Cauterization-mediated restriction from penetrating orbital trauma.

A healthy 32-year-old woman presented with binocular diplopia immediately after sustaining a penetrating injury to the left periocular adnexa with a hot metal skewer. Examination revealed an incomitant esotropia, with complete limitation of abduction of the left eye with downshoot in left gaze and normal afferent visual function. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated no fracture, but there was mild thickening of the medial rectus muscle and associated fat stranding.

Orbital and Eyelid Characteristics, Strabismus, and Intracranial Pressure Control in Apert Children Treated by Endoscopic Strip Craniectomy versus Fronto-Orbital Advancement.

Unlabelled: Apert syndrome is characterized by eyelid dysmorphology, V-pattern strabismus, extraocular muscle excyclorotation, and elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). We compare eyelid characteristics, severity of V-pattern strabismus, rectus muscle excyclorotation, and ICP control in Apert syndrome patients initially treated by endoscopic strip craniectomy (ESC) at about 4 months of age versus fronto-orbital advancement (FOA) performed about 1 year of age.

Methods: Twenty-five patients treated at Boston Children's Hospital met inclusion criteria for this retrospective cohort study.

The Impact of Strabismus on Psychosocial Equity.

Strabismus, the condition of misaligned eyes, can result in severe, long-lasting functional and psychosocial sequelae. This review examines existing literature that has described and quantified the psychosocial consequences of strabismus. In particular, the role of strabismus in creating social, psychological, and vocational disparities, and how these intersect with race, ethnicity, and gender, is described.

Principles of Protection of the Eye and Vision in Orbital Surgery.

Orbital surgery can result in damage to ocular and orbital structures, leading to a range of structural and visual sequelae, including corneal abrasions, globe malposition, diplopia, and blindness. Vision loss in particular is the most feared and devastating complication, occurs with an overall incidence of 0.84%, and can occur secondary to direct injury, optic nerve compression, or ischemic events.

Orbital disease in neuro-ophthalmology.

Purpose Of Review: Orbital disease represents a diverse spectrum of pathology and can result in a variety of neuro-ophthalmic manifestations. The aim of this review is to provide updates on recent advances in our understanding of orbital disease secondary to thyroid eye disease, myositis, IgG4-related disease, sarcoidosis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis and various tumours.

Recent Findings: With regards to thyroid eye disease, there have been recent advances in the development of steroid-sparing therapies, new modalities for objectively monitoring disease activity and increased understanding of the role of environmental risk factors.

Glaucoma After Corneal Trauma or Surgery-A Rapid, Inflammatory, IOP-Independent Pathway.

Purpose: To review clinical aspects and cellular and molecular steps in the development of long-term glaucoma after corneal surgery or acute trauma-especially the pivotal role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), the rapidity of the secondary damage to the retinal ganglion cells, and the clinical promise of early antiinflammatory intervention.

Methods: A series of laboratory studies on post-injury and post-surgery glaucoma have been compared to clinical outcome studies on the subject, focusing particularly on the vulnerability of the retinal ganglion cells. Alkali burn to the cornea of mice and rabbits served as the main experimental model.

Punctal agenesis: Embryology, presentation, management modalities and outcomes.

Punctal agenesis is defined as the absence of the punctum occurring secondary to a failure of embryogenesis. This review synthesizes existing data on the embryology, anatomy, clinical presentation, symptomatology, management options and treatment outcomes of punctal agenesis. A foundational knowledge of the underlying embryologic and anatomical abnormalities is fundamental to understanding its clinical presentation and assists in choosing an appropriate management strategy.

Chemical Burns of the Eye: The Role of Retinal Injury and New Therapeutic Possibilities.

Purpose: To propose a new treatment paradigm for chemical burns to the eye - in the acute and chronic phases.

Methods: Recent laboratory and clinical data on the biology and treatment of chemical burns are analyzed.

Results: Corneal blindness from chemical burns can now be successfully treated with a keratoprosthesis, on immediate and intermediate bases.

Strong tissue glue with tunable elasticity.

Unlabelled: Many bio-adhesive materials adhere weakly to tissue due to their high water content and weak structural integrity. Others provide desirable adhesive strength but suffer from rigid structure and lack of elasticity after administration. We have developed two water-free, liquid four-armed PEG pre-polymers modified with NHS or with NH end groups which upon mixing changed from liquids to an elastic solid.

Corneal Anesthesia With Site 1 Sodium Channel Blockers and Dexmedetomidine.

Purpose: Amino-amide or amino-ester local anesthetics, which are currently used for topical ocular anesthesia, are short acting and may delay corneal healing with long-term use. In contrast, site 1 sodium channel blockers (S1SCBs) are potent local anesthetics with minimal adverse tissue reaction. In this study, we examined topical local anesthesia with two S1SCBs, tetrodotoxin (TTX) or saxitoxin (STX) individually or in combination with α2-adrenergic receptor agonists (dexmedetomidine or clonidine), and compared them with the amino-ester ocular anesthetic proparacaine.

A Stiff Injectable Biodegradable Elastomer.

Injectable materials often have shortcomings in mechanical and drug-eluting properties that are attributable to their high water contents. A water-free, liquid four-armed PEG modified with dopamine end groups is described which changed from liquid to elastic solid by reaction with a small volume of Fe solution. The elastic modulus and degradation times increased with increasing Fe concentrations.

Prolonged nerve blockade delays the onset of neuropathic pain.

Aberrant neuronal activity in injured peripheral nerves is believed to be an important factor in the development of neuropathic pain. Pharmacological blockade of that activity has been shown to mitigate the onset of associated molecular events in the nervous system. However, results in preventing onset of pain behaviors by providing prolonged nerve blockade have been mixed.

Boston Keratoprosthesis in Stevens-Johnson syndrome: a case of using infliximab to prevent tissue necrosis.

Purpose: To report the case of a patient with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) with Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro) who may have benefited from infliximab infusions.

Materials And Methods: A 34-year-old woman with a history of acute SJS at age 12 had three Boston KPro Type II implanted since 2003 into her right eye. The first two were followed by tissue necrosis and aqueous leak, necessitating reoperation.

The predominance of beta (CC) chemokine transcripts in idiopathic inflammatory muscle diseases.

Cytokines and chemokines that upregulate major histocompatibility complex class I antigens, recruit lymphocytes, and enhance T-cell-mediated myotoxicity may be important in the pathogenesis of dermatomyositis and polymyositis. We searched for cytokine and chemokine transcripts in inflammatory muscle specimens from 14 newly diagnosed or treated patients. Control specimens from six patients without inflammatory muscle disease were analyzed for transcripts of interleukins-1 beta, -2, -4, -6, -10, and -15, and interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta 1, macrophage inflammatory proteins-1 alpha and -1 beta (MIP-1 alpha, MIP-1 beta), and the chemokine "regulated on activation, normally T expressed and secreted" (RANTES).

A motif in human histidyl-tRNA synthetase which is shared among several aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases is a coiled-coil that is essential for enzymatic activity and contains the major autoantigenic epitope.

In myositis, disease-specific autoantibodies may be directed against an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, usually histidyl-tRNA synthetase. To explore the basis for this phenomenon, we have made recombinant histidyl-tRNA synthetase in the baculovirus system. It was enzymatically active and recognized by human autoantibodies.