Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0242706 (hyperoxia)
 5,219 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effects of oxygen in the immature or incompletely vascularized retina are conveniently divided into an initial vasoconstrictive and obliterative stage and a secondary vasoproliferative response that occurs after removal of the subject from an enriched oxygen environment. Vasoproliferation starts at the zone of perfused and nonperfused retina. The incompletely vascularized retina is uniquely responsive to these oxygen-induced changes. After vascularization is complete and the retinal vessels reach the ora, the susceptibility to hyperoxia disappears. The vessels in the temporal periphery of the retina have a peculiar susceptibility to the primary and secondary effects of hyperoxia on the immature retina. Ophthalmoscopic examination of the temporal periphery therefore should always be done carefully in the premature infant or in older individuals giving a history of prematurity. The indirect ophthalmoscope provides the most satisfactory instrument for examination. The incidence of retrolental fibroplasia has been greatly reduced following the incrimination of oxygen as its principal cause. Further studies are still required to determine precise blood oxygen levels that are safe for the premature retina and to discover other factors that may play a role in the pathogenesis or RLF.
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PMID:The role of oxygen in retrolental fibroplasia. 107 6

A critical review of the literature of retrolental fibroplasia indicates that the cause of this disease is not yet known. Oxygen is certainly a critical factor but it is still not possible to make precise recommendations as to the amount or the duration of therapy that is safe. We have overemphasized the role of oxygen in the past, and as a result of this the false impression has been created that RLF is a disease that can be prevented. This gross oversimplification of a complex disease with multiple causes has resulted in many unjustified malpractice claims. A study of the present epidemic indicates that excessive oxygen administration probably plays a minor role, in contrast to the first epidemic in which prolonged oxygen administration was clearly a major factor. A reasonable working hypothesis is that the developing retina is highly sensitive to any disturbance in its oxygen supply, either hyperoxemic or hypoxemic. The retinal circulation is subject to the same wide fluctuations as the cerebral circulation in newborn infants. The very low-birth-weight, sick premature infant suffers from a number of conditions, many of which can seriously disturb the retinal circulation, resulting in hypoperfusion and ischemia. These factors (immaturity, hyperoxia, hypoxia, blood transfusions, intraventricular hemorrhage, apnea, infection, hypercarbia, hypocarbia, patent ductus arteriosus, prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors, vitamin E deficiency, lactic acidosis, prenatal complications, genetic factors) may all be present in an infant. They may interact to produce various degrees of retinal damage. Nearly all of these factors cannot be prevented or controlled by our present methods of care. Unfortunately, this means that RLF is an extremely difficult disease to prevent, treat, or investigate. A disease of this complexity with multiple causes will require very large numbers of infants in any controlled study of a therapy. Retrolental fibroplasia should not be considered an avoidable iatrogenic disease in very low-birth-weight infants. Its cause in these infants is not known.
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PMID:A reexamination of the role of oxygen in retrolental fibroplasia. 641 99

The incidence of retrolental fibroplasia (RLF, retinopathy of prematurity) is increasing, as more premature infants of lower birth weight are surviving. Currently, about 17% of premature neonates at risk will develop this condition, although in 85% of these cases it will undergo spontaneous resolution. This paper reviews our current knowledge and management of RLF, and aims to remind us that sophisticated monitoring techniques have not eliminated the problems of hyperoxia.
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PMID:Retrolental fibroplasia today. 701 57