Evaluation of the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid, a compound from Gotu kola or Centella asiatica, in the male Sprague Dawley rat.

Herbal medication use continues to rise and interactions with existing medications propose risks and may have significant effects and consequences on the administration of anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid and its potential modulation of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor. Fifty-five male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups: vehicle (DMSO), asiatic acid (AA), midazolam, or a combination of flumazenil + AA or midazolam + AA, and injected intraperitoneally 30 minutes prior to testing.

Vascular tumors of the conjunctiva in 140 cases.

Objective: To report clinical and histopathologic features of vascular tumors of the conjunctiva.

Design: Retrospective, noninterventional case series.

Participants: A total of 140 patients.

Progressive enlargement of cavity within melanoma masquerading as iris cyst.

Purpose: To describe progressive enlargement of intralesional cavities within a mass that masqueraded clinically as an iris pigment epithelial cyst for 2 years but later proved to be a melanoma.

Methods: An 81-year-old woman developed asymptomatic focal elevation of the iris, and ultrasound biomicroscopy showed a fluid-filled mass that was interpreted as an iris pigment epithelial cyst. Over a 2-year period of observation, the cavity enlarged from 0.

Associations between childhood refraction and parental smoking.

Purpose: Motivated by pharmacologic findings linking nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to eye development in chicks, the authors studied whether the refractions of children who were passively exposed to cigarette smoke by their parents differed from those of nonexposed children.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 patients (mean +/- SD age, 8.7 +/- 4.