The spectrum of postmortem ocular findings in victims of shaken baby syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Ophthalmologists and ocular pathologists are called on to help identify children who have undergone violent shaking. The objective of this study was to describe the spectrum of postmortem ocular findings in victims of shaken baby syndrome and to correlate the ocular findings with the nonocular features found at autopsy. METHODS: The ocular pathology registry at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute was reviewed to identify all victims of fatal shaken baby syndrome whose eyes had been submitted for examination between Apr. 1, 1971, and Dec. 31, 1995. Autopsy reports were accessed from the hospital charts of the identified patients. RESULTS: Six patients, aged 1 to 34 months, were identified. Intraocular findings ranged from a focal globular hemorrhage at the posterior pole to extensive intraocular hemorrhage involving the entire retina with perimacular folds. All the children had evidence of optic nerve sheath hemorrhage. Nonocular findings included intracranial hemorrhage (in all cases), skull fracture (in two), rib fractures (in three) and high spinal cord hemorrhage (in four). The extent of the intraocular hemorrhage was not consistent with the nonocular findings. INTERPRETATION: Abused children may display a range of postmortem ocular findings, with intraocular hemorrhage varying from minimal to severe. These findings may not correlate with the severity of the child's other injuries. The presence of any retinal or optic nerve sheath hemorrhage in an infant, in the absence of an appropriate explanation for these findings, should raise suspicion of child abuse.

Microsporidia are related to Fungi: evidence from the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II and other proteins.

We have determined complete gene sequences encoding the largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II (RBP1) from two Microsporidia, Vairimorpha necatrix and Nosema locustae. Phylogenetic analyses of these and other RPB1 sequences strongly support the notion that Microsporidia are not early-diverging eukaryotes but instead are specifically related to Fungi. Our reexamination of elongation factors EF-1alpha and EF-2 sequence data that had previously been taken as support for an early (Archezoan) divergence of these amitochondriate protists show such support to be weak and likely caused by artifacts in phylogenetic analyses. These EF data sets are, in fact, not inconsistent with a Microsporidia + Fungi relationship. In addition, we show that none of these proteins strongly support a deep divergence of Parabasalia and Metamonada, the other amitochondriate protist groups currently thought to compose early branches. Thus, the phylogenetic placement among eukaryotes for these protist taxa is in need of further critical examination.