8 research outputs found
Detection of pigment epithelial detachment vascularization in age-related macular degeneration using phase-variance OCT angiography
Scott M McClintic,1 Dae Yu Kim,2 Jeff Fingler,3 Susan Garcia,4 Robert J Zawadzki,4 Lawrence S Morse,4 Susanna S Park,4 Scott E Fraser,3 John S Werner,4 Jason P Ruggiero,5 Daniel M Schwartz6 1Department of Ophthalmology, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA; 2Beckman Laser Institute Korea and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea; 3Translational Imaging Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 4Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, 5Retina Associates, PC, Winchester, VA, 6Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Purpose: To demonstrate the use of phase-variance optical coherence tomography (PV-OCT) angiography for detection of pigment epithelial detachment (PED) vascularization in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Patients and methods: Patients with PEDs and exudative AMD were evaluated by the Retina Services at the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, San Francisco. Each subject underwent fluorescein angiography and structural optical coherence tomography (OCT). Phase-variance OCT analysis was used to create angiographic images of the retinal and choroidal vasculature. PV-OCT-generated B-scans were superimposed on structural OCT B-scans to allow easy identification of perfused vascular structures. Results: Three patients with vascularized PEDs were imaged with PV-OCT, and each was found to have a vascular signal extending from the choroid into the hyperreflective substance of the PED. Two patients who had no evidence of PED vascularization on fluorescein angiography did not have vascular signals within their PEDs on PV-OCT. Conclusion: Structural OCT and PV-OCT images can be combined to create composite B-scans that offer high-resolution views of the retinal tissue along with dynamic vascular visualization. This technique offers a fast, noninvasive method for detecting vascularization of PEDs in AMD and may aid in the early detection of neovascular disease. Keywords: OCT, imaging, retin
Comparison of indocyanine green angiography and optical coherence tomographic angiography in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy
Risk Factors and Outcomes of Choroidal Neovascularization Secondary to Central Serous Chorioretinopathy
The long-term effects of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy on the optical coherence tomography angiographic appearance of neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration
Cardiovascular risk and endothelial function in people living with HIV/AIDS: design of the multi-site, longitudinal EndoAfrica study in the Western Cape Province of South Africa
The contribution of environmental exposure to the etiology of autism spectrum disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition of heterogeneous etiology. While it is widely recognized that genetic and environmental factors and their interactions contribute to autism phenotypes, their precise causal mechanisms remain poorly understood. This article reviews our current understanding of environmental risk factors of ASD and their presumed adverse physiological mechanisms. It comprehensively maps the significance of parental age, teratogenic compounds, perinatal risks, medication, smoking and alcohol use, nutrition, vaccination, toxic exposures, as well as the role of extreme psychosocial factors. Further, we consider the role of potential protective factors such as folate and fatty acid intake. Evidence indicates an increased offspring vulnerability to ASD through advanced maternal and paternal age, valproate intake, toxic chemical exposure, maternal diabetes, enhanced steroidogenic activity, immune activation, and possibly altered zinc-copper cycles and treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Epidemiological studies demonstrate no evidence for vaccination posing an autism risk. It is concluded that future research needs to consider categorical autism, broader autism phenotypes, as well as autistic traits, and examine more homogenous autism variants by subgroup stratification. Our understanding of autism etiology could be advanced by research aimed at disentangling the causal and non-causal environmental effects, both founding and moderating, and gene-environment interplay using twin studies, longitudinal and experimental designs. The specificity of many environmental risks for ASD remains unknown and control of multiple confounders has been limited. Further understanding of the critical windows of neurodevelopmental vulnerability and investigating the fit of multiple hit and cumulative risk models are likely promising approaches in enhancing the understanding of role of environmental factors in the etiology of ASD.peerReviewe