Chronic wound management remains a significant clinical challenge, requiring adaptive therapeutic approaches to achieve wound closure that nonetheless frequently prove fruitless. Balancing the initial pro-inflammatory response with debris removal and tissue rebuilding remains elusive in most cases, leading to pain, drastic quality-of-life deterioration, and, eventually, amputation. Meanwhile, patient adherence is an overarching theme. Furthermore, non-surgical alternatives that effectively promote tissue rebuilding are essential for patients seeking to avoid further invasive procedures. We report a patient with a recalcitrant ulcer managed using human amniotic membrane dressing (hAM-pe) and a bovine collagen matrix (BCM) in spatially distinct areas as an intra-patient control. Methodology included clinical monitoring and ad hoc molecular and histological analyses to assess inflammatory markers and tissue architecture. Following 59 days of observation, the superior evolution of the hAM-pe-treated zone led to the clinical decision to extend hAM-pe treatment over the adjacent BCM area, resulting in total wound closure. The hAM-pe-treated site demonstrated accelerated closure and clinical resolution of inflammation without the presence of a granulomatous response. Molecular analysis revealed downregulated pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-1β, TNF-α, CXCL-10) and upregulated markers associated with angiogenesis (VEGF, CD34) and tissue repair (Arginase-1). In this case, the non-surgical hAM-pe treatment was associated with a favorable healing trajectory, characterized by superior inflammation resolution and enhanced tissue organization (collagen type I/III maturation). While these descriptive findings suggest the potential advantages of amniotic membrane dressings in promoting advanced tissue repair, they remain limited to this individual observation. Further research in larger cohorts is required to validate these mechanisms.

La membrana amniótica humana (hAM), derivada de la placenta, se ha consolidado como un biomaterial de alto valor terapéutico en medicina regenerativa gracias a sus propiedades antiinflamatorias, inmunomoduladoras, antimicrobianas y regenerativas. Su estructura avascular, su contenido de factores bioactivos (citoquinas, factores de crecimiento, inhibidores de metaloproteinasas) y su matriz extracelular rica en colágeno y laminina, la convierten en un sustrato ideal para promover la cicatrización, reducir la inflamación y actuar como barrera biológica en múltiples contextos clínicos. Este trabajo presenta un estado del arte actualizado sobre los usos médicos de la hAM en Argentina, describiendo sus mecanismos de acción, aplicaciones clínicas, formas de presentación y estado regulatorio. Se detallan sus efectos inmunomoduladores, mediados por células amnióticas epiteliales y mesenquimales, su papel en la reepitelización y angiogénesis, así como su potencial anticancerígeno basado en la secreción de factores como la trombospondina, endostatina e interleuquina 10. Asimismo, se destacan sus capacidades como soporte estructural y su utilidad en la ingeniería de tejidos. En la práctica clínica, la hAM se aplica en especialidades como oftalmología, dermatología, traumatología, cirugía plástica, ginecología y odontología. En oftalmología, por ejemplo, se utiliza para tratar úlceras corneales, defectos epiteliales persistentes y patologías inflamatorias de la superficie ocular. En dermatología y cirugía plástica se emplea para el tratamiento de úlceras crónicas, quemaduras y heridas quirúrgicas complejas. Su aplicación en ortopedia y odontología incluye la regeneración ósea y la prevención de adherencias. En Argentina, existen siete bancos de tejidos habilitados para procesar y distribuir hAM en diferentes formatos (criopreservada, liofilizada, desecada). Destacan instituciones como el Hospital Garrahan, el Laboratorio de Hemoderivados (UNC), el Banco Multitejidos Ecodaic (Córdoba) y Amnios BMA (Buenos Aires), que han desarrollado protocolos estandarizados para su obtención, procesamiento y distribución. Además, se presentan experiencias de investigación traslacional y aplicada en colaboración con CONICET, universidades y hospitales públicos. A pesar del crecimiento en su uso y producción, persisten desafíos regulatorios, logísticos y de concientización sobre la donación placentaria. No obstante, la hAM se perfila como un recurso estratégico con enorme potencial en salud pública, capaz de mejorar significativamente la calidad de vida de pacientes mediante terapias regenerativas accesibles y seguras.

