Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease, a bilateral granulomatous panuveitis associated with multisystem involvement, is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disorder in which cytotoxic T-cell target melanocytes ...in genetically susceptible individuals. Recently, there has been an increase in literature on the new onset of uveitis and reactivation of previously diagnosed cases of uveitis following Covid-19 vaccinations. It has been postulated that Covid-19 vaccines can lead to an immunomodulatory change resulting in an autoimmune phenomenon in the recipients. VKH following COVID-19 infection was reported in four patients and a total of 46 patients developing VKH or VKH-like disease following COVID-19 vaccinations. There are reports of four patients who had been recovering or recovered from VKH after receiving the first dosage of the vaccine and developed worsening of ocular inflammation after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background. The goal of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiologic manifestations of a syphilis outbreak in downtown Madrid, Spain. Because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive ...patients may be at increased risk of serologic failure during syphilis treatment, analysis of factors determining the response to treatment was performed in a cohort of HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with syphilis. Methods. We performed a longitudinal, retrospective study of patients with syphilis who received the diagnosis at a university-affiliated hospital in Madrid from 2003 through 2007. Results. Three hundred forty-seven cases of syphilis were identified and treated (30 primary, 164 secondary, 77 early latent, and 76 late cases of syphilis). Forty-one percent of patients were immigrants, mostly from South America and the Caribbean, and 49.3% were known to be HIV positive. Syphilis incidence increased from 15.6 to 35 cases per 100,000 person-years from 2003 to 2007. Most patients were men, and 50.4% were men who had sex with other men. Meningitis (4.9%) and uveitis (2.9%) were the complications most frequently observed, and their frequency did not differ between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients. Serologic failure was observed in 44 (23.5%) patients: 37 (29.6%) of 125 HIV-positive patients and 7 (11.2%) of 62 HIV-negative patients (odds ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.38–7.93; P<.05). Men (hazard ratio HR, 0.38), patients in the late stage of syphilis (HR, 0.46), and HIV-positive persons (HR, 0.61) demonstrated slower serological responses to treatment. HIV-negative patients responded more frequently to treatment, but after 2 years of follow-up, both groups shared similar response rates. Antiretroviral treatment reduced the time to serologic response (HR, 2.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.35- 3.20; P<.001). Conclusion. Syphilis incidence rose 223% from 2003 to 2007, affecting mostly HIV-positive men, men who have sex with men, and immigrants. Men, patients in the late stages of syphilis, and HIV-positive persons may be at increased risk of serologic failure. Antiretroviral therapy significantly reduced the time to achieve response to syphilis treatment in HIV-positive patients.
The electronic and vibrational properties of germanane and fluorinated germanene are studied within density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory frameworks. Different ...structural configurations of germanane and fluorinated germanene are investigated. The energy difference between the different configurations are consistently smaller than the energy of thermal fluctuations for all the analyzed DFT functionals LDA, GGA, and hybrid functionals, which implies that, in principle, it is possible to find these different configurations in different regions of the sample as minority phases or local defects. We calculate the Raman and infrared spectra for these configurations by using ab initio calculations and compare it with available experimental spectra for germanane. Our results show the presence of minority phases compatible with the configurations analyzed in this work. As these low energy configurations are metastable the present work shows that the synthesis of these energy competing phases is feasible by selectively changing the synthesis conditions, which is an opportunity to expand in this way the availability of new two-dimensional compounds.
To describe the morphological changes in the lamina cribrosa (LC) and prelaminar tissue (PT) from eyes with non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) using enhanced depth imaging ...(EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT), and to evaluate whether these changes correlate with retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness and visual acuity (VA).
A prospective case-control study was performed, including 17 study eyes with NAION and 17 control, uninvolved eyes from 17 patients. Eyes underwent scanning with Spectralis-OCT at onset, 2 and 6 months after NAION. Bruch's membrane opening (BMO), anterior LC surface depth (LCD), LC thickness and PT thickness (PTT) were compared between study and control eyes. Correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the association between these parameters, RNFL thickness and VA.
At presentation, average PT was 58.6% thicker in NAION eyes compared with healthy control eyes (p=0.001), followed by a significant thinning at 2 and 6 months (p=0.001). A significant LC forward displacement was observed at 2 and 6 months (p=0.001). BMO progressively shrunk at 2 and at 6 months (p<0.05). A significant correlation was found between PTT and RNFL thickness (ρ
=0.544, p=0.024) at onset, as well as between PTT and RNFL changes at 6 months (ρ
=0.545, p=0.036). BMO and RNFL changes were also correlated at 6 months (ρ
=0.750, p=0.001).
