The conjunctival fungal flora of 32 adult horses with normal eyes (n = 64) from the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was identified in the fall of 2000 using horses of different breeds, both genders and aged 5-19 years old. The culture samples were taken from the conjunctival sac of both eyes with a sterile cotton swab wetted with saline solution, seeded in Sabouraud's dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, and incubated for 5 days at an average temperature of 25 degrees C. The number of fungal colonies per eye varied between 0 and 250 colony forming units (CFUs). There were often differences in colony types between eyes of the same animal. Filamentous fungi of genera were isolated and identified in the following proportion of the total genera of fungal colonies isolated: Aspergillus (32.2%), Penicillium (25.8%), Scopulariopsis (15.9%), Trichoderma (11.2%), Cladosporium (5.6%), Mucor (2.1%), Syncephalastrum (2.1%), Eurotium (1.7%), Geotrichum (0.9%), Rhizopus (0.9%), Gliomastix (0.4%), Fusarium (0.4%), Staphylotrichum (0.4%) and Verticillium (0.4%). Yeast genera represented 9% of the total isolates. Over half the horses had at least one normal eye with either Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma or Scopulariopsis isolated, which is a departure from other studies of the normal horse eye.

Presence of iridociliary cysts may cause a specific form of uveitis not associated with any known systemic disease or underlying cause. The condition was previously characterized in Golden Retrievers. However, Labrador Retrievers, Great Danes and Boston Terriers are reported to develop a similar disease condition. The following report documents seven cases of iridociliary cysts, with or without associated pigmentary uveitis, in American Bulldogs from Brazil and Spain. Although not an uncommon disease, this syndrome has been relatively infrequently documented in the literature, with only one study in the American Bulldog. This article describes clinical findings as well as medical and surgical management of each case. Because some of the patients were closely related in this series, a possible hereditary basis is considered for pigmentary uveitis associated with iridociliary cysts in American Bulldogs.

Objective: To investigate veterinary ophthalmologists' use of presumed neuroprotective therapies for degenerative retinal and optic nerve diseases in dogs.Procedures: An online survey was sent to 663 board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists who were Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO), Asian College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (AiCVO), Latin American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (Colegio Latinoamericano de Oftalmólogos Veterinarios, CLOVE), or European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO). The survey was created using Qualtrics® software and focused on the prescription of presumed neuroprotective treatments for canine glaucoma, sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS), progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), and retinal detachment (RD). Results: A total of 165 completed surveys were received, representing an overall response rate of 25%, which was comparable across the four specialty colleges. Of all respondents, 140/165 (85%) prescribed some form of presumed neuroprotective therapies at least once in the last five years: 114/165 (69%) for glaucoma, 51/165 (31%) for SARDS, 116/165 (70%) for PRA, and 50/165 (30%) for RD. The three most recommended neuroprotective reagents were the commercial Ocu-GLO™ Vision Supplement for animals, amlodipine, and human eye supplements. Conclusions: Despite lack of published clinical efficacy data, the majority of surveyed board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists previously prescribed a presumed neuroprotective therapy at least once in the last five years in dogs with degenerative retinal and optic nerve diseases.