Background: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) constitute a complication that occurs in 19% to 34% of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study is to describe median days to healing, average velocity of wound closure, and percentage of wound surface closed at 3, 6, and 12 weeks through the use of homogenized and lyophilized amniotic membrane (hAMpe) dressings for the treatment of DFUs in ambulatory patients. Methods: An observational, descriptive, longitudinal study was performed. Patients presenting with granulation-based DFU, after proper debridement, were included from August 19, 2021, until July 14, 2023. hAMpe dressings placed every 3 days were used for the treatment of these ulcers. Results: Sixteen patients were included with a mean age of 52.38 (8.07) years. The analyzed lesions were postsurgical ulcers in 15 of the 16 included patients. Median ulcer size was 19.5 cm2 (6.12-36). The median ABI was 1.10 (1-1.14). The median days to healing was 96 (71-170). The median percentage closure of the wound at 3 weeks was 41% (28.9%-55.3%), at 6 weeks it was 68.2% (48.6%-74.2%), and at 12 weeks it was 100% (81%-100%). The average velocity closure was 1.04% per day (95% CI 0.71%-1.31%). It was higher during the closure of the first 50% of the ulcer, 2.12% per day (95% CI 0.16%-4.09%), and decreased from 50% to 25% of the ulcer size to 0.67% per day (95% CI 0.23%-1.10%) and from 25% to closure to 0.47% per day (95% CI 0.14%-0.80%), P < .001. Conclusion: These results are difficult to compare to other studies given the higher surface area of the ulcers included in our sample. The development of hAMpe dressings enables patients to apply them without requiring assistance from health care teams and was not associated with any recognized complications. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.

Objetivos: El objetivo de este trabajo fue describir las prácticas preferenciales relacionadas con la evaluación de la superficie ocular en la comunidad oftalmológica de América Latina. Materiales y métodos: Consiste en un estudio observacional y descriptivo. Para su realización se generó un cuestionario que se distribuyó por correo electrónico y con ayuda de un grupo de colaboradores seleccionados para esa distribución por otros medios digitales. Se intentó alcanzar a todos los oftalmólogos especialistas y en formación de América Latina, según datos del ICO en el año 2020. Resultados: Se obtuvieron 559 respuestas que corresponden al 1,56% del total de oftalmólogos de América Latina. Predominaron las contestaciones de la Argentina, país que dirigió el estudio. Predominaron devoluciones del sexo femenino. Se segmentaron los datos en relación con la formación académica: subespecialistas, oftalmólogos generales, médicos en formación o en especialización y un grupo de “otros especialistas” con diferentes subespecialidades. Se obtuvieron datos en relación con la evaluación clínica con lámpara de hendidura, con y sin tinciones, y respecto del uso de preguntas sobre los síntomas y sobre estudios complementarios para evaluar glándulas de Meibomio, conjuntiva y lágrima. Conclusión: Mediante el uso de un cuestionario este estudio logra describir las prácticas preferenciales en la evaluación de la superficie ocular en un grupo de oftalmólogos en América Latina. Los hallazgos muestran la importancia de continuar investigando en las prácticas para este tipo de evaluaciones y el desarrollo de protocolos estandarizados.

Decoration of nanoparticles with specific molecules such as antibodies, peptides, and proteins that preserve their biological properties is essential for the recognition and internalization of their specific target cells. Inefficient preparation of such decorated nanoparticles leads to nonspecific interactions diverting them from their desired target. We report a simple two-step procedure for the preparation of biohybrid nanoparticles containing a core of hydrophobic quantum dots coated with a multilayer of human serum albumin. These nanoparticles were prepared by ultra-sonication, crosslinked using glutaraldehyde, and decorated with proteins such as human serum albumin or human transferrin in their native conformations. These nanoparticles were homogeneous in size (20–30 nm), retained the fluorescent properties of quantum dots, and did not show a “corona effect” in the presence of serum. The uptake of transferrin-decorated quantum dot nanoparticles was observed in A549 lung cancer and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells but not in non-cancerous 16HB14o- or retinoic acid dopaminergic neurons differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, digitoxin-loaded transferrin-decorated nanoparticles decreased the number of A549 cells without effect on 16HB14o-. Finally, we analyzed the in vivo uptake of these biohybrids by murine retinal cells, demonstrating their capacity to selectively target and deliver into specific cell types with excellent traceability.

El penfigoide de las membranas mucosas es un grupo heterogéneo de enfermedades ampollares autoinmunes inflamatorias crónicas que compro- meten las mucosas y en ocasiones, la piel. En la Guía intersocietaria de manejo de penfigoide de las membranas mucosas publicada en 2023, la Sociedad Argentina de Dermatología y la Sociedad Argentina de Superficie Ocular realizaron una re- visión bibliografía sobre los mecanismos fisiopa- tológicos de la enfermedad, las manifestaciones clínicas en las diferentes mucosas, las opciones de tratamiento sistémico y el manejo de la superficie ocular.

