UV-Photokeratitis Associated with Germicidal Lamps Purchased during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: To report photokeratitis caused by the improper use of germicidal lamps purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Case series.

Results: Seven patients presented with acute ocular surface pain after exposure to UV-emitting germicidal lamps.

MAP kinase pathway is involved in IGF-1-stimulated proliferation of human retinal pigment epithelial cells (hRPE).

Purpose: To investigate the mitogenic activity of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on the proliferation of human retinal pigment epithelial cells (hRPE) and to elucidate the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and MAP kinase (MAPK) in the IGF-1 signaling cascade.

Methods: Human RPE specimens were obtained from postmortem non-pathological eyes and cultured in vitro through several passages. Cellular proliferation in the presence of increasing concentrations of IGF-1 and IGF-1 + PD98059 (a known MAPK inhibitor) was measured by [(3)H]thymidine incorporation; trypan blue exclusion studies (T) verified cell viability.