Intermediate visual acuity without spectacles following bilateral ReSTOR implantation.

PURPOSE: This survey determined uncorrected visual acuity (VA) at near, intermediate, and far distances in cataract patients implanted with ReSTOR, and assessed patient satisfaction. METHODS: Consecutive cataract patients implanted bilaterally with ReSTOR were followed up at least 4 months. The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale was used to measure VA for near (40 cm), intermediate (50, 60, and 70 cm), and distance vision, with VAs expressed in logMAR and adjusted for distance using Bennett's (1993) formula. Satisfaction was self-rated on a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 (poor) to 10 (high). RESULTS: Twenty-four consecutive patients (mean age 67.6 years) were operated upon by a single surgeon and followed up for a mean of 336.5 days after second eye surgery. Average postoperative VAs for uncorrected distance were 0.06 logMAR and intermediate VAs were 0.21 logMAR at both 50 cm and 60 cm and 0.22 logMAR at 70 cm. These levels of uncorrected intermediate VA would allow patients to read Word computer text in Times New Roman font 8 zoomed to 100%, at 70 cm from the monitor screen. The authors found that23/24 patients (96%) no longer wore spectacles. The remaining patient required correction for astigmatism as this refraction error is not yet correctable by ReSTOR. Average selfrated satisfaction was 8.54. CONCLUSIONS: In an everyday surgical practice, none of the studied bilateral ReSTOR cataract patients without astigmatism required spectacles when followed up 6 months or later. Intermediate VA was compatible with reading and led to high patient satisfaction.

[Multifocal phakic intraocular lens implant to correct presbyopia]. / Lentille intraoculaire réfractive multifocale pour la correction de la presbytie chez le sujet phaque.

INTRODUCTION: Presbyopic surgery is considered as the new frontier in refractive surgery. Different solutions are proposed: myopization of one eye, insertion of an accommodative crystalline lens, scleral surgery, the effects of which are still unknown, and finally multifocal phakic implants. We therefore decided to undertake a prospective study under the Huriet law to determine its efficacy and specify the conditions required for an anterior chamber multifocal phakic implant. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty-five eyes of 33 patients received an anterior chamber foldable multifocal phakic implant. Twenty-one females and 12 males underwent surgery. Initial refraction was between -5D and +5D. The implant's single addition was +2.50. Recuperating a distant uncorrected visual acuity of 0.6 or better and near uncorrected vision of Parinaud 3 or better can be considered a very good postoperative result. RESULTS: Average follow-up was 42.6+/-18 weeks. Mean postoperative refraction was -0.12+/-0.51 D. Mean postoperative uncorrected visual acuity was 0.78+/-0.20. Postoperative uncorrected visual acuity was Parinaud 2.3+/-0.6. Eighty-four percent of eyes operated on recuperated 0.6 or better without correction and Parinaud 3 or better without correction. Lenses in four eyes were explanted for different reasons, essentially optical, and no severe anatomical complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Placing an anterior chamber multifocal phakic implant to correct presbyopia is an effective technique with good predictability and has the advantage of being reversible in case of intolerance, optical parasite effects or undesired complications. Considering the particularity of this surgery, it is imperative to respect very strict inclusion criteria: anterior chamber depth equal to or above 3.1 mm, open angle, endothelial cell count equal to or above 2000 cells/mm2, absence of an incipient cataract or the slightest evidence of macular alteration.

Adrenocorticotropic hormone secreting pituitary adenomas: analysis of growth fraction using the MIB-1 antibody.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Pituitary adenomas are usually considered well differentiated tumors, even if in about one third of cases they invade surrounding tissues, with the possibility of postoperative relapse after complete surgical removal. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secreting adenomas seem to be the most infiltrating subtype, with a higher incidence of recurrence. Ki-67 is a nuclear antigen which is easily detectable by means of the MIB-1 monoclonal antibody, and the labeling index (LI) obtained can be considered a marker of tumor proliferation. METHODS: In order to identify the growth fraction of these tumors we used the MIB-1 antibody to evaluate the expression of Ki-67 antibody in 11 ACTH secreting pituitary adenomas and to compare it with the LI obtained in 98 other hormone secreting or non-functioning pituitary adenomas consecutively operated on during a 40-month period. RESULTS: In relation to surgically verified infiltration of the sellar floor dura and bone, we identified eight non-invasive and three invasive ACTH secreting pituitary adenomas. All invasive tumors infiltrated the wall of the cavernous sinus (CS). The mean Ki-67 LI was 5.88 +/- 9.13% versus 2.33 +/- 2.40% in non-ACTH secreting adenomas (P = 0.0025). It was 13.27 +/- 15.42% in invasive and 3.11 +/- 4.37% in non-invasive ACTH adenomas, and 18.40 +/- 17.82% in patients over 50 years versus 3.10 +/- 4.09% in younger subjects (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Ki-67 LI is a useful marker in the determination of proliferative activity and invasiveness of anterior pituitary adenomas. Our data seem to confirm that ACTH secreting adenomas have a higher growth fraction than other pituitary adenomas and this observation presumably explains the higher incidence of relapse of these tumors even after macroscopically total removal.

