Simultaneous dexamethasone intravitreal implant and anti-VEGF therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration resistant to anti-VEGF monotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a dexamethasone intravitreal implant in combination with intravitreal anti-VEGF agents for treatment resistant neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD).

Methods: This study was designed as a single-center, retrospective interventional case series. Consecutive patients with treatment-resistant nvAMD underwent simultaneous combined injection of anti-VEGF agent and dexamethasone intravitreal implant.

Immunophenotyping and protein profiling of Fontan-associated plastic bronchitis airway casts.

Rationale: Plastic bronchitis (PB) is a rare and deadly condition that is characterized by the formation of airway casts. It most frequently occurs in children with underlying congenital heart disease that has been surgically palliated by the Fontan procedure. The Fontan circulation results in above-normal central venous pressure, and it has been hypothesized that the formation of airway casts is due to lymph leak.

Multiscale distribution and bioaccumulation analysis of clofazimine reveals a massive immune system-mediated xenobiotic sequestration response.

Chronic exposure to some well-absorbed but slowly eliminated xenobiotics can lead to their bioaccumulation in living organisms. Here, we studied the bioaccumulation and distribution of clofazimine, a riminophenazine antibiotic used to treat mycobacterial infection. Using mice as a model organism, we performed a multiscale, quantitative analysis to reveal the sites of clofazimine bioaccumulation during chronic, long-term exposure.

A cell-based computational modeling approach for developing site-directed molecular probes.

Modeling the local absorption and retention patterns of membrane-permeant small molecules in a cellular context could facilitate development of site-directed chemical agents for bioimaging or therapeutic applications. Here, we present an integrative approach to this problem, combining in silico computational models, in vitro cell based assays and in vivo biodistribution studies. To target small molecule probes to the epithelial cells of the upper airways, a multiscale computational model of the lung was first used as a screening tool, in silico.

Prospective, longitudinal study of plastic bronchitis cast pathology and responsiveness to tissue plasminogen activator.

Plastic bronchitis (PB) is a rare disease that often occurs in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) who have undergone staged single-ventricle palliation. It is characterized by the formation of rubbery "casts" in the airways. PB treatment frequently includes inhaled tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).