Crystalline Maculopathy Secondary to Retinal Tear Without Detachment

Purpose: Crystalline maculopathy secondary to chronic retinal detachment (RD) has previously been described. This article proposes a novel mechanism to explain crystalline formation in the absence of RD. Methods: Two patients, who were referred for routine examination, were found to have a crystalline maculopathy in the setting of an asymptomatic, chronic-appearing, peripheral retinal tear. Fundoscopy and optical coherence tomography were used to assess the crystals and tear. No specimens were obtained. Results: We describe 2 cases of a crystalline maculopathy secondary to an asymptomatic peripheral retinal tear. We hypothesized macrophage ingestion of photoreceptor segments emanating from the tear may have contributed to macular crystalline deposition. Conclusions: Because crystalline maculopathy can present in the setting of RD, there may be a shared pathogenesis between the 2 conditions.

Growth and inhibition of monohydrate sodium urate banded spherulites

Gout is a chronic arthritis arises from the abnormal crystalline deposition of monosodium urate (MSU). Banded spherulites of MSU were widely observed in gout pathological slices (Pascual et al., Nat....

Carotenoids are more bioavailable from papaya than from tomato and carrot in humans: a randomised cross-over study

Carrot, tomato and papaya represent important dietary sources of β-carotene and lycopene. The main objective of the present study was to compare the bioavailability of carotenoids from these food sources in healthy human subjects. A total of sixteen participants were recruited for a randomised cross-over study. Test meals containing raw carrots, tomatoes and papayas were adjusted to deliver an equal amount of β-carotene and lycopene. For the evaluation of bioavailability, TAG-rich lipoprotein (TRL) fractions containing newly absorbed carotenoids were analysed over 9·5 h after test meal consumption. The bioavailability of β-carotene from papayas was approximately three times higher than that from carrots and tomatoes, whereas differences in the bioavailability of β-carotene from carrots and tomatoes were insignificant. Retinyl esters appeared in the TRL fractions at a significantly higher concentration after the consumption of the papaya test meal. Similarly, lycopene was approximately 2·6 times more bioavailable from papayas than from tomatoes. Furthermore, the bioavailability of β-cryptoxanthin from papayas was shown to be 2·9 and 2·3 times higher than that of the other papaya carotenoids β-carotene and lycopene, respectively. The morphology of chromoplasts and the physical deposition form of carotenoids were hypothesised to play a major role in the differences observed in the bioavailability of carotenoids from the foods investigated. Particularly, the liquid-crystalline deposition of β-carotene and the storage of lycopene in very small crystalloids in papayas were found to be associated with their high bioavailability. In conclusion, papaya was shown to provide highly bioavailable β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene and may represent a readily available dietary source of provitamin A for reducing the incidence of vitamin A deficiencies in many subtropical and tropical developing countries.