Effects of different light sources used for dental operating microscope illumination on the visual function of operators.

Objectives: Advances in dental operative microscopes (DOMs) enable examination of root canal morphology or detection of root fractures otherwise not visible to the naked eye. However, dental therapy involving prolonged use of DOMs requires precision within a limited visual field, resulting in eye strain among users. This study examined the effects of halogen and light-emitting diode (LED) light sources on asthenopia and visual function following use of DOMs.

Discovering irregular pupil light responses to chromatic stimuli using waveform shapes of pupillograms.

Background: The waveforms of the pupillary light reflex (PLR) can be analyzed in a diagnostic test that allows for differentiation between disorders affecting photoreceptors and disorders affecting retinal ganglion cells, using various signal processing techniques. This procedure has been used on both healthy subjects and patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as a simple diagnostic procedure is required for diagnosis.

Results: The Fourier descriptor technique is used to extract the features of PLR waveform shapes of pupillograms and their amplitudes.

A study of the causes of bilateral optic disc swelling in Japanese patients.

Purpose: To investigate the etiology of bilateral disc swelling in Japanese.

Methods: Using Kitasato University's Department of Neuro-Ophthalmology medical records and fundus photographs of the period December 1977 through November 2010, we retrospectively identified 121 outpatients who had been initially confirmed with bilateral disc swelling.

Results: The most common cause of the bilateral disc swelling was increased intracranial pressure (ICP) (59%); followed by pseudopapillitis (16%); uveitis (8%); hypertensive retinopathy (5%); bilateral optic neuritis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and optic disc drusen (all at 2% each); and leukemia (1%).

Bibliographical investigation (domestic and overseas) on the treatment of endogenous Candida endophthalmitis over an 11-year period.

A bibliographic search was conducted of cases of Candida endophthalmitis reported in Japan and overseas between 2000 and 2011, in the Japana Centra Revuo Medicina Website of Japan Medical Abstracts Society (domestic reports) and MEDLINE (overseas reports). The investigation yielded 42 reports in domestic journals (49 cases ; hereinafter referred to as domestic cases) and 39 reports in journals published overseas (46 cases ; hereinafter referred to as overseas cases). The isolation rate of Candida albicans in the domestic cases was 65.

Effect of motion stimulation without changing binocular disparity on stereopsis in strabismus patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of motion stimulation without changing binocular disparity on stereopsis in strabismic patients.

Methods: Static and moving stereopsis were measured in 120 normal children and 30 strabismic patients (9 esotropia, 14 exotropia, 7 intermittent exotropia). Using a portable game device (PSP; SONY, Japan), we created stereoscopic targets and produced stereopsis using a closed tube binocular viewing device.