Clinical and immunological features of patients with atopy and concomitant HTLV-1 infection

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) induces an exacerbated type 1 immune response characterized by high spontaneous IFN-γ and TNF-α production. Allergic rhinitis and asthma are associated with the type 2 immune response, with elevated secretion of IL-4 and IL-5. The aim of this study was to characterize the immune response in atopic HTLV-1 carriers. The cytokine profile of atopic HTLV-1 carriers (N = 10; all females) was compared with that of non-atopic HTLV-1 carriers (N = 14; 9 females and 5 males). Mean patient age of atopic and non-atopic groups was 45 ± 8 and 38 ± 11 years, respectively. All atopic HTLV-1 carriers had rhinitis with or without asthma and a skin prick test positive for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus antigen 1 (Derp-1). There was no difference in cytokine levels between the two groups in unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures. In cultures stimulated with Derp-1, IFN-γ levels tended to be higher (P = 0.06) and IL-5 levels were higher (P = 0.02) in atopic HTLV-1 patients than in non-atopic subjects. In contrast, IL-10 was lower (P = 0.004) in atopic than in non-atopic HTLV-1-infected subjects. This study shows that HTLV-1 infection with an exaggerated type 1 immune response does not prevent atopy. In this case, the exacerbated type 1 and type 2 immune responses were due to a lack of IL-10 production, a cytokine that plays an important role in down-modulating type 1 and type 2 immune responses and in preventing the development of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Effect of age on upper and lower eyelid saccades

To study the effect of age on the metrics of upper and lower eyelid saccades, eyelid movement of two groups of 30 subjects each were measured using computed image analysis. The patients were divided on the basis of age into a younger group (20-30 years) and an older group (60-91 years). Eyelid saccade functions were fitted by the damped harmonic oscillator model. Amplitude and peak velocity were used to compare the effect of age on the saccades of the upper and lower eyelid. There was no statistically significant difference in saccade amplitude between groups for the upper eyelid (mean ± SEM; upward, young = 9.18 ± 0.32 mm, older = 8.93 ± 0.31 mm, t = 0.56, P = 0.58; downward, young = 9.11 ± 0.27 mm, older = 8.86 ± 0.32 mm, t = 0.58, P = 0.56) However, there was a clear decline in the peak velocity of the upper eyelid saccades of older subjects (upward, young = 59.06 ± 2.34 mm/s, older = 50.12 ± 1.95 mm/s, t = 2.93, P = 0.005; downward, young = 71.78 ± 1.78 mm/s, older = 60.29 ± 2.62 mm/s, t = 3.63, P = 0.0006). In contrast, for the lower eyelid there was a clear increase of saccade amplitude in the elderly group (upward, young = 2.27 ± 0.09 mm, older = 2.98 ± 0.15 mm, t = 4.33, P < 0.0001; downward, young = 2.21 ± 0.10 mm, older = 2.96 ± 0.17 mm, t = 3.85, P < 0.001). These data suggest that the aging process affects the metrics of the lid saccades in a different manner according to the eyelid. In the upper eyelid the lower tension exerted by a weak aponeurosis is reflected only on the peak velocity of the saccades. In the lower eyelid, age is accompanied by an increase in saccade amplitude which indicates that the force transmission to the lid is not affected in the elderly.

Community-based transconjunctival marginal rotation for cicatricial trachoma in Indians from the Upper Rio Negro basin

The objective of the present study was to describe, for the first time in Brazil, the use by a non-ophthalmologist of a community-based marginal rotation procedure by a posterior approach in the indigenous population from the Upper Rio Negro basin. Seventy-three upper eyelids of 46 Indians (11 males and 35 females) with cicatricial upper eyelid entropion and trichiasis were operated in the Indian communities using a marginal rotational procedure by a posterior approach by a non-ophthalmologist physician who had general surgery experience but only an extremely short period (one week) of ophthalmic training. Subjects were reevaluated 6 months after surgery. Results were classified according to the presence and location of residual trichiasis and symptoms were assessed according to a three-level subjective scale (better, worse or no change). Fifty-six eyelids (76.7 percent) were free from trichiasis, whereas residual trichiasis was observed in 17 eyelids (23.3 percent) of 10 subjects. In these cases, trichiasis was either lateral or medial to the central portion of the lid. Of these 10 patients, only 4 reported that the surgery did not improve the irritative symptoms. We conclude that marginal rotation by a posterior approach is an effective and simple procedure with few complications, even when performed by non-specialists. Due to its simplicity the posterior approach is an excellent option for community-based upper eyelid entropion surgery.

