Purpose: To report a case of bilateral rainbow glare resolved by combined mechanical scraping and small ablation depth phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) of the laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap undersurface.
Methods: A 42-year-old man presented with symptoms of rainbow glare in both eyes after bilateral femtosecond laser-assisted LASIK 2 years prior. The LASIK flap in the left eye was relifted and PTK of 3 µm ablation depth was performed on the back surface of the flap.
Purpose: The OrbiTau surgical simulator is a synthetic eye model developed to enhance cataract surgical training. Herein, we aimed to describe the perspectives of Harvard's Ophthalmology faculty and residents regarding the effectiveness of OrbiTau.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which 11 surgeons from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, with prior experience utilizing simulated phacoemulsification platforms, conducted cataract surgery with the OrbiTau.
Purpose: To identify areas of consensus among experts on the performance of endothelial keratoplasty by using a modified Delphi approach, to help create a framework for novice surgeons to adopt these procedures.
Methods: Thirty-one international experts in endothelial keratoplasty participated. Two rounds of electronic survey were followed by a hybrid, virtual meeting.
Machine learning is central to mainstream technology and outperforms classical approaches to handcrafted feature design. Aside from its learning process for artificial feature extraction, it has an end-to-end paradigm from input to output, reaching outstandingly accurate results. However, security concerns about its robustness to malicious and imperceptible perturbations have drawn attention since humans or machines can change the predictions of programs entirely.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the scope of feeding therapy for preterm infants in the NICU and medical and sociodemographic factors related to feeding therapy referral and service provision.
Study Design: Retrospective study of infants born <37 weeks gestation in a level IV NICU between January 2017 and December 2019.
Result: Among 547 infants, 27% of infants received a feeding therapy referral, and 74% of those referrals were problem-based referrals.
Background: Vasculogenic therapies explored for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) have encountered minimal success in clinical trials. Addressing this, B55α, an isoform of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), emerges as pivotal in vessel remodeling through activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). This study delves into the pharmacological profile of VCE-004.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe urgent need for effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases underscores the significance of developing innovative preclinical human research tools. The 2023 ATS Workshop on Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) brought together 35 experts to discuss and address the role of human tissue-derived PCLS as a unique tool for target and drug discovery and validation in pulmonary medicine. With increasing interest and usage, along with advancements in methods and technology, there is a growing need for consensus on PCLS methodology and readouts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: One criterion for infant NICU discharge is the ability to meet all nutritional needs by mouth, therefore, it is important to understand interventions that can improve the trajectory to full oral feeding. While many oral motor and feeding interventions are used in clinical practice, it remains unclear which are supported by the literature.
Aim: The aim of this integrative review was to identify and understand what oral motor interventions are defined in the literature to support positive outcomes for preterm infants and their parents.
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
September 2024
Experts recommend standing orders for hospital-administered vaccines to improve adult immunization rates. We implemented an admission assessment tool to offer pneumococcal vaccine to eligible hospitalized patients. We retrospectively reviewed vaccines for guideline concordance and found that immunization rates increased but less than half of study patients received the correct vaccine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This quality improvement study aimed to explore the viability of a learning pedagogy for medical students, the interactive journal club (IJC), in stimulating active learning and engagement among learners. The study intends to explore the benefits provided by the IJC when compared to traditional learning methods (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study aimed to identify the physicochemical and phenotypic characteristics of circulating Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) in the plasma of patients with SLE, with or without Lupus Nephritis (LN), and their potential utility as disease biomarkers.
Methods: Plasma-circulating EVs were concentrated using differential centrifugation from adult female patients (n=38) who met the 'American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology 2019' criteria for SLE diagnosis with (LN) or without LN (nLN), confirmed by renal biopsy. Controls (n=18) were healthy volunteers matched by gender and similar age.
Emphysema, the progressive destruction of gas exchange surfaces in the lungs, is a hallmark of COPD that is presently incurable. This therapeutic gap is largely due to a poor understanding of potential drivers of impaired tissue regeneration, such as abnormal lung epithelial progenitor cells, including alveolar type II (ATII) and airway club cells. We discovered an emphysema-specific subpopulation of ATII cells located in enlarged distal alveolar sacs, termed asATII cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To explore the efficacy of topical 2.6% EDTA ophthalmic solution (C-KAD) as a treatment to improve visual function for the subgroup of patients with loss of contrast sensitivity (CS) due to early-stage age-related cataract.
