To evaluate the demographic and clinical features of orbital cellulitis (OC) and preseptal cellulitis (PC) in a tertiary eye hospital over a 10-year period. This is a retrospective study of files of patients defined as OC or PC admitted to Labbafinejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in which clinical specificities and results of treatment and complications were reviewed. A total of 93 records of patients with OC or PC were identified from 1997 to 2007. 42 % of the patients had orbital and 58 % had PC. OC was found to be twice as common in males but PC occurred equally in both sexes. The mean ages ± SD of patients with OC and PC were 27.4 ± 23.9 and 19.1 ± 23.3 years, respectively. 97.8 % of involvements were unilateral. The most common complaint of the patients was change in lid appearance and the most common season of involvement was spring in both groups. Sinusitis was the most common background in 53.8 % of OC and 24.1 % of PC patients, and the sinus most commonly involved was the ethmoid. Surgical intervention was needed in 48.7 % of orbital and 14.8 % of PC. The only complication seen in OC was external ophthalmoplegia in a case which needed operation. In our geographical region, orbital and PC are seen most frequently in young patients in spring and their most common background is ethmoiditis; complications may be prevented by appropriate medical and/or surgical management.

The electrochemical behavior of raloxifene (RLX) on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The CV studies were performed in various supporting electrolytes, wide range of potential scan rates, and pHs. The results showed an adsorption-controlled and quasi-reversible process for the electrochemical reaction of RLX, and a probable redox mechanism was suggested. Under the optimum conditions, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was applied for quantitative determination of the RLX in pharmaceutical formulations. The DPV measurements showed that the anodic peak current of the RLX was linear to its concentration in the range of 0.2-50.0μM with a detection limit of 0.0750μM, relative standard deviation (RSD %) below 3.0%, and a good sensitivity. The proposed method was successfully applied for determination of the RLX in pharmaceutical and human plasma samples with a good selectivity and suitable recovery.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Retinal progenitor cells are a convenient source of cell replacement therapy in retinal degenerative disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression patterns of the homeobox genes PAX6 and CHX10 (retinal progenitor markers) during treatment of human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells with amniotic fluid (AF), RPE cells harvested from neonatal cadaver globes were cultured in a mixture of DMEM and Ham's F12 supplemented with 10% FBS. At different passages, cells were trypsinized and co-cultured with 30% AF obtained from normal fetuses of 14-16 weeks gestational age. RESULTS: Compared to FBS-treated controls, AF-treated cultures exhibited special morphological changes in culture, including appearance of spheroid colonies, improved initial cell adhesion and ordered cell alignment. Cell proliferation assays indicated a remarkable increase in the proliferation rate of RPE cells cultivated in 30% AF-supplemented medium, compared with those grown in the absence of AF. Immunocytochemical analyses exhibited nuclear localization of retinal progenitor markers at a ratio of 33% and 27% for CHX10 and PAX6, respectively. This indicated a 3-fold increase in retinal progenitor markers in AF-treated cultures compared to FBS-treated controls. Real-time PCR data of retinal progenitor genes (PAX6, CHX10 and VSX-1) confirmed these results and demonstrated AF's capacity for promoting retinal progenitor cell generation. CONCLUSION: Taken together, the results suggest that AF significantly promotes the rate of retinal progenitor cell generation, indicating that AF can be used as an enriched supplement for serum-free media used for the in vitro propagation of human progenitor cells.

Herein, we present a patient with acute proptosis and inferonasal displacement of the right eye. CT scan showed heterogeneous enlargement of the right lacrimal gland. During surgical exploration, a dark liquid exuded from the lacrimal gland and histopathology confirmed a diagnosis of lymphangioma. Clinical signs and symptoms improved after surgery and no recurrence occurred up to 2 years of follow-up.

PURPOSE To assess outcomes of levator resection for the surgical correction of congenital and acquired upper lid ptosis in patients with fair to good levator function and evaluation of the relationship between demographic data and success of this operation. METHODS In a retrospective study, medical records of patients with blepharoptosis who had undergone levator resection over a 10-year period and were followed for at least 3 months were reviewed. RESULTS Overall, 136 patients including 60 (44.1%) male and 76 (55.9%) female subjects with a mean age of 20 ± 13.8 years (range, 2 to 80 years) were evaluated, of whom 120 cases (88.2%) had congenital ptosis and the rest had acquired ptosis. The overall success rate after the first operation was 78.7%. The most common complication after the first operation was undercorrection in 26 cases (19.1%), which was more prevalent among young patients (p = 0.06). Lid fissure and margin reflex distance (MRD(1)) also increased after levator resection (p < 0.001). Age, sex, type of ptosis, amblyopia, levator function, MRD(1), lid fissure and spherical equivalent were not predictive of surgical outcomes of levator resection. CONCLUSIONS Levator resection has a high rate of success and few complications in the surgical treatment of congenital and acquired upper lid ptosis with fair to good levator function. Reoperation can be effective in most cases in which levator resection has been performed.

