Protein profile of purified plasma- and aqueous humor-derived extracellular vesicles from patients with ocular toxoplasmosis.

Purpose: To characterize the extracellular vesicle protein cargo in the aqueous humor and plasma of patients with ocular toxoplasmosis.

Methods: Aqueous humor and plasma were collected from six patients with active ocular toxoplasmosis and six patients with cataract. Extracellular vesicles were isolated, and western blotting and mass spectrometry were performed for protein analysis.

Influence of gender on clinical presentation, management practices and outcomes of ocular syphilis.

Ocular syphilis is a re-emerging inflammatory eye disease with a clear gender imbalance, disproportionately affecting men. We investigated the impact of gender on the presentation, management practices and clinical outcomes of this condition. Data generated from a study of patients consecutively diagnosed with ocular syphilis who attended a subspecialist uveitis service at one of four hospitals in Brazil over a 30-month period were disaggregated for analysis by gender.

Not Always Toxoplasmosis: Active Retinochoroiditis Presumably Secondary to Herpes in Eyes with Hyperpigmented Retinochoroidal Previous Scars.

Purpose: To demonstrate that the presence of active retinochoroiditis in eyes with previous hyperpigmented old retinochoroidal lesions is not exclusive of ocular toxoplasmosis.

Methods: A case series was constructed by reviewing medical records.

Results: Four Brazilian patients presenting active posterior uveitis in eyes with previous hyperpigmented old retinochoroidal lesions were identified.

Ocular Leptospirosis: Report of a Challenging Diagnosis.

Purpose: To report a challenging case of serologically confirmed posterior uveitis due to leptospirosis.

Methods: Review of medical records.

Results: Thirteen-year-old boy presented focal necrotizing retinochoroiditis after flood exposure.

Long-Term Low-Dose Pyrimethamine Use for the Prevention of Ocular Toxoplasmosis Recurrences: A Cohort Study.

Purpose: To describe the effect of long-term, low-dose pyrimethamine for the prevention of ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) recurrences.

Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients with inactive ocular toxoplasmosis and positive toxoplasma IgG serology were included. Pyrimethamine (25 mg) + folinic acid (15 mg) were administered every other day (three times weekly) for 12 months.

ASSESSMENT OF SIMULATED SURGICAL DEXTERITY AFTER MODIFIABLE EXTERNAL EXPOSURES AMONG NOVICE VERSUS EXPERIENCED VITREORETINAL SURGEONS.

Purpose: To evaluate novice and senior vitreoretinal surgeons after various exposures. Multiple comparisons ranked the importance of these exposures for surgical dexterity based on experience.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 15 novice and 11 senior vitreoretinal surgeons (<2 and >10 years' practice, respectively).

Atypical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis: recurrent inner foveal toxoplasmic retinitis (rifter).

Failure to recognize the different possible clinical presentations of ocular toxoplasmosis may delay diagnosis and treatment, compromising visual prognosis. The aim of this paper is to describe an atypical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis, not yet described. Five Brazilian patients, from 4 different referral centers, presented similar atypical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis characterized by mild vitritis, foveal cavitation involving predominantly all retinal layers associated with adjacent inner retinal necrosis (a necrotizing retinitis with a persisting inner retinal tissue bridge and loss of subjacent retinal layers).

Correlations between subfoveal choroidal thickness, macular thickness, and visual outcome in neovascular age-related macular degeneration using swept source OCT: insights from intravitreal aflibercept treatment.

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment among individuals aged 50 and above, often resulting in irreversible vision loss (1). Currently, antiangiogenic therapy is the primary treatment approach for neovascular AMD (2). The choroid has gained significant attention in recent years due to its involvement in various ocular pathologies (7).

Performance of ChatGPT-4 in answering questions from the Brazilian National Examination for Medical Degree Revalidation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of ChatGPT-4.0 in answering the 2022 Brazilian National Examination for Medical Degree Revalidation (Revalida) and as a tool to provide feedback on the quality of the examination.

Methods: A total of two independent physicians entered all examination questions into ChatGPT-4.

Image quality assessment of retinal fundus photographs for diabetic retinopathy in the machine learning era: a review.

This study aimed to evaluate the image quality assessment (IQA) and quality criteria employed in publicly available datasets for diabetic retinopathy (DR). A literature search strategy was used to identify relevant datasets, and 20 datasets were included in the analysis. Out of these, 12 datasets mentioned performing IQA, but only eight specified the quality criteria used.

Postmortem Ultrastructural Analysis of the Retina from COVID-19 Deceased Patients.

Purpose: COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, first reported in 2019 in Wuhan, China. Among the common complications is a pro-inflammatory and hypercoagulative response that compromises the vasculature among various organs.

