Aim: To examine whether visual restitution training (VRT) is able to change absolute homonymous field defect, assessed with fundus controlled microperimetry, in patients with hemianopia. Methods: 17 patients with stable homonymous visual field defects before and after a 6 month VRT period were investigated with a specialised microperimetric method using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO). Fixation was controlled by SLO fundus monitoring. The size of the field defect was quantified by calculating the ratio of the number of absolute defects and the number of test points; the training effect E was defined as the difference between these two ratios before and after training. A shift of the entire vertical visual field border by 1˚would result in an E value of 0.14. Results: The mean training effect of all right eyes was E = 0.025 (SD 0.052) and all left eyes E = 0.008 (SD 0.034). In one eye, a slight non-homonymous improvement along the horizontal meridian occurred. Conclusions: In one patient, a slight improvement along the horizontal meridian was found in one eye. In none of the patients was an explicit homonymous change of the absolute field defect border observed after training.

Eight children representing a spectrum of clinical states of biopsy-proven Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) underwent magnetic resonance (MR) scans to assess the degree of muscular involvement and disease progression. Five muscle groups (neck, shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle, thigh and calf) were evaluated. In each case, involved muscles were clearly demarcated. Image estimates of disease severity by degree of muscle involvement correlated well with clinical staging. In our experience MR is useful for assessment of disease stage, selection of appropriate muscles for biopsy and planning for courses of physical and rehabilitation therapy.

The authors examined 16 patients with stable homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) with static automated perimetry (SAP). Training effect E was defined as difference of the proportions of absolutely defective locations in all test locations, before and after visual restitution training (VRT). E was 0.05 +/- 0.05 (mean +/- SD). The authors observed a relevant training effect (E >or= 0.12) in two subjects, but only monocularly. VRT has little effect on absolute HVFDs in SAP.

Pyomyositis is a relatively rare entity in temperate climates. Because of its rarity and its nonspecific clinical and radiographic findings, pyomyositis may be misdiagnosed and may cause severe morbidity and mortality. We present magnetic resonance imaging findings in two cases of pyomyositis. Magnetic resonance imaging was helpful in differentiating other pathological processes from pyomyositis, outlining the extent of involvement, and localizing the fluid collection.

This paper reports the effect of incident light fluence rate on the depth to which necrotic lesions are produced by photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the brains of normal Fisher rats. The rats were injected intraperitoneally with Photofrin (12.5 mg kg-1) 48 h prior to PDT with a fixed incident fluence of 35 J cm-2. The treatment was performed at 10, 50, 100, and 200 mW cm-2 and also in a periodic manner (30 s "on" at 100 mW cm-2, 30 s "off"). The depth to which necrosis occurred was determined 24 h after treatment by microscopic examination of tissue sections. No differences were found in the depth to which necrosis was produced by any of the five irradiation schedules. This finding is discussed in the context of other published dose-rate experiments.