VOLUME 76 - ISSUE 2

PURPOSE: To evaluate distance and near contrast sensitivity (CS) under photopic and mesopic conditions before and after refractive lens exchange (RLE) and implantation of the aspheric AcrySof®ReSTOR® (SN6AD3 model) intraocular lens (IOL). METHODS:Seventy-four eyes of 37 patients after RLE underwent bilateral implantation with the aspheric AcrySof ReSTOR IOL. The patient sample was divided into myopic and hyperopic groups. Monocular uncorrected visual acuity at distance and near (UCVA and UCNVA, respectively) and monocular best corrected visual acuity at distance and near (BCVA and BCNVA, respectively) were measured before and 6 months postoperatively. Monocular CS function was measured at three different luminance levels (85, 5 and 2.5 cd/m²) before and after RLE. Post-implantation results at 6 months were compared with those found before surgery. RESULTS: Our results revealed that patients in both groups obtained good UCVA and BCVA after RLE at distance and near vision in relation to pre-surgery values. No statistically significant differences were found between the values of CS pre and post-RLE at distance and near, at any lighting condition and spatial frequency (p>0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Refractive lens exchange with aspheric AcrySof ReSTOR IOL in myopic and hyperopic population provided good visual function and yield good distance and near CS under photopic and mesopic conditions.

Keywords: Lens implantation, intraocular; Lens cristalline; Myopia; Hyperopia; Phacoemulsification; Visual acuity

PURPOSE: To compare the hypotensive effect in normal eyes of three formulations with different concentrations of brimonidine tartrate: 0.2%; 0.15% and 0.1%. METHODS: Prospective, randomized, double-blind study included 60 volunteers, who underwent initial ophthalmologic examination and measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP). Individuals were divided into three groups: (1) brimonidine tartrate 0.15%, (2) brimonidine tartrate 0.2% and (3) brimonidine tartrate 0.1% and randomly received one drop each of drops in each eye. The IOP was measured after 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours. RESULTS: We found that all concentrations of brimonidine tartrate significantly reduced intraocular pressure during the study period, with p<0.05. When analyzing the percentage difference of the hypotensive effect of each group, we found no significant difference between the studied groups: (1) -13.50%, (2) -11.50%, (3) -11.90% after 30 minutes (p=0.650); (1) -24.30%, (2) -18.60%, (3) -18.30% after 1 hour (p=0.324); (1) -29.14%, (2) -21.20%, (3) -25.60% after 2 hours (p=0.068). CONCLUSION: There is no statistically significant difference in intraocular pressure reduction (peak period) between the three formulations of brimonidine.

Keywords: Quinoxalines; Antihypertensive agents; Tonometry, ocular; Aqueous humor; Ophtalmic solutions; Comparative study

PURPOSE: Determine whether cytopathologic classification of melanocytic uveal tumors evaluated by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a significant prognostic factor for death from metastasis. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of cases of clinically diagnosed uveal melanoma evaluated by fine-needle aspiration biopsy from 1980 to 2006. Main outcome evaluated was death from metastasis. Associations between baseline clinical variables and cytopathologic classification were evaluated using cross-tabulation. Prognostic significance of cytopathologic classification was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analysis. RESULTS: Of 302 studied biopsies, 260 (86.1%) yielded sufficient cells for cytopathologic classification. Eighty of the 260 patients who had a sufficient specimen have already died (P=0.021), 69 from metastatic uveal melanoma. Cell type assigned by cytopathology was strongly associated with metastasis/metastatic death in this series (P=0.0048). Multivariate analysis showed cytopathologic classification to be an independently significant prognostic factor for metastatic death (P=0.0006). None of the 42 patients whose tumor yielded insufficient aspirates (sampled in at least two sites) have developed metastasis or died of metastasis thus far. CONCLUSION: In this series, cytopathology of fine-needle aspiration biopsy samples obtained from uveal melanomas was strongly prognostic of death from metastasis. Insufficiently aspirates (2 or more sites sampled) proved to be prognostic of a favorable outcome (i.e., not developing metastasis).

