A VIRTUAL SIMULATOR AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING REFRACTOMETRY

Significance: Several educational technological innovations are developed with the purpose of contributing to the training of future optometrists and ophthalmologists. However, very little is available for teaching refractometry. EYE REFRACTION is a simulator mobile applications (App) that works as a fast, straightforward and interactive interface tool for teaching refractometry. Purpose: Develop novel mobile application software (EYE REFRACTION) as a tool for teaching refractometry in medical schools. Methods: EYE REFRACTION software was developed by the emerging company “Ciência Ilustrada studio” incubated at “INOVA Metrópole” of the Digital Metropolis Institute of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (IMD-UFRN), using the XCode 4.6.2. program (Apple Computer, Inc. Cupertino, CA, USA). This application software (App) was created for Tablets and has a fully interactive workspace, where after inserting the refraction data of the patient, the user can observe points or focal lines of the refractive errors and all the arrangements resulting from the various possible corrections. Results: After 90 days of blind and random simulations of the EYE REFRACTION App performed by volunteered ophthalmologists, six failures were detected and promptly corrected. Two were detected when refractive errors were simulated (simple myopic astigmatism), two during simulations of hypermetropic astigmatism, being one simple and the other compound, and two others during the simulation of mixed astigmatism. Conclusion: A novel App for teaching refractometry was successfully developed, where it enabled a real-time observation of refractive errors and their arrangements. The EYE REFRACTION App is currently available at Apple App Store

Extracts and Essential Oils from Medicinal Plants and Their Neuroprotective Effect

Current therapies for neurodegenerative diseases offer only limited benefits to their clinical symptoms and do not prevent the degeneration of neuronal cells. Neurological diseases affect millions of people around the world, and the economic impact of treatment is high, given that health care resources are scarce. Thus, many therapeutic strategies to delay or prevent neurodegeneration have been the subject of research for treatment. One strategy for this is the use of herbal and essential oils of different species of medicinal plants because they have several bioactive compounds and phytochemicals with neuroprotective capacity. In addition, they respond positively to neurological disorders, such as dementia, oxidative stress, anxiety, cerebral ischemia, and oxidative toxicity, suggesting their use as complementary treatment agents in the treatment of neurological disorders

Ectopic lymphocytic thyroiditis: A case report and treatment options

The presence of ectopic thyroid tissue is a rare entity. Non-gland migration occurs during the early stages of embryogenesis to the normal cervical location. Thus, ectopic tissue is lodged, in general, in the path of the thyroglossal duct in the middle line of the neck. The most common location is in the lingual zone, being the lingual thyroid. This, in most cases, will be asymptomatic. However, it is able to manifest itself with symptoms of dysphagia, dysphonia, obstruction of the upper airways or hemorrhage at any moment between childhood and adulthood. This article is a review of this disease, targeting mainly conduct, still very controversial in the literature. [Arch Clin Exp Surg 2017; 6(4.000): 221-227

MESENTERIC PANNICULITIS IN THE ELDERLY – UPDATE ON DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACH

The Mesenteric Panniculitis (MP) is a rare, non-specific inflammatory condition, mainly affecting the benign intestinal mesentery. It knew that she is diagnosed primarily during the sixth and seventh decade of life and seems to be two times more common in men than in women. The etiology of SM remains unknown, although several mechanisms have been suggested contributors, including surgery or abdominal trauma before, autoimmunity, paraneoplastic syndrome, ischemic injury, and infections. The major signs and symptoms are abdominal pain, the presence of palpable abdominal mass, nausea and vomiting, bowel changes, weight loss, small bowel obstruction, chylous ascites and peritoneal irritation signals. About of 10% of the patients are asymptomatic. The radiological study, especially computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are essential components of the diagnostic evaluation. The ''greasy'' ring signal and the pseudocapsule tomographic findings are considered specific tumoral this pathology. The histopathologic study establishes the diagnosis. There is no specific treatment for SM and should this be empirical and individualized. Although they are described cases of spontaneous remission, some authors have shown benefit with the empirical treatment using corticosteroids, colchicine, immunosuppressants, antibiotics, tamoxifen, alone or in combination. The surgical approach has a limited role and usually aimed at symptomatic relief. In most cases, the prognosis is favorable

