Browsing by Author "Ferreira, J"
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- Abdominoplasty and Thoraco-Epigastric Flaps for Large Anterior Trunk Defects after Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans Wide Resection: Two Illustrative CasesPublication . Casal, D; Fradinho, N; Ramos, L; Ferreira, J; Varanda, A; Diogo, C; Baltazar, J; Fernandes, M; Correia, C; Almeida, MAINTRODUCTION: Excision of large dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in the anterior aspect of the trunk often results in large surgical defects that frequently dictate the need for microsurgical reconstruction. However, this option is not always available. PRESENTATION OF CASE: The authors describe two patients with very large anterior trunk dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: one in the epigastric region and the other in the hypogastric region. In the patient with the hypogastric tumor, a classical abdominoplasty flap associated with umbilical transposition was used to cover the skin defect after muscle and fascial plication, and placement of a polypropylene mesh. In the patient with the epigastric tumor, a synthetic mesh was also placed, and the skin and subcutaneous defect was reconstructed with a reverse abdominoplasty flap and two thoraco-epigastric flaps. In both cases, complete closure was possible without immediate or late complications. DISCUSSION: The local options described in this paper present several potential advantages compared to microsurgical reconstruction, namely they are easier and faster to perform and teach; they provide a good skin color and texture match; they are not associated with distant donor site morbidity; follow-up is usually less cumbersome; the post-operative hospital stay tends to be shorter; they are less costly; they are less prone to complete failure. CONCLUSION: The authors believe that these two patients clearly show that local flaps, although frequently neglected, continue to be valid options for reconstructing large anterior trunk defects, even in the current era of microsurgery enthusiasm.
- Alzheimer's Disease: a Review of its Visual System Neuropathology. Optical Coherence Tomography-a Potential Role As a Study Tool in VivoPublication . Cunha, JP; Moura-Coelho, N; Proença, R; Dias-Santos, A; Ferreira, J; Louro, C; Castanheira-Dinis, AAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent, long-term progressive degenerative disorder with great social impact. It is currently thought that, in addition to neurodegeneration, vascular changes also play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Visual symptoms are frequent and are an early clinical manifestation; a number of psychophysiologic changes occur in visual function, including visual field defects, abnormal contrast sensitivity, abnormalities in color vision, depth perception deficits, and motion detection abnormalities. These visual changes were initially believed to be solely due to neurodegeneration in the posterior visual pathway. However, evidence from pathology studies in both animal models of AD and humans has demonstrated that neurodegeneration also takes place in the anterior visual pathway, with involvement of the retinal ganglion cells' (RGCs) dendrites, somata, and axons in the optic nerve. These studies additionally showed that patients with AD have changes in retinal and choroidal microvasculature. Pathology findings have been corroborated in in-vivo assessment of the retina and optic nerve head (ONH), as well as the retinal and choroidal vasculature. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) in particular has shown great utility in the assessment of these changes, and it may become a useful tool for early detection and monitoring disease progression in AD. The authors make a review of the current understanding of retinal and choroidal pathological changes in patients with AD, with particular focus on in-vivo evidence of retinal and choroidal neurodegenerative and microvascular changes using OCT technology.
- Análise das Camadas Retinianas em Doentes com Lesão Isquémica da Artéria Cerebral Posterior Unilateral: um Estudo de Tomografia de Coerência ÓpticaPublication . Anjos, R; Cardigos, J; Costa, L; Borges, B; Alves, N; Amado, D; Ferreira, J; Cunha, JPIntrodução: A degeneração transneuronal retrógrada (DTR) das células ganglionares tem sido implicada na fisiopatologia de lesões na via visual posterior. Apesar de estarem descritas alterações nas camadas mais externas da retina na patologia do nervo óptico, esta relação com lesões a nível occipital permanece desconhecida. O objectivo do presente estudo é a avaliação das camadas nuclear interna (CNi), plexiforme externa (CPe), nuclear externa (CNe) e dos fotoreceptores (CFo) em doentes com lesões isquémicas da artéria cerebral posterior (ACP) com tomografia de coerência óptica (OCT). Métodos: Estudo transversal observacional, caso-controlo de doentes com hemianópsia homónima decorrente de lesão unilateral isquémica da ACP seguidos no departamento de Neuroftalmologia do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central. Todos os doentes realizaram OCT macular em ambos os olhos. Após segmentação automática das diferentes camadas, foram obtidos os valores de espessuras correspondentes às regiões nasal e temporal entre 1 a 3mm (N1-3 e T1-3) e entre 3 e 6 mm (N3-6 e T3-6) centradas na fóvea. Resultados: Dez doentes com lesão da PCA e um grupo de controlo pareado para o sexo e idade foram incluidos no estudo. Quando comparados ambos os olhos do mesmo doente, verificou-se um aumento da espessura da CNi em N3-6 (p=0,005) do olho contralateral e em T3-6 (p=0,011) no olho ipsilateral, assim como da CPe em N3-6 (p=0,034) do olho contralateral. Não se verificaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas no grupo controle. Conclusão: Além da já documentada associação entre lesões isquémicas occipitais e as alterações nas camadas internas da retina, podemos ainda observar algumas alterações nas camadas retinianas mais externas. É possível que a DTR no sistema visual seja um processo que não se esgota nas células ganglionares, afectando camadas mais externas da retina.
