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Biomedical subjects

F C Piccolino

Publications and source records attributed to F C Piccolino.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Detection of tenascin-C in surgically excised choroidal neovascular membranes.

BACKGROUND: Increase of tenascin-C (TN-C) expression has been found in pathologic tissues in which angiogenesis occurs. The aim of this study was to investigate TN-C expression in human choroidal neovascularization (CNV). METHODS: Ten choroidal neovascular membranes were surgically removed from 10 patients with age-related macular degeneration (n=6) and multifocal choroiditis (n=4). All membranes underwent immunohistochemical evaluation using monoclonal antibodies against TN-C and factor VIII. RESULTS: All membranes were positive for TN-C, which was abundantly and diffusely expressed in the extracellular matrix. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the concept that TN-C has a role in cell proliferation and neovascularization in humans. TN-C, as a marker of angiogenesis, may provide novel rationales for the development of pharmacologic therapies for neovascular disorders, particularly CNV.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1999

Silent occult choroidal vascular abnormalities.

PURPOSE: To describe clinically occult choroidal vascular abnormalities that can be revealed by indocyanine green (ICG) angiography. METHODS: Out of approximately 2,700 patients who underwent ICG angiography, a lesion was incidentally observed in eight eyes of eight patients. In five patients, the ICG study included a second examination taken during artificially induced intraocular hypertension. Examinations were repeated in six patients over a follow-up period ranging from 4 months to 3 years. RESULTS: On ICG angiogram, the choroidal vasculopathy appeared as a round-oval hyperfluorescent area 2-4 disk diameters in size that was located at the temporal vascular arcades in six eyes, at the inferomacular region in one eye, and above the optic disk in one eye. The lesions were not identifiable with funduscopic, fluorescein angiographic, or ultrasonographic examination. The lesions filled at the same time as the choroidal arteries and lost fluorescence in mid-late phase of the ICG angiogram. The ICG series taken during induced intraocular hypertension showed the hyperfluorescent areas originated from choroidal arterial abnormalities giving rise to confluent hyperfluorescent patches. Draining vessels connecting the choroidal vasculopathy with a vortex vein were evidenced in three eyes. A sector of apparent choroidal hypoperfusion downstream from the lesion was present in three eyes. During the follow-up period, the lesions remained occult and with an unchanged ICG angiographic pattern in all patients. CONCLUSION: Some silent occult choroidal vascular abnormalities may be incidentally revealed by ICG angiography. These must be distinguished from ICG imaging of concomitant chorioretinal disorders.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Pre-injection fluorescence in indocyanine green angiography.

PURPOSE: To verify whether infrared pre-injection fluorescence can be observed in patients undergoing indocyanine green (ICG) angiography. METHODS: Infrared fundus photographs were taken before dye injection for 450 consecutive patients undergoing ICG angiography for different chorioretinal disorders. The authors used a high-resolution videoangiography system with the standard ICG filters inserted (overlap, < 0.5%) and the highest flash intensity. RESULTS: Pre-injection fluorescence was detected in 184 patients (40.8%). It was a strong fluorescence in 75 patients (40.7%) and a faint fluorescence in 109 (59.2%). When fluorescence was strong, it simulated vascular filling on the ICG angiogram. Pre-injection fluorescence resulted from the following lesions: (1) old grayish subretinal hemorrhages (35 patients); (2) lipofuscin-like deposits (65 patients); (3) pigmented choroidal neovascular membranes (72 patients); and (4) serous retinal detachments lasting from several months or years (12 patients). Highly reflecting white lesions were not fluorescent. CONCLUSION: Pre-injection fluorescence of chorioretinal lesions is frequently detectable in patients with diseases requiring ICG examination. A pre-injection photograph may help to avoid misinterpretation of the angiograms. The authors' findings may be interpreted as pseudofluorescence or autofluorescence. Pigments contained in pathologic structures of the ocular fundus may be the source of autofluorescence emissions in the near-infrared range.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Indocyanine green angiography of circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas.

BACKGROUND: Indocyanine green (ICG) angiography performed with the modern high resolution digital system already has improved our knowledge of several chorioretinal disorders. It could provide new information on circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas. METHODS: Twelve consecutive patients with circumscribed choroidal hemangioma underwent both fluorescein angiography and ICG angiography with a digital high resolution system. In each patient, two ICG angiograms were taken - with normal and with artificially increased intraocular pressure. The latter method allowed analysis of the vascular connections of the tumor with the adjacent choroid during the induced slowdown of blood flow. RESULTS: With ICG, the authors obtained a clear delineation of the choroidal hemangiomas. In all cases, the lesion was better defined on the ICG than on the fluorescein angiogram. Nutrient and draining vessels of the tumors were identified. Nutrient vessels were represented by short posterior ciliary arteries in five eyes with severe exudative syndrome, and by ramifications of choroidal arteries in the other cases. Further special ICG findings were apparent choroidal ischemia downstream from the tumor (9 eyes), and clearing of the dye with a "washout" phenomenon. CONCLUSION: Indocyanine green angiography can be helpful in the clinical evaluation of circumscribed choroidal hemangiomas. The blood supply to these tumors is provided directly by short posterior ciliary arteries or by ramifications of choroidal arteries. An adjacent compromised choroidal perfusion may be present.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Indocyanine green angiographic findings in central serous chorioretinopathy.

