Early Experience of Novel Oral Anticoagulants in Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Efficacy and Safety Comparison to Warfarin.

Purpose: Compared with warfarin, novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are convenient to use, although they require a blanking period immediately before radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). We compared NOACs and uninterrupted warfarin in the peri-procedural period of AF ablation.

Materials And Methods: We compared 141 patients treated with peri-procedural NOACs (72% men; 58 ± 11 years old; 71% with paroxysmal AF) and 281 age-, sex-, AF type-, and history of stroke-matched patients treated with uninterrupted warfarin.

An environmental Sporothrix as a cause of corneal ulcer.

In this case we introduce Sporothrix pallida, a non-pathogenic environmental Sporothrix species as a cause of infectious keratitis in a corneal transplant recipient. Human infections caused by S. schenckii are well-known but human infection with Sporothrix pallida has not been previously reported.

Copy number variation of β-defensin genes in Behçet's disease.

Objectives: Behçet's disease (BD) may be triggered by infectious agents in genetically susceptible persons. Human β-defensin 2 is an inducible antimicrobial peptide, the level of which can be influenced by copy number (CN) of the DEFB4. We investigated the relationship between copy number variation (CNV) of DEFB4 and BD.

Ocular surface reconstruction: limbal stem cell transplantation.

In summary, the management of patients with severe ocular surface disease remains difficult. Significant progress has been made toward understanding limbal stem cell disease, and surgical treatments have been refined. Short- and long-term successes have been achieved and have improved the quality of life for patients who otherwise have had no other treatment options.