Predictive Factors for Biopsy-Negative Giant Cell Arteritis and Alternative Diagnoses in a Neuro-Ophthalmology Context.

Giant cell arteritis is a challenging diagnosis for patients given the high prevalence of negative temporal artery biopsies (TAB). Despite the lack of histopathological evidence of giant cell arteritis in the TAB, patients can still have TAB-negative giant cell arteritis. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the predictors for TAB-negative giant cell arteritis and the alternative diagnosis of biopsy-negative patients without a giant cell arteritis diagnosis.

Clinical performance of predicting late age-related macular degeneration development using multimodal imaging.

Background: To examine whether the clinical performance of predicting late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) development is improved through using multimodal imaging (MMI) compared to using colour fundus photography (CFP) alone, and how this compares with a basic prediction model using well-established AMD risk factors.

Methods: Individuals with AMD in this study underwent MMI, including optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus autofluorescence, near-infrared reflectance and CFP at baseline, and then at 6-monthly intervals for 3-years to determine MMI-defined late AMD development. Four retinal specialists independently assessed the likelihood that each eye at baseline would progress to MMI-defined late AMD over 3-years with CFP, and then with MMI.

FROSTED BRANCH ANGIITIS ASSOCIATED WITH MIXED CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE.

Purpose: To present a case of frosted branch angiitis associated with an exacerbation of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD).

Methods: Single case report.

Results: A 31-year-old woman presented with a flare of her long-standing MCTD after a change in her immunosuppressive medications.

Age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration is an increasingly important public health issue due to ageing populations and increased longevity. Age-related macular degeneration affects individuals older than 55 years and threatens high-acuity central vision required for important tasks such as reading, driving, and recognising faces. Advances in retinal imaging have identified biomarkers of progression to late age-related macular degeneration.

Ophthalmic manifestations of species complex: a case series and review of the literature.

Aim: To report 4 cases of () species complex infection with diverse ophthalmic manifestations, and to review the literature to examine pathobiology of disease, classical ophthalmic presentations and outcomes, and treatment modalities for this emerging pathogen.

Methods: Cases of meningoencephalitis with ophthalmic manifestations were identified chart review at two institutions in Australia and one institution in the mid-west region of the United States and are reported as a case series. Additionally, a MEDLINE literature review was conducted to identify all reported cases of with ophthalmic manifestations from 1990-2020.

Ophthalmologists and climate change.

It is indisputable that human activities have caused climate change and that, if left unchecked, these activities will lead to worsening of weather extremes including fire, drought, and flood with all their attendant human suffering. Reducing future climate change requires limiting cumulative emissions of CO and other greenhouse gases including methane. We have written this evidence-based perspective to highlight interventions with the largest effect to help the average ophthalmologist make the changes with the highest impact in their day-to-day lives.

Spontaneous resolution of schitic cavities in XLRS.

X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) is an inherited retinal condition that leads to schisis of the retina. In the past, treatment trials for XLRS have generally used OCT monitoring of the schitic cavities as the primary structural outcome measure and best corrected visual acuity as the primary functional outcome. Here, we report two cases of genetically confirmed XLRS with marked fluctuations in OCT morphology in the absence of treatment.

Acute Macular Neuroretinopathy Related to Alcoholic Hepatitis.

A 33-year-old woman admitted for acute alcoholic hepatitis was referred to the ophthalmology department with an acute onset paracentral scotoma of the left eye. On examination, best-corrected visual acuity was Snellen 6/4 in the right eye and 6/9 in the left eye. Dilated left fundus examination revealed wedge-shaped changes at the macula.

Bilateral periorbital necrotising fasciitis associated with invasive group: a infection.

A previously independent 56-year-old immunocompetent woman presented with septic shock in the setting of periorbital swelling and diffuse infiltrates on chest imaging. Blood cultures were positive for growth of group A (GAS). Broad spectrum antimicrobials were initiated with the inclusion of the antitoxin agent clindamycin.

The Usefulness of Anti-acetylcholine Receptor Binding Antibody Testing in Diagnosing Ocular Myasthenia Gravis.

Background: Anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-Abs) testing is a safe and simple ancillary method for confirming the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. Despite the test's high sensitivity (85%-90%) for generalized myasthenia gravis, AChR-Abs testing has been reported to have a low sensitivity 44%-66% for ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG). The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of AChR binding Abs testing for diagnosing OMG by evaluating the test's sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value.

iPad colour vision apps for dyschromatopsia screening.

Optic neuritis (ON) is a common and important cause of vision loss or vision disturbances in the community, particularly amongst the young, and it is often associated with a persistent dyschromatopsia. Traditionally screening for dyschromatopsia has been carried out using pseudo-isochromatic Ishihara plates. These colour plates were originally developed for testing of colour blindness, and indeed have only more recently been applied to ON.

Mutation of the diamond-blackfan anemia gene Rps7 in mouse results in morphological and neuroanatomical phenotypes.

The ribosome is an evolutionarily conserved organelle essential for cellular function. Ribosome construction requires assembly of approximately 80 different ribosomal proteins (RPs) and four different species of rRNA. As RPs co-assemble into one multi-subunit complex, mutation of the genes that encode RPs might be expected to give rise to phenocopies, in which the same phenotype is associated with loss-of-function of each individual gene.

Is there an association between NPY and neuroticism?

Psychiatric genetics has been hampered by the fact that initially exciting findings from underpowered studies are so often not replicated in larger, more powerful, data sets. Here we show that the claims of Zhou et al. that neuropeptide Y (NPY) diplotype-predicted expression is correlated with trait anxiety (neuroticism) is not replicated in a data set consisting of phenotypically extreme individuals drawn from a large (n = 88,142) non-clinical population.

The adaptiveness of self-control: simulation of foraging mice.

Tobin and Logue (1994) have proposed that interspecific differences in rates of delay discounting are driven by differences in metabolic rates. This "metabolic hypothesis" argues that under conditions of deprivation impulsive animals will out-compete self-controlled animals. The authors report here a series of modeling experiments testing the predictions of Tobin and Logue (1994) using a simulated population of "mice" in which the average meal size, the standard deviation of the meal size, collection risk and maximum delay were parametrically manipulated.

Estimating the number of coding mutations in genotypic and phenotypic driven N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) screens: revisited.

We recently described methods for estimating the number of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced coding mutations in phenotypic and genotypic screens. In this article we revisit these methods, clarifying their application. In particular, we focus on the difference between unconditional and conditional probabilities.