Caustic substances injure tissue by means of a chemical reaction on direct physical contact. Often thought of as acids or bases, caustics broadly include desiccants, vesicants, and protoplasmic poisons. The term "corrosive" is often used interchangeably with "caustic," but corrosion implies a…

Presentation of Case. Dr. John H. Stone: A 37-year-old man was evaluated in the rheumatology clinic of this hospital for joint pain and rash. The patient had been well until 2 years before this evaluation, when intermittent arthralgias developed in the joints of the hands. Four months before…

Vascular complications of diabetes mellitus, including the evolution of the retinal damage known as diabetic retinopathy, have been recognized for centuries. Over the past decade, advances in technology such as retinal imaging and the development of new therapies have dramatically improved the…

Syphilis was first recognized in Europe in the late 15th century; its cause, Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, was identified four centuries later. The advent of penicillin, together with effective public health measures, was responsible for a marked decline in syphilis in the United States…

Thyroid eye disease, also known as Graves’ orbitopathy or thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy, is a rare, debilitating autoimmune disease with an incidence of 1.9 cases per 10,000 population per year. The disease course transitions from an active progressive period characterized by inflammation to a…

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune disease that is characterized by inflammatory lesions mainly affecting the optic nerve and spinal cord and possibly affecting the brain stem and cerebrum. Symptoms include visual impairment, paralysis, sensory loss, and bladder…

New therapies targeting metabolic vulnerabilities of specific tumor types have created wide interest in recent years. Through research now reported in the Journal by Gantner et al. metabolic precision therapy may become possible in patients with a rare eye disease, macular telangiectasia type 2,…

Understanding the pathophysiology of diseases with complex genetic inheritance patterns is challenging. Macular telangiectasia type 2, which has a prevalence of 0.0045% to 0.06%, is a rare macular disease that leads to loss of central vision, with the onset of symptoms occurring in the fifth or…

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune, inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system that has a prevalence of 0.5 to 10 persons (predominantly women) per 100,000 population. It is characterized mainly by recurrent optic neuritis and myelitis, and such attacks are…

Gene therapy has provided treatment options for diseases that are beyond the reach of traditional approaches. Since 2016, between the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), six gene therapy products have been approved: two chimeric antigen receptor T-cell…