Assessment of Quality of Methodology of the Studies Using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.

<p>‘Y’ denotes ‘yes’ and ‘N’ denotes ‘no’. Quality items: 1) Definition of case; 2) Representativeness of the cases; 3) Selection of Controls; 4) Definition of Controls; 5) Study control for age; 6) Study controls for smoking; 7) Ascertainment of exposure; 8) Same method of ascertainment for cases and controls; 9) Non-response rate.</p

Characteristics of the Studies Included in the Meta-analysis of Association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> with Age-related Macular Degeneration.

<p>AMD: age related macular degeneration; n: number; USA: United States of America; UK: United Kingdom; NA: not available; ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; MIF: Microimmunofluorescence; C.P. <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i>.</p

PRISMA flow diagram showing the result of literature screening for meta-analysis.

<p>PRISMA flow diagram showing the result of literature screening for meta-analysis.</p

Serological Association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> Infection with Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>We investigated the serological association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).</p><p>Methods</p><p>A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology abstracts were searched to identify studies investigating the serological association of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with age-related macular degeneration. The quality of original studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Heterogeneity was explored with meta-regression. The odds ratios (ORs) and standardized mean differences (SMD) of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD patients and controls were pooled.</p><p>Results</p><p>In total, 9 studies met the inclusion criteria using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale scores ranging from 4 to 9. There was heterogeneity among studies due to a difference in the study designs and measurement of exposure to <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection. The overall OR of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection with AMD was 1.11 (95% confidence interval: 0.78–1.57, <i>P</i> = 0.56). The overall SMD of antibody titer between AMD and control was 0.43 (95% confidence interval: −0.12 to 0.99, <i>P</i> = 0.13).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Evidence from the current published literature suggested no statistically significant association between <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection and AMD.</p></div

Meta-analysis of the serologic association of with <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> and the prevalence of AMD.

<p>A: Forest plot comparing the positive rate of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; squares indicate study-specific odds ratio (OR). B: Funnel plots for positive rate of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; C: Forest plot comparing the IgG antibody titers of <i>Chlamydia pneumoniae</i> infection between AMD cases and controls; squares indicate study-specific standardized mean difference (SMD). The size of the box is proportional to the weight of the study; horizontal lines indicate 95% confidence interval (CI); diamond indicates summary OR or SMD with its corresponding 95% CI.</p

Demographic and clinical data of included subjects.

<p>Demographic and clinical data of included subjects.</p

Optical Intensities of Different Compartments of Subretinal Fluid in Acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease

<div><p>Purpose</p><p>To investigate the optical intensity in different compartments of subretinal fluid in acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease by using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).</p><p>Methods</p><p>Fifty acute VKH eyes and 25 cases with acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) were included in this retrospective comparative study. The optical intensities of subretinal fluid, vitreous humour and the entire scanned region displayed by SD-OCT were measured with Image J by three independent readers. In the VKH eyes with subretinal septa, the subretinal fluid was segmented into two types of compartments, supra-septa space and sub-septa space. Optical intensity ratios of different compartments of subretinal fluids divided by vitreous humour or the entire scanned region were compared.</p><p>Results</p><p>The measurement of optical intensity was highly reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient> 0.9). The optical intensity of the supra-septa space divided by the vitreous humour was significantly higher compared to that of sub-septa space in VKH (mean difference = 4.27 ± 5.15, p <0.001). The optical intensity ratio of the supra-septa space (1.14 ± 0.12), but not subsepta space (1.05 ± 0.05) in VKH, was significantly higher compared to that of the subretinal space in VKH without the subretinal septa (1.07 ± 0.08), and the subretinal fluid in CSCR (1.08 ± 0.09). Similar results were found for the optical intensity ratios divided by the entire scan region.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The optical intensity in the supra-septa space of VKH is higher compared to the sub-septa space in VKH, subretinal space in VKH and CSCR, suggesting that the components in these spaces are different.</p></div

Comparison of optical intensity ratio in different compartments of subretinal fluids.

<p>A. optical intensity ratio of subretinal fluid divided by vitreous humour; B. optical intensity of subretinal fluid divided by the entire scanned region. The <i>p</i> value was calculated using one-way analysis of variance. VKH: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease. CSCR: central serous chorioretinopathy.</p

Selection of regions of interest on the optical coherence tomography images of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease and central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR).

<p>A. selection of vitreous and subretinal space in CSCR; B. selection of vitreous, supra-septa space and sub-septa space in VKH with subretinal septa; C. selection of vitreous and subretinal space in VKH without subretinal septa; D. selection of entire region.</p

Repeatability and reproducibility of optical intensity measurements.

<p>Repeatability and reproducibility of optical intensity measurements.</p