Plasmablastic lymphoma mimicking orbital cellulitis

Introduction Orbital cellulitis is an uncommon, potentially devastating condition that, when not promptly and adequately treated, can lead to serious sequelae. The presenting clinical signs are proptosis, swelling, ophthalmoplegia, pain and redness of the peri-orbital tissues. A number of case

Radiotherapy in the treatment of Graves ophthalmopathy—to do it or not?

To the objective of this study is to evaluate the role and toxicity of radiotherapy in the treatment of Graves ophthalmopathy. In the years 2000–2003, 121 patients with malignant exophthalmos were treated with radiotherapy of the retrobulbar area to the total dose of 20 Gy in ten fractions with a 6 MeV photon beam. The treatment was performed by the team of the Clinic of Oncology of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow. The radiotherapy was preceded by intravenous steroid therapy: methylprednisolone acetate administered at the dose of 2 g/week for four consecutive weeks. The highest efficacy, expressed as improvement of all ocular symptoms, was observed for the combined treatment. Female and non-diabetic patients responded positively to the combined treatment. Radiotherapy combined with steroid therapy in the treatment of Graves ophthalmopathy seems to be an effective treatment for strictly defined indications. In the treatment of Graves–Basedow disease, radiotherapy is a well-tolerated treatment modality. Diabetes is a factor that worsens prognosis in Graves ophthalmopathy and female sex is a favourable factor for this condition

Differential profiling of lacrimal cytokines in patients suffering from thyroid-associated orbitopathy.

The aim was to investigate the levels of cytokines and soluble IL-6R in the tears of patients with thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO) disease. Schirmer's test was adopted to collect tears from TAO patients (N = 20, 17 women, mean age (±SD): 46.0 years (±13.4)) and healthy subjects (N = 18, 10 women, 45.4 years (±18.7)). Lacrimal cytokines and soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R) were measured using a 10-plex panel (Meso Scale Discovery Company) and Invitrogen Human sIL-6R Elisa kit, respectively. Tear levels of IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-6 and TNF-α appeared significantly higher in TAO patients than in healthy subjects. Interestingly, IL-10, IL-12p70 and IL-8 levels increased in tears whatever the form of TAO whereas IL-13, IL-6 and TNF-α levels were significantly elevated in inflammatory TAO patients, meaning with a clinical score activity (CAS) ≥ 3, compared to controls. Furthermore, only 3 cytokines were strongly positively correlated with CAS (IL-13 Spearman coeff. r: 0.703, p = 0.0005; IL-6 r: 0.553, p = 0.011; IL-8 r: 0.618, p = 0.004, respectively). Finally, tobacco use disturbed the levels of several cytokines, especially in patient suffering of TAO. The differential profile of lacrimal cytokines could be useful for the diagnosis of TAO patients. Nevertheless, the tobacco use of these patients should be taken into account in the interpretation of the cytokine levels

An unusual tumour of the lacrimal gland

The European Community\u27s copyright laws have been constantly changing in recent years to respond to the dramatic increase in the demand for and supply of audiovisual works. These laws have become necessary because of the increased risk of piracy in conjunction with the Community\u27s continuing efforts toward Community harmonization. This article explores the scope of copyright protection of audiovisual works, the limitation of copyright protection as embodied in the Community exhaustion doctrine, and the impact of the Community\u27s harmonization efforts