Clinical Evaluation of Intravitreal Injection of Ganciclovir in Refractory Corneal Endotheliitis

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal ganciclovir (GCV) injection in refractory endotheliitis.

Methods: Retrospectively recruited 25 eyes with endotheliitis, proved by clinical manifestations, positive PCR for viral DNA and responded poor to topical and systemic antiviral medications. All patients received additional continued intravitreal GCV injections.

Results: Cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA were detected in 64.0%, 28.0%, and 8.0% of the eyes, respectively. Within 2 weeks after the last injection, 16/25 eyes recovered corneal clarity; active keratic precipitates (KPs) were eliminated in 21/25 eyes; intraocular pressure (IOP) was controlled in 12/15 eyes with elevated IOP on study entry. Best-corrected visual acuity increased at the last follow-up (p = 0.016). Clinical recurrence occurred in three patients. No complications were detected.

Conclusions: CMV endotheliitis was the main type of refractory endotheliitis. Despite its invasive nature, intravitreal GCV injection appears to be an effective method for refractory endotheliitis.     

Epigenética y cáncer colorrectal

The epigenetic and physiological mechanisms that alter the structure of chromatin include the methylation of DNA, changes in the histones, and changes in RNA. A literature review has been carried out using PubMed on the evidence published on the association between epigenetics and colorectal cancer. The scientific literature shows that epigenetic changes, such as genetic modifications may be very significant in the origin of neoplastic disease, contributing both to the development and progression of the disease.     

炎症性肠病与肠黏膜免疫调节细胞

炎症性肠病(innammatory bowel disease,IBD)包括克罗恩痛(Crohn's disease,CD)和溃疡性结肠炎(ulcerative colitis,UC).其病因和发病机制尚未完全明确,免疫功能紊乱被认为是一重要因素,肠黏膜免疫调节细胞和多种细胞因子参与免疫反应和炎症过程.是当前关于IBD免疫发病机制的研究热点之一.本文仅此作一简要综述.     

Transformation of standardized clinical models based on OWL technologies: from CEM to OpenEHR archetypes

Introduction The semantic interoperability of electronic healthcare records (EHRs) systems is a major challenge in the medical informatics area. International initiatives pursue the use of semantically interoperable clinical models, and ontologies have frequently been used in semantic interoperability efforts. The objective of this paper is to propose a generic, ontology-based, flexible approach for supporting the automatic transformation of clinical models, which is illustrated for the transformation of Clinical Element Models (CEMs) into openEHR archetypes.Methods Our transformation method exploits the fact that the information models of the most relevant EHR specifications are available in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). The transformation approach is based on defining mappings between those ontological structures. We propose a way in which CEM entities can be transformed into openEHR by using transformation templates and OWL as common representation formalism. The transformation architecture exploits the reasoning and inferencing capabilities of OWL technologies.Results We have devised a generic, flexible approach for the transformation of clinical models, implemented for the unidirectional transformation from CEM to openEHR, a series of reusable transformation templates, a proof-of-concept implementation, and a set of openEHR archetypes that validate the methodological approach.Conclusions We have been able to transform CEM into archetypes in an automatic, flexible, reusable transformation approach that could be extended to other clinical model specifications. We exploit the potential of OWL technologies for supporting the transformation process. We believe that our approach could be useful for international efforts in the area of semantic interoperability of EHR systems.     

Correction to: Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta inhibitor SB216763 improves Kir2.1 expression after myocardia infraction in rats

Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology -