Candida albicans keratitis modified by steroid application

The paper reports on Candida albicans ocular infection modified by steroid eye drops. A 74-year-old male complained of conjunctival injection and pain in his right eye three months after pterygium and cataract surgery. After treatment with antibiotics and steroid eye drops for three days, he was referred to our hospital. Clear localized corneal endothelial plaque with injection of ciliary body was observed. No erosion of the corneal epithelium, or infiltration of stromal edema was observed, suggesting that the pathological organism derived from the intracameral region. Because ocular infection was suspected, steroid eye drops were stopped, which led immediately to typical infectious keratitis in the pathological region, with epithelial erosion, fluffy abscess, stromal infiltration, and edema. For diagnostic purposes, the plaque was surgically removed with forceps and the anterior chamber was irrigated with antibiotics. The smear and culture examination from the plaque revealed C. albicans surrounded by neutrophils. However, aqueous fluid and fibrous tissue after gonio procedure contained no mycotic organisms. Topical fluconazole, micafungin, and pimaricin with oral itraconazole (150 mg/day) were effective. Special attention is needed when prescribing steroid eye drops to treat corneal disease especially postoperatively. Diagnosing infectious keratitis is sometimes difficult because of modification by some factors, such as postoperative conditions, scarring, and drug-induced masking. Here, we report on mycotic keratitis modified by postoperative steroid administration

Transpupillary thermotherapy for atypical central serous chorioretinopathy

Ryosuke Kawamura1,2, Hidenao Ideta1, Hideyuki Hori1, Kenya Yuki2, Tsuyoshi Uno1, Tatsurou Tanabe1, Kazuo Tsubota2, Tsutomu Kawasaki11Ideta Eye Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan; 2Keio University, School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo, JapanBackground: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) has been traditionally treated with laser photocoagulation. We thought that transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) utilizing a lower temperature than that of conventional laser photocoagulation might minimize permanent retinal and choroidal damage. Studies suggest that undesirable effects on vision due to TTT are minimal even if it is applied to foveal and/or parafoveal lesions when TTT requires a larger irradiation spot. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of TTT in the management of atypical CSC.Methods: We defined atypical CSC as bullous retinal detachment with diffuse or several leakages, severe leakage with fibrin formation under serous retinal detachment, or leakage within a pigment epithelium detachment. Eight consecutive patients with atypical CSC underwent visual acuity testing, ophthalmic examination, color photography, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography to evaluate the results of transpupillary thermotherapy. Retreatment of atypical CSC was based on ophthalmic examination, optical coherence tomography, and fluorescein angiography. TTT was performed on the leaking spots shown in fluorescein angiography, with a power of 50–250 mW, spot size of 500–1200 µm, and exposure time of 13–60 seconds to minimize retinal damage.Results: In five of eight affected eyes, serous detachments completely resolved within 1 month after the initial TTT. One eye had persistent subretinal fluid and required a second TTT treatment. Two eyes showed no resolution of CSC and were treated by conventional photocoagulation. Initial best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) ranged from 20/600 to 20/20 (mean, 20/40; median, 20/30). Final BCVA ranged from 20/200 to 20/20 (mean, 20/25; median, 20/20). BCVA improved in all cases. Only two eyes with persistent subretinal fibrin and existing retinal pigment epithelial alternations in macular area showed limited improvement of BCVA despite the absence of subretinal exudation. The presence of retinal attachment was confirmed by optical coherence tomography in six eyes (75%).Conclusions: TTT seems to be effective for the treatment of atypical CSC in the short term. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety.Keywords: transpupillary thermotherapy, central serous chorioretinopathy, optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, serous detachmen

Common Variants in the COL4A4 Gene Confer Susceptibility to Lattice Degeneration of the Retina

Lattice degeneration of the retina is a vitreoretinal disorder characterized by a visible fundus lesion predisposing the patient to retinal tears and detachment. The etiology of this degeneration is still uncertain, but it is likely that both genetic and environmental factors play important roles in its development. To identify genetic susceptibility regions for lattice degeneration of the retina, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a dense panel of 23,465 microsatellite markers covering the entire human genome. This GWAS in a Japanese cohort (294 patients with lattice degeneration and 294 controls) led to the identification of one microsatellite locus, D2S0276i, in the collagen type IV alpha 4 (COL4A4) gene on chromosome 2q36.3. To validate the significance of this observation, we evaluated the D2S0276i region in the GWAS cohort and in an independent Japanese cohort (280 patients and 314 controls) using D2S0276i and 47 single nucleotide polymorphisms covering the region. The strong associations were observed in D2S0276i and rs7558081 in the COL4A4 gene (Pc = 5.8×10−6, OR = 0.63 and Pc = 1.0×10−5, OR = 0.69 in a total of 574 patients and 608 controls, respectively). Our findings suggest that variants in the COL4A4 gene may contribute to the development of lattice degeneration of the retina

