Significant improvements in cataract treatment and persistent inequalities in access to cataract surgery among older Poles from 2009 to 2019: results of the PolSenior and PolSenior2 surveys.

Background And Aims: Cataract is the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness among older adults worldwide, that can be corrected through surgical interventions. However, diagnosis and treatment bias can be observed, and it is a major issue for improving health policies. Therefore, we assessed a declared prevalence of cataract and the frequency of surgical treatment of this condition in the Polish population in the years 2009-2019.

Prediction of the Occurrence of the Oculocardiac Reflex Based on the Assessment of Heart Rate Variability. An Observational Study.

Introduction: Ophthalmic surgery is assumed to be safe, but some operations require general anaesthesia which is associated with a number of potential complications. In addition, adverse cardiovascular symptoms, such as severe slowing of the heart rate and, in some cases, cardiac arrest may occur due to the surgical technique. The aim of this study was to determine whether it is possible to predict the occurrence of oculocardiac reflex (OCR) based on heart rate variability (HRV) analysis for autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity assessment measured prior to the induction of anaesthesia and immediately before eyeball traction.

The coincidence of two ultra-rare hereditary eye diseases: gyrate atrophy and Kjer optic atrophy - a surprising diagnosis based on next-generation sequencing.

Genetically determined ophthalmic diseases form a numerous and heterogenic group of disorders. Making the accurate clinical diagnosis of genetic eye disease is often a challenge for an ophthalmologist. In many cases, only genetic testing enables the establishment of the proper clinical diagnosis.

Ophthalmologic Diseases in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Single-Center Prospective Study.

Background: Kidney transplant (KTx) recipients usually experience many comorbidities (eg, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, glaucoma). They usually are older and have some ophthalmologic disorders, which may deteriorate after Ktx and some others may develop.

Objective: We aimed to review a 1-year examination of the eyesight characteristics in patients after KTx.

The Level of Cytokines in the Vitreous Body of Severe Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy Patients Undergoing Posterior Vitrectomy.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare cytokine levels in the vitreous body of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) undergoing posterior vitrectomy.

Patients And Methods: The study included 39 patients (39 eyes) undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Patients were divided into three groups: patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) without aflibercept injection prior to the surgery, PDR patients administered aflibercept injection prior to the surgery, and patients without diabetes mellitus (control group).

Pilot Study of Eyesight Characteristics and Thickness of the Retinal Nerve Fiber and Ganglion Cell-inner Plexiform Layers in Adolescent Patients with Type one Diabetes Mellitus on an Insulin Pump.

Aim: Estimation of the ocular status in adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), assessment of the development of the diabetic retinopathy (DR) and nephropathy (DN) within 10 years.

Methods: 37 patients (74 eyes) aged 16-33 years, treated with CSII were enrolled to the study. Baseline, and a 10- year follow-up evaluation included: best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), tonometry, slit lamp exam and fluorescein angiography (FLA).

The Influence of Silicone Oil on the Ganglion Cell Complex After Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment.

Purpose: Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and silicone oil endotamponade have been used as a treatment in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Improvement in the modality of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) allows for the assessment of ganglion cell layer-inner plexiform layer (GCL-IPL) in the macular region. Information about the GCL-IPL status may be a response to the question as to why the visual recovery after PPV with silicone oil tamponade is incomplete.

A 10-year monitoring of the eyesight in patients after kidney transplantation.

A pilot study of a 10-year analysis of the eyesight characteristics in patients after renal transplantation with a view to a later wider study of the same population.The study encompassed 50 eyes in 25 patients who underwent renal transplantation in the years 2007 and 2008. All patients underwent: visual acuity measurement, tonometry, slit lamp examination, and spectroscopic optical coherence tomography.

Eye surgery in the elderly.

Extending life expectancy is a human achievement. It does however entail problems. Ophthalmic treatments are widely recognized as having a low risk of general complications.

Enzymatic vitreolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator for vitreomacular traction.

Aims: The aim of our research was to gain data about the efficacy of intravitreal injections of a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rTPA) in dissolving vitreoretinal tractions (VRTs).

Materials And Methods: The study group consisted of patients of our Ophthalmology Clinic who had received an injection of rTPA (TPA Group) for an existent vitreomacular traction confirmed by optical coherence tomography and stereoscopic examinations. The control group consisted of patients who had declined treatment despite the existence of a vitreomacular traction confirmed by the same diagnostic methods.

[The use of aflibercept (Eylea) in the treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy--case report].

The paper presents a case of a 25-year-old woman referred to the Outpatient Clinic at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Clinical Centre in Gdansk, with sudden vision impairment in her right eye. Clinical manifestation and diagnostic tests gave a basis for the preliminary diagnosis of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy is a type of choroidal neovascularisation, frequently confused with age-related macular degeneration.

Posttraumatic orbital emphysema: a numerical model.

Orbital emphysema is a common symptom accompanying orbital fracture. The pathomechanism is still not recognized and the usually assumed cause, elevated pressure in the upper airways connected with sneezing or coughing, does not always contribute to the occurrence of this type of fracture. Observations based on the finite model (simulating blowout type fracture) of the deformations of the inferior orbital wall after a strike in its lower rim.

