AIMS The therapeutic efficacy of the continuous wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser (working in the free running mode) was investigated in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) comparing it with a conventional laser source such as the krypton laser. METHODS Twenty four eyes of 12 patients affected with bilateral PDR were included and divided in two groups. The right eyes were treated with a red krypton...

Gadolinium ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) is a paramagnetic hepatobiliary magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent. Due to its OATP1B1/B3-dependent hepatocyte-specific uptake and paramagnetic properties increasing evidence has emerged to suggest that Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI can be potentially used for evaluation of liver function. In this paper we compare the diagn...

BACKGROUND The study describes the relationship of retinal vascular geometry (RVG) to severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR), and its predictive role for subsequent development of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS The research project comprises of two stages. Firstly, a comparative study of diabetic patients with different grades of DR. (No DR: Minimal non-proliferative DR: Sev...

BACKGROUND Early prediction of outcome would be useful for an optimal intensive care management of liver transplant recipients. Indocyanine green clearance can be measured non-invasively by pulse spectrophometry and is closely related to liver function. METHODS This study was undertaken to assess the predictive value of a combination of the model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score and ea...

BACKGROUND Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the most common human genetic abnormalities, with a high prevalence in Sardinia, Italy. Evidence indicates that G6PD-deficient patients are protected against vascular disease. Little is known about the relationship between G6PD deficiency and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to compare G6PD deficiency preva...

PURPOSE To explore immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of proliferative vitreoretinal diseases, we measured the concentration of interleukin-6 in the vitreous body and serum from patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), and premacular fibrosis. To evaluate immunological etiology, interleukin-6 levels in each disease were compared wi...

BACKGROUND Prognostic abilities of medical parameters, which are scoring systems, measurements and biomarkers, are important for stratifying critically ill patients. Indocyanine green plasma disappearance (ICG-PDR) is an established clinical tool for the assessment of liver perfusion and function. Copeptin, MR-proANP and pro-ADM are biomarkers whose prognostic value is still unclear. The goal o...

We present high-resolution spectroscopy and images of a photodissociation region (PDR) in M16 obtained during commissioning of the near-infrared spectrometer (NIRSPEC) on the Keck II telescope. PDRs play a significant role in regulating star formation, and M16 offers the opportunity to examine the physical processes of a PDR in detail. We simultaneously observe both the molecular and ionized ph...

The emission-line regions of starburst galaxies and active nuclei reveal a wealth of spectroscopic information. A unified picture of the relationship among ionized, atomic, and molecular gas makes it possible to better understand these observations. We performed a series of calculations designed to determine the equation of state—the relationship among density, temperature, and pressure—through...

OBJECTIVE Intravitreal fibrin formation is a frequent observation after vitrectomy performed for a variety of vitreoretinal disorders including proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and endophthalmitis. Plasminogen activators (PA) have been used for the management of this postoperative complication. This approach requires the presence of plasminogen, t...