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Biomedical subjects

M Belkin

Publications and source records attributed to M Belkin.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Non-invasive quantitation of corneal copper in hepatolenticular degeneration (Wilson's disease).

The corneal copper content was measured by X-ray excitation spectrometry in two controls and in seven patients with Wilson's disease. Patients who were treated irregularly or not treated at all showed a high corneal copper content. Those who were adequately treated had low levels, comparable to the controls. In one case the corneal copper content declined 45%, after a course of dimercaprol. The corneal copper measured showed no correlation with the slit-lamp appearance of the Kayser-Fleischer ring. It is suggested that non-invasive X-ray excitation spectrometry can provide a fast and reliable method for the early diagnosis of Wilson's disease and for the objective evaluation of the efficacy of the treatment of this disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

A noninvasive method for detection and analysis of metals in the eye.

X-ray spectrometry appears to be a reliable and safe method for noninvasive detection and measurement of metals in the eye for clinical and experimental purposes. Preliminary results in rabbits show that the dissolution of small copper intraocular foreign bodies can be detected shortly after their implantation. The dissolution was measured repeatedly and described as a function of time. It is hoped that this method can supply data regarding the nature and the extent of dissociation of intraocular foreign bodies, thus supplementing methods which can give information regarding only their presence and location.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Video display units and visual function.

The widespread use of visual display units (VDU) in the workplace has engendered visual complaints and concern for workers' health and safety. The detectable levels of radiation emitted from VDUs have been well below safety levels and exposure to VDUs does not appear to cause any organic damage to the eye. However, visual disturbance and eye discomfort affects many workers using VDUs, and these symptoms may be alleviated by a number of measures, including proper diagnosis of pre-existing ocular problems, use of special eyeglasses, and correct arrangement of lighting and furniture in the work area.

Cataract↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ophthalmic effects of low-energy laser irradiation.

Laser irradiation at subthreshold energies exerts various effects on the eye and other parts of the body, mainly the skin and nervous system, through a mechanism that has yet to be adequately explained. The ocular bioeffects are manifested mostly in the retina, but also in other ocular tissues. This review outlines the reported effects of low-energy laser irradiation on nonophthalmological tissues and organs, including those of the nervous system, with special emphasis on the optic nerve. It also details the ophthalmic phenomena induced by low-energy laser irradiation and examines claims of its therapeutic efficacy in several eye diseases, such as keratitis, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Laser eye injuries.

Laser instruments are used in many spheres of human activity, including medicine, industry, laboratory research, entertainment, and, notably, the military. This widespread use of lasers has resulted in many accidental injuries. Injuries are almost always retinal, because of the concentration of visible and near-infrared radiation on the retina. The retina is therefore the body tissue most vulnerable to laser radiation. The nature and severity of this type of retinal injury is determined by multiple laser-related and eye-related factors, the most important being the duration and amount of energy delivered and the retinal location of the lesion. The clinical course of significant retinal laser injuries is characterized by sudden loss of vision, often followed by marked improvement over a few weeks, and occasionally severe late complications. Medical and surgical treatment is limited. Laser devices hazardous to the human eye are currently in widespread use by armed forces. Furthermore, lasers may be employed specifically for visual incapacitation on future battlefields. Adherence to safety practices effectively prevents accidental laser-induced ocular injuries. However, there is no practical way to prevent injuries that are maliciously inflicted, as expected from laser weapons.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ocular injury by mustard gas.

Sulfur mustard is a chemical warfare agent which was widely used during World War I and more recently in conflicts in the Middle East. This highly toxic compound causes severe dermal, gastrointestinal, respiratory and ocular injuries. It acts as an alkylating agent that induces structural changes and, hence, destruction of nucleic acids and proteins, impairing the cell's normal homeostasis and eventually causing its death. Sulfur mustard reacts rapidly with ocular tissues, and after a latent period of a few hours the patient starts suffering from severe eye pain, photophobia, excessive lacrimation and blindness. The injury, which is restricted to the anterior segment of the eye, may cause long-lasting incapacity in large numbers of casualties. Approximately 0.5% of the severely wounded victims may develop late complications which require prolonged ophthalmologic observation and therapy. In light of the ever-present threat of mustard chemical warfare against military and civilians, physicians worldwide should be aware of its grave effects and know how to care for its victims.

