Hyperbaric oxygen treatment results in a group of Turkish central retinal artery occlusion patients with a combined presence of thrombophilic mutations.

Background: Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a rare ocular-ischemic syndrome causing irreversible blindness. Its pathophysiology has not been clarified, and no targeted therapies are available yet. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy is already an approved therapy for CRAO and has been shown to improve the visual acuity of CRAO patients safely. However, further clinical data are required to classify HBO2 therapy as a type-I general agreement for CRAO. Materials and Methods: Eleven patients with non-arteritic CRAO were enrolled. Patient demographics, medical history, detailed eye examinations, HBO2 therapy results, pre-/post HBO2 therapy visual acuity measurements and genotypes for common thrombophilic mutations (Factor V G1691A Leiden, Factor II G20210A, MTHFR A1298C, MTHFR C677T, and PAI-1-675 4G/5G) were obtained. Result: Six patients (54%) responded to HBO2 therapy compared to five non-responders (46%). Patients admitted before 12 hours responded well to HBO2 therapy. No systemic diseases nor advanced age were statistically correlated to CRAO. A combination of mutations rather than single mutations for each patient could be seen as responsible for CRAO. No Factor V G1691A Leiden mutations and only one FII G20210A mutation were observed. Eight patients (72%) had MTHFR 677T allele, five patients (45%) had MTHFR 1298C allele, and 10 patients (91%) had the PAI-1-675 4G allele. Conclusion: Not a single mutation but a combination of mutations and other unknown factors probably lead to CRAO, and if intervention is timely, HBO2 therapy offers improvement in visual acuity safely.

Is there a relationship between low vitamin D and rotaviral diarrhea?

BACKGROUND: For children under 5 years of age, 1700 000 000 episodes of diarrhea are seen worldwide, and death occurs in 700 000 of these cases due to diarrhea. Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrhea in this age group, and many studies have shown that vitamin D plays a pivotal role in the immune system, as well as in antimicrobial peptide gene expression. In addition, lower vitamin D has been correlated with higher rates of infectious diseases such as respiratory tract infection, tuberculosis, and viral infection. METHODS: Seventy patients with rotaviral diarrhea and 67 healthy patients were enrolled in this study. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D(3) (25(OH)D(3)), parathormone, calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, complete blood count parameters, and C-reactive protein were compared between pre-school children hospitalized due to rotaviral diarrhea and healthy children. Additionally, birthweight, feeding habits in the first 6 months of life, vitamin D and multivitamin supplements, and rotaviral vaccinations were also evaluated in each group. RESULTS: There were no differences between the groups with regard to gender and age, but 25(OH)D(3) was significantly different: 14.6 ± 8.7 ng/mL in the rotaviral diarrhea patients versus 29.06 ± 6.51 ng/mL in the health controls (P < 0.001), and serum 25(OH)D(3) <20 ng/mL (OR, 6.3; 95%CI: 3.638-10.909; P < 0.001) was associated with rotaviral diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Low vitamin D is associated with rotaviral diarrhea. This is the first study in the literature to show this, and this result needs to be repeated in larger controlled clinical studies.