Occlusion with high plus contact lenses in the treatment of strabismic amblyopia - a case series.

: Amblyopia is a common disease, and interventions like patching treatment are well studied. When standard therapy fails, sometimes uncommon treatment options become necessary. : We present three cases of patients with severe strabismic amblyopia with initial visual acuities of 20/400, 20/2000 and 20/160 who failed conventional treatment and subsequently received treatment with high-powered contact lenses (HPCL) of either + 22D or + 25D strength.

A comparative study of various prism adaptation forms in the surgical management of esophoria.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome in participants who underwent surgery for esophoria following one of three different methods of preoperative prism adaptation test (PAT).

Methods: This prospective, multicentre study was carried out at five eye departments from 2012 to 2019. 116 participants were included and allocated to three groups as per investigator choice: Group 1 (n = 55) had a short prism adaptation period ranging from 1 to 5 hours during their visit at the clinic.

Nutritional Status in Patients with Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (MRONJ).

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a potentially severe side effect of mostly antiresorptive drugs. The aim of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the nutritional status in MRONJ patients scheduled for surgical treatment (intraoral soft tissue closure). The following parameters were evaluated: body weight, body height, BMI, nutritional risk index (NRI), bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA), vitamins A, B12, D3, E, K1, folic acid, iron, total protein, transferrin, ferritin, prealbumin, albumin, and zinc.

[Prism adaptation test before strabismus surgery : Results of a survey and literature review].

Background: Variable preoperative deviations and compensatory mechanisms may cause wrong dosage of strabismus surgery and result in over- or undercorrection. A long-lasting prism adaptation test (PAT) before surgery is supposed to reduce those difficulties and to improve the postoperative results. To date, the use of prism adaptation before surgery has not been systematically examined.

Surgical anatomy of the vascularized submental lymph node flap: Anatomic study of correlation of submental artery perforators and quantity of submental lymph node.

Background: Harvesting the submental flap for vascularized lymph node transfer (VLNT) presents a challenging procedure because of, the topographic variation of the submental artery (SA) and the marginal mandible nerve (MMN) and the limited pedicle length for a free tissue transfer. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical anatomical landmarks and variations of the submental lymph node flap (SLNF).

Methods And Materials: The authors examined the characteristics and landmarks of 18 SLNF in nine fresh cadavers.

Pectate lyase pollen allergens: sensitization profiles and cross-reactivity pattern.

Background: Pollen released by allergenic members of the botanically unrelated families of Asteraceae and Cupressaceae represent potent elicitors of respiratory allergies in regions where these plants are present. As main allergen sources the Asteraceae species ragweed and mugwort, as well as the Cupressaceae species, cypress, mountain cedar, and Japanese cedar have been identified. The major allergens of all species belong to the pectate lyase enzyme family.

Tiam1/Rac1 signals contribute to the proliferation and chemoresistance, but not motility, of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells.

Signals from the tumor microenvironment promote the migration, survival, and proliferation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. Rho GTPases control various signaling pathways downstream of microenvironmental cues. Here, we analyze the function of Rac1 in the motility and proliferation of CLL cells.

Allergen hybrids - next generation vaccines for Fagales pollen immunotherapy.

Background: Trees belonging to the order of Fagales show a distinct geographical distribution. While alder and birch are endemic in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, hazel, hornbeam and oak prefer a warmer climate. However, specific immunotherapy of Fagales pollen-allergic patients is mainly performed using birch pollen extracts, thus limiting the success of this intervention in birch-free areas.

Recombinant allergens for pollen immunotherapy.

Specific immunotherapy (IT) represents the only potentially curative therapeutic intervention of allergic diseases capable of suppressing allergy-associated symptoms not only during treatment, but also after its cessation. Presently, IT is performed with allergen extracts, which represent a heterogeneous mixture of allergenic, as well as nonallergenic, compounds of a given allergen source. To overcome many of the problems associated with extract-based IT, strategies based on the use of recombinant allergens or derivatives thereof have been developed.

Differences in the intrinsic immunogenicity and allergenicity of Bet v 1 and related food allergens revealed by site-directed mutagenesis.

Background: Birch pollen allergies are frequently associated with adverse reactions to various fruits, nuts, or vegetables, described as pollen-food syndrome (PFS) and caused by cross-reactive IgE antibodies primarily directed against Bet v 1. Specific immunotherapy (SIT) represents an effective treatment for inhalant allergies; however, successful birch pollen SIT does not correlate well with the amelioration of concomitant food allergies.

Methods: As vaccine candidates, apple Mal d 1 as well as hazelnut Cor a 1 derivatives were designed by in silico backbone analyses of the respective allergens.

The fold variant BM4 is beneficial in a therapeutic Bet v 1 mouse model.

Background: Specific immunotherapy using recombinant allergens is clinically effective; still wild-type allergens can provoke treatment-induced side effects and often show poor immunogenicity in vivo. Thus, we tested the low IgE-binding, highly immunogenic fold variant BM4 in a Bet v 1 mouse model.

Methods: Recombinant BM4 was used as active vaccine ingredient to treat mice sensitized to Bet v 1.

Reshaping the Bet v 1 fold modulates T(H) polarization.

Background: Several alternative mechanisms have been proposed to explain why some proteins are able to induce a T(H)2-biased and IgE-mediated immune response. These include specific interactions with receptors of the innate immune system, proteolytic activities, allergen-associated carbohydrate structures, and intrinsic structural determinants.

Objectives: Available data suggest that a fold-dependent allergy-promoting mechanism could be a driving force for the T(H)2-polarization activity of Bet v 1, the major birch pollen allergen.

Assessing protein immunogenicity with a dendritic cell line-derived endolysosomal degradome.

Background: The growing number of novel candidate molecules for the treatment of allergic diseases imposed a dramatic increase in the demand for animal experiments to select immunogenic vaccines, a pre-requisite for efficacy. Because no in vitro methods to predict the immunogenicity of a protein are currently available, we developed an in vitro assay that exploits the link between a protein's immunogenicity and its susceptibility to endolysosomal proteolysis.

Methodology: We compared protein composition and proteolytic activity of endolysosomal fractions isolated from murine bone marrow- and human blood- derived dendritic cells, and from the dendritic cell line JAWS II.