- Avaliação do Conhecimento sobre a sua Doença em Doentes com Glaucoma seguidos na Consulta de Especialidade de um Hospital CentralPublication . Leitão, P; Amaral, A; Abegão Pinto, L; Ferreira, J; Magriço, A; Trincão, F; Silva, JP; Reina, MObjectivo: Avaliar e comparar com a população geral o nível de conhecimento sobre a doença e o seu tratamento em doentes com glaucoma. Doentes e Métodos: Noventa doentes com glaucoma e 90 doentes sem glaucoma foram entrevistados no departamento de glaucoma e de consulta geral do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central. Foi solicitado o preenchimento de um questionário validado sobre a doença e o seu tratamento. Foram registados dados demográficos. Resultados: Dezoito porcento e 51% dos doentes,respectivamente, com glaucoma e controlo, desconheciam a doença. Em 6 das 22 perguntas, mais de 50% dos doentes responderam acertadamente. Em 16 perguntas o número de respostas correctas dos doentes foi inferior a 50%. Os doentes com glaucoma têm um nível de conhecimentos superior (p=7,9x10-6) ao grupo controlo. O nível de conhecimento é maior quanto maior a duração da doença (p=0,03) e o nível de escolaridade (p=0,0065). Comentários: Os doentes com glaucoma têm um nível de conhecimentos sobre a sua doença superior ao grupo controlo, não obstante ambos os grupos terem um conhecimento insuficiente. Devem ser tomadas medidas de prevenção primária e secundária, com recurso a material educacional, com o objectivo de melhorar os conhecimentos dos doentes e consequentemente a compliance.
- Células Endoteliais e Recuperação VisualPublication . Cunha, JP; Ferreira, JNa revisão bibliográfica encontramos perdas de céluas endoteliais que vão dos 4 aos 25%. Os vários estudos comparam EEC com e sem OVD, EEC e facoemulsificação, cataratas de diferente "dureza", entre outras variáveis. Também a idade, a ruptura do saco ou a perda de vítreo influenciavam estes resultados. As novas tecnologias para facoemulsificação como a peça de mão Ozil torsional que como o nome indica tem a capacidade de movimento torsional lateral (que desbasta a catarata além do movimento longitudinal da peça de mão convencional que emulsifica) torna os gestos cirúrgicos mais eficazes e seguros, reduzindo o traumatismo endotelial. Os AA fizeram um estudo prospectivo em que distribuíram 40 olhos de forma aleatória em dois grupos: 20 olhos foram operados por faco torsional e as restantes 20 cataratas foram operadas por faco convencional. Neste estudo comparativo entre faco torsional e convencional, o primeiro necessitou de menos ultrasons (0,048 versus 0,083), obteve uma acuidade visual média ligeiramente melhor (0,63 versus 0,54) e menor perda celular endotelial (3% versus 6,9%), no 1º dia de pós-operatório. Como se sabe, são múltiplos os factores que influenciam o resultado cirúrgico: o local e tamanho da incisão, a composição das soluções salinas, os dispositivos visco-elásticos, os produtos potencialmente tóxicos aplicados intra-operatoriamente, o tempo de cirurgia, a dureza da catarata, além das técnicas cirúrgicas e dos aparelhos utilizados.
- Choroidal Thickness in Nonarteritic Anterior Ischaemic Optic Neuropathy: A Study with Optical Coherence TomographyPublication . Dias-Santos, A; Ferreira, J; Abegão Pinto, L; Vicente, A; Anjos, R; Cabugueira, A; Flores, R; Cunha, JPNonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NA-AION) is the most common nonglaucomatous optic neuropathy in adults over 50 years of age. It is usually related to cardiovascular risk factors. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate choroidal thickness in patients with chronic NA-AION, and the secondary objective was to evaluate macular thickness in these patients. This cross-sectional study compared two groups: group 1 included 20 eyes of 20 patients with chronic NA-AION, and group 2 included 31 eyes of 31 healthy controls. In both groups, the choroidal thickness was measured using the enhanced depth imaging program of Heidelberg Spectralis® optical coherence tomography (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). The macular thickness was also measured using the automatic software of the same device. The mean follow-up time after NA-AION in group 1 was 57.17 ± 26.92 months. The mean choroidal thickness of the posterior pole was 244.38 ± 61.03 µm in group 1 and 214.18 ± 65.97 µm in group 2 (p = 0.004). The mean macular thickness was higher in group 2. Macular thickness is reduced in eyes that had an episode of NA-AION, whereas choroidal thickness is generally higher in these eyes when compared with normal eyes. The increase in choroidal thickness may be due to a local dysfunction in vascular autoregulatory mechanisms, which may predispose to ischemic phenomena.
