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Objective: The local characteristics of spontaneous brain activity in patients with dry eye (DE) and its relationship with clinical characteristics were evaluated using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) method. Methods: A total of 27 patients with DE (10 males and 17 females) and 28 healthy controls (HCs) (10 males and 18 females) were recruited, matched according to sex, age, weight and height, classified into the DE and HC groups, and examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. Spontaneous brain activity changes were recorded using ALFF technology. Data were recorded and plotted on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, reflecting changes in activity in different brain areas. Finally, Pearson correlation analysis was used to calculate the potential relationship between spontaneous brain activity abnormalities in multiple brain regions and clinical features in patients with DE. GraphPad Prism 8 (GraphPad Software, Inc.) was used to analyze the linear correlation between the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and ALFF value. Results: Compared with HCs, the ALFF values of patients with DE were decreased in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG)/right inferior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), left triangle inferior frontal gyrus, left MFG, and right superior frontal gyrus. In contrast, the ALFF value of patients with DE was increased in the left calcarine. Conclusion: There are significant fluctuations in the ALFF value of specific brain regions in patients with DE versus HCs. This corroborates previous evidence showing that the symptoms of ocular surface damage in patients with DE are related to dysfunction in specific brain areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Renal cell carcinoma is prone to early metastasis. In general, intraocular metastasis (IOM) is not common. In the present study, we studied the relationship between different biochemical indicators and the occurrence of IOM in renal cancer patients, and identified the potential risk factors. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 214 patients with renal cell carcinoma from October 2001 to August 2016 was carried out. The difference and correlation of various indicators between the two groups with or without IOM was analyzed, and binary logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors of IOM in renal cancer patients. The diagnostic value of each independent related factor was calculated according to the receiver operating curve (ROC). Results: The level of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in renal cell carcinoma patients with IOM was significantly higher than that in patients without IOM (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), hemoglobin (Hb), serum calcium concentration, α fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA-125 etc. between IOM group and non-IOM (NIOM) group (P>0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that NSE was an independent risk factor for IOM in renal cell carcinoma patients (P<0.05). ROC curve shows that the factor has high accuracy in predicting IOM, and the area under the curve (AUC) is 0.774. The cut-off value of NSE was 49.5 U/l, the sensitivity was 72.2% and the specificity was 80.1%. Conclusion: NSE concentration is a risk factor for IOM in patients with renal cell cancer. If the concentration of NSE in the patient’s body is ≥49.5 U/l, disease monitoring and eye scans should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]