Long-Term Changes of Macular Thickness after Pars Plana Vitrectomy in Optic Disc Pit Maculopathy: A Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Study

Purpose: To evaluate macular thickness (MT) changes, using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with optic disc pit (ODP) maculopathy after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with or without internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. Procedures: Our retrospective study included nine patients with ODP maculopathy, treated with either PPV (n?=?5) or PPV with ILM peeling (n?=?4). All participants, who had a mean long-term follow-up of 33.4?±?7.0 months, underwent a complete ophthalmological examination and SD-OCT. Due to the preoperative macular elevation, the postoperative MT in the operated patients was compared with that of fellow eyes and with normative data. Results: A significant reduction in MT was noticed in all macular sectors of the operated cases at the last examination. The reduction was more evident in the group of PPV with ILM peeling. At the last examination of the follow-up, there was a statistically significant improvement regarding BCVA in both groups in comparison with baseline, while the two groups did not differ significantly in between (p?=?0.245). Conclusions: In the long-term follow-up period, our study demonstrated a significant reduction in MT in patients with ODP maculopathy treated with PPV, which was more profound in those cases where PPV included ILM peeling.     

Infectome: A platform to trace infectious triggers of autoimmunity

The “exposome” is a term recently used to describe all environmental factors, both exogenous and endogenous, which we are exposed to in a lifetime. It represents an important tool in the study of autoimmunity, complementing classical immunological research tools and cutting-edge genome wide association studies (GWAS). Recently, environmental wide association studies (EWAS) investigated the effect of environment in the development of diseases. Environmental triggers are largely subdivided into infectious and non-infectious agents. In this review, we introduce the concept of the “infectome”, which is the part of the exposome referring to the collection of an individual's exposures to infectious agents. The infectome directly relates to geoepidemiological, serological and molecular evidence of the co-occurrence of several infectious agents associated with autoimmune diseases that may provide hints for the triggering factors responsible for the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. We discuss the implications that the investigation of the infectome may have for the understanding of microbial/host interactions in autoimmune diseases with long, pre-clinical phases. It may also contribute to the concept of the human body as a superorganism where the microbiome is part of the whole organism, as can be seen with mitochondria which existed as microbes prior to becoming organelles in eukaryotic cells of multicellular organisms over time. A similar argument can now be made in regard to normal intestinal flora, living in symbiosis within the host. We also provide practical examples as to how we can characterise and measure the totality of a disease-specific infectome, based on the experimental approaches employed from the “immunome” and “microbiome” projects.     

Colonic anastomotic healing in the context of altered macrophage function and endotoxemia

Purpose  

Prevention of perioperative activation of intestinal muscularis macrophages is a promising intervention to avoid post-traumatic gastrointestinal tract dysfunction. However, impaired macrophage function could have deleterious consequences on anastomotic healing, especially in complications aggravating the healing process itself, such as infectious problems either as preexisting local inflammation or infection (e.g., complicated diverticulitis) or endotoxemia due to early postoperative infections (e.g., pneumonia). Aim of this study was to investigate colonic anastomotic healing in macrophage-depleted mice in the presence of endotoxemia.     

Rituximab in the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: Comment on the article by Yoo

Several lines of evidence from basic research indicate that B cells may contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis. Clinical studies as well have provided preliminary data pointing to the direction that B-cell depletion with rituximab might be a therapeutic option for patients with this debilitating disease.     

Correction to: Uniportal Versus Multiportal Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy for Lung Cancer: An Updated Meta-analysis

Lung - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-021-00428-8     

Changes in Elongation of Falx Cerebri During Craniosacral Therapy Techniques Applied on the Skull of an Embalmed Cadaver

CranioSacral therapy supports that light forces applied to the skull may be transmitted to the dura membrane having a therapeutic effect to the cranial system. This study examines the changes in elongation of falx cerebri during the application of some of the craniosacral therapy techniques to the skull of an embalmed cadaver. The study demonstrates that the relative elongation of the falx cerebri changes as follows: for the frontal lift, 1.44 mm; for the parietal lift, 1.08 mm; for the sphenobasilar compression, -0.33 mm; for the sphenobasilar decompression, 0.28 mm; and for the ear pull, inconclusive results. The present study offers validation for the scientific basis of craniosacral therapy and the contention for cranial suture mobility.     

Transthoracic Repair of Asymptomatic Morgagni Hernia in an Adult

Morgagni hernia represents a rare type of diaphragmatic hernia which usually occurs on the right side, in the anterior mediastinum. Predisposing factors of Morgagni hernia include pregnancy, obesity or other causes of increased intraabdominal pressure, and a history of trauma. Most of adults diagnosed with a foramen of Morgagni are asymptomatic. We report a case of an overweight 23-year-old asymptomatic patient with a Morgagni hernia incidentally diagnosed on chest x-ray. There was a satisfactory result after the repair by a transthoracic approach.