[Morphological study of retrograde degeneration followed by optic nerve transection in adult cats (author's transl)].
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
M Wakakura
Publications and source records attributed to M Wakakura.
Ultrastructural hepatic changes by carbamate pesticide (Sevin) in rats.
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Animals↗
Stromal keratitis and anterior uveitis due to herpes simplex virus-2 in a young child.
BACKGROUND: An uncommon case of stromal keratitis and anterior uveitis due to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is reported. CASE: The patient was a 3-year-old boy admitted for conjunctival injection of the right eye of unknown cause, accompanied by corneal opacity and anterior uveitis. OBSERVATIONS: High titers of antibodies against HSV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) were found in blood samples. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of HSV-1, -2, and EBV genome fragments was carried out using an anterior chamber sample as a template. An HSV-2 genome fragment was amplified by PCR. Administration of acyclovir and betamethasone was started, with the consequent elimination of corneal opacity, inflammatory cells, and keratic precipitates. CONCLUSION: PCR clearly showed that HSV-2 was the causative pathogen of the stromal keratitis and anterior uveitis in this young patient. Systemic EVB infection may induce systemic immunocompromised conditions that can lead to reactivation of HSV-2 followed by ocular disorders.
Acyclovir↗
Corticosteroid-induced central serous chorioretinopathy.
Five patients were identified by medical records and fluorescein angiography as having developed central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) during corticosteroid treatment. These five and 28 previously reported corticosteroid-induced CSC occurrences were studied to clarify the differences between idiopathic CSC and corticosteroid-induced CSC. Nine previously reported occurrences of corticosteroid-induced multiple posterior pigment epitheliopathy (MPPE) were also reviewed. Corticosteroid-induced CSC patients were older and less male-dominant; in MPPE, female patients predominated and most had bilateral involvement. The onset of CSC was within 70 days of corticosteroid administration in the short latency group, and more than 6 months after administration in the prolonged latency group. Daily doses of prednisolone usually exceeded 20 mg in the short latency group and was less than 20 mg in the prolonged latency group. Immunosuppressive agents such as cyclophosphamide were related to a lower daily dose at onset.
Adult↗
P1-/P2-purinergic receptors on cultured rabbit retinal Müller cells.
Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its metabolic products function as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators under the control of P1/P2-purinergic receptors. To determine the presence of these receptors on retinal Müller cells, spectrofluorometry was carried out on intracellular calcium mobilization, using Fura-2 images. Müller cells were cultured from adult rabbit retinas. Cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) increased dose dependently with the application of ATP. This response was not blocked when a calcium channel blocker, nifedipine, was present, but this response was blocked, for the most part, when a P2 receptor antagonist, pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS) was present. Increase in [Ca2+]i was noted by the A1 or A2 agonist, which was blocked completely by each antagonist. Response to the A1 agonist was apparent only at high concentrations. Increase in [Ca2+]i was seen in some cells following administration of the P2x agonist, methylene ATP, only at a high concentration (100 microM) but not in the presence of PPADS (50 nM). The greatest increase in [Ca2+]i was induced by a P2y agonist, methyl thio ATP at 1 to 10 microM, which was completely blocked by PPADS. Cultured Müller cells are thus shown quite likely to possess the P1-/P2-purinergic receptors including A2 and P2y.
Adenosine↗
Multicenter clinical trial for evaluating methylprednisolone pulse treatment of idiopathic optic neuritis in Japan. Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial Multicenter Cooperative Research Group (ONMRG).
BACKGROUND: A randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted in 1991 to compare an intravenous megadose of methylprednisolone with a control drug (mecobalamin) for treating acute idiopathic optic neuritis. CASES: Sixty-six cases from 22 clinical centers throughout Japan were examined to evaluate the treatment on visual function parameters, such as visual acuity, visual field, color vision, contrast sensitivity, and critical flicker frequency. OBSERVATIONS: The methylprednisolone pulse treatment group showed faster recovery of visual function, particularly the visual acuity at 1 week (P<.05), Humphrey field analyzer mean deviation at 3 weeks (P<.05), and color vision at 1 week (P<.05). Recovery of contrast sensitivity at several different spatial frequencies was significant in the pulse treatment group at 1 (P<.01), 2 (P<.05), and 4 weeks (P<.05) after the start of treatment. Visual function test results at 12 weeks and 1 year were essentially the same in the two treatment groups. Side effects appeared more frequently in the pulse treatment group than in the control (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pulse treatment does not appear effective for idiopathic optic neuritis even though visual function in the pulse treatment group of this trial recovered more quickly during the initial phase compared to the controls. More effective and specific treatment should be established for optic neuritis.
Adolescent↗
Baseline features of idiopathic optic neuritis as determined by a multicenter treatment trial in Japan. Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial Multicenter Cooperative Research Group (ONMRG).
BACKGROUND: An optic neuritis treatment trial was conducted at 30 clinical centers in Japan using the same protocol. Patient participation was based on: age range of 14-55 years; acute symptoms indicative of unilateral optic neuritis of unknown or demyelinating origin; visual symptoms of 14-day duration or less; relative afferent pupillary defect in affected eye; and normal or swollen optic disc of affected eye. CASES: Initially, 102 patients qualified for participation; baseline data were obtained for analysis from 70 of these patients. Demographic characteristics of Japanese patients with optic neuritis were clarified and compared with those in a US study. OBSERVATIONS: The incidence of ocular or periocular pain and the presence of periventricular plaques were noted to be lower, and the incidence of disc swelling higher, in the Japanese patients, suggesting racial differences in the characteristics of the disease. Such differences may possibly be related to the lower incidence of multiple sclerosis in Japanese patients. The results of visual function tests were virtually the same in both studies. The nonaffected eyes of more than half the patients showed abnormal mean deviation in Humphrey field analysis, as also noted in the US study. CONCLUSIONS: The baseline clinical features of optic neuritis in the Japanese patients have been defined. Some racial differences in the characteristics of the disease may exist.
Adolescent↗
The disc-macula distance to disc diameter ratio: a new test for confirming optic nerve hypoplasia in young children.
The disc-macula: disc diameter (DM:DD) ratio is the ratio of the horizontal distance between the center of the optic disc and the macula to the mean diameter of the optic disc, as evaluated from fundus photographs. The diagnosis of optic nerve hypoplasia may be difficult in cases in which the optic discs are slightly reduced in size, or when the double ring sign is absent and the condition is bilateral. The DM:DD ratio was calculated for six eyes of five children with ophthalmoscopically obvious optic nerve hypoplasia, 12 eyes of six children in whom the diagnosis of optic nerve hypoplasia was equivocal (but established by visual field examination and retinal red free photography), 13 eyes of eight children with optic atrophy, and 25 eyes of 17 children with normal optic discs. The DM:DD ratio was found to be significantly higher for both groups with optic nerve hypoplasia than for those with optic atrophy and the normal controls. For practical purposes, when the DM:DD ratio is greater than 3.0, the diagnosis of optic nerve hypoplasia should be seriously considered.
Adolescent↗