Comparison between topical use of ketotifen and olopatadine in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the efficacy and tolerance to the topical use of 0.05% ketotifen fumarate and 0.1% olopatadine hydrochloride in the treatment of patients with allergic conjunctivitis. Methods: A masked, randomized clinical study was performed in order to compare the efficacy, safety and side effects of the use of 0.05% ketotifen fumarate and 0.1% olopatadine hydrochloride ophthalmic solutions for the alleviation of symptoms and signs in patients with allergic conjunctivitis. Thirty-four patients, fulfilling the inclusion criteria of the protocol were divided into two groups and received a flask with the masked drug, instilling one drop twice daily in each eye for 30 days. Signs and symptoms of these patients were evaluated on a visit before treatment and on five visits during the treatment (days 1, 2, 7, 14 and 30). Results: Severity of allergic conjunctivitis was the same in both studied groups. Both ketotifen and olopatadine were equivalent and efficient regarding decrease in itching, burning and lacrimation symptoms. Bulbar conjunctival hyperemia was attenuated in both groups. Evaluation of adverse reactions showed the occurrence of burning on administration of both drugs and ketotifen led to occurrence of itching. No hypersensitivity reaction to the studied drugs was observed. Conclusions: This study evidences that 0.05% ketotifen fumarate and 0.1% olopatadine hydrochloride ophthalmic solutions, when instilled twice daily for 30 days, were efficient and safe regarding alleviation of the main symptoms and signs of allergic conjunctivitis.Objetivo: Avaliar e comparar a eficácia e tolerância do uso tópico do fumarato de cetotifeno a 0,05% e cloridrato de olopatadina a 0,1% no tratamento de pacientes com conjuntivite alérgica. Método: Foi realizado estudo clínico mascarado, randomizado comparando a eficácia, segurança e os efeitos colaterais com o uso da solução oftálmica de fumarato de cetotifeno a 0,05% e cloridrato de olopatadina a 0,1% no alívio dos sintomas e sinais em pacientes com conjuntivite alérgica. Trinta e quatro pacientes obedecendo aos critérios de inclusão do protocolo receberam um frasco com a droga mascarada e instilaram uma gota duas vezes por dia em cada olho durante 30 dias. Os sintomas e sinais dos pacientes foram avaliados em uma visita pré-tratamento e cinco com tratamento (1º dia, 2º dia, 7º dia, 14º dia e 30º dia). Resultados: A gravidade da conjuntivite alérgica foi semelhante nos dois grupos do estudo. Tanto cetotifeno como a olopatadina foram equivalentes e eficazes na diminuição dos sintomas de prurido, ardor e lacrimejamento. Quanto aos sinais, a hiperemia em conjuntiva bulbar foi atenuada nos dois grupos. Na avaliação das reações adversas observou-se ardor após a administração de ambos colírios e a ocorrência de prurido no grupo do cetotifeno. Não foi observada nenhuma reação de hipersensibilidade das drogas estudadas. Conclusões: Este estudo evidencia que a solução oftálmica de fumarato de cetotifeno a 0,05% e o cloridrato de olopatadina a 0,1% quando instilados duas vezes ao dia durante 30 dias, são eficazes e seguros no alívio dos principais sintomas das conjuntivites alérgicas.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de OftalmologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de OftalmologiaSciEL

Resolving the temporal evolution of line broadening in single quantum emitters

Light emission from solid-state quantum emitters is inherently prone to environmental decoherence, which results in a line broadening and in the deterioration of photon indistinguishability. Here we employ photon correlation Fourier spectroscopy (PCFS) to study the temporal evolution of such a broadening in two prominent systems: GaAs and In(Ga)As quantum dots. Differently from previous experiments, the emitters are driven with short laser pulses as required for the generation of high-purity single photons, the time scales we probe range from a few nanoseconds to milliseconds and, simultaneously, the spectral resolution we achieve can be as small as ∼ 2µeV. We find pronounced differences in the temporal evolution of different optical transition lines, which we attribute to differences in their homogeneous linewidth and sensitivity to charge noise. We analyze the effect of irradiation with additional white light, which reduces blinking at the cost of enhanced charge noise. Due to its robustness against experimental imperfections and its high temporal resolution and bandwidth, PCFS outperforms established spectroscopy techniques, such as Michelson interferometry. We discuss its practical implementation and the possibility to use it to estimate the indistinguishability of consecutively emitted single photons for applications in quantum communication and photonic-based quantum information processing

Towards an Asymptotic-Safety Scenario for Chiral Yukawa Systems

We search for asymptotic safety in a Yukawa system with a chiral $U(N_L)_L\otimes U(1)_R$ symmetry, serving as a toy model for the standard-model Higgs sector. Using the functional RG as a nonperturbative tool, the leading-order derivative expansion exhibits admissible non-Ga\ssian fixed-points for $1 \leq N_L \leq 57$ which arise from a conformal threshold behavior induced by self-balanced boson-fermion fluctuations. If present in the full theory, the fixed-point would solve the triviality problem. Moreover, as one fixed point has only one relevant direction even with a reduced hierarchy problem, the Higgs mass as well as the top mass are a prediction of the theory in terms of the Higgs vacuum expectation value. In our toy model, the fixed point is destabilized at higher order due to massless Goldstone and fermion fluctuations, which are particular to our model and have no analogue in the standard model.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Nocardia transvalensis keratitis: an emerging pathology among travelers returning from Asia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence rate of <it>Nocardia </it>keratitis is increasing, with new species identified thanks to molecular methods. We herein report a case of <it>Nocardia transvalensis </it>keratitis, illustrating this emerging pathology among travellers returning from Asia.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 23-year-old man presented with a 10-week history of ocular pain, redness, and blurred vision in his right eye following a projectile foreign body impacting the cornea while motor biking in Thaïland. At presentation, a central epithelial defect with a central whitish stromal infiltrate associated with pinhead satellite infiltrates was observed. Identification with 16S rRNA PCR sequencing and microbiological culture of corneal scraping and revealed <it>N. transvalensis </it>as the causative organism. Treatment was initiated with intensive topical amikacin, oral ketoconazole and oral doxycycline. After a four-week treatment period, the corneal infiltrate decreased so that only a faint subepithelial opacity remained.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>Nocardia </it>organisms should be suspected as the causative agent of any case of keratitis in travelers returning from Asia. With appropriate therapy, <it>Nocardia </it>keratitis resolves, resulting in good visual outcome.</p

