Is dietary Vitamin A associated with myopia from adolescence to young adulthood?

Purpose: Potential links may exist between vitamin A intake and myopia via various pathways. In this study, we examined the association between dietary vitamin A intake during adolescence and myopia in early adulthood. Methods: We performed a prospective analysis utilizing data collected from participants of the Raine Study Gen2. Dietary vitamin A intake, determined via food frequency questionnaires completed at ages 14, 17, and 20 years, was compared with ophthalmic measurements collected at year 20. Low vitamin A levels were defined as \u3c600 \u3eµg/day. Regression models were used to adjust for ocular sun exposure level, educational level, and parental myopia as potential confounders. Results: A total of 642 subjects were analyzed. Although those with adequate vitamin A intakes were less likely to be myopic (P = 0.03), this association became insignificant when adjusted for potential confounding factors in logistic regression modeling (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.98–2.52; P = 0.06). Conclusions: There were no significant associations between total vitamin A intakes during adolescence and year 20 refractive errors after adjustment for confounders. Replication of this finding and further investigations are essential to rule out the suggestion that sufficient vitamin A intake during adolescence is associated with lower risk of myopia in early adulthood. Translational Relevance: Our findings are not definitive that ingesting foods high in vitamin A during childhood and adolescence does not have a role for preventing myopia in early adulthood

Outcome of Fenestrated Endovascular Aneurysm Repair in Octogenarians:A Retrospective Multicentre Analysis

Objective: An ageing population leads to more age related diseases, such as complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Patients with complex AAAs and multiple comorbidities benefit from fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR), but for the elderly this benefit is not completely clear. Methods: Between 2001 and 2016 all patients treated for complex AAA by FEVAR at two tertiary referral centres were screened for inclusion. Group 1 consisted of patients aged 80 years and older and group 2 of patients younger than 80 years of age. The groups were compared for peri-operative outcome, as well as patient and re-intervention free survival, and target vessel patency during follow up. Results: Group 1 consisted of 42 patients (median age 82 years; interquartile range [IQR] 81–83 years) and group 2 of 230 patients (median age 72 years; IQR 67–77 years). No differences were seen in pre-operative comorbidities, except for age and renal function. Renal function was 61.4 mL/min/1.73 m2 vs.74.5 mL/min/1.73 m2 (p < .01). No differences were seen between procedures, except for a slightly longer operation time in group two. Median follow up was 26 and 32 months, respectively. No difference was seen between the groups for estimated cumulative overall survival (p = .08) at one, three, and five years, being 95%, 58%, and 42% for group 1, and 88%, 75%, and 61% for group 2, respectively. There was no difference seen between groups for the estimated cumulative re-intervention free survival (p = .95) at one, three, and five years, being 84%, 84%, and 84% in group 1, respectively, and 88%, 84%, and 82% in group 2, respectively. Ultimately, no difference was seen between groups for the estimated cumulative target vessel patency (p = .56) at one, three, and five years, being 100%, 100%, and 90% for group 1, and 96%, 93% and 92% for group 2, respectively. Conclusion: Age itself is not a reason to withhold FEVAR in the elderly, and choice of treatment should be based on the patient's comorbidities and preferences

Distal posterior tibial artery perforator flaps for the management of calcaneal and Achilles tendon injuries in diabetic and non-diabetic patients

Management of Achilles tendon and heel area defects is a common challenge for the reconstructive surgeon due to the lack of soft tissue availability in that region. In this article, we present our experience in covering these defects by using the distal perforator propeller flaps based on the posterior tibial artery. Perforator flaps are based on cutaneous, small diameter vessels that originate from a main pedicle and perforate the fascia or muscle to reach the skin. Their development has followed the understanding of the blood supply from a source artery to the skin. Six patients (five males and one female) underwent reconstruction by using the posterior tibial artery distal perforator flap for covering defects in the distal Achilles tendon region in patients with and without diabetes mellitus. Postoperative complications included a hypertrophic scar formation in one patient, partial marginal flap necrosis in another patient, and a wound infection in a third patient. All wounds were eventually healed by the last postoperative visit. In conclusion, perforator flaps based on the distal posterior tibial artery may be a reliable option for the coverage of small to moderate size defects of the Achilles tendon and heel area regions

