The Early Treatment for Retinopathy Of Prematurity Study: structural findings at age 2 years

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether earlier treatment of high‐risk, prethreshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) improves retinal structural outcome at 2 years of age. METHODS: Infants with bilateral high‐risk prethreshold ROP had one eye randomly assigned to treatment with peripheral retinal ablation. The fellow eye was managed conventionally, and either treated at threshold ROP or observed if threshold was never reached. In patients with asymmetrical disease, the high‐risk, prethreshold eye was randomised to earlier treatment or to conventional management. At 2 years of age, children were examined comprehensively by certified ophthalmologists to determine structural outcomes for their eyes. For the purposes of this study, an unfavourable structural outcome was defined as (1) a posterior retinal fold involving the macula, (2) a retinal detachment involving the macula or (3) retrolental tissue or “mass” obscuring the view of the posterior pole. Results of the 2‐year examination were compared with those from the 9 months examination. RESULTS: Data were available on 339 of 374 (90.6%) surviving children. Unfavourable structural outcomes were reduced from 15.4% in conventionally managed eyes to 9.1% in earlier‐treated eyes (p = 0.002) at 2 years of age. Ophthalmic side effects (excluding retinal structure) from the ROP or its treatment were similar in the earlier‐treated eyes and the conventionally managed eyes. CONCLUSION: The benefit of earlier treatment of high‐risk prethreshold ROP on retinal structure endures to 2 years of age, and is not counterbalanced by any known side effect caused by earlier intervention. Earlier treatment improves the chance for long‐term favourable retinal structural outcome in eyes with high‐risk prethreshold ROP. Long‐term follow‐up is planned to determine structural and functional outcomes at 6 years of age

In vitro propagation and germplasm conservation of wild orchids from South America

Orchids are an important part of plant biodiversity on this planet due to their high variability among species and their habitats. South America represents more than thirty percent of all known orchid species, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia being among the richest countries in the world in terms of orchid biodiversity. Nevertheless, concerning the orchid conservation status, in Colombia precisely orchids occupy the unlucky first place as the plant family with the highest number of threatened species. There is a similar situation in the rest of the South American countries. The two main threats to orchid survival are both anthropogenic: the first one is deforestation, and the second largest threat to orchids is collection from the wild. One desirable action to safeguard these endangered species is to develop procedures that make possible their massive propagation, which would provide material for both environmental restoration and commercial purposes avoiding extractions from nature. Likewise, the development of systems that allow the ex situ conservation of orchid germplasm is imperative. This chapter reviews the progresses of different in vitro approaches for orchid propagation and germplasm conservation, safeguarding the genetic biodiversity of these species. Several study cases are presented and described to exemplify the protocols developed in the Botanical Institute of Northeast (UNNE-CONICET) for propagating and long-term storing the germplasm of wild orchids from Argentina (Cattleya lundii, Cohniella cepula, C. jonesiana, Gomesa bifolia, Aa achalensis, Cyrtopodium brandonianum, C. hatschbachii, Habenaria bractescens). Moreover, it has been attempted to put together most of the available literature on in vitro propagation and germplasm conservation for South American orchids using different explants and procedures. There are researches of good scientific quality that even cover critical insights into the physiology and factors affecting growth and development as well as storage of several orchid materials. Moreover, studies are still necessary to cover a major number of South American species as well as the use of selected material (clonal) for both propagation and conservation approaches.Fil: Dolce, Natalia Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Medina, Ricardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Terada, Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: González Arnao, María Teresa. Universidad Veracruzana; MéxicoFil: Flachsland, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentin