Outcomes of different management options for malignant glaucoma: a retrospective study

Background  

To assess the outcomes of the various medical and surgical treatment options for malignant glaucoma.     

Micro- and tissue chimerism in physiologic, autoimmune, and transplantation settings: A meta-analysis

We give an overview on chimerism in all its forms of appearance and discuss the methodologic complications with which this field of research is confronted. The data of 42 articles, 23 on transplantation and 19 on autoimmune disease, were entered into a meta-analysis. We found that (micro-) chimerism after solid-organ transplantation occurred significantly more often than in healthy controls (P < .001). Also, chimerism was more prevalent in patients with autoimmune diseases than in healthy controls (P < .001). Most of the criticism on transplantation studies focuses on whether the chimeric cells were not already there before the transplantation took place. The results of our meta-analysis seem to contradict this assumption. In autoimmune diseases, a hypothesis on how chimeric cells would influence the development of these diseases is still lacking. However, our results show that (micro-) chimerism occurs significantly more often in patients than in healthy controls, possibly underlining a causative relationship.     

Lopinavir shows greater specificity than zinc finger ejecting compounds as a potential treatment for human papillomavirus-related lesions

Non-surgical, antiviral treatment options are desirable for HPV-related lesions within the genitourinary and upper digestive tract. We compared the toxicity of three zinc finger-ejecting (ZFE) compounds (4,4-dithiodimorpholine, azodicarbonamide, and diamide) to the HIV protease inhibitor lopinavir using HPV-positive SiHa, CaSki, HeLa, ME180, and HPV-negative C33A cervical carcinoma cell lines as well as primary human foreskin keratinocytes (PHFKs). Colorimetric growth assays revealed selective toxicity when treated with lopinavir. All carcinoma cell lines, except CaSki, were sensitive to 20 μM lopinavir whereas primary PHFKs were highly resistant. In contrast, 4,4-dithiodimorpholine was uniformly toxic to all cells tested while azodicarbonamide and diamide showed no effect at all. It is concluded that lopinavir may be an attractive candidate to treat pre-cancerous and cancerous HPV-positive lesions.     

Association between psychological complaints and recurrence of vasovagal syncope

Purpose  

Vasovagal syncope (VVS), the most common cause of transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC), is often accompanied by higher levels of psychological distress.     

AFQ056, a new mGluR5 antagonist for treatment of fragile X syndrome

Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is caused by a lack of FMRP, which is the product of the Fmr1 gene. FMRP is an RNA-binding protein and a component of RNA-granules found in the dendrites of neurons. At the synapse, FMRP is involved in regulation of translation of specific target mRNAs upon stimulation of mGluR5 receptors. In this study, we test the effects of a new mGluR5 antagonist (AFQ056) on the prepulse inhibition of startle response in mice. We show that Fmr1 KO mice have a deficit in inhibition of the startle response after a prepulse and that AFQ056 can rescue this phenotype. We also studied the effect of AFQ056 on cultured Fmr1 KO hippocampal neurons; untreated neurons showed elongated spines and treatment resulted in shortened spines. These results suggest that AFQ056 might be a potent mGluR5 antagonist to rescue various aspects of the fragile X phenotype.