Elevation of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-17 in the serum of AMD patients supports the hypothesis of AMD as an inflammatory disease. Patients with high IL-17 and TNF-α serum levels were more likely to have a favourable course under VEGF therapy. These cytokines may be used as easy-to-obtain biomarkers.
The purpose was to discover whether fluoride (F) accumulates in the aged human pineal gland. The aims were to determine (a) F–concentrations of the pineal gland (wet), corresponding muscle (wet) and bone (ash); (b) calcium–concentration of the pineal. Pineal, muscle and bone were dissected from 11 aged cadavers and assayed for F using the HMDS–facilitated diffusion, F–ion–specific electrode method. Pineal calcium was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Pineal and muscle contained 297±257 and 0.5±0.4 mg F/kg wet weight, respectively; bone contained 2,037±1,095 mg F/kg ash weight. The pineal contained 16,000±11,070 mg Ca/kg wet weight. There was a positive correlation between pineal F and pineal Ca (r = 0.73, p<0.02) but no correlation between pineal F and bone F. By old age, the pineal gland has readily accumulated F and its F/Ca ratio is higher than bone.
The improved dual-immunoenrichment assay enabled the detection of intact and viable CMC in the majority of UM patients. We also were able to identify CMC after short-term culturing. Molecular characterization of the CMC rather than the prevalence of these cells is expected to provide relevant information on the individual risk of metastasis.
Injection of 0.5 mg ranibizumab appears to be beneficial as an adjuvant treatment in neovascular glaucoma and rubeosis due to its anti-angiogenic properties and its ability to prevent establishment or progression of anterior chamber angle obstruction. Conventional therapeutic procedures addressing the retinal ischemia are still required in a stage-wise treatment approach.
Monosomy-3 in primary uveal melanoma (UM) is associated with a high risk of metastasis and mortality. Although circulating melanoma cells (CMC) can be found in most UM patients, only approximately 50% of the patients develop metastases. We utilized a novel immuno-FISH assay to detect chromosome-3 in intact CMC isolated by dual immunomagnetic enrichment. Circulating melanoma cells were detected in 91% of the patients (n = 44) with primary non-metastatic UM, of which 58% were positive for monosomy-3. The monosomy-3 status of CMC corresponded to the monosomy-3 status of the primary tumor in 10 of the 11 patients where this could be tested. Monosomy-3 in the CMC was associated with an advanced tumor stage (P = 0.046) and was detected in all four patients who developed metastasis within the follow-up period of 4 yr. This non-invasive technique may enable the identification of UM patients at risk for metastasis particularly when a primary tumor specimen is unavailable.
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