Publications by authors named "Antonela Gverovic-Antunica"

Article Synopsis
  • - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major neurodegenerative disorder leading to most global dementia cases, affecting not just memory but also the visual system, causing issues like decreased visual acuity and narrowed visual fields.
  • - The retina, being part of the central nervous system, shows similarities in aging processes and pathological features with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which also shares risk factors with AD, especially in cognitive impairment.
  • - This review aims to delve into the genetic connections and differences between AMD and AD, focusing on their pathophysiology, genetics, and epigenetics.
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Background: The prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) is increasing globally, resulting in a variety of eye symptoms characterized by discomfort and visual disturbances. The accurate diagnosis of the disease is often challenging and complex, requiring specialized diagnostic tools. This study aimed to investigate the impact of tear film instability on visual function and to evaluate the value of post-blink blur time (PBBT) as an alternative method for assessing tear film stability.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder that represents the most common type of dementia. It poses a significant diagnostic challenge that requires timely recognition and treatment. Currently, there is no effective therapy for AD; however, certain medications may slow down its progression.

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common eye disease complication of diabetes, and hypovitaminosis D is mentioned as one of the risk factors. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) are the best-known forms of vitamin D. Calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) is the active form of vitamin D, with the sun being one of its main sources.

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Article Synopsis
  • Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common type of eye cancer in adults, with a consistent rate of occurrence in Europe and the U.S., but has distinct features that set it apart from other melanoma types, especially its tendency to spread to the liver.
  • Despite advances in treating the initial tumor, about half of UM patients will eventually develop metastases, often leading to a dismal prognosis with median survival rates ranging from 6 to 12 months, and no standard systemic treatment is currently established for those with liver metastases.
  • There is a need for enhanced understanding of UM's biology and metastasis mechanisms, along with the establishment of treatment guidelines, to improve patient outcomes and develop personalized therapies.
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Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disorder representing one of the most common ocular morbidities and a significant public health problem. It often results in eye discomfort, visual disturbances and potential damage to the corneal surface affecting quality of life (QOL). In recent years, the relationship between DED and psychiatric disorders has been gaining attention.

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Purpose: To evaluate the significance of risk factors and analyze their interrelationship in developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Materials And Design: This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted in eight ophthalmology centers in Europe. The STARS (Simplified Thea AMD Risk-Assessment Scale) questionnaire was used to assess 12 risk factors grouped in four major categories.

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) and a leading cause of blindness in working-age adults in developed countries. Numerous investigations have recognised inflammation and angiogenesis as important factors in the development of this complication of diabetes. Current methods of DR treatment are predominantly used at advanced stages of the disease and could be associated with serious side effects.

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Uveal melanoma is the most prevalent primary intraocular tumour in adults with the incidence between five and six cases per million people in the United States and Europe. The prognosis of patients with uveal melanoma is unfavourable with a 5-year survival rate of 50-70% despite significant advances in local tumour treatment using radiotherapy or surgical resection. Approximately 50% of the patients develop metastases within 15 years from initial diagnosis, mostly in the liver.

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Objective: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness. We estimated the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy among a diabetic population in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in the Republic of Croatia and searched for potential risk factors.

Methods: A prospective study was performed with 600 diabetic patients from different parts of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County who attended regular medical and ophthalmological check-ups at the General Hospital Dubrovnik from September 2014 to September 2015.

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BACKGROUND Ophthalmia neonatorum, or neonatal conjunctivitis, is an acute infection that occurs within the first 28 days of life. This aim of this survey was to evaluate the current methods of preventive treatment for ophthalmia neonatorum in maternity hospitals in Croatia. MATERIAL AND METHODS The annual hospital birth rate in Croatia is approximately 40,000.

