Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of Iris Nevus: A Case Report

Iris nevus is common: 6% of patients with suspected iris melanoma have lesions other than melanoma, and 36% of them are nevi. Iris nevus turns into melanoma in approximately 8% of cases at a mean of 15 years. This case report provides the first description of an iris tumor examined with iris optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) compared to iris fluorescein angiography (IFA). A 60-year-old man with a diagnosis of iris nevus in the left eye was referred to our department for IFA and iris OCTA. The iris vasculature in IFA was visible only in the early phases, but not clearly. OCTA, however, gave visualization of the vascular network and very precisely defined the vessels of the whole lesion, except for the pupillary portion, which was masked by superficial pigment accumulations. IFA and iris OCTA can add information about the vascular architecture compared to slit-lamp biomicroscopy, ultrasound biomicroscopy, and anterior-segment OCT. However, IFA is time-consuming and invasive and can – very occasionally – cause serious adverse reactions. In contrast, OCTA defines the texture of the iris vasculature better. In conclusion, OCTA is a new method, easy to execute, needing no dye injection, and provides useful information on the vascular network of iris lesions. It could therefore be helpful in the diagnosis and follow-up of these lesions

Cataract and optic disk drusen in a patient with glycogenosis and di George syndrome: clinical and molecular report

Background We report the ophthalmic findings of a patient with type Ia glycogen storage disease (GSD Ia), DiGeorge syndrome (DGS), cataract and optic nerve head drusen (ONHD). Case presentation A 26-year-old white woman, born at term by natural delivery presented with a post-natal diagnosis of GSD Ia. Genetic testing by array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for DGS was required because of her low levels of serum calcium. The patient has been followed from birth, attending the day-hospital every six months at the San Paolo Hospital, Milan, outpatient clinic for metabolic diseases and previously at another eye center. During the last day-hospital visit, a complete eye examination showed ONHD and cataract in both eyes. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was subsequently done to check for any association between the eye problems and metabolic aspects. Conclusions This is the first description of ocular changes in a patient with GSD Ia and DGS. Mutations explaining GSD Ia and DGS were found but no specific causative mutation for cataract and ONHD. The metabolic etiology of her lens changes is known, whereas the pathogenesis of ONHD is not clear. Although the presence of cataract and ONHD could be a coincidence; the case reported could suggest that hypocalcemia due to DGS could be the common biochemical pathway

Effect of prophylactic timolol 0.1% gel on intraocular pressure after an intravitreal injection of ranibizumab: a randomized study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to make a prospective evaluation of the effect of timolol 0.1% eye gel on short-term intraocular pressure (IOP) after an intravitreal injection (IVI) of ranibizumab. Participants and methods: One hundred and fifty eyes of 150 IVI-naïve patients with macular edema caused by various pathological conditions (age-related macular degeneration, central or branch retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic retinopathy) were scheduled to undergo an IVI of ranibizumab (0.5 mg/0.05 cc). The patients were randomly divided into three groups: 50 were not treated with timolol before the IVI (group 1); 50 received an instillation of timolol 0.1% eye gel the evening before the IVI (group 2); and 50 received an instillation of timolol 0.1% eye gel 2 hours before the IVI (group 3). The incidence of clinically significant intraocular hypertensive spikes (>25 mmHg and >40 mmHg) was then assessed. Results: Our findings showed that mean IOP at baseline was significantly higher than at both 5 and 60 minutes after IVI (P25 mmHg were recorded at either time in 27 patients (54%) in group 1, 23 patients (44%) in group 2, and 24 patients (48%) in group 3. None of the between-group differences were significant. Spikes of >40 mmHg (which were only detected 5 minutes after IVI) were recorded in nine (18%), eight (16%), and one patient (2%) in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The only significant difference was between the control and group 3 (P=0.012). Conclusion: An increase in IOP after antivascular endothelial growth factor IVI is a frequent complication. The prophylactic use of timolol 0.1% gel effectively reduced the mean IOP when administered 2 hours before IVI and was also effective in preventing dangerous IOP spikes of >40 mmHg. It is therefore recommended before IVIs as a means of preventing emergency procedures and preserving the health of the optic nerve

Analyzing and Decoding Natural Reach-and-Grasp Actions Using Gel, Water and Dry EEG Systems

Reaching and grasping is an essential part of everybody’s life, it allows meaningful interaction with the environment and is key to independent lifestyle. Recent electroencephalogram (EEG)-based studies have already shown that neural correlates of natural reach-and-grasp actions can be identified in the EEG. However, it is still in question whether these results obtained in a laboratory environment can make the transition to mobile applicable EEG systems for home use. In the current study, we investigated whether EEG-based correlates of natural reach-and-grasp actions can be successfully identified and decoded using mobile EEG systems, namely the water-based EEG-VersatileTM system and the dry-electrodes EEG-HeroTM headset. In addition, we also analyzed gel-based recordings obtained in a laboratory environment (g.USBamp/g.Ladybird, gold standard), which followed the same experimental parameters. For each recording system, 15 study participants performed 80 self-initiated reach-and-grasp actions toward a glass (palmar grasp) and a spoon (lateral grasp). Our results confirmed that EEG-based correlates of reach-and-grasp actions can be successfully identified using these mobile systems. In a single-trial multiclass-based decoding approach, which incorporated both movement conditions and rest, we could show that the low frequency time domain (LFTD) correlates were also decodable. Grand average peak accuracy calculated on unseen test data yielded for the water-based electrode system 62.3% (9.2% STD), whereas for the dry-electrodes headset reached 56.4% (8% STD). For the gel-based electrode system 61.3% (8.6% STD) could be achieved. To foster and promote further investigations in the field of EEG-based movement decoding, as well as to allow the interested community to make their own conclusions, we provide all datasets publicly available in the BNCI Horizon 2020 database (http://bnci-horizon-2020.eu/database/data-sets)

One year follow-up of a randomized trial with a dilemma-focused intervention for depression: Exploring an alternative to problem-oriented strategies

© 2018 Feixas et al.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is aimed to counteract cognitions and behaviours that are considered as dysfunctional. The aim of the study is to test whether the inclusion of a non-counteractive approach (dilemma-focused intervention, DFI) in combination with CBT group therapy will yield better short- and long-term outcomes than an intervention conducted entirely using CBT.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Stam: a framework for spatio-temporal affordance maps

A�ordances have been introduced in literature as action op- portunities that objects o�er, and used in robotics to semantically rep- resent their interconnection. However, when considering an environment instead of an object, the problem becomes more complex due to the dynamism of its state. To tackle this issue, we introduce the concept of Spatio-Temporal A�ordances (STA) and Spatio-Temporal A�ordance Map (STAM). Using this formalism, we encode action semantics re- lated to the environment to improve task execution capabilities of an autonomous robot. We experimentally validate our approach to support the execution of robot tasks by showing that a�ordances encode accurate semantics of the environment

Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Lower Leg: A Rare and Difficult Diagnosis

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare neoplasm that commonly originates in the pleura. Extrapleural locations are rare and for this reason sometimes difficult to diagnose. Malignant forms with local recurrence or distant metastases have been reported, also as a consequence of inappropriate treatment. In this article, we report the case of an SFT of the lower leg in a 37-year-old man. Leg SFT is a rare occurrence, and differential diagnosis may be difficult because they can mimic a variety of benign and malignant mesenchymal tumors; immunohistochemical analysis for CD34, CD99, vimentin, and Bcl-2 is necessary. Misdiagnosis carries a significant risk of inadequate removal with subsequent increased risk of recurrence and distant metastases