Background. During coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, students were obliged to switch to online learning. Nevertheless, a long time spent in front of the screens is one of the risk factors of dry eye disease (DED).Objectives. To evaluate ocular symptoms typical for DED presented by Polish students during online learning and entertainment before and during the pandemic, as well as to assess the prevalence of these symptoms. Materials and methods.The original questionnaire was distributed online via social media (Facebook) to Polish students in November 2020. Three hundred sixty-eight anonymous questionnaires were collected and statistically analyzed.Results. During the pandemic, online learning and screen entertainment time extended on average by 4 h and 40 min, respectively. Only 8% of students admitted to having no ocular symptoms and 77% reported the exacerbation in previous ocular complaints. Reported symptoms included pain/discomfort of the eyes, itchiness, dryness, red eyes, feeling gritty particles under eyelids, and blurred vision. Actions such as using eye drops, having breaks from studying to have distant vision, consultation with an ophthalmologist, using warm and cold compresses, or none of these were undertaken by 45%, 42%, 8%, 7%, and 19% of students, respectively. Nonmedical students reported worsening of previous symptoms more often than medical students (p < 0.05). A correlation was observed between the number of new/intensified symptoms and the change in screen learning time (r = 0. 17, p < 0.05). Conclusions.Eye complaints are prevalent in the population of students. During the pandemic these symptoms intensified, which may have been caused by the extension of the screen time. There is a need for better education on ocular hygiene to improve visual clarity and awareness of risk factors of DED.

Introduction: Prostaglandin analogs are the first line of treatment in patients with glaucoma. Recently, many preservative-free prostaglandin analogs have been marketed to increase their tolerance in chronic use. However, potentially safer formulations have been reported to induce inflammation within ocular surface and adnexa, associated with pronounced activation of tissue macrophages. Aim: We aimed to evaluate the effect of a Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) inhibitor, MF-438, on the differentiation of monocytes exposed to eye drop detergents, representing saturated fatty acid derivatives. Methods: A culture of human peripheral blood monocytes was exposed to eye drops containing fatty acid derivatives (eye drop detergents), pf-latanoprost (Monoprost ® , hydroxystearate macrogolglycerol -MGHS40) or pf-tafluprost (Taflotan ® , polysorbate 80 -PS80), as well as pf-latanoprost+MF-438, MGHS40, and PS80. For the negative control C(-), monocytes were cultured in basal medium, and for the positive controls, monocytes were stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Interferon γ (IFNγ) (M1 macrophages) or Interleukin-4 (IL-4) (M2 macrophages). The concentration of desaturase in the cell homogenates was determined by ELISA. The number of cells was counted under a microscope at 20x magnification. Results:The following concentrations of SCD1 (ng/mL) were measured: 7.

Background and Objectives: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare cholestatic disease of the liver of unknown etiology, severe course and poor prognosis. PSC most often co-occurs with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), especially with ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of the study was the analysis of the clinical course of primary sclerosing cholangitis in children, hospitalized in the Gastroenterology Unit in Katowice. Materials and Methods: The analysis included 30 patients, aged from 7 to 18 years, 21/30 boys (70%) and 9/30 girls (30%), diagnosed with PSC in the years 2009–2019. The analysis included the age at diagnosis, clinical symptoms, course of the disease, coexisting diseases, laboratory and imaging results, and complications. Results: The average age at diagnosis was 13 years. 22/30 (73.3%) patients suffered from UC, 4/30 (13.3%) were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease (CD), 2/30 (6.66%) with Eosinophilic Colitis (EC). 2/30 patients (6.66%) had no clinical evidence of coexistent IBD to date. In addition, 7/30 (23.3%) had an overlap syndrome of primary sclerosing cholangitis/autoimmune hepatitis. When PSC was detected before IBD (6/30–20%), patients had complications more often compared to those diagnosed with IBD first or PSC and IBD at the same time. At the moment of diagnosis 6/30 (20%) patients presented with abdominal pain, which was the most common symptom, 3/30 (10%) jaundice, while 17/30 (56.6%) were asymptomatic but had abnormal results of the laboratory tests. Conclusions: Monitoring liver markers in IBD patients is important since most PSC cases are asymptomatic and their elevation might be the first sign of the disease. Patients diagnosed with PSC before IBD diagnosis are more likely to have a more aggressive course of the disease.

Purpose To evaluate the impact of oral treatment with SSRI – escitalopram (EC) on the function of interneurons (IN) assessed in electroretinography. Methods Six Long Evans rats were treated orally with SSRI‐escitalopram (n=3) or phosphate buffered saline‐PBS (n=3) for 6 weeks daily. After 4 weeks transient elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) was inducted in the right eye of every rat in order to induce retinal ischemia (IC). Electroretinography (ERG) was performed using Celeris device and oscillatory potentials were analysed (OPs) in 4 time points ‐ before drug administration, before IC induction and 7 & 14 days after it. After 6 weeks rats were sacrificed, retinas were isolated in order to conduct the histological assessment and cell counts. Western Blot analysis was performed in order to assess BDNF and connexin 36 content in retinas and brains. Results The mean peak IOP was 24 mmHg in the right eye and 12 mmHg in the left eye and was similar in treated and control groups. In both groups no loss of RGC density was noted between the eye with induced IC and the healthy one (80 ± 31 vs 76 ± 20 cells/visual field for EC and 55 ± 10 vs 55 ± 11 for PBS; p > 0.05). In the functional measurements in the EC group amplitudes of all scotopic OPs (OP1‐5) were significantly higher 14 days after IC induction when compared to control group (p < 0.05), where deep disturbance of IN function was observed, specifically for OP2‐4, expressed in significant reduction of OP amplitudes (p < 0.05). Similar changes were not observed in photopic conditions. Conclusions Oral treatment with EC prevents desynchronization of retinal IN function during ischemic conditions in a rat. Observations presented above may become crucial for new therapeutic methods for vascular pathologies of the retina.

Background Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare liver cholestatic disease with unknown aetiology, severe clinical course and poor prognosis. PSC most often co-occurs with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), especially ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of the study. We aimed to analyse the clinical course of patients diagnosed with PSC hospitalised in the Department of Gastroenterology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice in 2009–2018. Methods The analysis included 30 patients, aged from 7 to 18 years (mean age 13.5 years), 21/30 boys (70%) and 9/30 girls (30%), diagnosed with PSC. The analysis included age of diagnosis, clinical symptoms, course of the disease, laboratory and imaging results and complications. Results The average diagnosis age was 13 years. 22/30(73.3%) patients suffered from UC and 4/30 (13.3%) were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. 2/30 (6.66%) patients remained IBD-free. Among them 7/30(23.3%) had an overlap syndrome—primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. At the time diagnosis 6/30 (20%) patients presented abdominal pain, which was the most common symptom, while 16/30 (57%) were asymptomatic but had abnormal laboratory test results. When PSC was detected before IBD, patients had complications more often compared with those diagnosed with IBD first or PSC and IBD at the same time. Moreover, complications were observed more often in patients with changes characteristic of PSC visible in their first USG than in patients without mentioned abnormalities in first USG. Conclusion Patients diagnosed with PSC before IBD diagnosis are more likely to have a more aggressive course of the disease. Monitoring liver markers in IBD patients is important since most PSC cases are asymptomatic and their elevation might be the first sign of the disease.