The Correlation between Glucose and Lipid Biomarkers Variations with biometric characteristics and Intraocular Pressure Changes during Ramadan Fasting

Introduction: The aim of present study was to assess the correlation between glucose and lipid biomarkers variations with biometric characteristics and intraocular pressure changes following Ramadan fasting. Methods: A total of 100 healthy fasting volunteers were enrolled in the study. Of them, 89 subjects completed the study with respect to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Right eye ocular axial length and anterior chamber depth were determined using the IOLMaster, (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany). Following that, intraocular pressure of right eye was measured using a non-contact tonometer (Topcon, Computerized Tonometer CT-1/CT-1P, Tokyo, Japan). Blood samples were taken from all the participants and concentrations of the biomarkers, including Fast blood sugar, Triglyceride, Cholesterol, High-density lipoprotein and Low-density lipoprotein were measured using the Hitachi 717 analyzer (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). All assessments were obtained one week before and after Ramadan. Results:  Of 89 healthy Muslims who complete the study, 51 were men (mean age: 35.51±8.94 years) and 38 were women mean age: 34.26±9.41 years).The results indicated no significant relationship between the axial length with glucose and lipid biomarkers variations in the fasting individuals. The assessment of result showed only a slight correlation between anterior chamber depth and High-density lipoprotein changes during Ramadan, however, this was not statistically significant. Also, findings revealed only a slight correlation between intraocular pressure and cholesterol changes in healthy fasting individuals, however, this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study revealed that ocular parameters changes during Ramadan fasting is probably independent to variation levels of glucose and lipid biomarkers

Seasonal Variations in Anterior Segment Angle Parameters in Myopes and Emmetropes

Clinical relevance: Seasonal variations are known to occur in a range of ocular parameters and in conditions including refractive error and glaucoma. It is of clinical importance to know if seasonal changes also occur in anterior segment angle parameters, given that they can influence these conditions. Background: The study aimed to examine the seasonal variations in anterior segment angle parameters in healthy young adults. Methods: Twenty-three emmetropic participants with a mean age of 26.17 ± 4.43 years and 22 myopic participants with a mean age of 27.27 ± 4.47 years completed four seasons of data collection. Anterior segment angle parameters were measured using swept-source anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and objective refraction were also measured. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine the effect of season and refractive error on the various ocular parameters. Results: A significant main effect of season was found for the majority of anterior segment angle parameters, including the angle opening distance at 500 and 750 µm from the scleral spur (p = 0.02, p = 0.006, respectively), angle recess area at 500 and 750 µm from the scleral spur (both p = 0.002), and trabecular iris space area at 500 and 750 µm from the scleral (p = 0.02, p = 0.008, respectively). However, measures of anterior chamber depth and trabecular iris angle did not exhibit statistically significant seasonal variations (all p > 0.05). A significant main effect of season was also found for the changes in IOP (p = 0.004) and objective refraction (p 0.05). Conclusion: There is a small but significant seasonal changes in the anterior segment angle parameters, refractive error, and IOP in healthy young adult males, in which the anterior segment angle dimensions are narrower, the IOP is higher, and the refraction is more myopic during winter.</p

The prevalence of functional amblyopia and its related risk factors in preschool children in North-Eastern Iran

BACKGROUND: Purpose was to determine the prevalence of amblyopia and its related risk factors in children aged 3–6 years in Bojnurd, north-eastern Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, from 12,331 children aged 3–6 in Bojnurd, 6600 children participated in annual amblyopic screening program and among them, around 1100 suspected cases were referred for full ophthalmic examinations. Measurement of visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, subjective refraction, and cover test were performed for all participants. Amblyopia was defined as CDVA of 0.2 LogMar or less in each eye or 2-line difference or more in best-corrected visual acuity between two eyes. RESULTS: The prevalence of amblyopia was estimated 0.95% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73%–1.2%). There was no relationship between amblyopia with age and genders. Most amblyopic children were hyperopic (61.9%; 95% CI: 48.7–73.8). Strabismus was found in 17.4% of amblyopic patients (95% CI: 9.05%–29.09%). Approximately half of the amblyopic children were anisometropic (55.5%; 95% CI: 42.40%–68.08%). The most common type of amblyopia was anisohyperopic (55.56%; 95% CI: 42.5%–67.5%). The prevalence of bilateral amblyopia was more than unilateral amblyopia. The assessment of data showed that hyperopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia were the most common causes of amblyopia in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of amblyopia was estimated about 1% in north-eastern Iran. Our study indicated a valuable information around the effect of refractive error and anisometropia on amblyopia which could be helpful in designing a comprehensive vision screening program for preschool children

The effect of Ramadan fasting on micronutrients and their relationship with the ocular axial length and anterior chamber depth

Introduction: The present study aimed to assess the effects of Ramadan fasting on micronutrients and their correlations with ocular biometry. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 89 healthy volunteers (51 males and 38 females) with the mean of 34.98±9.10 years in Mashhad, Iran. Participants received complete ophthalmic and systemic examinations one week before and one week after the holy month of Ramadan in 2015. Subjects with no history of systemic and ophthalmic diseases were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were obtained from all the participants in the morning in both phases of the study. Levels of micronutrients were measured in the blood samples using the Hitachi 717 analyzer (Hitachi, Japan). In addition, IOLMaster (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Germany) was applied to determine the ocular axial length (AL) and anterior chamber depth (ACD). Results: No significant differences were observed in the AL and ACD of the subjects before and after Ramadan fasting (P>0.05). Fasting was found to decrease the levels of uric acid, selenium, sodium, and potassium (P0.05). Moreover, no significant association was observed between the AL and ACD with the concentrations of the micronutrients during Ramadan (P>0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, fasting had no significant effects on the overall health and ocular biometry of the fasting individuals during Ramadan. Therefore, it seems that Ramadan fasting is a safe for healthy adults