Peripheral Binocular Imbalance in Anisometropic and Strabismic Amblyopia.

Purpose: Individuals with amblyopia experience central vision deficits, including loss of visual acuity, binocular vision, and stereopsis. In this study, we examine the differences in peripheral binocular imbalance in children with anisometropic amblyopia, strabismic amblyopia, and typical binocular vision to determine if there are systematic patterns of deficits across the visual field.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited 12 participants with anisometropic amblyopia, 10 with strabismic amblyopia, and 10 typically sighted controls (age range, 5-18 years).

Longitudinal Change of Refractive Error in Retinopathy of Prematurity Treated With Intravitreal Bevacizumab or Laser Photocoagulation.

Purpose: To compare progression of myopia and refractive error in former premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) treated using intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) or laser.

Design: Retrospective clinical cohort study.

Methods: We identified premature infants with ROP treated using IVB from 2011 to 2020 and compared their longitudinal cycloplegic refraction data to that of infants with ROP treated using laser during the same timeframe.

Association between post-concussion symptoms and oculomotor deficits among adolescents.

Purpose: To examine the association between Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) scores, Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) scores, and oculomotor deficits post-concussion.

Methods: Records of adolescent patients examined in a multidisciplinary concussion clinic between July 2014 and May 2019 were reviewed. PCSS and CISS scores, results of eye examination and oculomotor assessment, concussion history, and demographics were abstracted.

Vergence, accommodation, and visual tracking in children and adolescents evaluated in a multidisciplinary concussion clinic.

Many patients with concussion experience visual symptoms following injury that lead to a diagnosis of convergence insufficiency, accommodative insufficiency, or saccadic dysfunction. However, these diagnostic categories are based on aggregates of clinical tests developed from a non-concussed population and therefore may not accurately describe visual deficits in the concussed population. Thus, we sought to understand individual metrics of visual dysfunction in chronically symptomatic post-concussion patients.

Clinical Update on Metamorphopsia: Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Imaging.

: To discuss the pathophysiology of metamorphopsia, its characterisation using retinal imaging and methods of assessment of patient symptoms and visual function.: A literature search of electronic databases was performed: Metamorphopsia has commonly been associated with vitreomacular interface disorders (such as epiretinal membrane) and has also regularly been noted in diseases of the retina and choroid, particularly age-related macular degeneration and central serous chorioretinopathy. Developments in optical coherence tomography retinal imaging have enabled improved imaging of the foveal microstructure and have led to the localisation of the pathophysiology of metamorphopsia within the retinal layers of the macula.

Impact of a Multicomponent Digital Therapeutic Mobile App on Medication Adherence in Patients with Chronic Conditions: Retrospective Analysis.

Background: Strategies to improve medication adherence are widespread in the literature; however, their impact is limited in real practice. Few patients persistently engage long-term to improve health outcomes, even when they are aware of the consequences of poor adherence. Despite the potential of mobile phone apps as a tool to manage medication adherence, there is still limited evidence of the impact of these innovative interventions.

Pharmacist-led medication non-adherence intervention: reducing the economic burden placed on the Australian health care system.

Scarcity of prospective medication non-adherence cost measurements for the Australian population with no directly measured estimates makes determining the burden medication non-adherence places on the Australian health care system difficult. This study aims to indirectly estimate the national cost of medication non-adherence in Australia comparing the cost prior to and following a community pharmacy-led intervention. Retrospective observational study.

Using Dispensing Data to Evaluate Adherence Implementation Rates in Community Pharmacy.

Medication non-adherence remains a significant problem for the health care system with clinical, humanistic and economic impact. Dispensing data is a valuable and commonly utilized measure due accessibility in electronic health data. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes on adherence implementation rates before and after a community pharmacist intervention integrated in usual real life practice, incorporating big data analysis techniques to evaluate Proportion of Days Covered (PDC) from pharmacy dispensing data.

Temporal effectiveness of interventions to improve medication adherence: A network meta-analysis.

Introduction: Adherence-enhancing interventions have been assessed in the literature, however heterogeneity and conflicting findings have prohibited a consensus on the most effective approach to maintain adherence over time. With the ageing population and growth of chronic conditions, evaluation of sustainable strategies to improve and maintain medication adherence long term is paramount. We aimed to determine the comparative effectiveness of interventions for improving medication adherence over time among adults with any clinical condition.

Comparison of Interventions to Improve Long-Term Medication Adherence Across Different Clinical Conditions: A Systematic Review With Network Meta-Analysis.

Medication non-adherence has a dynamic, temporal and multifactorial nature with a significant impact on economic and clinical outcomes. Interventions to improve adherence are complex and require adaptation to patients' needs, which may include patient's medical conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the comparative effectiveness of medication adherence interventions per type of clinical condition on adult patients.

An innovative and comprehensive technique to evaluate different measures of medication adherence: The network meta-analysis.

