A retrospective review of conjunctival melanoma: Presentation, treatment and evolution

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the present study is to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients diagnosed and treated for conjunctival melanoma in the Ocular Oncology Unit of the University Hospital Clinic of Valladolid.

METHODS

A retrospective observational case series study was conducted on patients diagnosed with conjunctival melanoma in the Ocular Oncology Unit of University Hospital Clinic of Valladolid, from January 1992 to December 2017. Demographic information and tumour features were recorded in a Microsoft Access database.

RESULTS

Among a total of 462 consecutive patients, the tumour was classified as melanocytic in 252 cases (54.5%), with 27 patients having the pathological diagnosis of conjunctival melanoma. The mean age at diagnosis was 59.2years (16-88), and there were 41% males and 59% females, with a mean follow-up of 6.1±6.8years. As regards the origin of conjunctival melanoma, 16 cases (59%) arose from primary acquired melanosis, 26% from nevus, and 15% developed de novo. The treatment performed was incisional or excisional biopsy in all patients, local adjuvant chemotherapy in 15 cases (56%) and brachytherapy in 5 patients (18%). The median survival was 18years and the probability of survival at 5 and 10years was 89% and 69%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Conjunctival melanoma is a rare disease, usually undervalued by the patient as well as being underdiagnosed, leading to insufficient and delayed treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to prevent recurrences and systemic extension, as well as to preserve vision and life.

Time and dose dependent effects of oxidative stress induced by cumene hydroperoxide in neuronal excitability of rat motor cortex neurons

It has been claimed that oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen radicals can contribute to neuron degeneration and might be one factor in the development of different neurological diseases. In our study, we have attempted to clarify how oxidative damage induces dose dependent changes in functional membrane properties of neurons by means of whole cell patch clamp techniques in brain slices from young adult rats. Our research demonstrates physiological changes in membrane properties of pyramidal motor cortex neurons exposed to 3 concentrations of cumene hydroperoxide (CH; 1, 10 and 100μM) during 30min. Results show that oxidative stress induced by CH evokes important changes, in a concentration and time dependent manner, in the neuronal excitability of motor cortex neurons of the rat: (i) Low concentration of the drug (1μM) already blocks inward rectifications (sag) and decreases action potential amplitude and gain, a drug concentration which has no effects on other neuronal populations, (ii) 10μM of CH depresses the excitability of pyramidal motor cortex neurons by decreasing input resistance, amplitude of the action potential, and gain and maximum frequency of the repetitive firing discharge, and (iii) 100μM completely blocks the capability to produce repetitive discharge of action potentials in all cells. Both larger drug concentrations and/or longer times of exposure to CH narrow the current working range. This happens because of the increase in the rheobase, and the reduction of the cancelation current. The effects caused by oxidative stress, including those produced by the level of lipid peroxidation, are practically irreversible and, this, therefore, indicates that neuroprotective agents should be administered at the first symptoms of alterations to membrane properties. In fact, the pre-treatment with melatonin, acting as an antioxidant, prevented the lipid peroxidation and the physiological changes induced by CH. Larger cells (as estimated by their cell capacitance) were also more susceptible to oxidative stress. Our results provide previously unavailable observations that large size and high sensitivity to oxidative stress (even at low concentrations) make pyramidal neurons of the motor cortex, in particular corticofugal neurons, more susceptible to cell death when compared with other neuronal populations. These results could also shed some light on explaining the causes behind diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Long-term outcome of the Cloward procedure for single-level cervical degenerative spondylosis. Clinical and radiological assessment after a 22-year mean follow-up

PURPOSE

To evaluate the long-term outcomes of the classical Cloward procedure in single-level cervical spondylosis.

METHODS

A retrospective study of 28 patients who were affected by cervical degenerative spondylosis at C4-C7 segments and treated by the Cloward technique at a single level from 1985-1995 was conducted. The average follow-up period was 22 years (range, 17-27 years). Preoperative clinical complaints were recorded and compared to the current clinical status. Preoperative, 3-6 months postoperative and a current radiographic study were analysed by evaluating the segmental and global sagittal alignment of the cervical spine as well as the occurrence of adjacent disc degeneration.

RESULTS

The most frequently operated segment was C5-C6 (57.1 %), followed by C6-C7 (32.1 %) and C4-C5 (7.1 %). Pain relief and symptom recovery experienced 3-6 months following the surgery was maintained at the most recent follow-up in 85 % of patients. Adjacent disc degeneration was detected in a total of 17 cases (60.7 %). Overall, a group of 14 cases (50 %) had increased lordosis at C2-C7 at the most recent follow-up, with a mean gain of 1.5º Cobb. According to Odom's criteria, 17 patients (60.8 %) presented with excellent clinical outcome, 6 (21.4 %) presented with good outcome, 5 had a (17.8 %) fair outcome, and none had a poor outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

The Cloward technique provided excellent long-term clinical outcome in the treatment of single-level cervical degenerative spondylosis. There were no major alterations of the cervical sagittal balance, and the development of adjacent segment disease (ASD) was not specifically associated with the previous surgery.

Collateral circulation on perfusion-computed tomography-source images predicts the response to stroke intravenous thrombolysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Perfusion-computed tomography-source images (PCT-SI) may allow a dynamic assessment of leptomeningeal collateral arteries (LMC) filling and emptying in middle cerebral artery (MCA) ischaemic stroke. We described a regional LMC scale on PCT-SI and hypothesized that a higher collateral score would predict a better response to intravenous (iv) thrombolysis.

