Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0086543 (cataract)
 29,165 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Wound healing in 350 cases of senile cataract extraction done with a corneal incision without a conjunctival flap and closed with 3 deep 6-0 chromic gut sutures is examined. There were no cases of epithelial downgrowth and a low incidence of conjunctival blebs. There was one case of endothalmitis and 4 of iris prolapse. Sutures fell out between the 9th and 16th days and the large knots did not cause excessive irritation while in place. There was an 18% incidence of wound leak manifested by shallow or flat anterior chamber. All of these anterior chambers reformed spontaneously soon after the sutures fell out, indicating the wound leak was probably along the sutures tract. One patient with wound leak developed mild glaucoma postoperatively. Wound healing after cataract surgery is discussed. Epithelial downgrowth and conjunctival blebs are related more to tight silk sutures than absence of conjunctival flap. The early loss of the gut sutures does not decrease wound strength since the sutures have already lost their tensile strength. The epithelium which grows into the cataract wound postoperatively when a flap is not used activates stromal fibrocytes and covers any delayed iris prolapse.
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PMID:Cataract extraction without a conjunctival flap. 35 60

We believe that most cataract extraction procedures may be good in competent hands, but that complicated techniques do not necessarily give the best results. With inexperienced residents, or the occasional surgeon, a safe, simple method needs to be used until the skill of the operating surgeon may warrant more advanced techniques. A simple cataract procedure consisting of local anesthesia, limbal-based conjunctival flap, 3 postplaced 7-0 mildly chromicized gut sutures, 2 peripheral iridotomies and tumbling extraction of the lens with capsule forceps (indirect acting) is described. The low incidence of complications of all types would seem to negate the current trend of complicating the procedure. Further reports will include large series of cataracts done by resident physicians rather than by the instructors to try to further justify this position.
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PMID:Cataract surgery: review of 500 consecutive cases. 122 1

The use of 7-0 polyglycolic acid (Dexon) sutures in 200 consecutive outpatient cataract extractions is described and compared with the use of 7-0 chromic gut sutures in 200 consecutive outpatient cataract extractions. The polyglycolic acid sutures appeared to be more comfortable to the patient than the chromic gut sutures, they absorbed at a constant, steady rate compared to a variable rate for the gut sutures and there were less postoperative complications with the polyglycolic acid sutures than with the gut sutures.
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PMID:The use of polyglycolic acid sutures in outpatient cataract surgery. 126 10

The bifunctional protein DCoH (Dimerizing Cofactor for HNF1) acts as an enzyme in intermediary metabolism and as a binding partner of the HNF1 family of transcriptional activators. HNF1 proteins direct the expression of a variety of genes in the liver, kidney, pancreas, and gut and are critical to the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Mutations of the HNF1alpha gene underlie maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY3) in humans. DCoH acts as a cofactor for HNF1 that stabilizes the dimeric HNF1 complex. DCoH also catalyzes the recycling of tetrahydrobiopterin, a cofactor of aromatic amino acid hydroxylases. To examine the roles of DCoH, a targeted deletion allele of the murine DCoH gene was created. Mice lacking DCoH are viable and fertile but display hyperphenylalaninemia and a predisposition to cataract formation. Surprisingly, HNF1 function in DCoH null mice is only slightly impaired, and mice are mildly glucose-intolerant in contrast to HNF1alpha null mice, which are diabetic. DCoH function as it pertains to HNF1 activity appears to be partially complemented by a newly identified homolog, DCoH2.
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PMID:Hyperphenylalaninemia and impaired glucose tolerance in mice lacking the bifunctional DCoH gene. 1201 Oct 81

A biocompatible, sustained-release subretinal drug-delivery platform was developed to overcome the therapeutic accessibility limitations of current retinal disease treatments. The prototype implants were fabricated by coating nitinol, poly(methyl methacrylate) or chromic gut core filaments, with a drug-eluting polymer matrix. The polymer coatings are manufactured and coated by SurModics. The coating is a mixture of poly(butyl methacrylate) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate). The drug is either triamcinolone acetonide or sirolimus. The rods were successfully implanted into the subretinal space of 20/24 rabbits. Four rabbits were lost to early surgery from a dysfunctional infusion line and hemorrhage. No serious complications were observed during the 4-week follow-up period. Slight conjunctival redness was reported in all rabbits by 1-day follow-up, but the redness had subsided by the following week. Intraocular lens touch occurred in six rabbits during the implantations; of these, four had a lensectomy at the time of surgery, and the remaining two developed cataract. Corneal edema developed in three rabbits by 1-week follow-up, but subsided within 2 weeks. Initial observations of the implantation and elution characteristics revealed that the implants are well tolerated by the retinal tissue and that the implant can elute triamcinolone acetonide for a period of at least 4 weeks without eliciting an inflammatory response or complications. There were adverse clinical indications with the sirolimus-loaded implants at the delivered dose. Device retrieval required an uncomplicated surgical procedure, and revealed no associated or adherent tissue. Implant drug content analysis and opacity changes to the polymer matrix coating following retrieval demonstrated the sustained elution of the drug.
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PMID:Development, implantation, in vivo elution, and retrieval of a biocompatible, sustained release subretinal drug delivery system. 1630 25

