Objective To summarize and describe clinical features and treatment outcome of syphilitic scleritis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted in patients diagnosed as syphilitic scleritis from 2011 to 2016 in our hospital.Clinical characteristics and prognosis were evaluated.Results Seven patients (7 eyes) were diagnosed as syphilitic scleritis by clinical and serological examinations.All patients were unaware that they had syphilis infection before visit.The ocular manifestation was the only clinical fmdings in three patients.Both treponema pallidum particle agglutination and rapid plasma regain were positive.Meanwhile,the scleritis infection was excluded,tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were negative.Syphilitic scleritis was unilateral in all patients,and the duration was from one week to two years.Initial symptoms were varied in degree of ocular redness,pain and visual impairment.Two patients presented with anterior episcleritis,nodular anterior scleritis was found in three patients,one patient showed diffuse anterior scleritis,and one patient presented with diffuse episcleritis combined with acute syphilitic posterior placoid chorioretinitis.All patients were treated with penicillin G,and inflammation resolved quickly after treatment.Conelusion Syphilitic scleritis is rare and ease to be misdiagnosed,various types of anterior scleritis is the main manifestation.Syphilitic serologic test should be performed for the suspected cases.The prognosis is well with anti-syphilis therapy.

Objective To observe the prognosis and correlated factors of cystoid macular edema (CME) secondary to uveitis.Methods A retrospective,noncomparative case series study.The clinical data of 31 uveitis patients with CME were collected from Uveitis & Ocular Immunology Service of Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital from August 2011 to December 2015.Pre-treatment and post-treatment data were collected,including details of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA),central macular thickness (CMT),other macular complications,and intraocular pressure (IOP).Results Twenty-seven patients (36 eyes) were analyzed.At the 1 st month after treatment,complete resolution of CME was achieved in 14 eyes (38.9％),BCVA increased from (0.66 ±0.36) LogMAR at baseline to (0.40 ±0.31) LogMAR (P ＜0.001),and CMT decreased from (469.0 ± 99.1) μm at baseline to (368.7 ± 85.9) μm (P ＜ 0.001).At the 3rd month after treatment,complete resolution of CME was found in 19 eyes (52.8％),no significant difference was found in CMT(323.9 ±60.0) μm or BCVA(0.37 ±0.32)LogMAR compared with the 1 st month after treatment (P ＞ 0.05),significant difference was found in CMT(P ＜0.001) or BCVA(P ＜0.001) before the start of treatment.At the 6th month or more after treatment,complete resolution of CME occurred in 25 eyes (69.4％),BCVA(0.32 ± 0.28)LogMAR was significant difference compared with that before the start of treatment(P ＜ 0.05),at the 1st month(P ＜ 0.05),at the 3rd month (P ＜ 0.05).CMT (294.2 ± 81.2) μm was significant difference compared with that before the start of treatment(P ＜0.001),at the 1st month(P ＜0.001),however,no significant difference was compared with that at the 3rd month (P ＞ 0.05).At the 6th month or more after treatment,11 eyes (30.6％) had a persistent macular edema,complicated with macular epiretinal membrane,no significant correlation between the reduction of CMT(185.0 ± 114.2) μm and the improvement of BCVA (0.29 ± 0.21) LogMAR was found (r =0.322,P=0.052),while the improvement of BCVA(0.29 ± 0.21)LogMAR was negatively associated with the duration of CME(8.4 ±9.8)months(r =-0.395,P =0.015).Conclusion Current therapies are effective in curing most of the CME secondary to uveitis.The duration of CME,is correlated with poor final visual acuity,the presence of ERM is an important factor associated with regression of CME.

Acquired syphilis uveitis,due to lack of the characteristic features,presents with various types.The most common type is posterior uveitis and panuveitis,including chorioretinitis,retinal vasculitis,optic nerve retinitis.The diagnosis and assessment of response to treatment depends mainly on the serological diagnostic tests,including nontreponemal and treponemal test.Acquired syphilis uveitis often presents with manifestations similar to various types of uveitis,especially to autoimmune uveitis and other infectious uveitis,so differential diagnosis is important.The gold standard treatment for active syphilitic uveitis is penicillin G,or doxycycline if patient is allergy to penicillin.Clinically misdiagnosis and delayed treatment may result in irreversible visual impairment and severe systemic and eye complications.However such timely treatment always has a good prognosis.

