Macular Pigment Optical Density and Ocular Pulse Amplitude in Subjects with Different Axial Lengths and Refractive Errors.

Background: The purpose of our study was to: (1) investigate the macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) in subjects with different axial lengths (AL) and refractive errors (RE); (2) determine if there is a correlation between MPOD and OPA; and (3) evaluate whether MPOD and OPA depend on intraocular pressure (IOP).

Material And Methods: This study included 140 eyes of 70 subjects - 17 men and 53 women, aged 18 to 29 years (mean: 22.5 years; SD=2.

[Morphology of the optic nerve disc in eyes with myopia in correlation to the refractive error].

Purpose: To asses morphology of the optic nerve disc in correlation to the refractive error in eyes with myopia.

Material And Methods: The examined group consisted of 47 patient (84 eyes), age 20 to 36 years (mean age 28 +/- 4,5), with refractive error -4.00 Dsph to -14.

[Endophthalmitis in course of candidosis--a case report].

Purpose: Description of a rare case of bilateral fungal endophthalmitis in a patient and the associated diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties.

Material And Methods: Patient 28 years old was diagnosed because of bilateral deterioration in endophthalmitis. Therefore, the diagnostic possibilities were run down and material taken from the vitreous chamber were handed to determine the Candida spp.

Evaluation of treatment efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab injections in patients with wet type of AMD.

Purpose: To evaluate foveal function, retinal circulation and foveal thickness before and after intravitreal ranibizumab injections in eyes with wet type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Material And Methods: The study group consisted of 21 eyes (20 patients) with choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) due to AMD. Inclusion criteria were based on fluorescein angiography (FA) and distance best corrected visual acuity (DBCVA)--log MAR scale.

PEDF and VEGF plasma level alterations in patients with dry form of age-related degeneration--a possible link to the development of the disease.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to explore the interaction between stimulators and inhibitors of angiogenesis by measuring pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plasma levels in patients with the wet and dry forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Material And Methods: Forty-six subjects with the wet form, 31 with the dry form of AMD as well as 47 non-AMD healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Plasma concentrations of VEGF and PEDF were measured using ELISA test.

[Combined photodynamic therapy and intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide in patients with wet form of AMD. Introductory report].

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of combined PDT and 4 mg intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection, performed 48-72 hours after PDT, in patients with wet form of AMD.

Material And Methods: Nonrandomised, interventional case series, 13 eyes of 13 patients with subfoveal CNV due to AMD that did not respond to PDT monotherapy - 7 females, 6 males - at the age of 65-85 (average age 76.6 +/- 6.

[Elevated level of circulating endothelial cells as an exponent of chronic vascular dysfunction in the course of AMD].

Purpose: In recent years, emerging data support the concept of endothelial dysfunction in the course of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are desquamated mature cells that have detached from the intimal monolayer in response to endothelial injury. In this study we sought to explore the potential role of endothelial dysfunction in pathogenesis of AMD by measuring the concentration of CECs in peripheral blood of AMD patients.

Visual outcomes three and six months after implantation of diffractive and refractive multifocal IOL combinations.

Purpose: To evaluate 3 and 6 months binocular visual outcomes after cataract surgery using a multifocal IOL "mix and match" approach, with a refractive (ReZoom) IOL in the dominant eye and a diffractive (Tecnis) IOL in the fellow eye.

Material And Methods: Three and 6 months after bilateral cataract surgery, 40 eyes of 20 patients were evaluated for binocular UDVA, UNVA and UIVA (logMAR), spectacle independence, contrast sensitivities (CS), stereoscopic vision, subjective symptoms, patient satisfaction and complications.

Results: Three months after surgery mean binocular UDVA did not differ from the six-month follow-up (-0.

[Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy with spontaneous regression of subfoveal changes--case report].

Purpose: To report a patient with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) with spontaneous regression of subfoveal changes during follow-up.