A novel sorbent for simultaneous separation of cadmium and copper was prepared by functionalizing SBA-15 nanoporous silica with diphenylcarbazide. A solid-phase extraction method using the above sorbent has been developed to separate and concentrate trace amount of cadmium and copper ions from environmental samples by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry measurements. The optimum experimental conditions such as pH, flow rates, type and the smallest amount of eluent for elution of cadmium and copper ions, break through volume and effect of coexisting ions on the separation and determination of cadmium and copper ions were evaluated. The extraction efficiency for cadmium and copper ions were greater than 98% and limit of detection (LOD) was 0.15 and 0.45 ng mL(-1) for cadmium and copper, respectively. The preconcentration factor was 294 and 291 for cadmium and copper, respectively, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method was <4% for 10 separate column experiments for the determination of 5.0 μg cadmium and copper ions. The adsorption capacity of the nanoporous silica was 198 mg g(-1) for cadmium and 105 mg g(-1) for copper on functionalized SBA-15 nanoporous silica. Validation of the outlined method was performed by analyzing certified reference materials (Soil (NCS DC 73323) and ore polymetallic gold Zidarovo-PMZrZ (206 BG 326)). The practical applicability of the developed sorbent was examined using real samples such as sea water, fish and sediment samples.

A new method which utilizes a multiwalled carbon nanotubes/poly(2-amino thiophenol) nanocomposites as an effective sorbents in solid-phase extraction has been developed for separation and preconcentration of Cd(II) and Pb(II) trace levels in environmental samples. The method is based on the adsorption of heavy metals on macromolecular chains due to sharing an electron pair of N and S groups of conducting polymer with cadmium and lead ions. The results indicate the novel nanocomposite presents a high affinity for heavy metals due to the presence of several good extractive sites (S and N) which are introduced to the synthesized nanocomposite. Some parameters including sample condition such as: pH, flow rate, sample volume, and eluent condition such as: type, volume, and concentration: moreover adsorption capacity of matrix ions was investigated on the recovery of Cd(II) and Pb(II). The maximum adsorption capacity of MWCNTs/P2AT nanocomposite as sorbents at optimum conditions for cadmium and lead ions was found to be 178.7mgg(-1) and 186.4mgg(-1), respectively. The detection limits of this method were 0.3 and 1ngmL(-1) for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The validation of the presented procedure was checked by reference material analysis. Finally, the presented procedure was applied for determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in some environmental samples.

Purpose: To report a case of fat adherence complication syndrome after pterygium surgery, sufficiently severe enough to create a recurring significant extraocular motility problem and its ultimate novel and successful management. Method: A 75 year old man was referred with an acquired large angle esotropia after pterygium surgery. Multiple previous strabismus surgeries to relieve the esotropia had already been performed but failed. Bilateral poor vision obviated complaints of diplopia but his binocular visual field was halved and his vision overall and his motility vision was handicapped by this limited ocular motility in his right eye. We therefore utilized homologous adjacent temporalis fascia transplantation for re-fixation of his frozen esotropic globe in primary position. Result of Surgery: Not only was the esotropia resolved but he also developed and regained some degree of abduction in this eye. Conclusion: Homologous Temporalis fascia transplant can be used safely, for globe fixation in surgical treatment of severe restrictive strabismus.

Purpose: To report the outcomes of ptosis surgery in patients with weak levator function utilizing the direct tarsus to frontalis muscle sling technique without creation of a flap. Methods: In a prospective nonrandomized case series over a 3-year period, patients with ptosis and weak (less than 4 mm) levator function underwent direct sling of the tarsus to frontalis muscle without creating any flap. Success was defined as upper lid margin to central corneal reflex distance of at least 3 mm in bilateral cases and a difference of less than 1 mm in unilateral cases. Results: Overall, 26 eyes of 22 patients with mean age of 15.4 ± 9.4 years were operated and followed up for 13.5 ± 8.4 months. The ptosis was congenital in 15 patients (68.2%) and acquired in 7 patients (31.8%). Twelve patients (54.5%) had a history of ptosis surgery. The procedure was judged as successful in 77.3% of patients after initial surgery and in 100% after reoperation. Surgical success after initial surgery was directly correlated with the amount of levator function (P = 0.02). However, success was not associated with age (P = 0.9) or history of surgery (P = 0.9). None of the patients developed eyelid hematoma, lagophthalmus or dry eye. Conclusions: Direct sling of the upper tarsus to the frontalis muscle without creation of flap is an effective procedure for correction of ptosis in patients with weak levator function. Minimal dissection and preservation of the orbicularis oculi prevents lagophthalmus and its consequences.