ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To describe a case of Beauveria bassiana keratitis and to discuss the management of this rare condition. METHODS: An 82-year-old woman underwent surgical repair of a graft wound dehiscence. Seven months later, shortly after the removal of sutures, the patient developed a fungal keratitis. B. bassiana was identified as the infecting organism. The patient was treated with topical natamycin and oral fluconazole. RESULTS: Following antifungal therapy, the corneal ulcer was eradicated, but the patient underwent repeat penetrating keratoplasty for decreased vision due to corneal edema. The graft remains clear and visual acuity is substantially improved. CONCLUSION: The medical management of B. bassiana keratitis has previously been unsuccessful. The use of topical natamycin combined with oral fluconazole in the management of this case is discussed.
Subject(s)
Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Corneal Ulcer/drug therapy , Eye Infections, Fungal/drug therapy , Fluconazole/therapeutic use , Mitosporic Fungi/isolation & purification , Mycoses/drug therapy , Natamycin/therapeutic use , Surgical Wound Infection/drug therapy , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Corneal Ulcer/microbiology , Drug Therapy, Combination , Eye Infections, Fungal/microbiology , Female , Humans , Mycoses/microbiology , Surgical Wound Infection/microbiologyABSTRACT
A pigmented, circumscribed iris lesion thought to be a nevus was noted in the right eye of a 64-year-old man with congenital ocular melanocytosis. Although the patient had excess episcleral and choroidal pigmentation, the iris in the affected eye was blue. Two years later, growth was documented, suggesting that the lesion was malignant. The tumor was resected by a sector iridectomy and studied by light microscopy. Histopathologically, the tumor was shown to be a malignant melanoma of the mixed-cell type. No evidence of congenital melanocytosis was found in the adjoining normal iris. This is a well-documented case of a malignant melanoma of the iris arising in a blue, uninvolved iris in a patient with sectoral congenital ocular melanocytosis. Although this specific association has not been previously reported, we believe that any pigmented uveal tumor occurring in the setting of congenital ocular melanocytosis should be observed closely for growth that can signal malignant transformation.
Subject(s)
Choroid Neoplasms/congenital , Iris Neoplasms/complications , Melanoma/complications , Nevus, Pigmented/congenital , Scleral Diseases/congenital , Eye Neoplasms/congenital , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Research in medical genetics may frequently involve freezing of large numbers of peripheral blood samples. This is a convenient method for storing blood for subsequent DNA isolation and analysis. An area of potential concern is the low yield of DNA from blood samples that have been frozen. Here we report a modification of the widely used standard proteinase K/phenol DNA isolation method for improving the yield and purity of DNA from frozen blood samples, by an initial trypsinisation of whole blood before cell lysis to obtain lymphocytic nuclei and subsequent DNA purification. We report an increased total yield of DNA with pretrypsinised blood as well as improved purity. These results indicate that trypsinisation of thawed whole blood helps the deproteinisation process, reducing the amount of protein associated with the nuclear pellet. This modification to improve yield and purity of DNA from frozen blood samples should be useful to laboratories performing DNA based diagnostic work or studying molecular genetic mechanisms of disease.
