Dynamic thiol disulphide homeostasis in patients with surfer's eye: a case-control study

Purpose The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of pterygium is still unclear. However, abnormal thiol disulfide homeostasis levels are involved in the pathogenesis of various systemic or ocular diseases. We aim to analyze dynamic thiol disulphide homeostasis in patients suffering from conjunctival pterygium using a contemporary technique. Methods Thirty-eight subjects suffering from pterygium and 35 age-gender matched healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. For each case, total thiol, disulfide and native thiol levels in blood were obtained. Additionally, the ratio of disulfide over total thiol, native thiol over total thiol and disulfide over native thiol were computed. Results The level of median native thiol was lower in pterygium group (318.2 mu mol/L vs. 333.4 mu mol/L) and median disulfide was slightly higher in pterygium group (24.3 mu mol/L vs. 22.8 mu mol/L) compared to control group. Both disulfide over total thiol and disulfide over native thiol ratios were higher in pterygium group, ratio of native thiol over total thiol was found to be higher in control group. Nevertheless, none of those differences were statistically significant at 95% confidence level. Notably, correlation test pointed to a negative correlation both between pterygium grade and native thiol and between total thiol and pterygium grade in pterygium group (P = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Conclusion A negative correlation hinting that slightly weakened dynamic thiol disulphide homeostasis in subjects with pterygium, a local ocular disease. Further studies with larger sample sizes may shed light on this potential relationship and justify systemic antioxidant therapies in these cases.WOS:000721628000001PubMed: 3481301

Mechanical transnasal endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy versus transcanalicular multidiode laser dacryocystorhinostomy: long-term results of a prospective study

The purpose of this study is to compare two dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) techniques in epiphora treatment. This study is a prospective randomized trial. Twenty-nine patients presenting persistent epiphora due to primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO) were included in the study. Two groups each consisting of 15 eyes were formed. Mechanical transnasal endoscopic DCR (MTE-DCR) was applied to the first group, while transcanalicular dacryocystorhinostomy with multidiode laser (TCML-DCR) techniques is employed in the second group. Follow-up is conducted in the first day, first week, and first month of the dacryocystorhinostomy which is followed by 4-month follow-up period, and results were compared using statistical methods. The main outcome measures were the elimination of epiphora and unrestricted flow of irrigated saline to the nose. Seven patients were male, 22 were female, and the mean age was 39.3 +/- 12.5 years. Mean follow-up times were 111.3 +/- 10.5 months and 93 +/- 2.9 months in group 1 and group 2, respectively. Complete resolution is achieved in group 1, whereas failures stemming from canalicular stenosis and fibrosis at osteotomy site are recorded in two cases in group 2. Occlusion occurred in the fifth month in both cases. Thus, long-term success rates were 100% in the first and 86.6% in the second group (P = 0.483). MTE-DCR is a strong substitute for external DCR. Although TCML-DCR shows promising results, it is far away from becoming the gold standard technique in epiphora treatment.WOS:0005344504000012-s2.0-85085320553PubMed: 3243590

Automated Retinal Image Analysis to Detect Optic Nerve Hypoplasia

Identification of the optic disc and fovea is crucial for automating the diagnosis and screening of retinal diseases. Based on quantitative calculations, this study presents a decision support system for doctors that automatically detect optic nerve hypoplasia. For disease diagnosis, U -Net architecture is used, which uses a pre -trained ResNet encoder to segment the optic disc and fovea structures. An important aspect of the proposed technique is that pretrained ResNet and U -Net are used together, providing robust performance in the detection of optic nerve hypoplasia. Our proposed architecture was tested on retinal images from Messidor, Diaretdb1, DRIVE, HRF, APTOS, and IDRID. In addition, a special database called ONH-NET was created based on 189 retinal images obtained from D & uuml;zce University, Department of Ophthalmology. Messidor database test images showed, 0. 9069 IOU Score, 0.9626 Sensitivity, 0.9411 Precision, 0.9974 Accuracy and 0.9505 dice -coefficient values in optic disc detection, and 0.8282 IOU score, 0.8442 sensitivity, 0.8252 precision, 0.8992 Accuracy, 0.7873 dice coefficient values were obtained in fovea detection. We computed diameter optic disc to macula radius ratios from segmented optic disc and fovea for screening optic nerve hypoplasia and achieved 100% success

