Paediatric glaucoma in Hong Kong: a multicentre retrospective analysis of epidemiology, presentation, clinical interventions, and outcomes.

PURPOSE: To document the epidemiology, presentation, clinical interventions, and outcomes of paediatric glaucoma in Hong Kong. METHODS: This multicentre territory-wide retrospective study was performed by reviewing charts of patients with paediatric glaucoma in six clusters of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and The Chinese University of Hong Kong from 2006 to 2015. RESULTS: This study included 150 eyes of 98 patients with paediatric glaucoma (presenting age: 5.2±5.7 years). Of them, 35 eyes (23.3%) had primary congenital glaucoma, 22 eyes (14.7%) had juvenile open-angle glaucoma, and 93 eyes (62.0%) had secondary glaucoma. The most prevalent types of secondary glaucoma were lens-related after cataract extraction (18.0%), Axenfeld-Rieger anomaly (5.3%), uveitis (5.3%), Sturge-Weber syndrome (4.7%), and traumatic (3.3%). The most common clinical presentations were parental concerns (20.7%) including cloudy cornea (12.7%) and tearing/photophobia (8.0%), followed by poor visual acuity (18.0%), high intraocular pressure (13.3%), and strabismus (6.0%). The follow-up duration was 8.46±6.51 years. Furthermore, 63.2% of eyes with primary glaucoma and 45.2% of eyes with secondary glaucoma were treated surgically. The final visual acuity was 0.90±0.98 LogMAR; intraocular pressure was 18.4±6.6 mm Hg; and number of glaucoma medications was 2.22±1.61. CONCLUSION: Primary congenital glaucoma was most prevalent, followed by juvenile open-angle glaucoma and aphakic glaucoma. Most eyes with primary glaucoma required surgical treatment. Parental concerns were important clinical presentations. Basic assessments by healthcare providers to identify glaucoma signs (eg, poor visual acuity, high intraocular pressure, and strabismus) warranted prompt referral to an ophthalmologist.

Update on the association between dry eye disease and meibomian gland dysfunction.

Dry eye disease is one of the most common ophthalmic complaints; it results from the activity of various pathways and is considered a multifactorial disease. An important factor that contributes to the onset of dry eye disease is meibomian gland dysfunction. Meibomian gland dysfunction causes a disruption in the tear film lipid layer which affects the rate of tear evaporation. This evaporation leads to tear hyperosmolarity, eventually triggering the onset of dry eye disease. Dry eye disease and meibomian gland dysfunction are strongly associated with each other, such that many of their risk factors, signs, and symptoms overlap. This review aimed to provide an update on the association between dry eye disease and meibomian gland dysfunction. A stepwise approach for diagnosis and management is summarised.

Effects of frying and boiling on the formation of heterocyclic amines in braised chicken.

Braised chicken is a traditional ready-to-eat poultry product produced by frying chicken coated with maltose or honey and then boiling it in a soup that is circularly used. This study examined the effects of the frying time, honey concentration, boiling time, and cycle times of the soup on the formation of heterocyclic amines (HA), a class of mutagenic/carcinogenic compounds generated in heated muscle meat. Nine HA in chicken and recycled soups were analyzed by HPLC with UV and fluorescence detection. 1-Methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (Harman), 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (Norharman), and 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) were detected in most samples, and the amount of each HA increased with the frying or boiling time. Chicken skin was found to have higher HA content than chicken meat. More HA were detected in the soup than in the chicken, in most cases. 2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline and 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazoquinoxaline (4,8-DiMeIQx) were also detected in chicken and soup circularly boiled 20 times, and the total amount of HA reached 68.80 and 96.98 ng/g in chicken and soup, respectively.

The genome sequence of Drosophila melanogaster.

The fly Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most intensively studied organisms in biology and serves as a model system for the investigation of many developmental and cellular processes common to higher eukaryotes, including humans. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of nearly all of the approximately 120-megabase euchromatic portion of the Drosophila genome using a whole-genome shotgun sequencing strategy supported by extensive clone-based sequence and a high-quality bacterial artificial chromosome physical map. Efforts are under way to close the remaining gaps; however, the sequence is of sufficient accuracy and contiguity to be declared substantially complete and to support an initial analysis of genome structure and preliminary gene annotation and interpretation. The genome encodes approximately 13,600 genes, somewhat fewer than the smaller Caenorhabditis elegans genome, but with comparable functional diversity.

Depression and anxiety in dry eye disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AimTo evaluate the association of dry eye disease (DED) with depression and anxiety.Patients and methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that reported the prevalence, incidence and/or severity grading of depression and/or anxiety in DED patients and healthy controls. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for relevant studies.ResultsTwenty-two eligible studies consisted of 2 980 026 patients were analyzed. DED was associated with an increased prevalence of depression (summary odds ratio (OR)=2.92, 95% CI: 2.13-4.01, P<0.00001) and anxiety (OR=2.80, 95% CI: 2.61-3.02, P<0.00001). The depression score (standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.81, 95% CI: 0.48-1.15, P<0.00001) and anxiety score (SMD=0.37, 95% CI: 0.10-0.64, P=0.007) were higher in DED patients than in controls. Subgroup analyses revealed that the prevalence and severity of depression are greatest in primary Sjogren's syndrome patients. No study reported the incidence.ConclusionDepression and anxiety are more prevalent in DED patients than in controls. Among patients with DED, those suffering from primary Sjogren's syndrome have higher prevalence and severity of depression.

Determination of heterocyclic amines in braised sauce beef.

A simplified and improved analysis method to determine the content of heterocyclic amines (HAs) was developed. Samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, and macrosubstances were removed by centrifugation. The eluent used consisted of methanol/ammonia water (9:1, v/v), and the eluates were directly mixed for further HPLC analysis. A binary mobile phase consisting of 0.05 M ammonium acetate-acetic acid and acetonitrile was used for the separation of 12 HAs, and the excitation and emission wavelengths of 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-2), 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) and 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) were adjusted to the same 315 and 410 nm, respectively. This method was further applied to determine the content of HAs in "Jiang Niu Rou", namely braised sauce beef. Nine kinds of HAs were found in the samples and the total amounts of HAs ranged from 4.33 to 27.15 ng/g. The sterilized samples contained more HAs than un-sterilized samples.