Combined Photorefractive Keratectomy and Corneal Cross-Linking for Keratoconus and Ectasia: The Athens Protocol.

Customized photorefractive keratectomy with minimal tissue ablation combined with corneal cross-linking seems to be a long-term safe and effective strategy for anatomical and visual management of keratoconus, postsurgical ectasia, and other ectasia management. Multiple published studies, many with long-term follow-up, have supported the Athens Protocol and its various forms as a means to manage corneal ectatic disorders, which not only stabilize corneal shapes but also improve functional vision.

Specific and common functional connectivity deficits in drug-free generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder: A data-driven analysis.

Evidence of comparing neural network differences between anxiety disorder subtypes is limited, while it is crucial to reveal the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. The present study aimed to investigate specific and common resting-state functional connectivity (FC) networks in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), and healthy controls (HC). We employed the gRAICAR algorithm to decompose the resting-state fMRI into independent components and align the components across 61 subjects (22 GAD, 18 PD and 21 HC).

Real-world application of tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-high) and microsatellite instability (MSI) confirms their utility as immunotherapy biomarkers.

Introduction: Microsatellite instability (MSI) testing and tumor mutational burden (TMB) are genomic biomarkers used to identify patients who are likely to benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. Pembrolizumab was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in TMB-high (TMB-H) tumors, regardless of histology, based on KEYNOTE-158. The primary objective of this retrospective study was real-world applicability and use of immunotherapy in TMB/MSI-high patients to lend credence to and refine this biomarker.

Cannabis/Cannabinoids for Treating COVID-19 Associated Neuropsychiatric Complications.

COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in devastating mortality and morbidity consisting of socioeconomic and health effects that have included respiratory/pulmonary, cardiovascular, mental health and neurological consequences such as anxiety, depression, and substance use. Several effective vaccines have been developed and extensive efforts are underway to develop therapeutics to treat COVID-19. Cannabis and/or its product-cannabidiol (CBD) are being advertised for the treatment of COVID-19 associated mental/neurological complications and substance use disorders.

Sociometric Risk Network Structure, HIV Prevalence, and Drug Injection-Related Norms among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Athens, Greece.

Structural properties of sociometric networks have been associated with behaviors related to HIV transmission. Very few studies, however, have explored the correlation between sociometric network factors and drug injection-related norms. This exploratory work: (i) describes basic structural qualities of a sociometric risk network of participants in the Transmission Reduction Intervention Project (TRIP) in Athens, Greece, in the context of a large HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs (PWID); (ii) measures HIV prevalence within specific structures within the sociometric risk network of PWID in TRIP; and (iii) explores the association of structural properties of the sociometric risk network in TRIP with drug injection-related norms.

Trends in CRISPR-Cas9 technology application in cancer.

The evolution of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology in cancer research has tremendous potential to shape the future of oncology. Although this gene-editing tool's pre-clinical progress is into its nascent stage, there are many unanswered questions regarding health benefits and therapy precision using CRISPR. The application of CRISPR is highly specific, economically sustainable, and is a high throughput technique, but on the other hand, its application involves measured risk of countering the toxic immune response of Cas protein, off-target effects, limitation of delivering the edited cells back into cancer patients.

COVID-19 and Cannabidiol (CBD).

COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in devastating mortality and morbidity consisting of socioeconomic and health effects that have included respiratory/pulmonary, cardiovascular, mental health and neurological consequences such as anxiety, depression, and substance use. Extensive efforts are underway to develop preventive vaccines and therapeutics such as remdesivir, dexamethasone, convalescent plasma, and others to treat COVID-19 but many report residual mental health problems after recovery. Cannabis products such as cannabidiol (CBD) are being advertised for the treatment of COVID-19 associated mental health problems and substance use disorders.

Initial Outcomes with Customized Myopic LASIK, Guided by Automated Ray Tracing Optimization: A Novel Technique.

Purpose: Safety and efficacy of a novel automated ray tracing optimization in customization of excimer ablation in myopic LASIK.

Methods: In a consecutive case series, 25 patients (50 eyes) undergoing femtosecond-laser-assisted myopic LASIK were evaluated. The novel, artificial-intelligence platform initially calculates the ablation profile based on a model eye for each case, based on interferometry axial length data.

Drug Injection-Related Norms and High-Risk Behaviors of People Who Inject Drugs in Athens, Greece.

Drug use involves social interactions. Therefore, norms in the proximal environment of people who inject drugs (PWID) can favor behaviors that may result in HIV transmission. This work aimed at studying drug injection-related norms and their potential association with risky behaviors among PWID in Athens, Greece, in the context of economic recession and political activism that followed the fiscal crisis and soon after a recent HIV outbreak had leveled off.

Chinese Herbal Medicines During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Role for Observational Studies.

