Comparison of corneal flap thickness using a FS200 femtosecond laser and a moria SBK microkeratome

<b>AIM:</b> To evaluate differences in flap thickness resulting from use of an Alcon Wavelight FS200 femtosecond laser and a MORIA SBK microkeratome when making a 110-μm-thick corneal flap and to identify the potential factors that affect corneal flap thickness.<b>METHODS:</b> A prospective case study was performed on 120 eyes of 60 patients who were divided into two groups for LASIK, each group consisting of 60 eyes (30 patients). The corneal flaps were created using an Alcon Wavelight FS200 femtosecond laser or a MORIA SBK microkeratome. The central corneal flap thickness was calculated by subtraction pachymetry. Age, central corneal thickness (CCT), spherical equivalent refraction, mean keratometry, and corneal diameter were recorded preoperatively for analysis.<b>RESULTS:</b> Cutting of all flaps was easily performed without intraoperative complications. In the Alcon Wavelight FS200 femtosecond lasergroup, the mean right and left corneal flap thicknesses were 114.0±6.6 μm (range:98-126) and 111.4±7.6 μm (range:98-122), respectively. The difference (2.6±9.1 μm) in the corneal flap thickness between the right and left eyes was not significant (<i>t</i>=1.59, <i>P</i>=0.12). Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the resulting corneal flap thickness was unrelated to the patient’s age, preoperative CCT, spherical equivalent refraction, mean keratometry, or corneal diameter. In the MORIA SBK microkeratome group, the mean right and left corneal flap thicknesses were 110.6±7.4 μm (range:97-125 μm) and 108.2±6.1 μm (range:78-123 μm), respectively. The difference in the corneal flap thickness between the right and left eyes (2.4±6.5μm) was not significant (<i>t</i>=2.039, <i>P</i>=0.0506). The corneal flap thickness was positively correlated with the preoperative CCT through stepwise regression analysis (<i>r</i>=0.297,<i> P</i>=0.021). The corneal flap thickness was not related to age, spherical equivalent refraction, mean keratometry, or corneal diameter. The corneal flap thickness was estimated using the following equation:Tflap=67.77+0.076 CCT (<i>F</i>=5.63, <i>P</i>=0.021).<b>CONCLUSION:</b>Both the Alcon Wavelight FS200 femtosecond laser and the MORIA SBK microkeratome produced 110-μm-thick corneal flaps. The central corneal flap thickness was positively correlated with the preoperative CCT in MORIA SBK microkeratome surgery

In vivo real-time imaging of gemcitabine-leaded growth inhibition in the orthotopic transplantation model of human pancreatic tumor

AbstractHuman xenograft mouse models, which have been used in cancer research for over a century, provided significant advances for our understanding of this multifaceted family of diseases. Orthotopic transplantation tumor models are emerging as the preference for cancer research due to the increasing clinical relevance over subcutaneous mouse models. In this study, a stable luciferase-expressed Capan-2 cell line was constructed and the expression of luciferase was tested. The results showed that the luminorescence intensity of Capan-2Luc cells was associated with the number of cells and the minimal detectable cell population was 600cells/well. We established an orthotopic transplantation model of pancreatic cancer using Capan-2Luc cell line in athymic mice and investigated the inhibitory effects of gemcitabine (Gem) in vitro and in vivo. Optical imaging system was applied to evaluate the tumor growth of orthotopic transplantation model in vivo. The results suggested that the orthotopic transplantation model of pancreatic cancer was well established and the luminorescence intensity of Gem-treated group was markedly lower than that of control group with an inhibitory rate of 56.8% (P<0.001). Our orthotopic transplantation model of pancreatic cancer and real-time imaging observation method established in this study could be an ideal model and a useful tool for therapeutic approaches for pancreatic cancers