Evaluation the Effect of Food Subsidy Reduction on Iranian Household Calorie Intake: VAR Application

In each year, Iranian government provides for food subsidy in its budget. Recently, the effect of food subsidy to the households has been controversial. In this Article we use vector autoregressive method for investigating the effect of food subsidy reduction on Iranian households' calorie intake. The results show that one unit standard error reduction in food subsidy without income compensation has a considerable negative effect on calorie intake in short-run and that it takes around five years for households to adjust themselves to the new condition. But, if the negative shock of food subsidy reduction occurs with the same amount of positive income, then the effect of income increasing not only removes the negative effects of subsidy reduction, but also will have positive effect on calorie intake in short-run and long-run. Therefore, it seems that focusing on food subsidy reduction is not the best solution.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Palpation by blind examiners: A novel approach for glaucoma screening

Although there are several risk factors for glaucoma, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) remains the major risk factor. Palpation is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive methods for approximate IOP assessment. Researchers believe that blind individuals may possess a more acutely developed sense of touch, which has already proved to be beneficial in clinical breast examination to detect early breast cancer. Based on successful findings of a project that used blind and visually impaired individuals as breast examiners, we hypothesize that blind individuals may also serve as successful examiners for estimation of IOP using tactile palpation

An Innovative Educational Model in Intraocular Pressure Measurement

Tactile palpation is a simple technique that can prove useful for estimating intraocular pressure (IOP) in primary healthcare settings, mainly in the absence of equipment, for very young children, patients who are intellectually challenged, those with eyes with extremely irregular corneas, and patients with corneal prostheses. Accordingly, this technique can also aid in the diagnosis of high IOP in primary and emergency care settings. To the best of our knowledge, there is no instrument that can quantify the estimation of IOP and teach tactile examiners. This group has developed a digital instrument called the MEHDI-IOP Measurement Model to train primary healthcare workers as well as blind individuals in the estimation of IOP. In this simple instrument, elastic spheres with a specific inner pressure can be touched and the responses of candidates with regard to the estimated pressure can be graded accordingly

Role of Ophthalmic Nurses in Prevention of Ophthalmic Diseases

There are numerous ocular problems that could be diagnosed and detected by well-trained ophthalmic nurses. Ophthalmic nurses may significantly contribute in ophthalmology and visual sciences. These trained nurses may assist in decrease the rate of cancelled surgical operations at the date of operation that had been due to lack of attention to health problems in pre-operative assessments. Furthermore, they could perform some medical evaluation of patients that are candidates for surgery, preoperatively. Additionally, their services would be beneficial to accelerate discharging patients, which would result in less drain on financial resources for medical centres. Ophthalmic nurses are also critical elements in health-care systems because they can help to deliver up to date ophthalmic knowledge and contribute to general physicians, academically. Additionally, they may be able to assist patients who suffer from blindness or loss of vision, to find national organizations that provide services and education. They are able to be a great assistance in referring patients that need subspecialty services and subsequently, contribute to saving health-care expenditures by let the patients to receive proper management. These nurses could play a significant role in the process of teaching people, providing proper diagnoses, administration, and management of ocular problems

Role of Ophthalmic Nurses in Prevention of Ophthalmic Diseases

There are numerous ocular problems that could be diagnosed and detected by well-trained ophthalmic nurses. Ophthalmic nurses may significantly contribute in ophthalmology and visual sciences. These trained nurses may assist in decrease the rate of cancelled surgical operations at the date of operation that had been due to lack of attention to health problems in pre-operative assessments. Furthermore, they could perform some medical evaluation of patients that are candidates for surgery, preoperatively. Additionally, their services would be beneficial to accelerate discharging patients, which would result in less drain on financial resources for medical centres. Ophthalmic nurses are also critical elements in health-care systems because they can help to deliver up to date ophthalmic knowledge and contribute to general physicians, academically. Additionally, they may be able to assist patients who suffer from blindness or loss of vision, to find national organizations that provide services and education. They are able to be a great assistance in referring patients that need subspecialty services and subsequently, contribute to saving health-care expenditures by let the patients to receive proper management. These nurses could play a significant role in the process of teaching people, providing proper diagnoses, administration, and management of ocular problems

Refractive outcomes in infants treated for retinopathy of prematurity

Background:  Infants treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) can develop visually significant refractive error. However, the degree of refractive error may differ between laser treatment and intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injection. We reviewed studies that investigated refractive error outcomes of treatment in premature infants with ROP. Methods: In this narrative review, a literature search was carried out in PubMed/MEDLINE from 01/01/2000 to 20/10/2022 without language restrictions, using the following keywords: “anti-VEGF,” “ROP” or “prematurity retinopathy,” and “laser.” We included comparative studies on refractive error outcomes of intravitreal anti-VEGF and laser treatments, a combination of both modalities simultaneously or sequentially, and two anti-VEGF agents. Results:  The initial search yielded 164 records. We reviewed the titles and abstracts of the retrieved papers and the reference list of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses, meta-analyses, or reviews on our topic. Thirty-three records fulfilled our inclusion criteria, which included refractive outcomes in 4350 eyes of 2359 participants treated for ROP. Based on the reported refractive outcomes, we divided the studies into four categories: 1) those that revealed a higher rate of refractive error in the laser-treated eyes than in the anti-VEGF-treated eyes; 2) those that revealed no significant difference in refractive outcomes between the two treatment modalities; 3) those that revealed a higher rate of refractive error in the anti-VEGF-treated eyes or compared refractive outcomes between two anti-VEGF agents; and 4) those that reported refractive outcomes in the eyes that received combined simultaneous or sequential treatment with laser after initial anti-VEGF treatment. We also summarized the refractive outcomes of all included primary studies in each category. Conclusions:  This study showed that the laser-treated eyes experienced more myopic shift. However, the refractive outcomes in premature infants of laser treatment, anti-VEGF treatment, and a combination of both modalities simultaneously or sequentially were often contradictory. This variability resulted from obvious differences in the sample size, different follow-up durations, or inhomogeneous study or treatment designs. Further well-designed prospective trials on refractive outcomes and the trend of changes in the refractive status over long-term follow-ups in the eyes treated with ROP are necessary to identify consensus results concerning real-world refractive outcomes of each treatment modality or simultaneous or sequential combination of both modalities, to suggest a safe and effective treatment option for eye care professionals

Potential Negative Impacts of Social Inequality on Visual Health: the Possible Pathophysiology Mechanisms

Letter/ No abstrac

Causative link between coronavirus disease vaccination and central serous chorioretinopathy: Reality or illusion?

Background: Most COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for emergency use. Despite a large number of vaccines that have been administered, adverse ocular effects have been reported. This paper summarized the reports about central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) following coronavirus disease vaccination. Methods: In this short communication, we have included relevant publications about CSCR after coronavirus disease vaccination from the beginning of the pandemic until January 2022. Results: The CSCR occurrence after vaccination has been reported for many years. However, a few studies are available about CSCR after coronavirus disease vaccination. Most cases revealed the development of CSCR within one week of vaccination that subsequently resolved. Conclusions: The timeline of the CSCR diagnosis developing a few days after vaccination suggests a causative link. However, in view of the millions of administered doses of vaccines along with boosters, the causative link between CSCR and vaccines remains uncertain. Additional studies are needed to confirm a causal claim

Significance of Novel Ideas to Solve Challenges Facing Today's Ophthalmology

Editorial/ No abstrac