- Choroidal Thinning: Alzheimer's Disease and AgingPublication . Cunha, JP; Proença, R; Dias-Santos, A; Melancia, D; Almeida, R; Águas, H; Oliveira Santos, B; Alves, M; Ferreira, J; Papoila, AL; Louro, C; Castanheira-Dinis, AINTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to measure and to compare macular choroidal thickness (CT) between patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients without AD, and elderly patients. METHODS: CT was measured manually in 13 locations at 500-μm intervals of a horizontal and a vertical section from the fovea. Linear regression models were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Fifty patients with a diagnosis of mild AD (73.1 years), 152 patients without AD (71.03 years), and 50 elderly without AD (82.14 years) were included. In the AD patients, CT was significantly thinner in all 13 locations (P < .001-comparing with age-match group), and comparing with the elderly group, a more pronounced difference was found in two locations temporal to the fovea. DISCUSSION: Patients with AD showed a significant choroidal thinning even when compared with elderly subjects. The reduction of CT may aid in the diagnoses of AD, probably reflecting the importance of vascular factors in their pathogenesis.
- Chronic Urticaria in the Real-Life Clinical Practice Setting in Portugal: Baseline Results from the Non-Interventional Multicentre AWARE StudyPublication . Costa, C; Rosmaninho, I; Guilherme, A; Ferreira, J; Antunes, J; Pina, A; Prates, S; Gaspar-Marques, J; Azevedo, F; Cunha, AP; Brito, C; Massa, A; Sousa, JT; Velho, GC; Raposo, I; Pinto, GM; Sousa, Vi; Martins, ARThere is a paucity of information regarding chronic urticaria patients' care in a real-world setting. The objective of this study was to report and evaluate the baseline characteristics of Portuguese chronic urticaria patients refractory to H1-antihistamines included in the AWARE study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a non-interventional cohort study. Adult patients with a diagnosis of chronic urticaria with symptoms for at least two months, refractory to H1-antihistamines, consulting one of the 10 participating urticaria centers throughout Portugal have been included in the study. Baseline sociodemographic data, medical history, clinical parameters, medication, weekly urticaria activity score, and dermatology quality of life index have been collected. RESULTS: Seventy six patients were included, of which 76.3% were women. The majority of patients had a diagnosis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (88.2%) and 39.5% had angioedema. Around 91.0% of patients were medicated with non-sedative H1-antihistamines and 35.4% with a third line therapy. Median dermatology quality of life index was 5.0 and median weekly urticaria activity score was 13.0. DISCUSSION: The baseline results suggest that patients with chronic urticaria refractory to H1-antihistamines are being under-treated in the real-world setting. CONCLUSION: The AWARE study demonstrates the real impact of chronic urticaria on Portuguese patients refractory to H1-antihistamines treatment, and 30% report a very large or extremely large deleterious effect on their quality of life. The follow-up of these patients will allow evaluating strategies aimed at optimizing disease control.
- Cor Triatriatum num Adulto Assintomático. Diagnóstico por AngioTC CardíacaPublication . Ferreira, F; Ferreira, AM; Lopes, R; Ferreira, J; Correia, MG; Gil, VM
- Diabetes Mellitus as a Risk Factor in Glaucoma's Physiopathology and Surgical Survival Time: A Literature ReviewPublication . Costa, L; Cunha, JP; Amado, D; Abegão Pinto, L; Ferreira, JGlaucoma is a multifactorial condition under serious influence of many risk factors. The role of diabetes mellitus (DM) in glaucoma etiology or progression remains inconclusive. Although, the diabetic patients have different healing mechanism comparing to the general population and it has a possible-negative role on surgical outcomes. This review article attempts to analyze the association of both diseases, glaucoma and DM, before and after the surgery. The epidemiological studies, based mainly in population prevalence analyzes, have shown opposite outcomes in time and even in the most recent articles also the association remains inconclusive. On the contrary, the experimental models based on animal induced chronic hyperglycemia have shown an important association of both diseases, explained by common neurodegenerative mechanisms. Diabetic patients have a different wound healing process in the eye viz-a-viz other organs. The healing process is more and it results in lower surgical survival time, higher intraocular pressure (IOP) levels and, therefore, these patients usually need more medication to lower the IOP. Both randomized and nonrandomized retrospective and experimental molecular studies have shown the association between DM and glaucoma. Further studies are needed to get better explanations about outcomes on more recent surgical procedures and with the exponential use of antifibrotics. How to cite this article: Costa L, Cunha JP, Amado D, Pinto LA, Ferreira J. Diabetes Mellitus as a Risk Factor in Glaucoma's Physiopathology and Surgical Survival Time: A Literature Review.