PURPOSE To identify preoperative markers on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for residual inner limiting membrane (ILM) in epiretinal membrane (ERM) peeling. METHODS In this retrospective case series the preoperative SD-OCTs from 119 eyes of 119 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for idiopathic ERM by a single surgeon were evaluated for markers predisposing for IL...

OBJECTIVES Some clinical isolates of Mycobacterium fortuitum are naturally resistant to macrolides, e.g. clarithromycin. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the gene(s) conferring this resistance. METHODS M. fortuitum ATCC 6841T DNA libraries were screened for plasmids that complemented the macrolide-susceptible phenotype of Mycobacterium smegmatis variant ermKO4 [erm(38)-negative]. M...

Human Hertwig's epithelial root sheath/epithelial rests of Malassez (HERS/ERM) cells are epithelial remnants of teeth residing in the periodontium. Although the functional roles of HERS/ERM cells have yet to be elucidated, they are a unique epithelial cell population in adult teeth and are reported to have stem cell characteristics. Therefore, HERS/ERM cells might play a role as an epithelial c...

AIM To determine if the internal limiting membrane (ILM) was present in the epiretinal membrane (ERM) when we deliberately tried to perform a "double peel" for macular pucker. METHODS Pars-plana vitrectomy and a "double peel" were carried out. The ERM and ILM were stained with Trypan Blue and peeled separately over the same area. The amount of ERM present in ILM specimens and the amount of IL...

PURPOSE To assess the clinical outcomes in idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) patients after vitrectomy and ERM removal with or without additional indocyanine green (ICG)-assisted internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. METHODS The medical records of 43 patients with an idiopathic ERM that underwent vitrectomy and ERM removal between July 2007 and April 2010 were reviewed. The patients we...

The aim of this study was to analyze the diversity of the macrolide resistance gene, erm(C) in relation to structural alterations affecting the gene expression. In addition, the association of erm(C) to mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in staphylococci mainly from Danish pigs was investigated. In total, 78 erythromycin-resistant isolates were screened for erm(C) by PCR. The erm(C) genes incl. the...

PURPOSE Epiretinal membrane (ERM) is a frequent macular complication in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The etiology of ERM formation in RP is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between aqueous flare, a surrogate index of intraocular inflammation, and ERM secondary to RP. METHODS We retrospectively studied a total of 206 eyes of 117 patients...