Case Report: Self-Resolved Macular Edema Secondary to Congenital Retinal Macrovessels

PurposeTo report a case of macular edema secondary to congenital retinal macrovessels (CRMs), which resolved spontaneously without any treatment.ObservationsA 39-year-old female presented with blurry vision of the right eye for one day. Fundus examination revealed a branch of artery and vein of the inferior retinal arcade crossing the horizontal raphe. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) through the fovea showed cystoid macular edema in the outer plexiform layer. However, no leakage of the vessels was noticed by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). Observation was recommended with close follow-up. Two weeks later, the patient returned with good visual acuity, and the macular edema was resolved spontaneously.ConclusionsMacular edema is a possible complication of CRM by increasing retinal capillary hydrostatic pressure. Treatment is not necessary for this kind of macular edema if no leakage of the vessels is noticed on FFA.

Hypertension in Pregnancy: Diagnosis, Blood Pressure Goals, and Pharmacotherapy: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain one of the major causes of pregnancy-related maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Affected women are also at increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life, independently of traditional cardiovascular disease risks. Despite the immediate and long-term cardiovascular disease risks, recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of HDP in the United States have changed little, if at all, over past decades, unlike hypertension guidelines for the general population. The reasons for this approach include the question of benefit from normalization of blood pressure treatment for pregnant women, coupled with theoretical concerns for fetal well-being from a reduction in utero-placental perfusion and in utero exposure to antihypertensive medication. This report is based on a review of current literature and includes normal physiological changes in pregnancy that may affect clinical presentation of HDP; HDP epidemiology and the immediate and long-term sequelae of HDP; the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, an HDP commonly associated with proteinuria and increasingly recognized as a heterogeneous disease with different clinical phenotypes and likely distinct pathological mechanisms; a critical overview of current national and international HDP guidelines; emerging evidence that reducing blood pressure treatment goals in pregnancy may reduce maternal severe hypertension without increasing the risk of pregnancy loss, high-level neonatal care, or overall maternal complications; and the increasingly recognized morbidity associated with postpartum hypertension/preeclampsia. Finally, we discuss the future of research in the field and the pressing need to study socioeconomic and biological factors that may contribute to racial and ethnic maternal health care disparities.

Combined Effect of Microencapsulated Horseradish Juice and High-Pressure Treatment on Pork Quality During Storage

High-pressure processing (HPP) is well suited to combine consumer demand for meat products with minimal heat treatment without compromising product safety. In turn, herbs have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of hurdle technology combining microencapsulated horseradish root and leaf juice with HPP (300 MPa; 15 min) for extending of the raw pork meat shelf life. Water activity (aw), pH, colour, hardness, and micro-biological parameters of meat were evaluated during 21-day storage. Total plate count (TPC) in HPP treated samples was significantly smaller (p < 0.05) compared to untreated samples during storage until the day 14. On day 21, the TPC in processed samples was still slightly lower, however, at this point significance was not established between samples. Water activity dynamics in the HPP-treated microencapsulated pork meat samples differed significantly from other samples. Hardness decreased during storage, but no significant differences were found between samples. The L* values and pH of the meat were not significantly influenced by the added microencapsulated juice, but by high pressure treatment. Treatment with microencapsulated horseradish juice had a positive effect on the TPC and aw of the meat sample.

Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure Treatment of Newly Fertilized Eggs on the Ploidy Level and Karyotype of Pikeperch Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758)

We studied the effect of different magnitudes (7000 PSI (48.26 MPa), 8000 PSI (55.16 MPa), and 9000 PSI (62.05 MPa)) of hydrostatic pressure on the ploidy of pikeperch larvae. Pressure shock was applied 5 min after the fertilization of eggs at a water temperature of 14.8 ± 1 °C. A 7000 PSI pressure shock was applied for 10 or 20 min, while 8000 and 9000 PSI treatments lasted for 10 min. Each treatment with its respective control was completed in triplicate, where different females’ eggs served as a replicate. In the treatment groups exposed to 7000 PSI for 10 min, only diploid and triploid larvae were identified, while 2n/3n mosaic individuals were found after a 20-min exposure to a 7000 PSI pressure shock. The application of 8000 or 9000 PSI pressure shocks resulted in only triploid and mosaic individuals. Among larvae from eggs treated with 8000 PSI, three mosaic individuals with 2n/3n karyotype were identified (4.0 ± 6.9%), while a single (2.0 ± 3.5%) 1n/3n mosaic individual was found in the 9000 PSI-treated group. To our knowledge, this is the first report that demonstrates the induction of a haplo-triploid karyotype by hydrostatic pressure shock in teleost fish. The dominance of triploid individuals with a reasonable survival rate (36.8 ± 26.1%) after 8000 PSI shock supports the suitability of the hydrostatic pressure treatment of freshly fertilized eggs for triploid induction in pikeperch.