Purpose: Conjunctival epithelial flap (CEF) is a conjunctival condition most commonly seen in silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers. This study utilized impression cytology to investigate the cellular composition and health of CEFs.
Methods: Nine (9) subjects were enrolled - 3 non-lens wearers, 3 contact lens wearers without CEF, and 3 contact lens wearers with CEFs wearing 8.4/13.8 lotrafilcon A lenses. Impression cytology samples were collected from the flap or similar locations, if CEF was absent, using rectangular 5 mm × 2 mm Millipore HAWP02500 membrane filters. The filters were gently pressed onto the conjunctiva, subsequently fixed in 95% alcohol, stained with hematoxylin-eosin and evaluated under an Olympus IX70 microscope. Measurements of the longest cell and nucleus dimensions were measured on 40 cells from each filter by utilizing NIH Image 1.63.
Results: CEF consisted of multilayers of epithelial and goblet cells and were devoid of inflammatory cells, basement membrane material and stromal tissue. The cytoplasmic and nuclear dimensions were similar within the groups and the cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratio was not different between the flap group and the non-lens wearing group.
Conclusion: The CEF appeared to be formed by healthy epithelial and goblet cells that have been dislocated from their normal location along the conjunctival surface by the lens edge. No inflammatory cells were present in this contact lens induced condition, which is reported to be associated most commonly with the silicone hydrogel material.
Silicone contact lenses (SCL), as an emerging ocular drug delivery system, achieve controlled drug release. However, the existing drug loading methods have limitations such as low drug uptake, complicated operation process, poor welling rate and transmittance of the lens after drug loading. In this study, an effective microemulsion soaking method was proposed to increase the drug-loading capacity of silicone contact lenses.
Gonococcal keratoconjunctivitis (GKC) is an aggressive infection caused by , which can cause an acute, dreadful, ulcerative keratitis resulting in blindness if left untreated. We report a rare case of bilateral GKC complicated with left eye corneal perforation. A 20-year-old male presented with bilateral eye purulent discharge associated with vision loss over the left eye for two weeks prior to presentation.
Purpose: The purpose of this work was to determine the comfort performance of a toric, monthly, silicon hydrogel CL (lehfilcon A; TOTAL30 for Astigmatism) over a long day of wear.
Methods: This was a 1-month, 3-visit, prospective, single-arm study. Adult, 18- to 45-year-old CL wearers with good vision who were minimally symptomatic (CLDEQ-8 scores ≤12) were enrolled.
We present 3 cases of bilateral anterior lens capsule rupture, all leading to a subsequent diagnosis of Alport syndrome. Clinicians should be alert to the ocular and systemic features of Alport syndrome, especially when presented with a spontaneous rupture of the anterior lens capsule in young males. Ophthalmologists are often the first contact for patients with Alport syndrome, and a sound knowledge of the associated features will enable timely referral to other members of a multidisciplinary team required to treat such patients.
Background: Retinal degeneration is a major cause of irreversible blindness. Stimulation with controlled low-level electrical fields, such as transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES), has recently been postulated as a therapeutic strategy. With promising results, there is a need for detailed molecular characterization of the therapeutic effects of TES.
