Comparison of anatomical and visual outcomes following different anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatments in subretinal neovascular membrane secondary to type 2 proliferative macular telangiectasia

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To evaluate central macular thickness (CMT), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and visual outcomes following different...     

The effect of metoclopramide on gastric emptying in traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric paresis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) hinders the effectiveness of enteral support in this patient group. In this study we have investigated the effect of metoclopramide on gastric emptying in TBI patients. METHOD: In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind study, 19 TBI patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 3-11 were included. In all patients, enteral nutrition was commenced with a nasogastric feeding tube within 48 hours of trauma. Patients were randomized into two groups. In the metoclopramide (M) group, 10 mg metoclopramide was delivered intravenously three times daily for 5 days. In the control (C) group, an equal volume of saline was administered. Besides demographics, gastric emptying according to a paracetamol absorption test at days 0 and 5, time to reach target nutritional requirements, gastric residues, intolerance to feeding, nutritional complications, and clinical outcomes were recorded for each patient. RESULTS: The gastric residue rates were 2.7+/-7.4 mL and 8.1+/-17.7 mL per 100 patient days for groups C and M respectively (p=0.408). Similarly, feeding intolerance and complication rates did not significantly differ between groups C and M, (respectively p=0.543 and 0.930). Gastric emptying parameters also were similar between the study groups. CONCLUSION: We were unable to document any advantage to using metoclopramide in TBI patients. Simple intragastric enteral feeding with close monitoring of the possible complications seems to be sufficient with acceptable morbidity rates.     

Improving the teaching skills of residents as tutors/facilitators and addressing the shortage of faculty facilitators for PBL modules

Background  

Residents play an important role in teaching of medical undergraduate students. Despite their importance in teaching undergraduates they are not involved in any formal training in teaching and leadership skills. We aimed to compare the teaching skills of residents with faculty in facilitating small group Problem Based Learning (PBL) sessions.     

Glomerular changes in BK virus nephropathy

This study seeks to define the glomerular changes that are associated with human BK virus nephropathy (BKVN). It is based on histopathologic review of 124 biopsies showing light-microscopic changes of viral nephropathy. The diagnosis of BKVN was confirmed by immunohistochemistry or by in situ hybridization. Histological lesions were scored by the Banff 97 criteria for renal allograft pathology and were correlated with clinical parameters. Viral cytopathic effect in the parietal Bowman's capsular epithelium was seen in 21/124 (17%) biopsies. Immunohistochemistry showed infection of Bowman's capsular epithelium in an additional 15/124 (12%) biopsies. Crescents were found in 15/124 (12%) samples. Glomerulitis exceeding grade Banff g1 was only occasionally shown (4/124=3% biopsies). Other pathologic lesions documented include mild increase in mesangial matrix in 23% biopsies, aneurysmal dilatation of glomerular capillaries in 28%, ischemic glomerulopathy in 62%, and chronic transplant glomerulopathy graded as mild (cg1) in 62% of biopsies and as moderate (cg2) in 2/124 (1.9%) biopsies. These findings show that infection of the glomerular epithelium cells can occur in a subset of patients with BKVN, most often in biopsies with high viral load in the tubular epithelium. Isolated crescents can occur in BKVN biopsies, but rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is not observed. Two biopsies showed electron-dense deposits on ultrastructural examination, but a cause and effect relationship to BK virus infection could not be established.     

Reproductive Health,Sexual Function and Satisfaction Levels in Women with Physical,Hearing, and Visual Disabilities

Sexuality and Disability - This study was carried out to determine the reproductive health, sexual function and sexual satisfaction levels of women with disabilities. The sample of the study was...     

Isolated coarctation of the aorta in the fetus: A diagnostic challenge

Isolated coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to account for 4%–6% of all congenital heart disease (CHD) in the United States, with a reported prevalence of ~4 per 10 000 live births. Prenatal recognition of coarctation is important as it may improve neonatal survival and reduce morbidity. However, despite advances in imaging and the trend toward detailed aortic arch assessment as part of a comprehensive fetal echocardiogram, isolated CoA may still elude prenatal detection, with potentially lethal consequences if the diagnosis is not suspected and the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closes spontaneously in postnatal life. The purpose of this review is to outline the methods of antenatal aortic arch evaluation in the current era, discuss “red flags” that raise the suspicion for CoA, including associated anomalies and serve as a repository of the most up to date information regarding its diagnosis in utero and its perinatal management. Other aortic arch abnormalities, such as interrupted aortic arch, or CoA associated with complex single ventricles, are not included in this review.     

Familial Mediterranean fever gene mutation frequencies and genotype�Cphenotype correlations in the Aegean region of Turkey

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a disease characterized by recurrent, self-limiting fever and serositis and caused by altered pyrin due to mutated MEFV gene. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical manifestations and MEFV mutations among patients with FMF and healthy controls in the Aegean region of Turkey. This study included 308 patients and 164 healthy controls. Patients were divided into three groups according to Tel-Hashomer criteria; definitive, probable, and suspicious. Among the patients, 146 were women (47.4%) and 162 were men (52.6%). The mean age (±SD) of the patients at the diagnosis was 9.6 ± 3.95 (range 0.5–18). The mean age (±SD) at onset of the symptom was 6.2 ± 3.95 (range 1–18). Symptoms were seen earlier onset in definitive group than the suspicious group in our cohort (4.7 ± 3.9 years, 6.6 ± 3.9 years, respectively; P = 0.001). Clinical features were abdominal pain (83.1%), fever (55%), arthritis (17.1%), myalgia (4.5%), pleuritis (10%), and erysipelas—like erythema (7.7%). Fever, arthralgia, arthritis, chest pain, and amyloidosis were found statistically significant more in definitive group than suspicious group (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P < 0.05, and P < 0.001, respectively). MEFV gene mutations were identified in 199 patients (64.6%). The most commonly encountered MEFV mutation among the patients was M694V homozygote (25%). M694V homozygous mutation was found most frequently in definitive FMF group than other groups (49, 9, 8.9%, respectively). To our knowledge that FMF should be suspected in the case of non-specific but recurrent attacks of serositis and high fever, and molecular analysis should be performed in order to make diagnosis of FMF.     

【In Press】 Protective effect of pomegranate juice on retinal oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

AIM: To investigate the effect of pomegranate juice (PJ) intake on overall oxidation status in retinas of diabetic rats. METHODS: Twenty-seven rats were divided into four groups as control (CO), diabetic (DM), control treated with PC (CO-PJ), and diabetic treated with PJ (DM-PJ).The retina tissues were used to determine 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). RESULTS: The levels of 8OHdG and MDA were significantly increased in the retina of DM group compared to CO group (p=0.001, p<0.001 respectively). Both 8OHdG and MDA levels were decreased in PJ-DM group compared to DM group (p=0.004, p<0.001 respectively). The activities of antioxidant enzymes GSH, SOD, and GDH-Px were significantly decreased in the retina of DM group compared to CO group (p≤0.01). GSH and GSH-Px activities were higher in PJ-DM group compared with DM group (p=0.010, p=0.042, respectively) but SOD activity was not statistically different (p=0.938). CONCLUSION: PJ intake was found to be effective in decreasing oxidative end products, and in increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes in diabetic retinas of rats, which suggests it may be effective against oxidative stress in diabetic retinas.