Impediments to eye transplantation: Ocular viability following optic-nerve transection or enucleation

Maintenance of ocular viability is one of the major impediments to successful whole-eye transplantation. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the current literature to help guide future studies in order to overcome this hurdle. A systematic multistage review of published literature was performed. Three specific questions were addressed: (1) Is recovery of visual function following eye transplantation greater in cold-blooded vertebrates when compared with mammals? (2) Is outer retina function following enucleation and reperfusion improved compared with enucleation alone? (3) Following optic-nerve transection, is there a correlation between retinal ganglion cell (RGC) survival and either time after transection or proximity of the transection to the globe? In a majority of the studies performed in the literature, recovery of visual function can occur after whole-eye transplantation in cold-blooded vertebrates. Following enucleation (and reperfusion), outer retinal function is maintained from 4 to 9 h. RGC survival following optic-nerve transection is inversely related to both the time since transection and the proximity of transection to the globe. Lastly, neurotrophins can increase RGC survival following optic-nerve transection. This review of the literature suggests that the use of a donor eye is feasible for whole-eye transplantation.published_or_final_versio

Anticoagulant treatment in primary health care in Sweden – prevalence, incidence and treatment diagnosis: a retrospective study on electronic patient records in a registered population

BACKGROUND: The indications for warfarin treatment in primary health care are increasing. An undertreatment with warfarin is reported in the prevention of embolic stroke in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, and can be suspected for other indications. Information on the prevalence and incidence of diseases treated with warfarin would reveal useful data for audits concerning management of anticoagulant treatment. We aimed to assess warfarin treatment in primary health care with regard to prevalence, incidence, treatment diagnosis and patient characteristics. METHODS: A one-year retrospective study of electronic patient records up to May 2000 in primary health care in Stockholm, Sweden. Five primary health care centres with a registered population of 75 146. Main outcome measures were prevalence, incidence and treatment diagnosis. RESULTS: Five hundred and seven patients, mean age 71.9 years, were on warfarin treatment. The prevalence was 0.67% (age-adjusted 0.75%), and it was significantly higher for men (0.78%) than for women (0.58%) (p = 0.01). In the age group 75–84 years the prevalence was 4.54%. The most prevalent treatment diagnosis was chronic atrial fibrillation (0.28%), which was more predominant for males (p = 0.02), followed by cerebrovascular disease (0.13%) and deep venous thrombosis (0.13%). The yearly incidence of warfarin treatment was 0.17%, with chronic atrial fibrillation as the predominant treatment diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Warfarin treatment in primary health care is prevalent among the elderly. Chronic atrial fibrillation is the main treatment diagnosis. There is a gender difference favouring men in general and chronic atrial fibrillation as the treatment diagnosis

Mobile applications for obesity and weight management: current market characteristics

Mobile-Health (mHealth) is the fastest-developing eHealth sector, with over 100 000 health applications (apps) currently available. Overweight/obesity is a problem of wide public concern that is potentially treatable/preventable through mHealth. This study describes the current weight-management app-market. Five app stores (Apple, Google, Amazon, Windows and Blackberry) in UK, US, Russia, Japan and Germany, Italy, France, China, Australia and Canada were searched for keywords: 'weight', 'calorie', 'weight-loss', 'slimming', 'diet', 'dietitian' and 'overweight' in January/February 2016 using App-Annie software. The 10 most downloaded apps in the lifetime of an app were recorded. Developers' lists and the app descriptions were searched to identify any professional input with keywords 'professional', 'dietitian' and 'nutritionist'. A total of 28 905 relevant apps were identified as follows: Apple iTunes=8559 (4634, 54% paid), Google Play=1762 (597, 33.9% paid), Amazon App=13569 (4821, 35.5% paid), Windows=2419 (819, 17% paid) and Blackberry=2596 (940, 36% paid). The 28 905 identified apps focused mainly on physical activity (34%), diet (31%), and recording/monitoring of exercise, calorie intake and body weight (23%). Only 17 apps (0.05%) were developed with identifiable professional input. Apps on weight management are widely available and very popular but currently lack professional content expertise. Encouraging app development based on evidence-based online approaches would assure content quality, allowing healthcare professionals to recommend their use

Effect of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic on the Incidence of Epidemic Keratoconjunctivitis and on Hygiene Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: EKC is transmitted chiefly by direct hand contact. It is suspected that the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic influenced hand washing. This study aims to examine the relationship between the 2009/2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic and hygiene behavior. Methods: We compared the EKC prevalence trends before, during and after the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic by using a t-test comparison of EKC sentinel surveillance. Results: During the pre-pandemic period, the incidence of EKC increased from the 21st to the 44th week each year. However, during the pandemic period in 2009, there was no epidemic peak. In the post-pandemic period, the epidemic curve was similar to that in the pre-pandemic period. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the total number of EKC patients during the pandemic period showed a decrease of 44.9 % (t value = 27.23, p = 0.002). Comparing the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods by age group, we found there to be a significant decrease in the number of EKC patients for all age groups (24.12#t value#27.23, all P,0.05). This finding was most evident in the teenage group (62%) compared to the other age groups (decreases of 29 to 44%). Conclusions: A continuing effort should be made to educate the public on basic infection prevention behaviors in th

Adult Intussusception Caused by an Inverted Meckel Diverticulum

Adult intussusception caused by an inverted Meckel diverticulum is rare. We report a 55-year-old Japanese man with intussusception. He was admitted to our hospital with vomiting and abdominal pain. The abdomen was hard with tenderness and muscle guarding. Computed tomography scanning demonstrated a typical inhomogeneous target-shaped mass in the right abdomen. We diagnosed intussusception and performed emergency surgery. At laparotomy, ileocolic intussusception was observed and the ileocecal segment was resected. The surgical specimen comprised an 84 cm segment of resected ileocecum with an elongated polypoid lesion measuring 11 × 2 cm within the ileal lumen. Histopathological examination demonstrated that the polypoid lesion was an inverted Meckel diverticulum. Postoperatively, the patient made an uneventful recovery

The effect of renal perfusion pressure on renal vascular resistance in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Renal hemodynamics and renal vascular resistance (RVR) were measured in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and in the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY). In addition, the autoregulatory response and segmental RVR in the SHR were studied after aortic constriction. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and RVR were higher in the SHR than in the WKY, but renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate were similar in both groups. Measurement of mean afferent arteriolar diameter (AAD) by a microsphere method showed a significantly smaller AAD in SHR (17.7±0.35 μm) than in the WKY (19.5±0.20 μm). This decrease in AAD could account for a 47% increase in preglomerular resistance. Aortic constriction in the SHR, sufficient to reduce renal perfusion pressure from 152 to 115 mm Hg, did not alter the AAD. Since RBF and glomerular filtration were also well maintained following aortic constriction, these autoregulatory responses suggest that vessels proximal to the afferent arteriole rather than postglomerular vasculature are primarily involved in the changes on intrarenal vascular resistance in SHR.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47448/1/424_2004_Article_BF00581421.pd