Objective To observe the characteristics of collateral circulation blood flow of ipsilateral ophthalmic artery in patients with internal carotid artery occlusion. Methods The imaging data of 20 patients with internal carotid artery occlusion were analyzed retrospectively. There were 11 males and 9 females, aged from 30 to 65 years, with an average age of (45±3) years. All the patients underwent digital subtraction angiography and transcranial Doppler examination, and 6 patients underwent simultaneous magnetic resonance angiography. The blood supply and collateral circulation of the ipsilateral ophthalmic artery were observed . Results All the patients had unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion. The blood supply of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery and ophthalmic artery comes from the collateral circulation between the middle meningeal artery branches of the external carotid artery and the ophthalmic artery in 18 patients (90.0%); it also comes from the anterior communicating artery of the contralateral internal carotid artery in 16 patients (80.0%); and the posterior communicating artery of the contralateral internal carotid artery in 12 patients (60.0%), respectively. Conclusion The blood flow of the ipsilateral ophthalmic artery mainly comes from the middle meningeal artery branch of the ipsilateral external carotid artery, also comes from the anterior and posterior communicating arteries of the contralateral internal carotid artery.

β-Thalassemia is a single-gene disease caused by mutations in β-globin and has a distinct geographical characteristics. Current treatment for patients with moderate to severe thalassemia has mainly relied on long-term blood transfusion and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. B cell lymphoma/leukemia 11A (BCL11A) as a transcriptional repressor plays a vital role in monitoring γ/β hemoglobin switching, maintaining the normal function of hematopoietic stem cells, and regulating erythrocyte differentiation and lymphocyte development. With the rapid progress in gene editing technology, the BCL11A as a therapeutic target for β-thalassemia has shown promising results. This article has systematically summarized the regulatory mechanism and therapeutic potential of the BCL11A, with an aim to provide new ideas for the treatment of β-thalassemia.