One Year Outcomes and Stability of a Novel Scleral Anchored Intraocular Lens.

Purpose: To assess one year results and stability of the implantation of a scleral anchored intraocular lens (IOL).

Design: Interventional prospective case series.

Methods: Sixty eyes of 60 patients affected by either aphakia or IOL dislocation were included in this study.

A case of malignant glaucoma following insertion of Preserflo™ MicroShunt.

Purpose: To describe a case of malignant glaucoma following insertion of a Preserflo™ MicroShunt in a patient with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG).

Design: Case report.

Case: A 46-year-old Caucasian man with medically uncontrolled POAG developed malignant glaucoma 1 day after an uncomplicated insertion of a mitomycin C (MMC) augmented Preserflo MicroShunt (PMS).

Macular impairment in mitochondrial diseases: a potential biomarker of disease severity.

The high-energy demands of the retina are thought to contribute to its particular vulnerability to mitochondrial dysfunction. Photoreceptors are the cells with the higher oxygen consumption within the retina, and among these, the cones contain more mitochondria and have a higher energy demand than rods. A cohort of twenty-two patients with genetically-defined mitochondrial diseases (MDs) were enrolled to determine if the macula is functionally and anatomically impaired in these metabolic disorders.

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography findings in myotonic dystrophy.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate retinal involvement in a cohort of patients affected by Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Both eyes of 30 patients and one eye of a 31st patient with genetically proven diagnosis of DM1 and both eyes of 20 healthy age- and gender-matched subjects were enrolled. All patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examination including best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure measurement, fundoscopy, fundus autofluorescence, infrared imaging and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with central macular thickness measurement.

Central Retina Functional Damage in Usher Syndrome Type 2: 22 Years of Focal Macular ERG Analysis in a Patient Population From Central and Southern Italy.

Purpose: Recent studies show that patients with Usher syndrome type 2 (USH2) have abnormal cone structure and density in the central retina. This occurs in the presence of normal acuity, opening the quest for additional sensitive functional measures of central cone function in USH. We tested here whether focal macular cone electroretinogram (fERG) could be such a tool.

Early impairment of the full-field photopic negative response in patients with Stargardt disease and pathogenic variants of the ABCA4 gene.

Background: To study the photopic negative response of the full-field photopic electroretinography (ERG) in Stargardt patients with pathogenic variants in the ABCA4 gene.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 35 Stargardt patients with ABCA4 gene pathogenic variants, compared to normal age-matched controls. Patients were clinically followed at the Ophthalmology Department of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.

Correlation of Macular Focal Electroretinogram with Ellipsoid Zone Extension in Stargardt Disease.

Stargardt disease (STGD1) is the most common cause of inherited juvenile macular degeneration. This disease is characterized by a progressive accumulation of lipofuscin in the outer retina and subsequent loss of photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cone photoreceptor function and structure in STGD1.

ARCUATE NERVE FIBER LAYER CHANGES AFTER INTERNAL LIMITING MEMBRANE PEELING IN IDIOPATHIC EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE.

Purpose: To analyze the relationship between swelling of the arcuate nerve fiber layer (SANFL) and long-term decrease of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness after internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane, and to investigate if SANFL is related to a mechanical surgical damage.

Methods: Prospective, interventional consecutive case series of 46 eyes that underwent combined epiretinal membrane/internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane. Infrared, blue autofluorescence, color fundus imaging and measurement of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in six peripapillary sectors by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography were performed preoperatively and at 2 weeks, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery.

Morpho-functional analysis of Stargardt Disease for reading.

Objective: To analyze Stargardt disease (STGD) by morpho-functional examination and investigate the relationship between morpho-functional measures and reading performance.

Design: Observational case series study.

Participants: Fifteen patients with STGD.

Acute acquired concomitant esotropia and decompensated monofixation syndrome: a sensory-motor status assessment.

Objective: To assess and compare sensory-motor status and clinical features of type I and type II acute acquired concomitant esotropia (group A) and decompensated monofixation syndrome (group B).

Methods: In a retrospective, comparative study, 26 patients with a confirmed postoperative diagnosis of type I and II acute acquired concomitant esotropia and monofixation syndrome were enrolled. The 2-tailed unpaired t test and 2-tailed χ(2) test were performed to compare angle of deviation and sensory-motor status under the environmental conditions and after prismatic adaptation test and progressive prism test of 2 groups.

Bilateral Symmetry of Visual Function Loss in Cone-Rod Dystrophies.

Purpose: To investigate bilateral symmetry of visual impairment in cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) patients and understand the feasibility of clinical trial designs treating one eye and using the untreated eye as an internal control.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of visual function loss measures in 436 CRD patients followed at the Ophthalmology Department of the Catholic University in Rome. Clinical measures considered were best-corrected visual acuity, focal macular cone electroretinogram (fERG), and Ganzfeld cone-mediated and rod-mediated electroretinograms.

NGF eye-drops topical administration in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a pilot study.

Background: Preclinical trials have shown beneficial effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) administration on visual function in animal models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The aim of this pilot study was to explore the potential efficacy of short term NGF eye drops treatment in patients affected by RP.

Methods: The trial consisted in 10 days daily administration of murine NGF as eye-drops for a total dose of 1 mg NGF/pt.

25-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Retained Lens Fragments in Complicated Cataract Surgery.

Purpose: To verify the efficacy of 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for the management of posteriorly dislocated lens material after complicated cataract extraction and to determine in what patients this approach offers the optimal benefit in terms of efficacy and safety, considering the amount of retained nuclear material and the duration of surgery.

Methods: Forty eyes of 40 patients with retained lens fragments undergoing early (within 1 week) or late (within >1 week) 25-gauge PPV were retrospectively reviewed. The amount of dislocated nuclear material was graded by the surgeon intraoperatively, and the patients were divided into two groups according to the nuclear grading: group A (≤50% dropped nucleus) and group B (>50% dropped nucleus).

Functional Loss of the Inner Retina in Childhood Optic Gliomas Detected by Photopic Negative Response.

Purpose: To determine whether the Ganzfeld ERG photopic negative response (PhNR), an assay of inner retinal activity, is altered in childhood optic glioma (OPG).

Methods: Seventeen pediatric patients with a diagnosis of OPG, established on neuro-ophthalmologic and brain/orbit magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) criteria, were enrolled. The examination protocol included determination of visual acuity (VA), fundus examination, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurement with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and photopic ERG.

Neurotrophin family members as neuroprotectants in retinal degenerations.

Background And Objectives: Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) are an untreatable cause of blindness due to photoreceptor apoptosis. Blocking apoptosis by exogenous neurotrophic factor administration is a promising therapeutic strategy in IRDs. The neurotrophin (NT) family are a group of peptide growth factors homologous to nerve growth factor that regulate the development, differentiation, survival, and function of neuronal cells.

Intravitreal dexamethasone implant for acute exudative polymorphous vitelliform maculopathy.

Purpose: Acute exudative polymorphous vitelliform maculopathy is a rare retinal disease characterized by bilateral serous macular detachment and subretinal accumulation of yellowish deposits resembling Best dystrophy lesions. Corticosteroid systemic therapy has been used empirically in the attempt to treat this retinal disorder with mixed results. Thus, the benefit of corticosteroid remains undetermined.

Assessment of retinal function before and after idiopathic macular hole surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate preoperative and postoperative retinal function in patients who underwent macular surgery for idiopathic macular hole.

Design: Prospective, comparative, interventional case series.

Methods: Thirty eyes of 30 patients with idiopathic macular hole were included in the study.