Histologic Evidence of Orbital Inflammation from Retrobulbar Alcohol and Chlorpromazine Injection: A Clinicopathologic Study in Human & Rat Orbits.

Purpose: Retrobulbar injections of alcohol and chlorpromazine are used for the treatment of blind, painful eyes. There have been reports of inflammation after retrobulbar injections of these agents, but the histologic effects are not well characterized. A clinical case with histopathologic confirmation of inflammation after retrobulbar alcohol injection led the authors to develop a rat model to examine these effects.

Oral methylphenidate for the treatment of refractory facial dystonias.

Oral methylphenidate (Ritalin, Novartis) has been reported to alleviate symptoms of benign essential blepharospasm in an off-label application. This series presents 3 patients with refractory periorbital and facial dystonias, including blepharospasm, apraxia of eyelid opening, and oromandibular dystonia unresponsive to standard treatments who experienced a response to oral methylphenidate therapy. While the mechanisms for facial dystonias have not been elucidated, there is evidence to suggest that they are on the spectrum with Parkinson disease.

The last ride of Henry II of France: orbital injury and a king's demise.

Jousting was a popular pastime for royalty in the Renaissance era. Injuries were common, and the eye was particularly at risk from the splinters of the wooden lance. On June 30, 1559, Henry II of France participated in a jousting tournament to celebrate two royal weddings.

Bilateral lacrimal gland disease: clinical features of 97 cases.

Objective: Bilateral lacrimal gland (LG) disease is a unique presentation that can result from varied causes. We reviewed the diagnoses, clinical features, and outcomes of 97 patients with this entity.

Design: Case series.

No light perception vision from compressive thyroid orbitopathy.

Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder that affects the extraocular soft tissues and causes eyelid retraction, proptosis and restrictive extraocular myopathy. Compressive optic neuropathy from extraocular muscle enlargement occurs in less than 5% of patients, in the majority of whom it develops within 18 months of the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism. Vision loss from compressive optic neuropathy in patients with thyroid eye disease is usually bilateral and insidious in onset and progression and is associated with diplopia and elevated intraocular pressure.

Orbital inflammation after dental procedures.

This study reports 3 cases of acute orbital inflammation that occurred within 3 weeks of various dental procedures and offers a possible mechanism as to their cause. The charts of 3 patients were retrospectively examined. Clinical notes, laboratory testing, and imaging studies were reviewed.

The relationship of the globe to the orbital rim.

Objective: To present a novel method for accurately characterizing the position of the globe relative to the orbital rim. The appearance and function of the eyelids are dependent on the underlying orbital bony architecture and globe position; however, no comprehensive language to describe these complex 3-dimensional relationships exists.

Methods: Three-dimensional orbital reconstructions were generated from computed tomographic scans of 15 Occidental and 12 Oriental orbits without orbital pathologic disease.

Congenital lacrimal sac fistula: intraoperative visualization by polyvinyl siloxane cast.

We report the intraoperative use of polyvinyl siloxane impression material to demonstrate the anatomy of the lacrimal sac, canaliculi, and lacrimal duct in a case of congenital lacrimal sac fistula. A 1-week-old boy was examined for tearing since birth. Examination revealed a left congenital lacrimal sac fistula.

Enhanced replication of R5 HIV-1 over X4 HIV-1 in CD4(+)CCR5(+)CXCR4(+) T cells.

To enter human cells, HIV-1 usually uses CD4 and 1 of 2 coreceptors: CCR5 and CXCR4. Interestingly, even though CCR5 is expressed on far fewer T cells than is CXCR4, many patients in early- and late-stage HIV disease maintain high levels of CCR5-tropic (R5) viruses. We hypothesized that such high R5 viral loads may be sustained because, relative to CXCR4-tropic (X4) HIV-1 infection, R5 HIV-1 infection of permissive CD4(+)CCR5(+)CXCR4(+) T cells results in the production of significantly more infectious virus particles per target cell.

Cyclosporin a inhibits calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T-cells signaling and induces apoptosis in retinoblastoma cells.

Purpose: Although the clinical efficacy of cyclosporin A (CSA) in retinoblastoma (RB) has been attributed to multidrug resistance reversal activity, the authors hypothesized that CSA is also directly toxic to RB cells through inhibition of calcineurin (CN)/nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling.

Methods: Antiproliferative effects of CSA, PSC-833 (a CSA analogue that does not inhibit CN), and FK506 (a CN inhibitor structurally unrelated to CSA) were evaluated in Y79 and Weri-RB1 cells by WST-1 assay. Apoptosis induction by CSA and PSC-833 was measured by detection of caspase 3/7 activity and by flow cytometry, using annexin-V and 7-AAD stains.

Nuclear export of Vpr is required for efficient replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in tissue macrophages.

Retroviruses must gain access to the host cell nucleus for subsequent replication and viral propagation. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and other primate lentiviruses are distinguished from the gammaretroviruses by their ability to infect nondividing cells such as macrophages, an important viral reservoir in vivo. Rather than requiring nuclear membrane breakdown during cell division, the HIV-1 preintegration complex (PIC) enters the nucleus by traversing the central aqueous channel of the limiting nuclear pore complex.