Differences in retinal vascular parameters between pediatric patients
with inflammatory bowel diseases and healthy controls measured by
optical coherence tomography angiography

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are neuroinflammatory diseases of the central nervous system. Patients suffer from recurring relapses and it is unclear whether relapse-independent disease activity occurs and whether this is of clinical relevance. Objective: To detect disease-specific alterations of the retinal vasculature that reflect disease activity during NMOSD. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 16 patients with NMOSD, 21 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and 21 healthy controls using retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT), optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) serum levels, and assessment of visual acuity. Results: Patients with NMOSD but not multiple sclerosis revealed lower foveal thickness (FT) ( p = 0.02) measures and an increase of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) ( p = 0.02) compared to healthy controls independent to optic neuritis. Reduced FT ( p = 0.01), enlarged FAZ areas ( p = 0.0001), and vessel loss of the superficial vascular complex ( p = 0.01) were linked to higher serum GFAP levels and superficial vessel loss was associated with worse visual performance in patients with NMOSD irrespective of optic neuritis. Conclusion: Subclinical parafoveal retinal vessel loss might occur during NMOSD and might be linked to astrocyte damage and poor visual performance. OCT-A may be a tool to study subclinical disease activity during NMOSD.

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Retinal vessel architecture in retinopathy of prematurity and healthy controls using swept‐source optical coherence tomography angiography

Acta Ophthalmologica ◽

10.1111/aos.14557 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sandra Rezar‐Dreindl ◽

Katharina Eibenberger ◽

Reinhard Told ◽

Thomas Neumayer ◽

Irene Steiner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Optical Coherence Tomography ◽

Retinopathy Of Prematurity ◽

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography ◽

Retinal Vessel ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Optical Coherence ◽

Swept Source

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Going Viral: a Novel Role for Bacteriophage in Colorectal Cancer

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.02626-18 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Scott A. Handley ◽

Suzanne Devkota

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Dark Matter ◽

Gastrointestinal Tract ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Cross Section ◽

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Bowel Diseases ◽

Inflammatory Bowel ◽

Disease Signatures

ABSTRACT Microbiome-based signatures of disease have focused primarily on the bacterial component of the microbiome for numerous reasons, including ease of sample preparation and depth of the curated bacterial database. However, even more numerous than bacteria are the bacteriophages of the viral portion of the microbiome, which have emerged with identifiable disease signatures in other diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases. Here, G. D. Hannigan, M. B. Duhaime, M. T. Ruffin, IV, C. C. Koumpouras, and P. D. Schloss (mBio 9:e02248-18, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02248-18) present a study that explores the potential bacteriophage signatures in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and the associated changes in bacterial signatures. Sampling from a cross section of 60 patients at different stages of CRC in addition to 30 healthy controls, this study highlights the need for greater exploration into the virome, including the “dark matter” of diverse forms that viruses assume in the gastrointestinal tract.

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