Using Telemetry Data to Refine Endpoints for New Zealand White Rabbits Challenged with Bacillus anthracis

We used a continuous-monitoring digital telemetry system to investigate temperature response in New Zealand White rabbits after inhalation or subcutaneous challenge with Bacillus anthracis. Two spore preparations of B. anthracis Ames A2084 were evaluated by using a nose-only inhalation model, and 2 strains, B. anthracis Ames A2084 and B. anthracis UT500, were evaluated in a subcutaneous model. Animal body temperature greater than 3 SD above the mean baseline temperature was considered a significant increase in body temperature (SIBT). All rabbits that exhibited SIBT after challenge by either route of infection or bacterial strain eventually died or were euthanized due to infection, and all rabbits that died or were euthanized due to infection exhibited SIBT during the course of disease. The time at onset of SIBT preceded clinical signs of disease in 94% of the rabbits tested by as long as 2 days. In addition, continuous temperature monitoring facilitated discrimination between the 2 B. anthracis strains with regard to the time interval between SIBT and death. These data suggest that for the New Zealand White rabbit anthrax model, SIBT is a reliable indicator of infection, is predictive of experimental outcome in the absence of treatment, and is measurable prior to the appearance of more severe signs of disease. The use of digital telemetry to monitor infectious disease course in animal models of anthrax can potentially be used in conjunction with other clinical score metrics to refine endpoint euthanasia criteria.

Gene therapy using p21WAF-1/Cip-1 to modulate wound healing after glaucoma trabeculectomy surgery in a primate model of ocular hypertension

Glaucoma is a common eye disease associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Lowering IOP is the only acceptable therapy for glaucoma and slows progression of the disease. Filtration surgery, which introduces a guarded ostomy through the sclera into the anterior chamber of the eye to allow the escape of aqueous humor, is the most reliable method for effective IOP lowering. Success of this surgery is limited by scarring of the ostomy, so this procedure is often accompanied by the use of antimetabolites, such as mitomycin C (MMC), to block the wound healing response. Although effective in preventing scarring, antimetabolites also yield unwanted side effects, such as hypotony and tissue degeneration due to cellular destruction. This study presents an alternative to antimetabolites by using gene therapy to introduce the human gene for p21(WAF-1/cip-1) (p21) to cause cell cycle arrest of surrounding cells rather than their destruction. In this procedure, p21 was delivered using a recombinant adenovirus to ocular hypertensive monkey eyes. These eyes then underwent filtration surgery. Results show that eyes treated with p21 exhibited open surgical ostomies by both functional and histological criteria, and did not display any side effects seen in control animals that were treated with MMC.

Refractive stabilization after temporal phacoemulsification with foldable acrylic intraocular lens implantation

PURPOSE

To determine the rate of stabilization of refractive error after temporal small incision phacoemulsification with insertion of an acrylic foldable intraocular lens (IOL) (AcrySof MA30).

SETTING

A university hospital anterior segment referral practice.

METHODS

The records of 100 consecutive patients with good visual potential having phacoemulsification with acrylic IOL implantation who had good visual acuity on the first postoperative day were reviewed. Refractive data at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 and 4 months were compared.

RESULTS

The mean spherical equivalent refraction was +0.31 diopter (D), -0.33 D, -0.51 D, and -0.35 D at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 4 months, respectively. Cylinder by refraction was 1.17 D, 1.09 D, 0.96 D, and 0.99 D, respectively. From 1 week on, the cylinder power and axis did not differ significantly from that at 4 months. At 1 week, the spherical equivalent was within +/-0.50 D of the 4-month refraction in 66.1% of eyes and the cylinder was within +/-0.50 D in 72.9%. At 1 month, the corresponding values were 87.1% and 85.7%.

CONCLUSION

The refractive error stabilized rapidly after temporal phacoemulsification with acrylic IOL implantation.