A New Method to Predict the Epidemiology of Fungal Keratitis by Monitoring the Sales Distribution of Antifungal Eye Drops in Brazil

Purpose: Fungi are a major cause of keratitis, although few medications are licensed for their treatment. The aim of this study is to observe the variation in commercialisation of antifungal eye drops, and to predict the seasonal distribution of fungal keratitis in Brazil. Methods: Data from a retrospective study of antifungal eye drops sales from the only pharmaceutical ophthalmologic laboratory, authorized to dispense them in Brazil (Opthalmos) were gathered. These data were correlated with geographic and seasonal distribution of fungal keratitis in Brazil between July 2002 and June 2008. Results: A total of 26,087 antifungal eye drop units were sold, with a mean of 2.3 per patient. There was significant variation in antifungal sales during the year (p &lt; 0.01). A linear regression model displayed a significant association between reduced relative humidity and antifungal drug sales (R-2 = 0.17, p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: Antifungal eye drops sales suggest that there is a seasonal distribution of fungal keratitis. A possible interpretation is that the third quarter of the year (a period when the climate is drier), when agricultural activity is more intense in Brazil, suggests a correlation with a higher incidence of fungal keratitis. A similar model could be applied to other diseases, that are managed with unique, or few, and monitorable medications to predict epidemiological aspects.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnologicoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [302005/2009-9]Fundacao de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistencia do Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto da Universidade de Sao PauloFundacao de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistencia do Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto da Universidade de Sao Paul

Androgens and the breast

Androgens have important physiological effects in women while at the same time they may be implicated in breast cancer pathologies. However, data on the effects of androgens on mammary epithelial proliferation and/or breast cancer incidence are not in full agreement. We performed a literature review evaluating current clinical, genetic and epidemiological data regarding the role of androgens in mammary growth and neoplasia. Epidemiological studies appear to have significant methodological limitations and thus provide inconclusive results. The study of molecular defects involving androgenic pathways in breast cancer is still in its infancy. Clinical and nonhuman primate studies suggest that androgens inhibit mammary epithelial proliferation and breast growth while conventional estrogen treatment suppresses endogenous androgens. Abundant clinical evidence suggests that androgens normally inhibit mammary epithelial proliferation and breast growth. Suppression of androgens using conventional estrogen treatment may thus enhance estrogenic breast stimulation and possibly breast cancer risk. Addition of testosterone to the usual hormone therapy regimen may diminish the estrogen/progestin increase in breast cancer risk but the impact of this combined use on mammary gland homeostasis still needs evaluation

Asymptotic safety of simple Yukawa systems

We study the triviality and hierarchy problem of a Z_2-invariant Yukawa system with massless fermions and a real scalar field, serving as a toy model for the standard-model Higgs sector. Using the functional RG, we look for UV stable fixed points which could render the system asymptotically safe. Whether a balancing of fermionic and bosonic contributions in the RG flow induces such a fixed point depends on the algebraic structure and the degrees of freedom of the system. Within the region of parameter space which can be controlled by a nonperturbative next-to-leading order derivative expansion of the effective action, we find no non-Gaussian fixed point in the case of one or more fermion flavors. The fermion-boson balancing can still be demonstrated within a model system with a small fractional flavor number in the symmetry-broken regime. The UV behavior of this small-N_f system is controlled by a conformal Higgs expectation value. The system has only two physical parameters, implying that the Higgs mass can be predicted. It also naturally explains the heavy mass of the top quark, since there are no RG trajectories connecting the UV fixed point with light top masses.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, v2: references added, typos corrected, minor numerical correction

Contribution of human hematopoietic stem cells to liver repair

Immune-deficient mouse models of liver damage allow examination of human stem cell migration to sites of damage and subsequent contribution to repair and survival. In our studies, in the absence of a selective advantage, transplanted human stem cells from adult sources did not robustly become hepatocytes, although some level of fusion or hepatic differentiation was documented. However, injected stem cells did home to the injured liver tissue and release paracrine factors that hastened endogenous repair and enhanced survival. There were significantly higher levels of survival in mice with a toxic liver insult that had been transplanted with human stem cells but not in those transplanted with committed progenitors. Transplantation of autologous adult stem cells without conditioning is a relatively safe therapy. Adult stem cells are known to secrete bioactive factors that suppress the local immune system, inhibit fibrosis (scar formation) and apoptosis, enhance angiogenesis, and stimulate recruitment, retention, mitosis, and differentiation of tissue-residing stem cells. These paracrine effects are distinct from the direct differentiation of stem cells to repair tissue. In patients at high risk while waiting for a liver transplant, autologous stem cell therapy could be considered, as it could delay the decline in liver function