Characterization of the parasite-induced lesions in the posterior segment of the eye

Ocular lesions are frequently associated with different parasitic infections. The classes of infection include protozoa, nematodes, cestodes, and ectoparasites. Ocular parasitic infections can manifest in any part of the eye; the disease manifestations are frequently characterized as either posterior or anterior eye disease. Parasite-induced lesions may be due to damage directly caused by the parasite, indirect pathology caused by toxic products or the immune response initiated by infectious parasitism. This review characterized the parasite-induced lesions in the posterior segment of the eye. Prompt diagnosis and early treatment of these lesions can reduce ocular morbidity. The method of the literature search was conducted on PubMed, Elsevier Scopus database, and Google Scholar with no limitation on the year of publication databases. It was limited to English articles published for ocular lesions in clinical studies and was focused on parasitic infections of the eye.     

与隐形眼镜相关的感染性角膜炎-埃及5年流行病学研究

目的：研究埃及Tanta大学医院与隐形眼镜相关的感染性角膜炎患者的不同流行病学特点,评估这类疾病各方面的特点,以提高患者对这类疾病的认识,找出可行的解决方案。

方法：选取我院2009-01/2013-12期间在眼科门诊就诊的所有角膜炎患者仔细检查,并对所有与隐形眼镜相关的感染性角膜炎患者进一步检查和调查。

结果：本研究期间,总共108 496位有不同主诉的患者中,1463例(1.3%)患有不同形式的角膜炎,其中151例(0.1%)为隐形眼镜相关感染性角膜炎。结果发现患有隐形眼镜相关感染性角膜炎常见的年龄群<30岁,大多数是学生(64%),家庭人数多且较为拥挤,农村居民高于城市居民,患者采用户外水源及污水处理不卫生。从病史分析发现：隐形眼镜相关感染性角膜炎通常为彻夜使用,储存或者配戴不卫生,或者隐形眼镜来源不安全,例如化妆品商店和理发店。结膜囊微生物培养结果提示阳性率92%,阴性率8%。大多数培养阳性的病例是由细菌和真菌混合感染引起,共53例(38.1%),单纯细菌感染43例(30.9%),真菌31例( 22.3%),阿米巴12例(8.6%)。

结论：与隐形眼镜相关的感染性角膜炎常见于学生群体,与农村生活、户外供水、不卫生的污水处理等危险因素有关。彻夜配戴、储存或配戴不卫生及隐形眼镜来源不安全都可增加隐形眼镜相关感染性角膜炎的发病率。     

HIV Prevalence and Related Behaviors Among People Who Inject Drugs in Iran from 2010 to 2020

AIDS and Behavior - Injection drug use has been the leading route of HIV transmission in Iran. We assessed HIV prevalence, risk behaviors, and uptake of prevention services among people who inject...     

Current Advances in Endovascular Treatment of Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease and Future Prospective

Objectives/BackgroundMedical therapy is the first line of treatment for intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD). Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) are mainly considered for those patients with severe stenosis and recurrent events despite aggressive medical therapy. In this review, we discuss the application of PTAS as a treatment option for ICAD and its future prospect.Materials and MethodsWe did the literature review of the key articles and guidelines to elaborate on the role of PTAS in the management of ICAD based on the current data and expert opinion. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus up to August 2020, and included articles published only in the English language.ResultsSince the publication of the results from SAMMPRIS and VISSIT trials, stenting is no longer recommended for secondary stroke prevention in patients with symptomatic ICAD. However, recent clinical studies on intracranial stenting for a subgroup of ICAD patients have shown promising results, likely due to better patient selection and continued advancement of endovascular techniques.ConclusionThere exists a lack of consensus regarding the best endovascular treatment approach (e.g., angioplasty alone or balloon mounted stent vs. self-expanding stent with or without prior angioplasty) or management of in-stent restenosis. Another area of clinical controversy relates to the ideal use and duration of antiplatelet therapy.     

Using an UPLC/MS-based untargeted metabolomics approach for assessing the antioxidant capacity and anti-aging potential of selected herbs

Aging is an unavoidable fate that afflicts all life, during this process in mammals reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated which stimulate tyrosinase, elastase and collagenase activities that actively participate in skin aging. Therefore, the maintenance of antioxidant homeostasis is an important anti-aging strategy for skin. Nature has excellent anti-aging remedies that act externally as well as internally to delay the visual signs of aging. In view of this fact, the present study investigates the in vitro anti-aging activity of five medicinal plants belonging to phenolic rich families namely Rosmarinus officinalis, Lavandula officinalis, Matricaria chamomilla, Camellia sinensis and Pelargonium graveolens. The selected plants are those most frequently used in the preparation of ethnomedicinal recipes for the prevention or treatment of aging. The inhibitory effects of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the five selected plants on the activity of tyrosinase, elastase, and collagenase enzymes were investigated. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the plants and the antioxidant capacity of their extracts were assessed. The results showed that R. officinalis had the highest total phenolics content which was correlated with its potent antioxidant and anti-aging activities. To pinpoint the active metabolites in the tested extracts, we evaluated the metabolite variations using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-HR-ESI-MS/MS). Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) revealed that R. officinalis significantly accumulated metabolites from the aromatic diterpenoid, flavonoid and phenolic acid classes. These results indicate that rosemary can be used for further development of topical preparations with anti-aging properties.

Aging is an unavoidable fate that afflicts all life, during this process in mammals, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated which stimulate tyrosinase, elastase and collagenase activities that actively participate in skin aging.     

Imaging-Based Diagnosis of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease

The clinical use of conventional ultrasonography (US) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is currently limited by reduced diagnostic sensitivity, especially in at-risk subjects younger than 30 years of age. In this single-center prospective study, we compared the diagnostic performance of MRI with that of high-resolution (HR) US in 126 subjects ages 16–40 years born with a 50% risk of ADPKD who underwent both these renal imaging studies and comprehensive PKD1 and PKD2 mutation screening. Concurrently, 45 healthy control subjects without a family history of ADPKD completed the same imaging protocol. We analyzed 110 at-risk subjects whose disease status was unequivocally defined by molecular testing and 45 unaffected healthy control subjects. Using a total of >10 cysts as a test criterion in subjects younger than 30 years of age, we found that MRI provided both a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Comparison of our results from HR US with those from a previous study of conventional US using the test criterion of a total of three or more cysts found a higher diagnostic sensitivity (approximately 97% versus approximately 82%) with a slightly decreased specificity (approximately 98% versus 100%) in this study. Similar results were obtained in test subjects between the ages of 30 and 40 years old. These results suggest that MRI is highly sensitive and specific for diagnosis of ADPKD. HR US has the potential to rival the diagnostic performance of MRI but is both center- and operator-dependent.