Difference in fatigue and pain between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the difference of fatigue and pain in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS:Data from the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) and Pain Effects Scale (PES) were compared between 51 NMOSD and 85 MS patients. Each score was compared in each disease group with or without clinical abnormalities. Since almost no MS patients are without brain magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities, volumetry analysis by the Lesion Segmentation Tool and statistical parametric mapping 12 were added to obtain total lesion volume and intracranial volume in MS patients, and the correlations between total lesion volume/intracranial volume and each score were investigated. RESULTS:Compared to the MS group, the NMOSD group showed a higher PES score (median, 15.0 vs. 7.0, P = 0.045), no difference in MFIS, and an increased percentage of patients with extended spinal cord lesions (58.8% vs. 8.2%, P < 0.001). Moreover, NMOSD and MS patients with extended spinal cord lesions tended to demonstrate higher PES scores than those without. A positive correlation between MFIS and PES were found in patients with NMOSD and MS. On the other hand, MS patients showed a higher percentage of brain abnormalities (80.4% vs. 97.6%, P = 0.001) and a positive correlation between total lesion volume/intracranial volume and MFIS (Spearman's ρ = 0.50, P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS:The origin of fatigue may be associated with spinal cord lesions causing pain in NMOSD patients, but with brain lesions in MS patients

Enzyme-Assisted Photoinjection of Megadalton Molecules into Intact Plant Cells Using Femtosecond Laser Amplifier

Femtosecond laser photoporation has become a popular method to deliver various kinds of molecules such as genes, proteins, and fluorescent dyes into single mammalian cells. However, this method is not easily applied to plant cells because their cell wall and turgor pressure prevent the delivery, especially for larger molecules than the mesh size of the cell wall. This work is the first demonstration of the efficient photoinjection of megadalton molecules into a cytoplasm of an intact single plant cell by employing a femtosecond laser amplifier under moderate enzyme treatment conditions. The intense femtosecond laser pulse effectively formed a pore on the cell wall and membrane of Tobacco BY-2, and 2 MDa dextran molecules were introduced through the pore. Along with the pore formation, induced mechanical tensile stresses on BY-2 cells were considered to increase permeability of the cell membrane and enhance the uptake of large molecules. Moreover, the moderate enzyme treatment partially degraded the cell wall thereby facilitating the increase of the molecular introduction efficiency

Blepharokeratoconjunctivitis Presumably Caused by Paederus fuscipes, a Beetle: A Case Report

Toxicity of Paederus species to eyes has scarcely been reported. This report presents a case of chemical blepharokeratoconjunctivitis with delayed re-epithelialization caused by Paederus fuscipes in a patient with dry eye after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). A 47-year-old woman who had undergone LASIK for myopia 10 years prior experienced visual disturbance and pain in her left eye after being hit by a P. fuscipes insect in her eye 1 day prior to evaluation. At the initial presentation, dermatitis around the patient’s left eye, eyelid oedema, conjunctival chemosis, corneal epithelial defects, and a best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/200 were noted. No gram-positive/negative bacteria or indication of cellulitis/elevated inflammation was detected. Administration of topical steroids (betamethasone) and antibiotics (topical: cefmenoxime and levofloxacin; intravenous: ceftriaxone) improved the non-infectious chemical blepharokeratoconjunctivitis; however, the large corneal epithelial defect remained for 10 days. Switching from betamethasone to a preservative-free form facilitated re-epithelialization, and the patient’s BCVA improved to 20/16 after 2 months. Ophthalmologists should consider the toxicity of the Paederus species on the ocular surface and eyelid

Photoinjection of fluorescent nanoparticles into intact plant cells using femtosecond laser amplifier

The introduction of nanoparticles to intact plant cells is promising as a transporting technique of a wide range of functional molecules. Among various molecular delivery methods, femtosecond laser photoinjection possesses target selectivity at a single cell level and is potentially applicable for many types of materials. However, for plant cells, the vacuoles’ turgor pressure and the thick cell wall limit the application of photoinjection to only small objects. In this work, we overcome these limitations by employing a single pulse irradiation from a femtosecond laser amplifier. After laser irradiation on intact tobacco BY-2 cells, 80 nm fluorescent nanoparticles dispersed in a cell culture medium were successfully injected into their cytoplasm. This breakthrough would lead to a vast utilization of nanoparticles containing functional molecules for single cell manipulation in plant physiological study and genetic engineering. Such an injection was observed even when the laser pulse was focused neither on the cell wall nor on the cell membrane, but beside the cells. With these results, we suggest pore formation on the cell membrane by instantaneous deformation induced by an intense femtosecond laser pulse as an injection mechanism of nanoparticles. Reported photomechanical effects of the amplified femtosecond laser on the permeability of the biological membrane would offer new perspectives in biophotonics

Direct observation of nanoparticle diffusion in cytoplasm of single plant cells realized by photoinjection with femtosecond laser amplifier

International audienceDiffusion is an important process for molecular transport inside plant cells. Recent advancement in plant physiological study demands verification of the diffusion process at the single cell level. In this work, the real-time intracellular diffusion of nanoparticles in the cytoplasm of single plant cells was realized using photoinjection with femtosecond laser amplifier. The diffusion behavior was analyzed by estimating the diffusion coefficient in cytoplasm. In addition, the effect of particle size to the photoinjection efficiency and diffusion was evaluated. Surprisingly, the intercellular diffusion of nanoparticles between single plant cells was also directly observed