The characteristics of keratomycosis by Beauveria bassiana and its successful treatment with antimycotic agents

Hiroko Sonoyama1, Kaoru Araki-Sasaki1, Shigeyasu Kazama1, Tsutomu Kawasaki1, Hidenao Ideta1, Atsuko Sunada2, Seishi Asari2, Yoshitsugu Inoue3, Kozaburo Hayashi41Ideta Eye Hospital, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan; 2Department of Laboratory for Clinical Investigation, Osaka University Hospital, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 3Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Department of Medicine of Sensory and Motor Organ, Tottori University, Yonago, Tottori, Japan; 4Immunology and Virology Section Lab, Immunology, NEI, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USAAbstract: Clinical findings and treatment of keratomycosis caused by Beauveria bassiana, an entomopathogenic filamentous fungus, are described for an 80-year-old woman, who was referred to the hospital for ocular pain and redness on the 9th day after an ocular injury caused by the frame of her glasses. She had a long history of recurrent diabetic iritis and continuously used topical antibiotics and corticosteroids. At her first visit, a slit-lamp examination indicated a corneal ulcer confined within the superficial stromal layer, along with a slight infiltration and edema. Only a very few inflammatory cells were seen in the anterior chamber. Direct microscopic examination of corneal scrapings revealed septate fungal hyphae with zig-zag rachis and budding that was subsequently identified as B. bassiana by slide culture. Topical voriconazole with miconazole, pimaricin and oral itraconazole were effective and the lesion disappeared leaving only a mild scar at 2 months. The sensitivity of B. bassiana to various antimycotic agents was confirmed by broth microdilution, agar dilution with the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute standard, and a disk method using topically applied concentrations. B. bassiana, which exhibits a characteristic appearance in smears and causes superficial keratomycosis, is sensitive to voriconazole with miconazole, pimaricin, and itraconazole.Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, keratomycosis, filamentous fungus, voriconazole, corneal infectio

Association of HK2 and NCK2 with normal tension glaucoma in the Japanese population.

Although family studies and genome-wide association studies have shown that genetic factors play a role in glaucoma, it has been difficult to identify the specific genetic variants involved. We tested 669 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the region of chromosome 2 that includes the GLC1B glaucoma locus for association with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal tension glaucoma (NTG) in the Japanese population. We performed a two-stage case-control study. The first cohort consisted of 123 POAG cases, 121 NTG cases and 120 controls: the second cohort consisted of 187 POAG cases, 286 NTG cases, and 271 controls. Out of six SNPs showing significant association with POAG in the first round screening, seven SNPs were tested in the second round. Rs678350 in the HK2 gene coding sequence showed significant allelic (p=0.0027 in Stage Two, 2.7XE-4 in meta-analysis) association with POAG, and significant allelic (p=4.7XE-4 in Stage Two, 1.0XE-5 in meta-analysis) association with NTG. Although alleles in the TMEM182 gene did not show significant association with glaucoma in the second round, subjects with the A/A allele in TMEM182 rs869833 showed worse visual field mean deviation (p=0.01). Even though rs2033008 in the NCK2 gene coding sequence did not show significant association in the first round, it had previously shown association with NTG so it was tested for association with NTG in round 2 (p=0.0053 in Stage Two). Immunohistochemistry showed that both HK2 and NCK2 are expressed in the retinal ganglion cell layer. Once multi-testing was taken into account, only HK2 showed significant association with POAG and NTG in Stage Two. Our data also support previous reports of NCK2 association with NTG, and raise questions about what role TMEM182 might play in phenotypic variability. Our data suggest that HK2 may play an important role in NTG in the Japanese population

Allelic association results for D2S0276i and nine SNPs in the <i>COL4A4</i> and <i>RHBDD1</i> gene regions.

<p>1, major allele; 2, minor allele; OR, odds ratio; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism.</p><p>Position is distance from short arm telomere. P values were calculated by χ² test 2×2 contingency table. We corrected <i>P</i> values (<i>P</i>c) of D2S0276i and 5 SNPs in the combined stage for multiple testing by Bonferroni's method and Haploview program using 10,000 permutations, respectively.</p