Comparison of the Diagnosis and Management of Demodex Blepharitis Between Eye Care Practitioners in India and Australasia - A Survey-Based Comparison.

Aim: The primary aim of this study was to compare how eyecare professionals in disparate regions of the world diagnose and manage Demodex blepharitis. A secondary aim was to explore interprofessional differences in diagnostic and management practices.

Methods: Ophthalmologists and optometrists from India and Australia/New Zealand, were invited to complete an online survey on Demodex blepharitis.

A Delphi approach to establishing consensus on best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of Demodex blepharitis.

Unlabelled: Demodex blepharitis does not have agreed standardized guidelines. The aim of this study was to classify signs and symptoms and to develop appropriate management strategies for Demodex blepharitis from a consensus of expert advice.

Methods: A total of 11 anterior segment experts (ophthalmologists, optometrists and a contact lens optician) working in the United Kingdom participated in a modified 2-round Delphi panel.

Tear Fluid Biomarkers and Quality of Life in People with Type 2 Diabetes and Dry Eye Disease.

Dry eye disease (DED) can be extremely distressing and is common in type 2 diabetes (T2D). To investigate potential biomarkers of DED in T2D, panels of proteins in tears, alongside clinical signs and symptoms of DED, were assessed. Patients were classified into four groups: T2D + DED ( = 47), T2D-only ( = 41), DED-only ( = 17) and healthy controls ( = 17).

Demodex Blepharitis: A Survey-Based Approach to Investigate Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Optometrists in India.

Purpose: To investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice towards Demodex blepharitis among optometrists in India.

Methods: The study was conducted in the form of an online survey using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The survey link was distributed via direct e-mail and social media platforms, and it was comprised of 20 questions divided into two sections.

Diurnal variation on tear stability and correlation with tear cytokine concentration.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of time of day on tear evaporation rate (TER) and tear break-up time, and its possible relationship with the concentration of inflammatory tear molecules (cytokines) in healthy subjects.

Methods: Participants with healthy ocular surfaces attended 3 visits, including the screening visit (V0), the 2nd visit (V1) and the 3rd visit (V2). There were 7-day intervals between visits.

Strip meniscometry tube: a rapid method for assessing aqueous deficient dry eye.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of strip meniscometry tube (SMTube) for the quantitative assessment of the tear film, by comparing it to measurements of tear turnover rate using the gold standard method, fluorophotometry. Also, to determine the viability of this test as a diagnostic tool for aqueous deficient dry eye (ADDE), to inform appropriate clinical management.

Methods: Thirty-two participants (15 ADDE; 17 non-ADDE) were recruited.

Patient-reported severity of dry eye and quality of life in diabetes.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between patient-reported severity of dry eye disease (DED), quality of life (QoL), presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and length of disease duration in people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).

Patients And Methods: A survey of 152 people (110 with and 42 without diabetes). All participants completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Dry Eye-related Quality of Life Score (DEQS) questionnaires.

Narrow Spectrum Kinase Inhibitors Demonstrate Promise for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease and Other Ocular Inflammatory Disorders.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the potential of narrow spectrum kinase inhibitors (NSKIs) to treat inflammatory eye disorders.

Methods: Human conjunctival epithelial (HCE) cells were retrieved from subjects via impression cytology. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed on HCE cells to determine gene expression of NSKI kinase targets and proinflammatory cytokines in dry eye disease (DED) patients versus healthy controls.

Effect of tear supplements on signs, symptoms and inflammatory markers in dry eye.

Purpose: Three tear supplements were compared for their effects on the signs, symptoms and inflammatory status of subjects with dry eye disease. Assessments were made before and after both 2 and 4 weeks of treatment.

Methods: In this masked, randomized, 3-way crossover trial, eighteen dry eye subjects were recruited.

Biomarkers of ocular surface disease using impression cytology.

Impression cytology (IC) is a technique which permits the retrieval of the outermost layer of ocular surface cells via the use of various types of filters. It is a minimally invasive method of evaluating human conjunctival epithelial cell morphology in the diagnosis of dry eye disease, a common and distressing disorder associated with ageing, contact lens wear, autoimmune disorders and refractive (LASIK) surgery. IC may also be utilized in the diagnosis of other ocular diseases, such as keratoconus and thyroid orbitopathy.

Tear fluid biomarkers in ocular and systemic disease: potential use for predictive, preventive and personalised medicine.

In the field of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine, researchers are keen to identify novel and reliable ways to predict and diagnose disease, as well as to monitor patient response to therapeutic agents. In the last decade alone, the sensitivity of profiling technologies has undergone huge improvements in detection sensitivity, thus allowing quantification of minute samples, for example body fluids that were previously difficult to assay. As a consequence, there has been a huge increase in tear fluid investigation, predominantly in the field of ocular surface disease.

EPMA position paper in cancer: current overview and future perspectives.

At present, a radical shift in cancer treatment is occurring in terms of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM). Individual patients will participate in more aspects of their healthcare. During the development of PPPM, many rapid, specific, and sensitive new methods for earlier detection of cancer will result in more efficient management of the patient and hence a better quality of life.