The purpose of this study is to better characterise, on the basis of a large number of cases and follow-up evaluations, choroidal abnormalities recently observed with indocyanine green (ICG) angiography in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Digital ICG videoangiography was performed in 145 patients with active or inactive, acute or chronic CSC. Forty-eight patients were re-examined in a follow-up period of 6-22 months (mean 10 months). Areas of choroidal leakage attributable to hyperpermeability of the choriocapillaris were found in 98.6% of patients in association with active or resolved pigment epithelial leaks and pigment epithelial detachments. Diffusion of ICG into the choroid was characterised by rapid centrifugal spreading of the dye with a wash-out pattern which was particularly evident in areas corresponding to pigment epithelial detachments. In patients with a long-standing disease, when choroidal hyperfluorescence faded, hypofluorescent spots became increasingly evident revealing pigment epithelial alterations not shown by fluorescein angiography. Areas of choroidal leakage remained unchanged in each patient during the follow-up period, even when subretinal exudation resolved either spontaneously or after photocoagulation. In 5 eyes we observed the appearance of leakage points on pre-existing areas of choroidal leakage. Zonal hyperpermeability of the choriocapillaris characterises all the evolutional stages of CSC and seems to be the primary alteration of this disease. When it corresponds to pigment epithelial detachments choriocapillaris hypermeability is probably associated with local hyperperfusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Central serous chorioretinopathy and indocyanine green angiography.

BACKGROUND: Because of limitations in imaging through the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), fluorescein angiography has not been able to characterize the choroidal abnormalities that are thought to be causative factors in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS: Digital indocyanine green (ICG) videoangiography and fluorescein angiography were performed in 34 consecutive patients with various forms of CSC to investigate choroidal abnormalities. RESULTS: The ICG videoangiographic studies revealed choroidal staining in association with active, spontaneously resolved, and previously photocoagulated pigment epithelial leaks documented with fluorescein angiography. In the space of a few minutes, the dye progressively spread outward from the region of choroidal staining. CONCLUSION: Localized hyperpermeability of the choriocapillaris, probably associated with segmental choroidal hyperperfusion, may be a causative factor of characteristic RPE and neurosensory retinal exudative changes in CSC.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1992

Laser treatment of eccentric leaks in central serous chorioretinopathy resulting in disappearance of untreated juxtafoveal leaks.

In central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) laser treatment of leaking points close to the macular center should be avoided because of the possibility of producing juxtafoveal scotoma and stimulating choroidal neovascularization. Nine eyes of nine consecutive patients with CSCR had two or more leaking points within a macular detachment, one of which was foveal or near to the fovea. Photocoagulation with green argon laser was performed in all eyes, treating all the leaking points except for the central one. Visual symptoms regressed after treatment, and the serous detachment was resolved 10 days to 4 weeks after photocoagulation in all cases. Fluorescein angiography showed no leakage at either the central leakage point or the leakage point that had been treated. These results led us to believe that the central or dependent leak in our cases was not sufficient to maintain the serous detachment by itself. An alternative hypothesis is that the untreated leak did not represent real fluid movement but only diffusion of fluorescein molecules, or a false leak. In cases of CSCR with multiple leaks within a single macular detachment, we believe that a foveal leak may be a dependent or false leak and that direct treatment is not necessary.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Pigmentary retinal dystrophy associated with pigmentary glaucoma.

Two young brothers were bilaterally affected by pigmentary glaucoma and extensive symmetrical changes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Fundus changes consisted in widespread salt-and-pepper RPE mottling and pigment clumping, sparing only the peripapillary and foveal areas. During the course of 4 years, one of the two patients suffered multiple, recurrent, exudative and hemorrhagic detachments of the RPE that involved the midperiphery and posterior pole. No exudative lesions appeared in the brother. The medical history and systemic laboratory tests were noncontributory in both patients. The ERG was normal and the EOG subnormal. Dark adaptation was delayed and showed an elevation of the scotopic threshold. These cases seem to support the hypothesis that the RPE is also involved in the pigmentary dispersion syndrome. An inherited defect could affect the pigment epithelium in both the anterior and posterior segments of the eye. The multifocal subretinal exudative pattern that occurred in one of our patients has not been previously observed in hereditary disorders of the RPE.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Central serous chorioretinopathy: some considerations on the pathogenesis.

The author discusses the role of the following three factors in the pathogenesis of central serous chorioretinopathy: intraocular tension, adhesion of the pigment epithelium and choroidal hydrostatic pressure. Some cases of central serous chorioretinopathy present the angiographic findings typical of retinal pigment epitheliitis, others show choroidal perfusion defects in the area of subretinal leakage. Both are to be considered as secondary forms and distinguished from the idiopathic disease.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multiple bilateral choroidal metastatic tumors from a small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary site.

PURPOSE: To report one case of multiple and bilateral choroidal tumors from a poorly differentiated small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary. METHODS: The case of a 30-years-old white female who developed multiple and bilateral choroidal tumors from a poorly differentiated small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary is presented. RESULTS: The patient had a disseminated disease and died 6 months after. The oncologic work-up, including physical examination, laboratory and radiographic study, fails to identify the primary site. CONCLUSIONS: Intraocular involvement from a poorly differentiated small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary has not yet reported. We describe this case together with a review of the literature.

Adult↗