Multimodal Imaging of Diabetic Retinopathy: Insights from Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography and Adaptive Optics.

: To investigate the role of multimodal imaging, specifically optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and adaptive optics (AO), in the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetic retinopathy. : Our study represents an observational, cross-sectional analysis including sixty-nine patients from four distinct groups: a control group (17 patients), diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy (no DR) (14 patients), diabetic patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) (18 patients), and diabetic patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR patients). A comprehensive ophthalmological evaluation, along with high-resolution imaging using OCTA and AO, was performed.

Retinal Vascular Diseases Highlighted by Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy.

Objective: Our objective was to assess retinal microcirculation and photoreceptor parameters in both healthy individuals and patients with vascular retinal diseases using adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy. This technology enhances optical system resolution to 2 µm by correcting wavefront aberrations, revolutionizing in vivo studies of ocular structures.

Materials And Methods: Our study examined the clinical applications of adaptive optics in both healthy individuals and patients with vascular retinal diseases, including nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2.

Retinal Vascular Diseases Highlighted by Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy.

Objective: We used adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy to assess retinal microcirculation and photoreceptor parameters in healthy individuals and patients with vascular retinal diseases. This technology enhances optical system resolution to 2 µm by correcting wavefront aberrations, revolutionizing in vivo studies of ocular structures.

Methods: Our study examined the clinical applications of adaptive optics in both healthy individuals and patients with vascular retinal diseases, including nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2.

Histopathological Analysis of Pseudoexfoliation Material in Ocular Surgeries: Clinical Implications.

Background: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is a common age-related ocular condition characterized by the accumulation of a fibrillar, pseudoexfoliative material on the anterior segment of the eye. This study aims to investigate the histopathological characteristics of pseudoexfoliative material within different ocular structures, including the eyelid, conjunctiva, and anterior lens capsule.

Methods: A total of 32 anterior lens capsules, 3 eyelid fragments, and 12 conjunctival specimens were obtained from patients clinically diagnosed with PEX during ocular surgeries at the Onioptic Hospital of Ophthalmology.

Differential Functional Changes in Visual Performance during Acute Exposure to Microgravity Analogue and Their Potential Links with Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome.

Background: Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS) is a complex pathology threatening the health of astronauts, with incompletely understood causes and no current specific functional diagnostic or screening test. We investigated the use of the differential performance of the visual system (central vs. perimacular visual function) as a candidate marker of SANS-related pathology in a ground-based microgravity analogue.

Initial Clinical Experience with Ahmed Valve in Romania: Five-Year Patient Follow-Up and Outcomes.

Background: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and is particularly challenging to treat in its refractory forms. The Ahmed valve offers a potential solution for these difficult cases. This research aims to assess the initial clinical experience with Ahmed valve implantation in Romania, evaluating its effectiveness, associated complications, and overall patient outcomes over a five-year period.

High-Resolution Imaging in Macular Telangiectasia Type 2: Case Series and Literature Review.

Background: Macular telangiectasia (MacTel), also known as idiopathic juxtafoveolar telangiectasis (IJFTs), involves telangiectatic changes in the macular capillary network. The most common variant, MacTel type 2, has distinct clinical features and management strategies.

Methods: This study offers a comprehensive review of MacTel and focuses on a series of three patients diagnosed with MacTel type 2 in our clinic.

Investigation of Retinal Microcirculation in Diabetic Patients Using Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopy and Optical Coherence Angiography.

The current research approaches the retinal microvasculature of healthy volunteers (17 subjects), patients with diabetes mellitus without retinopathy (19 subjects), and of diabetic patients with nonproliferative (17 subjects) and proliferative (21 subjects) diabetic retinopathy, by using adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence ophthalmoscopy angiography. For each imaging technique, several vascular parameters have been calculated in order to achieve a comparative analysis of these imaging biomarkers between the four studied groups. The results suggest that diabetic patients with or without diabetic retinopathy prove signs of retinal arteriole structural alterations, mainly showed by altered values of wall to lumen ratio, calculated for the superior or inferior temporal branch of the central retinal artery, near the optic nerve head, and significant changes of the vascular density in the retinal superficial capillary plexus.

