The challenge of dry eye diagnosis

The currently available methods for the diagnosis of dry eye are still far from being perfect for a variety of reasons. This review attempts to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of both traditional tests (such as Schirmer’s test, break-up time and ocular surface staining) and innovative noninvasive procedures, including tear meniscus height measurement, corneal topography, functional visual acuity, tear interferometry, tear evaporimetry and tear osmolarity assessment

Yessotoxins, a Group of Marine Polyether Toxins: an Overview

Yessotoxin (YTX) is a marine polyether toxin that was first isolated in 1986 from the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis. Subsequently, it was reported that YTX is produced by the dinoflagellates Protoceratium reticulatum, Lingulodinium polyedrum and Gonyaulax spinifera. YTXs have been associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) because they are often simultaneously extracted with DSP toxins, and give positive results when tested in the conventional mouse bioassay for DSP toxins. However, recent evidence suggests that YTXs should be excluded from the DSP toxins group, because unlike okadaic acid (OA) and dinophyisistoxin-1 (DTX-1), YTXs do not cause either diarrhea or inhibition of protein phosphatases . In spite of the increasing number of molecular studies focused on the toxicity of YTX, the precise mechanism of action is currently unknown. Since the discovery of YTX, almost forty new analogues isolated from both mussels and dinoflagellates have been characterized by NMR or LC-MS/MS techniques. These studies indicate a wide variability in the profile and the relative abundance of YTXs in both, bivalves and dinoflagellates. This review covers current knowledge on the origin, producer organisms and vectors, chemical structures, metabolism, biosynthetic origin, toxicological properties, potential risks to human health and advances in detection methods of YTXs.Versión del editor3,471

Tear function and ocular surface findings in premature and term babies

Bu çalışma, 22 Mayıs 2003 tarihleri arasında Miami[Florida]’da düzenlenen 8. Annual Meeting of the International-Ocular-Surface-Society’da bildiri olarak sunulmuştur.Objective: To describe the ocular surface and tear function findings in premature and term babies. Design: Prospective, case-control study. Participants: Forty-eight eyes of 24 premature babies seen at the Department of Ophthalmology of Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey, from March 2002 through September 2002 and 50 eyes of 25 healthy term babies were studied. Intervention: The subjects underwent routine ophthalmic examinations; corneal sensitivity measurements; Schirmer test with anesthesia, with and without nasal stimulation; primary Jones test; fluorescein staining of the ocular surface; and conjunctival impression cytology. Main Outcome Measures: Premature and term babies were compared for corneal sensitivity, lacrimal drainage system patency, tear function and ocular surface staining parameters, goblet cell density, and squamous metaplasia grade. The relation of these parameters to the status of the ocular surface was also investigated. Results: Mean corneal sensitivity scores were 45 +/- 5.0 mm and 55 +/- 4.5 mm in the premature and term babies, respectively (P<0.001). Premature babies had a mean corneal fluorescein staining score of 1.5 +/- 0.25 points, compared with 0.22 +/- 0.28 points in the term babies (P<0.001). The mean Schirmer test scores without and with stimulation were 1.5 +/- 2.5 mm and 4.15 +/- 2.5 mm in the premature babies, respectively, compared with 15 +/- 3.5 mm and 18.75 +/- 4.5 mm in the term babies. The intragroup and intergroup Schirmer test scores were statistically significant (P<0.001). The primary Jones test was positive in 20.8% of the eyes in the premature babies, whereas it was positive in 84% of eyes in the term babies. The premature babies with positive primary Jones test results all had corneal epithelial defects or severe superficial punctuate keratopathy. Mean conjunctival impression cytology squamous metaplasia scores were 1.86 +/- 1.2 in the premature babies and 0.86 +/- 0.47 in the term babies (P<0.001). Mean goblet cell densities were 393 +/- 484 cells/mm(2) and 739 +/- 503 cells/mm(2) in the premature and term babies, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: Decreased corneal sensitivity, reduced tearing, and lacrimal drainage patency are important determinants of ocular surface disease in premature infants. Premature newborns with low Schirmer test scores and a patent lacrimal system may experience corneal and conjunctival epithelial problems and should be carefully checked for the presence of dry eye complications.Int Ocular Surface So

Strip meniscometry: a new and simple method of tear meniscus evaluation. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

PURPOSE. To investigate the applicability and efficacy of a new and simple method of quantification of the volume of tear meniscus, termed &quot;strip meniscometry,&quot; in the diagnosis of the dry eye syndromes in a prospective controlled study. METHODS. One hundred eyes of 50 patients with dry eye (19 males; 31 females) aged between 18 and 76 years (mean, 54.3 years), as well as 80 eyes of 40 normal subjects aged from 15 to 70 years (mean, 50.8 years; 12 males, 28 females) were recruited in this study. The patients and the control subjects underwent strip meniscometry for 5 seconds, tear film lipid layer interferometry, tear film break-up time measurement, and ocular surface vital staining with fluorescein and rose bengal dyes and the Schirmer-1 test. RESULTS. Strip meniscometry scores correlated with tear quantity and stability, ocular surface staining scores, and lipid layer interferometry grades and improved after 2 weeks of punctal plug occlusion. CONCLUSIONS. Strip meniscometry is a swift, noninvasive, promising new method that is expected to find application in the diagnosis and evaluation of the outcome of treatment of dry eye syndromes. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Spectroscopic measurement of anesthetic gas inductively coupled plasma for decomposition of global warming gas

identifier:oai:t2r2.star.titech.ac.jp:5005485