Assessment of corneal curvature using verion optical imaging system: a comparative study.

Background: Keratometry is a critical determinant of the postoperative refractive outcome. This study evaluates the comparability of keratometry measurements obtained using the Verion Optical Imaging System with devices used in current clinical practice. Further, it determines the interobserver reliability of the Verion Optical Imaging System.

Visual snow: A thalamocortical dysrhythmia of the visual pathway?

In this paper we review the visual snow (VS) characteristics of a case cohort of 32 patients. History of symptoms and associated co-morbidities, ophthalmic examination, previous investigations and the results of intuitive colourimetry were collected and reviewed. VS symptoms follow a stereotypical description and are strongly associated with palinopsia, migraine and tinnitus, but also tremor.

Changes in electrical perceptual threshold in the first 6 months following spinal cord injury.

Objectives: To investigate the use of electrical perceptual threshold (EPT) testing to follow the natural history of sensory progression after complete and incomplete acute spinal cord injury (SCI) and to compare EPT changes with the American Spinal Injuries Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS).

Study Design: Prospective descriptive study.

Methods: ASIA examination and EPT testing was performed on 17 patients (7 AIS A, 10 AIS B-D), within 1, 3, and 6 months after acute SCI.

Delayed olfactory ensheathing cell transplants reduce nociception after dorsal root injury.

Injury to cervical dorsal roots mimics the deafferentation component of brachial plexus injury in humans, with intractable neuropathic pain in the deafferented limb being a common consequence. Such lesions are generally not amenable to surgical repair. The use of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) for dorsal root repair, via acute transplantation, has been successful in several studies.

Compensatory mechanisms to maintain blood pressure in paraplegic rats: implication of central tachykinin NK-1 and NK-3 receptors?

People with high level spinal cord injury (SCI) suffer from both hypotension and spontaneous hypertension due to loss of supraspinal control of spinal sympathetic outflow. Few reports have addressed whether any changes occur in central regulation of blood pressure (BP) and heart rat (HR) at the supraspinal level. Central tachykinin NK-1 and NK-3 receptors are located in many cardiovascular areas in the brain and are known to modulate BP and HR.

Characterization of rat forepaw function in two models of cervical dorsal root injury.

Dorsal root injury (DRI) disrupts afferent input from the periphery and often leads to sensory deficits and neuropathic pain. Despite cervical root injuries in rodents being a useful model for deafferentation studies, a quantitative characterization of the sensory deficits produced by DRI is still lacking. This study aimed to characterize the different functional deficits resulting from a dorsal two- or four-root (C7-C8 and C5-C8, respectively) crush injury in rats at levels that innervate the forepaws.