ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To characterize the disease course and visual outcome of uveitis in juvenile Behçet's disease (BD) compared with adults. METHODS: The study population included 13 children (mean age 14+/-2.4 years; 22 eyes) and 16 adults (mean age 30+/-8.8 years; 27 eyes) with uveitis in BD diagnosed between 1997 and 2007. RESULTS: The male/female ratio was 1.6:1 in the paediatric group and 3:1 in the adult group. Five children (38%) and four adults (25%) had complete BD. Mean duration of follow-up for both groups was 4.7 years. The children had more acute exacerbations (4.1+/-2.7 vs2.3+/-1.5, P=0.054). Treatment in both groups included systemic steroids and immunosuppressive agents. In children, mean initial visual acuity in the affected eyes (n=22) was 0.6+/-0.7 logMAR (range, 0-2.2). It decreased during exacerbations in 15 eyes (68%; mean, 1.6+/-0.8 logMAR), severely reduced (worse than 1 logMAR) in 11 eyes (50%; mean, 2.0+/-0.45 logMAR), and improved significantly in 12 of 13 promptly treated eyes (92%; 6/12 or better in 11; mean 0.2+/-0.4 logMAR, P<0.001). The visual outcome pattern was similar in the adults. CONCLUSIONS: Uveitis in juvenile BD is characterized by frequent exacerbations of explosive nature with profoundly reduced visual acuity. Similar disease pattern was observed in children and adults, as well as in patients with complete or incomplete disease. Early diagnosis, even before all systemic criteria are fulfilled, is important because early aggressive therapy can achieve long-term useful visual acuity.
Subject(s)
Behcet Syndrome/complications , Uveitis/etiology , Adolescent , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Adult , Behcet Syndrome/drug therapy , Behcet Syndrome/physiopathology , Child , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , Male , Recurrence , Uveitis/drug therapy , Uveitis/physiopathology , Visual Acuity , Young AdultABSTRACT
Cephalic extracts of two unrelated species of ants,Leptogenys processionalis andPogonomyrmex rugosus, have been found to contain 2-phenylpropenal and 2-phenyl-2-butenal, while two other species related to the first,L. chinensis andL. kitteli, lacked either.L. kitteli also produced a tetrasubstituted pyrazine found previously only in two New Zealand ants in the genusMesoponera. The chemical reactivity of the phenylalkenals suggests their function in repelling attack by predators.
ABSTRACT
Brain extracts from rats with hepatic encephalopathy due to thioacetamide-induced fulminant hepatic failure contained 4- to 6-fold higher concentrations of substances that inhibit radioligand binding to benzodiazepine receptors than corresponding control rat extracts. Both isocratic and gradient-elution HPLC indicated that this inhibitory activity was localized in 3-8 peaks with retention times corresponding to deschlorodiazepam, deschlorolorazepam, lorazepam, oxazepam, diazepam, and N-desmethyldiazepam. The presence of diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam was confirmed by mass spectroscopy. Both mass spectroscopic and radiometric techniques indicated that the concentrations of N-desmethyldiazepam and diazepam in brain extracts from encephalopathic rats were 2-9 and 5-7 times higher, respectively, than in control brain extracts. While benzodiazepines have been identified previously in mammalian and plant tissues, this report demonstrates that concentrations of these substances are increased in a pathophysiological condition. These findings provide a rational basis for the use of benzodiazepine receptor antagonists in the management of hepatic encephalopathy in humans.
