Atypical vitelliform macular dystrophy misdiagnosed as chronic central serous chorioretinopathy: case reports

BACKGROUND: To report two cases of atypical vitelliform macular dystrophy misdiagnosed as chronic central serous chorioretinopathy. CASE PRESENTATION: Two patients with incidentally discovered abnormalities of the retina without specific symptoms were referred to our hospital for consultation. Bilateral macula atrophic lesions were observed and optical coherence tomography revealed serous retinal detachment in the macula. Fluorescein angiography showed multiple leakages around the central hypofluorescent area and indocyanine green angiography showed partially dilated choroidal vessels. Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) showed a decreasing pattern of autofluorescence in the subretinal fluid area, and increasing autofluorescence at the border of the serous retinal detachment. Both patients were diagnosed with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy. Photodynamic therapy and intravitreal bevacizumab injection were administered for engorged choroidal vessels during follow-up, but neither patient showed improvement in symptoms or ophthalmologic findings. Based on re-evaluation by fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and comparison of the results of FAF with the first visit, vitelliform macular dystrophy was suspected and a definite diagnosis was made by electrooculography and genetic testing. CONCLUSION: In patients with continuous serous retinal detachment without response to photodynamic therapy or intravitreal bevacizumab injection, careful fundus exam and FAF can be used to diagnose atypical vitelliform macular dystrophy

Postoperative occlusion of visual axis with fibrous membrane in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome: a case report

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Abstract Background To report a case of postoperative fibrous membrane formation occluding the visual axis in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome. Case presentation A 79-year-old Asian woman with pseudoexfoliation syndrome underwent uneventful phacoemulsification and implantation of one-piece hydrophilic acrylic square-edged intraocular lens (Cristalens) in the right eye. Two months later, she had blurred vision in the right eye with the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/40. Formation of fibrous membrane occluding the capsulorhexis opening with contraction of anterior capsule was observed, which was confirmed by anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Clear visual axis was achieved by lysis of the membrane using Nd:YAG laser. The BCVA improved to 20/20. Conclusions Occlusion of the visual axis with fibrous membrane can develop in the presence of anterior capsular phimosis in a patient with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

Down-regulation of phospholipase D during differentiation of mouse F9 teratocarcinoma cells

AbstractPhospholipase D has been recognized as playing an important role in signal transduction in many types of cells. We investigated the expression of phospholipase D during the differentiation of F9 embryonal teratocarcinoma cells. The ADP ribosylation factor-dependent phospholipase D activity, as measured by an in vitro assay, and H2O2-induced phospholipase D activity and phospholipase D protein content in whole cells were decreased during the differentiation of F9 cells induced by a combination of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and all-trans retinoic acid. In contrast, these changes were not observed when cells were induced by retinoic acid. These results suggest that down-regulation of phospholipase D protein is associated with differentiation of F9 cells to a parietal endoderm lineage

A simple and easy home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme for patients with Chronic Lung Diseases

Background and Aim. To develop a simple and easy home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme and investigate its effectiveness. Methods. Patients with stable chronic lung disease were divided into a rehabilitation group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 18). Rehabilitation consisted of education and 12 weeks of enforced aerobic and musclestrengthening exercises. Aerobic exercise training was performed mostly by walking based on the functional capacity of the patients assessed by the maximal incremental exercise test. Patients visited hospital every two weeks for evaluation and a new exercise regimen. Results. Five patients dropped out of the rehabilitation group but three were due to development of unrelated diseases, five controls did not co-operate in the second evaluation. After 12 weeks of rehabilitation, exercise capacity (maximum work load and VO2max), exercise endurance, 6-minute walking distance, and quality of life measured by the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire had significantly improved in the rehabilitation group but not in the controls. At a follow-up evaluation one year after the rehabilitation, some exercise parameters were still significantly higher than baseline in the rehabilitation group. Conclusions. We developed a simple home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme, which seems to be clinically feasible and effective

Imported Intraocular Gnathostomiasis with Subretinal Tracks Confirmed by Western Blot Assay

We report a case of intraocular gnathostomiasis diagnosed by western blot assay in a patient with subretinal tracks. A 15-year-old male patient complained of blurred vision in the right eye, lasting for 2 weeks. Eight months earlier, he had traveled to Vietnam for 1 week and ate raw wild boar meat and lobster. His best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes and anterior chamber examination revealed no abnormalities. Fundus examination showed subretinal tracks in the right eye. Fluorescein angiography and indocyanine green angiography showed linear hyperfluorescence of the subretinal lesion observed on fundus in the right eye. Ultrasound examination revealed no abnormalities. Blood tests indicated mild eosinophilia (7.5%), and there was no abnormality found by systemic examinations. Two years later, the patient visited our department again for ophthalmologic evaluation. Visual acuity remained 20/20 in both eyes and the subretinal tracks in the right eye had not changed since the previous examination. Serologic examination was performed to provide a more accurate diagnosis, and the patient's serum reacted strongly to the Gnathostoma nipponicum antigen by western blot assay, which led to a diagnosis of intraocular gnathostomiasis. This is the first reported case of intraocular gnathostomiasis with subretinal tracks confirmed serologically using western blot in Korea

A Case of Intramuscular Hemangioma Presenting with Large-angle Hypertropia

Purpose: To report the case of a patient with large-angle hypertropia of an intramuscular hemangioma of the right superior rectus muscle (SR). Methods: A 63-year-old man with progressive vertical deviation of the right eye for the past 6 months visited our strabismus department; his condition was not painful. An examination indicated that he had 60PD of right hypertropia at distance and near in primary gaze. Additionally, a significant limitation of his downgaze was noted. The right eye appeared mildly proptotic, and the upper and lower eyelids were slightly edematous. Corrected vision was 20/20 in both eyes. Results: Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies revealed fusiform enlargement of the right superior rectus muscle, with prominent but irregular enhancement following gadolinium administration. Incisional biopsy revealed an intramuscular hemangioma in the superior rectus muscle with cavernous-type vessels. Conclusions: This case demonstrates that intramuscular hemangioma should be considered in the differ-ential diagnosis of isolated extraocular muscle enlargement and unusual strabismus. Korean Journal o

In vitro Antibacterial and Morphological Effects of the Urushiol Component of the Sap of the Korean lacquer tree (Rhus vernicifera Stokes) on Helicobacter pylori

Eradication regimens for Helicobacter pylori infection have some side effects, compliance problems, relapses, and antibiotic resistance. Therefore, alternative anti-H. pylori or supportive antimicrobial agents with fewer disadvantages are necessary for the treatment of H. pylori. We investigated the pH-(5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0) and concentration (0.032, 0.064, 0.128, 0.256, 0.514, and 1.024 mg/mL)-dependent antibacterial activity of crude urushiol extract from the sap of the Korean lacquer tree (Rhus vernicifera Stokes) against 3 strains (NCTC11637, 69, and 219) of H. pylori by the agar dilution method. In addition, the serial (before incubation, 3, 6, and 10 min after incubation) morphological effects of urushiol on H. pylori were examined by electron microscopy. All strains survived only within pH 6.0-9.0. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of the extract against strains ranged from 0.064 mg/mL to 0.256 mg/mL. Urushiol caused mainly separation of the membrane, vacuolization, and lysis of H. pylori. Interestingly, these changes were observed within 10 min following incubation with the 1×minimal inhibitory concentrations of urushiol. The results of this work suggest that urushiol has potential as a rapid therapeutic against H. pylori infection by disrupting the bacterial cell membrane