Material And Methods: The seventy six years old men was referred to the treatment of exudative type of age related macular degeneration (AMD) in the RE. The routine ophthalmological examination, the optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescein angiography (FA), and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were performed.

Visual outcome three and six months after implantation of Acri.LISA 366D lenses.

Purpose: To evaluate 3 and 6 months binocular visual outcomes after microincision cataract surgery (MICS) with implantation of multifocal, hybrid Acri.LISA 366D 10OLs.

Material And Methods: Three and six months after bilateral MICS with Acri.

Retinal ganglion cells function measured by the PERG test in patients with ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To assess the retinal ganglion cells function in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT).

Material And Methods: In one hundred eyes of 50 patients with ocular hypertension [mean age: 48 +/- 13 years, intraocular pressure mean: 26 +/- 3.0 mmHg; Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) 24-2 W-W mean deviation (MD) > -2 decibels (dB), normal optic nerve fiber layer results in scanning laser polarimetry (GDX)], PERG recordings were performed according to the modified methodology described by Parisi V et al.

[Functional improvement of injured retina following the adjuvant stem cell-based therapy. Preliminary report].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to appraise the functional response of damaged retina to the stem cell-based therapy in mice. The majority of disorders leading to the irreversible vision loss in the developed world is caused by retinal degeneration. Since, recent reports emphasized regenerative potential of bone marrow stem marrow stem/progenitor cells (SPCs), we investigated here the beneficial effect of intravenously administrated SPCs on regeneration of acutely injured retina.

Neural stem/progenitor cells circulating in peripheral blood of patients with neovascular form of AMD: a novel view on pathophysiology.

Background: The neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) manifested with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is one of the leading causes of rapid and irreversible visual loss. Recent reports suggest that bone marrow-derived stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) play a crucial role in the development and progression of the disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not undifferentiated non-haematopoietic stem cells, including those capable of differentiating into neural phenotypes, play a role in the pathological state of CNV formation.

Influence of ranibizumab on vascular endothelial growth factor plasma level and endothelial progenitor cell mobilization in age-related macular degeneration patients: safety of intravitreal treatment for vascular homeostasis.

Purpose: Intravitreal ranibizumab, which neutralizes vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nowadays constitutes the first-line treatment in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, its potential systemic effect on vascular homeostasis as the consequence of such therapy has not been extensively investigated.

Methods: Peripheral blood (PB) samples from 12 patients with newly diagnosed neovascular AMD were analyzed before as well as 1 and 4 weeks after intravitreal treatment with ranibizumab.

Stem Cells are mobilized from the bone marrow into the peripheral circulation in response to retinal pigment epithelium damage--a pathophysiological attempt to induce endogenous regeneration.

Purpose: Stem cell regeneration of damaged tissue has recently been reported in many different organs. Here, we investigated the mobilization of different stem/progenitor cell (SPC) populations into the peripheral blood (PB), their subsequent homing to the injured retina (IR) and contribution to its regeneration in a retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) damage model induced by sodium iodate (NaIO(3)).

Methods: Mobilization of SPCs was evaluated by flow cytometry.

[Cases of congenital eye malformations in children].

Purpose: The aim of this work was to present a clinical picture of congenital defects in the anterior and posterior segment of the eye and coexisting systemic developmental anomalies in a group of children during the infantile period.

Material And Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis in a group of 1507 infants seen at our outpatient ophthalmology clinic in 2006-2010. Attention was focused on case histories of nine children (0.

[Persistent fetal vasculature syndrome--clinical image and diagnostic difficulties].

Purpose: The aim of this review is to present cases of clinically differentiated picture of persistent fetal vasculature syndrome--PFVS (also called persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous body--PHPVB) observed in group of infants and children.

Material And Methods: Case records of four children with characteristic changes of posterior form of persistent fetal vasculature syndrome, which were observed on fundus of the eyes, were analyzed retrospectively. Routine ophthalmological examination, genetic, cytogenetic and laboratory tests towards coexisting bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases and congenital anomaly of the eye or chorioretinal neoplastic changes of neonatal period were performed.

