scholarly journals Long-term Observation of Patients with Sympathetic Ophthalmia from a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Perspective. Overview of Literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 235-248
Author(s):  
Jan Krásný ◽  
Tomáš Eckschlager ◽  
Karel Smetana ◽  
Josef Šach ◽  
Hana Šubrtová

Aim: To evaluate options of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) compared with literature data. Backgroud: SO is an ocular autoimmune disease. It is characterized by disbalance in the imunoregulatory T-subsets within cell mediated immune response. Methods: File examination of SO by evaluation humoral and cellular immunity was ranked nukleolar test (NT). It evaulates the current status of lymphocyte activation based on the nucleolar morphology and RNA transcription aktivity. The classical histological examination was supported by immunohistochemical analysis of lymphocytic subpopulations in the eyeball enucleated for. SO in one case. Material: Five boys and men overall were monitored and treated in two studies from 1979 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2017 with SO In four cases it was subsequent after penetrating injuries and once after lensectomy with vitrectomy. The age of patients in the time of onset of SO was between 4 and 24 years (average 12 years). The time interval between insult and onset of SO varied between 10 days and 3 months (average 1.7 months). The relaps of disease appeared in the all cases in the time interval from 3 months to 38 years (average 15 years). Another two patients with SO were examined only in consultation: 16 years old boy with relaps of SO after cataract extraction and 71 years old women with SO subsequent after lensectomy and vitrectomy. There was examined and compared group of 19 patients with other types of uveitis in the same time. The lens-associated uveitis were caused after ocular contusion and penetrating eye injury in 16 patients (13 male patients). In another three cases (young women) with uveitid underlined by II. or III. type of hypersenzitivity the enucleation of dolorous eyeball calmed down the secondary uveitis on their second eye without any change of immunosupressive treatment and without change in NT. Results: There were changes in the complex immunological laboratory tests results in the SO cases in the counts of activated lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. The count of activated lymphocytes was increased in SO cases unlike in lens-associated uveitis. There was detected in NT statistically significant difference (p = 0,0134) between the two groups of uveitis. The histological examination (5 eyes with SO and 7 eyes without sympathetic uveitis) confirmed the diagnoses, supporting basically the clinical diagnosis. The immunohistochemical examination corfirmed the presence of populations of T-lymphocytes, macrophages and also B-lymphocytes. A basis of immunosuppressive therapy was the combination of prednisone and azathioprin at the first time. Effective therapy featured cyklosporine later. Conclusion: The nucleolar test of lymphocytes draws attention of their up-to-day increased activity without the diferentiation of subpopulations and their absolute number increase related to the current activation of type IV. hypersensitivity (cell-mediated) in uveitis mechanism. The immunosupressive therapy calmes down this activation predominantly in SO, but also in other case sof uveitis with different types of hypersensivity. The immunohistochemical examination illustrates different presence of lymphocytic types according to the stage of SO.

2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662110197
Author(s):  
Moosa Azadian ◽  
Suyee Win ◽  
Amir Abdipour ◽  
Carolyn Krystal Kim ◽  
H. Bryant Nguyen

Background: Fluid therapy plays a major role in the management of critically ill patients. Yet assessment of intravascular volume in these patients is challenging. Different invasive and non-invasive methods have been used with variable results. The passive leg raise (PLR) maneuver has been recommended by international guidelines as a means to determine appropriate fluid resuscitation. We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to determine if using this method of volume assessment has an impact on mortality outcome in patients with septic shock. Methods: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched available data in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases from inception until October 2020 for prospective, randomized, controlled trials that compared PLR-guided fluid resuscitation to standard care in adult patients with septic shock. Our primary outcome was mortality at the longest duration of follow-up. Results: We screened 1,425 article titles and abstracts. Of the 23 full-text articles reviewed, 5 studies with 462 patients met our eligibility criteria. Odds ratios (ORs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality at the longest reported time interval were calculated for each study. Using random effects modeling, the pooled OR (95% CI) for mortality with a PLR-guided resuscitation strategy was 0.82 (0.52 -1.30). The included studies were not blinded and they ranged from having low to high risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Conclusion: Our analysis showed there was no statistically significant difference in mortality among septic shock patients treated with PLR-guided resuscitation vs. those with standard care.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 205566831982580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruslinda Ruslee ◽  
Jennifer Miller ◽  
Henrik Gollee

