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BACKGROUND Acquired prosopagnosia is a rare condition characterized by the loss of familiarity with previously known faces and the inability to recognize new ones. It usually occurs after the onset of brain lesions such as in a stroke. The initial identification of prosopagnosia generally relies on a patient’s self-report, which can be challenging if it lacks an associated chief complaint. There were few cases of prosopagnosia presenting purely as eye symptoms in the previous literature confirmed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CASE SUMMARY We present a case of delayed diagnosis of prosopagnosia after a right hemisphere stroke in an elderly man whose chief complaint was persistent and progressive "blurred vision" without facial recognition impairment. Ophthalmic tests revealed a homonymous left upper quadrantanopia, with normal visual acuity. He was found by accident to barely recognize familiar faces. The patient showed severe deficit in face recognition and perception tests, and mild memory loss in neuropsychological assessments. Further functional MRI revealed the visual recognition deficits were face-specific. After behavioral intervention, the patient started to rely on other cues to compensate for poor facial recognition. His prosopagnosia showed no obvious improvement eight months after the stroke, which had negative impact on his social network. CONCLUSION Our case demonstrates that the presentation of prosopagnosia can be atypical, and visual difficulties might be a clinical manifestation solely of prosopagnosia, which emphasizes the importance of routinely considering face recognition impairment among elderly patients with brain lesions.

Boundary layer meshes as an important part of hybrid mesh are often constructed via advancing layer method for CFD fluid simulations. One major difficulty in implementing a robust boundary layer meshing tool is to handle mesh collisions. In this work, the authors propose to enhance the Jump-and-Walk method by constructing a medial surface mesh in a constrained Delaunay triangulation to detect the safe marching space of front points. Medial surface can build a separation wall between adjacent boundary surfaces to prevent the intersection of boundary layer elements, and the computation of the distance between front points and the medial surface can be accelerated by walking through tetrahedra in sequence without additional data structures. A range of tests were performed for several complex configurations to demonstrate the capability of the method.

Background We hypothesized that discriminating the early subclinical organ damage would serve as a great opportunity for prevention against atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), low retinal vascular fractal dimension, and albuminuria are surrogates of subclinical vascular changes. Methods The aim of this study was to use Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) and ASCVD risk equations derived from “Prediction for ASCVD Risk in China project (CHINA-PAR)” to observe the prevalence of macro- and microcirculation abnormalities. A total of 2166 subjects were involved. Characteristics were investigated using questionnaire and physical examinations. We calculated the urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR). The baPWV was measured using a fully automatic arteriosclerosis detector. The retinal vascular fractal dimension was measured by a semiautomated computer-based program. The 10-year ASCVD risk was estimated using the PCE and CHINA-PAR model. Results The cut-off values for the elevated baPWV were 2.82 and 2.92% in the PCE model and CHINA-PAR model, respectively, with nearly 85% sensitivity and an average specificity of 74%. For low retinal fractal dimension, at the cut-off point of 3.8%, we acquired an acceptable sensitivity of 66.27–68.24% and specificity of 62.57–67.45%. All the C-statistics presented a significant improvement from the PCE model to the CHINA-PAR model (P Conclusion Our study demonstrated that the CHINA-PAR equations rather than PCE could provide better identification of macro- and microcirculation abnormalities. A lower cut-off point for the subclinical vascular changes may be selected in a population from southeast China.

Additional file 1: Supplemental Table 1. comparison of CHINA-PAR and PCE models

BACKGROUND As epidemiological findings are still controversial, animal experiments have probed into the potential link between uric acid and damage to microvessels. The present study examined the association of serum uric acid (SUA) with the retinal vascular caliber and retinal vascular fractal dimension (Df) in males and females utilizing a cross-sectional study design. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 2169 subjects from 7 sampling units were enrolled. Retinal vascular parameters were analyzed with a semi-automated computer-based program. The central retinal arteriolar equivalent, central retinal venular equivalent, and Df were linearly and categorically measured in males and females and at various SUA levels. RESULTS The analysis revealed that per SD SUA increase was associated with an increase of 0.848 µm in the arteriolar caliber, and an increase of 1.618 µm in the venular caliber only in females. No significant correlation was found between Df and SUA in females or in males. Further adjusted for more cardiovascular risk factors did not change the results. CONCLUSIONS By exploring a Chinese coastal population, we elucidate the association between SUA with retinal arterioles and venules in females. Df, as a mathematical index of retinal blood vascular complexity, is not correlated with SUA or hyperuricemia.

