Neovascular glaucoma - A review.

Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a sight-threatening secondary glaucoma characterized by appearance of new vessels over the iris and proliferation of fibrovascular tissue in the anterior chamber angle. Retinal ischemia is the common driving factor and common causes are central retinal vein occlusion, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and ocular ischemic syndrome. The current rise in the prevalence of NVG is partly related to increase in people with diabetes. A high index of suspicion and a thorough anterior segment evaluation to identify the early new vessels on the iris surface or angle are essential for early diagnosis of NVG. With newer imaging modalities such as the optical coherence tomography angiography and newer treatment options such as the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, it is possible to detect retinal ischemia early, tailor appropriate treatment, monitor disease progression, and treatment response. The management strategies are aimed at reducing the posterior segment ischemia, reduce the neovascular drive, and control the elevated intraocular pressure. This review summarizes the causes, pathogenesis, and differential diagnoses of NVG, and the management guidelines. We also propose a treatment algorithm of neovascular glaucoma.

Comparison of topical cyclosporine alone and topical loteprednol with cyclosporine in moderate dry eye in Indian population: A prospective study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of topical cyclosporine (Cs) 0.05% alone and topical Cs 0.05% with loteprednol 0.5% in patients with moderate dry eye. STUDY DESIGN: This was a comparative, prospective, interventional study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 140 patients diagnosed with moderate dry eyes were randomly divided into two groups. Group A patients received treatment with topical loteprednol 0.5% started as QID dosage for 2 weeks and tapered to BID dosage over the next 6 weeks, topical Cs 0.05% BID and artificial tears. Group B patients received treatment with topical Cs 0.05% BID and artificial tears. All patients were followed over a period of 6 months with ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear film break up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein, and lissamine green staining scores. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the symptoms and signs of dry eye in the group receiving combination of loteprednol 0.5% and Cs 0.05% as compared to the group receiving Cs alone evident by greater reduction in OSDI score, corneal staining, and improvement in TBUT and Schirmer's test values over a follow-up of 6 months. CONCLUSION: Combination therapy with topical loteprednol and Cs is significantly better than topical Cs alone on alleviating symptoms and signs in moderate dry eye patients.

Hodgkin lymphoma in children: experience in a tertiary care centre in India.

BACKGROUND: In developing countries Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has been seen to have a high male to female ratio, younger age at presentation, a high proportion of patients in advanced stage of disease, constitutional symptoms, and predominance of mixed cellularity histologic type. The results of treatment appear to be comparable to the results attained in developed nations. METHODS: Children with HL who were diagnosed and treated at our center between 1990 and 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 206 children with a mean age of 7.9±2.6 (range, 3 to 16) years were treated for HL. Among them, 52% presented with advanced-stage (stages III and IV) disease, 54% had B symptoms, and 69.6% had mixed cellularity type of HL. Multiagent chemotherapy was the mainstay of treatment. The 5-year overall survival and event-free survival rates were 92.7% and 77.75%, respectively. Children with early-stage disease and absence of B symptoms had a better overall survival of 97.7% each, as compared with 87.2% and 88.2% in those with late-stage disease and B symptoms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Even though developing countries have a different epidemiological profile, the outcome is good. Chemotherapy alone has shown excellent results in children with HL.

Pisolithus indicus, a new species of ectomycorrhizal fungus associated with Dipterocarps [corrected] in India.

Pisolithus is cosmopolitan in both tropical and temperate regions and forms ectomycorrhizal associations with a wide range of woody plants. Pisolithus indicus, a new species associated with Vateria indica (Dipterocarpaceae) is reported in this study from a dipterocarp native forest in the Western Ghats in India, using both morphological and molecular tools. The length of ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the present collection differed with other sequences of Pisolithus available in the databases. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this species did not show significant homology with existing Pisolithus sequences reported previously and formed a separate branch linking with another Pisolithus isolate from dipterocarps. Molecular and morphological evidence showed that P. indicus is a new species associated with dipterocarps in India.

Genetic variability and taxonomic position of ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus from India.

Eight ectomycorrhizal fungal isolates of Pisolithus associated with Eucalyptus species in different parts of India were collected and the genetic variability of these isolates was studied by ITS-RFLP and ITS sequencing. All the isolates showed same RFLP patterns with each restriction enzyme, indicating all these isolates of Pisolithus are of the same genotype. The sequence comparison of KN6 of Indian isolate showed high sequence similarities with the isolates of Pisolithus associated with Eucalyptus from Australia. Phylogeny analysis showed that all the isolates compared in this study clustered into four main groups The Indian isolate (KN6) clustered with Pisolithus albus isolates of group I, which are associated with Eucalyptus. These results suggested that Pisolithus isolates found in India are P. albus.