCT, and electrophysiological investigations (pattern electroretinogram [PERG], multifocal ERG (mfERG) & visual evoked potentials (PVEP) were performed to all participants. Results: Retinal nerve fibre (RNFL), central foveal (CFT) thickness and mean inner macular ring thickness are thinner in cases with proptosis. MfERG showed lower Retinal Response Density1 (RRD1), Ring 1 P1 amplitude and lower five-rings N1 amplitude. Central foveal thickness showed significant positive correlation with VA, BCVA, P50 amplitude and R1 N1 amplitude (r = 0.64, 0.65, 0.40 and 0.51 with p < 0 .001, < 0 .001, < 0 .001 and < 0 .001 respectively), and negative correlation with duration of the disease, degree of proptosis, clinical activity score and R1 N1 latency (r = -0.59, -0.78, -0.41 & -0.90 with p <0.001, <0.001, <0.001 & <0.001 respectively). RNFL thickness showed negative correlation with duration of the disease, degree of proptosis and clinical activity score (-0.77, -0.71 & -0.85 with p < 0 .001, < 0 .001 & < 0 .001 respectively). Multiple regression analyses showed that the degree of proptosis and P50 amplitude were the most important determinants for CFT (p = 0.03 & 0.02); whereas the duration of the disease, and activity score were the most important determinants for average RNFL thickness (p =‎ 0.004, and < 0.001‎ respectively). Conclusion: In the absence of fundus changes, macular thinning together with functional changes detected by PERG and mfERG could be used as good predictors of subclinical retinopathy in the cases of TAO.


2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eman A. Baraka ◽  
Mona G. Balata ◽  
Shereen H. Ahmed ◽  
Afaf F. Khamis ◽  
Enas A. Elattar

Abstract Background This study aimed to measure the serum and synovial interleukin (IL)-37 levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared to patients with primary knee osteoarthritis (PKOA) and healthy controls and to detect its relation to RA disease activity. Results This cross-sectional study included 50 RA patients with a mean age of 40.24 ± 8.62 years, 50 patients with PKOA with a mean age of 56.69 ± 4.21, and 40 healthy controls with a mean age of 41.75 ± 7.38 years. The mean serum IL-37 level in the RA patients (382.6 ± 73.97 pg/ml) was statistically significantly (P < 0.001) the highest among the studied groups; however, it showed a non-significant difference between the PKOA patients (70.38 ± 27.49 pg/ml) and the healthy controls (69.97 ± 25.12 pg/ml) (P > 0.94). Both serum and synovial IL-37 levels were significantly positively correlated with disease activity scores (r = 0.92, P< 0.001 and r = 0.85, P < 0.001), tender joint counts (r = 0.83, P < 0.001 and r = 0.82, P < 0.001 ), swollen joint counts (r = 0.72, P < 0.001 and r = 0.60, P < 0.001), visual analog scale (r = 0.82, P < 0.001 and r = 0.82, P < 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.75, P < 0.001 and r = 0.65, P < 0.001), and C-reactive protein (r = 0.93, P < 0.001 and r = 0.79, P < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion Serum and synovial IL-37 were significantly elevated in the RA patients, and they were closely correlated. Being less invasive, the serum IL-37 could be a marker of disease activity and could reflect the effective disease control by drugs. Having an anti-inflammatory effect could not suggest IL-37 as the key player to control inflammation alone, but its combination with other anti-proinflammatory cytokines could be investigated.


