Resting energy expenditure in vasospastic subjects and its potential relevance in glaucoma.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral vasospastic syndrome is frequently encountered in normal tension glaucoma patients. We tested the hypothesis as to whether peripheral vascular spastic tendency is due to an attempt to preserve body heat in subjects with reduced resting energy expenditure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty healthy non-smoking female individuals were enrolled into the study. Subjects were classified as having vasospasm (10 subjects) if they related a clear history of frequent cold hands, and as normal subjects (10 subjects) if they denied such a history. Sample size calculation was based on a power of 80 % to find a difference of 20 %. Resting energy expenditure (REE) was assessed by indirect calorimetry and corrected for fat-free mass (FFM), which was assessed by bioelectric impedance analysis. RESULTS: REE was 1198 +/- 155 kilocalories (kcal) in vasospastics and 1169 +/- 122 in controls (Mann-Whitney U-test: p = 0.62). FFM was 39.6 +/- 3.3 kg in vasospastics and 41.1 +/- 2.3 kg in controls (Mann-Whitney U-test: p = 0.16). REE adjusted for FFM was 30.2 +/- 2.5 kcal/kg in vasospastics and 28.4 +/- 2.3 kcal/kg in controls (Mann-Whitney U-test: p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral vasospastic syndrome seems not to be a secondary response to insufficient resting energy expenditure. The results of the present study rather indicate an opposite tendency which deserves further investigation.

Graft transmission of induced and spontaneous post-transcriptional silencing of chitinase genes.

Sense and antisense tobacco chitinase (CHN) transgenes, Luciferase-CHN transcriptional fusions, and promoterless CHN cDNAs were introduced biolistically into CHN transformants of tobacco that never exhibit spontaneous gene silencing. All of the constructs tested induced systemic silencing of the resident CHN transgene and endogenes. Nuclear run-on transcription assays showed that local introduction of additional gene copies triggers systemic post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Together, this provides evidence that additional transgene copies need not be either highly transcribed or produce sense transcripts to evoke production of systemic PTGS signals. CHN PTGS was transmitted by top grafting, but not by reciprocal grafting of mature stems or the exchange of tissue plugs. Thus, the commonly encountered difficulties in achieving graft-transmission could reflect the method used. Silencing in sense but not antisense transformants was transmitted by grafting to a high-expressing sense CHN scion suggesting that the elaboration of mobile signals may not be an essential feature of antisense-mediated gene silencing.

[Large area, peripheral cryo-application in neovascularization glaucoma]. / Grossflächige, periphere Kryoapplikation beim Neovaskularisationsglaukom.

Nine eyes were treated by cryotherapy applied circularly over a large area: 4 rows in each quadrant, from 3 mm behind the limbus to the equator, with 4 burns in each row. Freezing time was 10 seconds. Clinical observations after an average of 19.4 months and histologic findings are communicated.

[Histologic studies on the effect of light coagulation of the retina on the vitreous body]. / Histologische Untersuchungen über die Auswirkung der Lichtkoagulation der Netzhaut auf den Glaskörper.

Up to 6 months after panretinal photocoagulation of rabbit eyes the subsequent changes in the vitreous body were examined histologically by means of a stereomicroscope. Marked changes were evident: severe exudation into all of the vitreous tissue during the early follow-up period, circumscribed areas of higher density or loss of normal density, membrane-like structures, confluent cavities and liquefaction of most of the tissue at the later postcoagulative stage.

[Vascular and ocular complications in a child with homocystinuria]. / Vaskuläre und okuläre Komplikationen bei einem Kind mit Homocystinurie.

Homocystinuria, only partially responsive to pyridoxine, was first diagnosed at the age of 14 years in a boy with high myopia, spherophakia and subluxated lenses, when surgical removal of a dislocated lens became necessary. 2 years previously a fracture of the left tibia, treated conservatively, had been followed by ischemia of the leg necessitating amputation. Postoperatively, deep vein thrombosis had developed in the right leg. Plasma homocysteine was lowered to undetectable levels by treatment with betaine in addition to pyridoxine, folic acid and reduction of protein intake. During the two years on treatment no further thromboembolic complications have occurred.