Increased aqueous flare intensity in eyes with liquefied after-cataract

PURPOSE: To describe aqueous flare intensity in eyes with white liquefied after-cataract. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan. METHODS: Seven patients with unilateral liquefied after-cataract and another 10 unaffected patients with an intraocular lens (IOL) were examined. The eyes were divided into 3 groups. The first group was composed of 7 eyes with liquefied after-cataract. The second group included the fellow eyes of the patients with unilateral liquefied after-cataract; 4 had an IOL, and 3 had cataract. The third group included 10 additional eyes without liquefied after-cataract. All patients underwent cataract operations consisting of phacoemulsification/aspiration with continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis and acrylic IOL implantation in the capsular bag. Aqueous flare was measured using a laser flare-cell meter. RESULTS: The mean +/- SD of aqueous flare intensity was significantly higher in the first group (11.8 +/- 1.8 photon counts/msec) than in the second group (6.4 +/- 0.8 photon counts/msec) and in the third group (6.3 +/- 0.7 photon counts/msec). CONCLUSION: It is possible that liquefaction of after-cataract and disruption of the blood-aqueous barrier may be related.     

Analyses of fatal cases of Kawasaki disease in Japan using vital statistical data over 27 years

BACKGROUND: Chronological changes in mortality and case fatality rates from Kawasaki disease covering an extended period in Japan are still unknown. METHODS: We analyzed 679 deaths of patients in Japan whose underlying cause was Kawasaki disease, by using the data of vital statistics between 1972 and 1998. RESULTS: The male-to-female ratio of the number of deaths was 2.07 and the mean age at death in males was higher. Two unusual increases in the epidemic years, 1982 and 1986, were observed in the chronological changes of the number of deaths. The mortality rate of males was higher than that of females, with a few exceptional years, and the annual mortality rates were high in three epidemic years. The age-specific mortality rate was highest in infants under one year of age. Prefectures with high mortality rate clustered in some regions. The case fatality rate decreased annually, declining to as low as 0.2% among those who were born in 1986 and thereafter; and unusual increases in the case fatality rate affected by these three epidemic years were not repeated. CONCLUSIONS: The case fatality rate from Kawasaki disease in Japan decreased during the 27 years of observation: improvements in treatment might account for this.     

Validating cluster size inference: random field and permutation methods

Cluster size tests used in analyses of brain images can have more sensitivity compared to intensity based tests. The random field (RF) theory has been widely used in implementation of such tests, however the behavior of such tests is not well understood, especially when the RF assumptions are in doubt. In this paper, we carried out a simulation study of cluster size tests under varying smoothness, thresholds, and degrees of freedom, comparing RF performance to that of the permutation test, which is known to be exact. For Gaussian images, we find that the RF methods are generally conservative, especially for low smoothness and low threshold. For t images, the RF tests are found to be conservative at lower thresholds and do not perform well unless the threshold is high and images are sufficiently smooth. The permutation test performs well for any settings though the discreteness in cluster size must be accounted for. We make specific recommendations on when permutation tests are to be preferred to RF tests.     

Mutation of the doublecortin gene in male patients with double cortex syndrome: somatic mosaicism detected by hair root analysis

The molecular basis of double cortex syndrome was investigated in 2 male patients. Magnetic resonance imaging of the patients' heads showed diffuse subcortical band heterotopia, as is seen in female patients. We found a heterozygous mutation for Asp50Lys or Arg39Stop in both patients. Microsatellite polymorphism analysis revealed that both patients had inherited a single X chromosome from their mothers. Restriction enzyme analysis using DNA extracted from the hair roots of each patient showed four different patterns in the combination of cells carrying wild and mutant alleles, which strongly suggest somatic mosaicism. We conclude that somatic mosaic mutations in the doublecortin gene in male patients can cause subcortical band heterotopia, and that molecular analysis using hair roots is a useful method for detecting somatic mosaicism.     

Dietary therapy in two patients with vitamin B12-unresponsive methylmalonic acidemia

The biochemical and therapeutic responses to dietary therapy were studied in a 25-month-old girl and a 1-month-old girl with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA-emia), which was unresponsive to vitamin B₁₂.The minimum daily intake of protein which patients could tolerate and display a good development was between 1.0 and 1.2 g per kg body weight. Supplementation with amino acid mixture devoid of toxic amino acids was required to prevent protein malnutrition when daily protein intake was restricted to 0.6 g per kg body weight. Caloric intake should be sufficient, not only to promote growth but also to prevent a rise in MMA level, especially when a patient has ketoacidosis.It was found that MMA excretion per mg creatinine in random urine specimens correlated significantly with serum MMA and twenty four-hour output of MMA per kg body weight. Therefore measurement of MMA in a single urine specimen is useful for evaluating the in vivo accumulation of MMA.     

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus complicated by hyphema and hemorrhagic glaucoma

We treated two patients with herpes zoster ophthalmicus in whom hyphema and hemorrhagic glaucoma occurred. Case 1 complained of facial skin eruption, and was given intravenous acyclovir for 7 days. Hyphema and high intraocular pressure occurred in the left eye 10 days after the onset of the skin eruption. Case 2 had severe pain and blisters on her face, and was given intravenous acyclovir for 7 days. An intracameral hemorrhage and glaucoma developed in the right eye 15 days after the onset of the skin lesion. Intravenous acyclovir may be necessary for longer than 7-day periods if the iridocyclitis remains.     

Genetic characterization of hantaviruses transmitted by the Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsulae), Far East Russia

In an epizootiologic survey of 122 rodents captured in Vladivostok, Russia, antibodies positive for hantavirus were found in Apodemus peninsulae (4/70), A. agrarius (1/39), and Clethrionomys rufocanus (1/8). The hantavirus sequences identified in two seropositive A. peninsulae and two patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) from the Primorye region of Far East Russia were designated as Solovey and Primorye, respectively. The nucleotide sequences of the Solovey, Primorye, and Amur (obtained through GenBank) sequences were closely related (>92% identity). Solovey and Primorye sequences shared 84% nucleotide identity with the prototype Hantaan 76-118. Phylogenetic analysis also indicated a close relationship between Solovey, Primorye, Amur, and other viruses identified in Russia, China, and Korea. Our findings suggest that the Korean field mouse (A. peninsulae) is the reservoir for a hantavirus that causes HFRS over a vast area of east Asia, including Far East Russia.     

Relationship between Barrett’s esophagus and colonic diseases: a role for colonoscopy in Barrett’s surveillance

Journal of Gastroenterology - Given that risk factors for Barrett’s carcinogenesis are predictive, appropriate management and surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) may be provided....