Dome-shaped macula in children and adolescents.

PurposeWe sought to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of dome-shaped macula (DSM) in children and adolescents with myopia.MethodsA retrospective review of medical records was performed to identify subjects who were younger than 19 years with myopia of -3.0 diopters or greater. The results of optical coherence tomography images were analyzed to identify DSM. The height and diameter of the dome were measured. Age, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and refractive error of study participants who exhibited DSM were compared with those of patients who did not.ResultsAmong the 1,042 eyes of 615 patients, eight eyes (0.77%) of seven patients had DSM. Six of these eight eyes were not highly myopic (i.e., less than -6.0 diopters of spherical equivalents). Additionally, the mean height and diameter of the identified domes were 146.50 ± 42.33 μm and 4779.75 ± 699.38 μm, respectively. Patients with DSM were significantly older (mean age: 15.88 ± 2.36 years) than patients without it (11.51 ± 4.60 years; p = 0.007). The youngest affected patient was 11 years old. There was no significant difference in refractive errors (p = 0.629) or BCVA (p = 0.314) between the two groups.ConclusionsAlthough the incidence in this study was very low, DSM was found even in children and adolescents. In addition, 75% of affected individuals were not highly myopic. These results suggest that inherent traits may be involved in development of DSM

Characteristics of the New Mast Cell-Rich Nodal Structure in the Rat Skin Surface

Background : Acupuncture, practiced for millennia, lacks a clear anatomical definition for acupoints. A prevailing theory suggests that acupoints overlap with skin areas with higher mast cell density. Skin spots stained with intravenously infused Evans blue (EB), indicative of neurogenic inflammation, have recently been posited as acupoints in rats. Objectives: To demonstrate the concordance between EB-reactive skin spots and mast cell-enriched acupoints. Methods : We employed staining and RNA-seq analysis to delineate the morphological characteristics and gene expression profiles of EB-reactive skin spots in rats. Results : EB infusion revealed a novel nodal structure on the rat skin surface, visible to the naked eye, with dimensions of approximately 1 mm in both diameter and height. Around 30 such nodes were identified on one side of the abdominal area, spaced roughly 3 mm apart, excluding the linea alba. RNA-seq analysis indicated that the gene expression patterns within these nodes markedly differed from both non-nodal skin areas and lymph nodes. Histological examination using toluidine blue revealed a significantly greater mast cell count in the nodes than in non-nodal skin regions. Additionally, the nodes stained positively with Alcian blue and Hemacolor, reagents known to mark primo vascular tissues. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that EB-reactive nodes are indeed rich in mast cells. Further research is warranted to establish these skin nodes as surface primo nodes

Reproductive risk factors of pterygium in postmenopausal women: a nationwide study in the Republic of Korea

Abstract This study is to elucidate the associations between female reproductive factors and pterygium. A total of 1,339,969 postmenopausal women in a retrospective cohort of Korean National Health Insurance Service data on ages 40 and above in 2009 was included. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted to assess the hazard ratio (HR) for pterygium according to reproductive factors. Late menarche, early menopause, short reproductive period, increasing parity (≥ 2 children), breastfeeding (≥ 6 months), and no use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or oral contraceptive (OC) were significantly associated with risk of pterygium. In multivariate analysis, the HR for pterygium was 1.764 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.529–2.035) for menarche age ≥ 17 years (reference: menarche age < 12 years). The HR of menopause age ≥ 55 years was 0.782 (95% CI, 0.724–0.845) (reference: menopause age < 40 years). The HR of parity ≥ 2 was 1.261 (95% CI, 1.148–1.385) (reference: nulliparity). The HR of breastfeeding ≥ 1 year was 1.663 (95% CI, 1.564–1.768) (reference: no breastfeeding). The HRs of HRT and OC use for any length of time were lower than those for the non-user groups (reference). Reproductive factors that increase estrogen exposure have protective effects against pterygium in females

Determining the etiology of small bowel obstruction in patients without intraabdominal operative history: a retrospective study

Purpose Most of the causes of small bowel obstruction (SBO) in patients without a history of abdominal surgery are unclear at initial assessment. This study was conducted to identify the etiology and clinical characteristics of SBO in virgin abdomens and discuss the proper management. Methods A retrospective review involving operative cases of SBO from a single institute, which had no history of abdominal surgery, was conducted between January 2010 and December 2020. Clinical information, including radiological, operative, and pathologic findings, was investigated to determine the etiology of SBO. Results A total of 55 patients were included in this study, with a median age of 57 years and male sex (63.6%) constituting the majority. The most frequently reported symptoms were abdominal pain and nausea or vomiting. Neoplasm as an underlying cause accounted for 34.5% of the cases, of which 25.5% were malignant cases. In patients aged ≥60 years (n=23), small bowel neoplasms were the underlying cause in 12 (52.2%), of whom 9 (39.1%) were malignant cases. Adhesions and Crohn disease were more frequent in patients aged <60 years. Coherence between preoperative computed tomography scans and intraoperative findings was found in 63.6% of the cases. Conclusion There were various causes of surgical cases of SBO in virgin abdomens. In older patients, hidden malignancy should be considered as a possible cause of SBO in a virgin abdomen. Patients with symptoms of recurrent bowel obstruction who have no history of prior abdominal surgery require thorough medical history and close follow-up

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor controls mesenchymal stromal cell-mediated immunomodulation via ubiquitination of eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have great therapeutic advantages due to their immunosuppressive properties. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor whose signaling plays an important role in the immune system. AHR may be involved in the regulation of MSC-associated immunomodulatory functions. However, the mechanisms by which AHR controls the immunosuppressive functions of MSCs are not well understood. Here, we report that Ahr-deficient MSCs show decreased therapeutic efficacy against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) compared to wild-type (WT)-MSCs. This was probably due to decreased iNOS protein expression, which is a key regulatory enzyme in MSC immunomodulation. The expression of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF2K), which inhibits the elongation stage of protein synthesis, is significantly increased in the Ahr-deficient MSCs. Inhibition of eEF2K restored iNOS protein expression. AHR is known to act as an E3 ligase together with CUL4B. We observed constitutive binding of AHR to eEF2K. Consequently, ubiquitination and degradation of eEF2K were inhibited in Ahr-deficient MSCs and by the AHR antagonist CH223191 in WT-MSCs. In summary, AHR regulates the immunomodulatory functions of MSCs through ubiquitination of eEF2K, thereby controlling iNOS protein synthesis and its product, nitric oxide levels