Blur adaptation: clinical and refractive considerations

The human visual system is amenable to a number of adaptive processes; one such process, or collection of processes, is the adaptation to blur. Blur adaptation can be observed as an improvement in vision under degraded conditions, and these changes occur relatively rapidly following exposure to blur. The potential important future directions of this research area and the clinical implications of blur adaptation are discussed.     

One Week of Hospitalization Following Elective Hip Surgery Induces Substantial Muscle Atrophy in Older Patients

Objectives

Short successive periods of skeletal muscle disuse have been suggested to substantially contribute to the observed loss of skeletal muscle mass over the life span. Hospitalization of older individuals due to acute illness, injury, or major surgery generally results in a mean hospital stay of 5 to 7 days, during which the level of physical activity is strongly reduced. We hypothesized that hospitalization following elective total hip arthroplasty is accompanied by substantial leg muscle atrophy in older men and women.

A process evaluation of implementing a vocational enablement protocol for employees with hearing difficulties in clinical practice

Objective: A multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programme, the Vocational Enablement Protocol (VEP) was developed to address the specific needs of employees with hearing difficulties. In the current study we evaluated the process of implementing the VEP in audiologic care among employees with hearing impairment. Design: In conjunction with a randomized controlled trial, we collected and analysed data on seven process parameters: recruitment, reach, fidelity, dose delivered, dose received and implemented, satisfaction, and perceived benefit. Study sample: Sixty-six employees with hearing impairment participated in the VEP. The multidisciplinary team providing the VEP comprised six professionals. Results: The professionals performed the VEP according to the protocol. Of the recommendations delivered by the professionals, 31% were perceived as implemented by the employees. Compliance rate was highest for hearing-aid uptake (51%). Both employees and professionals were highly satisfied with the VEP. Participants rated good perceived benefit from it. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the VEP could be a useful treatment for employees with hearing difficulties from a process evaluation perspective. Implementation research in the audiological setting should be encouraged in order to further provide insight into parameters facilitating or hindering successful implementation of an intervention and to improve its quality and efficacy.     

Complications in Intermediate Uveitis: Prevalence,Time of Onset,and Effects on Vision in Short-Term and Long-Term Follow-Up

Purpose: To study the prevalence and time of onset of ocular complications in intermediate uveitis (IU) and to assess their effects on visual outcome in short-term and long-term follow-up.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients with IU who had a minimal follow-up of one year.

Results: 96 patients (174 eyes, 70% females) were included with a mean age at presentation of 30 years. Children constituted 38% of all patients. Mean follow- up was 64.9 months. Pars planitis was the most common form followed by sarcoidosis and multiple sclerosis. Cystoid macular edema (CME), cataract, epiretinal membrane and posterior synechiae were the most prevalent complications. Posterior synechiae, band keratopathy, cataract and papillitis at presentation were associated with worse presenting visual acuity (VA). Of the late-onset complications, glaucoma/ocular hypertension (OHT) was the most significantly associated with worse long-term VA. Most sight-threatening complications (namely CME and glaucoma) were diagnosed at presentation while late complications predominantly affected the posterior segment and included among others peripheral retinal elevations, vasoproliferative tumors, and vitreous hemorrhage. Median LogMAR VA improved at short-term and long-term follow-up, from 0.2 to 0.1 (p<0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed significant VA improvement for eyes with all the different complications except for eyes with glaucoma/OHT.

Conclusion: IU is a chronic low-grade uveitis that may be associated with protean early and late complications of the anterior or posterior segments or both. Optimal treatment regimens are imperative for the strict control of inflammation and proper management of complications thus allowing a favorable long-term prognosis.     

Lipid nanoparticles for skin penetration enhancement-correlation to drug localization within the particle matrix as determined by fluorescence and parelectric spectroscopy.

With topical treatment of skin diseases, the requirement of a high and reproducible drug uptake often still is not met. Moreover, drug targeting to specific skin strata may improve the use of agents which are prone to cause local unwanted effects. Recent investigations have indicated that improved uptake and skin targeting may become feasible by means of nanoparticular systems such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and nanoemulsions (NE). Here we describe techniques to characterize drug loading to carrier systems and skin penetration profiles by using the lipophilic dye nile red as a model agent. Since the mode of drug association with the particle matrix may strongly influence the efficiency of skin targeting, parelectric spectroscopy (PS) was used to differentiate between matrix incorporation and attachment to the particle surface and fluorescence spectroscopy (FS) to solve dye distribution within NLC particles. Nile red was incorporated into the lipid matrix or the covering tensed shell, respectively, of SLN and NLC with all the lipids studied (Compritol, Precirol, oleic acid, Miglyol). In NLC, the dye was enriched in the liquid phase. Next, nile red concentrations were followed by image analysis of vertical sections of pigskin treated with dye-loaded nanoparticular dispersions and an oil-in-water cream for 4 and 8 h in vitro. Following the SLN dispersions, dye penetration increased about fourfold over the uptake obtained following the cream. NLC turned out less potent (相似文献