Autologous plasmin for pharmacologic vitreolysis prepared 1 hour before surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal injection of autologous plasmin enzyme (APE) in inducing a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). APE was obtained by a modified method 1 hour before surgery.

Methods: APE was obtained by centrifugation of autologous whole blood from the patients 1 hour before surgery and by incubation with streptokinase.

HIV-1 NAT minipool during the pre-seroconversion window period: detection of a repeat blood donor.

Background: The introduction of nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) for screening pooled or individual donations remarkably improved the safety of blood products. The size of mini-pooled NAT is considered critical for identification of HIV-1 infected donors during preseroconversion phase of infection. We describe a case of HIV-1 infection in a serologically negative repeat blood donor identified by 16 minipool (MP) NAT.

High prevalence of G1 and G2 TT-virus infection in subjects with high and low blood exposure risk: identification of G4 isolates in Italy.

Background/aims: A non-enveloped single-stranded DNA virus (TTV) was detected in Japanese patients with fulminant hepatitis (47%) and chronic liver disease of unknown etiology (46%) more frequently than in blood donors (12%). Subsequent studies, however, questioned the association of TTV with liver disease. We further investigated the role of this novel virus in liver diseases.

Blood coagulation parameters in retinal arterial occlusion.

Background: Thromboembolism is considered a crucial event in the pathogenesis of retinal occlusion, resulting in a severe damage of central or peripheral visual function.

Methods: We evaluated hemostatic system parameters in the plasma of 14 patients (11 males and 3 females aged 59-73 years) affected by acute retinal ischemia (central retinal arterial occlusion or arterial branch occlusion). The diagnosis of retinal arterial occlusion was established according to clinical symptoms, ophthalmoscopic findings and fluorescein angiography.

Preoperative D-dimer plasma assay is not a predictor of clinical outcome for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

D-dimer (DD) plasma levels are significantly higher in patients with ovarian cancer than in those with benign ovarian masses. The aim of this paper is to assess whether preoperative DD plasma assay has a prognostic relevance for 35 patients with advanced ovarian cancer receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Preoperative DD levels ranged from 162 to 3720 ng/ml.