Ocular trauma treated with pars plana vitrectomy: early outcome report

AIM: To evaluate demographic variables and visual outcomes, among patients with ocular injuries involving the posterior segment, managed with pars plana vitrectomy. METHODS: The records of patients were studied retrospectively from March to September 2010, to determine the age, gender, place of occurrence of trauma, visual acuity, anatomical site, nature of injury, wound length, the presence of an afferent pupillary defect, and the timing of vitrectomy. The Ocular Trauma Score was measured. The minimum follow-up from presentation was 6mo. RESULTS: Ninety patients (77 males, 13 females), with a mean age of 32.7±15.8y were included over the 6-month period. The majority of cases occurred in the workplace (47 patients), followed by home (14 patients). The mean visual acuity (logMAR) of patients significantly improved from 2.36±0.72 preoperatively to 1.50±1.14 postoperatively. Twenty-three patients had preoperative vision better than 2.0 logMAR, the postoperative visual acuity was significantly better among these patients than patients with worse than 2.0 logMAR (P<0.001). Visual improvement between groups with early vitrectomy (<7d) and delayed vitrectomy (>7d) was not significantly different (P=0.66). Postoperative visual acuity was not significantly different between patients with injury in Zone I and II (P=0.64), but patients with injury in Zone III had significantly poorer visual acuity (P=0.02). Patients with relative afferent pupillary defect had significantly poorer postoperative visual acuity (P=0.02). Preoperative visual acuity, the difference of preoperative and postoperative visual acuity, and postoperative visual acuity were significantly different between groups with different ocular trauma scores (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Trauma is more likely to occur in men under 40y of age and in the workplace. The favorable final visual outcome is associated with the absence of afferent pupillary defect, ocular trauma score and presenting visual acuity as well as the zone of injury, and not associated with the timing of vitrectomy.     

Preparation and Characterization of Herbicide Mecoprop Imprinted Polymer and Its Application as a Selective Sorbent in Water Sample

Bulk polymerization method was used to prepare a homogeneous molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the specific extraction of herbicide mecoprop (MCPP). Thereafter, the binding performance of this functional polymer was evaluated under optimal condition, compared to a non-imprinted polymer. From the Scatchard plot analysis, two types of binding sites were detected in the MIP, the high affinity binding sites with a K_D (equilibrium dissociation constant) of 6.4 µM and the low affinity ones with a K_D of 55.9 µM. In addition, the possibility of using synthesized MIP for MCPP extraction from environmental aqueous samples was explored. The adsorption capacity of MIP in spiked bottled water and groundwater samples showed that the polymer could effectively extract MCPP from bottled water and groundwater (p < 0.05) with the recovery of 70.5% and 65.1%, respectively, demonstrating the potential of imprinted polymers for cost-effective and effective water treatment.     

The effect of omeprazole on asthmatic adolescents with gastroesophageal reflux disease

The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing in patients with asthma and the effect of proton pump inhibitor therapy on asthma outcome has shown variable results. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of omeprazole in the treatment of asthma and improvement of pulmonary function in adolescents with GERD. Thirty-six consecutive patients (range, 13-20 years old) with moderate persistent asthma and GERD were recruited on regular follow-up in Mashhad City. The case group included 18 patients who received oral omeprazole (20 mg twice a day for 6 weeks) and the control group included 18 patients who received placebo. A pulmonary function test was examined in two groups immediately before and 6 weeks after medication. The symptoms of GERD were significantly improved with omeprazole in the case group. After 6 weeks of study, the mean values of forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and peak expiratory flow rate were higher in patients treated with omeprazole (p<0.0001). Treatment by omeprazole is effective for treatment of asthmatic patients with GERD.     