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Article Synopsis
  • Traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) is a vision-threatening condition primarily resulting from indirect damage to the optic nerve, often due to head trauma, affecting 0.5% to 5% of closed head injury cases.
  • A case study of a 47-year-old male revealed severe visual impairment in both eyes after a motorcycle crash, with significant findings in visual acuity and eye test results indicating optic nerve dysfunction.
  • The patient underwent conservative corticosteroid treatment, leading to a complete recovery of his ophthalmologic condition without the need for surgical intervention.
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Background And Methods: Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent endocrinedisease in developed countries. In people with diabetes in addition to visionloss caused by diabetic retinopathy transient visual disturbances may occurfrequently caused by refractive changes. These changes in refraction are associated with variations in blood glucose levelsbut the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood.

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Conjunctival melanoma is a rare but sight and life threatening malignancy. It accounts for 2%-5% of all ocular tumours and 5%-7% of all ocular melanomas with an incidence of 0.2-0.

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A case is presented of a very rare type of Usher's syndrome detected in a 30-year-old woman in her 28th week of pregnancy. She reported left eye visual impairment with a one-month history. She underwent standard ophthalmologic examination with additional procedures scheduled after childbirth, including fluorescein angiography, visual field (Goldman and Octopus) and electroretinography.

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Aim. To investigate whether body mass index (BMI) independently or in correlation with other risk factors is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression. Methods.

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Purpose: The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is insufficiently understood but may possibly involve chronic, low-grade inflammation. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between inflammatory and haemostatic markers, other markers of endothelial dysfunction and anthropometric parameters, and their association with DR in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: According to the DR status patients were divided into three groups: no retinopathy, mild/moderate nonproliferative (NPDR), and severe NPDR/proliferative retinopathy (PDR).

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The aim of the study was to investigate whether body mass index (BMI) independently or in correlation with other risk factors is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression. The study included 545 patients with type 2 diabetes. According to DR status, they were divided into three groups: group 1 (no retinopathy; n = 296), group 2 (mild/moderate nonproliferative DR; n = 118), and group 3 (severe/very severe NPDR or proliferative DR; n = 131).

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, is estimated to be the leading cause of new blindness in the working population of developed countries. Primary interventions such as intensive glycemic control, strict blood pressure regulation, and lipid-modifying therapy as well as local ocular treatment (laser photocoagulation and pars plana vitrectomy) can significantly reduce the risk of retinopathy occurrence and progression. Considering the limitations of current DR treatments development of new therapeutic strategies, it becomes necessary to focus on pharmacological treatment.

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Background And Objectives: Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) provides information on the intracerebral arterioles capacity to react to vasodilatory stimuli. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus on CVR in diabetics with retinopathy.

Design And Setting: Retrospective analysis of data prospectively collected over a 1-year period.

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Data on all patients admitted in 2008 to the Department of Neurology, Dubrovnik General Hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. In a total of 663 patients, there were 247 (37.25%) stroke patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • Inflammation is implicated in diabetes progression, with interleukin 12 (IL-12) identified as a key pro-inflammatory cytokine.
  • A study involving 76 participants found that IL-12 concentration was significantly higher in the aqueous humor of diabetic patients with non-treated retinopathy compared to other groups.
  • The serum IL-12 levels did not show significant variation among the groups, suggesting local production of IL-12 in the eye rather than systemic changes.
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Unlabelled: Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is a common finding in older patients, characterized by detachment of the posterior hyaloid membrane (PHM) from the retinal surface. The detachment of PHM normally occurs without complications, however, one has to be aware that retinal tear is its most common complication.

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of retinal tears in eyes with PVD.

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Aim: To determine the incidence of eye injuries, population groups at risk, circumstances and activities at the time of accident, causes, mechanism, type and severity of injury, therapeutic procedures, final outcome, and the incidence of blindness in patients over 18 years of age.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data on 383 patients with eye injuries (397 eyes) hospitalized at Split University Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, between January 1998 and December 2002. Standardized international classification of ocular trauma (Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology) and eye injury score were used for eye injury categorization.

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