Combined intravitreal injection of bevacizumab and a ROCK inhibitor (fasudil) for refractory macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion: a pilot study.

Background: To investigate the adjunctive effect of an intravitreal ROCK inhibitor (fasudil) in combination with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) on refractory macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Methods: In this prospective interventional case series, 17 eyes of 17 patients (10 men, 7 women) with refractory RVO-related macular edema underwent three consecutive intravitreal injections of bevacizumab plus fasudil. Monthly evaluation was continued up to 12 months and IVB injection was performed if needed during the follow-up.

Intravenous Immunoglobulin for Management of Non-paraneoplastic Autoimmune Retinopathy.

Purpose: To report a case of non-paraneoplastic autoimmune retinopathy (npAIR) treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

Case Report: A 12-year-old boy presented with progressive visual field loss, nyctalopia, and flashing for three months. He had suffered from common cold two weeks before the onset of these symptoms.

Osteoprotegerin and soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand in exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Calcification and inflammation are among the important cases of exudative age-related macular degeneration (E-ARMD). The aim of the present study was to elucidate if there is any relationship between serum Osteoprotegerin (OPG), soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANK-ligand) and E-ARMD. In a cross-sectional study, we compared 45 E-ARMD patients with 45 matched controls.

Racemose hemangioma type 2: the first case report from the Middle East.

Retinal arteriovenous malformations are rare and most are reported to be asymptomatic. We report an 11-year-old boy who attended for blunt trauma to his eye. The first ophthalmologic examination was performed in Nikookari Hospital Eye Emergency Room.

Paraoxonase enzyme activity is enhanced by zinc supplementation in hemodialysis patients.

Background And Aims: Patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) face an increased risk of atherosclerosis, a crucial problem and the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of zinc supplementation on paraoxonase (PON) enzyme activity in patients on HD.

Methods: This double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted from June 2005 to June 2007.

Magnetic resonance imaging of intact globe superior subluxation into the intracranium.

A 67-year-old man with right-sided blunt ocular trauma is reported here. Despite having received primary medical care, the patient complained of severe headache for 14 days. Initial computed tomography (CT) indicated hematoma in the right frontal lobe.

Subconjunctival bevacizumab immediately after excision of primary pterygium: the first clinical trial.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of subconjunctival bevacizumab immediately after excision of primary pterygium.

Methods: Eighty patients (80 eyes) with primary pterygium were included in this double-blind clinical trial. The pterygia were excised by the bare sclera technique.

Post-transplant urological and vascular complications.

To determine the prevalence of urological and vascular complications in renal trans-plant recipients (RTx) at Tabriz Renal Transplant Center, we studied 55 recipients of renal allo-grafts (25 male and 29 female patients with a mean age of 38.3 +/- 13.4 years) from October 2005 to November 2006.

Lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, and retinal arteriosclerosis.

Purpose: Elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and homocysteine (Hcy) have been implicated as risk factors for vascular diseases. The study was performed to explore the possible relationship between retinal arteriosclerosis and serum Lp(a) and Hcy levels.

Methods: Study subjects consisted of 80 nonsmoking male patients with retinal arteriosclerosis and 54 healthy nonsmoker males as controls.

Asymptomatic bilateral ureteropelvic junction obstruction due to supernumerary renal arteries.

A supernumerary renal artery is a common arterial variation, which warrants considerations in a variety of urologic and retroperitoneal operations. Supernumerary renal arteries can be associated with other uro-vascular variations and anomalies such as duplicated renal veins and ureters, aberrant origin of the gonadal arteries, persistence of fetal renal lobulation, and kidney malrotation. The role of crossing supernumerary renal arteries in ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is controversial.

Combined aneurysms of the main renal and celiac arteries: an unusual association.

Celiac artery aneurysm (CAA) is a rare condition, which occasionally occurs in association with such visceral aneurysms as splenic, common hepatic, left hepatic, superior mesenteric and renal arteries. We describe our observation of a patient with CAA and bilateral main renal artery aneurysm. To the best of our knowledge, a combination of these visceral arterial aneurysms has not been reported previously.

Enhanced susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation in wet type age-related macular degeneration in male patients.

Objective: To determine the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidation in the plasma of male patients with wet type age related macular degeneration (AMD) and in a similar control group, in order to evaluate the LDL oxidative status as risk factor of AMD.

Methods: We conducted this study in the Retina Service, Department of Ophthalmology, Nikookari Eye Hospital-Drug of Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran during the period between October 2004 and December 2005. Sixty male patients with AMD (mean age 67 +/- 16 years) with BMI 4.

Finasteride induced depression: a prospective study.

Background: Finasteride is a competitive inhibitor of 5 alpha-reductase enzyme, and is used for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia. Animal studies have shown that finasteride might induce behavioral changes. Additionally, some cases of finasteride-induced depression have been reported in humans.