Decreasing dietary linoleic acid promotes long chain omega-3 fatty acid incorporation into rat retina and modifies gene expression.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be partially prevented by dietary habits privileging the consumption of ω3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3s) while lowering linoleic acid (LA) intake. The present study aimed to document whether following these epidemiological guidelines would enrich the neurosensory retina and RPE with ω3s and modulate gene expression in the neurosensory retina. Rat progenitors and pups were fed with diets containing low or high LA, and low or high ω3s.

[Efficacy assessment of Nutrilarm®, a per os omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated essential fatty acid dietary formulation versus placebo in patients with bilateral treated moderate dry eye syndrome].

Introduction: Inflammation is one of the main mechanisms common to all forms of dry eye. Since polyunsaturated acids are known to show biological anti-inflammatory properties, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dietary n-6 and n-3 fatty acids in patients suffering from ocular dryness.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and eighty-one patients diagnosed with bilateral moderate dry eye who were already treated with lachrymal substitutes were randomized in a double-blind international study to receive placebo or Nutrilarm(®) capsules (combination of omega-3 and omega-6), twice a day for 6 months.

[New treatments in vascular diseases other than age related macular degeneration].

Recent multicenter randomized studies about persistent macular edema in venous occlusions provided us with interesting results. Until now, the standard of care treatment of macular edema due to branch vein occlusion remained grid laser in contrast with central vein occlusion where the absence of treatment was still recommended. Score, Geneva, Bravo and Cruise studies recently provided us with the following results.

[Efficacy of three intravitreal injections of bevacizumab in the treatment of exudative age-related macular degeneration].

Introduction: To evaluate intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Material And Methods: A retrospective review between June 2006 and May 2008 of patients with CNV secondary to AMD was conducted. All patients were treated with intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (1.

24S-hydroxycholesterol and cholesterol-24S-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) in the retina: from cholesterol homeostasis to pathophysiology of glaucoma.

Free cholesterol is the predominant form of cholesterol in the neural retina. The vertebrate neural retina exhibits its own capacity to synthesize cholesterol and meets its demand also by taking it from the circulation. Defects in cholesterol synthesis and trafficking in the neural retina has detrimental consequences on its structure and function, highlighting the crucial importance of maintaining cholesterol homeostasis in the retina.

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce retinal stress induced by an elevation of intraocular pressure in rats.

N-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to prevent tissue release of inflammatory molecules. We have shown that a combination of n-6 and n-3 PUFAs is more efficient than single supplementations on the long-term consequences of intraocular pressure elevation. We hypothesized that such an association is also more effective during early retinal stress by modifying retinal proinflammatory prostaglandin and cytokine productions.

[Role of community pharmacist in the management of patients in ophthalmology].

Objectives: To assess the role of community pharmacists in ophthalmology, to evaluate the frequency of giving patients advice, and to report their difficulties in daily practice.

Material And Methods: An anonymous questionnaire consisting of 13 questions was sent to 620 community pharmacists of Burgundy (France). Pharmacists were asked about their ophthalmic products, their ophthalmic activity in giving patients advice on ocular symptoms, and patients' expectations.

[Cornea imagery and keratitis caused by processionary caterpillar hairs].

Introduction: With their ability to migrate into the cornea and release toxins, caterpillar hairs can induce different clinical presentations such as conjunctivitis, keratoconjunctivitis, uveitis, and less frequently vitreoretinal inflammation (hyalitis, papillitis, macular edema).

Observation: We report a case that occurred in Alsace (France) in a 13-years-old boy presenting with keratitis caused by caterpillar hairs. We localized them in the cornea, for the first time, using confocal microscopy and anterior segment spectral optical coherence tomography.

Macular edema: miscellaneous.

This article provides the reader with practical information to be applied to the various remaining causes of macular edema. Some macular edemas linked to ocular diseases like radiotherapy after ocular melanomas remained of poor functional prognosis due to the primary disease. On the contrary, macular edemas occurring after retinal detachment or after some systemic or local treatment use are often temporary.

No consequences of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency on the severity of scopolamine-induced dry eye.

Purpose: Epidemiological studies suggest that dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may protect against dry eye. This study aimed to evaluate whether a dietary deficiency in n-3 PUFAs may increase the severity of the pathology in a scopolamine-induced model of dry eye in the rat.

Methods: Lewis rats of three consecutive generations were bred under a balanced diet or a diet deprived of n-3 PUFAs.

RETIDIAB®: assessment of a continuing medical education website for the improvement of diabetic retinopathy management.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a continuing medical education (CME) website to improve ophthalmological management of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: A worldwide website called RETIDIAB® was created in which, to log on for first time, users had to take a preliminary test to evaluate their baseline level of knowledge. This allowed them free access to the entire website at any time with no time obligation.

[Study and prevention of contact lens-related microbial keratitis with a standardized questionnaire].

Introduction: microbial keratitis is a significant health concern for the one million wearers of contact lenses and their ophthalmologists, with some potentially modifiable risk factors. The number of risk factors for contact lens-related microbial keratitis has been described, but many of them still remain assumed or unknown.

