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Objective:To observe the clinical characteristics and optical coherence tomography (OCT) features of pseudopapilledema (PPE) combined with peripapillary hyper-reflective ovoid mass-like structures (PHOMS) in children.Methods:A retrospective observational study. From October 2019 to May 2021, total 22 eyes from 12 children diagnosed as PPE combined with PHOMS in the Neuro-ophthalmology Department of The First Hospital of Xi’an (Affiliated of The First Hospital of Northwest University) were recruited. Among the children, 6 were male and 6 were female. The average age was (10.6±2.7) years. The average course from disease onset to diagnosis of PPE combined with PHOMS was (8.0±7.5) months. All patients underwent best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), relative afferent papillary defect (RAPD), Ishihara's test, fundus photography, OCT, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), ocular B-mode ultrasound, visual field and patternvisual evoked potential (P-VEP). The clinical and OCT characteristics of the patients were observed.Results:The anterior segments of the patients were normal. The intraocular pressures and Ishihara's test were all normal. All RAPD were negative. Total 22 eyes, BCVA was 1.0 in 21 eyes and one eye was 0.12. The fundus photography revealed blurred optic discs margin, showing mild to moderate edema-like elevation with more prominent in the nasal parts, presenting as a "C" shape halo. No obvious abnormal fluorescence was observed in FAF. The OCT scan of involvement eyes showed an elevated appearance in vary degrees, and the sharply marginated ovoid hyper-reflective mass-like structures which laterally herniated into the peripapillary region under retinal nerve fiber layer and above the Bruch membrane were detected with consecutive nasal enlargement scanning, corresponding to the nasal parts in the fundus photography. The higher degree of elevation, the larger the volume. Macular retina pigment epithelium layer and ganglion cell thickness were normal. Ocular B-mode ultrasound showed that the head of the optic nerve in the posterior wall of the eyeball (in front of the optic disc) was elevated in all affected eyes, and there was no strong signal echo in it. Visual field examination showed physical blind spot enlargement in 3 eyes and visual field defect in 2 eyes. P-VEP examination showed that the peak was slightly delayed in 3 eyes and the amplitude was slightly reduced in 3 eyes.Conclusions:Enlarged nasal optic disc OCT scan can improve the detection rate of PHOMS. PHOMS were detected bilaterally in the cases with binocular PPE while only in the effected eye in the cases of monocular PPE; the higher degree of PPE, the lager volume of PHOMS. PHOMS were could contribute to the diagnosis of PPE in children.
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Transsynaptic retrograde degeneration of optic neuropathy (TRDON) refers to the degeneration and/or apoptosis of presynaptic neurons (retinal ganglion cells) caused by damage to the lateral geniculate body and post-geniculate visual pathway. At present, the pathogenesis of TRDON is secondary apoptosis of P β-type retinal ganglion cells, resulting in the atrophy of optic tract, thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer and retinal ganglion cell layer thickness and declining of retinal microvascular density, which are consistent with the visual field defect attributed to the primary disease. Of which, the thinning of the retinal ganglion cell layer thickness is considered as the characteristic of TRDON. Now, there is little understanding and related research on TRDON in China. Clinicians should pay attention to the characteristics and severity, occurrence time and location of the above structural changes in these patients through optical coherence tomography, and monitor the activity and progress of the lesions, so as to determine the cut-off point for drug intervention and the drug targets for developing new treatment methods, and bring benefits for patients in partial visual function recovery and disability reduction.
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Currently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still widely prevalent around the world, leading to a major threat to the global public health. COVID-19 mainly involves the respiratory system, but extrapulmonary manifestations including that of the nervous system also exist in the setting of COVID-19. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment of the disease may easily cause when ocular, especially neuro-ophthalmological symptoms are the first symptoms in early COVID-19, as the neuroophthalmological manifestations are rarely reported. First-line clinicians need to ask about not only respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat, but also diplopia, impaired vision, eye motion pain, abnormal gait or other neurological deficits at the first reception, as these extrapulmonary manifestations are often signs of serious infection. The neuroophthalmological manifestations and possible underlying etiology of COVID-19 were summarized in this review, hoping to provide an early identification and effective treatment of COVID-19 for clinicians. More extensive studies are needed in the future to confirm the causal relationship between COVID-19 and neuroophthalmological disease to provide a sufficient basis for a comprehensive understanding of COVID-19.
