Administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist on Day 5 increases luteal blood flow and improves pregnancy prediction accuracy on Day 14 in recipient Holstein cows.

This study assessed the effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) treatment on Day 5 (Day 0 = estrus) on luteal blood flow and accuracy of pregnancy prediction in recipient cows. On Day 5, 120 lactating Holstein cows were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 63) or GnRH group treated with 100 µg of GnRH agonist (n = 57). On Days 3, 5, 7, and 14, each cow underwent ultrasound examination to measure the blood flow area (BFA) and time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMV) at the spiral arteries at the base of the corpus luteum using color Doppler ultrasonography. Cows with a corpus luteum diameter ≥ 20 mm (n = 120) received embryo transfers on Day 7. The BFA values in the GnRH group were significantly higher than those in the control group on Days 7 and 14. TAMV did not differ between these groups. According to receiver operating characteristic analyses to predict pregnancy, a BFA cutoff of 0.52 cm2 yielded the highest sensitivity (83.3%) and specificity (90.5%) on Day 7, and BFA and TAMV values of 0.94 cm2 and 44.93 cm/s, respectively, yielded the highest sensitivity (97.1%) and specificity (100%) on Day 14 in the GnRH group. The areas under the curve for the paired BFA and TAMV in the GnRH group were 0.058 higher than those in the control group (0.996 and 0.938, respectively; P < 0.05). In conclusion, GnRH treatment on Day 5 increased the luteal BFA in recipient cows on Days 7 and 14, and improved the accuracy of pregnancy prediction on Day 14.

Quantitative Measurements of Vessel Density and Blood Flow Areas Primary Angle Closure Diseases: A Study of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

(1) Purpose: To measure the change in vessel density (VD) and the flow area (FA) on the retina of eyes with primary angle-closure diseases (PACD), including primary angle-closure suspect (PACS), primary angle-closure (PAC), acute primary angle-closure (APAC) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). (2) Methods: Patients with PACD were prospectively enrolled in this study. All participants underwent thorough ophthalmic examinations. The mean defect (MD), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness, VD measurement, and blood FA were measured. (3) Results: A total of 147 eyes from 121 subjects were included in this study. The VD of the nerve head layer was significantly lower in PACG and APAC (all p < 0.001). APAC and PACG had lower FA of all layers, except for the choroid layer (p < 0.05). The macular VD of the whole image and blood FA in the superficial layer was significantly lower in PACG (all p < 0.001). The MD, RNFL, and GCC thickness demonstrated a strong correlation with whole image VD in the superficial layer (p < 0.001), while the inside disc VD did not show a significant correlation with MD, RNFL, and GCC thickness (p > 0.05). (4) Conclusions: There was a significant decrease in the VD and FA on the optic disc as well as the VD and FA of the superficial layer in the macular area in APAC and PACG. The changes in VD and FA are correlated with the severity of the glaucomatous structural damage and functional impairment.

Early Prediction of Corpus Luteum Functionality Using an Imaging Software.

The present study aimed to assess the applicability of luteal blood flow data acquired through the use of color Doppler ultrasonography and a post-processing analysis tool (ImageJ) for predicting pregnancy in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). The experiment was carried out on 59 multiparous Italian Mediterranean buffaloes that underwent synchronization of estrus and fixed-time artificial insemination (TAI). Corpus luteum features (size: CLS and blood flow: BFA) were taken from Day 5 to 10 after TAI and retrospectively measured with ImageJ. In the same period, blood samples were taken to assess progesterone (P4) concentrations. Pregnancy diagnosis was carried out on Day 45 by ultrasound and confirmed on Day 70 post-TAI. Differences in CLS, BFA, and P4 concentrations from Day 5 to 10 after TAI measured between groups were analyzed by ANOVA repeated measures as were differences within each day of measuring. Buffaloes that established a pregnancy (n = 29; 55%) had larger CLS (2.2 ± 0.1 vs. 1.9 ± 0.1 cm2; P < 0.01), higher BFA (0.6 ± 0.0 vs. 0.4 ± 0.0 cm2; P < 0.01), and higher P4 blood level (1.8 ± 0.1 vs. 1.4 ± 0.1; P < 0.01) during Day 5-10 as compared to not-pregnant buffaloes (n = 22). Throughout the entire period, the first feature that changed between groups was P4 blood concentration at Day 7 (1.7 ± 0.1 vs. 1.2 ± 0.1; P < 0.05) followed by BFA at Day 8 (0.6 ± 0.0 vs. 0.5 ± 0.0; P < 0.05), respectively, in pregnant and not-pregnant animals. The ROC analyses indicated that P4 was able to predict pregnancy since Day 5 (P < 0.05) although a more reliable result could be obtained from Day 8 (P < 0.01). At Day 10, it was possible to set a cutoff value for every parameter taken into account. The logistic regression analysis showed that pregnancy was positively influenced by P4 concentration (odds ratio 534.127; P < 0.01) and BFA (odds ratio 744.893; P < 0.01). In conclusion, the use of color Doppler ultrasonography, together with ImageJ, identified different patterns of BFA between pregnant and not-pregnant buffaloes starting from Day 8 post-TAI.

Determination of Topographic Variations in Inner Retinal Blood Flow Areas in Young Chinese Subjects Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

PURPOSE: To investigate (i) topographic variations in, and (ii) establish references for, inner retinal blood flow areas of the macular region of young Chinese subjects by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography. METHODS: To measure inner retinal blood flow areas, we scanned an 8 × 8 mm2 area and centered on the fovea of 336 eyes from 170 subjects using OCT angiography. Blood flow area measurements were made from a 1-mm radius circle, centered on the fovea, and 3 mm to the fovea superiorly, inferiorly, temporally, and nasally. RESULTS: Mean inner retinal blood flow areas in the parafoveal, superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal macular regions were 1.78 ± 0.28, 1.76 ± 0.30, 1.69 ± 0.31, 1.91 ± 0.31, and 1.71 ± 0.28 mm,2 respectively. Nasal inner retinal blood flow areas were significantly larger than other macular regions (p < 0.001). Gender was significantly associated with inner retinal blood flow areas of all macular regions studied. A gender-based subgroup analysis showed that inner retinal blood flow areas in superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal macular regions were significantly larger in women than men (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nasal blood flow areas were larger than parafoveal blood flow areas, which were larger than superior blood flow areas, which were larger than temporal blood flow areas, which were larger than inferior blood flow areas in the macular regions studied. Gender was significantly associated with inner retinal blood flow areas in all macular regions studied.

Diagnostic usefulness of findings in Doppler sonography for amelanotic melanoma.

To evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of Doppler sonography for amelanotic melanoma (AM), the correspondence between the findings of dermoscopy and Doppler sonography was investigated in AM in comparison with other hypopigmented tumors. Seven cases with AM and 11 cases with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 10 cases with non- or hypopigmented basal cell carcinoma (NP-BCC) and six cases with eccrine poroma (EP) as hypopigmented tumors were investigated. EP is readily recognized by differences from AM and SCC based on a single vertical and non-torvtuous vessels. NP-BCC is distinguished from AM based on tortuosity running in a vertical direction. Though findings of tortuosity in vessels and heterogeneity of vessel size are recognized both in AM and SCC: (i) abundant blood flow was recognized more clearly in AM; (ii) total blood flow was more than 40% in most cases of AM (average, 60.9%); and (iii) more vessels which flow into a tumor are found in AM (85.7%). There is no relationship between dermoscopic findings of vessel types and Doppler sonography findings of vessels. In this study, the diagnostic usefulness of the above-mentioned specific findings in examination may suggest using Doppler sonography for AM as one non-invasive method.