Amiodarone-associated optic neuropathy: a critical review

Although amiodarone is the most commonly prescribed anti-arrhythmic drug, its use is limited by serious toxicities, including optic neuropathy. Current reports of amiodarone-associated optic neuropathy identified from the Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System and published case reports were reviewed. A total of 296 reports were identified: 214 from the Adverse Event Reporting System, 59 from published case reports, and 23 from adverse events reports for patients enrolled in clinical trials. Mean duration of amiodarone therapy before vision loss was 9 months (range 1-84 months). Insidious onset of amiodarone-associated optic neuropathy (44%) was the most common presentation, and nearly one third were asymptomatic. Optic disk edema was present in 85% of cases. Following drug cessation, 58% had improved visual acuity, 21% were unchanged, and 21% had further decreased visual acuity. Legal blindness (<20/200) was noted in at least one eye in 20% of cases. Close ophthalmologic surveillance of patients during the tenure of amiodarone administration is warranted.     

Enormous aneurysmal bone cyst of the mandible: case report and radiologic-pathologic correlation

A 33-year-old patient with a huge aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) was imaged using cone-beam CT, MRI, and angiography. ABC is an uncommon non-neoplastic, expansile lesion of bone. Although common in the appendicular skeleton and spine, only 2% of the lesions occur in the craniofacial skeleton. The plain radiographic features of gnathic ABC may show an omni-expansile unilocular or multilocular radiolucency. Fluid-fluid levels have been reported in cystic compartments of ABCs; however, this feature is not diagnostically specific for ABC. In this article, we present a case of a rapidly growing, extraordinarily large ABC of the posterior mandible, with emphasis on comparative imaging features of this lesion in cone-beam CT, MRI, and carotid angiography.     

Stem cell-based treatments for Type 1 diabetes mellitus: bone marrow, embryonic, hepatic, pancreatic and induced pluripotent stem cells

Type 1 diabetes mellitus--characterized by the permanent destruction of insulin-secreting β-cells--is responsive to cell-based treatments that replace lost β-cell populations. The current gold standard of pancreas transplantation provides only temporary independence from exogenous insulin and is fraught with complications, including increased mortality. Stem cells offer a number of theoretical advantages over current therapies. Our review will focus on the development of treatments involving tissue stem cells from bone marrow, liver and pancreatic cells, as well as the potential use of embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells for Type 1 diabetes therapy. While the body of research involving stem cells is at once promising and inconsistent, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation seems to offer the most compelling evidence of efficacy. These cells have been demonstrated to increase endogenous insulin production, while partially mitigating the autoimmune destruction of newly formed β-cells. However, recently successful experiments involving induced pluripotent stem cells could quickly move them into the foreground of therapeutic research. We address the limitations encountered by present research and look toward the future of stem cell treatments for Type 1 diabetes.