Treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration within 48 h from diagnosis improves long-term functional outcome.

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term visual and anatomical outcomes in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents depending on the time delay from confirmed diagnosis to treatment initiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-three nAMD patients (73 eyes) treated with anti-VEGF agents for 12 months using the pro re nata regimen were included in this retrospective longitudinal study. Patients were split into 3 groups according to the time from diagnosis to first anti-VEGF injection: < 48 h (group 1); 48 h-7 days (group 2); > 7 days (group 3). Decimal best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and macular thickness (MT) were recorded at baseline and 1-2-, 3-4-, 6- and 12-month later. Furthermore, age, gender as well as the applied treatment and number of injections after 12 months of treatment were also registered and compared. RESULTS: Long-term effect of the treatment demonstrated enhanced VA in group 1 patients compared with the rest of groups after 1-2-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up (P < 0.05). Positive effects of early treatment were additionally corroborated by the augmented percentage of patients with normal VA in the group 1 respect to the rest of groups over studied time points (P < 0.05). Moreover, the VA gain in nAMD at group 1 was obtained with a mean of 3.7 intravitreal injections over 1-year follow-up period. Regarding MT, non-significant difference was observed among groups. CONCLUSIONS: An early initial treatment with VEGF inhibitors is critical to achieve the best functional benefits of this therapy in new-onset nAMD patients.

Novel Treatments for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Review of Clinical Advances in Sustained Drug Delivery Systems.

In recent years, the number of patients with ocular diseases is increasing as a consequence of population aging. Among them, one of the most common is the age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to vision loss if it is not treated. AMD is a multifactorial disorder with two advanced forms, dry and neovascular AMD. Currently, although there is no approved therapy that significantly impacts dry AMD progression, several pharmacologic therapies exist for neovascular AMD. Notwithstanding, evidence suggests a suboptimal result in a high number of patients receiving these therapeutic options. Consequently, finding effective strategies is not only a still unmet medical need in dry AMD but also in neovascular AMD. This underlines the need for new drug delivery technologies that can improve the pharmacological action and drug concentration at the target sites. In this regard, sustained drug delivery systems are presented as the most promising therapeutic options in AMD patients. This review summarized the pathogenesis and the current treatment options for AMD, focusing on the emerging ocular sustained drug delivery approaches undergoing clinical trials.

A correlation analysis of Light Microscopy and X-ray MicroCT imaging methods applied to archaeological plant remains' morphological attributes visualization.

In this work, several attributes of the internal morphology of drupaceous fruits found in the archaeological site Monte Castelo (Rondonia, Brazil) are analyzed by means of two different imaging methods. The aim is to explore similarities and differences in the visualization and analytical properties of the images obtained via High Resolution Light Microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray MicroCT) methods. Both provide data about the three-layered pericarp (exo-, meso- and endocarp) of the studied exemplars, defined by cell differentiation, vascularisation, cellular contents, presence of sclerenchyma cells and secretory cavities. However, it is possible to identify a series of differences between the information that can be obtained through each of the methods. These variations are related to the definition of contours and fine details of some characteristics, their spatial distribution, size attributes, optical properties and material preservation. The results obtained from both imaging methods are complementary, contributing to a more exhaustive morphological study of the plant remains. X-ray MicroCT in phase-contrast mode represents a suitable non-destructive analytic technique when sample preservation is required.

Publisher Correction: Evidence for mid-Holocene rice domestication in the Americas.

In the HTML version of this Article originally published, Fig. 4 was a duplicate of Fig. 1. This has now been amended.

Extreme cultural persistence in eastern-central Brazil: the case of Lagoa Santa Paleaeoindians.

Lapa do Santo rockshelter, a Paleoindian site located in Eastern-Central Brazil, presented two main occupations; one during Early Holocene (12,460 to 8700 cal BP), and a latter in Middle Holocene (5100 to 4200 cal BP). In spite of this 3600 year gap, the stratigraphy and general characteristics of the material culture did not indicate any visible discontinuity. This led us to hypothesise a reoccupation of the rockshelter by the same cultural group, tested by means of statistical analyses comparing lithics, bone artifacts, and faunal remains from early and middle Holocene layers. No significant differences were found, and our results indicate the presence of a cultural tradition that persisted for 8240 years, or roughly 412 generations.

Evidence for mid-Holocene rice domestication in the Americas.

The development of agriculture is one of humankind's most pivotal achievements. Questions about plant domestication and the origins of agriculture have engaged scholars for well over a century, with implications for understanding its legacy on global subsistence strategies, plant distribution, population health and the global methane budget. Rice is one of the most important crops to be domesticated globally, with both Asia (Oryza sativa L.) and Africa (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) discussed as primary centres of domestication. However, until now the pre-Columbian domestication of rice in the Americas has not been documented. Here we document the domestication of Oryza sp. wild rice by the mid-Holocene residents of the Monte Castelo shell mound starting at approximately 4,000 cal. yr BP, evidenced by increasingly larger rice husk phytoliths. Our data provide evidence for the domestication of wild rice in a region of the Amazon that was also probably the cradle of domestication of other major crops such as cassava (Manihot esculenta), peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.). These results underline the role of wetlands as prime habitats for plant domestication worldwide.