Effect of A Multinutrient Complex on Retinal Microcirculation in Diabetic Patients Investigated Using an Adaptive Optics Retinal Camera.

CONTEXT: Alimentary supplements may have beneficial effects on retinal microvasculature in diabetic patients. OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: State-of-the-art imaging techniques were used to assess retinal microcirculation in diabetic patients in an observational study before and after 3 months treatment with a multinutrient complex including resveratrol, vitamins D3, C, E, essential fatty acids, trace elements (zinc and copper) and macular pigments (lutein and zeaxanthin)-Resvega. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifteen subjects were included in this study. Adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy was used to measure the parameters of temporal retinal arterioles. Optical coherence tomography angiography was employed to assess foveal avascular zone and vessel densities of the superficial capillary plexus, deep capillary plexus and choricapillary plexus. RESULTS: After 3 months of treatment, there was a statistically significant median decrease in wall-to-lumen ratio (p=0.0001). The same tendencies were noticed for wall thickness values (p=0.008) and wall cross sectional area values (p=0.001). On the other side, no significant changes were noticed concerning the OCTA parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Resvega seems to have a beneficial effect on the retinal arterioles in diabetic patients.

RETINAL MICROCIRCULATION INVESTIGATION IN TYPE I AND II DIABETIC PATIENTS WITHOUT RETINOPATHY USING AN ADAPTIVE OPTICS RETINAL CAMERA.

CONTEXT: State of art imaging techniques might be a useful tool to early detect the retinal vessels lesions in diabetes. OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: This analytical observational study investigates the retinal microcirculation changes in type I and II diabetic patients without retinopathy using adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy (AOO) and optical coherence ophthalmoscopy angiography (OCTA). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-five subjects were included in this study and were divided in three groups: type I diabetic group (n=16), type II diabetic group (n=19) and control group (n=20). An adaptive optics retinal camera was used to assess the parameters of the temporal superior retinal arterioles. Moreover, vessel density of the superficial capillary plexus across the parafoveal area was measured with OCT-A. All cases were investigated once, in a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: Diabetic patients from both groups had a higher wall-to-lumen-ratio compared to the controls (p=0.01 and 0.01, respectively). Interestingly, no significant differences were found between the two diabetic groups (p=0.69). Moreover, the vessel density was smaller in the type I diabetic group than in the control group (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: AOO might be a useful tool to detect early retinal vascular changes in diabetes before any clinical signs and together with OCTA it might bring important information on the prognostic and pathophysiology of the disease.

Determination of the separation efficiencies of a single-stage cryogenic distillation setup to remove krypton out of xenon by using a (83m)Kr tracer method.

The separation of krypton and xenon is of particular importance for the field of direct dark matter search with liquid xenon detectors. The intrinsic contamination of the xenon with radioactive (85)Kr makes a significant background for these kinds of low count-rate experiments and has to be removed beforehand. This can be achieved by cryogenic distillation, a technique widely used in industry, using the different vapor pressures of krypton and xenon. In this paper, we present an investigation on the separation performance of a single stage distillation system using a radioactive (83m)Kr-tracer method. The separation characteristics under different operation conditions are determined for very low concentrations of krypton in xenon at the level of (83m)Kr/Xe = 1.9 ⋅ 10(-15), demonstrating, that cryogenic distillation in this regime is working. The observed separation is in agreement with the expectation from the different volatilities of krypton and xenon. This cryogenic distillation station is the first step on the way to a multi-stage cryogenic distillation column for the next generation of direct dark matter experiment XENON1T.

Study of the risk factors for upper digestive hemorrhage, determined by post-mortem investigations in 39 cases of liver cirrhosis.

A retrospective study of the causes and the risk factors for upper digestive hemorrhage (UDH) was carried out by post-mortem investigations in 39 consecutive cases of liver cirrhosis (LC), in comparison with a control group of 40 patients with LC, free of UDH. The patients' age and the disease duration in the cases with ruptured esophageal varices or with hemorrhagic erosive gastritis (the main causes of UDH in the group studied) were longer than in the controls. The causes of UDH were: rupture of esophageal varices (in 43.7% of the cases), hemorrhagic erosive gastritis (41%), both (10.2%), and active duodenal ulcer (5.1%). The frequency of small esophageal varices among the ruptured ones (23%) was higher than that detected by endoscopic studies (13-15%), owing to the peculiarities of the group investigated and to the methods of evaluation. Ascites can be considered a risk factor for UDH, as an expression of portal hypertensions. Liver carcinoma, jaundice, prothrombinemia, albuminemia, bilirubinemia and Child index are not risk factors for UDH, some of them reflecting only a longer evolution of the disease.

Studies on the familial character of endemic Balkan nephropathy. Possible role of the toxic hydric factor in the determination of "familial agglomerations" in endemic Balkan nephropathy.

The study was carried out in an attempt to explain the familial character of endemic Balkan nephropathy and of agglomeration of cases in certain households and in the ascendency of certain families. The hypotheses of a genetic disease or that of an infectious etiology have been taken into consideration in previous studies - by chromosomal analyses and statistical-mathematic tests of contagiousness - without being able to find arguments in support of one or the other hypotheses. This study brings important elements in favour of the possible role of ecologic factors and mainly of the hydrictoxic one, in the determination of the familial agglomerations in endemic nephropathy. Thus using radionuclear determination methods, we could demonstrate in a locality of the endemic area that around the water sources with high content of nephrotoxic oligoelements (cadmium, chromium, manganese, cobalt) there are more diseased families than around water sources poorer in these oligoelements.