Keywords: Choroid neoplasms; Melanoma; Cytodiagnosis; Melanoma; Biopsy needle; Biopsy, fine-needle; Uveal neoplasms

PURPOSES: To assess the risk factors of age-related macular degeneration in Argentina using a case-control study. METHODS: Surveys were used for subjects' antioxidant intake, age/gender, race, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes (and type of treatment), smoking, sunlight exposure, red meat consumption, fish consumption, presence of age-related macular degeneration and family history of age-related macular degeneration. Main effects models for logistic regression and ordinal logistic regression were used to analyze the results. RESULTS: There were 175 cases and 175 controls with a mean age of 75.4 years and 75.5 years, respectively, of whom 236 (67.4%) were female. Of the cases with age-related macular degeneration, 159 (45.4%) had age-related macular degeneration in their left eyes, 154 (44.0%) in their right eyes, and 138 (39.4%) in both eyes. Of the cases with age-related macular degeneration in their left eyes, 47.8% had the dry type, 40.3% had the wet type, and the type was unknown for 11.9%. The comparable figures for right eyes were: 51.9%, 34.4%, and 13.7%, respectively. The main effects model was dominated by higher sunlight exposure (OR [odds ratio]: 3.3) and a family history of age-related macular degeneration (OR: 4.3). Other factors included hypertension (OR: 2.1), smoking (OR: 2.2), and being of the Mestizo race, which lowered the risk of age-related macular degeneration (OR: 0.40). Red meat/fish consumption, body mass index, and iris color did not have an effect. Higher age was associated with progression to more severe age-related macular degeneration. CONCLUSION: Sunlight exposure, family history of age-related macular degeneration, and an older age were the significant risk factors. There may be other variables, as the risk was not explained very well by the existing factors. A larger sample may produce different and better results.

Keywords: Age-related macular degeneration; Risk factors; Sunlight exposure; Family history; Argentina; Case-control study

BACKGROUND: Visual processing deficits have been reported for patients with schizophrenia. Previous studies demonstrated differences in early-stage processing of schizophrenics, although the nature, extent, and localization of the disturbance are unknown. The magnocellular and parvocellular visual pathways are associated with transient and sustained channels, but their respective contributions to schizophrenia-related visual deficits remains controversial. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate magnocellular dysfunction in schizophrenia using frequency doubling technology. METHODS: Thirty-one patients with schizophrenia and 34 healthy volunteers were examined. Frequency doubling technology testing was performed in one session, consisting of a 15-minute screening strategy followed by the C-20 program for frequency doubling technology. RESULTS: Schizophrenic patients showed lower global mean sensitivity (30,97 ± 2,25 dB) compared with controls (32,17 ± 3,08 dB), p<0.009. Although there was no difference in the delta sensitivity of hemispheres, there was a difference in sensitivity analysis of the fibers crossing the optic chiasm, with lower mean sensitivity in the patient group (28,80 dB) versus controls (30,66 dB). The difference was higher in fibers that do not cross the optic chiasm, with lower mean sensitivity in patients (27,61 dB) versus controls (30,26 dB), p<0.005. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that there are differences between global sensitivity and fiber sensitivity measured by frequency doubling technology. The different sensitivity of fibers that do not cross the optic chiasm is consistent with most current etiological hypotheses for schizophrenia. The decreased sensitivity responses in the optic radiations may significantly contribute to research assessing early-stage visual processing deficits for patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords: Schizophrenia; Visual perception; Visual pathways; Basal nucleus of Meynert

PURPOSE: To observe the frequency of the occurrence of the anophthalmic socket in the Middle West region of the state of São Paulo and to describe the demographic profile of the carriers in a population-based data. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involve a random sampling carried out in twelve cities of the Middle West region of the state of São Paulo, for which the reference center is the city of Botucatu was done. The participators were chosen by assortment which considered the houses of these people. It was established a sampling with 11,453 people. All the exams were realized using a Mobile Ophthalmologic Unit. The research protocol included the demographic data and the complete ophthalmologic exam (anamnesis, ocular and systemic antecedents, familiar antecedents, visual acuity with and without correction, tonometry, biomicroscopy, fundoscopy, and refraction exam). All the data were transferred to an Excel spreadsheet and submitted to a descriptive analysis and were presented by the frequency of the occurrence. RESULTS: Ophthalmic socket frequency in the Middle West region of the state of São Paulo was 0.96‰. We found 11 cases of anophthalmic socket, with involvement of 0.7 ‰ in females and 1.3 ‰, male. The most common causes of anophthalmic socket were glaucoma (blind painful eye), microphthalmia, trauma, and endophthalmitis. The majority of the people were 40 years old or more, and we found just one person younger than 19 years old. CONCLUSION:The anophthalmic socket occurred in 0.96‰ of the habitants of the Middle West region of São Paulo State, occurring mainly in male and with large variety of the affected ages.