This column continues the JACM commentary series from the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR). The authors, Claudia Citkovitz, PhD, LAc, from NYU Langone Hospital - Brooklyn and Rosa N. Schnyer, DAOM, LAc, from the University of Texas, are both licensed East Asian Medicine (EAM) clinicians as well as researchers.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on cognition and symptoms in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

There is preliminary evidence that transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS) may improve symptoms and cognitive function in schizophrenia, but the generalizability of these results needs further investigation. We present a study of the effects of active vs. sham tDCS on cognition and symptoms in a sample of 45 Chinese patients with schizophrenia who showed significant cognitive deficits and were treated for 10 sessions with active or sham tDCS.

NK cell recruitment limits tissue damage during an enteric helminth infection.

Parasitic helminths cause significant damage as they migrate through host tissues to complete their life cycle. While chronic helminth infections are characterized by a well-described Type 2 immune response, the early, tissue-invasive stages are not well understood. Here we investigate the immune pathways activated during the early stages of Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri (Hpb), a natural parasitic roundworm of mice.

Re-programing Chromatin with a Bifunctional LSD1/HDAC Inhibitor Induces Therapeutic Differentiation in DIPG.

H3K27M mutations resulting in epigenetic dysfunction are frequently observed in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPGs), an incurable pediatric cancer. We conduct a CRISPR screen revealing that knockout of KDM1A encoding lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) sensitizes DIPG cells to histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Consistently, Corin, a bifunctional inhibitor of HDACs and LSD1, potently inhibits DIPG growth in vitro and in xenografts.

People with high HIV viral load within risk networks: who are these people and who refers them best?

Introduction: Viral load is one of the most important determinants for HIV transmission. Identification of people with high viral load (PHVL) can be effective in limiting onward HIV transmission. In order to improve the identification of these individuals within risk networks, we determined a) the number of PHVL recruited through risk networks b) their socio-demographic, behavioural and clinical characteristics and c) the characteristics of individuals who referred these PHVL to the study.

Prevalence of tobacco use in healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To estimate tobacco use prevalence in healthcare workers (HCW) by country income level, occupation and sex, and compare the estimates with the prevalence in the general population.

Methods: We systematically searched five databases; Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL Plus, CAB Abstracts, and LILACS for original studies published between 2000 and March 2016 without language restriction. All primary studies that reported tobacco use in any category of HCW were included.

The impact of keratoconus treatment with the Athens Protocol (partial topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy combined with higher-fluence corneal collagen cross-linking) on quality of life: a long-term study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) before and after the management of keratoconus (KCN) with Combined Topography-Guided Transepithelial partial photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and corneal Cross-Linking: the Athens Protocol.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients treated for progressive KCN were selected for retrospective telephone interview and individual questionnaire submission. A disease-specific HRQoL questionnaire was administered before and after the Athens Protocol intervention, using the following administrative questionnaires: National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ) 25/39 and IVI-28.

Management of progressive keratoconus with partial topography-guided PRK combined with refractive, customized CXL - a novel technique: the enhanced Athens protocol.

Purpose: To report a novel application of partial topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy combined with topographically customized, higher fluence, and variable pattern corneal cross-linking applied on the same day of the treatment of keratoconus.

Methods: A topography-guided partial photorefractive keratectomy treatment of maximum 30 µm over the thinnest cone area was applied initially followed by a 7 mm, 50 µm phototherapeutic keratectomy treatment to address epithelial removal. 0.

Incidence and management of symptomatic dry eye related to LASIK for myopia, with topical cyclosporine A.

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of transient dry eye associated with LASIK for myopia and the efficacy of topical cyclosporine A administration.

Methods: Group A was formed from 145 (82 female, 63 male) eyes that developed clinically significant dry eye within 1 month post-LASIK and were subjected to cyclosporine A treatment. A "non-symptomatic for dry eye" and age- and gender-matched group (group B) was formed from the same pool of patients to serve as control.

Phosphatidylinositol-5-Phosphate 4-Kinases Regulate Cellular Lipid Metabolism By Facilitating Autophagy.

While the majority of phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate (PI-4, 5-P) in mammalian cells is generated by the conversion of phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI-4-P) to PI-4, 5-P, a small fraction can be made by phosphorylating phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate (PI-5-P). The physiological relevance of this second pathway is not clear. Here, we show that deletion of the genes encoding the two most active enzymes in this pathway, Pip4k2a and Pip4k2b, in the liver of mice causes a large enrichment in lipid droplets and in autophagic vesicles during fasting.

The plasticity of pancreatic cancer metabolism in tumor progression and therapeutic resistance.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an aggressive cancer that is highly refractory to the current standards of care. The difficulty in treating this disease is due to a number of different factors, including altered metabolism. In PDA, the metabolic rewiring favors anabolic reactions which supply the cancer cell with necessary cellular building blocks for unconstrained growth.