Diagnostic incisional biopsies in clinically indeterminate choroidal tumours.

Most intraocular tumours are reliably diagnosed by a careful clinical examination combined with one or more non-invasive diagnostic techniques. However, in a small percentage of tumours, typically small and clinically amelanotic, the features are insufficiently distinct for a confident clinical diagnosis and tissue is required for diagnosis. We used a 23-G vitreous cutter to access the biopsy site in 43 patients with clinically indeterminate tumours.

One-year outcomes using ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: results of a prospective and retrospective observational multicentre study.

The Swedish Lucentis Quality Registry is a 12-month, open-label, observational, prospective, and retrospective study of ranibizumab administration for wet AMD. Visual acuity (VA) was measured with Snellen or ETDRS chart in 370 patients (66.8% women; age range 46-93 years).

Characterization of new medium-chain alcohol dehydrogenases adds resolution to duplications of the class I/III and the sub-class I genes.

Four additional variants of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases have been purified and functionally characterized, and their primary structures have been determined. The results allow conclusions about the structural and evolutionary relationships within the large family of MDR alcohol dehydrogenases from characterizations of the pigeon (Columba livia) and dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) major liver alcohol dehydrogenases. The pigeon enzyme turns out to be of class I type and the dogfish enzyme of class III type.

Identification of variant forms of the neuroendocrine peptide galanin.

Galanin is a neuroendocrine peptide widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in endocrine tissues. Using radioimmunoassays, chromatographic separations, and tandem mass spectrometry, we have identified a series of five variant forms of galanin purified from porcine upper intestine. The modified variants include three beta-aspartyl-shifted forms, an oxidized form containing Trp monooxide, and an N-terminally truncated form.

Class III alcohol dehydrogenase: consistent pattern complemented with the mushroom enzyme.

Mushroom alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Agaricus bisporus (common mushroom, champignon) was purified to apparent homogeneity. One set of ADH isozymes was found, with specificity against formaldehyde/glutathione. It had two highly similar subunits arranged in a three-member isozyme set of dimers with indistinguishable activity.