The results of our study indicate that endogenous SDF-1 is up-regulated in retinal microvasculature suffering ischemia insult, and that microvasculature endothelial cells are potential contributors for generation of SDF-1 in ischemic retina.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of topical anesthesia in vitrectomy using the transconjunctival sutureless 25-gauge system (TSV 25G). Methods:TSV 25G vitrectomy was performed prospectively in 46 eyes of 46 patients with macular-based disorders, including macular holes (n = 31), idiopathic epiretinal membranes (n = 11), and vitreoretinal traction syndrome (n = 4). Topical anesthesia was administered in each patient by instilling 2% Alcaine at 5 min intervals, three times before surgery. Additional Alcaine drops were given as a supplementation if needed during the operation. The levels of intraoperative analgesia were graded from 1 (adequate) to 3 (inadequate). Results: Thirty-one patients (67.4%) tolerated the procedure well, with no additional anesthetic agent. Thirteen patients (28.3%) required additional topical anesthesia and 2 patients (4.3%) required a systemic sedative. Intraoperative pain occurred when the sclera was pierced by the microcannula and when sclera indentation was performed. No patient required additional retrobulbar or peribulbar anesthesia. There was no intraoperative complication which was specifically related to topical anesthesia. Conclusion: Topical anesthesia permits the successful management of some surgically less complex vitreoretinal disorders when the TSV 25G is used.

Chordoma is a rare and slow-growing malignant neoplasm that arises from the embryonic notochord. It is rare to see a thoracic chordoma presenting as a posterior mediastinal mass with pleural seeding in a child. The authors report a chordoma of the thoracic spine with posterior mediastinal extension and pleural seeding in a 2-year-old boy who presented with asymmetric bilateral hand temperature and lower limb paralysis. The clinical course progressed rapidly, resulting in death.

BackgroundComitant exotropia (CE) is a common eye movement disorder, characterized by impaired eye movements and stereoscopic vision. CE patients reportedly exhibit changes in the central nervous system. However, it remains unclear whether large-scale brain network changes occur in CE patients.PurposeThis study investigated the effects of exotropia and stereoscopic vision dysfunction on large-scale brain networks in CE patients via independent component analysis (ICA).MethodsTwenty-eight CE patients (mean age, 15.80 ± 2.46 years) and 27 healthy controls (HCs; mean age, 16.00 ± 2.68 years; closely matched for age, sex, and education) underwent resting-state magnetic resonance imaging. ICA was applied to extract resting-state networks (RSNs) in both groups. Two-sample’s t-tests were conducted to investigate intranetwork functional connectivity (FC) within RSNs and interactions among RSNs between the two groups.ResultsCompared with the HC group, the CE group showed increased intranetwork FC in the bilateral postcentral gyrus of the sensorimotor network (SMN). The CE group also showed decreased intranetwork FC in the right cerebellum_8 of the cerebellum network (CER), the right superior temporal gyrus of the auditory network (AN), and the right middle occipital gyrus of the visual network (VN). Moreover, functional network connectivity (FNC) analysis showed that CER-AN, SMN-VN, SN-DMN, and DMN-VN connections were significantly altered between the two groups.ConclusionComitant exotropia patients had abnormal brain networks related to the CER, SMN, AN, and VN. Our results offer important insights into the neural mechanisms of eye movements and stereoscopic vision dysfunction in CE patients.