[Incidence of metastasis and survival in patients with primary uveal melanoma].

Introduction: Primary uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults. Almost 50% of patients die from metastatic disease despite successful local treatment. The objective was to estimate the incidence of metastasis and survival in patients with primary uveal melanoma.

In Vivo Corneal Confocal Microscopy: Pre- and Post-operative Evaluation in a Case of Corneal Neurotization.

In this report, we analyse the pre- and post-operative corneal changes observed using in vivo confocal corneal microscopy in a patient with neurotrophic keratitis submitted to a corneal reinnervation surgical procedure. We describe favourable trophic changes observed at different levels of the patient's cornea, particularly in the sub-basal nerve plexus; complete absence of these neurological structures was observed before surgery, but appeared largely restored six months thereafter.

Treatment of Nonmetastatic Unilateral Retinoblastoma in Children.

Importance: Multi-institutional collaborative studies that include large patient populations for the management of retinoblastoma with histopathological risk factors could provide important information for patient management.

Objective: To evaluate the implementation of a strategy for the management of nonmetastatic unilateral retinoblastoma in children based on standardized diagnostic and treatment criteria.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This single-arm prospective study applied a strategy based on a single-center experience.

Possible neuroprotective role of P2X2 in the retina of diabetic rats.

Background: Purinergic receptors are expressed in different tissues including the retina. These receptors are involved in processes like cell growth, proliferation, activation and survival. ATP is the major activator of P2 receptors.

A case report of a primary apocrine adenocarcinoma of the eyelid with literature review.

Introduction: Primary Apocrine adenocarcinomas (PAA) are very infrequent tumors that are often confused initially with benign lesions. Little is known about this disease and there is still much to be clarified. We present a case of PAA on the eyelid successfully treated with surgery alone and a literature review regarding what is currently described about this disease.

Corneal Neovascularization: A Combined Approach of Bevacizumab and Suramin Showed Increased Antiangiogenic Effect Through Downregulation of BFGF and PX.

Purpose: The objective is to analyze the antiangiogenic mechanism of suramab, a pharmaceutical compound of bevacizumab and suramin, in a rabbit model of corneal angiogenesis.

Material And Methods: Corneal neovascularization was induced in four groups of six New Zealand White rabbits by applying a filter paper disk soaked in 1 M Na (OH) on the central cornea. Group one was treated after injury with intravenous suramab at a dose equivalent to 3 mg/kg of bevacizumab and 10 mg/kg of suramin.

Eyelid lymphoma in a patient with a gold weight implant.

Case Report: A male patient with an exposure keratopathy caused by lagophthalmos. A gold weight was implanted in the right upper eyelid. Eight months later, he presented with erythema and swelling of right upper eyelid.

Sustained-release hydrogels of topotecan for retinoblastoma.

Treatment of retinoblastoma, the most common primary ocular malignancy in children, has greatly improved over the last decade. Still, new devices for chemotherapy are needed to achieve better tumor control. The aim of this project was to develop an ocular drug delivery system for topotecan (TPT) loaded in biocompatible hydrogels of poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethyleneglycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) block copolymers (PCL-PEG-PCL) for sustained TPT release in the vitreous humor.

Atypical Bilateral Fuchs Uveitis: Diagnostic Challenges.

Unlabelled: Bilateral Fuchs uveitis associated with vitreous infiltration and posterior segment involvement requires a thorough diagnostic evaluation. The lack of well-defined diagnostic criteria makes identification of this entity difficult. The aim of this case report was to present the characteristics of a patient with atypical Fuchs uveitis and the procedures needed to rule out the differential diagnosis with specific attention to the utility of in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM).

Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Efficacy of Intravitreal Digoxin in Preclinical Models for Retinoblastoma.

Purpose: To assess in vitro cytotoxic activity and antiangiogenic effect, ocular and systemic disposition, and toxicity of digoxin in rabbits after intravitreal injection as a potential candidate for retinoblastoma treatment.

Methods: A panel of two retinoblastoma and three endothelial cell types were exposed to increasing concentrations of digoxin in a conventional (72-hour exposure) and metronomic (daily exposure) treatment scheme. Cytotoxicity was defined as the digoxin concentration that killed 50% of the cells (IC50) and was assessed with a vital dye in all cell types.

Transglutaminase binding fusion protein linked to SLPI reduced corneal inflammation and neovascularization.

Background: To study the effect of topical administration of a fusion protein (PF-MC) made up of N-terminal portion of the protease inhibitor Trappin-2 (which is a substrate of transglutaminasa-2) and SLPI (protein with anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral ability), in an animal model of corneal inflammation and angiogenesis.

Methods: An alkali injury was produced with a filter paper of 3 mm with 1 N NaOH during 40 seconds on the right cornea of 36 male Sprague Dawley rats, under general anesthesia. Animals were divided into three groups according to treatment.

On the Cornea of Healthy Merino Sheep: A Detailed Ex Vivo Confocal, Histological and Ultrastructural Study.

Our study performed qualitative and quantitative studies on the corneal ultrastructure of healthy female Merino sheep of ages 4 months and 6 years old from the Argentinean Pampa. The corneas were evaluated using ex vivo laser-scanning confocal microscopy, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Those studies allowed us to obtain detailed images of the corneal layers as well as quantitative data of the cellular and sub-basal nerve densities in the cornea from sheep of different ages.