Prupose This study aims to explore risk factorsassociated with ocular ischemia syndrome (OIS) in patients with late stage carotid artery occlusion (CAO). Methods Eighty-seven patients with CAO were enrolled and examined via patient history questionnaire, carotid duplex ultrasonography,transcranial doppler sonography (TCD) and eye examination (slit lamp, ophthalmoscopes). Results Twenty-two patients were diagnosed with OIS. Female patients are more likely to development OIS (OR=2.78). Patients without collateral circulation were associated with risk of OIS (OR=4.245, P

Apelin activity plays a role in regulating blood pressure. This study explored the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Apelin gene (APLN) with hypertension and hypertension with central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE) stenosis in a coastal Chinese population. All subjects answered an epidemiological survey for demographic and disease characteristics. Apelin levels were determined and three APLN SNPs, rs56204867, rs3115757, and rs3761581, were evaluated. CRAE was measured using fundus photography. Apelin levels were significantly lower in subjects with hypertension and hypertension with CRAE stenosis (0.23 ± 0.10 ng/ml and 0.21 ± 0.08 ng/ml, respectively) compared with control subjects (0.25 ± 0.11 ng/ml; p 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed hypertension and hypertension with CRAE stenosis was associated with age, being male, systolic blood pressure, abnormal blood lipids, and Apelin levels. Genetic analysis indicated that in both males and females SNP rs3761581 was associated with hypertension and that more males carrying rs56204867 and rs3761581 T-A haplotype had hypertension (61.88%) and hypertension with CRAE stenosis (56.82%) than control males (39.33%). In this Chinese population, Apelin and APLN SNP rs3761581 was associated with combined hypertension with CRAE, indicating that the expression of APLN gene products may be involved in vascular injury.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of the central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and the retinal vascular fractal dimension, two quantitative parameters that reflect microcirculation, with aortic stiffness. In this cross-sectional study, we identified the cardiovascular risk factors in 2169 subjects using a health questionnaire, physical examinations and laboratory examinations. We evaluated the aortic stiffness using noninvasive brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and assessed the microcirculatory alterations with CRAE and retinal vascular fractal dimension, which were measured using fundus photography and semiautomatic quantitative software, respectively. The increase in baPWV (Q1-Q4) correlated with an increased likelihood of the central retinal artery narrowing and a reduction in the retinal vascular fractal dimension. Further adjustment of the cardiovascular risk factors diminished the association between baPWV and CRAE, but increased the association between baPWV and retinal vascular fractal dimension. Elevated baPWV correlates with reduced CRAE and retinal vascular fractal dimension. Such a finding supports macrocirculation- and microcirculation-associated hypotheses.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between quantitative retinal vascular parameters such as central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and retinal vascular fractal dimension (D(f)), and cardiovascular risk factors in the Chinese Han population residing in the in islands of southeast China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: In this cross-sectional study, fundus photographs were collected and semi-automated analysis software was used to analyze retinal vessel diameters and fractal dimensions. Cardiovascular risk factors such as relevant medical history, blood pressure (BP), lipids, and blood glucose data were collected. Subjects had a mean age of 51.9 ± 12.0 years and included 812 (37.4%) males and 1,357 (62.6%) females. Of the subjects, 726 (33.5%) were overweight, 226 (10.4%) were obese, 272 (12.5%) had diabetes, 738 (34.0%) had hypertension, and 1,156 (53.3%) had metabolic syndrome. After controlling for the effects of potential confounders, multivariate analyses found that age (β = 0.06, P = 0.008), sex (β = 1.33, P = 0.015), mean arterial blood pressure (β = -0.12, P

To report the case of bilateral congenital venous tortuosity and dilatation combined with cilioretinal artery. A 48-year-old woman complained of headache and underwent routine ophthalmic examination. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes. The examination of the fundus through a dilated pupil revealed that the retinal veins were strikingly tortuous and slightly dilated in the posterior pole and mid-peripheral retina of both eyes. However, the course and shape of the veins were normally straight in the peripheral retina. There was no change in the appearance and shape of the vein. The visual acuity remained unaffected during a 2-year follow-up.

Background Many studies showed an association between dietary salt intake, blood pressure and increased CVD risk. The potential reason may be related to vascular structural and functional changes, through alterations in endothelial function. The central retinal arteriolar equivalent and urinary albumin reflected vascular endothelial dysfunction in different part of the body. The urinary sodium-creatinine ratio of causal urine specimens could represent the 24-h urinary sodium intake to estimate sodium intake. Methods The 24-h sodium excretion was estimated by urinary sodium-creatinine ratio. Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR), reflecting renal arterial damage, was also determined. The central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) was detected by fundus photography and was further analyzed by semi-quantitative software. Results Participants included 951 hypertensive patients with the average sodium excretion of 11.62 ± 3.01 g. The sodium excretion was significantly higher (P