Aneurysms of the intracranial segment of the ophthalmic artery trunk. case report and systematic literature review

Aneurysms arising from the ophthalmic artery trunk (OAT) are very rare, particularly in the artery's intracranial course. The onset of a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from a ruptured OAT aneurysm in this segment is extremely rare. We present a case and discuss the anatomy, clinical significance, and therapeutic options for an aneurysm at this site. We also retrospectively analyzed the record of a patient with a ruptured aneurysm of the intracranial segment of the OAT and conducted a comprehensive and systematic review of the PubMed and Scopus databases for literature on this pathology. Only one case report of SAH from an aneurysm of the intracranial segment of the OAT was published in the literature. Only in our case was the intracranial OAT segment aneurysm discovered in the acute phase of SAH. Conventional angiography with three-dimensional acquisition may help detect aneurysms at this level. Detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the OAT is of paramount importance for both surgical and endovascular approaches. Surgical treatment is complex because of difficulties in accessing the orbital region and the risk of optic nerve and vascular injuries. Endovascular treatment, when feasible, could be a good alternative to reduce the risk of loss of vision related to surgical manipulation

Management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement: role of spectral domain optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of choroidal thickness evaluation with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) and enhanced depth imaging (EDI) technique in the management of patients with Graves' disease and orbitopathy (GO). METHODS: Thirty-six eyes of 18 patients with GO and 36 eyes of 18 age-matched control subjects were included in this retrospective observational study. All the subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation, including clinical activity score (CAS) and exophthalmometry. The SDOCT images of the choroid were obtained by EDI modality. RESULTS: Choroidal thickness was significantly increased in GO than in control eyes (p < 0.01). A significant correlation was found between choroidal thickness and CAS, proptosis, and the duration of disease (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that choroidal thickness, evaluated with EDI-OCT, is significantly increased in patients with GO and correlates with the activity of the disease, proptosis, and duration of the disease. The choroidal thickening may reflect the ocular hemodynamic changes, and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography may be a useful tool for the evaluation of orbital congestion and management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement

Time evolution of the behaviour of Brazilian legislative Representatives using a complex network approach

The follow up of Representative behavior after elections is imperative for a democratic Representative system, at the very least to punish betrayal with no re-election. Our goal was to show how to follow Representatives' and how to show behavior in real situations and observe trends in political crises including the onset of game changing political instabilities. We used correlation and correlation distance matrices of Brazilian Representative votes during four presidential terms. Re-ordering these matrices with Minimal Spanning Trees displays the dynamical formation of clusters for the sixteen year period, which includes one Presidential impeachment. The reordered matrices, colored by correlation strength and by the parties clearly show the origin of observed clusters and their evolution over time. When large clusters provide government support cluster breaks, political instability arises, which could lead to an impeachment, a trend we observed three years before the Brazilian President was impeached. We believe this method could be applied to foresee other political storms.Comment: 11 pages, 4 Figure

The NIF LinkOut Broker: A Web Resource to Facilitate Federated Data Integration using NCBI Identifiers

This paper describes the NIF LinkOut Broker (NLB) that has been built as part of the Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF) project. The NLB is designed to coordinate the assembly of links to neuroscience information items (e.g., experimental data, knowledge bases, and software tools) that are (1) accessible via the Web, and (2) related to entries in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI’s) Entrez system. The NLB collects these links from each resource and passes them to the NCBI which incorporates them into its Entrez LinkOut service. In this way, an Entrez user looking at a specific Entrez entry can LinkOut directly to related neuroscience information. The information stored in the NLB can also be utilized in other ways. A second approach, which is operational on a pilot basis, is for the NLB Web server to create dynamically its own Web page of LinkOut links for each NCBI identifier in the NLB database. This approach can allow other resources (in addition to the NCBI Entrez) to LinkOut to related neuroscience information. The paper describes the current NLB system and discusses certain design issues that arose during its implementation

Issues in the Design of a Pilot Concept-Based Query Interface for the Neuroinformatics Information Framework

This paper describes a pilot query interface that has been constructed to help us explore a "concept-based" approach for searching the Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF). The query interface is concept-based in the sense that the search terms submitted through the interface are selected from a standardized vocabulary of terms (concepts) that are structured in the form of an ontology. The NIF contains three primary resources: the NIF Resource Registry, the NIF Document Archive, and the NIF Database Mediator. These NIF resources are very different in their nature and therefore pose challenges when designing a single interface from which searches can be automatically launched against all three resources simultaneously. The paper first discusses briefly several background issues involving the use of standardized biomedical vocabularies in biomedical information retrieval, and then presents a detailed example that illustrates how the pilot concept-based query interface operates. The paper concludes by discussing certain lessons learned in the development of the current version of the interface

