Resin-based composites and dentine-bonding agents. Which, who and why? A study in the East of Scotland.

Aims: To determine which resin-based composite (RBC) and dentine-bonding agent (DBA) systems were most widely used by a random convenience sample of dentists in the East of Scotland, by whom they were used, and what influenced the dentists' choice when buying/using a particular RBC and DBA.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from June to December 2006. A questionnaire was compiled and, following a short pilot and revision, 250 questionnaires were randomly distributed to dentists attending vocational training/general professional training study days, continuing education courses and various dental meetings.

Multidetector computed tomographic angiography in isolated third nerve palsy.

Objective: To evaluate whether multidetector computed tomographic angiography (CTA) scanners can detect a clinically significant intracranial aneurysm in the circle of Willis causing an isolated third nerve palsy (ITNP).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Participants: One hundred thirty-seven patients who presented with an ITNP were examined by multidetector CTA scanners.

NovaVision: vision restoration therapy.

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this article is to review the controversial findings for NovaVision's vision restoration therapy.

Recent Findings: It has been claimed that NovaVision's computerized therapy results in expansion of the visual field in optic nerve and occipital lesions, but the outcome has been challenged on the grounds of unsatisfactory perimetric control of central fixation and disputed mechanisms.

Summary: In clinical practice NovaVision's therapy should not currently gain acceptance in view of unacceptable perimetric standards and equivocal results.

Anti-hu paraneoplastic syndrome presenting as bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsies.

A 62-year-old woman presented with diplopia caused by bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsies. Two weeks later, she had bulbar weakness and ataxia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed non-specific abnormalities and spinal fluid was acellular but contained an elevated protein and oligoclonal bands.

Nerve sheath tumors of the sellar region.

Nerve sheath tumors, including schwannomas and neurofibromas, rarely affect the sellar region. The authors report two such cases that were mistaken for pituitary adenomas on the basis of clinical and imaging features.

Spontaneous regression of optic gliomas: thirteen cases documented by serial neuroimaging.

Objective: To demonstrate spontaneous regression of large, clinically symptomatic optic pathway gliomas in patients with and without neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1).

Methods: Patient cases were collected through surveys at 2 consecutive annual meetings of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) and through requests on the NANOSNET Internet listserv. Serial documentation of tumor signal and size, using magnetic resonance imaging in 11 patients and computed tomography in 2 patients, was used to evaluate clinically symptomatic optic pathway gliomas.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging in the visual system.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a relatively new technique for measuring brain function during resting and activated conditions with good spatial and temporal resolution. Because of a robust and reproducible activation response to visual stimuli in the occipital cortex, many studies have been directed at visual function. The methodology has been refined progressively to allow more accurate detection of the small activation signal, and using computational mapping foci of cerebral activity have been displayed in a two-dimensional format.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a case report with optic nerve histopathology.

We present the clinical and pathologic findings in an atypical case of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. A 51-year-old man had headaches, visual deterioration, papilloedema, and deafness. Neuroimaging was normal, and cerebrospinal fluid pressure monitoring confirmed increased intracranial pressure.

Ischemic optic neuropathy and giant cell arteritis.

Acute loss of vision due to anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, both arteritic and nonarteritic, demands investigation and where indicated, treatment as an emergency. While advances continue in the understanding of the pathophysiology and investigation of arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, the nonarteritic form presents a major therapeutic problem, particularly in the absence of a satisfactory clinical technique for the measurement of optic nerve head blood flow. Because of steroid resistance and side effects of chronic steroid therapy in giant cell arteritis, alternative immunosuppressive agents are being explored.

Positional acuity in amblyopia: does a perceptual consequence of neural recruitment exist?

Animal models of amblyopia have shown that visual deprivation for even brief periods can result in dramatic changes in cortical architecture. Active neural recruitment mechanisms present the possibility that the non-deprived eye of amblyopes may show enhanced visual capacity. This idea was tested by measuring a form of positional acuity which we have termed alignment threshold.

Laboratory evaluation of a compomer and a resin-modified glass ionomer cement for orthodontic bonding.

The mean shear debonding force of stainless steel orthodontic brackets with microetched bases bonded with either a compomer or a resin-modified glass ionomer cement was assessed. In addition, the amount of cement remaining on the enamel surface following bracket removal was evaluated. Finally, survival time of orthodontic brackets bonded with these materials was assessed following simulated mechanical stress in a ball mill.

Papilloedema, a complication of progressive diaphyseal dysplasia: a series of three case reports.

