After cataract surgery, a mild increase of foveal thickness without impact on visual acuity could be observed. This increase may be due to both subclinical changes and to influence of changes in media opacity on the measurement technique. Surgical and biometric parameters such as phacotime and energy and axial length did not correlate to the degree of macular thickening.

No abstract

Isolated stromal injury using an fs laser avoids epithelial injury and is associated with a favorable wound-healing response preserving corneal transparency. Thus, fs laser keratotomy is a highly selective laser treatment that can be useful for the treatment of refractive errors.

Resistance to activated protein C (APC) is among the coagulation disorders that have been implicated in retinal vein occlusion. However, since retinal vascular occlusions may be due to a combination of several mechanisms, the question of whether thrombophilic anomalies are pathogenic for this disorder remains controversial. In the current study, we investigated the prevalence of APC resistance in patients with retinal vein occlusion with reference to age and various cardiovascular risk factors. A cohort of 142 consecutive patients with retinal vein occlusion and a control group of 128 subjects matched for age, sex and several risk factors were screened for resistance to APC. Both cohorts were divided into two subgroups, according to the patient's age (< or =45 or >45 years) at the time of the retinal vein occlusion or a previous thromboembolic event. The proportion of individuals with resistance to APC was higher in the patient group (13 of 142; 9.1%) when compared to controls (6 of 128; 4.7%). Moreover, patient age < or =45 years by the time of the retinal vein occlusion or a previous thromboembolic event was significantly associated with a high prevalence of APC resistance (17%). By contrast, resistance to APC was present in 5 of 95 cases (5.3%) in the patient group >45 years and in 4 of 83 (4.8%) young controls. Our results indicate that APC resistance is highly prevalent in patients with retinal vein occlusion at age < or =45 years and/or with a history of thrombosis at this age. By contrast, the prevalence of APC resistance in patients who suffered a retinal vein occlusion when they were older than 45 years and had no history of thromboembolism appears to be similar to that seen in healthy control subjects or in the normal population. Selective screening may be helpful in identifying retinal vein occlusion patients with thrombophilic defects.

In vivo confocal microscopy confirmed the clinicopathologic findings of Salzmann's nodular degeneration. Observations by in vivo confocal microscopy were consistent with the histopathologic descriptions of SND.

As no effective medications for cataract are available at present, its current standard treatment is the removal of the clouded lens. In industrialized countries, this is usually done with ultrasound (phacoemulsification), followed by the implantation of an IOL.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is among the cytokines which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). There is, however, evidence that intercellular signaling molecules, such as nitric oxide (NO), are involved in this process. NO is synthesized via the inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS), which is expressed after induction by cytokines. In the current study, we investigated whether VEGF and iNOS are coexpressed in choroidal neovascular membranes (n = 7) from patients with ARMD. Immunohistochemistry was performed on cryosections with anti-iNOS and anti-VEGF. Moderate to intense immunostaining for iNOS and VEGF was observed in retinal pigment epithelial cells, macrophages, and in spatial relation to vessel walls. As scored by light microscopy, we found a significant correlation between immunoreactivity for VEGF and iNOS (p < 0.0341) in vascular endothelial cells. Our study supports a significant role for iNOS in the pathogenesis of neovascularization and membrane growth in ARMD. Moreover, our findings suggest a possible relationship between NO and VEGF in the regulation of pathologic angiogenesis in this disease.

To our knowledge, this is the first report of the new approach of perceptual learning in an adult amblyope after loss of vision in the contralateral eye. Our results represent further evidence that the visual system of adult amblyopes preserves a certain degree of neural plasticity, whether spontaneous or enhanced by training. Furthermore, that plasticity in adults is limited, and early diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia must remain the primary goal.