Purpose: To assess symptoms of depression and dry eye symptoms in a clinical setting of dry eye outpatients. Methods: This study involved consecutive patients who visited one of our authors (AA), a clinical ophthalmologist specializing in ocular surface pathology. All were second time patients with defined diagnosis which had been obtained in previous visits. They had an ocular surface exam and voluntarily completed a self-assessment survey of ocular symptoms, environmental factors and a depression scale. The ophthalmologist was masked for the results of the questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the sample of 105 patients was 60.1±13.4 years. And 86 were females (81.9%). In all, 6.7% of the sample had a diagnosis of depression, and 18.1% had suspicion of depression. Dry eye symptoms were reported by 62.9% of the tested sample. There was no association between symptoms and decreased meniscus. Logistic regression showed statistical association between decreased meniscus and lisamine green staining (p<0.001). Individuals with normal meniscus were found to have a higher depression score (p=0.033) with their percentage of suspected depression reaching 29.2%.Conclusions: Symptomatology is not related to the severity of objective signs of dry eye. Depression should be taken into account in the dry eye consultation as a normal meniscus may be associated with depression in the dry eye consultation.

Benzalkonium chloride (BAK), the most commonly used preservative in anti-glaucoma eye drops, inflicts damage to the ocular surface. A novel anti-glaucoma formulation that avoids the use of BAK has been developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of this formulation and to compare it with an ophthalmic solution containing BAK. Two different latanoprost eye drops were used: one ophthalmic solution (LSc) containing BAK 0.02% and one ophthalmic nanoemulsion (LNe) with a soft preservative (potassium sorbate 0.18%). Human epithelial conjunctival cells were incubated for 15, 30, and 60 min with either LSc or LNe. The cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay. Cell death was measured by flow cytometry using annexin V–FITC and propidium iodide. The values of cell viability and proliferation obtained from cells exposed to LNe were between 80 and 90% relative to the control group, whereas values obtained from cells exposed to LSc were around 30% at all study times (p < 0.05 at 15 and 30 min; p < 0.01 at 60 min). The percentage of viable cells decreased significantly when cells were incubated with LSc compared with cells incubated with LNe at all the study times, while the percentage of cells in late apoptosis/necrosis increased significantly in cells exposed to LSc compared to LNe. The new latanoprost nanoemulsion is significantly less cytotoxic on human conjunctival cells than LSc. These results suggest that the new formulation might be gentler on the eye surface than currently available BAK-preserved latanoprost solutions.

To evaluate the cytotoxicity of a new Latanoprost Benzalkonium chloride (BAK)-free nanoemulsion and to compare it with a Latanoprost solution containing BAK. Normal Human Conjunctival epithelial cells (IOBA-NHC) were incubated for 15, 30, and 60 minutes with 1:6 dilutions of either latanoprost solution containing BAK (LSc), (latanoprost 0.005%, BAK 0.02%, Xalatan, Pfizer) or latanoprost nanoemulsion (LNe), (latanoprost 0.005%, potassium sorbate 0.18%; Louten Emulsion, POEN). Cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay. Cell death was measured by flow cytometry using annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide. Cytotoxicity evaluation: the values of cell viability and proliferation obtained from cells exposed to LNe were between 80 and 90% relative to control group, whereas values obtained from cells exposed to LSc were around 30% relative to control group at all study times (p < 0.05 at 15 and 30 minutes; p < 0.01 at 60 minutes). Cell death evaluation: the percentage of viability was significantly lower in cells exposed to LSc compared with those incubated with LNe at all study times (p < 0.05 at 15 and 30 minutes; p < 0.01 at 60 minutes). Viability of cells exposed to LNe was higher than 90% at all study times, whereas there was a time-dependent decrease in cells exposed to Lsc. The percentage of viable cells in the LNe group was comparable to the viability of control group (93.1%) at all study times. No statistical differences between groups reached in early apoptotic cells. A significant increase of late apoptosis and necrosis cells were observed at all study times for those incubated with Lsc (p < 0.05; p < 0.01 at 30 and 60 minutes). The new latanoprost nanoemulsion is significantly less cytotoxic on human conjunctival cells than LSc. It suggests that the new formulation could be gentler on the eye surface than currently available BAK preserved latanoprost solutions, with levels of cytotoxicity equivalent to control.