Trachoma among the Yanomami Indians

The Yanomami are one of the last primitive groups of Indians living in Brazil. They have almost no contact with other cultures. The epidemiology of eye disease among Yanomami is virtually unknown. For the first time, a trachoma survey was conducted among Yanomami Indians in the State of Amazonas near the Venezuelan border of the Brazilian rain forest. Ophthalmic examination was carried out on a total of 613 individuals (338 males and 275 females) from eight Yanomami villages along the Marauiá River located in the upper Rio Negro Basin. Age was classified into three categories (children, adults, and elderly) and trachoma was classified into five grades: follicular, inflammatory intense, cicatricial, trichiasis, and corneal opacity. Trachoma was endemic in all villages visited. Overall, 30.3 percent of the subjects had trachoma. Females were significantly more affected (37.4 percent) than males (23.9 percent). The inflammatory trachoma rate reached 24.9 percent in children and the cicatricial form increased with age, reaching 13.9 percent among adults and 35.21 percent among the elderly. Trichiasis or corneal opacities were not detected and treatment of the entire population was initiated with 1 g azithromycin. The detection of endemic trachoma among the Yanomami is relevant for the understanding of the epidemiology of this disease in the Brazilian rain forest and underscores the necessity for a program of trachoma control in this region

Variability of Vernier acuity measurements in untrained subjects of different ages

The Vernier acuity of 50 normal untrained subjects (20 males and 30 females) was measured by the method of adjustment. Subjects were divided into five age ranges with 10 subjects in each age group: 5-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, and 41-50 years. All subjects had normal visual acuity (20/20) and volunteered to participate in the experiment. Children were selected from a local school and adults recruited from the technical staff of the Department of Ophthalmology of the School of Medicine. Vernier acuity was higher in adults compared to children. Intraindividual variability was high and it was estimated that for most individuals of all age groups a range of 100 to 700 trials was necessary to obtain a mean with a precision of 10 percent. These results suggest that Vernier acuity variability is an obstacle to its use in clinical settings

Valor da determinaçäo da atividade de adenosina desaminase (ADA) no diagnóstico diferencial dos derrames pleurais / Value of determining the activity of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the differenrial diagnosis of pleural effusions

Justificativa. Derrame pleural é um problema freqüentemente encontrado na prática clínica. Enquanto o derrame pleural transudativo, geralmente, nao apresenta dificuldade no diagnóstico, as efusoes exsudativas necessitam de um diagnóstico diferencial cuidadoso que inclui, necessariamente, tuberculose e neoplasia metastática para a pleura. Métodos. Num estudo transversal, foram estudados 221 pacientes consecutivos, com derrame pleural persistente e/ou nao eslarecido, em um hospital de refência para doenças respiratórias na rede pública estadual, com o objetivo de avaliar a acurácia da determinaçao da atividade da adenosina desaminase (ADA) no líquido pleural para o diagnóstico de tuberculose. Esses pacientes foram enquadrados nos seguintes grupos: a) tuberculose (confirmada, n=150; provável, n=9); b) neoplasia (confirmada, n=21; provável, n=16; linfoma, n=3); e c) miscelânea (n=22). Os pacientes foram submetidos a exame clínico, radiografias de tórax, testes sanguíneos e toracocenteses com biópsias pleurais. No líquido pleural foram realizados os exames de rotina com adicional determinaçao da atividade da ADA pelo método de Giusti. Resultados. Estudando a inter-relaçao entre sensibilidade e especificidade da atividade da ADA em diferentes níveis de corte, foi determinado que o melhor nível seria o de 40U/L. assim, observou-se sensibilidade de 93,3 por cento, especificidade de 93,5 por cento, valor preditivo positivo de 97,2 por cento e valor preditivo negativo de 85,3 por cento, quando analisados apenas os pacientes com tuberculose confirmada e os nao-tuberculosos. Três dos quatro pacientes com elevada atividade da ADA, sem tuberculose, tinham linfoma. Conclusao. A determinaçao da atividade da ADA no líquido pleural é um exame de baixo custo, de técnica simples e rápida, tem alta sensibilidade e especificidade para identificar pacientes com pleurite tuberculosa. Os achados do presente estudo sao comparáveis a outras observaçoes publicadas, demonstrando a utilidade da incorporaçao deste teste na avaliaçao rotineira dos derrames pleurais em áreas com alta prevalência de tuberculose.