Keywords: Ophthalmologic surgical procedures; Anophthalmic socket; Epidemiology; Cross-sectional studies; Population surveillance

PURPOSE: To characterize refractive errors in Paraguayan children aged 5-16 years and investigate effect of age, gender, and ethnicity. METHODS:The study was conducted at 3 schools that catered to Mennonite, indigenous, and mixed race children. Children were examined for presenting visual acuity, autorefraction with and without cycloplegia, and retinoscopy. Data were analyzed for myopia and hyperopia (SE ≤-1 D or -0.5 D and ≥2 D or ≥3 D) and astigmatism (cylinder ≥1 D). Spherical equivalent (SE) values were calculated from right eye cycloplegic autorefraction data and analyzed using general linear modelling. RESULTS: There were 190, 118, and 168 children of Mennonite, indigenous and mixed race ethnicity, respectively. SE values between right/left eyes were nonsignificant. Mean visual acuity (VA) without correction was better for Mennonites compared to indigenous or mixed race children (right eyes: 0.031, 0.090, and 0.102 logMAR units, respectively; P<0.000001). There were 2 cases of myopia in the Mennonite group (1.2%) and 2 cases in the mixed race group (1.4%) (SE ≤-0.5 D). The prevalence of hyperopia (SE ≥2 D) was 40.6%, 34.2%, and 46.3% for Mennonite, indigenous and mixed race children. Corresponding astigmatism rates were 3.2%, 9.5%, and 12.7%. Females were slightly more hyperopic than males, and the 9-11 years age group was the most hyperopic. Mennonite and mixed race children were more hyperopic than indigenous children. CONCLUSIONS: Paraguayan children were remarkably hyperopic and relatively free of myopia. Differences with regard to gender, age, and ethnicity were small.

Keywords: Refractive error; Myopia; Hyperopia; Astigmatism; Ethnicity and health; Visual acuity; Humans; Child; Adolescent; Paraguay

PURPOSE: Compare the retinal structure of the macula and fovea among premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stages II and III post treatment, premature infants with ROP stages II and III with spontaneous regression and premature infants without ROP, through optical coherence tomography (OCT) and binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy (BIO) examinations. METHODS: Cross-sectional observational and not-blinded study. There were included premature infants born between 06/1992 and 06/2006 and examined between 06/2009 and 12/2010; gestational age less than or equal to 32 weeks and birth weight less than or equal to 1,599 g; with a minimum of three visits during the selection period; without retinopathy of prematurity, or with the diagnosis of ROP stages II or III in at least one eye with spontaneous regression or after ROP treatment; maximum of six months of chronological age for the first examination at the service; minimal chronological age of four years old in the reassessment period. There were excluded premature infants who did not attend or did not have clinical conditions for the reassessment examination. The premature infants were divided into three groups: G1 - with ROP post-treatment; G2 - with ROP post-spontaneous regression; and G3 - without ROP. The exams performed were BIO and OCT. RESULTS: Twenty-four premature infants (48 eyes) presented the criteria required for the research, chronological age ranging from 5 to 6 years. At BIO, there was a statistically significant difference for the presence of alterations in the retina of premature infants from group G1. However these changes corresponded to the cicatricial lesions left by the ROP treatment, without visible impairment to the macular region. At OCT there were statistically significant differences for the greatest foveal thickness between premature infants from groups G1 and G2. Considering the left eye, there was no statistically significant difference related to the thickness of the fovea between G1 and G3. There was no difference among the three groups studied in relation to the changes of the retinal layers at OCT. CONCLUSION: Premature infants with ROP post-treatment showed foveal thickness greater than premature infants with ROP post-spontaneous regression; and foveal thickness similar to premature infants without ROP in relation to assessment of the left eye. Regarding the changes of the retinal layers detected at OCT, the three groups were similar, without expression of difference for the treated group in this study.

Keywords: Retinopathy of prematurity; Macula lutea; Tomography, optical coherence; Ophthalmoscopy; Child, preschool

PURPOSE: To investigate neurotrophins expression and neurotrophic effect change in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) under different types of stimulation. METHODS: Rats were exposed in 10,000 lux white light to develop light-induced retinal injury. Supernatants of homogenized retina (SHR), either from normal or light-injured retina, were used to stimulate MSCs. Quantitative real time for polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were conducted for analysis the expression change in basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in MSCs after stimulation. Conditioned medium from SHR-stimulated MSCs and control MSCs were collected for evaluation their effect on retinal explants. RESULTS: Supernatants of homogenized retina from light-injured rats significantly promoted neurotrophins secretion from MSCs (p<0.01). Conditioned medium from mesenchymal stem cells stimulated by light-injured SHR significantly reduced DNA fragmentation (p<0.01), up-regulated bcl-2 (p<0.01) and down-regulated bax (p<0.01) in retinal explants, displaying enhanced protective effect. CONCLUSIONS: Light-induced retinal injury is able to enhance neurotrophins secretion from mesenchymal stem cells and promote the neurotrophic effect of mesenchymal stem cells.

