Virtual Reality for the Management of Pain and Anxiety for IR Procedures: A Prospective, Randomized, Pilot Study on Digital Sedation.

Purpose: To assess the analgesic and anxiolytic effects of virtual reality (VR) augmentation in patients undergoing peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement or fine-needle aspiration thyroid biopsy.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective, single-center randomized controlled trial with 107 patients enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive standard of care (SOC) or SOC+VR during PICC or thyroid biopsy procedures.

Virtual Reality as a Non-Pharmacological Adjunct to Reduce the Use of Analgesics in Hospitals.

Virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly viable non-pharmacological adjunct to reduce the use of analgesics in hospitals. Within the context of the ongoing opioid epidemic, VR can serve as an invaluable alternative to traditional pain management techniques. While VR research continues to advance, there is no clear consensus on the terms used to describe critical aspects of VR.

Impact of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Emphysema on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia.

Background: Comorbid disease is a risk factor for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, initial rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in case series were low and severity of COVID-19 in COPD patients was variable.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients admitted with COVID-19 and evaluated outcomes in those with and without COPD and/or emphysema.

Inhibition, reactivation, and determination of metal ions in membrane metalloproteases of bacterial origin using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

High-performance liquid chromatography coupled on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) was used for the characterization of metal ions in several metalloproteases of bacterial origin. The different components of the bacterial extracts were separated on a size-exclusion column. The eluent of the HPLC system was continuously transported to the ICP-MS system for rapid, reproducible, and sensitive analyses of trace elements in the metalloproteases.

Isolation of a cDNA coding for an ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBC1 of tomato--the first stress-induced UBC of higher plants.

A clone of an ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC) was isolated from a lambda-ZAP-cDNA library, generated from mRNA of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cells grown in suspension for 3 days. The open reading frame called LeUBC1, encodes for a polypeptide with a predicted molecular mass of 21.37 kDa, which was confirmed by bacterial overexpression and SDS-PAGE.

Intestinal absorption of dietary fat in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Fat absorption was studied in 24 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis and in 36 healthy control subjects. Beta-carotene and vitamin A in their plasma were also measured. This double-blind and randomized study showed no differences between these two populations with regard to the three parameters.

Recent developments in chemotherapy of ocular diseases.

The profile of organisms responsible for ocular infections has changed over the past few decades. Although nonresistant and resistant staphylococci still lead the list, gram-negative, mixed infections and anaerobic organisms have become more evident. In spite of more potent and broader spectra antibiotics, resistant organisms still emerge.

Pseudomonas cepacia endophthalmitis.

A 72-year-old white man who had undergone surgical trabeculectomy and extracapsular cataract extraction with a posterior-chamber lens implantation in the left eye suffered from chronic iridocyclitis for eight months. He subsequently presented with acute hypopyon and vitritis. Anterior-chamber and vitreous cultures were positive for Pseudomonas cepacia.

Update on antibiotics in ocular infections.

Each year, new antimicrobials are found or synthesized in an effort to improve the chance of overcoming infections. In the early 1950s, the only antibiotic available for ocular use was penicillin. Today, ophthalmologists can make a choice from a large selection of antibiotics for ocular infections.

Alpha-adrenergic receptors in rabbit eyes.

The IOP and pupil response to alpha-adrenergic agonists and blockers was studied in albino rabbits. Topical ocular application of solutions of methoxamine (alpha 1) and oxymetazoline (alpha 2) caused dose-related early rises in IOP which were inhibited by pretreatment with prazosin, an alpha 1-blocker, or with yohimbine, an alpha 2-blocker. Although both prazosin and yohimbine have ocular hypotensive activity, the effect on the early IOP rise did not appear to be related to this action.

Clinical evaluation of the Humphrey automatic refractor.

A new automatic objective refractor was used on healthy adults. In the absence of cycloplegic drugs, spherocylindrical objective refractions performed with the instrument provided 20/20 acuity 96% as often as with standard subjective techniques. No instrument-induced accommodations effects were seen.

Forskolin, a potent adenylate cyclase activator, lowers rabbit intraocular pressure.

To our knowledge, this is the first report of a topically applied, specific adenylate cyclase activator that reduces intraocular pressure. Forskolin, a novel adenylate cyclase activator, is reported to increase cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in intact cells. Cyclic AMP levels are increased with various antiglaucoma agents.

Topically applied oxymetazoline. Ocular vasoconstrictive activity, pharmacokinetics, and metabolism.

Two double-blind, random-assignment clinical trials demonstrated the effectiveness of topical oxymetazoline hydrochloride in reducing histamine-induced hyperemia. Oxymetazoline hydrochloride at an optimum strength of 0.025% produced a marked and prolonged reduction of hyperemia, with the onset of effect occurring within one to five minutes of instillation.

[A hypothesis: multiple sclerosis a systemic disease].

Metallochemical and biochemical studies completed in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine, offer a new perspective in understanding MS. Low plasma zinc levels were observed in MS patients, and this has been confirmed in laboratories elsewhere in the world. Generalized malabsorption could not be demonstrated in MS patients when using a double-blind, randomized study of 72-hours fecal fat.

Erythrocyte membrane 2', 3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase activity in multiple sclerosis.

The specific activities of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase, EC3.1.4.

A clinical evaluation of the effects of topically applied levobunolol and timolol on increased intraocular pressure.

Data from two short-term double-masked studies using 24 and 16 subjects suggest that topically applied levobunolol safely and effectively treats open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The onset of effect of a single drop of 0.5% levobunolol occurred within the first hour, producing a maximal hypotensive effect of more than 8 mm Hg after two hours.

Intraocular penetration of rosoxacin in rabbits.

Rosoxacin, a new synthetic antimicrobial agent, has a wide spectrum of activity that may prove beneficial in the treatment of ocular infections. To determine the penetration of rosoxacin into ocular tissues and serum of the rabbit after topical, subconjunctival, and intravenous (IV) administration, rosoxacin levels were measured using a microbiological assay after enzymatic digestion of the ocular tissues. Quantities of rosoxacin that should prove to be of therapeutic value were detectable in the anterior segment of the eye after topical or subconjunctival administration.

Preclinical ocular evaluation of noncorticosteroidal antiinflammatory agents.

The nature of inflammation in general and the special aspects of ocular inflammation are discussed. Causes of inflammation, the cellular and tissue response to noxious stimuli and the biochemical mediation of the inflammatory response are described. Prostaglandins and their relatives the thromboxanes and prostacyclins are shown to play an important role in the mediation of ocular inflammation.

Calcium and protein in tears: diurnal variation.

With the use of an automatic titrator for calcium and a microcolorimetric assay for protein, diurnal variations in tear calcium and total protein values were studied in nine subjects during a ten-day period. Tear calcium and total protein concentrations were found to be individualized functions that were dependent on the sampling time and sampling day. Prolonged eye closure resulted in an approximate twofold increase in both tear calcium and total protein concentrations.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in ocular fluids.

Angiotensin II is a biological active octapeptide that is formed by the action of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) on the inactive precursor, angiotensin I. ACE activity was found in tears and aqueous humor from both rabbit and human eyes. The activity was higher in tears than aqueous humor.

Antiproteolytic activities found in human tears.

Human tears were found to inhibit the thiol-dependent protease, papain. Inhibitory activity in normal tears was compared with that in patients with blepharitis, infectious and allergic conjunctivitis, and herpes simplex. Activities lower than normal were found in some patients with infectious conjunctivitis and blepharitis.