Tear fluid biomarker profiling: a review of multiplex bead analysis.

Developments in the field of tear film protein profiling are reviewed, including the advantages and disadvantages of the multiplex bead array technique and its potential for identifying biomarkers of ocular surface disease. Commercial kits, which specifically employ 96-well plates with polystyrene microspheres and magnetic beads, and sensitivity variations between them are discussed. Modifications to protocols of these kits (which are designed primarily for larger sample volumes, such as blood and cell culture supernatants) may be necessary for tear fluid samples.

Raf kinase inhibitor protein expression combined with peritoneal involvement and lymphovascular invasion predicts prognosis in Dukes' B colorectal cancer patients.

Aims: There is controversy regarding the use of adjuvant therapy in patients with Dukes' B colorectal cancer (CRC). New markers, identifying high-risk Dukes' B patients, are needed. Here, we examine the utility of Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) as such a marker and promoter methylation as a mechanism of RKIP down-regulation.

Targeted therapies in colorectal cancer-an integrative view by PPPM.

In developed countries, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy, but it is the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death. Clinicians are still faced with numerous challenges in the treatment of this disease, and future approaches which target the molecular features of the disorder will be critical for success in this disease setting. Genetic analyses of many solid tumours have shown that up to 100 protein-encoding genes are mutated.

Absence of xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus in UK patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: Detection of a retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has recently been reported in 67% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. We have studied a total of 170 samples from chronic fatigue syndrome patients from two UK cohorts and 395 controls for evidence of XMRV infection by looking either for the presence of viral nucleic acids using quantitative PCR (limit of detection <16 viral copies) or for the presence of serological responses using a virus neutralisation assay.

Results: We have not identified XMRV DNA in any samples by PCR (0/299).

A gene signature for post-infectious chronic fatigue syndrome.

Background: At present, there are no clinically reliable disease markers for chronic fatigue syndrome. DNA chip microarray technology provides a method for examining the differential expression of mRNA from a large number of genes. Our hypothesis was that a gene expression signature, generated by microarray assays, could help identify genes which are dysregulated in patients with post-infectious CFS and so help identify biomarkers for the condition.

Raf kinase inhibitor protein expression in a survival analysis of colorectal cancer patients.

Purpose: Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) inhibits the Raf and nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways, and suppresses metastasis in animal models. We examined whether RKIP expression in primary colorectal cancers (CRCs) correlates with the risk of metastasis and overall survival.

Patients And Methods: RKIP expression was examined immunohistochemically in three separate cohorts: a tissue microarray containing 276 samples from human tumors and normal tissues, and retrospective studies of 268 CRC patients and 65 early-stage CRCs.

Raf kinase inhibitor protein regulation of raf and MAPK signaling.

The Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBPs), which have important functions as inhibitors of kinase signaling pathways and metastasis. Most notably, RKIP can interrupt signaling through the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway by dissociating the interaction between Raf-1 and its substrate MEK, highlighting the importance of protein interactions as regulatory interfaces. Furthermore, RKIP was shown to inhibit IkappaB kinases (IKKs) interfering with the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB), and G-protein coupled receptor-kinase 2 (GRK2), impeding receptor downregulation and prolonging signaling.

Reduction of Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein expression correlates with breast cancer metastasis.

Purpose: Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) was originally identified as the first physiologic inhibitor of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. This pathway regulates fundamental cellular functions, including those that are subverted in cancer cells, such as proliferation, transformation, survival, and metastasis. Recently, RKIP has been recognized as a strong candidate for a metastasis suppressor gene in cell and animal model systems.

Reduction in Raf kinase inhibitor protein expression is associated with increased Ras-extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling in melanoma cell lines.

Mutations in the Raf signaling pathway are known to play a pivotal role in the progression of malignant melanoma. In this study, we provide evidence that the Raf-1 kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) and its effects on Raf-1-mediated activation of mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase are important for the metastatic potential of malignant melanoma. Screening nine melanoma cell lines at mRNA and protein levels, we detected significant down-regulation of RKIP expression in comparison with normal melanocytes.

The role of matricellular proteins thrombospondin-1 and osteonectin during RPE cell migration in proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

Purpose: To investigate the hypothesis that the Matricellular proteins thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), tenascin (TN) and Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) modulate the migration of RPE cells in the epiretinal membranes of proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

Methods: Ten PVR epiretinal membranes were studied by immunohistochemical methods in which aggregates of RPE cells were identified by their expression of a broad range of cytokeratins. RPE subsets containing migratory RPE cells were detected by immunoreactivity for the monoclonal antibody RGE53 (which detects an epitope on cytokeratin-18 on motile RPE cells).

Effects of the matricellular protein SPARC on human retinal pigment epithelial cell behavior.

Purpose: To determine the effects of the matricellular protein SPARC (Secreted Protein, Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) on human retinal pigment epithelial (HRPE) cell behavior in vitro.

Methods: Proliferation and migration assays were performed on HRPE cells exposed to various concentrations of SPARC. Additionally, HRPE cells were seeded on top of collagen matrices (a 2D model of the retinal scarring disorder known as proliferative vitreoretinopathy or PVR) and were exposed to SPARC over a 7 day period.