Patients And Methods: a multicenter prospective case-control study was conducted in 12 French university hospitals (Besançon, Bordeaux, Dijon, Fort-de-France, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Nancy, Nantes, Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg) beginning in July 2007 on contact lens wearers presenting with microbial keratitis and on healthy contact lens wearers.

A randomized controlled trial of alleviated positioning after small macular hole surgery.

Objective: To establish whether the success rate of surgery for small idiopathic macular holes (diameter, ≤ 400 μm) is significantly reduced if facedown positioning is replaced by simply taking care to avoid the supine position.

Design: Randomized, controlled, parallel-assignment, open-label, interventional, multicenter clinical trial.

Participants: Sixty-nine patients from 6 specialized vitreoretinal units, randomized into 2 parallel groups and followed up after surgery for 3 months.

Macular edema. Miscellaneous.

This chapter provides the reader with practical information to be applied to the various remaining causes of macular edema. Some clinical cases of macular edema linked to ocular diseases like postradiotherapy for ocular melanomas remained of poor functional prognosis due to the primary disease. On the contrary, macular edema occurring after retinal detachment or after diverse systemic or local treatment use is often temporary.

Macular hole surgery and cataract extraction: combined vs consecutive surgery.

Purpose: To compare the functional and the anatomic outcomes of a combined surgery and consecutive surgery for macular hole and cataract extraction.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective, comparative case series.

Patients: One hundred twenty patients (120 eyes) with an idiopathic macular hole and cataract were operated on in 1 or 2 sessions in 2 academic centers, Dijon University Hospital and Nancy University Hospital.

Functional and structural effect of intravitreal indocyanine green, triamcinolone acetonide, trypan blue, and brilliant blue g on rat retina.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional and structural damage of the retina after intravitreal injections of four different dyes in the rat.

Methods: Rats were injected intravitreally with indocyanine green (ICG), trypan blue, triamcinolone acetonide, or brilliant blue G in the right eye. The other eye was injected with saline and served as a control.

[Activity-based financing: is ambulatory care profitable for the institution].

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the 11th version of the National Health System's Activity-Based Financing on the income of a University Hospital department for palpebral, lacrimal, and orbital surgeries.

Patients And Methods: The number of such surgeries in 2008 was based on the Medicalization Program of the Information System. Using the 11th version of the Activity-Based Financing for Diagnosis-Related Groups, we compared the income in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Effects of oxysterols on cell viability, inflammatory cytokines, VEGF, and reactive oxygen species production on human retinal cells: cytoprotective effects and prevention of VEGF secretion by resveratrol.

Background And Aims: Oxysterols are assumed to play important roles in age-related macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness. So we characterized the cytotoxic, oxidative, inflammatory, and angiogenic activities of oxysterols (7β-hydroxycholesterol (7β-OH), 7-ketocholesterol (7KC), 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-OH)) in human retinal ARPE-19 cells, and evaluated the protective effects of resveratrol (Rsv: 1 μM), a polyphenol from red wine.

Methods: ARPE-19 cells were treated with 7β-OH, 7KC, or 25-OH (5-40 μg/mL; 24-48 h) without or with Rsv.

Ocular syphilis and HIV infection.

Syphilitic ocular involvement is thought to be rare in HIV infected patients. During a 5-year study in 509 HIV-positive patients, syphilis was diagnosed in 3.9%, and the eye was involved in one-fifth of these.

How to improve screening for diabetic retinopathy: the Burgundy experience.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a mobile diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening programme on the overall ophthalmological follow-up of diabetics in Burgundy.

Methods: The primary objective was to compare the rate of eye examinations, according to the information personnalisée aux professionnels de santé (IPPS; personalized information sent to health professionals) database, in diabetics before and after the screening campaign in selected zones. The secondary objectives were to compare the rate of eye examinations in diabetics before and after the screening programme in two different situations: with a mobile site; and with general practitioners (GPs) who teach in medical school.

Idiopathic epiretinal macular membrane and cataract extraction: combined versus consecutive surgery.

Purpose: To assess the functional and anatomic outcomes of cataract and idiopathic epiretinal macular membrane extraction in combined and consecutive surgeries.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective, comparative case series.

Methods: One hundred seventy-four patients (174 eyes) with an epiretinal macular membrane (ERM) and cataract were operated on in 1 or 2 sessions in 2 academic centers, Dijon University Hospital and Nancy University Hospital.

[Impact of the Activity-Based Financing (11th Version) on glaucoma surgery payment in hospital resources].

Aim: In this study, the potential impact of 11(th) version of the National Health System's Activity-Based Financing on the income of a University Hospital department was evaluated for glaucoma surgeries.

Patients And Methods: The number of glaucoma surgeries in 2008 was analyzed based on the Medicalization Program of Information Systems. Using the 11(th) version of the Activity-Based Financing for Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG), we compared the income of these surgical procedures on both an inpatient and an outpatient setting.

Emerging treatment paradigms of ocular surface disease: proceedings of the Ocular Surface Workshop.

The objective of the Ocular Surface Workshop in Rome, Italy, on 6 February 2009, was to enhance the understanding of ocular surface disease (OSD) through an exploration of the nature of its complexities and current treatment paradigms across Europe. It was hoped that the peer-to-peer discussions and updates regarding common knowledge, clinical practices and shared experiences at this workshop would subsequently shape future treatment approaches to OSD.