Chorioretinitis in infants.

Purpose: The aim of this review is to present cases of chorioretinitis in infants caused by viral and parasitic infections.

Material And Methods: Four infants with viral chorioretinitis were identified in a routine ophthalmological examination. Laboratory tests towards bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases were performed.

Ophthalmological and electrophysiological features of Parkinson's disease.

Purpose: Based on available literature, the authors describe the most frequent ocular diseases and symptoms, as well as bioelectrical dysfunction of the visual pathway in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Material And Methods: Data published in literature available in PubMed library. The most often ocular diseases, symptoms and the bioelectrical dysfunction were diagnosed using routine ophthalmological examination including tear film tests, perimetry, optical coherence tomography (OCT), color and contrast sensitivity tests, and electrophysiological recordings like EOGs, flash, pattern and multifocal ERGs, VEPs.

Circulating stem cell populations in preterm infants: implications for the development of retinopathy of prematurity.

Objective: To investigate the association among different circulating stem cell (SC) populations, the levels of selected growth factors and chemokines regulating SC migration in the peripheral blood, and the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: We evaluated 88 participants in this study: 29 preterm infants with ROP, 29 preterm infants without ROP, and 30 healthy full-term infants. Peripheral blood samples collected 10 weeks after delivery were analyzed using flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Sodium iodate selectively injuries the posterior pole of the retina in a dose-dependent manner: morphological and electrophysiological study.

Sequential morphological and functional features of retinal damage in mice exposed to different doses (40 vs. 20 mg/kg) of sodium iodate (NaIO(3)) were analyzed. Retinal morphology, apoptosis (TUNEL assay), and function (electroretinography; ERG) were examined at several time points after NaIO(3) administration.

Different populations of circulating endothelial cells in patients with age-related macular degeneration: a novel insight into pathogenesis.

Purpose: Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) may serve as novel markers of endothelial dysfunction. The presence and clinical implications of CECs and the expression of endothelin (ET)-1, one of the most potent vasoconstrictors, have not been evaluated in patients with the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study was conducted to determine the different populations of endothelial cells (ECs) in the peripheral blood of AMD patients and to correlate these findings with the expression of ET-1 and the cytokines and growth factors responsible for EC migration and function.

[Role of complement system in the pathogenesis of AMD].

Age related macular degeneration (AMD), is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over age 50 years old. The pathogenesis of AMD is still not well understood with both genetic and environmental factors known to influence susceptibility to this condition. Data accumulated in the last decade implicate the chronic inflammatory processes as playing an important role in the progression of AMD.

Cataract surgery with bilateral multifocal ReZoom intraocular lens implantation--comparison of 3 and 12 month follow-up.

Purpose: To evaluate the visual outcome, spectacles independence, contrast sensitivity (CS), subjective symptoms, patient satisfaction and complications three and 12 months after cataract surgery with bilateral ReZoom multifocal refractive intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.

Patients And Methods: This study comprised 40 eyes of selected 20 patients who had uneventful cataract surgery with bilateral implantation of ReZoom (AMO) multifocal IOL. Three and 12 months after bilateral surgery binocular uncorrected, the best corrected distance, near and uncorrected intermediate visual acuities (VA), spectacle independence, the best corrected binocular distance (with and without glare), near photopic CS, subjective symptoms, patient satisfaction and complications were evaluated.

[Evaluation of VEGF and IGF-1 plasma levels in preterm infants--potential correlation with retinopathy of prematurity, clinical implications].

Purpose: Insulin-like growth factor-1 plays an important role in fetal growth and development, and its level increases with gestational age. The latest reports show that IGF-1 can directly influence the production of VEGF and regulate the development of blood vessels. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the plasma concentrations of IGF-1 and VEGF as well as analyze their mutual correlation in preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), compared with preterm infants without ROP and full-term babies.