Objective To evaluate the effect of modified Maze lines plus pulmonary vein (PV) isolation created by radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) on atrial wall guided by a novel geometry mapping system in the treatment of elderly patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Methods After regular electrophysiological study, transseptal punctures were achieved twice with Swartz L1 and R1 sheaths. PV angiographies were conducted to evaluate their orifices and branches. A balloon electrode array catheter with 64 electrodes was put in the middle of the left atrium. Atrium geometry was constructed using Ensite 3000 Navx system. Two RFCA lesion loops and three lines (modified Maze) were created on left and right atrial walls. Each lesion point was ablated for 30 seconds with preset temperature 50 (ae) and energy 30W. The disappearance or 80% decrease of the amplitude of target atrial potential and 10 to 20(|), decrease of ablation impedance were used as an index of effective ablation. Results A total of 11 patients (7 male and 4 female, mean age, 68.7±5.1 years) were enrolled. PAF history was 7.9±4.5 years. PAF could not be prevented by mean 3.1±1.6 antiarrhythmic agents in 6.3±3.4 years. None of the patients had complications with structural heart disease or stroke. Left atrial diameter was 41.3±3.6 mm and LVEF was 59.2±3.7% on echocardiography. Two loops and three lines were completed with 67.8±13.1 (73-167) lesion points. Altogether 76-168 (89.4±15.3) lesion points were created in each patient. PAF could not be provoked by rapid burst pacing up to 600 beat per minute delivered from paroxysmal coronary sinus electrode pair.Complete PV electrical isolation was confirmed by three-dimensional activation mapping. Mean procedure time was 2.7±0.6 hours and fluoroscopy time was 17.8±9.4 minutes. Patients were discharged with oral aspirin and without antiarrhythmic agents. During follow up of 6.5±1.8 months, seven patients were PAF symptom free (63.6%). PAF attacks were decreased more than 70% in two patients (18.2%). PAF frequency did not change in another two patients (18.2%). Conclusions Ensite 3000 Navx guided modified Maze lines plus PV isolation on the atrial wall is safe and feasible in the elderly patients. It has the advantages of exact procedural endpoint, shorter X-ray exposure, fewer complications and satisfied long-term effect PAF control.

Objective To conduct a screening survey of glycophorin (GP) variants and observe the content changes of sialic acid (SA) and total sulfhydryl (SH) groups on the erythrocyte membranes among residents in a tertian malaria hyperendemic area of Guizhou Province.Methods GP variants were detected in the erythrocyte hemolysates of 173 local residents at two villages of Libo County by SDS-PAGE on 10% to 15% gradients gel and Western immunoblotting. Their SA and total SH group contents were estimated in erythrocyte membranes by spectrophotometric methods. 114 healthy subjects in Changsha and 49 individuals at a neighbouring village of the above area showing low morbidity of malaria served as normal and endemic controls respectively.Results Three distinct types of GP variants were found among 19 propositi in this hyperendemic area. The incidence of GP variants was 7.9% (8/101) at Yaolu Village whose population was mainly composed of Yao ethnic group;while that of Buyi ethnic group at Maolan Village was higher (15.3%; 11/72).The erythrocyte membrane contents of SA in residents at both villages exhibited a very significant tendency of decline (P<0.01), whereas those of total SH groups increased prominently in residents of Yaolu Village only (P<0.05).Conclusions The frequency of GP variants in this hyperendemic area does not depend upon the severity of malarial prevalence. The evident reduction of SA contents in the residents may be related to the breaking down of the SA residues on membrane GPs by the invasion of Plasmodium vivax.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus ; Animals ; Cell Nucleus ; metabolism ; Forkhead Box Protein O3 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; pathology ; Muscular Atrophy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; deficiency ; metabolism