Author(s):  
Xiaolin Ni ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Qianqian Pang ◽  
Yiyi Gong ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Sclerostin is an inhibitor of Wnt-β-catenin signaling to regulate bone formation. Circulating sclerostin levels were reported to be elevated in patients with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), and sclerostin antibody (Scl-Ab) has been shown to increase bone mass and normalize circulating phosphate levels in Hyp mice. However, circulating sclerostin level in acquired hypophosphatemic patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) remains rare reported. Objectives This study was designed to evaluate serum sclerostin levels in TIO patients comparing them with age-, sex- matched healthy controls and XLH patients, and analyze correlation of circulating sclerostin with BMD and laboratory parameters. Design, Setting and Participants 190 individuals including 83 adult TIO patients, 83 adult healthy controls and 24 adult XLH patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Main outcome measures Serum sclerostin levels were determined in TIO patients, healthy controls and XLH patients. Results TIO patients (43 male and 40 female) aged 44.3 ± 8.7 (mean ± SD) years had lower levels of circulating sclerostin than healthy controls (94.2 ± 45.8 vs 108.4 ± 42.3 pg/mL, p = 0.01) with adjustment for age, gender, BMI and diabetes rate. Sclerostin levels were positively associated with age (r = 0.238, p = 0.030). Male patients had higher sclerostin level than female patients (104.7 ± 47.3 vs 83.0 ± 41.8 pg/mL, p = 0.014) and postmenopausal patients had higher tendency of sclerostin level than premenopausal patients (98.4 ± 48.8 vs 71.6 ± 32.3 ng/ml, p = 0.05). Sclerostin levels were positively associated with BMD of L1-4 (r = 0.255, p = 0.028), femoral neck (r = 0.242, p = 0.039) and serum calcium (r = 0.231, p = 0.043). TIO subgroup patients (n=24, 35.9 ± 7.3 years old) comparing with age-, sex-matched adult XLH patients and healthy controls revealed significant difference of sclerostin levels (XLH, TIO and healthy control were 132.0 ± 68.8, 68.4 ± 31.3 and 98.6 ± 41.1 pg/mL, respectively, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions Circulating sclerostin levels were decreased in TIO patients but increased in XLH patients, which might be result of histological abnormality and bone mass.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Husniah Batool ◽  
Ahmed Nadeem ◽  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
Faheem Shahzad ◽  
Romeeza Tahir ◽  
...  

Background/Purpose. Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of gums that causes loss of supporting structures of teeth, that is, gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum, and alveolar bone. Levels of various cytokines in the serum, gingival tissues, and gingival crevicular fluid in patients with chronic periodontitis have been studied, but limited data are available on the level of cytokines in saliva. Therefore, a study was designed to determine levels of salivary IL-6 and IL-17 in patients with calculus associated chronic periodontitis. Materials and Methods. It was a comparative, cross-sectional study that is comprised of 41 healthy controls and 41 calculus associated chronic periodontitis patients (CP patients). According to the degree of attachment loss, CP patients were subcategorized as mild (CAL 1-2 mm), moderate (CAL 3-4 mm), and severe (CAL > 5 mm) forms of periodontitis. Salivary levels of IL-6 and IL-17 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Data was analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results. Between healthy controls and CP patients (moderate and severe disease), a statistically significant difference was observed in the concentrations of IL-6 and IL-17. In CP patients, the highest mean ± SD of salivary IL-6 and IL-17 was observed in severe CP, followed by moderate and mild CP. Regarding level of IL-6, a statistically significant difference was observed between mild and severe disease and between moderate and severe subcategories of CP patients. Similarly, statistically significant difference was observed in the level of IL-17 between mild and moderate, mild and severe disease, and moderate and severe disease. Conclusion. The levels of salivary IL-6 and IL-17 were increased significantly in calculus associated CP patients as compared to healthy controls and these levels increased with the progression of CP. Clinical Significance. Salivary levels of IL-6 and IL-17 may help in the subcategorization of CP.


Author(s):  
Nandish Kumar S. ◽  
Jyothi Jadhav ◽  
Ranganath T. S. ◽  
Vishwanatha .

Background: In India, more than two thirds of adolescents aged 11-17 years have insufficient physical activity. Though data on prevalence of physical activity among adolescents with reference to WHO criteria are available, very few studies have assessed the magnitude of physical activity. Hence, the study was conducted to assess the magnitude of physical activity among rural high school children of Nelamangala Taluk, Bengaluru.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 200 high school students from 6 co-education schools. Magnitude of physical activity was assessed using physical activity questionnaire for adolescents (PAQ-A), a self-reported, validated questionnaire.Results: Mean age of the study participants was 14.35 years. 112 (56%) of them were female and 123 (61.5%) of them were studying in 10th standard. 100 (50%) of them were from government or aided school. Final Physical activity score of study participants was 2.39±0.64. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the final physical activity score between males and females. Government or aided school participants had a better final score than those of private school and the difference was statistically significant. Final physical activity score decreased with their promotion to higher class. There was no significant difference between activity levels during physical education class across variables like sex, class studying and type of school.Conclusions: Physical activity was better among males, government school participants and those studying in lower class in comparison to their counterparts. Majority of this difference can be attributed to activities happening beyond the school hours. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Negrão ◽  
Henrique Teruo Akiba ◽  
Vivian Renne Gerber Lederman ◽  
Álvaro Machado Dias

