Effects of the periocular botulinum toxin on the ocular surface and anterior chamber: a prospective study in patients with hemifacial spasm and blepharospasm.

Purpose: To analyze using Pentacam, the corneal and anterior chamber changes following periocular botulinum toxin injection in patients with facial dystonia.

Methods: Prospective study that included patients with facial dystonia that were going to receive a periocular botulinum toxin injection for the first time or six months or more after the previous injection. A Pentacam examination was carried out in all patients before and 4 weeks after the injection.

Animal Models of LED-Induced Phototoxicity. Short- and Long-Term In Vivo and Ex Vivo Retinal Alterations.

Phototoxicity animal models have been largely studied due to their degenerative communalities with human pathologies, e.g., age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Short- and Long-Term Study of the Impact of Focal Blue Light-Emitting Diode-Induced Phototoxicity in Adult Albino Rats.

Background: In adult rats we study the short- and long-term effects of focal blue light-emitting diode (LED)-induced phototoxicity (LIP) on retinal thickness and Iba-1 activation.

Methods: The left eyes of previously dark-adapted Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were photoexposed to a blue LED (20 s, 200 lux). In vivo longitudinal monitoring of retinal thickness, fundus images, and optical retinal sections was performed from 1 to 30 days (d) after LIP with SD-OCT.

MelanopsinRGCs Are fully Resistant to NMDA-Induced Excitotoxicity.

We studied short- and long-term effects of intravitreal injection of -methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) on melanopsin-containing (m) and non-melanopsin-containing (Brn3a) retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In adult SD-rats, the left eye received a single intravitreal injection of 5µL of 100nM NMDA. At 3 and 15 months, retinal thickness was measured in vivo using Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT).

Childhood generalized specific phobia as an early marker of internalizing psychopathology across the lifespan: results from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Specific phobia (SP) is a relatively common disorder associated with high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Because of its early onset, SP may be a useful early marker of internalizing psychopathology, especially if generalized to multiple situations. This study aimed to evaluate the association of childhood generalized SP with comorbid internalizing disorders.

Disease-causing mutations in the serpin antithrombin reveal a key domain critical for inhibiting protease activities.

Antithrombin mainly inhibits factor Xa and thrombin. The reactive center loop (RCL) is crucial for its interactions with its protease targets and is fully inserted into the A-sheet after its cleavage, causing translocation of the covalently linked protease to the opposite end of the A-sheet. Antithrombin variants with altered RCL hinge residues behave as substrates rather than inhibitors, resulting in stoichiometries of inhibition greater than one.