Intraocular foreign body removal: a novel technique using intraoperative imaging.

We describe a case illustrating a new technique of using intraoperative optical coherence tomography (IOCT) for foreign body removal from the limbus and cornea. In this case, fragments of a fish hook in the temporal limbus and cornea were identified on the OCT. The residual pieces were then removed, assisted by high-resolution, real-time cross-sectional imaging, IOCT.

Voice disorders in Sjögren's syndrome: Prevalence and related risk factors.

Objectives/hypothesis: Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease that causes sicca (dryness) symptoms by affecting secretions most notably of the lacrimal and salivary glands. Voice disorders have been documented in patients with SS, but the true prevalence and relationships among possible contributing factors remain unknown. This preliminary epidemiological investigation examined prevalence and risk factors for voice disorders in SS.

TGFβ and PDGF-B signaling blockade inhibits myofibroblast development from both bone marrow-derived and keratocyte-derived precursor cells in vivo.

Myofibroblasts, the primary cells associated with corneal stromal haze (opacity), can be derived from both cornea-derived and bone marrow-derived precursor cells. In the present study, the role of TGFβ or PDGF blockage on bone marrow-derived myofibroblast development was investigated using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) chimeric bone marrow mouse model and plasmid vectors that blocked TGFβ or PDGF signaling. At the peak of corneal haze one month after irregular phototherapeutic keratectomy the central stroma had significantly less alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)-positive cells derived from GFP+ bone marrow-derived cells or GFP- keratocyte/corneal fibroblast-derived cells when corneas were treated with the TGFβ blocking vector pGFPC1.

Tetramethylpyrazine-mediated suppression of C6 gliomas involves inhibition of chemokine receptor CXCR4 expression.

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is the major component extracted from the Chinese herb Chuanxiong. Increasing numbers of studies have indicated that tetramethylpyrazine hydrochloride (TMPH) has anticancer effects. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of TMPH have not been fully elucidated.

CXCR4 down-regulation by small interfering RNA inhibits invasion and tubule formation of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells.

The progressive alterations to the retinal microvasculature in diabetic retinopathy are known to cause vision loss. Chemokines are characterized by their ability to induce cell invasion, adhesion and migration. In this study, we used double siRNA transfection to transiently and selectively decrease the level of the endogenous CXCR4 in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs).