AIM: To investigate the serum level of the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in age -related macular degeneration (AMD) and healthy control subjects. The disruption in the tight balance of neuroinflammatory and...AIM: To investigate the serum level of the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in age -related macular degeneration (AMD) and healthy control subjects. The disruption in the tight balance of neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective processes in an immune -privileged site like retina is proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of AMD. One of the main neuroprotective mediators in the central nervous system Is BDNF with its serum level notably affected in several neurodegenerative disorders. METHODS: Thirty-six patients'with AMD and 36 age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. The serum level of BDNF was measured using the enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay method. Results were analyzed to compare case and control values. Comparisons were also made between the BDNF level of wet- vsdry-AMD, and male vs female patients and controls. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student's t-test were employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean BDNF levels in AMD group were significantly higher than the control group. Furthermore, our analysis revealed greater BDNF values in all AMD subgroups compared to controls (P=0.004, 0.005, 0.001 and 0.02 for male wet-AMD, male dry-AMD, female wetAMD and female dry-AMD vscontrols, respectively). The BDNF level however did not vary between wet- and dryAMD patients (P=0.74). While within-group comparisons in males and females of AMD and control groups did not show any difference in BDNF (P=0.16, 0.64 and 0.85 for wet -AMD, dry -AMD and control groups, respectively), between -group data showed a higher mean BDNF in both male and female AMD subjects than their peer controls. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the serum BDNF level is different in patients with AMD as compared to subjects without AMD. Future attempts should be done to unravel beneficial or deleterious effect of this neurotrophin in the pathogenesis of AMD.展开更多
Invasive candidiasis(IC) bears a high risk of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units(ICU). With the current advances in critical care and the use of widespectrum antibiotics, invasive fungal infections(IF...Invasive candidiasis(IC) bears a high risk of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units(ICU). With the current advances in critical care and the use of widespectrum antibiotics, invasive fungal infections(IFIs) and IC in particular, have turned into a growing concern in the ICU. Further to blood cultures, some auxil-iary laboratory tests and biomarkers are developed to enable an earlier detection of infection, however these test are neither consistently available nor validated in our setting. On the other hand, patients' clinical status and local epidemiology data may justify the empiric antifungal approach using the proper antifungal option. The clinical approach to the management of IC in febrile, non-neutropenic critically ill patients has been defined in available international guidelines; nevertheless such recommendations need to be customized when applied to our local practice. Over the past three years, Iranian experts from intensive care and infectious diseases disciplines have tried to draw a consensus on the management of IFI with a particular focus on IC in the ICU. The established IFI-clinical forum(IFI-CF), comprising the scientific leaders in the field, has recently come up with and updated recommendation on the same(June 2014). The purpose of this review is to put together literature insights and Iranian experts' opinion at the IFI-CF, to propose an updated practical overview on recommended approaches for the management of IC in the ICU.展开更多
文摘AIM: To investigate the serum level of the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in age -related macular degeneration (AMD) and healthy control subjects. The disruption in the tight balance of neuroinflammatory and neuroprotective processes in an immune -privileged site like retina is proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of AMD. One of the main neuroprotective mediators in the central nervous system Is BDNF with its serum level notably affected in several neurodegenerative disorders. METHODS: Thirty-six patients'with AMD and 36 age-matched controls were enrolled in this study. The serum level of BDNF was measured using the enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay method. Results were analyzed to compare case and control values. Comparisons were also made between the BDNF level of wet- vsdry-AMD, and male vs female patients and controls. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student's t-test were employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean BDNF levels in AMD group were significantly higher than the control group. Furthermore, our analysis revealed greater BDNF values in all AMD subgroups compared to controls (P=0.004, 0.005, 0.001 and 0.02 for male wet-AMD, male dry-AMD, female wetAMD and female dry-AMD vscontrols, respectively). The BDNF level however did not vary between wet- and dryAMD patients (P=0.74). While within-group comparisons in males and females of AMD and control groups did not show any difference in BDNF (P=0.16, 0.64 and 0.85 for wet -AMD, dry -AMD and control groups, respectively), between -group data showed a higher mean BDNF in both male and female AMD subjects than their peer controls. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the serum BDNF level is different in patients with AMD as compared to subjects without AMD. Future attempts should be done to unravel beneficial or deleterious effect of this neurotrophin in the pathogenesis of AMD.
基金support from Behestan Darou PJS and Behphar scientific Committee Tehran Iran
文摘Invasive candidiasis(IC) bears a high risk of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units(ICU). With the current advances in critical care and the use of widespectrum antibiotics, invasive fungal infections(IFIs) and IC in particular, have turned into a growing concern in the ICU. Further to blood cultures, some auxil-iary laboratory tests and biomarkers are developed to enable an earlier detection of infection, however these test are neither consistently available nor validated in our setting. On the other hand, patients' clinical status and local epidemiology data may justify the empiric antifungal approach using the proper antifungal option. The clinical approach to the management of IC in febrile, non-neutropenic critically ill patients has been defined in available international guidelines; nevertheless such recommendations need to be customized when applied to our local practice. Over the past three years, Iranian experts from intensive care and infectious diseases disciplines have tried to draw a consensus on the management of IFI with a particular focus on IC in the ICU. The established IFI-clinical forum(IFI-CF), comprising the scientific leaders in the field, has recently come up with and updated recommendation on the same(June 2014). The purpose of this review is to put together literature insights and Iranian experts' opinion at the IFI-CF, to propose an updated practical overview on recommended approaches for the management of IC in the ICU.
