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PurposeMethodsResultsConclusion\nSUMMARY STATEMENTTo assess the effectiveness and risk of intravitreal injection of dexamethasone implants in treating macular edema (ME) secondary to acute retinal necrosis (ARN).In this retrospective, noncomparative case series study, five patients who developed secondary ME after ARN and received an intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection were enrolled. The features of secondary ME on OCT and the outcomes of dexamethasone intravitreal implanting were presented.The mean age of the patients was 59 years (range, 51–61 years). All patients had unilateral involvement, and all 5 eyes showed mild to moderate anterior uveitis, retinal necrosis, and vasculitis. Herpes zoster virus was detected in all eyes using PCR, and timely antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatment was performed. Aqueous humor samples were negative for herpes zoster virus DNA, and resolution of viral retinitis was noted upon the occurrence of ME. Additionally, three eyes received pars plana vitrectomy with silicone oil prior to ME development. All eyes presented with intraretinal fluid, hyper-reflective foci, and impairments of the external limiting membrane/ellipsoid zone at varying degrees on OCT images. Epiretinal membrane was exhibited in 80% of eyes, but no vitreoretinal traction was detected. Subretinal fluid was visible in 60% of eyes. ME was relieved effectively in all eyes after intravitreal dexamethasone implanting. One of these patients experienced three episodes of ME. No recurrence of retinal necrosis or corticosteroid-associated ocular hypertension was observed during the follow-up period.Intravitreal injection of dexamethasone implants can effectively alleviate ME secondary to ARN and improve visual acuity with no adverse reactions.Macular edema secondary to acute retinal necrosis was characterized by the presence of intraretinal fluid, hyper-reflective foci, and external limiting membrane/ellipsoid zone fracture. The intravitreal injection of dexamethasone implants effectively alleviated this type of edema with no adverse reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An imbalance in sensitivity to different types of reward stimuli may be an important cause of addiction that is mainly manifested in high sensitivity to addictive substance rewards and blunting of natural rewards. However, contradictions remain in the research results on the sensitivity of individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) to different reward stimuli. Based on participants' neural responses to win and loss feedback (in door task), the event-related potential (ERP) technique was used to investigate the effects of different types of reward stimuli on the assessment of reward-processing outcomes in individuals with IGD. The results showed that in the gain condition, the FB-P3 amplitude induced by game stimuli in the IGD group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the FN amplitude induced by money stimuli was significantly lower than that in the control group. However, the FB-P3 and FN amplitudes induced by food were not significantly different from those in the control group. In the loss condition, there were no between-group differences in the FB-P3 and FN amplitudes evoked by the three reward stimuli. This indicates that the IGD group showed increased hedonic responses to game stimuli and decreased hedonic responses to money but no differences in hedonic responses to food during the reward assessment phase. Therefore, heightened sensitivity to game rewards and diminished sensitivity to monetary rewards during outcome assessment may play a crucial role in the development of IGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), the world renown as the King of Spices, is not only a flavorsome spice but also a traditional herb. Piperine, a species‐specific piper amide, is responsible for the major bioactivity and pungent flavor of black pepper. However, several key steps for the biosynthesis of piperoyl‐CoA (acyl‐donor) and piperidine (acyl‐acceptor), two direct precursors for piperine, remain unknown. In this study, we used guilt‐by‐association analysis of the combined metabolome and transcriptome, to identify two feruloyldiketide‐CoA synthases responsible for the production of the C5 side chain scaffold feruloyldiketide‐CoA intermediate, which is considered the first and important step to branch metabolic fluxes from phenylpropanoid pathway to piperine biosynthesis. In addition, we also identified the first two key enzymes for piperidine biosynthesis derived from lysine in P. nigrum, namely a lysine decarboxylase and a copper amine oxidase. These enzymes catalyze the production of cadaverine and 1‐piperideine, the precursors of piperidine. In vivo and in vitro experiments verified the catalytic capability of them. In conclusion, our findings revealed enigmatic key steps of piperine biosynthetic pathway and thus provide a powerful reference for dissecting the biosynthetic logic of other piper amides. Significance Statement: Our research putatively identifies piperine derivatives piper amides and related metabolites involved in the piperine pathway and validates three different types of enzymes, including FDS, LDC, and CAO through the combination of metabolome profiling and transcriptome analysis that fillings the key steps of piperine biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]