Allogeneic serum-based eye drops may give better results than autologous drops in Sjögren's syndrome dry eye.

Purpose: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may cause severe dry eye symptoms. One of the therapeutic option known for almost 40 years are autologous serum eye drops (ASEDs). Due to the presence of many pro-inflammatory factors in the autologous serum of SS patients, the use of allogeneic serum is often considered a better option.

Correlation between serum cytokine levels and the effect of allogeneic serum-based eye drops.

Introduction: The Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine (IHTM) in Warsaw has produced autologous serum eye drops (ASEDs) for the treatment of Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) since 1991. In 2019, IHTM introduced allogeneic tears (alloSEDs) for patients on long-term treatment.

Materials And Methods: 114 patients who applied alloSEDs were included in the study.

[Culinary arts as reinforcement for paediatric end-of-life suffering].

This article presents a support model of paediatric suffering based on a culinary activity guided by the nurse. It is based on a clinical end-of-life situation for a child in a Cameroon hospital. The caring approach helps to strengthen psycho-emotional links between the child and his/her loved ones, and to ease anxieties around the mother/child dyad.

Stenotic Bicuspid and Tricuspid Aortic Valves - Micro-Computed Tomography and Biological Indices of Calcification.

Background: Valve calcification is well estimated by ex-vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between micro-CT findings and biological indices of calcification in aortic stenosis (AS), as well as differences between bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV).Methods and Results:Aortic valves and plasma were obtained from patients undergoing valve surgery.

Triple therapy: Phaco-vitrectomy with ILM peeling, retinal endophotocoagulation, and intraoperative use of bevacizumab for diffuse diabetic macular edema.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the visual acuity and structural outcomes of combined phacovitrectomy with ILM peeling, retinal endophotocoagulation and use of bevacizumab in patients with diffuse diabetic macular edema (DDME).

Material/methods: In this prospective, nonrandomized, interventional study we included 29 eyes of 26 patients with DDME. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness and volume (CRT and CRV) were recorded at 4, 8, 12, and 16 months after surgery.

[Combined surgical and pharmacological treatment of diabetic maculopathy].

There are at least three avenues of investigation that support the theoretical value of vitrectomy for the treatment of DME, based on (1) vitrectomy with ILM peeling for the relief of traction on the macula, (2) vitrectomy to improve oxygenation of the macula leading to decreased vascular permeability with subsequent resolution or decrease in DME, and (3) ILM peeling to remove a part of the Müller cell endfeet and the horizontal gliosis. Visual improvement could be due to the induction of a higher overexpression of GFAP at the Müller cells level. It is likely that the proliferation of GFAP-stained gliofibrils, observed in these cells, preserves the blood-retinal barrier, reinforces architectural cohesion, and opposes the installation of the edema.

Müller glial cells--the mediators of vascular disorders with vitreomacular interface pathology in diabetic maculopathy.

The key to identifying the type of diabetic maculopathy is determining the status of posterior vitreous adhesion. In the pathological state, the breakdown of the internal and external blood-retina barrier is evident, however the mechanism is usually complex. The common denominator for these disorders are Müller glial cells, which mediate in maintaining the blood-retina barrier by linking the vessels, neurons and the vitreous in anatomical network and into functional dependence.

[Role of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in the pathogenesis and treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME)].

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) has recently been shown to be the most potent inhibitor of angiogenesis in the mammalian eye, suggesting that loss of PEDF is involved in the pathogenesis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. However, a protective role for PEDF in pericyte loss requires elucidation. Present studies suggest that PEDF proteins could protect against advanced glycation end product (AGE), which induce injury in retinal pericytes.

[Current concepts in the pathogenesis of glaucomatous optic neuropathy].

On the basis of review of available literature, the concept of vascular dysregulation, excitotoxicity in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, and influence of intraocular pressure and immunology system on mechanism of glaucomatous optic neuropathy was described.