A 61-year-old female with normal-tension glaucoma.

<p>This patient had a disc hemorrhage (DH) at the 9 o’clock position at the cup base (white arrow). Fluorescein angiography revealed a thrombus, shown as a filling defect inside the vessel, where DH had occurred.</p

A 40-year-old female with primary open-angle glaucoma.

<p>This patient had recurrent disc hemorrhages (DHs) at the superotemporal and inferotemporal locations at the borders of localized retinal nerve fiber layer defects (A, black arrows). Disc filling defect is present on fluorescein angiography at the inferotemporal location (white dotted area), where a previous DH had occurred (B and C).</p

Subject Characteristics.

<p>Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation.</p><p>Subject Characteristics.</p

A 57-year-old male with normal-tension glaucoma.

<p>This patient had recurrent disc hemorrhages (DHs) at different locations of the optic disc in his left eye (A, B, and C, black arrow). DH occurred on the border of a localized retinal nerve fiber layer defect at the inferotemporal location (A’, B’, and C’, white arrow). Fluorescein angiography shows delayed arterial filling (white arrowhead) at the inferotemporal location in the early arteriovenous phase (D and E) and mid-arteriovenous phase (F). Although all the arteries are filled with fluorescein dye at the early arteriovenous phase (D and E), this artery at the inferotemporal location is not filled fully. This artery is kinked at the cup margin proximal to the location of DH.</p

Comparison of baseline characteristics and features of disc hemorrhage (DH) between glaucoma eyes with DH occurring at the border of the localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect and DH occurring not related to RNFL defect.

<p>Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation.</p><p>RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer; DH = disc hemorrhage.</p><p>* Mann-Whitney U test.</p><p>^† Chi-square test.</p><p>^‡ Fisher’s exact test.</p><p>Comparison of baseline characteristics and features of disc hemorrhage (DH) between glaucoma eyes with DH occurring at the border of the localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect and DH occurring not related to RNFL defect.</p

Fluorescein angiography of normal control eye (A) and glaucoma eyes with disc hemorrhage (DH) (B and C).

<p>The angiography of normal control eye was from a patient who underwent this examination due to unknown blurred vision (this case is not included in the analysis of the present study, however, is added in this figure to help comparison with glaucoma eyes). Arteriovenous transit time is the time between the entrance of the opaque substance into the retinal artery (arrowhead in A-1, B-1, C-1) and entrance into the vein (arrowhead in A-2, B-2, C-2) from a distance of 2 optic discs. Glaucomatous eye with DH occurring at the border of localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect (B’ and B”; localized RNFL defect, arrowhead in B’) shows prolonged arteriovenous transit time (time interval between B-1, when fluorescein dye is introduced into the artery, and B-2, when fluorescein dye enters the vein from a distance of 2 optic discs) (delayed by 3 seconds). Glaucomatous eye with DH occurring at the 6 o’clock position not related to a localized RNFL defect (C’ and C”) shows prolonged arm-retina time, which is the time from the administration of fluorescein dye to the antecubital vein until it becomes visible in the retinal arteries (C-1, 23 seconds).</p

A 54-year-old female with normal-tension glaucoma.

<p>Disc hemorrhage not related to a localized retinal nerve fiber layer defect shows no specific findings suggesting hemodynamic changes, such as vessel filling defect or delayed filling, disc leak, and disc filling defects.</p

Comparison of parameters of fluorescein angiography between glaucoma eyes with disc hemorrhage (DH) occurring at the border of the localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect and DH occurring not related to RNFL defect.

<p>Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation.</p><p>RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer.</p><p>* Mann-Whitney U test.</p><p>^† Chi-square test.</p><p>Comparison of parameters of fluorescein angiography between glaucoma eyes with disc hemorrhage (DH) occurring at the border of the localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defect and DH occurring not related to RNFL defect.</p

Airway hyperresponsiveness to mannitol and methacholine and exhaled nitric oxide in children with asthma

<p><i>Objective:</i> Asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammation, and obstruction. AHR to stimuli that indirectly cause bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) contractions via release of endogenous mediators is thought to better reflect airway inflammation than AHR to stimuli that act directly on BSM. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a useful parameter for noninvasive clinical airway inflammation assessments. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the relationships of mannitol and methacholine challenge test outcomes with FeNO and the influence of inhaled corticosteroid treatment in children with asthma. <i>Methods:</i> One hundred thirty-four asthmatic children (89 males; ages: 5–17 years, median: 9 years) underwent spirometry, FeNO measurement, serum total/specific IgE testing, and blood eosinophil count. All subjects were challenged with mannitol dry powder (MDP; AridolH, Pharmaxis, Australia) and methacholine at 7-day intervals. Data of steroid-treated and steroid-naïve children were compared. <i>Results:</i> Positive responses to MDP and methacholine challenge tests were observed in 74.6% and 67.2% of total subject group, respectively, and 72 children had positive response to both challenge tests. The median FeNO level, response-dose ratio (RDR) of PC₂₀ methacholine, and RDR of PD₁₅ MDP were significantly higher in the steroid-treated group than in the steroid-naïve group (<i>p</i> < 0.001, 0.226, and 0.004, respectively). FeNO levels associated significantly with PD₁₅ MDP and RDR PD₁₅ MDP in total subject populations (<i>p</i> = 0.016 and 0.003, respectively); however, a significant correlation between FeNO and RDR PD₁₅ MDP was observed only in the steroid-naïve group. <i>Conclusions:</i> Compared with AHR to methacholine, AHR to MDP more closely reflected the level of FeNO in steroid-naïve asthmatic children.</p

In Situ Label-Free Visualization of Orally Dosed Strictinin within Mouse Kidney by MALDI-MS Imaging

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is a powerful technique for visualizing the distribution of a wide range of biomolecules within tissue sections. However, methodology for visualizing a bioactive ellagitannin has not yet been established. This paper presents a novel in situ label-free MALDI-MSI technique for visualizing the distribution of strictinin, a bioactive ellagitannin found in green tea, within mammalian kidney after oral dosing. Among nine representative matrix candidates, 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN), harmane, and ferulic acid showed higher sensitivity to strictinin spotted onto a MALDI sample plate. Of these, 1,5-DAN enables visualization of a two-dimensional image of strictinin directly spotted on mouse kidney sections with the highest sensitivity. Furthermore, 1,5-DAN-based MALDI-MSI could detect the unique distribution of orally dosed strictinin within kidney sections. This in situ label-free imaging technique will contribute to the localization analysis of strictinin and its biological mechanisms