Effect of differences in binocularity on perceived absolute distance

Using a 0.9 x 4.0m visual alley, perceived absolute distance was studied in four groups of subjects: binocular, cross-eyed, monocular, and induced-monocular individuals. A power function between the different physical and perceived distances was adjusted and the relative and absolute errors mad by the observers were calculated. Despite a tendency to overestimate distance in the monocular group, no significant differences were detected among groups. The data suggest that, under natural-cue conditions, binocularity is not a determining factor for the perception of absolute distance

Transplante autologo homotopico de musculo ocular extrinseco. / Homotopic autologous transplantation of extrinsic ocular muscle

Com a finalidade de contribuir para a resolucao de problemas relacionados aos desequilibrios oculo-motores, realizamos, no presente trabalho, o estudo de transplantes autologos e homotopicos do musculo reto superior do bulbo ocular de coelhos.Utilizamos seis coelhos albinos, femeas.Cada transplante era realizado com a permuta hemotopica de segmentos de 7 mm do musculo reto superior de ambos os olhos de um mesmo animal. Nossos resultados permitiram as seguintes conclusoes: a) Em todos os casos ocorreu revascularizacao do enxerto e regeneracao macica das fibras musculares; b) na regiao de uniao musculo-muscular ocorreram aderencias entre esta e a esclera subiacente; c) As fibras musculares do coto distal e enxerto tendem a se organizar e migrar sobre a area de uniao musculo-muscular

Consideracoes a respeito da utilizacao, em estatistica de tabelas de acuidade visual. / Use of visual acuity tables in statistics

O autor discute algumas caracteristicas matematicas das tabelas de acuidade visual e faz consideracoes a respeito do tratamento estatistico de dados obtidos com tais tabelas

O metodo do gradiente e a medida clinica da relacao CA/A. / The gradient method and the clinical measure of AC/A relation.

A metodologia utilizada para a quantificacao da relacao CA/A nao foi ainda padronizada. Com o fito de se verificar, para o emprego na clinica, o melhor procedimento de calculo, aplicou-se, em quarenta pessoas normais, o metodo do gradiente com sete niveis acomodativos (0,1,2,3,4,5,6 dioptrias). Nossos resultados mostram que a variancia das heteroforias de cada nivel acomodativo aumenta segundo uma parabola com o estimulo acomodativo. Essa constatacao, aliada ao fato de que as modificacoes heteroforicas nao sao independentes, nos levou a concluir que o modelo de regressao linear simples, nao e, do ponto de vista estatistico, adequado para o ajuste da reta cuja inclinacao representa a relacao CA/A. Contudo, verificamos que, quando a medida da relacao CA/A representa a inclinacao de uma reta, ela apresenta uma estabilidade compativel com o uso clinico. A extensao otima de tal reta e de cinco dioptrias de estimulacao acomodativa, niveis 1 a 5 dioptrias, podendo esta reta ser, porem sem validade estatistica, tracada pelo metodo dos minimos quadrados ou, mais simplesmente, atraves dos pontos extemos.