Previous reports indicate that the central nervous system (CNS) is a target of air pollution, causing tissue damage and functional alterations. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation have been pointed out as possible mechanisms mediating these effects. The aim of this work was to study the chronic effects of urban air pollution on mice brain cortex, focusing on oxidative stress markers, and mitochondrial function. Male 8-week-old BALB/c mice were exposed to filtered air (FA, control) or urban air (UA) inside whole-body exposure chambers, located in a highly polluted area of Buenos Aires city, for up to 4 weeks. Glutathione levels, assessed as GSH/GSSG ratio, were decreased after 1 and 2 weeks of exposure to UA (45% and 25% respectively vs. FA; p < 0.05). A 38% increase in lipid peroxidation was found after 1 week of UA exposure (p < 0.05). Regarding protein oxidation, carbonyl content was significantly increased at week 2 in UA-exposed mice, compared to FA-group, and an even higher increment was found after 4 weeks of exposure (week 2: 40% p < 0.05, week 4: 54% p < 0.001). NADPH oxidase (NOX) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were augmented at all the studied time points, while superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD cytosolic isoform) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities were increased only after 4 weeks of UA exposure (p < 0.05). The increased NOX activity was accompanied with higher expression levels of NOX2 regulatory subunit p47phox, and NOX4 (p < 0.05). Also, UA mice showed impaired mitochondrial function due to a 50% reduction in O2 consumption in active state respiration (p < 0.05), a 29% decrease in mitochondrial inner membrane potential (p < 0.05), a 65% decrease in ATP production rate (p < 0.01) and a 30% increase in H2O2 production (p < 0.01). Moreover, respiratory complexes I-III and II-III activities were decreased in UA group (30% and 36% respectively vs. FA; p < 0.05). UA exposed mice showed alterations in mitochondrial function, increased oxidant production evidenced by NOX activation, macromolecules damage and the onset of the enzymatic antioxidant system. These data indicate that oxidative stress and impaired mitochondrial function may play a key role in CNS damage mechanisms triggered by air pollution.

Air pollution exposure positively correlates with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates, mainly due to myocardial infarction (MI). Herein, we aimed to study the metabolic mechanisms underlying this association, focusing on the evaluation of cardiac mitochondrial function and dynamics, together with its impact over MI progression. An initial time course study was performed in BALB/c mice breathing filtered air (FA) or urban air (UA) in whole-body exposure chambers located in Buenos Aires City downtown for up to 16 weeks (n = 8 per group and time point). After 12 weeks, lung inflammatory cell recruitment was evident in UA-exposed mice. Interestingly, impaired redox metabolism, characterized by decreased lung SOD activity and increased GSSG levels and NOX activity, precede local inflammation in this group. At this selected time point, additional mice were exposed to FA or UA (n = 12 per group) and alveolar macrophage PM uptake and nitric oxide (NO) production was observed in UA-exposed mice, together with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (TNF-α and IL-6) in BAL and plasma. Consequently, impaired heart tissue oxygen metabolism and altered mitochondrial ultrastructure and function were observed in UA-exposed mice after 12 weeks, characterized by decreased active state respiration and ATP production rates, and enhanced mitochondrial H2O2 production. Moreover, disturbed cardiac mitochondrial dynamics was detected in this group. This scenario led to a significant increase in the area of infarcted tissue following myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in vivo, from 43 ± 3% of the area at risk in mice breathing FA to 66 ± 4% in UA-exposed mice (n = 6 per group, p < 0.01), together with a sustained increase in LVEDP during myocardial reperfusion. Taken together, our data unravel cardiac mitochondrial mechanisms that contribute to the understanding of the adverse health effects of urban air pollution exposure, and ultimately highlight the importance of considering environmental factors in the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Aim: To evaluate the factors involved in dry eye and its correlations with the ocular symptoms referred by patients considering bulbar conjunctival impression cytology. Methods: This study involved 214 consecutive patients who arrived at a laboratory of ocular surface disease for conjunctival impression cytology. They voluntarily conducted a self-evaluation questionnaire of ocular symptoms and environmental factors. Results: The patients who referred a diagnosis of dry eye had more ocular symptoms of dryness, gritty eyes, burning and light sensitivity, while they had less watery eyes (p <0.05). In a logistic regression analysis, taking outdoor hours as a dependent variable and ocular symptoms as covariates, a positive association was found between outdoor hours and itching (B = 0.865, p = 0.018). No significant difference was found between patients with normal and altered bulbar conjunctival impression cytology in the amount of reported ocular symptoms. In addition, in a logistic regression analysis, no association was found between the result of the conjunctival impression cytology and the presence of any of the symptoms surveyed. Conclusion: None of the ocular symptoms referred by patients was pathognomonic of dry eye. Also, none of the ocular symptoms showed correlation with the objective study of the conjunctiva. Thus, bulbar conjunctival impression cytology aids in the diagnosis of dry eye.

