Short-term outcomes of patients with neovascular exudative AMD: the effect of COVID-19 pandemic

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To estimate the impact of delayed care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the outcomes of patients with...     

Long-term results of surgical treatment of dysphagia secondary to cervical diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis

Background contextLarge, prominent osteophytes along the anterior aspect of the cervical spine have been reported as a cause of dysphagia. Improvement of swallowing after surgical resection has been reported in a few case reports with short-term follow-up. The current report describes outcomes of a series of five patients with surgical treatment for this rare disorder, with a long-term follow-up.PurposeTo study the clinical and radiographic outcomes of a case series of patients surgically treated for dysphagia secondary to cervical diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH).Study designRetrospective review of a case series.Patient sampleFive cases from a University Hospital.Outcome measuresClinical and imagenological follow-up.MethodsThe records of five patients with dysphagia who had undergone anterior surgical resection of prominent osteophytes secondary to DISH were reviewed. Extrinsic esophageal compression secondary to anterior cervical osteophytes was radiographically confirmed via preoperative barium esophagogram swallowing study. All patients underwent anterior cervical osteophytes resection without fusion. Postoperatively, patients were followed-up clinically and radiographically with routine lateral cervical radiographs.ResultsPreoperative esophagogram showed that the esophageal obstruction was present at one level in three cases and two levels in two cases. The C3–C4 level was involved in three cases, C4–C5 in three cases, and C5–C6 in one case. There were no postoperative complications, including recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, wound infection, or hematomas. All patients had resolution of dyphagia soon after surgery (within 2 weeks). Postoperative radiographs demonstrated complete removal of osteophytes. At final follow-up, ranging from 1 to 9 years (average 59.8 months, median 53 months), no patients reported recurrence of dysphagia. Final radiographic examination demonstrated minimal regrowth of the osteophytes.ConclusionsAlthough rarely indicated, surgical resection of anterior cervical osteophytes from DISH causing dyphagia produces good clinical and radiographical outcomes. After thorough evaluation to rule out other intrinsic or extrinsic causes of swallowing difficulty, surgical treatment of this uncommon condition might be considered.     

Cognitive and neuroradiological findings in myotonic dystrophy.

Cognitive functions were investigated in 37 patients with myotonic dystrophy (MD) and correlated with clinical and neuroradiological variables. The whole cognitive performance was at a low-average level; in about 1/3 of the subjects, in fact, the scores at the neuropsychological tests were below the normal range. There was a consistent trend for patients with inheritance on maternal side to perform worse on Wechsler verbal score and to present cerebral atrophy. In 7 out of 12 subjects focal white matter lesions were found at nuclear magnetic resonance. The significance of these findings and its relation to cognitive performance are discussed.     

Immunoglobulin heavy chain Diversity genes rearrangement pattern indicates that MALT-type gastric lymphoma B cells have undergone an antigen selection process

Gastric MALT lymphoma usually develops from chronic gastritis, the vast majority of which (>90%) is associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. We sequenced the third complementarity determining region (CDR3) of immunoglobulin heavy chain genes in 19 gastric MALT lymphoma clones to determine the pattern of variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) gene utilization during immunoglobulin gene rearrangement.
DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded sections and the rearranged CDR3 regions were amplified using a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (with primers complementary to the conserved framework-three segment of the variable region [FR3A] and J regions). The DNA used for cloning and sequencing was obtained after purification of monoclonal bands excised from polyacrylamide gels. The N-D-N region specific to each clone was compared with known germline D sequences.
Similarly to that observed in normal and leukaemic B cells, our series of gastric MALT lymphomas showed apparent preferential utilization of genes from the DXP family. In two cases no similarity between the CDR3 nucleotide sequences of the neoplastic clones and the known germline D sequences could be found. In 10/19 analysed alleles the lymphoma B-cell clones appeared to contain two D gene segments (D-D recombination), a rare occurrence in normal individuals but one which has been described as a significant event in the determination of idiotype expression and antigen-binding affinity. Remarkably, despite the use of different D and J segments, the resultant amino acid sequences matched in two patients, suggesting the presence of a common selecting antigen.
The observed pattern of D gene rearrangement suggests that MALT lymphoma B-cell clones have undergone antigen selection, which seems to indicate that the antigen stimulation plays a pivotal role in the development of the lymphoma.     

Adrenal function under long-term raloxifene administration.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of long-term (12 months) administration of raloxifene hydrochloride (60 mg/day) on the steroid production of the adrenal cortex and on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in postmenopausal women. We performed a basal evaluation, a corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) (100 microg i.v. bolus) test and a dexamethasone (DXM) (0.25 mg) suppression-adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) (10 microg i.v. bolus) stimulation test in 11 postmenopausal women, before and after 3, 6 and 12 months of raloxifene treatment. Raloxifene administration significantly modified circulating levels of adrenal steroids, decreasing cortisol (-24%), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) (-36%), and its sulfate (DHEAS) (-41%), and androstenedione (-29%), and increasing circulating allopregnanolone (+39%) levels. Progesterone and 17OH-progesterone levels remained unmodified, while estradiol and estrone levels showed a significant decrease (-51% for estradiol and -61% for estrone). We also observed an increase in circulating ACTH (+58%) and beta-endorphin (+120%). No modifications in the hormonal responses to CRF were observed during the treatment. DXM significantly suppressed circulating steroids at any time with a lower suppression of cortisol from the third month and a higher suppression of DHEA at 12 months. ACTH administration was associated with a significantly blunted cortisol response from the sixth month and a significantly increased response of allopregnanolone from the third month. The present data exclude a raloxifene effect on pituitary sensitivity to CRF and demonstrate a reduced adrenal sensitivity to ACTH, sustained by the opposite changes in basal cortisol and Delta5 androgens, which were reduced, and in ACTH and beta-endorphin, which were increased, as well by the reduced response of cortisol to the direct ACTH stimulus. The reduction of circulating cortisol levels and cortisol response to the ACTH challenge suggests that raloxifene protects against the neurotoxic effects of endogenous glucocorticoids. Furthermore, the progressive increase in basal allopregnanolone and its increased response to ACTH indicate that chronic raloxifene administration exerts direct effects on the pattern of adrenal enzymes, leading to specific changes in the circulating levels of this anxiolytic progesterone metabolite. The important reduction in the circulating levels of estradiol and estrone under long-term raloxifene administration may represent a further mechanism by which this molecule may exert a protective effect against breast and endometrial malignancies.