Wegener's granulomatosis with orbital involvement: case report and literature review.

To describe the chronology and the extent of orbital involvement in a case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Descriptive case report and literature review. A 45-year-old patient, formerly diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis due to otorhinolaryngologic manifestations, pulmonary lesions, renal impairment, left knee arthritis and high blood levels of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, addressed the Ophthalmology Department in November 2020, having the following complaints: left eye mild retro-orbital discomfort, proptosis and epiphora.

Laser-induced CNV following hair removal procedure.

To describe the chronological features of choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) development subsequent to accidental firing of diode laser into the eye of a young female during hair epilation. Descriptive case report. The patient presented one week after the laser injury to a local ophthalmologist complaining of RE (right eye) blurred central vision.

Simple discrimination of sub-cycling cells by propidium iodide flow cytometric assay in Jurkat cell samples with extensive DNA fragmentation.

Human leukemia Jurkat T cells were analyzed for apoptosis and cell cycle by flow cytometry, using the Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) standard assay, and a simple PI staining in Triton X-100/digitonin-enriched PI/RNase buffer, respectively. Cells treated with doxorubicin or menadione displayed a very strong correlation between the apoptotic cell fraction measured by the Annexin V/PI assay, and the weight of a secondary cell population that emerged on the forward scatter (FS)/PI plot, as well as on the side scatter (SS)/PI and FL1/PI plots generated from parallel cell cycle recordings. In both cases, the Pearson correlation coefficients were >0.

Cellular determinants involving mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and apoptosis correlate with the synergic cytotoxicity of epigallocatechin-3-gallate and menadione in human leukemia Jurkat T cells.

We have investigated the growth-suppressive action of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on human leukemia Jurkat T cells. Results show a strong correlation between the dose-dependent reduction of clonogenic survival following acute EGCG treatments and the EGCG-induced decline of the mitochondrial level of Ca(2+). The cell killing ability of EGCG was synergistically enhanced by menadione.

Novel insights into the antiproliferative effects and synergism of quercetin and menadione in human leukemia Jurkat T cells.

The flavonoid quercetin and menadione (vitamin K3) are known as potent apoptogens in human leukemia Jurkat T cells. We explored some underlying mechanisms and the potential relevance of the combination quercetin-menadione for clinical applications. In acute treatments, quercetin manifested a strong antioxidant character, but induced a transient loss of Δψm, likely mediated by opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.

Mitochondrial respiratory complex I probed by delayed luminescence spectroscopy.

The role of mitochondrial complex I in ultraweak photon-induced delayed photon emission [delayed luminescence (DL)] of human leukemia Jurkat T cells was probed by using complex I targeting agents like rotenone, menadione, and quercetin. Rotenone, a complex I-specific inhibitor, dose-dependently increased the mitochondrial level of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), decreased clonogenic survival, and induced apoptosis. A strong correlation was found between the mitochondrial levels of NADH and oxidized flavin mononucleotide (FMNox) in rotenone-, menadione- and quercetin-treated cells.

Signal mass and Ca²⁺ kinetics in local calcium events: a modeling study.

We use a detailed modeling formalism based on numerical simulations of local calcium release events where the blurring of the image, the presence of diffusional barriers provided by large organelles situated close to the release site, as well as the variable position of the scan line with respect to the release site are taken into consideration. We have investigated the effect of the fluorescence noise fluctuations on the accuracy in computing the signal mass from linescan recordings and obtained a quantitative description of both the signal mass and the local increase in the free Ca(2+) level as a function of the release current, the release duration and the orientation of the scan line, for three different levels of noise magnitudes. The model could provide a very good fit to a wide set of available experimental data regarding the signal mass of puffs visualized by fluorescence microscopy in the Xenopus oocyte loaded with 40 μM Oregon Green-1 in the absence of the calcium chelator EGTA.