Chemical Warfare↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The association between cigarette smoking and ocular diseases.

Tobacco smoke is composed of as many as 4,000 active compounds, most of them toxic on either acute or long-term exposure. Many of them are also poisonous to ocular tissues, affecting the eye mainly through ischemic or oxidative mechanisms. The list of ophthalmologic disorders associated with cigarette smoking continues to grow. Most chronic ocular diseases, with the possible exception of diabetic retinopathy and primary open-angle glaucoma, appear to be associated with smoking. Both cataract development and age-related macular degeneration, the leading causes of severe visual impairment and blindness, are directly accelerated by smoking. Other common ocular disorders, such as retinal ischemia, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, and Graves ophthalmopathy, are also significantly linked to this harmful habit. Tobacco smoking is the direct cause of tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, a once common but now rare disease characterized by severe visual loss, which is probably a result of toxic optic nerve damage. Cigarette smoking is highly irritating to the conjunctival mucosa, also affecting the eyes of nonsmokers by passive exposure (secondhand smoking). The dangerous effects of smoking are transmitted through the placenta, and offspring of smoking mothers are prone to develop strabismus. Efforts should be directed toward augmenting the campaign against tobacco smoking by adding the increased risk of blindness to the better-known arguments against smoking. We should urge our patients to quit smoking, and we must make them keenly aware of the afflictions that can develop when smoke gets in our eyes.

Eye Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Myopia and stature: findings in a population of 106,926 males.

We conducted a nation-wide study of the relationship of myopia with height, weight and body-mass index in order to confirm observations that myopic persons are taller than non-myopes. From a review of the data of 106,926, consecutive male military recruits aged 17 to 19 years, we found that myopia is associated neither with higher stature nor with greater weight. Persons with severe myopia were slightly shorter (172.8 +/- 7.1 cm) and weighed less (62.6 +/- 11.0 kg) than those with mild myopia (173.3 +/- 6.9 cm and 63.8 +/- 10.5 kg respectively), while the non-myopes were taller (173.7 +/- 6.7 cm) and heavier (63.9 +/- 10.2 kg) than the myopes (p = 0.0001). The mean body-mass index was only slightly smaller among the myopes (21.1 +/- 3.1 kg/m2) than among the non-myopes (21.2 +/- 2.9 kg/m2, p = 0.0001).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology of retinal detachment in childhood and adolescence.

The prevalence of retinal detachment during childhood and adolescence was studied in 45,000 recruits aged 17 to 19 years. History of retinal detachment was found in 13 cases (0.028%); 61.5% of these had traumatic retinal detachment, and 23.1% had high myopia without history of trauma. The age-related annual incidence of retinal detachment in patients aged ten to 19 years was calculated to be 2.9 per 100,000. The prevalence among the males was 3.7 per 10,000 and among the females 1.6 per 10,000. The difference between the sexes was not statistically significant.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sclerotomy using needle puncture and subconjunctival injection of mitomycin C.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possibilty of creating a temporary sclerotomy using a 26-gauge needle and sustaining its patency by injectiong 0.1 mL of 0.1 mg/mL of mitomycin C (MMC). ANIMALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four New Zealand white rabbits were randomized into 3 groups. In the test group, puncture was performed using 26-gauge needle penetrating the anterior chamber at the limbus, and 0.1 mg/mL MMC were injected subconjunctivally. In the control group, a puncture was performed in the same fashion and in the MMC group, MMC only was injected subconjunctivally. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured prior to surgery and at days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28. RESULTS: The mean intraocular pressure in eyes that underwent puncture with application of MMC was significantly lower than the IOP in the eye at all measurements up to and including day 21. In the puncture group, pressure was significantly lower than in the fellow eye only at day 3. No significant pressure reduction was observed at any measurement interval in eyes treated with MMC only. CONCLUSION: This simple technique of subconjunctival puncture of the limbus combined with application of MMC was effective in lowering IOP in rabbits. This may serve to attain a temporary filter in patients who need strict short-term pressure control.

Animals↗