Introduction: Functional electrical stimulation is a common technique used in the rehabilitation of individuals with a spinal cord injury to produce functional movement of paralysed muscles. However, it is often associated with rapid muscle fatigue which limits its applications. Methods: The objective of this study is to investigate the effects on the onset of fatigue of different multi-electrode patterns of stimulation via multiple pairs of electrodes using doublet pulses: Synchronous stimulation is compared to asynchronous stimulation patterns which are activated sequentially (AsynS) or randomly (AsynR), mimicking voluntary muscle activation by targeting different motor units. We investigated these three different approaches by applying stimulation to the gastrocnemius muscle repeatedly for 10 min (300 ms stimulation followed by 700 ms of no-stimulation) with 40 Hz effective frequency for all protocols and doublet pulses with an inter-pulse-interval of 6 ms. Eleven able-bodied volunteers (28 ± 3 years old) participated in this study. Ultrasound videos were recorded during stimulation to allow evaluation of changes in muscle morphology. The main fatigue indicators we focused on were the normalised fatigue index, fatigue time interval and pre-post twitch–tetanus ratio. Results: The results demonstrate that asynchronous stimulation with doublet pulses gives a higher normalised fatigue index (0.80 ± 0.08 and 0.87 ± 0.08) for AsynS and AsynR, respectively, than synchronous stimulation (0.62 ± 0.06). Furthermore, a longer fatigue time interval for AsynS (302.2 ± 230.9 s) and AsynR (384.4 ± 279.0 s) compared to synchronous stimulation (68.0 ± 30.5 s) indicates that fatigue occurs later during asynchronous stimulation; however, this was only found to be statistically significant for one of two methods used to calculate the group mean. Although no significant difference was found in pre-post twitch–tetanus ratio, there was a trend towards these effects. Conclusion: In this study, we proposed an asynchronous stimulation pattern for the application of functional electrical stimulation and investigated its suitability for reducing muscle fatigue compared to previous methods. The results show that asynchronous multi-electrode stimulation patterns with doublet pulses may improve fatigue resistance in functional electrical stimulation applications in some conditions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Vitor Quinelli Mazaro ◽  
Luiz Miguel Minani ◽  
Adriana Cristina Zavanelli ◽  
Caroline Cantieri de Mello ◽  
Cleidiel Aparecido Araújo Lemos

AbstractIntroductionTemporary restorative materials are widely used, however, little is know about their color stability.Objectiveto evaluate the color stability of the following temporary restorative materials: acrylic and bis-acrylic resins after immersion in pigmenting solutions for different periods of storage.Material and methodFour materials were tested (Dêncor/Clássico, Protemp 4/3M ESPE; Structur 2 SC/Voco; Luxatemp AM Plus/DMG) and 30 test specimens (15 mm in diameter and 2 mm thick) per material were fabricated. They were divided according to the storage medium (artificial saliva, saliva + cola type soda, and saliva + coffee) and storage time intervals (2, 5, 7 and 15 days). Color measurements were made before and after immersions, with use of a spectrophotometer, by means of the CIE L*a*b* system. The data were analyzed by the analysis of variance and the Tukey Test, at a level of significance of 5%.ResultAcrylic resin presented greater color stability in comparison with bis-acrylic resins (p<0.001). When bis-acrylic resins were compared no significant difference was observed between the resins Structur and Luxatemp (p=0.767). As regards solutions tested, coffee showed the highest color change values (p<0.001), and the longer the storage time interval, the greater was the color change in all the temporary restorative materials analyzed (p<0.001).ConclusionAcrylic resin presented greater color stability in comparison with bis-acrylic resins (p<0.001). Coffee caused the greatest color change, and immersion time was determinant in color stability of the temporary materials analyzed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 44-50
Author(s):  
N. A. Popov ◽  