Air pollution is a serious environmental issue worldwide in developing countries’ megacities, affecting the population’s health, including the ocular surface, by predisposing or exacerbating other ocular diseases. Herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) is caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The primary or recurring infection in the ocular site causes progressive corneal scarring that may result in visual impairment. The present study was designed to study the immunopathological changes of acute HSK under urban polluted air, using the acute HSK model combined with an experimental urban polluted air exposure from Buenos Aires City. We evaluated the corneal clinical outcomes, viral DNA and pro-inflammatory cytokines by RT-PCR and ELISA assays, respectively. Then, we determined the innate and adaptive immune responses in both cornea and local lymph nodes after HSV-1 corneal by immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. Our results showed that mice exposed to polluted air develop a severe form of HSK with increased corneal opacity, neovascularization, HSV-1 DNA and production of TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and CCL2. A high number of corneal resident immune cells, including activated dendritic cells, was observed in mice exposed to polluted air; with a further significant influx of bone marrow-derived cells including GR1+ cells (neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes), CD11c+ cells (dendritic cells), and CD3+ (T cells) during acute corneal HSK. Moreover, mice exposed to polluted air showed a predominant Th1 type T cell response over Tregs in local lymph nodes during acute HSK with decreased corneal Tregs. These findings provide strong evidence that urban polluted air might trigger a local imbalance of innate and adaptive immune responses that exacerbate HSK severity. Taking this study into account, urban air pollution should be considered a key factor in developing ocular inflammatory diseases.

A new version of carlomat that allows to generate automatically the Monte Carlo programs dedicated to the description of the processes e+e−→hadrons at low center-of-mass energies is presented. The program has been substantially modified in order to incorporate the photon–vector meson mixing terms and to make possible computation of the helicity amplitudes involving the Feynman interaction vertices of new tensor structures, like those predicted by the Resonance Chiral Theory or Hidden Local Symmetry model, and the effective Lagrangian of the electromagnetic interaction of the nucleons. Moreover, a number of new options have been introduced in the program in order to enable a better control over the effective models implemented. In particular, they offer a possibility to determine the dominant production mechanisms of the final state chosen by the user.Program title: carlomat, version 3.0Catalogue identifier: AEDQ_v3_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEDQ_v3_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 71596No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 2804246Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Fortran 90/95.Computer: All.Operating system: Linux.Catalogue identifier of previous version: AEDQ_v2_0Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Comm. 185(2014)323Classification: 4.4, 11.2, 11.6.Does the new version supersede the previous version?: YesNature of problem: Predictions for reactions of low energy e+e−-annihilation into final states containing pions, kaons, light vector mesons, one or more photons and light fermion pairs within the Standard Model and effective models inspired by the Resonance Chiral Theory or Hidden Local Symmetry model. Description of the electromagnetic production of nucleon pairs within the effective Lagrangian approach.Solution method: As in former versions, a program for the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of e+e−→ hadrons at low energies is generated in a fully automatic way for a user specified process. However, the user is supposed to select a number of options and adjust arbitrary parameters in the main part of the MC computation program in order to obtain possibly the best description of experimental data. To this end, the user can also easily supplement her/his own formulae for s-dependent vector meson widths or running couplings by appropriately modifying corresponding subroutines.Reasons for new version: Processes of e+e−→ hadrons in the energy range below the J/Ψ threshold cannot be described in the framework of perturbative quantum chromodynamics. The scalar electrodynamics which has been implemented in carlomat 2.0 [1] does not provide a satisfactory description either. The most promising theoretical frameworks in this context are the Resonance Chiral Theory or Hidden Local Symmetry model which, among others, involve the photon–vector meson mixing and a number of vertices of rather complicated Lorentz tensor structure that is not present in the Standard Model or scalar QED. Already at low energies, the hadronic final states may consist of several particles, such as pions, kaons, or nucleons which can be accompanied by one or more photons, or light fermion pairs such as e+e−, or μ+μ−. The number of Feynman diagrams of such multiparticle reactions grows substantially with increasing numbers of interaction vertices and mixing terms of the effective models. Therefore, it is highly desirable to automatize the calculations. At the same time, new program options should provide the user with an easy way of implementing her/his own changes in the program in order to better fit the experimental data.Summary of revisions: The code generation part of the program has been substantially modified in order to incorporate the photon–vector meson mixing and calls to new subroutines for computation of the helicity amplitudes of the building blocks and complete Feynman diagrams which contain new interaction vertices and mixing terms. The subroutine library of carlomat has been extended to make possible computation of the helicity amplitudes involving the Feynman interaction vertices of new Lorentz tensor structures. Many subroutines have been modified in order to incorporate the q2-dependent couplings and vector meson widths. A number of options have been introduced in order to give a better control of the effective model implemented.Restrictions: As in previous versions of the program the number of particles is limited to 12 which exceeds typical numbers of particles of the exclusive low energy e+e−-annihilation processes. However, in the presence of photon–vector meson mixing, the Feynman diagrams proliferate, for example, with currently implemented Feynman rules, there are 90672 diagrams of e+e−→3(π+π−). Hence, the compilation time of generated code may become very long already for processes with a smaller number of the final state particles. Many couplings of the effective models are not known with good enough precision and must be adjusted in consecutive runs of the program in order to obtain a satisfactory description of the experimental data.Running time: Depends on the selected process. Typical running time for the code generation varies from a fraction of a second for, e.g., e+e−→π+π−K+K− to about 2 min for e+e−→3(π+π−). It may become substantially longer for processes with more particles in the final state. The execution time necessary to produce the appended test output files for e+e−→π+π−μ+μ−γ and e+e−→π+π−π+π−γ was 13s and 4s, respectively. The code generation for both processes took a fraction of a second time for each process.References:[1]K. Kolodziej, Comput. Phys. Commun. 185 (2014) 323.

