Leprosy: a glossary.

Leprosy continues to afflict residents from a number of countries in Africa, South America, and southeast Asia, despite the marked reduction in the number of cases of leprosy worldwide, after the introduction of the multidrug regimens as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO-MDT). With the increasing immigration of individuals from risk areas to Europe and the United States, knowledge of the basic concepts of leprosy would be helpful to clinicians caring for immigrants in nonendemic areas. We present a comprehensive, updated, and critical glossary of the most relevant terms related to leprosy.

Lepra: various etiologies from miasma to bacteriology and genetics.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a close relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Mycobacterium leprae. There have been various beliefs in its etiology with two main concepts emerging: anticontagion and contagion. From ancient times through the early Middle Ages, the miasmatic theory of leprosy was the main anticontagion view.

Continuation of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy during phacoemulsification cataract surgery.

Purpose Of Review: The objective of this review is to evaluate the result of cataract surgery in patients continuing antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant treatment.

Recent Findings: The number of elderly patients using anticoagulant and antiplatelet treatment in prevention of venous thromboembolism has significantly increased in recent years. It was believed for many years that those patients might be at higher risk for complications during ocular surgery.

[Wilhelm Uhthoff (1853-1927)--important contributor of world neuro-ophthalmology].

The reversible blurred vision occurring in patients with multiple sclerosis after a strenuous physical exercise is known as Uhthoff's phenomenon. Wilhelm Uhthoff was a German ophthalmologist, especially interested in neurology. He was a clinician and a devoted researcher--he observed many ophthalmic and neurological symptoms in his numerous patient cohorts, which he reported in many published research papers.

Markers of inflammation and fibrosis in the orbital fat/connective tissue of patients with Graves' orbitopathy: clinical implications.

Purpose: To assess FGF-β, TGF-β, and COX2 expression and immunocompetent cells in the orbital tissue of patients with severe and mild Graves' orbitopathy.

Patients And Methods: Orbital tissue was taken from 27 patients with GO: (1) severe GO (n = 18), the mean clinical activity score (CAS) being 8.5 (SD 2.

Albrecht Scholz (1940-2013): German dermatologist and historian of dermatology.

Albrecht Scholz (Figure 1) was born in Görlitz (now Zgorzelec, a city located at the Polish-German border, covering both sides of the River Nysa) on September 6, 1940, the youngest of three children. His father was a laryngologist, specializing in voice and hearing impairment. Scholz attended school in his hometown and in 1958 passed his Matura examination, after which he studied medicine at both Humboldt University in Berlin and the “Carl Gustav Carus” Medical Academy in Dresden.

Age-related macular degeneration in the aspect of chronic low-grade inflammation (pathophysiological parainflammation).

The products of oxidative stress trigger chronic low-grade inflammation (pathophysiological parainflammation) process in AMD patients. In early AMD, soft drusen contain many mediators of chronic low-grade inflammation such as C-reactive protein, adducts of the carboxyethylpyrrole protein, immunoglobulins, and acute phase molecules, as well as the complement-related proteins C3a, C5a, C5, C5b-9, CFH, CD35, and CD46. The complement system, mainly alternative pathway, mediates chronic autologous pathophysiological parainflammation in dry and exudative AMD, especially in the Y402H gene polymorphism, which causes hypofunction/lack of the protective complement factor H (CFH) and facilitates chronic inflammation mediated by C-reactive protein (CRP).

Toxic optic neuropathies: an updated review.

Toxic optic neuropathy (TON) is caused by the damage to the optic nerve through different toxins, including drugs, metals, organic solvents, methanol and carbon dioxide. A similar clinical picture may also be caused by nutritional deficits, including B vitamins, folic acid and proteins with sulphur-containing amino acids. This review summarizes the present knowledge on disease-causing factors, clinical presentation, diagnostics and treatment in TON.

The role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of macular edema secondary to retinal vascular diseases.

Macular edema (ME) is a nonspecific sign of numerous retinal vascular diseases. This paper is an updated overview about the role of inflammatory processes in the genesis of both diabetic macular edema (DME) and ME secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO). We focus on the inflammatory mediators implicated, the effect of the different intravitreal therapies, the recruitment of leukocytes mediated by adhesion molecules, and the role of retinal Müller glial (RMG) cells.