Ki-67 labelling index and invasiveness among anterior pituitary adenomas: analysis of 103 cases using the MIB-1 monoclonal antibody.

AIMS: To investigate the relation between proliferative activity of anterior pituitary adenomas, quantified by the Ki-67 labelling index, and their invasive behaviour. METHODS: Expression of Ki-67 was evaluated in 103 anterior pituitary adenomas consecutively operated on in a 36 month period and correlated with surgical evidence of invasiveness. RESULTS: Non-invasive (n = 65) and invasive (n = 38) adenomas were identified from surgically verified infiltration of sellar floor dura and bone. The wall of the cavernous sinus was infiltrated in 16 cases. Forty one adenomas were non-functioning and 62 functioning (24 prolactin, 21 growth hormone, 10 ACTH, seven mixed). The overall mean (SD) Ki-67 labelling index was 2.64 (3.69) per cent (median 1.5). The mean index was 3.08 (4.59) per cent in functioning and 1.97 (1.78) per cent in non-functioning tumours; 5.47 (9.52) per cent in ACTH adenomas and 2.33 (2.42) per cent in others (p = 0.01); 3.71 (5.17) per cent in invasive and 2.01 (2.45) per cent in non-invasive adenomas (p = 0.027); and 5.58 (7.24) per cent in cavernous sinus infiltrating v 2.10 (2.39) per cent in cavernous sinus non-infiltrating adenomas (p = 0.0005). To identify a value of labelling index beyond which adenomas should be considered invasive and another beyond which cavernous sinus infiltration should be suspected, normality Q-Q plots were obtained: a threshold labelling index of 3.5% for invasive adenomas and of 5% for cavernous sinus infiltrating adenomas was defined, with statistically significant differences (p = 0.02 and p = 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The Ki-67 labelling index can be considered a useful marker in determining the invasive behaviour of anterior pituitary adenomas.

Intraneural capillary hemangioma of the cauda equina.

A case of intraneural capillary hemangioma involving the dorsal root of a spinal nerve of the cauda equina is reported. The patient was a 41-year-old man with a 3-month history of intermittent left lumbosciatalgia. MRI and CT myelography showed a space-occupying mass at the level of the cauda equina. Laminectomy of L5 and complete removal of the lesion were performed without neurological problems. The clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of hemangiomas of the cauda equina are analyzed.

Cervical spontaneous epidural hematoma as a complication of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Epidural hematoma is a rare cause of spinal cord compression, which usually provokes severe neurological deficits. It is presumed to originate from venous or, more probably, arterial bleeding. Thrombocytopenia and other disorders of coagulation may precipitate the onset of epidural hematoma and facilitate the evolution of the disease. We report the case of a patient suffering from a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with severe thrombocytopenia during a MACOP-B schedule, who presented with a spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma. We discuss the etiopathological aspects, diagnosis, and treatment of this rare cause of acute cervical spinal cord compression.

[Etiopathogenetic aspects of central diabetes insipidus. Report of a clinical case]. / Aspetti etiopatogenetici del diabete insipido centrale. Descrizione di un caso clinico.

The manifold etiopathogenetic conditions responsible for central diabetes insipidus are minutely examined. On the ground of these introductory remarks, the Authors report a case of diabetes insipidus following from pituitary metastasis in a patient with cancer of the lung. Some relations between diabetes insipidus and cancer are discussed. The uncommon remark of a metastatic lesion in the etiopathogenesis of the central diabetes insipidus and its early display in the patient at issue support this description.

[Partial anterior hypopituitarism caused by toxoplasmosis congenita. Description of a clinical case]. / Ipopituitarismo anteriore parziale da toxoplasmosi congenita. Descrizione di un caso clinico.

A case of incomplete anterior hypopituitarism due to congenital toxoplasmosis is reported. The rare pituitary involvement in congenital toxoplasmosis and the uncommon remark of associated endocrine symptomatology support this description.

[Acromegaly. Physiopathological aspects and description of a clinical case]. / L'acromegalia. Aspetti fisiopatologici e descrizione di un caso clinico.

Recent physiopathological studies suggest that hypersecretion of GH in acromegaly is not necessarily the result of a primary alteration to the GH-secreting pituitary cells. Some suggest that an alteration in the hypothalamic control of the hormone secretion may also be involved. After a general introduction, a clinical case of acromegaly is reported.

[Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Physiopathological aspects and description of a clinical case]. / La sindrome di Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl. Aspetti fisiopatologici e descrizione di un caso clinico.

After some general introductory remarks, a case of Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome is reported. The main physiopathological aspects of the syndrome and some elements of differential diagnosis are discussed.