New quantitative approaches reveal the spatial preference of nuclear compartments in mammalian fibroblasts.

The nuclei of higher eukaryotic cells display compartmentalization and certain nuclear compartments have been shown to follow a degree of spatial organization. To date, the study of nuclear organization has often involved simple quantitative procedures that struggle with both the irregularity of the nuclear boundary and the problem of handling replicate images. Such studies typically focus on inter-object distance, rather than spatial location within the nucleus.

Latanoprost for open-angle glaucoma (UKGTS): a randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Treatments for open-angle glaucoma aim to prevent vision loss through lowering of intraocular pressure, but to our knowledge no placebo-controlled trials have assessed visual function preservation, and the observation periods of previous (unmasked) trials have typically been at least 5 years. We assessed vision preservation in patients given latanoprost compared with those given placebo.

Methods: In this randomised, triple-masked, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled patients with newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma at ten UK centres (tertiary referral centres, teaching hospitals, and district general hospitals).

Measurement precision in a series of visual fields acquired by the standard and fast versions of the Swedish interactive thresholding algorithm: analysis of large-scale data from clinics.

Importance: Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm (SITA) testing strategies for the Humphrey Field Analyzer have become a clinical standard. Measurements from SITA Fast are thought to be more variable than SITA Standard, yet some clinics routinely use SITA Fast because it is quicker.

Objective: To examine the measurement precision of the 2 SITA strategies across a range of sensitivities using a large number of visual field (VF) series from 4 glaucoma clinics in England.

Biomechanical parameters of the cornea measured with the Ocular Response Analyzer in normal eyes.

Background: To evaluate the relationships between Reichert Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) parameters corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal response factor (CRF) and ocular dimensions, age and intraocular pressure.

Methods: Two hundred and twelve eyes of 212 participants with no ocular pathology had CH and CRF measured with the ORA. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured with the Dynamic Contour tonometer and central corneal thickness (CCT) was also evaluated.

Detecting changes in retinal function: Analysis with Non-Stationary Weibull Error Regression and Spatial enhancement (ANSWERS).

Visual fields measured with standard automated perimetry are a benchmark test for determining retinal function in ocular pathologies such as glaucoma. Their monitoring over time is crucial in detecting change in disease course and, therefore, in prompting clinical intervention and defining endpoints in clinical trials of new therapies. However, conventional change detection methods do not take into account non-stationary measurement variability or spatial correlation present in these measures.

New insights into measurement variability in glaucomatous visual fields from computer modelling.

Objective: To develop a model to simulate visual fields (VFs) in glaucoma patients, and to characterize variability of the Mean Deviation (MD) VF summary measurement using real VFs and simulations.

Methods: Pointwise VF variability was previously approximated using longitudinal VF data (24-2 SITA Standard, Humphrey Field Analyzer) from 2,736 patients; these data were used to build a non-parametric model to simulate VFs. One million VF simulations were generated from 1,000 VFs (1,000 simulations per 'ground-truth' VF), and the variability of simulated MDs was characterized as a function of ground-truth MD and Pattern Standard Deviation (PSD).

Examining visual field loss in patients in glaucoma clinics during their predicted remaining lifetime.

Purpose: To evaluate the proportion of patients in glaucoma clinics progressing at rates that would result in visual disability within their expected lifetime.

Methods: This retrospective study used visual field (VF) series of at least 3 years' duration from 3790 UK patients in glaucoma clinics calculating rates of loss for each eye using linear regression of mean deviation (MD) over time. Residual life expectancies derived from the UK Office of National Statistics actuarial tables for each patient were combined with these rates to estimate predicted MDs at end of expected lifetime.

The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study: a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial: baseline characteristics.

Objective: The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study (UKGTS) tests the hypothesis that treatment with a topical prostaglandin analog, compared with placebo, reduces the frequency of visual field (VF) deterioration events in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) by 50% over a 2-year period. Additional goals are to evaluate study power with novel clinical trial outcomes: (1) VF deterioration velocity and (2) VF and quantitative imaging measurements modeled as joint outcomes.

Design: The UKGTS is a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter treatment trial for OAG.

The influence of intersubject variability in ocular anatomical variables on the mapping of retinal locations to the retinal nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of intersubject variation in ocular parameters on the mapping of retinal locations to the retinal nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head.

Methods: One hundred retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) bundle photographs from 100 subjects were optimized digitally and single RNFL bundles manually traced back to the ONH where their entry point was noted. A 24-2 visual field (VF) grid pattern was superimposed onto the photographs in order to relate VF test points to intersecting RNFL bundles and their entry angles into the ONH.

A survey of attitudes of glaucoma subspecialists in England and Wales to visual field test intervals in relation to NICE guidelines.

Objectives: To establish the attitudes of glaucoma specialists to the frequency of visual field (VF) testing in the UK, using the NICE recommendations as a standard for ideal practice.

Design: Interview and postal survey.

Setting: UK and Eire Glaucoma Society national meeting 2011 in Manchester, UK, with a second round of surveys administered by post.

Are practical recommendations practiced? A national multi-centre cross-sectional study on frequency of visual field testing in glaucoma.