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Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of vascular neuro-ophthalmology in patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO).Methods:A single-center, prospective clinical study. From January 2018 to December 2020, 49 eyes of 49 CRAO patients of The Neuro-ophthalmology Department of Xi'an First Hospital were included in the study. Data on patient demographic characteristics, vascular risk factors, disease characteristics, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) imaging characteristics of internal carotid arteries, treatment, treatment-related adverse events, and 1-month follow-up vascular events were collected. All patiens were examined by visual acuity, head CT and or magnetic resonance imaging. At the same time, 35 cases of internal carotid artery vascular DSA were examined; 14 cases of head and neck CT angiography were examined. The anatomical variation of the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery was divided into tortuous, tortuous, and coiled; the aortic arch was divided into type Ⅰ , type Ⅱ , type Ⅲ, and bovine type. Intravenous thrombolysis, arterial thrombolysis, conservative treatment were performed. The follow-up time was1 month after treatment. Functional vision was defined as vision ≥20/100. Vascular events were strokes, cardiovascular events, deaths and neovascular glaucoma during follow-up.Results:Among 49 eyes of 49 cases, 40 eyes were male (81.6%, 40/49), and 9 eyes were female (18.4%, 9/49); the average age was 60.7±12.9 years. There were 33, 17, and 16 cases with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease, respectively; 27 and 34 cases had a history of smoking and tooth loss, respectively. Taking antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, antiplatelet aggregation/anticoagulation, and hypolipidemic drugs were 15, 5, 8, and 5 patients, respectively. There were 11 cases of transient amaurosis before the onset, and 17 cases of CRAO after waking up. There were 33 cases (67.3%, 33/49) with infarction of the affected side of the brain tissue. DSA was performed in 35 cases, and the stenosis rate of the internal carotid artery on the affected side was 70%-99% and 100% were 3 (8.6%, 3/35) and 4 (11.4%, 4/35) cases, respectively. The ophthalmic artery on the affected side originated from the external carotid artery in 5 cases (14.3%, 5/35). There were 17 (54.8%, 17/31) and 2 (6.5%, 2/31) cases of tortuousity and kinking in the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery. There were 15 (42.9%, 15/35), 6(17.1%, 6/35), and 2 (5.7%, 2/35) cases of aortic arch type Ⅱ, type Ⅲ, and bovine type, respectively. Intravenous thrombolysis and arterial thrombolysis were performed in 13 and 29 cases, respectively. Complications occurred in 2 cases during treatment; 3 cases of symptoms fluctuated after treatment, and 10 cases of asymptomatic new infarcts occurred in imaging studies. Forty-eight cases were treated with antiplatelet aggregation/anticoagulation and hypolipidemic treatment. At discharge and 1 month after treatment, the recovery of functional vision was 7 and 17 cases, respectively. One month after treatment, 1 case died because myocardial infarction; 2 cases of neovascular glaucoma occurred.Conclusion:The proportion of CRAO patients with vascular risk factors and internal carotid artery abnormalities on the affected side is relatively high; the prognosis is relatively good after intravenous thrombolysis and/or arterial thrombolysis and secondary stroke prevention.
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Objective:To investigate the risk factors for poor outcome and recurrence at 1 year after first-ever ischemic stroke in non-diabetic patients.Methods:Using Xi'an Stroke Registry Research Database, the clinical data of patients with non-diabetic first-ever ischemic stroke diagnosed in 4 tertiary A hospitals in Xi'an from January to December 2015 were collected. The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to evaluate the severity of stroke. Prognosis (functional outcome and recurrence) was followed up at 1 year after diagnosis. Functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin scale. 0-2 was defined as good outcome and >2 as poor outcome. Recurrence was defined as new focal neurological dysfunction caused by cerebral infarction or cerebral hemorrhage events during follow-up and confirmed by cranial CT or MRI. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent influencing factors of clinical outcomes at 1 year. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the independent influencing factors of recurrence within 1 year. Results:A total of 1 214 non-diabetic patients with first-ever ischemic stroke were included. One year follow-up showed that 210 patients (17.3%) had a poor outcome, 88 (7.2%) of them died, and 47 (3.9%) had recurrence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio [ OR] 1.065, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.042-1.090; P<0.001), atrial fibrillation ( OR 3.170, 95% CI 1.588-6.327; P=0.001), white blood cell count ( OR 1.106, 95% CI 1.006-1.216; P=0 037), baseline NIHSS score ( OR 1.210, 95% CI 1.147-1.277; P<0.001), and stroke associated-pneumonia (SAP; OR 3.677, 95% CI 1.451-9.316; P=0.006) were independently associated with poor outcomes. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that baseline NIHSS score (hazard ratio [ HR] 1.055, 95% CI 1.003-1.109; P=0.036) and SAP ( HR 7.067, 95% CI 3.154-15.836; P<0.001) were independently associated with recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the 1-year recurrence rate of patients with severe stroke was significantly higher than that of patients with mild to moderate stroke (log-rank test, P<0.001), and the 1-year recurrence rate of patients with SAP was significantly higher than that of patients without SAP (log-rank test, P<0.001). Conclusion:Age, atrial fibrillation, white blood cell count, baseline NIHSS score and SAP are the independent predictors of poor outcomes at 1 year after first-ever ischemic stroke in non-diabetic patients. Baseline NIHSS score and SAP are the independent predictors of recurrence within 1 year after first-ever ischemic stroke in non-diabetic patients.
