Effect of text messages designed to change contact lens compliance: A randomised controlled trial.

Purpose: Contact lens behaviours such as poor hand and lens hygiene are common and are associated with increased risk of microbial keratitis. Evidence for health promotion strategies to address this gap is required. The trial examined the effectiveness of a customised text-messaging intervention on compliance, discontinuation rate and wearer satisfaction in contact lens wearers.

Lubricating drops for contact lens discomfort in adults.

Background: Contact lens discomfort is a symptom-based clinical diagnosis that affects 13% to 75% of contact lens wearers. The Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society defines contact lens discomfort as "a condition characterized by episodic or persistent adverse ocular sensations related to lens wear either with or without visual disturbance, resulting from reduced compatibility between the lens and ocular environment, which can lead to decreased wearing time and discontinuation from lens wear." Signs of the condition include conjunctival hyperemia, corneal and conjunctival staining, altered blinking patterns, lid wiper epitheliopathy, and meibomian gland dysfunction.

Ocular surface immune transcriptome and tear cytokines in corneal infection patients.

Background: Microbial keratitis is one of the leading causes of blindness globally. An overactive immune response during an infection can exacerbate damage, causing corneal opacities and vision loss. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes between corneal infection patients and healthy volunteers within the cornea and conjunctiva and elucidate the contributing pathways to these conditions' pathogenesis.

BCLA CLEAR Presbyopia: Management with contact lenses and spectacles.

This paper seeks to outline the history, market situation, clinical management and product performance related to the correction of presbyopia with both contact lenses and spectacles. The history of the development of various optical forms of presbyopic correction are reviewed, and an overview is presented of the current market status of contact lenses and spectacles. Clinical considerations in the fitting and aftercare of presbyopic contact lens and spectacle lens wearers are presented, with general recommendations for best practice.

Zooming in on the intracellular microbiome composition of bacterivorous isolates.

, a free-living amoeba in water and soil, is an emerging pathogen causing severe eye infection known as keratitis. In its natural environment, performs a dual function as an environmental heterotrophic predator and host for a range of microorganisms that resist digestion. Our objective was to characterize the intracellular microorganisms of phylogenetically distinct spp.

Epidemiology of and Genetic Factors Associated with Keratitis.

keratitis (AK) is a severe, rare protozoal infection of the cornea. can survive in diverse habitats and at extreme temperatures. AK is mostly seen in contact lens wearers whose lenses have become contaminated or who have a history of water exposure, and in those without contact lens wear who have experienced recent eye trauma involving contaminated soil or water.

The role of naturally acquired intracellular Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the development of Acanthamoeba keratitis in an animal model.

Background: Acanthamoeba is an environmental host for various microorganisms. Acanthamoeba is also becoming an increasingly important pathogen as a cause of keratitis. In Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), coinfections involving pathogenic bacteria have been reported, potentially attributed to the carriage of microbes by Acanthamoeba.

Identification and quantification of Acanthamoeba spp. within seawater at four coastal lagoons on the east coast of Australia.

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic free-living heterotrophic protist that is the most predominant amoeba in diverse ecological habitats. Acanthamoeba causes amoebic keratitis (AK), a painful and potentially blinding corneal infection. Major risk factors for AK have been linked to non-optimal contact lens hygiene practices and Acanthamoeba contamination of domestic and recreational water.

Redefining the human corneal immune compartment using dynamic intravital imaging.

The healthy human cornea is a uniquely transparent sensory tissue where immune responses are tightly controlled to preserve vision. The cornea contains immune cells that are widely presumed to be intraepithelial dendritic cells (DCs). Corneal immune cells have diverse cellular morphologies and morphological alterations are used as a marker of inflammation and injury.

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Human tear metabolites associated with nucleoside-signalling pathways in bacterial keratitis.

Objective: The study aimed to profile and quantify tear metabolites associated with bacterial keratitis using both untargeted and targeted metabolomic platforms.

Methods: Untargeted metabolomic analysis using liquid-chromatography-Q Exactive-HF mass-spectrometry explored tear metabolites significantly associated with bacterial keratitis (n = 6) compared to healthy participants (n = 6). Differential statistics and principal component analysis determined meaningful metabolite differences between cases and controls.

The Anti-Amoebic Activity of a Peptidomimetic against .

Acanthamoeba is a free-living protozoan known to cause keratitis most commonly, especially among contact lens wearers. Treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis is challenging as Acanthamoeba can encyst from the active form, a trophozoite, into a hibernating cyst that is refractory to antibiotics and difficult to kill; therefore, there is a need for more effective anti-amoebic strategies. In this study, we have evaluated the anti-amoebic activity of the antimicrobial peptide mimic RK-758 against Acanthamoeba castellanii.