The aspects of reasonableness in developing the line breeding strategy at the current status stage of dairy breeds and its significance as a factor for genetic variability have been reported. The value for milk production of the first-calf heifers within the line-bred pedigree Red-and-White cattle is estimated. Particular characteristics of the progeny produced from mating in the inbred and crossbred lines are recorded. The lower trait variability of traits was found with selecting within the crossbred lines than that in the inbred lines. Thus, the variables for the milk yield, the mass fraction of fat (MFF) in milk, and the mass fraction of protein (MFP) were less by 4–13% of the mean square deviation, 11,3–20,6%, and 14,3%, respectively. Livestock breed differentiation between the breeding lines was previously executed with the artificial elements of isolation systems. At present, the breeds widely distributed in the Russian Federation are usually “improved” with the use of Holsteins. Therefore, their genealogy and breeding structures depend on the foreign gene pool. Selection strategies for the improvement of milkability traits were implemented along with selection of bull sires capable of improving the conformation. In addition, certain herd bulls were used repeatadly. The variables for genetic values for milkability traits, which changed over time, were monitored. The herd milk production within the lines over a generation increased by 624–786 kg milk (P<0,001), while the MFF deacresed by 0,18–0,25% (P<0,001). Depending on the types of breeding, the differences in the milk yields and the MFF of the first-calf heifers between the lines comprised 178–444 kg (P<0,001) and +0.01%, respectively. However, a statistically significant difference between the lines was recorded only for the MFP, which comprised 0,03% (P<0,001).


Author(s):  
Jenifer Mangalus

While there have been studies and awareness seminars conducted in the promotion of Philippine English (PE), still PE has not fully-penetrated in most public schools. Hence, the study sought to identify the acceptability of PE among English teachers from a secondary high school in Pampanga. PE’s levels of acceptability were determined using Torres and Alieto’s (2019) Grammatical and Lexical Acceptability Questionnaire. Pre -test result revealed that teachers have low acceptability level of the PE grammatical and lexical items   and that they are not aware of the PE. A webinar was conducted to introduce the PE among teachers and the post-test showed a significant difference to their acceptability level. Furthermore, teachers’ answers to the follow up questions imply that they are willing to introduce PE in the classroom, which they believe will help the students to be more conversant and become more confident in speaking the English language. It is concluded that teachers are open to incorporating the PE in their classes to further improve their students’ confidence in learning the language. The following recommendations were given: (1) Teachers should be provided with more seminars that will update them with the current status of Philippine English; (2) Teachers should be encouraged to consider the Philippine English in motivating students to be confident speakers in the English classes; and (3) School administrators and English teachers should promote the acceptance of Philippine English in the academic context.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ranjbarvaziri ◽  
Shah Ali ◽  
Mahmood Talkhabi ◽  
Peng Zhao ◽  
Young-Jae Nam ◽  
...  

Rationale: The traditional definition of “cardiovascular” lineages describes the eponymous cell types - cardiomyoctes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells - that arise from a common mesodermal progenitor cell during heart development. Fibroblasts are an abundant mesenchymal population in the mammalian heart which may have multiple, discrete developmental origins. Mesp1 represents the earliest marker of cardiovascular progenitors, contributing to the majority of cardiac lineages. To date no link between Mesp1 and fibroblast generation has been reported. Objective: We hypothesized progenitor cells expressing Mesp1 can also give rise to cardiac fibroblasts during heart development. Methods and Results: We generated Mesp1cre/+;R26RmTmG reporter mice where Cre-mediated recombination results in GFP activation in all Mesp1 expressing cells and their progeny. To explore their developmental potential, we isolated GFP+ cells from E7.5 Mesp1cre/+;R26RmTmG mouse. In vitro culture and transplantation studies into SCID mouse kidney capsule as wells as chick embryos showed fibroblastic adoption. Results showed that at E9.5 Mesp1+ and Mesp1- progenitors contributed to the proepicardium organ and later at E11.5 they formed epicardium. Analysis of adult hearts demonstrated that the majority of cardiac fibroblasts are derived from Mesp1 expressing cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of heart sections demonstrated expression of fibroblast markers (including DDR2, PDGFRα and Col1) in cells derived from both Mesp1+ and Mesp1- progenitors. Additionally, we investigated whether the two distinct fibroblast populations have different potency towards reprogramming to cardiomyocytes. Results showed no significant difference between Mesp1 and non-Mesp1 isolated fibroblasts to convert to cardiomyocyte fate. Conclusions: Our data demonstrates that cardiovascular progenitors expressing Mesp1 contribute to the proepicardium. These cells, as cardiovascular progenitors, also give rise to the highest portion of cardiac fibroblasts in the mouse heart.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 382-386
Author(s):  
Maheer Masood ◽  
Trevor Hackman