At onset, a significant PT thickening, backward LC movement and BMO enlargement occurred in NAION eyes compared with unaffected eyes, and these changes significantly reversed during follow-up. PTT and RNFL changes were significantly correlated.
OCT: New perspectives in neuro-ophthalmology Rebolleda, Gema; Diez-Alvarez, Laura; Casado, Alfonso ...
Saudi journal of ophthalmology,
01/2015, Letnik:
29, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become essential to evaluate axonal/neuronal integrity, to assess disease progression in the afferent visual pathway and to predict visual recovery after ...surgery in compressive optic neuropathies. Besides that OCT testing is considered a powerful biomarker of neurodegeneration and a promising outcome measure for neuroprotective trials in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Currently, spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) technology allows quantification of retinal individual layers. The Ganglion Cell layer (GCL) investigation has become one of the most useful tools from a neuro-ophthalmic perspective. It has a high correlation with perimetry, is predictive of future progression and is a highly sensitive, specific of several neuro-ophthalmic pathologies. Moreover the superior correlation with clinical measures compared to peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) suggests that GCL analysis might be a better approach to examine MS neurodegeneration.
In disorders with optic disk edema, such as ischemic optic neuropathy, papillitis and papilledema, reduction in RNFL thickness caused by axonal atrophy is difficult to distinguish from a swelling resolution. In this setting, and in buried optic nerve head drusen (ONHD), GCL analysis may provide more accurate information than RNFL analysis and it might be an early structural indicator of irreversible neuronal loss.
Enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT) provides in vivo detail of ONHD, allowing to evaluate and quantify the drusen dimensions.
OCT is improving our knowledge in hereditary optic neuropathies. Furthermore, there is growing evidence about the role of OCT as an adjunctive biomarker of disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease.
Laboratory Investigations in Infectious Uveitis Dutta Majumder, Parthopratim; Mochizuki, Manabu; González-López, Julio J ...
Ocular immunology and inflammation,
08/2023, Letnik:
ahead-of-print, Številka:
ahead-of-print
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Laboratory investigations can play a significant role in the diagnosis and decision-making of infectious uveitis. Though direct demonstration of the infective organism remains the gold standard of ...diagnosis, it is not always possible with ocular tissues. Recent advancements in molecular techniques have made it possible to overcome these limitations and to identify the genomic DNA of pathogens associated with infectious uveitis. Techniques such as next-generation sequencing can analyze all DNA-based lifeforms, regardless of whether they are bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites and have been used in the laboratory diagnosis of intraocular inflammation. On the other hand, serological tests, though they dominate the diagnostic landscape of various infectious etiologies in uveitis in routine clinical practice, have varied specificities and sensitivities in different infectious uveitis. In this review, we focus on various methods of laboratory diagnosis of infectious uveitis and discuss the recent advances in molecular diagnosis and their role in various infectious clinical entities.
Snowpacks and forests have complex interactions throughout the large range of altitudes where they co‐occur. However, there are no reliable data on the spatial and temporal interactions of forests ...with snowpacks, such as those that occur in nearby areas that have different environmental conditions and those that occur during different snow seasons. This study monitored the interactions of forests with snowpacks in four forest stands in a single valley of the central Spanish Pyrenees during three consecutive snow seasons (2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018). Daily snow depth data from time‐lapse cameras were compared with snow data from field surveys that were performed every 10–15 days. These data thus provided information on the spatial and temporal changes of snow–water equivalent (SWE). The results indicated that forest had the same general effects on snowpack in each forest stand and during each snow season. On average, forest cover reduced the duration of snowpack by 17 days, reduced the cumulative SWE of the snowpack by about 60% and increased the spatial heterogeneity of snowpack by 190%. Overall, forest cover reduced SWE total accumulation by 40% and the rate of SWE accumulation by 25%. The forest‐mediated reduction of the accumulation rate, in combination with the occasional forest‐mediated enhancement of melting rate, explained the reduced duration of snowpacks beneath forest canopies. However, the magnitude and timing of certain forest effects on snowpack had significant spatial and temporal variations. This variability must be considered when selecting the location of an experimental site in a mountainous area, because the study site should be representative of surrounding areas. The same considerations apply when selecting a time period for study.