The impact of venepuncture training on the reduction of pre?analytical blood sample haemolysis rates: A systematic review

BackgroundVenepuncture involves the introduction of a needle into a vein to collect a representative blood sample for laboratory testing. In the pre‐analytical phase, haemolysis (the rupturing of erythrocytes and release of their contents into the extracellular compartment) has safety, quality and cost implications. Training in correct venepuncture practice has the potential to reduce in vitro haemolysis rates, but the evidence for this notion has yet to be synthesised.DesignSystematic review (PRISMA Checklist).MethodsPublished studies on the effectiveness of venepuncture training on haemolysis rates were searched in relevant databases. The McMaster critical appraisal tool was used to assess methodological quality. The GRADE tool was used to evaluate the body of evidence in relation to the research questions. Implementation fidelity was also scrutinised in each study.ResultsEight out of 437 retrieved studies met the inclusion criteria. None were randomised controlled trials (RCT). Between‐study heterogeneity in design, intervention characteristics and the biochemical threshold for haemolysis precluded a meta‐analysis. Post‐training reductions in haemolysis rates of between 0.4%–19.8% were reported in four of the studies, which developed their intervention according to a clear evidence base and included mentoring in the intervention. Rises in haemolysis rates of between 1.3%–1.9% were reported in two studies, while the intervention effect was inconsistent within two other studies.ConclusionThere are no RCTS on the effectiveness of venepuncture training for reducing haemolysis rates, and findings from the existing uncontrolled studies are unclear. For a more robust evidence base, we recommend more RCTs with standardisation of haemolysis thresholds and training‐related factors.Relevance to clinical practiceWhile venepuncture training is an important factor influencing quality of blood sample in clinical practice, more robust evidence is needed to make specific recommendations about training content for reduction of haemolysis rates. Standardisation of haemolysis thresholds would also enable future meta‐analyses

Author Correction: Cross-ancestry genome-wide association analysis of corneal thickness strengthens link between complex and Mendelian eye diseases.

Emmanuelle Souzeau, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this Article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Seroprevalence and risk factors for toxoplasma infection among pregnant women in Aydin province, Turkey

BACKGROUND: The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women at first trimester of their pregnancy and to follow up the seroconversion for next two trimesters, and to identify the risk factors and possible contamination routes in Aydin province, Turkey. METHOD: The sample size was calculated as 423 on a prevalence of 50%, d=0.05 at a confidence level of 95% with 10% addition. It was a cross-sectional study with multistage sampling. After a questionnaire applied to the pregnant women, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were studied with ELISA and IFA, values in conflict with DA test, where IgM antibodies were studied with ELISA and for borderline or positive values of IgM avidity test was used. RESULTS: The mean age of 389 (92.9%) of pregnant women in the study was 24.28+/-4.56 years, the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies for toxoplasmosis was 30.1%. Seroprevalence was increased with age (p=0.001) and with drinking water consumption other than bottled water (p=0.042). No significant relations were observed between anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and education level, being native or migrant, abortion history, consumption of meat, vegetable and milk/milk products, personal or kitchen hygiene habits, cat owning at home of the pregnant women. No IgM antibody was detected. CONCLUSION: One of every three pregnant women in Aydin was at risk of toxoplasmosis at the first trimester of their pregnancy. Increased seroprevalance with age was a predictable result because of increasing time of exposure. Increased seroprevalence with consumption of municipal and uncontrolled water (well/spring water) supplies was similar with latest epidemiological findings