Branch retinal vein occlusion and vitreovascular traction: a preliminary spectral domain OCT case-control study.

Objective: Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) typically occurs at an arteriovenous (AV) crossing site. Although the pathogenesis is unclear, vitreovascular traction might have a significant role in some BRVO cases. The purpose of present study was to determine the incidence of vitreoretinal traction at the obstruction site in patients diagnosed with BRVO.

[Lucian Rydel (1833-1895)--ophthalmologist and the rector of the Jagiellonian University of Cracow].

Lucjan Rydel (1833-1895), was a Polish ophthalmologist, professor and the head of the Department of Ophthalmology in Cracow, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (1875-1878 and 1882-1883), the rector of the Jagiellonian University (1884-1888). He studied medicine at the Jagiellonian University and the University of Vienna, where he received the title of Doctor of Medicine in 1859, and Doctor of Surgery in 1861. He was an assistant of F.

Refractive lens exchange.

Advances in small incision surgery have enabled cataract surgery to evolve from being concerned primarily with the safe removal of the opaque crystalline lens to a procedure refined to yield the best possible postoperative refractive result. As the outcomes of cataract surgery have improved, the use of lens surgery as a refractive modality in patients without cataracts (clear lens extraction) has increased in popularity. The removal of the crystalline lens for refractive purposes, or so-called refractive lens exchange (RLE), offers distinct advantages over corneal refractive surgery in selected cases.

Lesser known aspects of Ludwik Fleck's (1896-1961) heroic life during World War II.

Professor Ludwik Fleck was a famous scientist and a prominent philosopher. Although his life and work were studied extensively, the Second World War period was a subject of some discussion and controversy. On account of his Jewish origin, he was first arrested and moved from the Lwów ghetto to the 'Laokoon' factory and then imprisoned in KL Auschwitz-Birkenau and in KL Buchenwald.

Age-related macular degeneration and changes in the extracellular matrix.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of permanent, irreversible, central blindness (scotoma in the central visual field that makes reading and writing impossible, stereoscopic vision, recognition of colors and details) in patients over the age of 50 years in European and North America countries, and an important role is attributed to disorders in the regulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The main aim of this article is to present the crucial processes that occur on the level of Bruch's membrane, with special consideration of the metalloproteinase substrates, metalloproteinase, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP). A comprehensive review of the literature was performed through MEDLINE and PubMed searches, covering the years 2005-2012, using the following keywords: AMD, extracellular matrix, metalloproteinases, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases, Bruch's membrane, collagen, elastin.

Robert Koch (1843-1910) and dermatology on his 171st birthday.

Robert Koch (1843-1910) received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1905 for his studies of tuberculosis. He contributed significantly to microbiology, isolating also cholera and anthrax pathogens, and introducing several postulates in this field. In addition, he developed staining methods, as well as culturing and microscopic techniques.

Influence of ranibizumab treatment on the extracellular matrix in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Background: We know the influence of the intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections on the choroidal neovascularization in the course of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, the influence of the ranibizumab therapy in question on the extracellular matrix (ECM) remains unknown. We aimed to estimate the influence of Lucentis intravitreal injections on the gene expression of structural components of the extracellular matrix in patients with neovascular AMD.

Alberto Urrets-Zavalía Jr (1920-2010): An Argentinian contributor to ophthalmology.

Alberto Urrets-Zavalía Jr was born in Córdoba (Argentina) in 1920. Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology of the National University of Córdoba and founder of the Cornea and Glaucoma Surgical Center in the same city, in 1956 he created the first residency programme in Ophthalmology in his country. He founded the first Eye Bank and introduced one of the first argon laser photocoagulators in South America.

William John Adie: the man behind the syndrome.

William John Adie was an Australian neurologist in the early 20th century responsible for extensively describing the tonically dilated pupil associated with absent deep tendon reflexes - both features of a syndrome that now bears his name. In addition to other neurological syndromes, he was also significant in delineating narcolepsy through his clinical essays and case series. His ophthalmic and neurologic contributions have served the test of time and played an important role in the modern understanding of Adie syndrome and narcolepsy.