Methods: In this report, we present the postmortem retinal findings of five patients observed by means of optical microscopy and transmission and scanning electron microscopy techniques.

Blinking Parameters Do Not Normalize After Botulinum Toxin Therapy in Blepharospasm and Hemifacial Spasm Patients.

Background: Little is known regarding changes induced by botulinum toxin injections on blinking parameters in blepharospasm (BSP) and hemifacial spasm (HFS) patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate objective changes induced by botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections on blinking parameters in BSP and HFS patients.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients with BSP and HFS were evaluated before and 30 days after receiving onabotulinumtoxinA injections.

A Polysomnographic Study of Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Novice and Senior Surgeons during Simulated Vitreoretinal Surgery.

Purpose: To assess the impact of a 3-hour polysomnography (PSG)-recorded night of sleep deprivation on next-morning simulated microsurgical skills among vitreoretinal (VR) surgeons with different levels of surgical experience and associate the sleep parameters obtained by PSG with Eyesi-generated performance.

Design: Self-controlled cohort study.

Participants: Eleven junior VR surgery fellows with < 2 years of surgical experience and 11 senior surgeons with > 10 years of surgical practice.

Regional Disparities in Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment and Blindness, Cataract Surgical Coverage and Ocular Findings in Adults 50 Years and Older in Brazil: A Comparative Analysis between Two Population-Based Cross-Sectional Surveys Performed Within a 10-Year Interval.

Purpose: To investigate disparities in the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness, cataract surgical coverage, and ocular findings in older adults from two Brazilian geo-socio-demographic areas, São Paulo and Parintins cities.

Methods: Data from two population-based studies including participants 50 years and older from the cities of São Paulo (São Paulo Eye Study - SPES, 2004) and Parintins (Brazilian Amazon Region Eye Survey - BARES, 2014) were aggregated.

Results: A total of 5318 participants (3677 from SPES;1641 from BARES) were included.

Corneal reshaping: an experiment with a type I collagen-based vitrigel for remodeling porcine corneas.

Purpose: This study aimed to report an experiment designed to determine anatomical changes in porcine corneas following placement of a novel polymer implant into the cornea.

Methods: An ex vivo porcine eye model was used. A novel type I collagen-based vitrigel implant (6 mm in diameter) was shaped with an excimer laser on the posterior surface to create three planoconcave shapes.

Orbicularis Oculi Muscle Immunohistochemical, Metabolic, and Morphometric Differences in Affected and Nonaffected Sides in Hemifacial Spasm vs Healthy Subjects.

Background: Subtle morphological alterations have been reported even in the nonaffected side of the orbicularis oculi muscle in patients with hemifacial spasm. However, no previous study assessed immunohistochemical, metabolic, and morphometric alterations in orbicularis oculi muscle fibers in affected and nonaffected sides in patients with this condition, compared with samples obtained from healthy subjects. The purpose of this study is to objectively assess and compare orbicularis oculi muscle (OOM) samples of hemifacial spasm affected and nonaffected sides and healthy subjects.

Impact of pterygium on central corneal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography in older adults.

Purpose: To measure the central corneal thickness (CCT) using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) in older adults with and without pterygium from the Brazilian Amazon Region Eye Survey (BARES).

Methods: BARES is a population-based epidemiological cross-sectional study conducted in Parintins city. Participants were residents ≥45 years of age identified through a door-to-door interview.

Differential Proteins Expression Distinguished Between Patients With Infectious and Noninfectious Uveitis.

Purpose: We investigated the aqueous humor proteome and associated plasma proteome in patients with infectious or noninfectious uveitis.

Methods: AH and plasma were obtained from 28 patients with infectious uveitis (IU), 29 patients with noninfectious uveitis (NIU) and 35 healthy controls undergoing cataract surgery. The proteins profile was analyzed by SomaScan technology.

Seroprevalence and systemic immune biomarkers associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection in blood donors from Southern Brazil.

The high seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Blood Banks could be a potential risk for contamination of blood recipients. The discovery of new biomarkers may help to distinguish between seropositive and seronegative donors. This study determined the seroprevalence and profile of systemic immune biomarkers associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection among blood donors from Southern Brazil.

TRANSPLANTATION OF SUBRETINAL STEM CELL-DERIVED RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM FOR STARGARDT DISEASE: A Phase I Clinical Trial.

Purpose: To assess the safety of injecting human embryonic stem cell retinal pigment epithelial cell dose to treat Stargardt disease.

Methods: In this prospective, Phase I clinical trial, human embryonic stem cell retinal pigment epithelial cells in suspension were injected into the subretinal space in eyes with the worse best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). After vitrectomy/posterior hyaloid removal, a partial retinal detachment was created and the human embryonic stem cell retinal pigment epithelial cells were administered.