The Activity of Polyhomoarginine against .

Arginine-rich peptides can have broad-spectrum anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities. Polyhomoarginine consists of highly cationic residues which can act on the negatively charged microbial cell membranes. Acanthamoeba is a free-living protozoan known to cause a rare corneal infection which is difficult to diagnose and treat.

Assessment of genotypes, endosymbionts and clinical characteristics of Acanthamoeba recovered from ocular infection.

Introduction: Acanthamoeba is an emerging pathogen, infamous for its resilience against antiprotozoal compounds, disinfectants and harsh environments. It is known to cause keratitis, a sight-threatening, painful and difficult to treat corneal infection which is often reported among contact lens wearers and patients with ocular trauma. Acanthamoeba comprises over 24 species and currently 23 genotypes (T1-T23) have been identified.

Acanthamoeba, an environmental phagocyte enhancing survival and transmission of human pathogens.

The opportunistic protist Acanthamoeba, which interacts with other microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, shows significant similarity in cellular and functional aspects to human macrophages. Intracellular survival of microbes in this microbivorous amoebal host may be a crucial step for initiation of infection in higher eukaryotic cells. Therefore, Acanthamoeba-microbe adaptations are considered an evolutionary model of macrophage-pathogen interactions.

Acanthamoeba Keratitis Risk Factors for Daily Wear Contact Lens Users: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose: This study was designed to establish risk factors for the development of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) for daily disposable (DD) contact lens (CL) users compared with daily wear (DW) reusable lens users and for risks unique to DD users. This is important because, in many major economies, CL use is the principal cause of microbial keratitis, of which AK accounts for approximately 50% of cases with sight loss. Determining these AK risks informs practitioner advice and consumer behavior.

The Co-Creation of a Patient Information Leaflet for Patients With the Rare Eye Infection keratitis.

keratitis (AK) is a rare but severe eye disease. A research engagement event, "The Cornea Day," in London, UK in 2013, identified the lack of credible information about AK and a need for practical day to day management strategies. Experiences of 15 AK patients attending The Cornea Day were distilled into a survey that was administered to a wider group of 76 patients, carers, researchers, and clinicians.

Tissue resident memory T cells inhabit the deep human conjunctiva.

Mucosal linings of the body, including the conjunctiva, are enriched in tissue-resident memory T cells (T) whose defining feature is their continual tissue protection that does not rely on migration to lymphoid organs to elicit immune responses. Hitherto, conjunctival T have only been identified in the superficial epithelium. This work aims to develop a more complete understanding of the conjunctival immunological capacity by investigating the presence of T within the deeper, more stable layers of the healthy human conjunctiva.

Epidemiology, Microbiology, and Genetics of Contact Lens-Related and Non-Contact Lens-Related Infectious Keratitis.

Infectious keratitis is a rare but severe condition associated with a range of ocular and systemic predisposing conditions, including ocular trauma, prior surgery, surface disease, and contact lens (CL) wear. This review explores the epidemiology of infectious keratitis, specifically the differences in disease incidence and risk factors, causative organism profile and virulence characteristics and host microbiome, genetics, gene expression, proteomics, and metabolomic characteristics in CL-related and non-CL-related diseases. Differences exist in the epidemiology, demographics, causative organisms, and their virulence characteristics in CL-related and non-CL-related diseases, and there is less evidence to support differences between these groups of individuals in the ocular surface microbiome, genetics, and pathways of disease.

Ocular Distribution of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System in the Context of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented impact on global health, economy, and way of life. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the disease, utilizes the ACE2 receptor found on host cells to mediate entry, replication, and infection. Numerous studies have elucidated the presence of many components of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in the eye, including the ACE2 receptor.

Impact of Acanthamoeba Keratitis on the Vision-Related Quality of Life of Contact Lens Wearers.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) caused by contact lens (CL) use on vision-related quality of life (VRQOL) and the sociodemographic factors and disease outcome associated with VRQOL.

Methods: Sixty-one CL-associated AK cases and 59 asymptomatic CL wearers (mean age ±SD 39.4 ± 16.

Nutritional supplementation in the prevention and treatment of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a chronic optic neuropathy that creates a significant burden on public health. Oxidative stress is hypothesized to play a role to glaucoma progression, and its reduction is being analyzed as a therapeutic target. Dietary antioxidants play a crucial role in helping provide insight into this hypothesis.