Design: Subgroup analysis of randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase 1/2 clinical trial data.
The prevalence of hormone-related health issues caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a significant, and increasing, societal challenge. Declining fertility rates together with rising incidence rates of reproductive disorders and other endocrine-related diseases underscores the urgency in taking more action. Addressing the growing threat of EDCs in our environment demands robust and reliable test methods to assess a broad variety of endpoints relevant for endocrine disruption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReproduction is safeguarded by multiple, often cooperative, regulatory networks. Kisspeptin signaling, via KISS1R, plays a fundamental role in reproductive control, primarily by regulation of hypothalamic GnRH neurons. We disclose herein a pathway for direct kisspeptin actions in astrocytes that contributes to central reproductive modulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: To describe the supporting and enhancing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sensory experiences (SENSE) program, associated research and opportunities for further study.
Methods: A review of current materials on SENSE program implementation, publications related to SENSE development, and research on program implementation and patient outcomes was conducted to describe the SENSE program and its associated research.
Results: The SENSE program combines structured, evidence-based, multisensory interventions with parent engagement in order to optimise outcomes in the complex NICU environment.
Purpose: We sought to determine whether adjuvant use of netarsudil improves corneal clearance rate and regeneration of corneal endothelial cells in patients undergoing Descemet stripping only (DSO).
Methods: We conducted a prospective assessment on the use of adjuvant netarsudil in 50 eyes from 25 patients undergoing DSO at Massachusetts Eye and Ear between May 2021 and May 2023. Our comparison group was a retrospective cohort of patients (23 eyes from 15 patients) who previously underwent DSO without the use of a postoperative rho-kinase inhibitor between September 2014 and March 2020.
Background: Obesity-induced hypogonadism (OIH) is a prevalent, but often neglected condition in men, which aggravates the metabolic complications of overweight. While hypothalamic suppression of Kiss1-encoded kisspeptin has been suggested to contribute to OIH, the molecular mechanisms for such repression in obesity, and the therapeutic implications thereof, remain unknown.
Methods: A combination of bioinformatic, expression and functional analyses was implemented, assessing the role of the evolutionary-conserved miRNAs, miR-137 and miR-325, in mediating obesity-induced suppression of hypothalamic kisspeptin, as putative mechanism of central hypogonadism and metabolic comorbidities.
Objectives: Investigate relationships between aEEG in the first 72 h in extremely preterm infants with 1) infant, medical, and environmental factors, and 2) infant feeding and neurobehavioral outcomes at term and school-age.
Methods: Sixty-four preterm infants (≤28 weeks gestation) were enrolled within the first 24-hours of life and had two-channel aEEG until 72 h of life. Standardized neurobehavioral and feeding assessments were conducted at term, and parent-reported outcomes were documented at 5-7 years.
Aim: To identify relationships between early medical factors and preterm infant feeding behaviors at term-equivalent age.
Methods: Forty-three very preterm infants born ≤32 weeks gestation had standardized feeding assessments using the Neonatal Eating Outcome Assessment at term-equivalent age (36-42 weeks postmenstrual age). Medical factors were collected and analyses were run to determine if associations between different medical factors and feeding performance exist.
Purpose: To report a challenging Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK) case, complicated by intraoperative aqueous misdirection and spontaneous anterior chamber fibrin reaction.
Methods: A 70-year-old female affected by corneal edema due to Fuchs endothelial dystrophy underwent a triple procedure (cataract extraction - IOL implantation - DMEK surgery) in her left eye. This report illustrates the management of the intraoperative complications of aqueous misdirection syndrome and anterior chamber fibrin reaction.
Importance: The Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) program is an evidence-based intervention that promotes daily, positive sensory exposures for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Understanding program implementation across sites may aid in optimizing strategies for uptake of the program and subsequently improve outcomes for infants and families.
Objective: To investigate health care professionals' perceptions of implementing the SENSE program.