Search

Today, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health emergency and vaccination measures to counter its diffusion are deemed necessary. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of the disease, unleashes a T-helper 2 immune response in those patients requiring intensive care. Here, we illustrate the immunological mechanism to train the immune system towards a more effective and less symptomatic T-helper 1 immune response, to be exploited against SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccines against human papilloma virus (HPV) have been demonstrated to be very effective to prevent infection-related neoplasms. However, several reports describing heterogeneous post-vaccination phenomena have been published in last few years. The spectrum of these disorders includes both immune-mediated neurological diseases and neuropsychiatric functional disorders. Some researchers speculated about a genetic predisposition, but others hypothesized a role of adjuvants, including some metals and, particularly, aluminum. Here, we tested sixteen young girls developing somatoform and neurocognitive syndromes after the HPV immunization, through MELISA® test, detecting cell-mediated hypersensitivity to several metals. We found no association between these neurocognitive disorders and the results provided by this test; importantly, no patients showed hypersensitivity to aluminum, which is the inorganic adjuvant included in HPV vaccines. Thus, if aluminum played a role in the pathophysiology of musculoskeletal and neurocognitive disturbances occurring in some young girls after HPV immunization, that should recognize other mechanisms than the activation of aluminum-specific lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the effect of verteporfin photodynamic therapy (PDT) in juxtafoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (PM).Design: Prospective, open-label, consecutive, interventional case series.Methods: We prospectively followed a series of 48 consecutive patients (49 eyes) with pathologic myopia (> or = 6 diopters) who received verteporfin PDT for juxtafoveal CNV. This population was divided into two groups based on age (group A < or = 55 years old, group B >55 years old), in three subgroups based on CNV lesion size, and in three categories based on refractive error at baseline.Results: The median follow-up was 32 months (range, 12 to 56 months). Visual acuity (VA) improved by 1 or more Snellen lines in 18 eyes (37%), decreased in 12 eyes (24%), and remained stable in 19 eyes (39%). The median number of lines gained was 2.15, while the median number of lines lost was 2.4. The final mean VA in group A (mean age, 43.9 years) was 20/50 (logMAR 0.41, standard deviation [SD] 0.3) and significantly better (P = .01) than the 20/105 (logMAR 0.72, SD 0.5) in group B (mean age, 67.8 years). Neither CNV size nor refractive error magnitude influenced visual outcomes.Conclusion: Verteporfin PDT is a promising treatment modality resulting in stable or improved vision in 76% of the myopic eyes with juxtafoveal CNV. Younger patients appear to respond more favorably to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose. To evaluate the changes of the Oscillatory Potentials (OPs) of Electroretinogram (ERG) caused by short-term hypertension in human subjects, and their relationship with ocular perfusion pressure (OPP). Methods. Suction cup technique in 12 normal volunteers with OPs simultaneously recording. Results. Scotopic and photopic OPs were altered during OPP drop. Scotopic OPs showed more sensitiveness, with higher reduction (from 21% to 47%), when compared to the basal value, than in photopic recordings (from 14% to 34%). In both conditions, the relationship between OPP and OPs presented a steady amplitude before the trough after the +30 step, and rapid recovery after OPP normalisation. ANOVA and correlation analysis confirmed the data. Conclusion.The ERG OPs seemed to reflect the OPP modification. The features of OPs amplitudes suggest involvement of the retinal autoregulation mechanism and support development for further clinical studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To report the incidence of back pain after photodynamic therapy, which suggests methods for prevention that are related to its pathogenesis.Design: Retrospective case series.Methods: We retrospectively observed 548 patients who had undergone photodynamic therapy with verteporfin.Results: Of 548 patients at the first treatment, 14 patients (2.6%) experienced pain during the infusion. Eleven patients were being treated for age-related macular degeneration; their mean age was 81 years, which significantly differed from the mean age of the overall age-related macular degeneration group (P = .003). The pain was mild in eight patients, moderate in four patients, and severe in two patients, with dyspnea and precordial pain. Five of the 14 patients had further courses of photodynamic therapy. After being treated prophylactically 60 minutes before photodynamic therapy, only one patient reported further mild pain.Conclusions: The biologic mechanisms of back pain may involve a high level of circulating thromboxanes that are induced by the liposomal composition of verteporfin. Prevention may include hydration, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and halving the infusion rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]