The effect of HESA-A (natural drug) on visual acuity in age related macular degeneration: a randomized double blind controlled clinical trial

We investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of HESA-A (a drug of herbal-marine origin) in the treatment of age related macular degeneration (AMD). In a randomized double blind clinical trial 280 eyes of 280 (157 F, 123 M) patients with wet and dry AMD were randomly assigned in treatment or placebo groups. Patients in treatment group received HESA-A tablet 25 mg/Kg twice a day orally and controls received placebo with the same method for 4 weeks. Visual acuity at baseline and after one month of treatment was measured and compared between two groups. All patients were followed up for 5 months after treatment. Mean patients’ age was 69.06±8.49 years. At the end of study visual acuity improved significantly from 1.69±0.65 LogMar to 1.03± 0.40 LogMar in treatment group but not in controls (P: 0.000 and P: 0.67 in treatment and control groups respectively). No drug reaction or recurrence was reported during the study and 5-month post treatment follow up period in HESA-A treated group. This study showed significant efficacy and safety of HESA-A in improvement of visual acuity in AMD patients in short term.Key words: age related macular degeneration, HESA-A

Patterns of Uveitis in the Middle East and Europe

Purpose: To compare the patterns of uveitis, emphasizing similarities and discrepancies, in the Middle East and Europe. Methods: Six articles reporting uveitis patterns from the Middle East including a total of 2,693 cases, and seven articles with a sum of 4,379 cases from Europe were analyzed and patterns in each region were defined and compared. Results: In both regions, uveitis was most commonly seen in the fourth decade of life with anterior uveitis being the most common anatomical form. Idiopathic cases accounted for the majority of anterior and intermediate uveitis; toxoplasmosis was the most frequent entity in posterior uveitis while Behcet′s disease and idiopathic forms were the next most common causes in the Middle East and in Europe, respectively. Conclusion: Since patterns of uveitis differ in various geographic regions, discovering these patterns would be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of this broad category of conditions. This necessitates applying a universal diagnostic classification system to enable accurate comparisons

Concomitant optic nerve transection and chorioretinitis sclopetaria

BACKGROUND: Optic nerve transection and chorioretinitis sclopetaria may occur following blunt ocular trauma. However, simultaneous occurrence has not yet been reported. We report the first case of concomitant optic nerve transection and chorioretinitis sclopetaria. CASE PRESENTATION: A 12- year- old boy with history of BB gun injury to his right eye was referred for loss of vision. His visual acuity was counting fingers at one meter in the right eye and with 3+ relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD). On slit lamp examination, the right eye appeared normal except for 1+ vitreous reaction. Fundus examination of the right eye revealed a pale disc with superior retinal scar and diffuse submacular fibrosis compatible with chorioretinitis sclopetaria. Orbital CT- scans showed transection of the optic nerve by the BB gun pellet, which was lodged at the orbital apex. CONCLUSION: BB gun injury may cause concomitant optic nerve transection and chorioretinitissclopetaria

Comparison of silicon oil removal with various viscosities after complex retinal detachment surgery

BACKGROUND: Despite the progress in vitreoretinal surgery and the importance of silicone oil as an adjunct for the treatment of complex forms of retinal detachment, controversy still surrounds the issue of selecting the proper oil viscosity for clinical use. Herein, we evaluate the outcomes of retinal detachment (RD) surgery after removing silicone oils of different viscosities. METHODS: In this retropsective cohort study, eighty-two eyes with surgically re-attached retinas, of which 53 were filled with 5000cs silicone oil and 29 with 1000cs silicone oil were enrolled. We evaluated the outcomes and complications following silicone oil removal. Final anatomic success (stable re-attachment), final visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP)were recorded and analysed. RESULTS: Of 82 eyes, 41 had proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), 24 were associated with intraocular foreign bodies, 10 had endophthalmitis and 7 had proliferative diabetic retinopathy with tractional retinal detachment. Prior to silicone oil removal, the retina was attached in all eyes, 29% had VA ≥ 6/120 and 52% had IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. After silicone oil removal, the retina remained attached in 59(72%) of the eyes, 34% had VA ≥ 6/120 and 9% had IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. Comparing 1000cs and 5000cs silicone oil filled eyes, redetachment occurred more frequently in the latter group especially in cases with associated PVR. Final VA worse than 6/120 was associated with initial VA < 6/120 (OR = 32.2 95%CI 7.4–140.2) and use of 5000cs silicone oil (OR = 7.9 95%CI 1.9–32.2). No factor was significantly associated with final IOP ≥ 21 mmHg. CONCLUSION: In complicated retinal detachment surgery, use of 5000cs silicone oil may be associated with a poorer anatomic and visual outcome compared with 1000cs silicone oil. However there was no difference between the two viscosities in IOP elevation. A randomized controlled study is necessary to further evaluate such a possibility

Reappraisal of the management of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease: sunset glow fundus is no more a fatality.