ResumoPara possível observação da hipertensão ocular com o uso de antiinflamatórios, foram selecionados 28 cães da raça Beagle. Para avaliação da pressão intra-ocular antes do tratamento, no dia 0 (zero) todos os animais tiveram a pressão intra-ocular avaliada às 08 horas e às 16 horas. No dia seguinte dez cães receberam meloxicam na dose de 0,2 mg/kg, e 0,1mg/kg nos restantes quatro dias. Nove cães receberam prednisona na dose de 1,0 mg/kg durante cinco dias. Nove cães receberam somente porção de ração úmida. No quinto dia do tratamento todos os animais tiveram novamente a pressão intraocular avaliada às 08 horas e às 16 horas. Em todos os grupos, incluindo o grupo-controle, as maiores médias de pressão intra-ocular foram observadas no dia 5 (cinco). A diferença dos valores de pressão intra-ocular observada entre as medições das 08 horas e das 16 horas foi significativa, independente do tratamento e do dia considerado. O uso dos anti-inflamatórios esteroidal e não-esteroidal não foi capaz de causar hipertensão ocular e alguns fatores podem ser incriminados, como via de administração, dose e duração do tratamento utilizado, além da ausência de doença glaucomatosa nos cães selecionados. Palavras-chave:Cão. Hipertensão ocular. Anti-inflamatório não-esteroidal. Glicocorticóide IntroduçãoO humor aquoso contido no olho exerce pressão contra a parede do bulbo ocular com uma força que é denominada pressão intra-ocular (PIO). 1A hipertensão ocular constitui um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de glaucoma 2,3,4,5 , sendo este fator o único passível de tratamento 3,6 . O glaucoma é definido como uma neuropatia óptica anterior progressiva caracterizada por escavação e atrofia do disco óptico e decréscimo na funcionalidade da retina 2,7,8 , geralmente acompanhada por valores de PIO maiores que 25 mmHg 9 . Sendo os danos irreversíveis e tendo a cegueira como resultado final, o diagnóstico e tratamento precoces seriam formas eficientes de retardar o seu aparecimento.

Background: Ocular biometrics is an easy to perform, safe, non-invasive and low-cost exam that provides immediate results with excellent definition. Brachycephalic dogs have a high risk of developing eye problems, and the early appearance is frequent due to factors linked to anatomical conformation. The aim of the present study was to perform eye biometrics in French Bulldog dogs through ultrasound, correlating with body and head size.Materials, Methods & Results: Clinical examination, ophthalmic examination and ocular biometrics were performed using B-mode ultrasonography, using a 10 megahertz frequency transducer in 30 French Bulldog dogs, aged 1-6 years old, male and females from the Br Lord's Staff kennel and the Radiovet - Rio de Janeiro veterinary clinic. A drop of anesthetic eye drops containing 1% tetracaine hydrochloride and 0.1% phenylephrine hydrochloride was instilled and the direct contact technique was performed with the cornea with the help of sterile water-soluble lubricating acoustic gel between the transducer and the examined eye. These measurements were correlated with cephalic measurements (frontal-occipital distance, skull circumference, distance between the zygomatic arches and frontal-nasal distance) and with body measurements (length of the dog from the cranial end of the sternum to the ischial tuberosity and height of the withers from the cranial angle of the scapula to the ground). No chemical restraint was necessary. Dogs were positioned seated or in sternal decubitus, with slight physical restraint. All measurements were performed by the same examiner. There was no significant difference between the parameters of male and female eye biometrics and there was no difference between the measurements of the right and left eyes. The mean value of axial bulb length was 19.51 ± 0.58 mm, for the thickness of the lens, 6.71 ± 0.66 mm, for depth of the anterior chamber, 2.36 ± 0.89 mm and for the depth of the vitreous chamber, 10.44 ± 1.32 mm, showing the same pattern as other studies with brachycephalic dogs. The size of the dog or skull did not interfere with the measurements of eye biometrics.Discussion: The French Bulldog breed was selected for this study due to the scarcity of publications on ocular biometrics in brachycephalic breeds.The knowledge of ocular biometrics is extremely important for the understanding and early diagnosis of some anomalies related to the growth of ocular structures. It is an essential method of exploration and diagnosis of diseases of the eye bulb and orbit, being indicated to evaluate variations in size, shape and position of the eye bulb. The casuistry of these dogs with eye diseases in the ophthalmological clinical routine is large, since they have a high risk of developing eye problems. Ultrasonography is an easy to access and safe, non-invasive exam and the direct corneal contact technique allows clearer images. As there was no significant difference in measurements of intraocular structures between the right and left eyes, the normal eye can be a reliable parameter to establish the prosthetic eye bulb for the injured or enucleated eye. In the present study, there were 21 females and 9 males, which may have generated interference in these values since there was no sex ratio. The measurements of axial length, lenticular thickness, depth of the anterior chamber and the vitreous chamber had values similar to other studies with brachycephalic dogs.