The Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS) Consensus (CON) Group Meeting Proceedings.

An international, expert led consensus initiative was set up by the Collaborative Ocular Tuberculosis Study (COTS) group to develop systematic, evidence, and experience-based recommendations for the treatment of ocular TB using a modified Delphi technique process. In the first round of Delphi, the group identified clinical scenarios pertinent to ocular TB based on five clinical phenotypes (anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, choroiditis, retinal vasculitis, and panuveitis). Using an interactive online questionnaires, guided by background knowledge from published literature, 486 consensus statements for initiating ATT were generated and deliberated amongst 81 global uveitis experts.

Relationship between lamina cribrosa curvature and the microvasculature in treatment-naïve eyes.

Background/aims: To investigate the relationship between the lamina cribrosa (LC) curvature and the microvasculature within the LC in treatment-naïve eyes with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and in healthy eyes.

Methods: Forty-one eyes with treatment-naïve NTG and 41 age and sex-matched healthy control eyes were included. The optic nerve head (ONH) area was scanned using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) to examine the LC curvature quantified as the LC curvature index (LCCI).

Lamina Cribrosa Morphology Predicts Progressive Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Loss In Eyes with Suspected Glaucoma.

Although early diagnosis and treatment reduce the risk of blindness from glaucoma, the decision on whether or not to begin treatment in patients with suspected glaucoma is often a dilemma because the majority of patients never develop definite glaucoma. A growing body of evidences suggests that posterior bowing of the lamina cribrosa (LC) is the earliest structural change preceding the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) loss in glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Based on this notion, we conducted a prospective study enrolling 87 eyes suspected of having glaucoma to investigate whether the future rate of RNFL loss is associated with the baseline LC curve evaluated by measuring the LC curve index (LCCI) using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography.

Cytotoxic Effects of Environmental Toxins on Human Glial Cells.

Toxins produced by cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates have increasingly become a public health concern due to their degenerative effects on mammalian tissue and cells. In particular, emerging evidence has called attention to the neurodegenerative effects of the cyanobacterial toxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Other toxins such as the neurotoxins saxitoxin and ciguatoxin, as well as the hepatotoxic microcystin, have been previously shown to have a range of effects upon the nervous system.