[Use of antiglaucomatous drugs in the urban adult population : New Insights into the prevalence of glaucoma from the Hamburg City Health Study].

Background: Glaucoma is a widespread ophthalmological disease. Knowledge about the spread of the disease in the population is necessary with respect to further questions on comorbidities, risk factors and the provision of care.

Objective: An analysis of the use of glaucoma medications and the prevalence of glaucoma in an urban adult population was carried out.

Morphological characterization of the human corneal epithelium by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Background: Regarding the growing interest and importance of understanding the cellular changes of the cornea in diseases, a quantitative cellular characterization of the epithelium is becoming increasingly important. Towards this, the latest research offers considerable improvements in imaging of the cornea by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). This study presents a pipeline to generate normative morphological data of epithelial cell layers of healthy human corneas.

In vivo Histology of the Cornea - from the "Rostock Cornea Module" to the "Rostock Electronic Slit Lamp" - a Clinical "Proof of Concept" Study.

Introduction: Confocal in vivo microscopy is an established method in ophthalmology research. As it requires contact coupling and calibration of the instruments is suboptimal, this method has been only rarely used in clinical routine work. As a result of close collaboration between physicists, information scientists and ophthalmologists, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) of the eye has been developed in recent years and a prototype can now be used in patients.

Scleral Inflammation around Collector Channels in Eyes with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

: Investigating the existence of inflammation in the distal outflow system posterior of the Schlemm's canal in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).: Scleral biopsies (n = 62) from POAG-patients were taken during deep sclerectomy and fixed either in formalin or RNAlater®. Histologic (hematoxylin & eosin) and immunohistological staining for CD 3 and CD 45RO were performed.

[Efficiency and Therapy Safety of Fractionated Cyclophotocoagulation with up to Ten Laser Spots for Advanced Primary Open-Angle and Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma].

Background: Various procedures are available for the treatment of advanced glaucoma. We examined the efficacy and safety of fractionated cyclophotocoagulation (CPC) with up to ten laser spots for advanced primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation (PEX) glaucoma treated with maximal topical therapy or eye-drop intolerance.

Material Und Methods: This retrospective study evaluated data from 297 eyes with advanced POAG and PEX glaucoma which received 10 applications of CPC between February 2012 and June 2017.

[Glaucoma-Related Sleep Disorder and Associated Diseases].

The simultaneous occurrence of sleeping disorders and glaucoma is caused by multiple factors and, until today, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. There seems to be correlations, either between sleeping disorders in patients with a diagnosed glaucoma and between the onset of a glaucoma in patients with certain sleeping habits, but no precise data has been collected so far.

Association between optical coherence tomography based retinal microvasculature characteristics and myocardial infarction in young men.

Incident myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of adult mortality in the United States. However, because MI has a relatively low incidence in the young population, little information exists on the disease in younger adults. Because the retina has the unique quality that its vasculature is readily and noninvasively visible, the retina is frequently studied to evaluate correlations between vessels and cardiovascular diseases.

Optical Coherence Tomography-Based Scattering Properties of Retinal Vessels in Glaucoma Patients.

Purpose: Clinical trials have demonstrated that retinal blood flow deficiencies are present in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). We introduce a method for facilitating retinal vessel analysis: The intensity of the distal shadow of vessels in optical coherence tomography (OCT) caused by the scattered signal is analyzed, compared between healthy subjects and OAG patients and correlated with OCT angiography (OCT-A) flow density.

Patients And Methods: We recruited 80 patients with diagnosed OAG (mean age 63.

An Automated Approach for Localizing Retinal Blood Vessels in Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy Fundus Images.

In this work, we present a rules-based method for localizing retinal blood vessels in confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO) images and evaluate its feasibility. A total of 31 healthy participants (17 female; mean age: 64.0 ± 8.

Dose-response-relationship between number of laser burns and IOP reduction in cyclophotocoagulation: an animal study.

Purpose: The relationship between number of laser burns of cyclophotocoagulation (CPC) and intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction is unknown. This animal model was established to reveal a possible dose-response-relationship between the number of applied laser burns and the IOP lowering effect.

Methods: 30 chinchilla bastard rabbits were divided into 5 groups and treated with either 1, 5, 10, 20, or 30 CPC burns, respectively.

Vascular dysfunction in ocular blood flow regulation: impact of reactive oxygen species in an experimental setup.

Purpose: Glaucoma is associated with an altered blood flow and increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Reactive oxygen species can have opposing influences on the tone of a vessel; depending on the condition and type of the vessel, ROS can induce vasodilation or vasoconstriction. In the present study, we investigated the impact of ROS on the tone of rat ophthalmic arteries under various conditions and present data on the underlying mechanisms.

Depression, anxiety, and disturbed sleep in glaucoma.

Although it has been suggested that glaucoma is associated with circadian misalignment, sleep disorder, anxiety, and depression, these comorbid conditions have not received much attention. This study provides evidence for a significantly higher prevalence of depression, trait anxiety, and sleep disturbances in patients with progressed glaucoma, as compared with glaucoma patients with no or minor visual field defects (VFD). Logistic-regression analyses suggest that severe VFD constitute a significant predictor of depression, trait-anxiety, and sleep disturbance.

