Pre-clinical methods to evaluate photic phenomena in intraocular lenses.

A new system and methodology are introduced to evaluate photic phenomena induced by different intraocular lens (IOL) technologies using a "see-through" IOL analyzer system in phakic subjects. Nineteen phakic subjects looked through the Groningen IOL Telescope type 1 (GIT1) system under different conditions. Four different IOL designs with different clinical levels of photic phenomena were evaluated by the subjects.

Effect of Correcting Peripheral Refractive Errors on Retinal Sensitivity in Younger and Older Healthy Adults.

Significance: Retinal sensitivity decreases with age and age-related eye diseases. Peripheral retinal sensitivity may also be compromised if the refractive correction is not optimized for peripheral vision.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the impact of using a peripheral refractive correction on perimetric thresholds and the influence of age and spherical equivalent on this impact.

Effect of Violet Light-Filtering and Manufacturing Improvements in an Extended Depth-of-Focus Intraocular Lens on Visual Performance.

Purpose: To assess the experimental visual performance and dysphotopsia characteristics of the new Tecnis Symfony OptiBlue extended-depth-of-focus with violet light-filtering (ZXR00V) intraocular lens (IOL) compared with the colorless Tecnis Symfony (ZXR00) IOL.

Methods: Range of vision was assessed with simulated visual acuity defocus curves, predicted by white light through focus modulation transfer function (MTF) measurements. The clinical visual acuity defocus curve of the ZXR00 IOL was used to validate the predicted range of vision.

Degradation of Visual Performance With Increasing Levels of Retinal Stray Light.

Purpose: To quantify the effect of induced stray light on halo size, luminance threshold, and contrast sensitivity.

Methods: Retinal stray light was induced in five healthy subjects using different photographic filters. The stray light induced ranged from levels observed in intraocular lenses (IOLs) with glistenings (low) to cataract level (high).

Effect of the equivalent refractive index on intraocular lens power prediction with ray tracing after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To determine the impact of the equivalent refractive index (ERI) on intraocular lens (IOL) power prediction for eyes with previous myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) using custom ray tracing.

Setting: AMO B.V.

Explanted multifocal intraocular lenses.

Unlabelled: We report 2 cases in which single-piece multifocal acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) were explanted because of complications related to the presence of glistenings in the bulk of the IOL optic. In both cases, the patients complained about blurry or hazy vision. In vivo slitlamp examinations prior to IOL explantation confirmed the presence of severe glistenings in the IOL optic in 1 case and moderate glistenings in the second case.

Impact of intraocular lens material and design on light scatter: In vitro study.

Purpose: To determine the typical in vitro straylight levels for intraocular lenses (IOLs) of different materials and designs.

Setting: Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Groningen, the Netherlands.

[Comparison of dysphotopsia effects in phakic and pseudophakic eyes using Rostock glare perimeter].

Background: Pseudophakic dysphotopsia as unwanted side effect after cataract surgery are becoming increasingly important. The so-called glare perimetry allows a realistic quantification of these phenomena. The article presents the method on the example of healthy subjects and pseudophakic patients.

Effects of glistenings in intraocular lenses.

Glistenings consist of multiple microvacuoles in intraocular lenses (IOLs) that cause retinal stray light and may affect quality of vision. For four IOL types, the microvacuole particle size distribution and particle volume density was measured using confocal light microscopy and dark field microscopy, and the corresponding extinction coefficient γ was determined. The light scatter contribution induced by microvacuoles was measured as function of both angle and extinction, and was verified by calculations using Mie theory.

Rostock Glare Perimeter: a distinctive method for quantification of glare.

Purpose: Disability glare induced by headlights of oncoming cars has been associated with reduced quality of vision. This study aimed at developing the Rostock Glare Perimeter to quantify dysphotopsia effects under simulated realistic conditions.

Methods: Sixty phakic subjects of different ages were dazzled by a bright light source centered at a projection screen 3.

Androgens and breast cancer risk.

Transdermal testosterone supplementation is a treatment option for postmenopausal women with distressful decreased libido. Side effects are minor, but there is a long-term safety concern with respect to breast cancer, as women with high testosterone serum levels appear to be at a significantly increased risk to have or to develop breast cancer within a few years. Epidemiological studies of sufficient duration to study long-term effects of testosterone supplementation are limited, both in number and in methodological quality and are, therefore, inconclusive.

Differentiating experts' anticipatory skills in beach volleyball.

In this study, we examined how perceptual-motor expertise and watching experience contribute to anticipating the outcome of opponents' attacking actions in beach volleyball. To this end, we invited 8 expert beach volleyball players, 8 expert coaches, 8 expert referees, and 8 control participants with no beach volleyball experience to watch videos of attack sequences that were occluded at three different times and to predict the outcome of these situations. Results showed that expert players and coaches (who were both perceptual-motor experts) outperformed the expert referees (who were watching experts but did not have the same motor expertise) and the control group in the latest occlusion condition (i.

Less mammographic density after nasal versus oral administration of postmenopausal hormone therapy.

Objective: Nasal administration gives a more acute but shorter rise in serum hormone levels than oral administration and may therefore have less effect on the fibroglandular tissue in the breasts. We studied the change in mammographic breast density after nasal vs. oral administration of postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT).

