Corneal epithelial thickness profile in dry-eye disease.

Background/objectives: To characterize and evaluate the use of corneal epithelial profile maps generated by an ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT) in the diagnosis and management of dry-eye disease (DED).

Subjects/methods: This prospective, interventional case-control study included 115 eyes of 71 subjects (52 DED and 19 controls) imaged using an UHR-OCT. Average, maximum, and minimum, range of corneal epithelial thicknesses were extracted from epithelial profile maps.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) analysis of members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.

Typical CRISPR (clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat) regions are constituted by short direct repeats (DRs), interspersed with similarly sized non-repetitive spacers, derived from transmissible genetic elements, acquired when the cell is challenged with foreign DNA. The analysis of the structure, in number and nature, of CRISPR spacers is a valuable tool for molecular typing since these loci are polymorphic among strains, originating characteristic signatures. The existence of CRISPR structures in the genome of the members of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) enabled the development of a genotyping method, based on the analysis of the presence or absence of 43 oligonucleotide spacers separated by conserved DRs.

Relatedness of Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis clinical isolates of human and porcine origins assessed by MLVA.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) is an important opportunistic pathogen, infecting humans and animals, notably pigs. Several methods have been used to characterize MAH strains.

Factors affecting DSAEK graft lenticle adhesion: an in vitro experimental study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate different factors that affect Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) donor graft lenticle adhesion to the recipient cornea.

Methods: This experimental study included 10 eye bank recipient corneas and 10 donor DSAEK lenticles. Recipient corneas were mounted on an artificial anterior chamber (AC), whereas donor lenticles were placed beneath the host cornea.

Pre-multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain associated with disseminated tuberculosis in a pet dog.

Resistance to isoniazid, ethambutol, and streptomycin was detected in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain, belonging to the Beijing family lineage, isolated from two nodule exudates of a Yorkshire terrier with generalized tuberculosis. This report alerts medical practitioners to the risk of dissemination of pre-multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (preMDR-TB) through exposure to M. tuberculosis-shedding pets.

Femtosecond laser-assisted technique for performing bag-in-the-lens intraocular lens implantation.

We describe a technique for femtosecond laser-assisted bag-in-the-lens (BIL) intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Anterior capsulotomy and lens division into small pieces are performed by the laser. A fluid-filled interface makes it possible to re-dock the laser to the eye for posterior capsulotomy after the eye has been opened for lens aspiration without complications.

Comparison of IOL power calculation methods and intraoperative wavefront aberrometer in eyes after refractive surgery.

Purpose: To compare preoperative methods for calculating intraocular lens (IOL) power versus the intraoperative wavefront aberrometer in eyes with a history of refractive surgery.

Methods: A retrospective study of 46 eyes (33 patients) with previous refractive surgery that underwent subsequent cataract surgery was conducted. Suggested IOL power predicted by ORange intraoperative wavefront aberrometer (WaveTec Vision Systems, Inc.

Complications of femtosecond laser-assisted re-treatment for residual refractive errors after LASIK.

Purpose: To report complications of femtosecond laser-assisted re-treatment by the creation of side cuts within the old flaps for residual refractive error after primary LASIK in two patients.

Methods: Case report.

Results: Three eyes of two patients had complications with a circumferential sliver of stromal tissue displaced during surgery due to overlap of old and new side cuts.

Femtosecond laser-assisted retreatment for residual refractive errors after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To study the utility of creating an additional side cut within the old laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap using a femtosecond laser to reduce the incidence of epithelial ingrowth in patients having retreatments for residual refractive errors after LASIK.

Setting: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.

Design: Comparative case series.

Diagnosis of ocular surface lesions using ultra-high-resolution optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: To assess the use of ultra-high-resolution (UHR) optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the diagnosis of ocular surface lesions.

Design: Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series.

Participants: Fifty-four eyes of 53 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven ocular surface lesions: 8 primary acquired melanosis lesions, 5 amelanotic melanoma lesions, 2 nevi, 19 ocular surface squamous neoplasia lesions, 1 histiocytosis lesion, 6 conjunctival lymphoma lesions, 2 conjunctival amyloidosis lesions, and 11 pterygia lesions.

Epithelial ingrowth after LASIK: clinical characteristics, risk factors, and visual outcomes in patients requiring flap lift.

Purpose: To describe clinical characteristics, risk factors, and visual outcomes in patients requiring flap lift for epithelial ingrowth following LASIK.

Methods: Consecutive, noncomparative, retrospective case series of eyes requiring flap lift for epithelial ingrowth following LASIK from June 2003 through July 2011 at a tertiary care, university-based eye hospital. Main outcome measures were uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) at 1 and 3 months and recurrence of epithelial ingrowth.

Atypical presentation of Salzmann nodular degeneration diagnosed with ultra-high-resolution optical coherence tomography.

A 59-year-old woman presented with bilateral, peripheral, circular corneal infiltrates. There was a clear zone separating the outer margin of the degeneration from the limbus in both eyes. The inner margins were indistinct.

Protective effect of LASIK flap in penetrating keratoplasty following blunt trauma.

Penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) often results in large and unpredictable refractive errors following suture removal in the postoperative period. Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is an effective means of correcting these errors. However, LASIK following PKP is believed to further weaken an already weak graft-host junction and may predispose such eyes to traumatic dehiscence of the graft-host junction.

Implications and challenges of tuberculosis in wildlife ungulates in Portugal: a molecular epidemiology perspective.

Mycobacterium bovis and, more rarely, Mycobacterium caprae, may cause zoonotic bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in an extensive range of animal species. In Portugal, during 2009, a remarkable raise of bTB incidence was registered in cattle along with an increase of new cases in wildlife. In this work, we reassess and update the molecular epidemiology of bTB in wild ungulates by including 83 new M.

Metastatic tumor of squamous cell carcinoma from uterine cervix to heart: ante-mortem diagnosis.

Sixty-three-year-old woman with a past medical history of uterine cancer and complaint of fatigue and dyspnea on mild exertion. Physical examination revealed hypertension and rales at lung bases. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a mass with reduced mobility in the right ventricle.