The effect of reactive oxygen species on the myogenic tone of rat ophthalmic arteries with and without endothelium.

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of various ocular diseases. ROS can induce vasodilation or vasoconstriction depending on the species, the tested vessel bed, and the condition of the vessel. This study investigates the effect of different dosages of ROS on the tone of rat ophthalmic arteries.

Thirty years of cornea cultivation: long-term experience in a single eye bank.

Purpose: To evaluate donor demographics, trends in donor tissue procurement and tissue storage over a long period.

Methods: A retrospective, longitudinal, descriptive analysis was undertaken of data from the Hamburg Eye Bank Data Base (HEB-DB) that had been collected between 1981 and 2010. Data on 54 parameters of cornea donors [including clinical history, age, death cause, gender and death-to-explantation interval (DEI)] and of cultivated corneas (endothelial quality and development in culture, cultivation period, microbiological contamination) were retrieved.

Neuronal activity influences hemodynamics in the paraoptic short posterior ciliary arteries: a comparison between healthy and glaucomatous subjects.

Purpose: Perfusion of the retina adapts to metabolic demand by neurovascular coupling. The present study was an investigation of the presence of neurovascular coupling in the anterior part of the optic nerve in healthy subjects and patients with glaucoma.

Methods: Retrobulbar blood flow velocities were determined by color Doppler imaging (CDI).

Protective effects of nebivolol on oxygen free radical-induced vasoconstrictions in vitro.

Background: Disturbed ocular hemodynamics and vasospasms might be involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. On a clinical level there are indications for an optimization of ocular perfusion parameters in hypertensive glaucoma patients by switching a beta-adrenoceptor-antagonist therapy to nebivolol. Aim of the present study is to investigate vasoactive properties of nebivolol on ocular vasculature in vitro.

Effects of the systemic beta-adrenoceptor antagonist nebivolol on ocular hemodynamics in glaucoma patients.

Background: Systemic antihypertensive treatment in glaucoma patients with hypertension carries the potential risk of an additional deterioration in ocular hemodynamics due to the reduction in ocular perfusion pressure. Nebivolol is a beta1-selective adrenoceptor antagonist with known peripheral vasodilatory effects due to NO-releasing properties. The effect of a switch in systemic beta-blocker treatment to nebivolol on retrobulbar hemodynamics in glaucoma patients with arterial hypertension was therefore investigated.

Influence of oxygen free radicals on the tone of ciliary arteries: a model of vasospasms of ocular vasculature.

Background: Altered regulation of vascular tone and particularly vasospasms are thought to be a risk factor for the progression of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells and possibly vascular tone regulation in glaucoma might be caused by oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of oxygen free radicals on the tone of ciliary arteries.

Compromised autoregulatory control of ocular hemodynamics in glaucoma patients after postural change.

Purpose: The autoregulatory control of retrobulbar blood flow in response to postural challenge was investigated in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients in comparison with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and healthy volunteers.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Participants And Controls: Twenty POAG patients, 20 NTG patients, and 20 control subjects.

In vivo confocal microscopy of pre-endothelial deposits.

Background: Deposits in various layers of the cornea might result from long-term medical therapy, photorefractive surgery, and longterm use of contact lenses or corneal dystrophies.

Methods: A 46-year-old woman was referred to our department with the suspected diagnosis of posterior polymorphous dystrophy. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy revealed bilateral small-sized deposits in the posterior part of the cornea.

Effects of glaucoma drugs on ocular hemodynamics in normal tension glaucoma: a randomized trial comparing bimatoprost and latanoprost with dorzolamide [ISRCTN18873428].

Background: Reduced choroidal perfusion is hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of normal tension glaucoma. Thus the impact of antiglaucomatous eye drops on ocular perfusion has been the focus of recent research and the subject of intensive investigations. The present study investigates whether topically applied latanoprost or bimatoprost influence ocular perfusion in patients with normal tension glaucoma and compares these effects with that changes detected after the treatment with dorzolamide.

[Therapy of normal tension glaucoma: effect of brinzolamide on ocular haemodynamics].

Background: Altered ocular perfusion plays a role in the pathophysiology of normal tension glaucoma. Dorzolamide, a locally applied inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, is thought to increase ocular blood flow. Less data are available regarding the influence exercised on ocular perfusion by brinzolamide, another and different, locally administered, inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase.

[Estimation of ocular perfusion: a practical oriented comparison of different methods].

Background: Ocular haemodynamics play a prominent part in many ocular diseases. This leads to the need to determine ocular perfusion. Several studies reveal advantages of colour Doppler imaging (CDI) in ophthalmologic diagnostics.

Estimation of choroid perfusion by colour Doppler imaging vs. other methods.

Ocular haemodynamics play a prominent role in several ocular diseases. Recently, new methods for the determination of ocular perfusion were developed. Colour Doppler imaging (CDI) of orbital vessels has come up in the past decade and was shown to be useful in ophthalmological diagnostics.