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study is to validate the adult version of “Faux Pas Recognition Test” created by Stone and colleagues (1998) as a reliable instrument assess and discriminate social cognition among schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Methods This is a cross-sectional study with a total of 196 participants (mean age = 26.45; CI (95%) [25.10; 27.83]) 51% male. From those, 44 (22.4%) patients with schizophrenia and 152 (77.6%) healthy controls. The participants answered a short version of the Faux Pas Recognition Test, composed by 10 stories. Results Significant differences were found between both groups regarding their scores on Faux Pas Recognition Test (p = 0.003). Patients with schizophrenia had lower score, compared to healthy controls. Story 14 was the best to distinguish both groups, and Story 16, the worst. Among the questions of Faux Pas stories, the one related to intuition presented the most significant difference between the groups (p = 0.001), followed by the one related to understanding (p = 0.003). Conclusion The Brazilian version of the Faux Pas Recognition Test is a valid test to assess social cognition in schizophrenia and can be an important instrument to be used on the clinical practice.


2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 3562-3567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Marcocci ◽  
Luigi Bartalena ◽  
Maria Laura Tanda ◽  
Luca Manetti ◽  
Enrica Dell’Unto ◽  
...  

Eighty-two consecutive patients with moderate-to-severe and active Graves’ ophthalmopathy were randomly treated with orbital radiotherapy combined with either oral (prednisone; starting dose, 100 mg/d; withdrawal after 5 months) or iv (methylprednisolone; 15 mg/kg for four cycles and then 7.5 mg/kg for four cycles; each cycle consisted of two infusions on alternate days at 2-wk intervals) glucocorticoids. The two groups did not differ for age, gender, duration of hyperthyroidism and ophthalmopathy, prevalence of smokers, thyroid volume, and pretreatment ocular conditions. Both groups of patients received radioiodine therapy shortly before treatment for Graves’ ophthalmopathy. Follow-up lasted for 12 months. A significant reduction in proptosis (from 23.2 ± 3.0 to 21.6 ± 1.2 mm in the iv glucocorticoid group, P &lt; 0.0001; and from 23 ± 1.8 to 21.7± 1.8 mm in oral glucocorticoid group, P &lt; 0.0001) and in lid width (from 13.3 ± 2.5 to 11.8 ± 2.2 mm, and from 13.6 ± 2.0 to 11.5 ± 1.9 mm, respectively; P &lt; 0.001 in both cases) occurred, with no difference between the two groups. Diplopia significantly improved in both groups: it disappeared in 13 of 27 (48.1%) iv glucocorticoid patients (P &lt; 0.005) and in 12 of 33 (36.4%) oral glucocorticoid patients (P &lt; 0.03). The degree of amelioration of diplopia did not significantly differ between the two groups (P = 0.82). Optic neuropathy improved in 11 of 14 iv glucocorticoid (P &lt; 0.01) and only in 3 of 9 oral glucocorticoid (P = 0.57) patients, with no significant difference in these outcomes. The Clinical Activity Score decreased from 4.5 ± 1.2 to 1.7 ± 1.0 (P &lt; 0.0001) in the iv glucocorticoid group and from 4.2 ± 1.1 to 2.2 ± 1.2 (P &lt; 0.0001) in the oral glucocorticoid group; final Clinical Activity Score was significantly lower in iv glucocorticoid than in oral glucocorticoid patients (P &lt; 0.01). By self-assessment evaluation, 35 (85.3%) iv glucocorticoid and 30 (73.2%) oral glucocorticoid patients reported an improvement of ocular conditions (P = 0.27). Overall, both treatments produced favorable effects in most patients, but responders in the iv glucocorticoid group (36 of 41, 87.8%) were more than in the oral glucocorticoid group (26 of 41, 63.4%) (P &lt; 0.02). Moreover, iv glucocorticoid treatment was better tolerated than oral glucocorticoid treatment. Side effects occurred in 23 (56.1%) iv glucocorticoid and 35 (85.4%) oral glucocorticoid patients (P &lt; 0.01); in particular, cushingoid features developed in 5 of the former and 35 of the latter patients. One iv glucocorticoid patient had severe hepatitis of undetermined origin at the end of glucocorticoid treatment, followed by spontaneous recovery. In conclusion, high-dose iv glucocorticoid and oral glucocorticoid (associated with orbital radiotherapy) are effective in the management of severe Graves’ ophthalmopathy, but the iv route seems to be more effective and better tolerated than the oral route and associated with a lower rate of side effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 4284-4291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esra Pancar Yuksel ◽  
Dilek Durmus ◽  
Gokhan Sarisoy

