Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0022568 (keratitis)
 5,133 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To study the quantitative effects of megavoltage external beam irradiation in a D-shaped field in patients with retinoblastoma, biomicroscopy was performed in 61 patients and tear function tests (Schirmer-lactoferrin and lysozyme tests) on 45 eyes in 34 irradiated patients. The results were compared with those obtained in 25 non-irradiated control eyes. The Schirmer test was significantly diminished (p < 0.001) in irradiated eyes, as were the lactoferrin and lysozyme values (p < 0.001). A mild to severe keratitis was found in 17 of the 61 patients (28%). A significant correlation (p < 0.005) was found between the severe keratitis and the mean Schirmer values; the mean lactoferrin and lysozyme values were diminished in all patients but did not correlate significantly with the corneal abnormalities. These quantitative data, obtained in patients treated for retinoblastoma, affirm the qualitative data found in patients irradiated for other reasons such as orbital or sinus tumours. Irradiation for retinoblastoma is not a harmless treatment and serious late side effects have to be considered.
 ...
PMID:Quantification of lacrimal function after D-shaped field irradiation for retinoblastoma. 802 43

The treatment modalities and prognosis of 636 retinoblastoma (RB) cases diagnosed and treated in our specialist center between 1963 and 1994 were evaluated. Patient age ranged from 20 days to 16 years, the mean age being 2.2 years (26.4 months). Of the 636 cases, 441 were unilateral and 195 were bilateral. Enucleation was the most frequent treatment employed in unilateral RB patients (412 cases). Follow-up treatment included exenteration (48 cases), radiotherapy (154 cases) and chemotherapy (108 cases) for cases with optic nerve invasion and/or orbital recurrence following enucleation. Seventeen cases displayed massive proptosis, ocular damage and blindness at initial presentation and underwent exenteration as the initial treatment. Two cases were subjected to external beam radiotherapy without invasive surgical procedures. Ten cases regressed spontaneously without treatment. For bilateral cases, the most frequent treatment used was enucleation for one eye and radiotherapy for the other (132 cases). Adjuvant treatment included exenteration (9 cases) and chemotherapy (50 cases) depending on orbital recurrence and/or systemic metastasis. Spontaneous bilateral regression was noted in one case. Six cases underwent bilateral external beam radiotherapy without surgery. One eye of the remaining 56 bilateral cases underwent enucleation. The treatment for the contralateral eyes included cryotherapy in 14 cases, enucleation in 11 cases, Cobalt plaque (Co plaque) therapy in 10 cases, photocoagulation in 6 cases and exenteration in one case. No treatment was undertaken in the contralateral eyes of 14 cases. Secondary treatment modalities employed in these 56 bilateral cases were radiotherapy (11 cases), chemotherapy (8 cases), Co plaque (8 cases) and exenteration (5 cases). Treatment complications were detected in 25 cases followed for at least 18 months. Eighteen cases had radiation cataracts and 6 of these 18 patients underwent intraocular lens implantation. Post-radiation orbital malignancy (osteosarcoma) was noted in two cases aged 14 and 15 years. Phthisis bulbi was observed in three cases and radiation keratitis in two cases. The overall survival rate was 82.2% after a mean follow-up of 5 years. The survival rate of unilateral cases was 82.8% and that of bilateral cases was 81.1% at 5 years.
 ...
PMID:Retinoblastoma in Turkey--treatment and prognosis. 873 6

Acanthamoeba can cause fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and eye keratitis. However, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of these emerging diseases remain unclear. In this study, the effects of Acanthamoeba on the host cell cycle using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) and human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) were determined. Two isolates of Acanthamoeba belonging to the T1 genotype (GAE isolate) and T4 genotype (keratitis isolate) were used, which showed severe cytotoxicity on HBMEC and HCEC, respectively. No tissue specificity was observed in their ability to exhibit binding to the host cells. To determine the effects of Acanthamoeba on the host cell cycle, a cell-cycle-specific gene array was used. This screened for 96 genes specific for host cell-cycle regulation. It was observed that Acanthamoeba inhibited expression of genes encoding cyclins F and G1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6, which are proteins important for cell-cycle progression. Moreover, upregulation was observed of the expression of genes such as GADD45A and p130 Rb, associated with cell-cycle arrest, indicating cell-cycle inhibition. Next, the effect of Acanthamoeba on retinoblastoma protein (pRb) phosphorylation was determined. pRb is a potent inhibitor of G1-to-S cell-cycle progression; however, its function is inhibited upon phosphorylation, allowing progression into S phase. Western blotting revealed that Acanthamoeba abolished pRb phosphorylation leading to cell-cycle arrest at the G1-to-S transition. Taken together, these studies demonstrated for the first time that Acanthamoeba inhibits the host cell cycle at the transcriptional level, as well as by modulating pRb phosphorylation using host cell-signalling mechanisms. A complete understanding of Acanthamoeba-host cell interactions may help in developing novel strategies to treat Acanthamoeba infections.
 ...
PMID:Acanthamoeba induces cell-cycle arrest in host cells. 1527 56