Publications by authors named "Sotirios Gartaganis"

We report an unusual, rare case of opacification of the hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lens (IOL) 23 years after the initial surgery with significant visual deterioration. Opacification of the hydrophilic acrylic IOL was primarily due to the formation of folds on the surface of the lens material, and less so due to calcium phosphate deposits. Calcification opacification can be attributed to recent events, as evidenced by deposits of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (CaHPO2HO) and octacalcium phosphate (CaH(PO)5HO), both of which are transient calcium phosphate phases, converting hydrolytically to the thermodynamically most stable hydroxyapatite (Ca(PO)(OH)).

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Background: Hydrophilic intraocular lens opacification is a rare complication due to calcification. With current new surgical techniques, including lamellar endothelial keratoplasty and vitrectomies, this irreversible complication is becoming more common. In this case study, we present clinical and laboratory features of a case of Carlevale hydrophilic acrylic IOL calcification.

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Purposes: To (i) determine expression patterns of lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1), fibrillin-1 (FBN1), transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lens epithelium and anterior lens capsule in pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome and (ii) delineate the roles of these proteins in the etiopathogenesis of PEX.

Materials And Methods: Study participants, all of whom had undergone cataract surgery, comprised 47 patients with and 27 patients without (controls) PEX syndrome. Immunohistochemistry on paraffin sections of lens capsule and lens epithelium was performed.

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Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal ranibizumab in combination with laser photocoagulation in the management of Coats disease.

Method: Six intravitreal injections of 0.5 mg (0.

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Purpose: In this study we aimed to evaluate the polymorphism at codon 129 (M129V) of the PRNP gene as a secondary risk factor for pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX).

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-five unrelated subjects, including 156 patients with PEX and 119 unrelated control subjects, were recruited from the University Hospital of Patras, Greece. All patients and controls were of Caucasian or European ancestry.

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Purpose: To investigate the nature and characteristic features of deposits causing opacification of intraocular lenses (IOLs) based on the examination of clinical findings using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis.

Design: Retrospective, observational case series.

Methods: This is a multicenter study of 6 hydrophilic acrylic IOLs (Lentis LS-502-1; Oculentis GmbH, Berlin, Germany) with a hydrophobic surface that were explanted from 5 patients because of opacification.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of rs1048661 and rs3825942 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) gene of cataract patients from southwestern Greece with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome.

Patients And Methods: Ninety-three patients with PEX syndrome and 74 without PEX syndrome were recruited with the principal diagnosis being cataract. LOXL1 SNPs, rs1048661 and rs3825942, were genotyped by using polymerase chain reaction.

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Objectives: To investigate the incidence of fungal contamination of store disinfectant solutions contained in contact lens storage cases belonging to asymptomatic contact lens users.

Methods: Asymptomatic contact lens users were asked to bring their storage cases, lenses included, without having opened the lid of the cup after placing lenses inside. The following information was recorded: age, sex, type of refractive error, contact lens material, schedule of wear, and brand of disinfectant solution.

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Pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome is a well-recognized late-onset disease caused by a generalized fibrillopathy. It is linked to a broad spectrum of ocular complications including glaucoma and perioperative problems during cataract surgery. Apart from the long-known intraocular manifestations, PEX deposits have been found in a variety of extraocular locations and they appear to represent a systemic process associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity.

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Purpose: To report a case of an unusually large cavernous hemangioma of the optic disk.

Method: Case report with funduscopic, fluorescein angiography, and magnetic resonance imaging correlations. A 20-year-old woman with no ocular or systemic history was diagnosed with cavernous hemangioma of the optic disk in a routine eye examination.

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Purpose: To construct a model simulating intraocular lens (IOL) opacification attributable to the formation of calcium phosphate deposits and to investigate the kinetics of deposit formation.

Design: Prospective laboratory investigation.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School and Department of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Patras, Greece.

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Cataract is a common disease of the eye and cataract development is usually a very gradual process of normal aging. Many people with cataract disease can also have pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome, glaucoma and coronary artery disease (CHD). We use the data from the Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School of the University of Patras, Greece.

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Background: To investigate the relationship between exfoliation syndrome and sensorineural hearing loss.

Methods: A prospective study was designed. Patients with evidence of ocular exfoliation syndrome (study group) and individuals without any clinical signs of exfoliation syndrome (control group) were selected.

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Purpose: Parstatin is a 41-mer peptide formed by proteolytic cleavage on activation of the PAR1 receptor. The authors recently showed that parstatin is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of parstatin on ocular neovascularization.

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Anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) procedure, using mercury film electrode, was optimized and applied to determine the concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and copper in the aqueous humor. Concentration levels as low as 1 ppb of the test metals was possible to be detected using short electrolysis times (120 s) and microquantities of aqueous humor (up to 35 μL). As a first application of the voltammetric analysis of trace metals in the aqueous humor, the role of the three selected trace elements in the pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome was examined.

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Purpose: To report an extremely rare case of an extensive conjunctival-corneal invasive squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: A healthy 68-year-old man referred to our department with a moderately elevated hyperemic nodular mass on his right ocular surface. The lesion was completely covering the corneal surface and involved the temporal limbus with bulbar conjunctiva.

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Purpose: To identify the nature and to investigate the biochemical mechanisms leading to late opacification of implanted hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs).

Design: Retrospective laboratory investigation.

Methods: setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, Department of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Patras and FORTH-ICEHT, Greece.

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The effect of systemic steroid administration on intraocular pressure (IOP) is well established. However less attention has been paid to the effect of steroids when administered in a nasal spray. We conducted a study to investigate a possible association between nasal steroids and elevated IOP in 54 patients who were being treated for allergic rhinitis.

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Background: Several rheological disorders of the erythrocytes, such as increased aggregation and decreased deformability, have been observed in diabetes mellitus and have been implicated in the development of diabetic microangiopathy. Structural alterations of the erythrocyte membrane proteins caused by the diabetic process may be at the origin of those observations. In the present study, we searched for erythrocyte membrane protein alterations in diabetic retinopathy.

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Purpose: To present an atypical case of acanthamoeba keratitis in a soft contact lens wearer.

Methods: A case report of a 28-year-old female soft contact lens wearer with a 6-day history of redness and blurred vision in her right eye. Examination showed stromal keratitis that did not respond to therapy for herpes simplex virus.

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Purpose: To determine the annual hospitalization rate and risk factors of eye injuries requiring hospitalization in an area of Greece.

Methods: Retrospective case analysis of 899 consecutive patients with ocular injury admitted at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital at Patras Medical School, Greece, over a 9-year period.

Results: The average annual rate of hospitalized ocular injuries was 71.

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Purpose: To determine the clinical microbiological characteristics of corneal ulcers in contact lens wearers.

Methods: A retrospective study of 23 patients admitted to our department with contact lens-related corneal ulcers during a 43-month period. Detailed demographic data, the type of contact lens, duration of lens wear, and wearing schedule were derived from a self-administered questionnaire.

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Objective: To determine the epidemiological characteristics of severe eye injuries in childhood, in a mixed urban and rural Greek setting.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 95 cases (103 eyes) of eye injuries in children younger than 17 years of age admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Patras, Greece, during a five-year period. The data were analyzed with respect to age, sex, type, cause and mode of injury, method of management, duration of hospitalization and final visual deficit.

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