Local and systemic toxicity of intravitreal melphalan for vitreous seeding in retinoblastoma: a preclinical and clinical study.

Purpose: Intravitreal melphalan is emerging as an effective treatment for refractory vitreous seeds in retinoblastoma, but there is limited understanding regarding its toxicity. This study evaluates the retinal and systemic toxicity of intravitreal melphalan in retinoblastoma patients, with preclinical validation in a rabbit model.

Design: Clinical and preclinical, prospective, cohort study.

Proliferative retinopathy and neovascularization of the anterior segment in female type 2 diabetic rats.

Background: To examine the presence of diabetic retinopathy in a female rat model of type 2 diabetes fed on a high-fat diet (HFD).

Methods: Wistar rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) at the age of two days and fed on an HFD from eight weeks onwards. Five diabetic animals were euthanized at 110 weeks of disease, together with a control group of age-matched, non-diabetic animals.

Retinal upregulation of inflammatory and proangiogenic markers in a model of neonatal diabetic rats fed on a high-fat-diet.

Background: The contemporary peak of diabetes seems to be related to obesity, sedentary lifestyle and diet. Diabetic retinopathy is the most leading cause of blindness in adulthood in industrialized countries. Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of a high-fat-diet (HFD) on the retina of diabetic rats.

Ocular and systemic toxicity of intravitreal topotecan in rabbits for potential treatment of retinoblastoma.

Treatment of intraocular retinoblastoma with vitreous seeding is a challenge. Different routes of chemotherapy administration have been explored in order to attaining pharmacological concentrations into the posterior chamber. Intravitreal drug injection is a promissing route for maximum bioavailability to the vitreous but it requires a well defined dose for achieving tumor control while limited toxicity to the retina.

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis in children: a clinical pathologic correlation.

Purpose: To describe a rare case of primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis (PDLG) presenting with progressive proptosis and direct involvement of the optic nerve sheath in a child and review of the relevant literature.

Methods: Retrospective review of a single case and systematic literature review of 26 biopsy-proven cases reported in the MEDLINE-indexed English literature. A 10-year-old girl developed proptosis and progressive visual loss associated with thickening of the optic nerve sheaths and dilation of the subarachnoid spaces with multilobulated appearance of the brain meninges and thickened peripheral nerve root sheaths.

Early histologic and functional study of radial optic neurotomy outcomes in normal rat eyes.

Background: Radial optic neurotomy (RON) has been proposed as a treatment for central retinal vein occlusion. However, it is still under debate whether RON would be an adequate treatment or a dangerous procedure, and persuasive animal studies are lacking. The aim of this study was to analyze the early histologic and functional outcomes of RON in normal rat eyes.

Primary undifferentiated large cell carcinoma of the lacrimal gland.

Purpose: To report a unique case of primary undifferentiated large cell carcinoma (LCCA) of the lacrimal gland, a tumor not previously described in the ophthalmic literature.

Design: Single interventional case report.

Participants: A patient affected by undifferentiated LCCA of the lacrimal gland.

Suramab, a novel antiangiogenic agent, reduces tumor growth and corneal neovascularization.

Purpose: Oncological and ophthalmological diseases are increasingly treated with antiangiogenic agents. These agents have different intensities and duration of effects that should be considered to choose the most suitable therapy. Our purpose was to evaluate the synergistic effect of two drugs, jointly administered as a pharmaceutical compound, in two animal models.

Oncocytic carcinoma of the lacrimal gland in a patient with neurofibromatosis.

Oncocytic carcinoma (OCA) is rare, and although its occurrence in the lacrimal gland has been documented, clinical and histologic data are lacking. The authors report the first case of OCA of the lacrimal gland histologically proven in a patient with neurofibromatosis (NF). An 81-year-old man affected by type 1 NF presented with a 2-year history of left proptosis and visual loss.

One-year follow-up of epithelial corneal cell sheet allografts mounted on platelet poor plasma in rabbits.

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of epithelial corneal sheets mounted on platelet poor plasma (PPP) for allograft transplantation of rabbits with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) and to prove its efficacy at 1 year after surgery.

Methods: LSCD was induced in 21 female rabbits by mechanical keratectomy. To configure the grafts, limbal biopsies were taken from male rabbits and cells were cultured on a fibroblast feeder layer grown on clotted autologous PPP.

Sequential in vivo confocal microscopy study of corneal wound healing after cross-linking in patients with keratoconus.

Purpose: To evaluate the short- and long-term sequential histological changes of the cornea in vivo after corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) in patients with keratoconus.

Methods: Eighteen patients with keratoconus (Amsler-Krumeich classification: stages I, II, and III) underwent CXL with riboflavin/ultraviolet A (UVA) in one eye. The corneas were examined preoperatively and within 5 hours, 7 and 14 days, and 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after the procedure using in vivo confocal microscopy.

Episcleral implants for topotecan delivery to the posterior segment of the eye.

Purpose. Intravenous or periocular topotecan has been proposed as new treatment modality for patients with advanced intraocular retinoblastoma, but systemic topotecan lactone exposure induced by both approaches may cause toxicity. The purpose of this study was to develop a topotecan-loaded ocular delivery system to minimize systemic exposure and achieve selective transscleral penetration.