METHODS

We studied consecutive ischaemic stroke patients with an acute MCA occlusion documented by transcranial Doppler/transcranial color-coded duplex, treated with iv thrombolysis who underwent PCT prior to treatment. Readers evaluated PCT-SI in a blinded fashion to assess LMC within the hypoperfused MCA territory. LMC scored as follows: 0, absence of vessels; 1, collateral supply filling ≤ 50%; 2, between> 50% and < 100%; 3, equal or more prominent when compared with the unaffected hemisphere. The scale was divided into good (scores 2-3) vs. poor (scores 0-1) collaterals. The predetermined primary end-point was a good 3-month functional outcome, while early neurological recovery, transcranial duplex-assessed 24-h MCA recanalization, 24-h hypodensity volume and hemorrhagic transformation were considered secondary end-points.

RESULTS

Fifty-four patients were included (55.5% women, median NIHSS 10), and 4-13-23-14 patients had LMC score (LMCs) of 0-1-2-3, respectively. The probability of a good long-term outcome augmented gradually with increasing LMCs: (0) 0%; (1) 15.4%; (2) 65.2%; (3) 64.3%, P = 0.004. Good-LMCs was independently associated with a good outcome [OR 21.02 (95% CI 2.23-197.75), P = 0.008]. Patients with good LMCs had better early neurological recovery (P = 0.001), smaller hypodensity volumes (P < 0.001) and a clear trend towards a higher recanalization rate.

CONCLUSIONS

A higher degree of LMC assessed by PCT-SI predicts good response to iv thrombolysis in MCA ischaemic stroke patients.

[Ocular retention in patients with uveal melanoma managed by a multimodality approach]

OBJECTIVE

to analyze ocular survival in eyes with uveal melanoma treated with conservative therapies, in a centre that applies all treatment modalities.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with uveal melanoma and treated between September 1990 and April 2007 were included in an historical cohorts study.

RESULTS

273 patients were included. 193 were treated with conservative treatments (70.69%) and 80 were enucleated as primary treatment. 14 patients were enucleated after conservative treatment (7.2%). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed an 88% survival probability of the eye in the first 5 years after conservative treatment and 83% at 10 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative treatments for uveal melanoma, especially brachitherapy, are safe and effective in relation to tumor control and rate of secondary effects.

[Limbal transplantation: multicenter retrospective case series analysis]

PURPOSE

To report the results of limbal transplantation (LT) in patients with limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) in the context of ocular surface diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multicenter (5 centers) retrospective case series analysis of patients who underwent LT between 1996 and 2004 was performed. Data were collected by the same researcher using a customized database. Success was defined by the absence of a persistent corneal epithelial defect, on-going inflammation or recurrence of a pterygium.

RESULTS

Data from 72 LT performed in 61 patients (65 eyes) with a mean follow-up of 20.8 months (SD 23.5; range, 3-115) were analyzed. There were 33 males and 28 females with a mean age of 55.8 years (SD: 15.6; range, 20-89). Fifty-eight (80.6%) LT were autografts (40 pterygia, 12 alkali burns, 3 iatrogenic cases, 2 viral infections, 1 neoplasia case) and 14 (19.4%) were allografts from cadaveric donors (7 immune-based disorders, 6 alkali burns, 1 iatrogenic case); all patients receiving allografts also received systemic immunosuppression. Of the total number of LT, 48 (66.7%) were successful. This proportion increased to 81.0% (47/58) when autografts were used. However, only 7.1% (1/14) of all allografts were successful. The success rate was higher (80.0%) when performed for a pterygium and lower when done for immune-based inflammation (14.3%).

CONCLUSION

Autograft tissue for LT is always preferable to allografts to surgically treat LSCD, as clinical success is significantly higher, and systemic immunosuppression is avoided. As expected, immune-based disorders are the most difficult cases to treat. LT has been shown to be an excellent option for recurrent pterygium, although prospective studies need to be performed to further corroborate these results.

[Serum creatinine and creatinine clearance to estimate renal function in essential hypertension]

The shortcoming of serum creatinine (SCr) as an index of renal function is well known, patients can have significantly decreased glomerular filtration rates (GFR) with normal range SCr values, making the recognition of renal dysfunction more difficult. This study was designed to estimate renal function and the prevalence of renal dysfunction in essential hypertensive patients, comparing SCr and 4 formulas used to measure the creatinine clearance (CrCl) (the urinary CrCl formula, Cockcroft-Gault, MDRD and body surface formula) The study included 721 essential hypertensive patients, 319 men (44.2%), 402 women (55.8%), mean age 56.3 +/- 13.9 (53.7 +/- 14.4 vs 58.3 +/- 13.3). In all subjects SCr was measured and 24-h urine sample was collected to evaluate CrCl. Creatinine clereance was calculated by 4 formulas. Patients were grouped according to age (< 40, 41-65, 65-75 and > 76) and renal function was classified as normal when SCr < 1.4 in women and 1.5 mg/dl in men and CrCl (> 60 ml/m, respectively) within the above written formulas. SCr increases with age (1.01 +/- 0.36 vs 1.3 +/- 1.15) and CrCl decreases according to the 4 formulas (107.6; 92.8; 74.7 and 57.3 for the urinary SCr formula); (117.7; 87.7; 65.9 and 49.5 for the CC formula); (87.4, 74.9, 66.5 and 61 for the MDRD formula) and (97, 85.3, 71.9 and 57.3 for the body suface formula). The 4 formulas are comparable markers of renal function in the overall population. With any formula the percentage of patients with impaired renal function was much higher than indicated by the plasma creatinine alone (4% for SCr) vs 18.3-25.3% (CrCl < 60 ml/m) according to the 4 formulas. This study documents the substantial prevalence of abnormal renal function in essential hypertension. Estimation of GFR may help to facilitate the early identification of patients with renal impairment.