Objective To evaluate the perceived stress, life events, fatigue and temperament profile in patients with psoriasis and to investigate the relationship between these factors. Methods This cross-sectional study included patients with psoriasis and healthy control subjects. The two groups were compared regarding the number of life events, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue scores. The Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire was used to evaluate the personality traits among the two groups. Results A total of 75 patients with psoriasis (mean ± SD age, 44.94 ± 13.62 years) and 75 healthy controls (mean ± SD age, 41.10 ± 8.89 years) were included in the study. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the presence of life events, PSS score, fatigue and temperament profiles. Patients with psoriasis with depressive, cyclothymic and anxious temperament profiles were found to have higher PSS scores. In the psoriasis group, the PSS scores were positively correlated with the number of life events. Conclusions Stress and life events were found to be correlated with psoriasis. In the patients with psoriasis, depressive, cyclothymic and anxious temperament profiles seemed to be associated with higher perceived stress.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 7585-7592
Author(s):  
Vinod A N ◽  
Leena Chand ◽  
Preeti R Y ◽  
Harshitha S ◽  
Prahaladh R

The study of biomarkers in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is highly indispensable to understand mechanisms of pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease. The role of traditional biomarkers like Anti-CCP, RF, and inflammatory markers like ESR and CRP is well established. In this study, we aimed to measure nontraditional biomarkers like Hyaluronic acid (HA), Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), and Osteocalcin in the serum of RA patients and also to establish an association with traditional markers. It was a cross-sectional study involving 152 RA patients based on the 1987 ACR criteria for the diagnosis of RA and 68 age‑ and sex-matched healthy controls. After the clinical examination, traditional markers were assessed to measure the disease activity along with non traditional markers in RA patients. All the values were expressed as median (25th–75th percentile). In our study, there was a significant increase in serum HA levels in RA patients compared to healthy controls (p  < 0.03), whereas no significant difference in serum COMP and osteocalcin levels. The traditional inflammatory markers were significantly increased in RA patients than controls with (p  < 0.001). The serum HA levels were significantly correlated with traditional markers in RA patients. Conclusion: Significant increase in serum HA level in RA patients indicating synovial inflammation, but there were no notable changes in COMP and osteocalcin level in serum presuming the combination of these markers may be useful along with traditional markers in the different stages of RA.


2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Hae Min Kang ◽  
◽  
Jeong Hoon Choi ◽  
Hyoung Jun Koh ◽  
Sung Chul Lee ◽  
...  

AIM: To determine the prevalence of focal lamina cribrosa (LC) defect among patients with pachychoroid disease spectrum (PDS) in the absence of peripapillary retinoschisis. METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study comprised of 180 patients with PDS, including polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), central serous chorioretinopathy, and pachychoroidal neovasculopathy. Medical records and optic nerve head evaluations conducted using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging were reviewed. As a control group, 236 patients who underwent ophthalmologic evaluation for vitreous floaters, without obvious ocular disease, were also included. RESULTS: The mean age of the PDS group, which included 118 male patients (65.6%), was 57.4±11.1y. There was no significant difference between the two groups in age (P=0.710) or sex (P=0.248). Six patients (3.3%) in the PDS group and none in the control group showed focal LC defect (P=0.318). Among the six patients with focal LC defect in the PDS group, four eyes had PCV, one eye was the fellow eye of a PCV eye, and one eye had pachychoroidal neovasculopathy. CONCLUSION: Focal LC defect can be defected in patients with PDS in the absence of peripapillary retinoschisis. However, the prevalence of focal LC defect was not different significantly between PDS patients and those who did not have PDS.


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