Long-term ocular biometric variations after scleral buckling surgery in macula-on rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Background: Myopic shift and biometric ocular changes have been previously observed after scleral buckling (SB) surgery in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), but long term-term outcomes had not yet been explored. The purpose of present study is to evaluate long term ocular biometric changes in patients with primary macula-on RRD treated with SB. Methods: In this retrospective, observational study, we reviewed the medical records of patients undergoing SB surgery for macula-on RRD. Ocular biometry was performed before and at the most recent visit after surgery. Axial length (AXL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior corneal astigmatism and spherical equivalent in treated eyes were compared before and after surgery as well as with those of fellow eyes. Results: Thirty-four eyes of 17 patients with a mean age of 57.0 ± 8.9 years were included. The mean follow-up duration was 50.9 ± 21.9 months (median 53.0; range 12 to 82 months). A significant postoperative AXL increase of 0.83 mm and a concomitant myopic shift of 1.35 diopters was observed in the operated eyes (p < 0.0001). The preoperative AXL was the only predictive factor of AXL change after surgery (B = 0.152, 95% CI 0.059 to 0.245, β = 0.668, P = 0.003). Compared to fellow eyes, a postoperative ACD shallowing of 0.1 mm was found in operated eyes (p < 0.05), while there were no long-term changes of anterior corneal astigmatism. Conclusions: We show that the preoperative AXL is the only predictive factor of AXL increase after SB surgery. Scleral encircling induces a concomitant long-term shallowing of the AC, therefore fourth generation intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation formulae should be used for patients requiring cataract surgery after SB

Long-term clinical efficacy of topical treatment with recombinant human nerve growth factor in neurotrophic keratopathy: a novel cure for a rare degenerative corneal disease?

Background Neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) is a rare, degenerative ocular disease characterized by reduction or loss of corneal sensitivity and development of non-healing corneal epithelial defects and ulcers. Cenegermin, a recombinant human nerve growth factor (rhNGF) eye drop solution, is the first drug approved for the treatment of NK. The aim of our study is to evaluate the long-term efficacy of this innovative topical treatment in patients with NK. Methods Retrospective, consecutive, observational case series study from a single-center setting (Department of Sense Organs, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy). 18 patients with diagnosis of stage 2 or 3 NK, treated with Cenegermin 20 mcg/ml eye drops were followed for up to 48 months. Recurrence of lesion during follow-up was evaluated at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months. In addition, corneal sensitivity, Schirmer tear test, and visual acuity (VA) were recorded at baseline, end of treatment, and at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months. Results Three patients experienced recurrence of persistent epithelial defects (PEDs) within 12 months and one patient experienced recurrence of a corneal ulcer within 36 months. Corneal sensitivity was significantly improved at all timepoints (P < 0.05). Significant improvements in visual acuity and tear production were seen at the completion of treatment as well as at 12, 24, and 36 months (P < 0.05) when compared to baseline. Conclusions A single 8-week treatment regimen of Cenegermin eye drops has clinical efficacy that can persist for up to 48 months. The long-term clinical utility of treatment with Cenegermin for NK was demonstrated through the low rate of lesion recurrence along with improvements in corneal sensitivity and tear production

Dust mass concentrations from the UK volcanic ash lidar network compared with in-situ aircraft measurements

This is the final version. Available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this record. The Met Office has recently established a series of 10 lidar / sun-photometer installations across the UK, consolidating their ash / aerosol remote sensing capabilities [1]. In addition to this network, the Met Office have acquired the Civil Contingency Aircraft (MOCCA) which allows airborne in-situ measurements of ash / aerosol scattering and size-distributions. Two case studies are presented in which mass concentrations of Saharan dust are obtained remotely using lidar returns, and are then compared with those obtained in-situ. A thorough analysis of the mass concentration uncertainty will be provided at the conference

A modified femtosecond laser technique for anterior capsule contraction syndrome

Anterior capsule contraction syndrome (ACCS) is a rare, late complication of cataract surgery, associated with impairment of visual function. In this paper, we describe a new surgical technique to treat ACCS by femtosecond laser procedure. The femtosecond laser was used to perform an anterior capsulotomy with a customized size, in order to avoid IOL damage. After ophthalmic viscosurgical device injection in the anterior chamber, the anterior capsule flap was separated from the IOL surface by gentle hydrodissection. This manoeuvre enabled an easy and safe removal of the fibrotic material by vitreal microscissors. Our technique allowed a complete removal of the fibrotic material and opening of the capsule, with immediate complete visual acuity recovery without IOL damage. In conclusion, femtosecond laser appears to be safe and effective for treatment of ACCS with long-lasting efficacy

Autophagy-lysosome pathway alteration in ocular surface manifestations in Fabry disease patients

Background: Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked, lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the alpha-galactosidase gene and characterized by neurological, cutaneous, renal, cardiovascular, cochleo-vestibular and ocular manifestations. The aim of this study is to characterize morphological, functional and autophagy-lysosome pathway alterations of the ocular surface in FD patients.Methods: Eleven subjects with a diagnosis of FD and fifteen healthy control subjects were examined. All patients underwent ocular surface slit lamp examination, corneal aesthesiometry and in vivo confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CCM). Conjunctival impression cytology was performed in six FD patients and six controls, to assess for expression of two markers of the autophagy-lysosome pathway: the microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2).Results: Cornea verticillata and increased conjunctival vessel tortuosity were detected respectively in 67% and 33% of patients with FD. Compared with healthy subjects, patients affected by FD showed a significant reduction in corneal nerve fiber length, density and nerve branching on CCM and a significantly increased expression of LC3 on conjunctival impression cytology (p < 0.001). No changes were observed in the conjunctival expression of LAMP2 between the two groups.Conclusions: This study shows that FD is associated with ocular surface alterations including corneal and conjunctival morphology, innervation and vascularization changes. Our data demonstrate an increased expression of LC3 protein in patients with FD, suggesting that alteration of the autophagy-lysosome pathway may play a role in the occurrence of ocular manifestations