Saddle and leg forces during lateral movements in dressage.

Reasons For Performing Study: In the equestrian world it is assumed that riders use changes in weight distribution and leg forces as important instruments to give horses directions about speed and direction of movement. However, the changes of these forces have never been quantified.

Objectives: To investigate the distribution of normal forces (perpendicular to surface) underneath the saddle and of normal forces exerted by the rider's legs during lateral movements.

Combining in vitro test methods for measuring light scatter in intraocular lenses.

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) are designed for implantation for vision correction following cataract removal. The IOL typically replaces a cataractous natural lens that exhibits very high levels of light scattering. The amount of scattering is significantly reduced with an IOL, though it is rarely quantified and both the surface and the bulk of the intraocular lens may contribute to light scatter at some level, and in some cases potentially affecting patients' post-operative quality of vision.

Prevalence of congenital heart defects and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate with Down syndrome.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate (PPHN) in children with Down syndrome (DS) and to assess its impact on neonatal factors. It was a prospective study of a birth cohort of children with DS born between 2003 and 2006 registered by the Dutch Paediatric Surveillance Unit (DPSU). A CHD occurred in 43% of 482 children with trisomy 21.

Short-term effects of two continuous combined oestrogen-progestogen therapies on several cardiovascular risk markers in healthy postmenopausal women: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the short-term effects of two oral continuous combined oestrogen-progestogen treatment regimens on blood concentrations of several cardiovascular risk markers in healthy postmenopausal women.

Study Design: In a 12-week randomised controlled study, 48 healthy non-hysterectomised postmenopausal women, aged 41-58 years, received either no treatment (control group; n=16), or daily oral continuous combined treatment with 1 mg micronised 17beta-oestradiol plus 5 mg dydrogesterone (E/D group; n=18) or 0.625 mg conjugated equine oestrogens plus 5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE/MPA group; n=14).

The influence of physiological and surgical menopause on coronary heart disease risk markers.

Objective: To investigate the influence of physiological and surgical menopause on serum concentrations of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk markers and sex hormones.

Design: Physiological menopausal transition was investigated in two studies. In a longitudinal study, 16 women were followed from 2 years before until 2 years after physiological menopause.

Visualization of the retinal image in an eye model with spherical and aspheric, diffractive, and refractive multifocal intraocular lenses.

Purpose: To present a method that visually demonstrates how spherical, aspheric, diffractive, and refractive multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) process light received from the cornea.

Methods: Monochromatic green light was projected through an Average Cornea Eye (ACE) Model with a cornea in front of the IOL. The model simulates a human cornea with average spherical aberration and visualizes the converging bundle of light leaving the IOL.

3beta-OH-tibolone acutely dilates rat muscle arterioles similar to 3alpha-OH-tibolone.

In an earlier study, we focused on the vasoactive effect of 3alpha-OH-tibolone on spontaneously constricted isolatedfemale rat gracilis muscle arterioles. Vasodilator effects (from 10 to 10 M) of 3alpha-OH-tibolone were similar to those of 17beta-estradiol. It was reported that 3beta-OH-tibolone like estradiol altered GABAB activation in neurons through a membrane estrogen receptor, whereas the 3alpha-OH metabolite did not.

Effects of non-oral postmenopausal hormone therapy on markers of cardiovascular risk: a systematic review.

Objective: To review the effects of non-oral administration of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) on risk markers for atherosclerotic and venous thromboembolic disease.Non-oral postmenopausal HT appears not to increase venous thromboembolic risk, whereas the effect on coronary heart disease risk is less clear.

Design: Systematic review of literature obtained from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases from 1980 until and including April 2006.

Model eyes for evaluation of intraocular lenses.

In accordance with the present international standard for intraocular lenses (IOLs), their imaging performance should be measured in a model eye having an aberration-free cornea. This was an acceptable setup when IOLs had all surfaces spherical and hence the measured result reflected the spherical aberration of the IOL. With newer IOLs designed to compensate for the spherical aberration of the cornea there is a need for a model eye with a physiological level of spherical aberration in the cornea.

Hemostatic markers in healthy postmenopausal women during intranasal and oral hormone therapy: a randomized trial.

Objective: To study changes in the hemostatic balance during intranasal compared with oral administration of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and norethisterone (NET) or NET acetate in postmenopausal women. A wide range of markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis associated with coronary artery disease was tested.

Design: In a two-center, randomized, double-blind, comparative trial, 90 healthy postmenopausal women (aged 56.

Breast cancer and climacteric complaints: weighing up risks of hormone therapy against quality of life.

Women with severe menopausal symptoms can, at their request, be treated effectively with hormone therapy. Good information about the advantages and disadvantages of hormone therapy should precede this decision. For women with breast cancer or an inherited increased risk of breast cancer and severe, often therapy-related climacteric symptoms, a high degree of reticence is appropriate in relation to hormone therapy.

Effects of a supplement containing isoflavones and Actaea racemosa L. on asymmetric dimethylarginine, lipids, and C-reactive protein in menopausal women.

Objective: To investigate the effects of a supplement containing soy isoflavones and Actaea racemosa L. on several coronary heart disease (CHD) risk markers in menopausal women.

Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.