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is a primary autoimmune stromal choroiditis. Aim of the study was to gather a body of evidence from the literature and from experts that systemic corticosteroid combined with non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy should become the standard of care in initial-onset VKH disease. Literature was reviewed and leading experts in VKH were consulted in different parts of the world in order to put forward a consensus attitude in the management of initial-onset VKH disease. There was a substantial body of evidence in the literature that early aggressive and sustained corticosteroid and non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy in initial-onset VKH disease allows to achieve full control of choroidal inflammation, eliminating any subclinical choroidal inflammation, and substantially reduces recurrences with improvement of anatomical and functional outcomes. This was in agreement with experts' opinion and practice. ICGA was the method of choice to monitor disease evolution. Since the choroidal space is easily accessible to systemic therapy and because inflammation in VKH disease is exclusively originating from the choroidal stroma, early and sustained treatment right at the onset of the disease process with dual corticosteroid and non-steroidal immunosuppressive therapy can result in full "healing" in many cases preventing sunset glow fundus which results from depigmentation from chronic uncontrolled inflammation

Therapeutic Benefit of Radial Optic Neurotomy in a Rat Model of Glaucoma

Radial optic neurotomy (RON) has been proposed as a surgical treatment to alleviate the neurovascular compression and to improve the venous outflow in patients with central retinal vein occlusion. Glaucoma is characterized by specific visual field defects due to the loss of retinal ganglion cells and damage to the optic nerve head (ONH). One of the clinical hallmarks of glaucomatous neuropathy is the excavation of the ONH. The aim of this work was to analyze the effect of RON in an experimental model of glaucoma in rats induced by intracameral injections of chondroitin sulfate (CS). For this purpose, Wistar rats were bilaterally injected with vehicle or CS in the eye anterior chamber, once a week, for 10 weeks. At 3 or 6 weeks of a treatment with vehicle or CS, RON was performed by a single incision in the edge of the neuro-retinal ring at the nasal hemisphere of the optic disk in one eye, while the contralateral eye was submitted to a sham procedure. Electroretinograms (ERGs) were registered under scotopic conditions and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were registered with skull-implanted electrodes. Retinal and optic nerve morphology was examined by optical microscopy. RON did not affect the ocular hypertension induced by CS. In eyes injected with CS, a significant decrease of retinal (ERG a- and b-wave amplitude) and visual pathway (VEP N2-P2 component amplitude) function was observed, whereas RON reduced these functional alterations in hypertensive eyes. Moreover, a significant loss of cells in the ganglion cell layer, and Thy-1-, NeuN- and Brn3a- positive cells was observed in eyes injected with CS, whereas RON significantly preserved these parameters. In addition, RON preserved the optic nerve structure in eyes with chronic ocular hypertension. These results indicate that RON reduces functional and histological alterations induced by experimental chronic ocular hypertension

Diabetic retinopathy clinical practice guidelines: Customized for Iranian population

Purpose: To customize clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for management of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the Iranian population. Methods: Three DR CPGs (The Royal College of Ophthalmologists 2013, American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Pattern 2012, and Australian Diabetes Society 2008) were selected from the literature using the AGREE tool. Clinical questions were designed and summarized into four tables by the customization team. The components of the clinical questions along with pertinent recommendations extracted from the above-mentioned CPGs; details of the supporting articles and their levels of evidence; clinical recommendations considering clinical benefts, cost and side effects; and revised recommendations based on customization capability (applicability, acceptability, external validity) were recorded in 4 tables, respectively. Customized recommendations were sent to the faculty members of all universities across the country to score the recommendations from 1 to 9. Results: Agreed recommendations were accepted as the fnal recommendations while the non-agreed ones were approved after revision. Eventually, 29 customized recommendations under three major categories consisting of screening, diagnosis and treatment of DR were developed along with their sources and levels of evidence. Conclusion: This customized CPGs for management of DR can be used to standardize the referral pathway, diagnosis and treatment of patients with diabetic retinopathy. © 2016 Journal of Ophthalmic and Vision Research

Erratum to: Changes in patterns of uveitis at a tertiary referral center in Northern Italy: analysis of 990 consecutive cases

Erratum to: Changes in patterns of uveitis at a tertiary referral center in Northern Italy: analysis of 990 consecutive case