OBJECTIVE To describe an optic capture pars plana lensectomy technique. METHODS After core vitrectomy, pars plana lensectomy is performed with preservation of the anterior capsule. Capsulorhexis is performed on the preserved anterior capsule through a 2.8 mm clear corneal incision. An intraocular lens (IOL) is placed in the ciliary sulcus, and then the optic of the IOL is pushed back to the v...

In addition to their role in protein degradation and digestion, proteases can also function as hormone-like signaling molecules that regulate vital patho-physiological processes, including inflammation, hemostasis, pain, and repair mechanisms. Certain proteases can signal to cells by cleaving protease-activated receptors (PARs), a family of four G protein-coupled receptors. PARs are expressed b...

BACKGROUND Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are G-protein-coupled receptors with an active role in mediating inflammation, pain and other functions. The oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) secretes proteases that activate PARs. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of PARs in the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis by expression analysis of PARs in human gingiv...

MR imaging of the lumbar spine has become a useful method for the noninvasive evaluation of low back pain. However, bone abnormalities are more difficult to detect than soft-tissue lesions, such as herniated disk. We reviewed 14 MR images of the lumbar spine in adults with spondylolisthesis. These were correlated with CT scans and plain films in all cases. From the CT scans and plain films we f...

Protease-activated receptors (PARs) expressed in the endothelia and smooth muscles of vessels may play important roles in blood vessel function. Using intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) imaging, we recently observed that small - but not large - arterioles of the brain responded to proteases, while testicular arterioles showed no response. The purpose of the present study was to e...

Previous neuroimaging findings suggest a sensitivity of the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus (i.e. a core subregion of Broca's area) to a number of linguistic dependencies governing the linear sequencing of information in a sentence (e.g. subjects should precede objects; the participant role hierarchy should be respected). The present study used event-related fMRI to examine ...

In preparation 110 Background: Apart from mediating fibrin deposition, the activated coagulation factors(F) VIIa, Xa and thrombin share the common ability to activate protease-activated receptors (PARs), which are generally assumed to mediate critical functions in angiogenesis and smooth and cardiac muscle physiology. The common ability of coagulation factors to activate the same PARs gives ris...

Pars distalis-extract treatment of intact or 'hypophysectomized' chicken embryos resulted in a splenomegaly, perhaps of a host-versus-graft nature, by 17 and 17-5 days of incubation. Pars distalis grafts in intact embryos reduced spleen size, encouraged white-pulp follicle formation, but 'suppressed' red-pulp development. Adult spleen extract and bovine serum albumin did not change spleen sizes...