Evaluation of the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid, a compound from Gotu kola or Centella asiatica, in the male Sprague Dawley rat.

Herbal medication use continues to rise and interactions with existing medications propose risks and may have significant effects and consequences on the administration of anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid and its potential modulation of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor. Fifty-five male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups: vehicle (DMSO), asiatic acid (AA), midazolam, or a combination of flumazenil + AA or midazolam + AA, and injected intraperitoneally 30 minutes prior to testing. The rats were tested on the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) and the Forced Swim Test (FST). Data were analyzed using a two-tailed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Significance was found regarding the ratio of open arm time, maximum speed, and time spent mobile in the AA group and the midazolam + AA group (P < .05). Flumazenil decreased the anxiolytic effects, suggesting that AA modulates the benzodiazepine site on the GABAA receptor. Further studies are recommended to determine the efficacy of prolonged treatment for anxiety and depression.

Vascular tumors of the conjunctiva in 140 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To report clinical and histopathologic features of vascular tumors of the conjunctiva. DESIGN: Retrospective, noninterventional case series. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 140 patients. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Tumor diagnosis, anatomic location, clinical features, management, and histopathology. RESULTS: There were 140 vascular tumors of the conjunctiva with 93% benign and 7% malignant. The specific diagnoses included lymphangioma/lymphangiectasis (n = 54, 36%), pyogenic granuloma (n = 31, 22%), capillary hemangioma (n = 20, 14%), Kaposi's sarcoma (n = 10, 7%), acquired sessile hemangioma (n = 10, 7%), racemose hemangioma (n = 7, 5%), varix (n = 4, 3%), cavernous hemangioma (n = 3, 2%), and glomangioma (n = 1, <1%). The lesions were unilateral in 89% and discovered at median age of 41 years. Bilateral lesions included lymphangiectasia, Kaposi's sarcoma, and racemose hemangioma. All tumors were typically found in adults with the exception of capillary hemangioma (<1 year) and glomangioma (16 years). The median tumor diameter was 6 mm, with the largest median diameter (15 mm) with Kaposi's sarcoma and (12 mm) glomangioma and capillary hemangioma and the smallest median diameter (3 mm) with cavernous hemangioma. The most common anatomic sites included bulbar conjunctiva, which was extralimbal in 80 patients (57%), limbal in 19 patients (14%), tarsal conjunctiva in 27 patients (19%), and forniceal conjunctival in 24 patients (17%). Clinical features included cystic component in 24% of patients (seen with lymphangioma, glomangioma, and varix), well-defined margins in 64% of patients, and feeder vessels in 39% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of vascular tumors can occur in both children and adults at various anatomic locations in the conjunctiva. They tend to occur unilaterally on the bulbar conjunctiva, and the majority of tumors are benign.

Progressive enlargement of cavity within melanoma masquerading as iris cyst.

PURPOSE: To describe progressive enlargement of intralesional cavities within a mass that masqueraded clinically as an iris pigment epithelial cyst for 2 years but later proved to be a melanoma. METHODS: An 81-year-old woman developed asymptomatic focal elevation of the iris, and ultrasound biomicroscopy showed a fluid-filled mass that was interpreted as an iris pigment epithelial cyst. Over a 2-year period of observation, the cavity enlarged from 0.7 to 10 mm, and the solid component enlarged from approximately 6 to 16 mm basal dimension. RESULTS: On referral, visual acuity was 20/400 in the right eye and 20/25 in the left eye. The affected right eye displayed a pigmented mushroom-shaped ciliary body mass with anterior chamber invasion, distorting the pupil and occupying 40% of the anterior chamber. Ultrasound biomicroscopy and B-scan ultrasonography revealed many cavities within the 14-mm-thick mass, suggestive of ciliary body melanoma. After enucleation, histopathology disclosed multiple cavities, some with granular eosinophilic material, within a mushroom-shaped mixed-cell melanoma. CONCLUSION: Cavitation can occur in ciliary body melanoma and can lead to misinterpretation as a cyst. Cavitary melanoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions of the anterior segment.

Associations between childhood refraction and parental smoking.

PURPOSE: Motivated by pharmacologic findings linking nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to eye development in chicks, the authors studied whether the refractions of children who were passively exposed to cigarette smoke by their parents differed from those of nonexposed children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 patients (mean +/- SD age, 8.7 +/- 4.4 years; range, 1-20) in a tertiary care pediatric ophthalmology clinic. Half (162/323) of the subjects had strabismus. The accompanying parent completed a detailed questionnaire on parental smoking history and on putative risk factors for myopia. The results were compared to the subjects' cycloplegic refractions. RESULTS: If one or both parents ever smoked, their children had a lower myopia prevalence (12.4% vs. 25.4%; P = 0.004) and more hyperopic mean refractions (1.83 +/- 0.24 vs. 0.96 +/- 0.27 diopters; P = 0.02) than those whose parents never smoked. Smoking by either parent during the mother's pregnancy had a similar effect on the child's refraction. The associations largely persisted, both in multivariate models that included adjustments for the child's age, child's body mass index, child's nearwork activity, parental myopia, and parental education and also in analysis by subgroups stratified by strabismus status. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the complex constituents of cigarette smoke, neuropharmacology perspectives may prove useful in the development of new hypotheses to understand the mechanisms governing refractive development, not only in experimental animals but also in children. The associations of less prevalent myopia and a more hyperopic mean refraction with both prenatal and childhood exposures to tobacco smoke suggest that nongenetic, environmental exposures may have long-term influences on refraction and that further study of the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in refractive development is warranted.