Introduction Intraoperative parathyroid hormone (ioPTH) testing is a widely accepted standard for assessing the parathyroid gland function. A decline of preoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels by more than 50% is one accepted measure of parathyroid surgery adequacy. However, there may be a variation between preoperative PTH levels obtained at a clinic visit and pre-excisional ioPTH. Objective Our study explores the differences between preoperative PTH and pre-excisional ioPTH levels, and the potential impact this difference has on determining the adequacy of parathyroid surgery. Methods A retrospective study that consisted of 33 patients that had undergone parathyroid resection between September 2009 and March 2016 at a tertiary academic center was performed. Each subject's preoperative PTH levels were obtained from clinic visits and pre-excisional ioPTH levels were recorded along with the time interval between the measurements. Results There was a significant difference between the mean preoperative PTH and the pre-excisional ioPTH levels of 147 pg/mL (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.43 to 284.47; p = 0.0396). The exclusion of four outliers revealed a further significant difference with a mean of 35.09 pg/mL (95% CI 20.27 to 49.92; p < 0.0001). The average time interval between blood draws was 48 days + 32 days. A weak correlation between the change in PTH values and the time interval between preoperative and pre-excision blood draws was noted (r2 = 0.15). Conclusion Our study reveals a significant difference between the preoperative PTH levels obtained at clinic visits and the pre-excisional intraoperative PTH levels. We recommend routine pre-excisional intraoperative PTH levels, despite evidence of elevated preoperative PTH levels, in order to more accurately assess the adequacy of surgical resection.


2003 ◽  
Vol 131 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 226-231
Author(s):  
Ivana Golubicic ◽  
Jelena Bokun ◽  
Marina Nikitovic ◽  
Jasmina Mladenovic ◽  
Milan Saric ◽  
...  

