Changes in the Corneal Endothelium of Aphakic Patients Following Extended Soft Contact Lens Wear

The contact lenses used for visual correction of aphakia are mostly soft contact lenses for extended wear because most aphakic patients are elderly. The effects of extended wear of such contact lenses on corneal endothelial cells have been recently reported. In this study, two groups, an extended wear SCL group and a spectacles group, were compared with respect to various parameters by means of specular microscopy following surgery for cataract. The SCL group consisted of 16 subjects and 16 eyes. The average age at operation was 67.8 years and the wearing period was 1 to 5 years after operation. The spectacles group consisted of 14 subjects and 16 eyes; the average age at operation was 70.1 years, and the wearing period was 1 to 5 years after surgery. Using a wide field specular microscope (mode1 SP-1), endothelial cells in the central part of the cornea were observed and photographed. The endothelial cell picture was then enlarged to a final magnification of 450 times, and the image was analyzed using the KC-8VA cell analyzer system. There was no significant difference in the mean cell area (μm2) and mean cell density (cell counts/mm2) between the two groups, but the coefficient of variation (CV) was significantly elevated in the SCL group after operation. The percentage of hexagonal cells was also significantly lower in the SCL group after operation. Therefore extended wear of soft contact lenses appears to make corneal endothelial cells unstable and accelerates changes in cornet endothelial cells due to aging

Harada\u27s Disease (Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome; VKH Syndrome)

We studied the course and outcome of 44 patients with Harada\u27s disease (17 males and 27 females) who were treated in the Department of Ophthalmology of Kawasaki Hospital, an affiliated hospital of Kawasaki Medical School, between April 1980 and March 1990. The age at onset ranged from 14 to 77 years with the mean age±SD being 46.5 ± 15.6 years. Thus the disease was frequent among the elderly. The posterior and optic types of the disease were most frequently found in our patients. As extraocular symptoms, perceptive deafness and an increase in the cell count of the cerebrospinal fluid were frequently observed, and these were important factors in the diagnosis of the disease. Systemic administration of steroids was the main treatment, with immunosuppressive agents being administereted to patiens with the delayed type of the disease. As for the visual prognosis, the final corrected visual acuity was 1.0 in 79% of the patients. As eye complications, cataracts and glaucoma were frequently noted, and various other lesions of the fundus were also observed with increasing age. Patients with the delayed type of the disease accounted for 34.1% of the patients studied

Tumor endothelial cells with high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity show drug resistance

Tumor blood vessels play an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. We previously reported that tumor endothelial cells (TEC) exhibit several altered phenotypes compared with normal endothelial cells (NEC). For example, TEC have chromosomal abnormalities and are resistant to several anticancer drugs. Furthermore, TEC contain stem cell-like populations with high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity (ALDHhigh TEC). ALDHhigh TEC have proangiogenic properties compared with ALDHlow TEC. However, the association between ALDHhigh TEC and drug resistance remains unclear. In the present study, we found that ALDH mRNA expression and activity were higher in both human and mouse TEC than in NEC. Human NEC:human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) were treated with tumor-conditioned medium (tumor CM). The ALDHhigh population increased along with upregulation of stem-related genes such as multidrug resistance 1, CD90, ALP, and Oct-4. Tumor CM also induced sphere-forming ability in HMVEC. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-A in tumor CM was shown to induce ALDH expression in HMVEC. Finally, ALDHhigh TEC were resistant to fluorouracil (5-FU) in vitro and in vivo. ALDHhigh TEC showed a higher grade of aneuploidy compared with that in ALDHlow TEC. These results suggested that tumor-secreting factor increases ALDHhigh TEC populations that are resistant to 5-FU. Therefore, ALDHhigh TEC in tumor blood vessels might be an important target to overcome or prevent drug resistance

Energy-efficient refurbishment of public houses Case studies of the application of an energy-efficient design approach to public house refurbishment

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ALDH is expressed in mouse tumor blood vessels in vivo.

<p>Double immunofluorescence staining for endothelial markers CD31 and ALDH in normal mouse tissue (dermis) (a–c), A375SM melanoma xenografts () (d–i), and oral carcinoma xenografts (j–l). Merged images (white arrow) show co-localization of ALDH (green) and CD31 (red) in situ. Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI. Scale bar: 40 µm.</p