Two doses of a lipid formulation of amphotericin B for the treatment of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis

To evaluate the efficacy of a short course of a lipid formulation of amphotericin B (L-AmB) for the treatment of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (VL), an open prospective study was conducted. Forty-one children with parasitologically confirmed leishmaniasis received L-AmB, 10 mg/kg daily for 2 days. The comparison groups were 30 children who, in a previous study, were treated with L-AmB, 4 mg/kg daily for 5 days, and 52 children who were treated with meglumine antimoniate. At 6 months after completion of treatment, overall treatment success was noted for 40 of 41 children treated with 2 doses of L-AmB, 27 of 30 children treated with 5 doses of L-AmB, and 47 of 52 children treated with meglumine antimoniate. Abatement of fever, reduction in spleen size, and correction of laboratory parameters occurred more quickly among the children who received 2 doses of L-AmB than among the comparison groups, and the total estimated cost of the 2-dose regimen was also lower than that of the other regimens. Two doses of L-AmB, 10 mg/kg each, is cost-effective therapy for Mediterranean VL in children

The impact of financial crisis on central serous chorioretinopathy in Greece: Is there any correlation?

Purpose: To investigate the impact of economic crisis on central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) incidence in Greece, analyzing data by 3 different ophthalmology units during the period 2005-2012. Methods: Between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2012, all patients at 3 separate ophthalmology units, i.e., 2 public university clinics and 1 private center, presenting with the diagnosis of acute CSCR, either new cases or recurrent ones, were consecutively enrolled in the study. Patients' data, including age and sex, as well as the date of presentation, were recorded and analyzed. Recurrent cases were also recorded. Results: The study sample included 580 new cases of CSCR (463 male, 117 female) and 97 recurrent cases (84 male, 13 female). The mean age was 48.8 ± 10.3 years (range 25-90). The number of incident as well as recurrent cases increased with more recent years. As expected, the increasing trend of cases and recurrences was reproducible upon the sex-specific analyses. Moreover, the increasing trend of cases and recurrences was reproducible upon the majority of analyses stratified by age. Conclusions: Our study suggests a potential impact of financial crisis on CSCR. Our results demonstrated that CSCR incidence, in both new and recurrent cases, has increased during the years of economic crisis in Greece, especially in 2010-2011, implying that CSCR is likely to be associated with stress or other emotional stimuli caused by financial crisis. It is also important to note that the results were similar in public and private units. © 2013 Wichtig Editore - ISSN 1120-6721