BACKGROUND Since time of menopause is influenced by a variety of racial, environmental, and physiological factors, determining age at natural menopause and its main indicators seems to be necessary. The present study attempted to determine average age at menopause and its main predictors among Iranian women. MATERIALS AND METHODS This descriptive-analytic study was carried out on 400 postmeno...

PURPOSE It has been hypothesized that the biosynthesis of O-linked glycans on proteins, particularly on the highly O-glycosylated mucins, by the corneal and conjunctival epithelium is necessary for the protection and maintenance of a healthy ocular surface. The initial step in O-glycosylation is the enzymatic addition of N-acetyl galactosamine (GalNAc) to serine and threonine residues by a larg...

PURPOSE To determine the influence of topical vancomycin prophylaxis on the incidence of bacterial endophthalmitis in eyes with a Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro). METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed for 255 eyes of 231 patients who received a KPro between March 1990 and December 2006. Preoperative diagnoses were burn, ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), Stevens-Johnson Syndrome...

AIMS Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP) is a severe, potentially sight threatening systemic disease that sometimes requires systemic immunosuppression. This study assessed the clinical outcome of patients with OCP treated with sulphapyridine, a sulphonamide with an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive action but few side effects. METHODS A prospective, single armed, unmasked clinical tria...

In ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, the binding of circulating antibodies to conjunctiva is believed to initiate an antibody-mediated cytotoxic response that results in inflammation and tissue damage. To develop a model of antibody-mediated conjunctival inflammation, we examined the effect on conjunctiva of local or systemic administration of a murine monoclonal antibody against basement membrane...

PURPOSE These studies examined regulation of the cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), a systemic autoimmune disease. METHODS Serum levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in sera collected from 35 patients with OCP, 29 normal persons and 17 patients with ocular inflammatory diseases were determined using an enzyme-link...