Pathophysiology and possible treatments for olfactory-gustatory disorders in patients affected by COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells mainly through the interaction between the virus's Spike protein and the viral receptors namely Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2). Both are highly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract, in the nasal and bronchial epithelium, as well as in the type II alveolar epithelial cells. The aim of this review is to report the evidences from the scientific literature on the pathophysiology and the available treatments for olfactory-gustatory disorders in patients with COVID-19. The mechanisms involved in these disorders are still unclear and studies on specific therapies are scarce. However, it has been hypothesized that a decrease in the sensitivity of the sensory neurons as well as the co-expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the alveolar epithelial cells are the main causes of olfactory-gustatory disorders. The possible mechanisms described in the literature for changes in taste perception in patients with COVID-19 include olfactory disorders and a competitive activity of COVID-19 on ACE2 receptors in the taste buds. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 can bind to sialic acid receptors in the taste buds. In general, evidences show that there is no specific treatment for olfactory-taste disorders induced by SARS-CoV-2, even though some treatments have been used and have shown some promising results, such as olfactory training, intranasal application of sodium citrate and vitamin A, as well as systemic use of omega-3 and zinc. Corticosteroids have also been used as a pharmacological approach to treat patients with olfactory dysfunction with some contradictory results. The knowledge of the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 influences the sensory systems and how effective therapies can treat the loss of smell and taste will have important implications on the understanding and clinical management of olfactory-taste disorders

Nature as a source of drugs for ophthalmology

ABSTRACT Nature has always provided an unlimited source of biologically-active compounds. Since the beginning of mankind, humans have sought resources in fauna and flora to treat eye diseases. However, it was only after the Industrial Revolution that extracts of plants and substances of animal origin could be used safely, as has been determined by controlled interventional studies. Two major challenges faced by ocular pharmacology are the following: developing drugs that are able to reduce blindness due to glaucoma; and controlling the pain associated with eye surgery. The search for a drug that effectively lowers intraocular pressure and controls the progression of glaucoma has led to the development of various ocular hypotensive agents, such as physostigmine from the Physostigma venenosum plant. The anesthetic properties of cocaine, extracted from Erythroxylon coca, finally enabled surgical procedures in the eye. Several new natural compounds have been investigated in an attempt to identify substances with the potential to provide additional benefits to eye tissue and vision. Emerging evidence of anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, and antiangiogenic properties attributed to plant extracts and animal tissues has encouraged more investment in research in this area. Despite technological advances in synthesizing drugs, the pharmaceutical industry still seeks new active compounds from natural sources as well as from revisiting already-established naturally derived compounds. Although a large number of naturally-occurring compounds is known, this review article focuses on the bioactive substances with scientifically-proven benefits for ocular tissues

Avaliação da eficácia de um novo marcador cirúrgico para capsulorrexe anterior

RESUMO Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia de um novo marcador cirúrgico para ajudar na confecção da capsulorrexe anterior analisando o seu dimensionamento e formato, comparando com a capsulorrexe confeccionada manualmente de maneira livre. Métodos: Como experimento, 3 residentes (R3) de Oftalmologia do Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL) e 1 oftalmologista em treinamento, voluntários, realizaram (cada um) 10 capsulorrexes em olhos de porco enucleados. Em 5 olhos foi utilizado o marcador e em outros 5, não. Todos os olhos foram fotografados tendo ao lado uma régua para orientar e calibrar um aplicativo para a avaliação morfométrica do procedimento. O diâmetro alvo foi de 5 mm, cujo perímetro correspondente é 15,7 mm e a área 19,652 mm2. Foram avaliados em cada procedimento: os diâmetros máximo, mínimo e médio, o perímetro, a área e o desvio em relação ao diâmetro e quanto ao aspecto ideal. Resultados: No grupo utilizando o marcador o diâmetro médio foi 5,44mm (±0,89) contra 6,37mm (±0,67) (p=0,001), no grupo no qual não se utilizou o marcador; quanto ao perímetro, 17,52mm (±1,92) no grupo utilizando o marcador contra 20,14mm (±2,09) (p<0,001) sem o marcador e quanto a área, 24,73mm2 (±1,92) com o marcador, contra 32,62mm2 (±6,32) (p<0,001), sem o marcador. Em relação ao aspecto da capsulorrexe 1,26mm (±0,12), contra 1,21mm (±0,7) (p=0,09) e em relação ao desvio de curvatura: 0,87 (±0,05), contra 0,9 (±0,04), (p=0,06) respectivamente. Conclusão: O trabalho mostrou que o marcador avaliado é eficaz para auxiliar a confecção da capsulorrexe conduzindo a resultados melhores que o método a mão livre