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Objective To investigate the Relationship between the CYP2C19 polymorphism and the efficacy of triple therapy with lansoprazole on Helicobacter pylori infection. Methods 125 elderly patients diagnosed with H.pylori infection were treated with triple therapy. Polymorphism of CYP2C19 was measured by AS-PCR. 105 young patients were selected as control group. The relationship between the polymorphism and eradication rate were analyzed. Results Among the 125 patients,eradication rate of extensive metabolizer group,internal metabolizer group and poor metabolizer groups was 85.29%,76%and 89.39%, respectively. There was no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05). Eradication rate showed no difference between experimental and control group either (P>0.05)(P>0.05). Conclusion The results suggests that the CYP2C19 polymorphism has no correlation with the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori infection by triple therapy with lansoprazole in elderly patients.
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Objective To investigate the protective effect of the new type of Tongxinluo (TXL) on blood-brain barrier impairment after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury in rats.Methods 78 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group (n=6), operated group (n=36) and TXL-treated group (n=36), the latter two groups were divided into 0.5 h, 2 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h groups (n=6, each) according to the time after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion for 2 h. The rats were pretreated with normal saline or TXL for 7 d. The middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) rat model was established by the Longa occlusion method;The serum S100? protein concentrations of different point time were determined by ELISA method and infarct volumes were determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium Chloride (TTC) staining method. Results (1) The serum S100? protein level in TXL-treated groups were significantly decreased compared with operated groups at 0.5 h, 2 h, 6 h,12 h and 24 h after MCAO/R (P
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Objective To study the changes in the central nervous system in adult mice after various degrees of acute heat stress. Methods Adult mice placed in insulated cages were exposed to 24℃, 34℃, 37℃, 38.5℃, 40℃ or 42℃ for 60min respectively with a constant humidity of 60%. The behavior response was carefully monitored. Rectal temperature was measured before the exposure and after the exposure. Electroencephagrams were taken. Then the hippocampal neurons of these animals were examined with transmission electron microscope. Results Heat stress at 34℃ for 60 min only raised the rectal temperature, and heat stress above 37℃ for 60 min not only raised rectal temperature, but also induced water loss and irritability and attempt to escape. Abnormal EEG with increased amplitude and retarded rhythm could be observed. However, when mice were exposed to 24℃ and 34℃ such behavior did not appear. After exposure to 42℃, EEG frequency increased and pathological changes in hippocampus neurons were found. The main ultrastructural changes included degeneration of hippocampal neurons, expansion of space around capillary, decrease in number of synaptic vesicle, and decomposition of synapse. Conclusion Mice were very sensitive to heat stress. An increase in core temperature could induce behavioral thermoregulation. EEG and electron microscopic study revealed changes in the central nervous system after heat stress. Following exposure to high environmental temperature under 40℃, acute dysfunction of brain was reversible. At 42℃, damage to the brain tissue occurred, and most mice died of heat stroke.
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Objective To observe the morphological changes of mice cortex neuron cultured in vitro under different temperature, and the expression of skeleton protein (?-tubulin) in the neuron, and to study the relationship between ?-tubulin and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). Methods The cerebral cortex neuron of embryonic mice was cultured in vitro. The cultured neuron was put in different temperature 7 days later. To observe the morphological changes of the neuron using optical microscope and the changes of the expression of ?-tubulin and HSP70 under different temperature using laser scanning confocal images. Results Optical microscopy indicated that drifting cells increased, and neural network became sparse in 38℃; some cells necrosed in 39℃; most cells necrosed, cell broke to pieces, axons drifted or disappeared in 42℃. Results of laser scanning confocal images indicated that after hyperthermia the fluorescence intensity of ?-tubulin was lower than that of controls, and the fluorescence intensity declined as the temperature elevated. The fluorescence intensity of HSP70 showed a bell-shape distribution curve, i.e. the highest value emerged at 39℃, whereas the lower values appeared at 37℃ and 42℃. Conclusion Heat stress leaded to the morphological changes of neuron. The disordered of skeleton protein may be responsible for the changes and HSP70 may take part in the process.