• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.2
• /
• pp.185-189
• /
• 2020

Immunogenicity of dendritic cell-derived exosomes stimulated with Toxoplasma gondii lysates (TLA exo), mixed with cholera toxin as an adjuvant, was investigated in mice immunized via 2 mucosal routes (ocular vs intranasal). BALB/c mice were injected 3 times with TLA exo vaccine at 2 week interval, and the levels of IgG in serum and IgA in tear, saliva, feces, and vaginal wash were measured. To observe the expression of T. gondii-specific B1 gene, mice infected with ME49 T. gondii cysts were immunized with TLA exo or PBS exo (not stimulated with TLA), and their brain tissues were examined. The mice vaccinated via intranasal route elicited significantly higher humoral and mucosal immune responses compared with mice treated with PBS alone. Also, mice immunized via ocular route (by eyedrop) induced significantly higher T. gondii-specific IgG in serum and IgA in tear and feces in comparison with PBS controls. B1 gene expression was significantly lower in TLA exo vaccinated mice than in PBS or PBS exo vaccinated mice. These results demonstrated that ocular immunization of mice with TLA exo vaccine has the potential to stimulate systemic or local antibody responses. This study also highlighted an advantage of an eyedrop vaccine as an alternative for T. gondii intranasal vaccines.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.10-18
• /
• 2023

The ultimate purpose of eye movement is to maintain clear vision by ensuring that images of observed objects are focused on the fovea in the retina. Accurate evaluation of ocular movements, including nystagmus and saccadic intrusions, provides very useful information for determining the overall function and abnormality of the complex oculomotor system, from the peripheral vestibular system to the cerebrum. Eye movement tests are therefore essential for the accurate diagnosis of patients who complain of dizziness and imbalance. They help to predict lesion locations from the peripheral vestibular system to the central cerebral cortex and play an important role in differentiation from other diseases. The methodology of recording and interpreting ocular movements using video-oculography are described in this review article.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.229-231
• /
• 2012

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite resulting in human infections and one of the infectious pathogens leading to uveitis and retinochoroiditis. The present study was performed to assess T. gondii infection in 20 ocular patients with chronic irregular recurrent uveitis (20 aqueous humor and 20 peripheral blood samples) using PCR. All samples were analyzed by nested PCR targeting a specific B1 gene of T. gondii. The PCR-positive rate was 25% (5/20), including 5% (1) in blood samples, 25% (5) in aqueous humor samples, and 5% (1) in both sample types. A molecular screening test for T. gondii infection in ocular patients with common clinical findings of an unclear retinal margin and an inflammatory membrane over the retina, as seen by fundus examination, may be helpful for early diagnosis and treatment.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.94-95
• /
• 2023

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.51 no.7
• /
• pp.315-316
• /
• 2018

Genome engineering with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system can be used as a tool to correct pathological mutations or modulate gene expression levels associated with pathogenesis of human diseases. Owing to well-established local administration methods including intravitreal and subretinal injection, it is relatively easy to administer therapeutic genome engineering machinery to ocular tissues for treating retinal diseases. In this context, we have investigated the potential of in vivo genome engineering as a therapeutic approach in the form of ribonucleoprotein or CRISPR packaged in viral vectors. Major issues in therapeutic application of genome engineering include specificity and efficacy according to types of CRISPR system. In addition to previous platforms based on ribonucleoprotein and CRISPR-associated protein 9 derived from Campylobacter jejuni, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of a CRISPR RNA-guided endonuclease derived from Lachnospiraceae bacterium ND2006 (LbCpf1) in regulating pathological angiogenesis in an animal model of wet-type age-related macular degeneration. LbCpf1 targeting Vegfa or Hif1a effectively disrupted the expression of genes in ocular tissues, resulting in suppression of choroidal neovascularization. It was also notable that there were no significant off-target effects in vivo.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.121-128
• /
• 1995

Information about retinal blood vessels can be used in grading disease severity or as part of the process of automated diagnosis of diseases with ocular menifestations. In this paper, we address the problem of detecting retinal blood vessels and optic disk (papilla) in eye-fundus images. We introduce an algorithm for feature extraction based on Fuzzy Clustering algorithm (fuzzy c-means). A method of finding the optic disk (papilla) is proposed in the eye-fundus images. Additionally, the inrormations such as position and area of the optic disk are extracted. The results are compared to those obtained from other methods. The automatic detection of retinal blood vessels and optic disk in the eye-rundus images could help physicians in diagnosing ocular diseases.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
• /
• v.1993 no.11
• /
• pp.27-30
• /
• 1993

Information about retinal blood vessels can be used in grading disease severity or as part of the process of automated diagnosis of diseases with ocular menifestations. In this paper, we address the problem of detecting retinal blood vessels and optic disk (papilla) in Eye-fundus images. We introduce an algorithm for feature extraction based on Fuzzy festering(FCM). The results ore compared to those obtained with other methods. The automatic detection of retinal blood vessels and optic disk in the Eye-fundus images could help physicians in diagnosing ocular diseases.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.55-65
• /
• 2023

The ultimate role of ocular movements is to keep the image of an object within the fovea and thereby prevent image slippage on the retina. Accurate evaluations of eye movements provide very useful information for understanding the functions of the oculomotor system and determining abnormalities therein. Such evaluations also play an important role in enabling accurate diagnoses by identifying the location of lesions and discriminating from other diseases. There are various types of ocular movements, and this article focuses on saccades, fast eye movements, smooth pursuit, and slow eye movements, which are the most important types of eye movements used in evaluations performed in clinical practice.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2024

The worldwide aging population trend is causing an increase in the incidence of major retinal diseases that can lead to blindness, including glaucoma, cataract, and macular degeneration. In the field of ophthalmology, there is a focused interest in diagnosing diseases that are difficult to prevent in order to reduce the rate of blindness. This study proposes a deep learning approach to accurately diagnose ocular diseases in fundus photographs using less data than traditional methods. For this, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models capable of effective learning with limited data were selected to classify Conventional Fundus Images (CFI) from various ocular disease patients. The chosen CNN models demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving high Accuracy, Precision, Recall, and F1-score values. This approach reduces manual analysis by ophthalmologists, shortens consultation times, and provides consistent diagnostic results, making it an efficient and accurate diagnostic tool in the medical field.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.60 no.6
• /
• pp.419-421
• /
• 2022

To improve our understanding of the migration of sparganum in humans, we report a case of ocular sparganosis having the migratory episode from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva. A 34-year-old woman was admitted to the Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Hefei, China), in December 2019. She presented with conjunctival hemorrhage and recurrent pain in the left eye. A foreign body was found in the muscle cone of the eye. Two months later, a ribbon-like white material was found under the conjunctiva on slit-lamp examination. A long and slender, actively moving parasite was extracted by surgery. The extracted worm was approximately 8 cm long and 2 mm wide. The worm was whitish, wrinkled, ribbon shaped, and had a slightly enlarged scolex. The worm sample was morphologically identified as a plerocercoid larva (sparganum) of the Spirometra tapeworm. Her conjunctival blood suffusion and eye pain ceased within 1 week after operation. She has been in good health without any symptoms during the 2-year follow-up. A case of ocular sparganosis, in which larval worm migrated from the muscle cone to the subconjunctiva is reported from China.