Keywords: Fibroblast growth factor 2; Ciliary neurotrophic factor; Retina; Mesenchymal stromal cells; Stem cells; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA; Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments, Buffalo, NY) to distinguish between normal and keratoconic eyes, by comparing pressure and waveform signal-derived parameters. METHODS: This retrospective comparative case series study included 112 patients with normal corneas and 41 patients with bilateral keratoconic eyes. One eye from each subject was randomly selected for analysis. Keratoconus diagnosis was based on clinical examinations, including Placido disk-based corneal topography and rotating Scheimpflug corneal tomography. Data from the ORA best waveform score (WS) measurements were extracted using ORA software. Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), Goldman-correlated intraocular pressure (IOPg), cornea-compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc), and 37 parameters derived from the waveform signal were analyzed. Differences in the distributions among the groups were assessed using the Mann-Whitney test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences between keratoconic and normal eyes were found in all parameters (p<0.05) except IOPcc and W1. The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) was greater than 0.85 for 11 parameters, including CH (0.852) and CRF (0.895). The parameters related to the area under the waveform peak during the second and first applanations (p2area and p1area) had the best performances, with AUROCs of 0.939 and 0.929, respectively. The AUROCs for CRF, p2area, and p1area were significantly greater than that for CH. CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in biomechanical metrics between normal and keratoconic eyes. Compared with the pressure-derived parameters, corneal hysteresis and corneal resistance factor, novel waveform-derived ORA parameters provide better identification of keratoconus.

Keywords: Cornea; Keratoconus; Corneal diseases; Refractive surgical procedures; Software; Biomechanics

Solar retinopathy is photochemical damage to the retina, usually caused, by direct or indirect solar observation resulting from the use of hallucinogenic drugs, mental disorders or during eclipses. There may be a loss of visual acuity. We report the case of a 38-year-old patient who presented with a clinical diagnosis of solar retinopathy in the left eye, no prior history of sun exposure, normal visual acuity and complaints of metamorphopsia. Optical coherence tomography showed a rupture of the retinal pigment epithelium, confirming class II solar retinopathy. Visual acuity tends to normalize after 3 to 9 months, but not always. Thus, there is a real need to educate people about using eye protection during sun exposure especially given that some people may be highly susceptible to retinal damage, which was presumably the case for this patient. Finally, we note the importance of optical coherence tomography in diagnosing solar retinopathy.

Keywords: Retina; Sunlight; Visual Acuity; Retinitis; Tomography, optical coherence; Case report

To report the case of a patient with bilateral herpetic lineal endotheliitis successfully treated with topic steroids and systemic antiviral. 17 year old female with blurred vision, at evaluation localized edema was observed on both corneas associated to Descemet folds and a line of pigmented precipitates. Topic prednisolone and oral acyclovir are initiated with complete resolution of signs and symptoms. Lineal endotheliitis is produced as an answer of endotelial cells to viral infection; maybe due to an immune reaction against some antigens from herpes virus family. It has the potential of relapses even in the absence of viral replication, with secondary untreatable stromal edema. It responds well to antiviral and steroids treatment, although, on those patients who don't improve, is necesary to make additional tests.

Keywords: Endothelium, corneal; Simplexvirus; Corneal edema; Prednisolone; Acyclovir; Humans; Male; Adolescent

We described the clinical, surgical details and results (motor and sensory) of the retrieving procedure of traumatically avulsed muscles in three patients with no previous history of strabismus or diplopia seen in the Department of Ophthalmology, State University of Campinas, Brazil. The slipped muscle portion was reinserted at the original insertion and under the remaining stump, which was sutured over the reinserted muscle. For all three cases there was recovery of single binocular vision and stereopsis.

Keywords: Eye injuries; Oculomotor muscles; Strabismus; Diplopia; Depth perception; Case reports

We report an atypical case of granular corneal dystrophy recurrence after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty. We describe clinical features, histopathological analysis of the lamellar graft specimen and DNA analysis results. The slit-lamp examination and histopathological findings from the graft specimen indicated the confinement of the typical deposits of granular corneal dystrophy deep in the graft interface area. This localization is atypical, since in most cases recurrences in grafts tend to be initially superficial and situated in the epithelial or subepithelial corneal layers. Molecular genetic analysis revealed an already described mutation and a new intronic variant. The unusual localization and timing of this recurrence of granular corneal dystrophy after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty suggests that corneal stromal keratocytes may play a role in the formation of granular deposits.

Keywords: Corneal transplantation; Corneal dystrophies, hereditary; Cornea; Corneal stroma; Corneal keratocytes; Epithelium, corneal; Recurrence

Dry eye disease and ocular surface disorders may be caused or worsened by viral agents. There are several known and suspected virus associated to ocular surface diseases. The possible pathogenic mechanisms for virus-related dry eye disease are presented herein. This review serves to reinforce the importance of ophthalmologists as one of the healthcare professional able to diagnose a potentially large number of infected patients with high prevalent viral agents.

Keywords: Dry eye syndromes; Eye infections, viral; Eye infections