Lutein is concentrated in the primate retina, where together with zeaxanthin it forms the macular pigment. Traditionally lutein is characterized by its blue light filtering and anti-oxidant properties. Eliminating lutein from the diet of experimental animals results in early degenerative signs in the retina while patients with an acquired condition of macular pigment loss (Macular Telangiectasia) show serious visual handicap indicating the importance of macular pigment. Whether lutein intake reduces the risk of age related macular degeneration (AMD) or cataract formation is currently a strong matter of debate and abundant research is carried out to unravel the biological properties of the lutein molecule. SR-B1 has recently been identified as a lutein binding protein in the retina and this same receptor plays a role in the selective uptake in the gut. In the blood lutein is transported via high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Genes controlling SR-B1 and HDL levels predispose to AMD which supports the involvement of cholesterol/lutein transport pathways. Apart from beneficial effects of lutein intake on various visual function tests, recent findings show that lutein can affect immune responses and inflammation. Lutein diminishes the expression of various ocular inflammation models including endotoxin induced uveitis, laser induced choroidal neovascularization, streptozotocin induced diabetes and experimental retinal ischemia and reperfusion. In vitro studies show that lutein suppresses NF kappa-B activation as well as the expression of iNOS and COX-2. Since AMD has features of a chronic low-grade systemic inflammatory response, attention to the exact role of lutein in this disease has shifted from a local effect in the eye towards a possible systemic anti-inflammatory function.
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PMID:Lutein: more than just a filter for blue light. 2246 91

Though inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has a specific predilection for the intestinal tract, it is a systemic inflammatory disorder affecting multiple organs, including the eye. Ocular complications directly related to IBD are categorized as primary and secondary. Primary complications are usually temporally associated with IBD exacerbations and tend to resolve with systemic treatment of the intestinal inflammation. These include keratopathy, episcleritis, and scleritis. Secondary complications arise from primary complications. Examples include cataract formation due to treatment with corticosteroids, scleromalacia due to scleritis, and dry eye due to hypovitaminosis A following gut resection. Some ocular manifestations of IBD can lead to significant visual morbidity and temporally associated complications can also be a herald of disease control. Furthermore, ocular manifestations of IBD can occasionally manifest before the usual intestinal manifestations, leading to an earlier diagnosis. Thus, it is important to understand the clinical presentation of possible ocular manifestations in order to initiate appropriate treatment and to help prevent significant visual morbidity.
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PMID:Ocular complications of inflammatory bowel disease. 2587 56

Ophthalmic diseases include both those analogous to systemic diseases (eg, inflammation, infection, neuronal degeneration) and not analogous (eg, cataract, myopia). Many anterior segment diseases are treated pharmacologically through eye drops, which have an implied therapeutic index of local therapy. Unlike oral dosage forms administered for systemic diseases, eyedrops require patients not only to adhere to treatment, but to be able to accurately perform-ie, instill drops correctly. Anatomical and physiological barriers make topical delivery to the anterior chamber challenging-in some cases more challenging than absorption through the skin, nasal passages, or gut. Treatment of the posterior segment (eg, vitreous, retina, choroid, and optic nerve) is more challenging due to additional barriers. Recently, intravitreal injections have become a standard of care with biologics for the treatment of macular degeneration and other diseases. Although the eye has esterases, hydroxylases, and transporters, it has relatively little CYP450 enzymes. Because it is challenging to obtain drug concentrations at the target site, ocular clinical pharmacokinetics, and thus pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic interactions, are rarely available. Ophthalmic pharmaceuticals require consideration of solubility, physiological pH, and osmolarity, as well as sterility and stability, which in turn requires optimal pharmaceutics. Although applied locally, ocular medications may be absorbed systemically, which results in morbidity and mortality (eg, systemic hypotension, bronchospasm, and bradycardia).
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PMID:Ocular pharmacology. 2636 Jan 29

d-amino acids, the enantiomeric counterparts of l-amino acids, were long considered to be non-functional or not even present in living organisms. Nowadays, d-amino acids are acknowledged to play important roles in numerous physiological processes in the human body. The most commonly studied link between d-amino acids and human physiology concerns the contribution of d-serine and d-aspartate to neurotransmission. These d-amino acids and several others have also been implicated in regulating innate immunity and gut barrier function. Importantly, the presence of certain d-amino acids in the human body has been linked to several diseases including schizophrenia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and age-related disorders such as cataract and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, increasing evidence supports a role for d-amino acids in the development, pathophysiology, and treatment of cancer. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the various sources of d-amino acids, their metabolism, as well as their contribution to physiological processes and diseases in man, with a focus on cancer.
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PMID:d-amino Acids in Health and Disease: A Focus on Cancer. 3154 25