Pentacam corneal topography and densitometry features of PCOS patients

Background: To evaluate corneal topography and densitometry features in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and compare them with healthy individuals. Methods: 53 eyes of 53 female patients diagnosed with PCOS and 53 eyes of 53 age-matched female volunteers were analyzed in the study. In addition to the detailed ophthalmological and gynecological examination, anterior segment analysis was performed using Pentacam. A complete analysis of aberrometric, keratometric, topometric, and, densitometric values between the groups was performed, and the results were outlined. Results: According to the results, although Kmax-front, Kmean-front, ISV, IVA, IHA, BAD_D and PI-Avg values were slightly higher in PCOS group along with a slight thinning in the thinnest location, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. Moreover, correlation analysis between PCOS clinical parameters and keratometric/topometric/aberrometric data were found to be almost normal. Yet, when Pentacam tomography maps of all cases are examined in detail, mild ectatic changes were observed in 5 cases in PCOS group. Furthermore, a significant increase in thickness across all densitometry values except anterior (10-12 mm), central (10-12 mm), and total (10-12 mm) was found in PCOS group. Conclusions: Our study showed that an intensification of corneal densitometry values and various changes in keratometry data implying ectasia can be observed in patients with PCOS. Prospective studies with larger patient series are needed to reveal any potential relationship between PCOS and corneal abnormalities

Choroidal Thickness in Turkish Children with Anisometric Amblyopia

Uzun, Feyzahan/0000-0002-3050-0714;WOS: 000399807200008PubMed: 26308188Purpose: To assess macular choroidal thickness (CT) and axial length measurements in children with anisometropic amblyopia and to compare the measurements with that of fellow non-amblyopic eyes and age-sex matched controls. Methods: Forty patients with anisometropic amblyopia and 40 age-/sex-matched controls were evaluated in this study. Eyes were classified into three groups as follows: amblyopic eyes (n=40), fellow non-amblyopic eyes, and healthy eyes (n=40). All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic examination and macular choroidal thickness measurements by enhanced depth imaging method of the Spectralis optical coherence tomography system. CT was measured at the fovea and at 1000-m intervals from the foveal center in both temporal and nasal directions. the statistical assessment was performed with the assistance of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson's correlation test. Results: the mean subfoveal CT was 389.35, 349.07, and 315.8m in the amblyopic, fellow non-amblyopic and healthy eyes, respectively. Choroid was thickest in subfoveal and thinnest in nasal regions among all groups. Both amblyopic and fellow non-amblopic eyes were more hyperopic than healthy eyes. While the subfoveal and nasal CT in amblyopic eyes and fellow eyes were significantly higher than healthy eyes, the temporal CT in amblyopic eyes was significantly higher than in healthy eyes. There was a significant positive correlation between the CT of the subfoveal, nasal, and temporal regions and the refractive state (r=0.432 p=0.001; r=0.324 p=0.001; r=0.215 p=0.01, respectively). Conclusion: the macular choroidal thicknessnot only in amblyopic eyes but also in non-amblyopic fellow eyeswas significantly thicker than in the healthy subjects. the thick choroid in amblyopic and non-amblyopic fellow eyes may indicate bilateral delay of emmetropization, which probably means amblyopia affecting the visual feedback of both eyes

Reel 1

Crystal (Drumwright, George); Meditation #3 (Heffner, Michael); Prelude (Blumenthal, Paul); By the Waters (Helms, Art); Prelude (Johnson, George); Trio 1 for flute, cello, and piano (Nahay, Paul); Prelude (Bennett, Brian); Full Moon (Berman, Lewis); Moon and Stars (Berman, Lewis); Light of Peace (Monroe, Thomas); Spatial Elements (Chaudoir, James). Instrumentation: piccolo; flute; oboe; clarinet; trumpet; trombone; piano; percussion; vibraphone; marimba; soprano; mezzo-soprano; baritone; violin; viola; cell

Autologous serum eye-drops and enhanced epithelial healing time after photorefractive keratectomy.

The aim of the study is to test whether use of autologous serum eye-drops can provide earlier epithelial healing following the application of photorefractive keratectomy

Autologous serum eye-drops and enhanced epithelial healing time after photorefractive keratectomy

BackgroundThe aim of the study is to test whether use of autologous serum eye-drops can provide earlier epithelial healing following the application of photorefractive keratectomy. MethodSixty patients (60 eyes) underwent photorefractive keratectomy for myopia. Thirty eyes received autologous serum drops (Study group) while 30 eyes received conventional artificial tears (Control group) after photorefractive keratectomy. An 8 mm epithelial opening was prepared with the application of 18 per cent alcohol for 20 seconds. Photorefractive keratectomy was performed using ESIRIS excimer laser (SCHWIND, Kleinostheim, Germany) with an optic zone of 6.5 mm. Total duration of epithelial healing was monitored as the main outcome measure. The comparisons were done with chi-square test and independent samples t-test. Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. ResultsPreoperative myopic spherical refraction and ablation depths were similar in the study and control groups. The mean duration for epithelial healing was about one day shorter in the eyes receiving autologous serum compared to the eyes receiving conventional treatment (2.2 0.25 days versus 3 +/- 0 days, p = 0.001). All eyes achieved 6/7.5 or better uncorrected visual acuity in six months. In both groups, more than 90 per cent of eyes were within +/- 0.50 D of emmetropia in 12 months. No significant difference was noted for the incidence of +1 haze. ConclusionUse of autologous serum drops reduces epithelial healing duration following surface ablation for two days