\s=b\In an attempt to devise a screening test for aldosterone\x=req-\ producing adenoma (APA) among hypertensive patients, the serum sodium and potassium levels, plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration, and aldosterone-PRA ratio were measured in 348 patients with hypertension. Nine patients with a substantially elevated aldosterone-PRA ratio were selected and hospitalized for further investigations. All

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Backgrounds: Although the OCT biometer using individual refractive index is available, comparisons of measurement value and intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation error with other SS-OCT biometers are not known. Objectives: To compare the new SS-OCT biometer ARGOS (OCTB1), which uses individual refractive indices to measure axial length, with the IOLMaster 700 (OCTB2) and OA-2000 (OLCR), which use equivalent refractive index. Method: Six hundred and twenty-two eyes of 622 patients who had been diagnosed with cataract were enrolled in the study. Among the 158 eyes that had undergone cataract surgery, the postoperative refractive error was evaluated using the Haigis formula. Results: The axial length measured by the OCTB1 showed a proportional bias in comparison with the other two biometers and a fixed bias in eyes with an axial length ≥26 mm. No significant difference was found in the median absolute refractive prediction error (p = 0.3278). However, in eyes with an axial length ≥26 mm, the OCTB1 showed myopic error compared with the other two biometers (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: In eyes with long axial length, when the conventional IOL calculation was optimized with the equivalent refractive index-based instrument, we need to consider that IOL calculation using OCTB1 tends to cause slightly myopic refractive prediction error.

Trabectome is an effective and safe alternative to traditional glaucoma surgeries with the expectation of approximately a 30% decrease in IOP through 6 months postoperatively.

The frequency of detection of serum antibodies against pituitary cells was determined in 32 patients with the primary empty sella syndrome. Antibodies reacting with corticotropin-secreting mouse AtT20 and PRL-secreting rat GH3 cells were found in 24 (75%) and 15 (47%), respectively, of the 32 patients; 14 patients (44%) had antibodies reacting with both cell lines. In patients with pituitary adenomas, the prevalence of antipituitary antibodies was significantly lower than in those with the empty sella syndrome; 1 of 9 acromegalic patients had antibodies reacting with GH3 cells, and 2 of 9 prolactinoma patients and 1 of 7 patients with nonfunctioning adenomas had antibodies reacting with both AtT20 and GH3 cells. Among 6 patients with idiopathic diabetes insipidus, 1 patient had antibodies reacting with AtT20 and GH3 cells, and 2 patients had antibodies reacting with either AtT20 or GH3 cells. None of 5 patients with established autoimmune diseases (3 with systemic lupus erythematosus and 2 with autoimmune adrenal failure) had antipituitary antibodies in their serum. These results suggest that pituitary antibodies may be related to the development of pituitary atrophy and the primary empty sella syndrome, and that the test may be clinically useful as a screening test for the empty sella syndrome.

Although values for low and moderate vault exhibited little change after ICL implantation, high vault tended to decrease over time and became stable at 3 months after surgery.

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