Background/aims: Progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (PDD) is a rare, autosomal dominant, osteosclerotic dysplasia affecting both endochondrally and intramembranously derived bones. Severely affected patients can develop progressive stenosis of the optic canals and compressive optic neuropathy. Although raised intracranial pressure (ICP) has been described in patients with PDD in whom visual loss has occurred, the elevation of ICP in those patients has been thought to be either non-contributory or only partially responsible for the accompanying visual loss.

A 5-year clinical review of bond failure with a light-cured resin adhesive.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the time to first failure of stainless steel orthodontic brackets (Ormco Corp, Glendora, Calif) bonded with a light-cured resin adhesive (Transbond, 3M Unitek, Monrovia, Calif) and assess whether time to failure was related to the patient's age at the start of treatment or sex, the proficiency of the individual placing the brackets, or the presenting malocclusion. Data on 548 patients with 7118 bonded brackets were analyzed. Survival analysis was carried out on a single bracket per patient.

Recovery in microtropia: implications for aetiology and neurophysiology.

Aims/background: The basis of binocular single vision in microtropia remains a matter of contention. This paper discusses the implications of recovery, in a group of primary microtropes following treatment, in relation to current concepts on the aetiology of the condition and proposed retinocortical correspondence.

Methods: Nine previously untreated primary microtropes whose condition resolved, were reviewed in detail to assess the patterns of change in retinal correspondence, uniocular fixation, stereoacuity, and visual acuity in response to treatment.

Clinical characteristics of microtropia--is microtropia a fixed phenomenon?

Background/aims: Microtropia is believed to be a static condition, in which accepted achievable levels of vision are those of 6/12-6/9 maximum, with the inability to achieve "normal" levels of stereopsis. The aim of this paper was to present the results of treatment of 30 consecutively presenting primary microtropes, and assess their outcomes using a more active treatment strategy than that conventionally used.

Methods: Visual acuity, stereoacuity, fixation, and the presence of a central suppression scotoma were assessed in all patients before, during, and after treatment, which comprised wearing maximum refractive correction, and an occlusion strategy aiming for equal visual acuity.

Computerized tomography angiography in isolated third nerve palsies.

Object: The goal of this study was to assess the value of computerized tomography (CT) angiography as a diagnostic tool in isolated oculomotor nerve palsies.

Methods: One hundred consecutive patients who presented with an isolated third nerve palsy were examined by CT angiography. This procedure was followed by conventional cerebral angiography in most patients in whom a vascular abnormality was noted on the CT angiography.

Homonymous quadrantanopia respecting the horizontal meridian. A feature of striate and extrastriate cortical disease.

It has been proposed that homonymous quadrantanopic visual field loss that respects the horizontal meridian is a pathognomonic sign of extrastriate cortical disease. However, two patients with this sign are reported--one with a rare striate and the other with an extrastriatal lesion of the visual cortex. It is therefore hypothesized that a homonymous quadrantanopia respecting the horizontal meridian may indicate striate and/or extrastriate cortical disease.

Acquired bilateral superior oblique palsy: a localising sign in the dorsal midbrain.

Bilateral superior oblique palsy is an uncommon ocular motility problem, the commonest cause being closed head trauma. Two cases, both adults, are presented in whom bilateral superior oblique palsy occurred as a result of neoplastic infiltration of the dorsal midbrain in the region of the anterior medullary velum. In the absence of a history of head trauma, the presence of an acquired bilateral superior oblique palsy is a definite sign of a single lesion in the region of the decussation of the trochlear nerves and appropriate imaging is indicated.

Habituation-like effects cause a significant decrease in response in MRI neuroactivation during visual stimulation.

A wide range of rest/stimulus cycle durations (40-360 sec) is reported to have been used by various groups for MRI neuroactivation studies of the visual cortex. In this paper we demonstrate a clear habituation-like response for longer cycle durations which results in a halving of apparent activation between cycle durations of 138 and 276 sec. This has important implications, not only in terms of optimizing the technique, but also in providing an insight into the underlying physiological mechanisms.

Objective detection of hemifield and quadrantic field defects by visual evoked cortical potentials.

Aims/background: An objective method for detecting hemifield and quadrantic visual field defects has been developed using steady state visual evoked cortical potentials (VECPs), an adaptive noise canceller (ANC), and Hotelling's t2 statistic. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique.

Methods: Nine subjects (mean age 44 years) were investigated with field loss due to a variety of causes including both anterior and posterior visual pathway lesions.

A diagnostic quartet in leptomeningeal infiltration of the optic nerve sheath.

A rare case of optic leptomeningeal carcinomatosis secondary to a rectal adenocarcinoma is recorded. The presentation of rectal disease with blindness is unique. A diagnostic quartet of symptoms and signs of leptomeningeal infiltration of the optic nerve sheath is proposed and its value emphasized by the inability of further investigation to confirm the clinical diagnosis.