Predictors of visual outcome in post-fever retinitis: a retrospective analysis.

PURPOSE: To identify the predictors of final visual outcome in cases with post-fever retinitis (PFR). METHODS: This is a retrospective study of cases with diagnosis of post-fever retinitis. Colour fundus photograph and optical coherence tomography (OCT) parameters at presentation and final visit were analysed. Various factors at presentation [age, systemic illness, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), area of retinitis and hard exudates, OCT parameters], at final visit (OCT parameters) and the treatment modalities used were correlated with BCVA at final visit. RESULTS: Twenty-four eyes of 16 patients with PFR were included in the study. Median BCVA at presentation was 6/60 and at final visit was 6/9. By multiple linear regression after adjusting for other variables, for every 1 unit increase in height of subretinal fluid (SRF) at fovea at presentation, the value of final BCVA decreased by 0.001 unit. For every 1 unit increase in extent of ellipsoid zone (EZ) loss and subfoveal deposit height, the value of final BCVA decreased by 0.0001 unit and 0.004 unit, respectively. The baseline OCT parameters that had negative correlation with final BCVA included central macular thickness (r: - 0.5182, p: 0.02), maximum SRF height (r: - 0.5539, p < 0.01) and SRF height at fovea (r: - 0.582, p < 0.01). The OCT parameters at final visit which had a negative correlation with final BCVA included disorganisation of retinal inner layers (DRIL) within 1000 microns from centre of fovea (r: - 0.6494, p < 0.01), height of subfoveal deposit (r: - 0.7627, p < 0.01), horizontal extent of subfoveal deposit (r: - 0.6695, p < 0.01) and extent of EZ loss (r: - 0.8216, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Height of SRF at presentation, extent of EZ loss and subfoveal deposit height at final visit were associated with poor final BCVA in PFR.

Proteomic analysis of the effects and interactions of sleep deprivation and aging in mouse cerebral cortex.

The cellular and molecular processes that underlie the drives and functions of sleep have been the topic of many studies in the last few decades. Discovery-based techniques, such as cDNA microarrays, have increasingly been utilized in conjunction with sleep deprivation paradigms to examine the molecular mechanisms and functions of sleep. These studies have helped to validate and expand existing hypotheses, such as those on the roles of sleep in synaptic plasticity and in energy metabolism. The mechanisms underlying the highly prevalent changes in sleep architecture with age are not known, but likely reflect fundamental changes in the molecular basis of circadian timing and sleep homeostatic processes. We decided to explore the effects and interactions of sleep deprivation and aging utilizing the proteomic technique of difference in gel electrophoresis (DIGE). DIGE, which utilizes cyanine dye labeling of samples, allows for the comparison of multiple experimental groups within and across gels. In this study, we compared cerebral cortex tissue from young (2.5 months) and old (24 months) mice that had been sleep deprived for 6 h to tissue from undisturbed young and old control animals. Following DIGE, automatic image matching and spot identification, and statistical analysis, 43 unique proteins were identified. The proteins were grouped into seven functional classes based on published characteristics: cell signaling, cytoskeletal, energy metabolism, exocytosis, heat shock proteins, mRNA processing/trafficking, and serum proteins. The identity and characteristics of these proteins relevant to sleep and aging are discussed.