Background: Poor medication adherence is associated with adverse health outcomes and higher costs of care. However, inconsistencies in the assessment of adherence are found in the literature.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of different measures of adherence in the comparative effectiveness of complex interventions to enhance patients' adherence to prescribed medications.

Spatial-frequency dependent binocular imbalance in amblyopia.

While amblyopia involves both binocular imbalance and deficits in processing high spatial frequency information, little is known about the spatial-frequency dependence of binocular imbalance. Here we examined binocular imbalance as a function of spatial frequency in amblyopia using a novel computer-based method. Binocular imbalance at four spatial frequencies was measured with a novel dichoptic letter chart in individuals with amblyopia, or normal vision.

Community-Based Family Health History Education: The Role of State Health Agencies in Engaging Medically Underserved Populations in Understanding Genomics and Risk of Chronic Disease.

Although family health history (FHH) collection has been recognized as an influential method for assessing a person's risk of chronic disease, studies have shown that people who are low-income, from racial and ethnic minorities, and poorly educated are less likely to collect their FHH or share it with a medical professional. Programs to raise public awareness about the importance of FHH have conventionally targeted patients in primary care clinics or in the general community, but few efforts have been made to coordinate educational efforts across settings. This paper describes a project by the Connecticut Department of Public Health's Genomics Office to disseminate training materials about FHH as broadly as possible, by engaging partners in multiple settings: a local health department, a community health center, and two advocacy organizations that serve minority and immigrant populations.

Metamorphopsia and letter recognition.

Acuity is the most commonly used measure of visual function, and reductions in acuity are associated with most eye diseases. Metamorphopsia--a perceived distortion of visual space--is another common symptom of visual impairment and is currently assessed qualitatively using Amsler (1953) charts. In order to quantify the impact of metamorphopsia on acuity, we measured the effect of physical spatial distortion on letter recognition.

Novel quantitative assessment of metamorphopsia in maculopathy.

Purpose: Patients with macular disease often report experiencing metamorphopsia (visual distortion). Although typically measured with Amsler charts, more quantitative assessments of perceived distortion are desirable to effectively monitor the presence, progression, and remediation of visual impairment.

Methods: Participants with binocular (n = 33) and monocular (n = 50) maculopathy across seven disease groups, and control participants (n = 10) with no identifiable retinal disease completed a modified Amsler grid assessment (presented on a computer screen with eye tracking to ensure fixation compliance) and two novel assessments to measure metamorphopsia in the central 5° of visual field.

Effects of peripheral visual field loss on eye movements during visual search.

Natural vision involves sequential eye movements that bring the fovea to locations selected by peripheral vision. How peripheral visual field loss (PVFL) affects this process is not well understood. We examine how the location and extent of PVFL affects eye movement behavior in a naturalistic visual search task.

Visual search with image modification in age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: AMD results in loss of central vision and a dependence on low-resolution peripheral vision. While many image enhancement techniques have been proposed, there is a lack of quantitative comparison of the effectiveness of enhancement. We developed a natural visual search task that uses patients' eye movements as a quantitative and functional measure of the efficacy of image modification.

[Comparison between calculation- and measurement-based assessments of the effects of ambient air dust concentration on the environment and health status of the population living in the vicinity of a mineral mining plant].

Airborne and PM10 fraction dust concentrations were measured at seven measurement points in the area occupied by the plant. A GRIMM 1.105 laser meter was used to determine automatically total dust and PM10 fraction concentrations at 1 min intervals.

A longitudinal, population-based, cohort study of childhood asthma followed to adulthood.

Background: The outcome of childhood asthma in adults has been described in high-risk cohorts, but few population-based studies have reported the risk factors for persistence and relapse.

Methods: We assessed children born from April 1972 through March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand, repeatedly from 9 to 26 years of age with questionnaires, pulmonary-function tests, bronchial-challenge testing, and allergy testing.

Results: By the age of 26 years, 51.

[Evaluation of occupational exposure to dusts of mixed free crystalline silica and natural respirable mineral fibers].

An appropriate evaluation of exposure to dust containing both crystalline silica and asbestos (e.g., some mines of rock materials, installation and disassembly of thermal insulation and frictional products etc.

[Non-occupational dust exposure of the population living in the vicinity of amphibolite mining and processing plant].

Amphibolite bed working in a strip mine, material processing, storage and waste disposal are associated with dust emission to the environment. The aim of our study was to assess non-occupational exposure to dust of people living in a village located about 200 m away from the mine. The fallout dust and the sediment obtained from water samples collected from the stream were found to contain tremolite.

[Dust exposure and cancer risk associated with amphibolite mining and processing].

Mining and processing of amphibolite is associated with workers' exposure to dust containing asbestos minerals (actinolite, tremolite) and with the presence of respirable fibers, i.e. small particles above 5 microns long and below 3 microns in diameter (with length-to-diameter ratio higher than 3:1).