The dry eye is a complex multifactor illness of the tear film and of the ocular surface characterized by symptoms of discomfort, vision alterations, and instability of the pre-corneal tear film which may bring about potential damage on the ocular surface. Instability of the film will produce increasing osmolarity of the tear film which will trigger epithelium osmotic lesions and inflammation. As these changes take place on the ocular surface, neurophysiologic mechanisms of homeostasis will be altered which will complicate the process even further with the cropping of vicious physiopathologic circuits.

Background The basis of retinal detachment repair is sealing the retinal breaks. In order to seal the retinal breaks, chorioretinal adhesion around these lesions has to be achieved. Laser retinopexy is not immediate thus necessitates the use of a temporal endotamponade to maintain both tissues in apposition. We propose the use of a patch of lyophilized human amniotic membrane (LAMPatch) in order to occlude the retinal tear effectively until the chorioretinal adhesion is settled, overcoming the risks and limitations of the current tamponades. Methods 23-gauge vitrectomy was performed on eyes with primary retinal detachment with single retinal breaks of less than one-hour extension. A LAMPatch was deployed over the retinal breaks after retina was repositioned with perfluorocarbon. Neither gas nor silicon oil were injected. Results Six eyes of six patients with total or partial retinal detachment were included. Retinas remained reattached in all cases until the end on follow-up (3, 5 months). Best-corrected visual acuity at 1-week postop was between 20/30 and 20/100. Neither elevations of intraocular pressure, cataracts nor signs of inflammation were registered during follow-up. No second surgeries were needed. Conclusion This technique has proven to be safe and effective in this small case series. No intraocular pressure rise, inflammation or cataracts were registered until last follow-up visit.

Urban air pollution is a serious environmental problem in developing countries worldwide, and health is a pressing issue in the megacities in Latin America. Buenos Aires is a megacity with an estimated moderate Air Quality Index ranging from 42 to 74 μg/m3. Exposure to Urban Air Particles from Buenos Aires (UAP-BA) induces morphological and physiological respiratory alterations; nevertheless, no studies on extrapulmonary organs have been performed. The aim of the present study was to explore the health effects of chronic exposure to UAP-BA (1, 6, 9, and 12 months) on the liver, heart, and serum risk biomarkers. BALB/c mice were exposed to UAP-BA or filtered air (FA) in inhalation chambers, and liver and heart histopathology, oxidative metabolism (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; lipoperoxidation, TBARS), amino transaminases (AST, ALT) as serum risk biomarkers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), paraxonase-1 (PON-1), and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) were evaluated. Chronic exposure to real levels of UAP in Buenos Aires led to alterations in extrapulmonary organs associated with inflammation and oxidative imbalance and to changes in liver and heart risk biomarkers. Our results may reflect the impact of the persistent air pollution in Buenos Aires on individuals living in this Latin American megacity.