It was assessed the spatial and temporal variability of snowpack responses to forest canopy under contrasting climate, topography and forest structure conditions.
Objective. To estimate sensitivity and specificity of several optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements for detecting retinal thickness changes in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple ...sclerosis (RRMS), such as macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness measured with Cirrus (OCT) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness measured with Cirrus and Spectralis OCT. Methods. Seventy patients (140 eyes) with RRMS and seventy matched healthy subjects underwent pRNFL and GCIPL thickness analysis using Cirrus OCT and pRNFL using Spectralis OCT. A prospective, cross-sectional evaluation of sensitivities and specificities was performed using latent class analysis due to the absence of a gold standard. Results. GCIPL measures had higher sensitivity and specificity than temporal pRNFL measures obtained with both OCT devices. Average GCIPL thickness was significantly more sensitive than temporal pRNFL by Cirrus (96.34% versus 58.41%) and minimum GCIPL thickness was significantly more sensitive than temporal pRNFL by Spectralis (96.41% versus 69.69%). Generalised estimating equation analysis revealed that age ( P = 0.030 ), optic neuritis antecedent ( P = 0.001 ), and disease duration ( P = 0.002 ) were significantly associated with abnormal results in average GCIPL thickness. Conclusion. Average and minimum GCIPL measurements had significantly better sensitivity to detect retinal thickness changes in RRMS than temporal pRNFL thickness measured by Cirrus and Spectralis OCT, respectively.
To evaluate the ability of the papillomacular bundle (PMB) retinal nerve fiber layer and macular inner retinal layer thickness measurements with Spectralis optical coherence tomography (OCT) to ...differentiate eyes with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) from uninvolved eyes and to evaluate whether their thicknesses correlate with visual acuity.
An observational, cross-sectional study was performed, including 29 eyes with NAION and 29 uninvolved eyes from 29 patients. Eyes underwent scanning with Cirrus OCT (peripapillary and macular scanning) and Spectralis OCT (N-site axonal peripapillary scan and a new automated segmentation macular scan to measure individual retinal layers) in both eyes.
The NAION eyes showed significant thinning versus uninvolved eyes in the macular retinal nerve fiber (P < 0.05), ganglion cell layer (GCL; P < 0.001), and inner plexiform layer (IPL; P < 0.01) by Spectralis and in the GCL-IPL by Cirrus (P < 0.02). Average and sectors of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and total macular thickness (TMT) were significantly reduced in NAION eyes, with both Spectralis and Cirrus OCT (P < 0.05). Spectralis temporal (ρSpearman = -0.768; P < 0.001) and PMB pRNFL thicknesses (ρSpearman = -0.675; P < 0.001), as well as central macular IPL thickness (ρSpearman = -0.735; P < 0.001), correlated strongly with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Quadratic regression using outer nasal TMT by Cirrus OCT and temporal pRNFL thickness by Spectralis were the best models to predict BCVA.
Macular segmentation by Spectralis and Cirrus OCT revealed inner retinal layer atrophy in NAION eyes. The temporal and PMB pRNFL thicknesses and central macular IPL thickness by Spectralis-OCT and outer nasal TMT by Cirrus were strongly correlated with BCVA in NAION eyes.
Purpose: To contribute a global description of the spectrum of choroidal involvement in tubercular uveitis (TBU).
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of TBU patients with choroidal involvement from ...25 centers between January 2004 and December 2014. Medical records of patients with a minimum follow-up of 1 year were reviewed.
Results: 245 patients were included. The phenotypic variations included serpiginous-like choroiditis (SLC) (46%), tuberculoma (13.5%), multifocal choroiditis (MFC) (9.4%), ampiginous choroiditis (9%), among others. 219 patients were treated with anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) (n = 219/245, 89.38%), 229 patients with steroids (n = 229/245, 93.47%) and 28 patients with immunosuppressive agents (n = 28/245, 11.42%). Treatment failure was noted in 38 patients (n = 38/245, 15.5%). Patients with SLC and ampiginous choroiditis appeared to have superior outcomes on survival analysis (p = 0.06).
Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive description of choroidal involvement in TBU. Patients with SLC and ampiginous choroiditis may have better clinical outcomes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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