PURPOSE The aim of this study was: 1. to evaluate treatment results of combined therapy (surgery, postoperative craniospinal radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy) and 2. to assess factors affecting prognosis (extend of tumor removal, involvement of the brain stem, extent of disease postoperative meningitis, shunt placement, age, sex and time interval from surgery to start of postoperative radiotherapy). PATIENTS AND METHODS During the period 1986-1996, 78 patients with medulloblastoma, aged 1-22 years (median 8.6 years), were treated with combined modality therapy and 72 of them were evaluable for the study end-points. Entry criteria were histologically proven diagnosis, age under 22 years, and no history of previous malignant disease. The main characteristics of the group are shown in Table 1. Twenty-nine patients (37.2%) have total, 8 (10.3%) near total and 41 (52.5%) partial removal. Seventy-two of 78 patients were treated with curative intent and received postoperative craniospinal irradiation. Radiotherapy started 13-285 days after surgery (median 36 days). Only 13 patients started radiotherapy after 60 days following surgery. Adjuvant chemotherapy was applied in 63 (80.7%) patients. The majority of them (46 73%) received chemotherapy with CCNU and Vincristine. The survival rates were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method and the differences in survival were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and log-rank test. RESULTS The follow-up period ranged from 1-12 years (median 3 years). Five-year overall survival (OS) was 51% and disease-free survival (DFS) 47% (Graph 1). During follow-up 32 relapses occurred. Patients having no brain stem infiltration had significantly better survival (p=0.0023) (Graph 2). Patients with positive myelographic findings had significantly poorer survival compared to dose with negative myelographic findings (p=0.0116). Significantly poorer survival was found in patients with meningitis developing in the postoperative period, with no patient living longer than two years (p=0.0134) (Graph 3). By analysis of OS and DFS in relation to presence of the malignant cells in liquor, statistically significant difference, i. e. positive CSF cytology was not obtained, which was of statistical importance for survival (p=0.8207). Neither shunt placement nor shunt type showed any impact on survival (p=0.5307 and 0.7119, respectively). Children younger than three years had significantly poorer survival compared to those older than 16 years (p=0.0473). Although there was a better survival rate in females than in males this was not statistically significant (p=0.2386).The analysis results of treatment showed that significantly better survival occurred in patients in whom total or subtotal tumor removal was possible (p=0.0022) (Graph 4). Patients who started radiotherapy within two months after surgery have better survival, but again this was not statistically significant, probably due to the small number of patients receiving delayed radiotherapy (p=0.2231)(Graph5). CONCLUSION Based on this factors standard and high risk group could be defined. Combined chemotherapy should to be investigated particularly for high risk subgroup. Future research should be done to define new therapeutic modalities (gene therapy, compounds active in tumor antiangiogenesis etc).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Fernandes ◽  
Beatriz Machado ◽  
Cassio Cardoso-Filho ◽  
Juliana Nativio ◽  
Cesar Cabello ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study aims to assess breast cancer survival rates after one decade of mammography in a large urban area of Brazil. Methods It is a population-based retrospective cohort of women with breast cancer in Campinas, São Paulo, from 2010 to 2014. Age, vital status and stage were accessed through the cancer and mortality registry, and patients records. Statistics used Kaplan-Meier, log-rank and Cox's regression. Results Out of the 2,715 cases, 665 deaths (24.5%) were confirmed until early 2020. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.6 years. Women 50-69 years were 48.0%, and stage I the most frequent (25.0%). The overall mean survival was 8.4 years (8.2-8.5). The 5-year survival (5yOS) for overall, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 years was respectively 80.5%, 87.7%, 83.7%, 83.8% and 75.5%. The 5yOS for stages 0, I, II, III and IV was 95.2%, 92.6%, 89.4%, 71.1% and 47.1%. There was no significant difference in survival in stage I or II (p=0.058). Compared to women 50-59 years, death's risk was 2.3 times higher for women 70-79 years and 26% lower for women 40-49 years. Concerning stage I, the risk of death was 1.5, 4.1 and 8.6 times higher, and 34% lower, respectively, for stage II, III, IV and 0. Conclusions In Brazil, breast cancers are currently diagnosed in the early stages, although advanced cases persist. Survival rates may reflect improvements in screening, early detection and treatment. The results can reflect the current status of other regions or countries with similar health care conditions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangqian Shang ◽  
Shuai Xiang ◽  
Jianjun Guo ◽  
Feng Ji ◽  
Shuai Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: This study explored the optimal time interval between staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty (BTKA) to minimise early complications of the second TKA and maximise long-term function of the first and second knees.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 266 patients who underwent staged BTKA between 2010 and 2015. Groups 1–4 had time intervals between BTKAs of 1–6, 6–12, 12–18, and 18–24 months, respectively. Demographics, postoperative complications within 90 days of the second TKA, Knee Society Score (KSS), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score were compared among the groups.Results: In total, 54, 96, 75, and 41 patients were assigned to groups 1–4, respectively. Although group 1 had the highest overall complication rate (11.11%), there was no significant difference in the complication rate among the four groups. Also, no significant differences were found among the four groups in functional and patient-reported outcomes, in either the first or second knee at 5 years postoperatively, including KSS-knee, KSS-function, WOMAC-pain, WOMAC-stiffness, and WOMAC-physical function. The interval between BTKA did not influence complications or the function of the second knee. The TKA type (posterior-stabilised vs. medial-pivot) and age did not correlate significantly with any scores.Conclusions: There was no group difference in early complications of the second TKA, and postoperative function was equivalent between the two knees and did not vary by the interval between surgeries. Our results can help surgeons discuss the timing of the second TKA with patients, which should be based on their own preferences. If patients cannot tolerate severe symptoms in the contralateral knee after the first TKA, the second TKA should be performed as early as possible.


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