PURPOSE To analyze the in vivo morphology of corneal cells and nerves in dry eye associated with primary (SSI) and secondary (SSII) Sjögren's syndrome and to study its relationship with the clinical evaluation. METHODS Thirty-five patients with SS and 20 age- and gender-matched control subjects were studied. Confocal microscopy was used to investigate corneal thickness, epithelial and stromal...

Background The majority of the patients affected by a new variant of endemic pemphigus foliaceus in El Bagre, Colombia (El Bagre EPF or pemphigus Abreu-Manu), have experienced vision problems; we have previously reported several ocular abnormalities. Methods Here, we aimed to investigate reactivity to optic nerves in these patients. We utilized bovine, rat and mouse optic nerves, and performe...

PURPOSE To determine the effect of diabetes mellitus on the levels of substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in the rat cornea and iris. METHODS Corneas and irides from control and diabetic rats were processed for neuropeptide radioimmunoassay 3 months after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin. Corneas and irides also were p...

The corneal epithelium consists of stratified epithelial cells, sparsely interspersed with dendritic cells (DCs) and a dense layer of sensory axons. We sought to assess the structural and functional correlation of DCs and sensory nerves. Two morphologically different DCs, dendriform and round-shaped, were detected in the corneal epithelium. The dendriform DCs were located at the sub-basal space...

results stereoscopic displays of the nerves were obtained in all 24 elbows by vr, mip, and fiber tractography post-processing methods. the vr/mip post-processing methods were easier to perform compared to fiber tractography. there was no significant difference among the scores of fiber tracking and vr/mip reconstruction for single direction. the imaging quality scores of fiber tractography and ...

background: repeated efforts by researchers to impose voice changes by laryngeal surface electrical stimulation (ses) have come to no avail. this present pre-experimental study employed a novel method for ses application so as to evoke the motor potential of the internal superior laryngeal nerve (isln) and create voice changes. methods: thirty-two normal individuals (22 females and 10 males) pa...

behçet’s disease (bd) is a multisystem disorder with potential ability to influence the pregnancy outcome and pregnancy is associated with several physiologic alterations which can lead to potential changes in the course of the disease. we studied 77 pregnancies in 69 women with bd. the disease activity was calculated by two methods for three periods of before, during and after pregnancy to eva...

introduction: patients with bilateral weakness (bw) have many difficulties in gaze stability that interfere with their normal function. the aim of this study was to evaluate ocular motor functions in patients with bw to better understand the problem of gaze instability in these patients.   materials and methods: patients were referred from the otolaryngology department for vestibular assessment...

Unanticipated, novel hypothesis on nitric oxide (NO) radical, an inorganic, labile, gaseous molecule, as a neurotransmitter first appeared in late 1989 and into the early 1990s, and solid evidences supporting this idea have been accumulated during the last decade of the 20th century. The discovery of nitrergic innervation of vascular smooth muscle has led to a new understanding of the neurogeni...