Aim: To estimate current clinical practice for frequency of visual field (VF) monitoring in glaucoma in England.

Methods: A cross-sectional review of all patients with chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG) attending specialist glaucoma clinics at six hospitals in England was performed. The number of VF tests undertaken prior to the study date and during the first 2 years since diagnosis were recorded and compared with European Glaucoma Society (EGS) guidelines for newly-diagnosed patients.

Relating retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and functional estimates of ganglion cell sampling density in healthy eyes and in early glaucoma.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and peripheral grating resolution acuity (PGRA) as well as differential light sensitivity (DLS) in healthy subjects and patients with early glaucoma. The agreement between estimates of retinal ganglion cell (GC) density from each functional test is explored.

Methods: PGRA was measured in 24 patients with early glaucoma (mean deviation [MD] > -8 dB) and 26 healthy subjects using achromatic Gabor stimuli in 4 diagonal visual field locations at 10° eccentricity.

Five-year forecasts of the Visual Field Index (VFI) with binocular and monocular visual fields.

Background: In clinical care, visual field (VF) damage is assessed using monocular VF testing, yet patients perceive the world binocularly. This study was conducted to compare 5-year forecasts for the Visual Field Index (VFI) generated from series of binocular and monocular VFs.

Methods: Series of ten consecutive VFs (Humphrey 24-2 Full-threshold) spanning on average 3.

A novel distribution of visual field test points to improve the correlation between structure-function measurements.

Purpose: To create a new visual field (VF) test grid centered at the optic disc (disc-centered field [DCF]) and to infer the combination of VF test points (structure-function field [SFF]), taken from the DCF and the conventional fovea-centered 24-2 grid (24-2) of standard automated perimetry, which yields the strongest sectorial correlation between structure-function measurements of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and VF sensitivity.

Methods: In 50 eyes with ocular hypertension or open angle glaucoma, the DCF and 24-2 VF were measured with a humphrey field analyzer II (Full Threshold strategy) and RNFL thickness was measured with Stratus optical coherence tomography. test points from the DCF and 24-2 VF Were combined and divided into 12 sectors according to the spatial distribution of the RNFL.

Structure-function relationship between FDF, FDT, SAP, and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy in glaucoma patients.

Purpose: Flicker defined form perimetry (FDF) and frequency doubling technology perimetry (FDT) are alleged to detect glaucoma at an earlier stage than standard automated perimetry (SAP). It is the purpose of this study to investigate the structure-function relationship between FDF, FDT, SAP, and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO) in patients with glaucoma.

Methods: Seventy-six patients with glaucoma were included in the study.

The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study: a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial: design and methodology.

Objective: Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a major risk factor for the deterioration of open-angle glaucoma (OAG); medical IOP reduction is the standard treatment, yet no randomized placebo-controlled study of medical IOP reduction has been undertaken previously. The United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study (UKGTS) tests the hypothesis that treatment with a topical prostaglandin analog, compared with placebo, reduces the frequency of visual field (VF) deterioration events in OAG patients by 50% over a 2-year period.

Design: The UKGTS is a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, multicenter treatment trial for OAG.

The relationship between variability and sensitivity in large-scale longitudinal visual field data.

Purpose: Evaluation of progressive visual field (VF) damage is often based on pointwise sensitivity data from standard automated perimetry; however, frequency-of seeing and test-retest studies demonstrate that these measurements can be highly variable, especially in areas of damage. The aim of this study was to characterize VF variability by the level of sensitivity using a statistical method to quantify heteroscedasticity.

Methods: A total of 14,887 Humphrey 24-2 SITA Standard VFs from 2736 patients (2736 eyes) attending Moorfields Eye Hospital from 1997 to 2009 were studied retrospectively.

Practical landmarks for visual field disability in glaucoma.

Background/aims: To assess whether mean deviation (MD) from automated perimetry is related to the visual field (VF) component for legal fitness to drive (LFTD) in glaucoma patients.

Methods: Monocular 24-2 VFs of 2604 patients with bilateral VF damage were retrospectively investigated. Integrated visual fields were calculated and used as a surrogate to assess LFTD according to current UK driving licence criteria.

Analysis of spatial point patterns in nuclear biology.

There is considerable interest in cell biology in determining whether, and to what extent, the spatial arrangement of nuclear objects affects nuclear function. A common approach to address this issue involves analyzing a collection of images produced using some form of fluorescence microscopy. We assume that these images have been successfully pre-processed and a spatial point pattern representation of the objects of interest within the nuclear boundary is available.

Improved estimates of visual field progression using bayesian linear regression to integrate structural information in patients with ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To assess whether neuroretinal rim area (RA) measurements of the optic disc could be used to improve the estimate of the rate of change in visual field (VF) mean sensitivity in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT) using a Bayesian linear regression (BLR), compared to a standard ordinary least squares linear regression (OLSLR) of mean sensitivity (MS) measurements alone.

Methods: MS and RA measurements were analyzed from a longitudinal series of 179 patients with OHT visiting Moorfields Eye Hospital between 1992 and 2000. For each patient, linear regression of RA was computed after an appropriate transformation to "scale" RA with MS measurements, and the slope coefficient from this regression was used as a prior for BLR of MS.