A female with the Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome is described. The patient's father, a paternal uncle, and possibly a paternal first cousin had neurosensory deafness and a paternal aunt had clinical symptoms indicative of the syndrome. This family raises the possibility that the disorder is genetically heterogeneous with autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant forms. Alternatively, it cou...

New applications of laser microbeam irradiation to cell and developmental biology include a new instrument with a tunable wavelength (217- to 800-nanometer) laser microbeam and a wide range of energies and exposure durations (down to 25 X 10(-12) second). Laser microbeams can be used for microirradiation of selected nucleolar genetic regions and for laser microdissection of mitotic and cytoplas...

Retinal detachment is a potentially blinding condition. It is caused by separation of neurosensory retina from the underlying retinal pigment epithelium. Despite treatment advances, functional results remain poor (with only 42% achieving 6/12 vision and only 28% if the macula is involved). There are three distinct types of retinal detachment: rhegmatogenous (RRD), tractional and exudative. For ...

A hole was detected in the epithelium of a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) detachment in two patients. Leakage through the hole led to an elevation of the overlying neurosensory retina in each case. The resulting vision was 20/70 in one eye and 20/30 in the other. The defects in the RPE occurred in a setting different from that usually seen with tears in the pigment epithelium and had a differ...

further investigation, but this report provides evidence that iron overload can occur in AMD not only in the RPE and Bruch’s membrane but also in the neurosensory retina. Because iron can cause oxidative stress, it may be toxic to both the RPE and photoreceptors, cells in which cell death leads to blindness in AMD. Iron chelation therapy may one day prove useful in the prevention of vision loss...

A simple surgical procedure for the repair of cerebrospinal otorrhoea using human fibrin glue has proved safe and successful in two patients with post-surgical fistula. The procedure, which requires only mild sedation, is recommended for open or closed cerebrospinal otorrhoea accompanied by severe neurosensory hearing loss, as long as the fistula has not been caused by chronic inflammatory proc...