Comparison of benefits on myocardial performance of cellular cardiomyoplasty with skeletal myoblasts and fibroblasts.

Cellular cardiomyoplasty (CCM), or introduction of immature cells into terminally injured heart, can mediate repair of chronically injured myocardium. Several different cell types, ranging from embryonic stem cells to autologous skeletal myoblasts, have been successfully propagated within damaged heart and shown to improve myocardial performance. However, it is unclear if the functional advantages associated with CCM depend upon the use of myogenic cells or if similar results can be seen with other cell types.

Good visual function in posterior microphthalmos.

Posterior microphthalmos is a rare condition in which the anterior segment is normal in size and configuration, but the posterior segment is reduced in size; this results in axial hyperopia and retinal folding. Patients have decreased vision that is caused by posterior segment abnormalities, high refractive error, and amblyopia. We present a case of posterior microphthalmos in which retinal function was relatively intact and visual loss was believed to be primarily caused by refractive error and amblyopia.

Myogenic cell transplantation improves in vivo regional performance in infarcted rabbit myocardium.

Background: Although cardiac transplantation is an ideal treatment for end-stage heart disease, inadequate donor availability has stimulated efforts to manage terminally injured myocardium by other innovative methods. Autologous skeletal myoblast transplantation, or cellular cardiomyoplasty, is one method to potentially mediate myocardial repair within chronically injured hearts. However, few investigators have documented the ability of myogenic cells to alter load-insensitive indices of systolic and diastolic performance in vivo.

Periocular abscess and cellulitis from Pasteurella multocida in a healthy child.

Purpose: To examine an unusual cause of periorbital cellulitis, Pasteurella multocida.

Methods: Case report, review of the literature.

Results: We treated a 13-year-old previously healthy child who developed Pasteurella preseptal cellulitis secondary to a cat bite and cat scratch.

Balloon dilatation for treatment of resistant nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

Purpose: Our purpose was to report our experience with balloon catheter dilatation for resistant nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

Methods: Patients enrolled had symptoms of nasolacrimal duct obstruction and (1) had failed previous probing or (2) were more than 2 years old. Balloon dilatation was performed with a LacriCATH lacrimal catheter (Atrion Medical Products, Birmingham, Ala.

Cyclic esotropia after a traumatic sixth nerve palsy in a child.

Cyclic esotropia is a rare phenomenon in which esotropia and orthophoria alternate over a period of 48 to 96 hours. The mechanism that underlies the phenomenon is unknown. Cyclic esotropia often occurs after a fusion-disrupting event.

Anterior hyaloid face opacification after pediatric Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the clarity of the visual axis after Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy following cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens implantation in a pediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all cases of cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens implantation over a period of 5 years. A group of children who had been treated by primary surgical posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy (Group 1) was used as the "gold standard," with whom the children treated with Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy (Group 2) were compared.

Cellular cardiomyoplasty improves diastolic properties of injured heart.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction leads to loss of functional myocytes and structural integrity that often decreases diastolic compliance and increases resting myocardial segment length (diastolic creep). Successfully engrafting autologous skeletal myoblasts could improve compliance and potentially reverse creep. Thus, we transplanted myoblasts into cryoinjured rabbit heart (n = 15, CRYO) and measured regional diastolic properties in the presence (n = 9, +ENG) or absence (n = 6, -ENG) of engraftment.

Intracardiac transplantation of skeletal myoblasts yields two populations of striated cells in situ.

Background: Adult heart lacks stem cells and cannot effectively regenerate. In contrast, skeletal muscle is constantly undergoing repair. We proposed to transplant immature skeletal myoblasts into injured myocardium.

A load-independent in vivo model for evaluating therapeutic interventions in injured myocardium.

Although cardiomyocyte damage is normally irreversible, gene therapy and somatic cell transfer offer potential for improving function in damaged regions of the heart. However, in ischemic models of injury, variability in depth, size, and location of damage compromises statistical evaluation of in vivo function. We have adapted cryoablation to create a reproducible, posterior, transmural lesion within rabbit myocardium in which small changes in function are measurable in vivo.

Regenerating functional myocardium: improved performance after skeletal myoblast transplantation.

The adult heart lacks reserve cardiocytes and cannot regenerate. Therefore, a large acute myocardial infarction often develops into congestive heart failure. To attempt to prevent this progression, we transplanted skeletal myoblasts into cryoinfarcted myocardium of the same rabbits (autologous transfer), monitored cardiac function in vivo for two to six weeks and examined serial sections of the hearts by light and electron microscopy.

Intraoperative measurement of parathyroid hormone in the surgical management of hyperparathyroidism.

The operative management of patients with hyperparathyroidism is controversial. Higher rates for persistent hypercalcemia and postoperative hypoparathyroidism are seen in multiple-gland hyperplasia and in bilateral neck exploration. Hyperparathyroid patients undergoing unilateral neck exploration with removal of a single parathyroid adenoma have a rapid clearance of parathyroid hormone (PTH) that declines to undetectable levels within hours after successful parathyroid surgery.