Absence of NF-kappaB activation by a new polystyrene-type adsorbent designed for hemoperfusion

AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate biocompatibility of anew polystyrene-type adsorbent (BetaSorb) designed for hemoperfusion, using second-level biomolecular analyses. The device has recently been developed to enhance beta2-microglobulin removal during hemodialysis. Molecular structure and chemical modifications of the surface beads of this cartridge should prevent exposure of dense hydrophobic surface sites to proteins, and avoid the major drawbacks of previous polystyrene-type adsorbent materials. METHODS: Whole blood of healthy donors was incubated in sterile minicolumns packed with BetaSorb Cuprophan, Hemophan, polysulfone and cellulose acetate. In parallel experiments, whole blood was recirculated for 180 min in a sham dialysis circuit equipped with the study sorbent or Hemophan or polysulfone. Biocompatibility was assessed by means of new biomolecular approaches focused on nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation (assessed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay), TNF-alpha and IL-1beta gene expression (evaluated by real-time PCR), TNF-alpha and IL-1beta production (measured by Western blot assay and ELISA), nitric oxide (NO) generation (detected by electron paramagnetic resonance), free oxygen radical production (by chemiluminescence in a biological assay) and the generation of the complement breakdown product C3d. RESULTS: In coincubation experiments, 5-min contact with any dialysis device, but BetaSorb, was enough to induce activation of NF-kappaB. The amount of TNF-alpha precursor form was found to increase after 5 min of exposure to each tested polymer, but no traces of mature forms of TNF-alpha or IL-1beta were detected in in vitro experimental conditions using healthy blood. NO and free oxygen radical generation were significantly lower in blood samples exposed to BetaSorb than in control dialysis devices. C3d levels were found to be increased with Hemophan, unaffected by polysulfone, and remarkably decreased with the BetaSorb device. In the sham hemodialysis experiments, NF-kappaB activation and C3d and NO profiles were similar to direct incubation experiments. Compared to basal levels, quantitation of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA revealed a 15- and 9-fold increase, respectively, in samples exposed to Hemophan for 180 min. CONCLUSIONS: The new BetaSorb device not only appears to be highly biocompatible, but shares properties that make it probably able to interfere with the activation of the inflammatory state.     

Evaluation of Anti- HLA Class I Antibodies in Chronic Rejection of Kidney Transplantation

Studies have shown that patients who do not produce donor specific and /or panel reactive anti-HLA antibodies have a longer graft survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the posttransplant humoral immune response towards HLA-class I antigens and the measurement of the serum creatinine levels which are used in monitoring posttransplant function of kidney. Serum samples from 132 renal transplant recipients were screened for preformed anti-HLA class I panel reactive antibodies (PRA) by means of microlymphocytotoxicity assay. The results revealed the presence of PRA in 26 (19.7%) out of 132 transplanted patients. Graft function was evaluated by measurement of serum creatinine levels which revealed the mean of 1.75 mg/dl (SD: 1.08). Because of clinical significance of presence of different PRA amounts (>10%, > 20% and >50% of panel reactivity) in patients, correlation with kidney function status was analyzed. The obtained data highlighted a higher presence of serum creatinine levels in PRA-positive patients compared to negative patients (P<0.01). These results (and further studies for class II, ...) can be used to implement new therapeutic strategies to curtail post transplant alloantibodies production and better allografts survival.     

伊朗2002-2006年使用标准化疗方案治疗耐多药肺结核患者的疗效

背景:耐多药结核病(mdr-tb)是国家卫生系统一项艰巨的负担.这个问题仍然没有达成共识,在治疗规范、治疗效果和各种治疗方案上都有争议.方法:本研究报告介绍了伊朗第二次全国耐多药结核病人治疗的队列研究情况.这项研究包括2002-2006年间伊朗所有在我们中心记录的耐多药结核病例.所有患者都接受了由氧氟沙星,环丝氨酸,丙硫异烟胺和丁胺卡那霉素组成的标准的二线药化疗方案.根据药敏试验的结果,化疗方案中添加了乙胺丁醇和吡嗪酰胺.结果:43例确诊的耐多药结核病人接受了治疗,其平均年龄为44.38±19.05岁,其中27例(62.8%)是男性.23例(53.5%)为伊朗人,其余的都是阿富汗人.所有病人都是获得性耐多药结核病例.43例病人中,25例(58.1%)发生了严重的临床不良反应;29例(67.5%)治疗成功,14例(32.5%)疗效较差(6例[14%]治疗失败和8例[18.6%]死亡).在伊朗患者和因药物不良反应而改变早期治疗方案的患者中死亡率较高,p值分别为0.039和0.01.结论:与以往的研究相比,我们采用标准化疗方案治疗耐多药结核病,获得了更好的疗效.