Corneal Toxicity Following Exposure to <i>Asclepias Tuberosa</i>

PURPOSE: To present a case of corneal toxicity following exposure to milky plant latex from Asclepias tuberosa. METHODS: A 70-year-old female presented with blurred vision and pain in her left eye after handling an Ascepias tuberosa. Clinical examination revealed a corneal stromal oedema with small epithelial defects. The corneal endothelium was intact and folds in Descemets membrane were observed. The oedema was treated with chloramphenicol, dexamethasone and scopolamine. RESULTS: The corneal oedema had appeared after corneal exposure to the plant, Asclepias tuberosa, whose latex contains cardenolides that inhibit the Na(+)/ K(+)-ATPase in the corneal endothelium. The oedema resolved after 96 hours. After nine months the best corrected visual acuity was 20/20. CONCLUSION: Corneal toxicity has previously been reported for plants of the Asclepias family. This is a rare case describing severe corneal toxicity caused by exposure to latex from Asclepias tuberosa. Handling of plants of the Asclepias family should be kept as a differential diagnosis in cases of acute corneal toxicity

Dark adaptation in relation to choroidal thickness in healthy young subjects:A cross-sectional, observational study

BACKGROUND: Dark adaptation is an energy-requiring process in the outer retina nourished by the profusely perfused choroid. We hypothesized that variations in choroidal thickness might affect the rate of dark adaptation. METHOD: Cross-sectional, observational study of 42 healthy university students (mean age 25 ± 2.0 years, 29 % men) who were examined using an abbreviated automated dark adaptometry protocol with a 2° diameter stimulus centered 5° above the point of fixation. The early, linear part of the rod-mediated dark adaptation curve was analyzed to extract the time required to reach a sensitivity of 5.0 × 10(−3) cd/m2 (time to rod intercept) and the slope (rod adaptation rate). The choroid was imaged using enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). RESULTS: The time to the rod intercept was 7.3 ± 0.94 (range 5.1 - 10.2) min. Choroidal thickness 2.5° above the fovea was 348 ± 104 (range 153–534) μm. There was no significant correlation between any of the two measures of rod-mediated dark adaptation and choroidal thickness (time to rod intercept versus choroidal thickness 0.072 (CI(95) -0.23 to 0.38) min/100 μm, P = 0.64, adjusted for age and sex). There was no association between the time-to–rod-intercept or the dark adaptation rate and axial length, refraction, gender or age. CONCLUSION: Choroidal thickness, refraction and ocular axial length had no detectable effect on rod-mediated dark adaptation in healthy young subjects. Our results do not support that variations in dark adaptation can be attributed to variations in choroidal thickness. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12886-016-0273-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

DIRECT BULBLET REGENERATION FROM STERNBERGIA FISCHERIANA (HERB.) RUPR. BULB SCALE EXPLANTS

WOS: 000338913400003Attractive golden yellow flowered Sternbergia fischeriana (Herb.) Rupr. multiplies very slow under natural conditions. The study reports multiplication of plants using 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 cm long bulb scale explants with two, three, four, and five scales attached by a thin base plate segment. Any concentration of 2,4-D 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 mg l(-1) in MS medium was ineffective to induce bulblet regeneration on any explant at 15 degrees +/- 1 degrees C. Discursive induction of one or two 0.1 cm diameter bulblets was noted at 24 +/- 1 degrees C on 0.5 cm long two-scale explants. Variable regeneration was observed on 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 cm long two-scale explants on MS basal medium containing combination of BAP and 0.2 mg l(-1) NAA. Maximum number of 5.0 +/- 0.5 bulblets per 0.5 cm long two-scale bulb explant was obtained on MS medium containing 8.5 mg l(-1) BAP plus 0.20 mg l(-1) NAA. The rooting as affected by the size of bulblet was achieved on MS medium containing 0.75 mg l(-1) NAA. The highest rooting was recorded on 0.47 cm diameter bulblets with 4.3 +/- 0.9 roots per bulblet and 3.7 +/- 0.4 cm long roots.Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [110 O 703]This work was supported by a grant (Project number: 110 O 703) from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)

Investigation of genome instability in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

AIM: To evaluate the occurrence of micronucleus (MN), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs) and nuclear buds (NBUDs) in the mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes of patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)

Factors affecting survival in acute leukemia with donor lymphocyte infusion in the first relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Purpose: Relapse of leukemia relapsing after allogeneic (allo) stem cell transplantation (SCT) remains an important problem. Cytoreductive chemotherapy followed by donor leukocyte infusion (DLI) is one of the treatment modalities in relapsed patients. The current study evaluated the factors affecting overall survival (OS) in allo-SCT patients who received DLI after the first relapse

Additional file 1: of Dark adaptation in relation to choroidal thickness in healthy young subjects: a cross-sectional, observational study

Raw data, containing the raw data sheet that was used for the statistical analyses. (XLS 32 kb

CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS, POST-TREATMENT ASSESSMENT AND PROGNOSTIC FACTORS AFFECTING PATIENT SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS AT 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WITH HODGKIN LYMPHOMA: A RETROSPECTIVE MULTICENTER STUDY FROM TURKEY

Introduction: During the last three decades, major advances have been made in the therapy of Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, despite these advances, Hodgkin's lymphoma has a poor prognosis in the elderly. The proportion of Hodgkin's lymphoma patients aged > 60 ranges in the different reports between 15% and 35%. This study aimed to examine clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes and prognostic factors affecting patient survival in Hodgkin's lymphoma patients aged 65 years or older