Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for diabetic macular edema: a prospective, randomized study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the visual outcome of patients receiving an intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) as treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema (DDME).

Methods: This prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized, clinical interventional study included 40 eyes (38 patients) with DDME, with 28 (70%) eyes randomized to treatment and 12 (30%) eyes randomized to receive a placebo injection. Thirty-six (36) (90%) eyes completed the 3-month study visit, and 32 (80%) eyes completed the 6-month study visit.

Duration of the effect of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide in eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the duration of the effect of an intravitreal injection of approximately 20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on visual acuity and intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization.

Participants: The prospective, clinical, interventional, case series study included 69 patients (71 eyes) with exudative AMD who showed an increase in visual acuity by at least 2 Snellen lines after an intravitreal injection of approximately 20 mg TA. Mean follow-up was 11.

Anticoagulant-related skin reactions.

Cutaneous reactions have been reported during anticoagulant therapy with coumarin derivatives, unfractionated and low molecular weight heparins, heparinoids, danaparoid and hirudins. Anticoagulant-induced skin reactions vary from local allergic manifestations to skin necrosis. In patients with allergic reactions, diagnosis and crossreactions between anticoagulants can be confirmed by intracutaneous testing.

Influence of arterial hypertension and diet-induced atherosclerosis on macular drusen.

Purpose: To evaluate whether development of macular drusen is influenced by experimentally induced chronic arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis.

Methods: The prospective experimental study included 93 eyes of 51 elderly rhesus monkeys. The total study group was divided into groups with experimental arterial hypertension ( n=22), diet-induced atherosclerosis ( n=10), or both arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis ( n=29) and a control group without arterial hypertension or atherosclerosis ( n=32).

Development of a high-pressure liquid chromatography method for diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Owing to the disadvantage of radioactivity of the carbon 14 serotonin release assay and the time-consuming procedure of the enzyme immunoassay, we developed a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to detect serotonin released from donor platelets in the presence of heparins and serum samples from patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Samples were analyzed from 60 healthy control subjects, 19 patients with HIT, and 20 patients without HIT after incubation with heparin, low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), and danaparoid. Serotonin release was measured from platelets, 300 x 10(3)/microL, by HPLC.

Cutaneous reactions to anticoagulants. Recognition and management.

Anticoagulant-induced skin reactions appear as allergic or necrotic responses to vitamin K antagonists or heparins. Cutaneous allergy has been reported with danaparoid sodium and flush reactions have been seen with hirudins. The pathogenesis of the reactions differs between drugs.

Laboratory diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia type II after clearance of platelet factor 4/heparin complex.

Laboratory confirmation of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is limited by assay sensitivity. We investigated whether laboratory confirmation can be improved after antigen clearance by determining free antibody and combining the results of antigenic and biologic assays. Blood samples were collected over 5 to 6 weeks in 14 HIT patients.

Determination of serotonin release from platelets by enzyme immunoassay in the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

[14C]-Serotonin release assay (14C-SRA) from platelets is considered to be the most sensitive test for laboratory confirmation of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). This study compared 14C-SRA with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to determine the release of serotonin from platelets in the presence of heparin and serum from HIT patients. The normal range (median, 2.