Genome-Wide Association Reveals Pigmentation Genes Play a Role in Skin Aging

Loss of fine skin patterning is a sign of both aging and photoaging. Studies investigating the genetic contribution to skin patterning offer an opportunity to better understand a trait that influences both physical appearance and risk of keratinocyte skin cancer. We undertook a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of a measure of skin pattern (microtopography score) damage in 1,671 twin pairs and 1,745 singletons (N = 5,087) drawn from three independent cohorts. We identified that rs185146 near SLC45A2 is associated with a skin aging trait (p = 4.1 × 10-9); to our knowledge this is previously unreported. We also confirm previously identified loci, rs12203592 near IRF4 (p = 8.8 × 10-13), and rs4268748 near MC1R (p = 1.2 × 10-15). At all three loci we highlight putative functionally relevant SNPs. There are a number of red hair/low pigmentation alleles of MC1R; we found that together these MC1R alleles explained 4.1% of variance in skin pattern damage. We also show that skin aging and reported experience of sunburns was proportional to the degree of penetrance for red hair of alleles of MC1R. Our work has uncovered genetic contributions to skin aging and confirmed previous findings, showing that pigmentation is a critical determinate of skin aging

Genetic variation affects morphological retinal phenotypes extracted from UK Biobank optical coherence tomography images

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) enables non-invasive imaging of the retina and is used to diagnose and manage ophthalmic diseases including glaucoma. We present the first large-scale genome-wide association study of inner retinal morphology using phenotypes derived from OCT images of 31,434 UK Biobank participants. We identify 46 loci associated with thickness of the retinal nerve fibre layer or ganglion cell inner plexiform layer. Only one of these loci has been associated with glaucoma, and despite its clear role as a biomarker for the disease, Mendelian randomisation does not support inner retinal thickness being on the same genetic causal pathway as glaucoma. We extracted overall retinal thickness at the fovea, representative of foveal hypoplasia, with which three of the 46 SNPs were associated. We additionally associate these three loci with visual acuity. In contrast to the Mendelian causes of severe foveal hypoplasia, our results suggest a spectrum of foveal hypoplasia, in part genetically determined, with consequences on visual function

Environmental Effects of Stratospheric Ozone Depletion, UV Radiation, and interactions with Climate Change: 2022 Assessment Report

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was established 35 years ago following the 1985 Vienna Convention for protection of the environment and human health against excessive amounts of harmful ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280-315 nm) radiation reaching the Earth’s surface due to a reduced UV-B-absorbing ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol, ratified globally by all 198 Parties (countries), controls ca 100 ozone-depleting substances (ODS). These substances have been used in many applications, such as in refrigerants, air conditioners, aerosol propellants, fumigants against pests, fire extinguishers, and foam materials. The Montreal Protocol has phased out nearly 99% of ODS, including ODS with high global warming potentials such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), thus serving a dual purpose. However, some of the replacements for ODS also have high global warming potentials, for example, the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Several of these replacements have been added to the substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol. The HFCs are now being phased down under the Kigali Amendment. As of December 2022, 145 countries have signed the Kigali Amendment, exemplifying key additional outcomes of the Montreal Protocol, namely, that of also curbing climate warming and stimulating innovations to increase energy efficiency of cooling equipment used industrially as well as domestically. As the concentrations of ODS decline in the upper atmosphere, the stratospheric ozone layer is projected to recover to pre-1980 levels by the middle of the 21st century, assuming full compliance with the control measures of the Montreal Protocol. However, in the coming decades, the ozone layer will be increasingly influenced by emissions of greenhouse gases and ensuing global warming. These trends are highly likely to modify the amount of UV radiation reaching the Earth\u27s surface with implications for the effects on ecosystems and human health. Against this background, four Panels of experts were established in 1988 to support and advise the Parties to the Montreal Protocol with up-to-date information to facilitate decisions for protecting the stratospheric ozone layer. In 1990 the four Panels were consolidated into three, the Scientific Assessment Panel, the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel. Every four years, each of the Panels provides their Quadrennial Assessments as well as a Synthesis Report that summarises the key findings of all the Panels. In the in-between years leading up to the quadrennial, the Panels continue to inform the Parties to the Montreal Protocol of new scientific information