Current trends in the monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy in young adults.

The diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in young adults have significantly improved in recent years. Research methods have widened significantly, for example, by introducing spectral optical tomography of the eye. Invasive diagnostics, for example, fluorescein angiography, are done less frequently.

Effect of the administration of alpha-lipoic acid on contrast sensitivity in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of oral supplementation of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on contrast sensitivity (CS) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study included 12 patients with T1DM aged 43±12 years, 48 patients with T2DM aged 59±10 years, and 20 control subjects aged 33±8 years. Patients from each studied group, including the control group, were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg of ALA orally once daily for 3 months.

Five-month observation of persistent diabetic macular edema after intravitreal injection of Ozurdex implant.

Aims: This retrospective analysis was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of treatment of persistent diabetic macular edema with intravitreal injections of 0.7 mg dexamethasone implant Ozurdex. The study comprised three male patients (6 eyes).

Evaluation of corneal endothelium in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: To evaluate the systemic and local factors that contribute to the damage of endothelial cells in diabetic patients and to compare the endothelial structure of the cornea in diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

Materials And Methods: The endothelial cell density (ECD) and central corneal thickness (CCT) were investigated in 123 eyes of type 1 diabetic patients and in 124 eyes of nondiabetic patients. The mean diabetic patients age was 15.

The diagnostic function of OCT in diabetic maculopathy.

Diabetic maculopathy (DM) is one of the major causes of vision impairment in individuals with diabetes. The traditional approach to diagnosis of DM includes fundus ophthalmoscopy and fluorescein angiography. Although very useful clinically, these methods do not contribute much to the evaluation of retinal morphology and its thickness profile.

Biomarkers in diabetic retinopathy and the therapeutic implications.

The main problem both in type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 (T2DM) diabetes is the development of chronic vascular complications encompassing micro- as well as macrocirculation. Chronic complications lower the quality of life, lead to disability, and are the cause of premature death in DM patients. One of the chronic vascular complications is a diabetic retinopathy (DR) which leads to a complete loss of sight in DM patients.

Relationship between serum transforming growth factor β 1 concentrations and the duration of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF- β 1) concentrations and the duration of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children and adolescents. One hundred and sixteen patients with T1DM and 19 healthy controls were examined. Serum TGF- β 1 concentrations were measured using the cytometric bead array (CBA).

Serum concentrations of transforming growth factor-Beta 1 in predicting the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy in juvenile patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

In the present study, we have decided to evaluate if serum transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF- β 1) concentrations may have diagnostic value in predicting the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in juvenile patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The study included 81 children and adolescents with T1DM and 19 control subjects. All study participants had biochemical parameters examined, underwent an eye examination, and 24-hour blood pressure monitoring.

[Metallic foreign bodies in the orbit].

Authors present a case of metallic foreign bodies (part of the hammer) in apex of the orbit in a 57-year-old man. In CT scan it was localized between rectus lateral muscle and optic nerve. We remove it through transantral approach.

[Vitreous hemorrhages in proliferative diabetic retinopathy treated with pars plana vitrectomy--own material].

Unlabelled: The paper presents the retrospective analysis of diabetic patients with vitreous hemorrhage due to proliferative retinopathy treated surgically with vitrectomy at the Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Gdansk in 2008-2010. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of tamponade and antiplatelet/anticoagulation treatment on the recurrence of vitreous hemorrhage.

Material And Methods: the pars plana vitrectomy was performed in 68 diabetic patients (76 eyes) with vitreous hemorrhage secondary to proliferative retinopathy.

Threshold serum concentrations of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) as a potential marker of the presence of microangiopathy in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

The aim of this study was to estimate the threshold serum concentrations of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their soluble receptors (sRAGE) as well as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), vascular endothelial growth factor(165) (VEGF(165)) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) in predicting the occurrence of microangiopathy in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We studied 88 children and adolescents (age range: 6-20 yrs) with T1DM and 32 control subjects (age range: 7-20 yrs). All study participants had their daily urinary albumin excretion, HbA1c and serum creatinine levels measured, and underwent an eye examination and 24-h blood pressure monitoring.

[Risk factors and frequency of occurrence of HPV DNA of high oncogenic types in paraepidermal epithelium cells of the uterine cervix, in the trophoblast, and in the peripheral blood of pregnant patients].

Introduction: During pregnancy viruses of high oncogenic potential--types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, which had so far remained in the state of chronic infection, undergo reactivation. Among the potential ways of HPV transmission to foetus, the direct perinatal infection is mentioned. In the antenatal period of pregnancy, a descending way of infection through blood is analyzed.

Alternative splicing in plants.

The impact of AS (alternative splicing) is well-recognized in animal systems as a key regulator of gene expression and proteome complexity. In plants, AS is of growing importance as more genes are found to undergo AS, but relatively little is known about the factors regulating AS or the consequences of AS on mRNA levels and protein function. We have established an accurate and reproducible RT (reverse transcription)-PCR system to analyse AS in multiple genes.