Background: Measuring health-related quality of life (QOL) helps evaluating the efficiency of a treatment and identifies problems with major impact on the patient's QOL. However, these measures are safer if assessed by generic and specific instruments together, where it is necessary to check for compatibility between these and avoid repetitions and contradictions between the domains.

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PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the changes that occur in rats with experimental endometriosis after treatment with copaiba oil. METHODS: Experimental endometriosis was induced in rats. The experimental group received copaiba oil (Copaiferalangsdorffii) orally (0.63 mg/day), and the control group received a 0.9% sodium chloride solution orally (1 ml/100 g of body weight/day). Both groups were treated with gavage for 14 days. After this period, the animals were euthanized, and the implant volume was calculated. The autologous transplants were removed, dyed with hematoxylin-eosin, and analyzed by light microscopy. RESULTS: The average final volumes were significantly different between the groups (p=0.007). There was a significant increase (p=0.012) between the initial and final volumes in the control group, whereas treatment with Copaiferalangsdorffii caused a marked reduction in endometrial growth over time (p=0.016). Histologically, 6/11 (55.00%) rats in the experimental group had a well-preserved epithelial layer, and 3 (45.00%) had mildly preserved epithelium. The control group had seven cases (58.30%) of well-preserved epithelial cells and five cases (41.70%) of mildly preserved epithelial cells (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Copaiba oil (Copaiferalangsdorffii) appears to be a promising alternative treatment for endometriosis.

Background Although previous studies have evaluated the effect of anti-VEGF therapies for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) patients, the majority of previous studies have excluded or included a very small number of patients with ischemic CRVO (iCRVO). The aim of our study is to examine the effects of bevacizumab on macular edema secondary to ischemic central retinal vein occlusion, as well as the effects on central choroidal thickness and best-corrected visual acuity. Methods In this prospective, interventional case series, iCRVO was defined by the presence of ≥ 10 or more disc diameter areas of retinal nonperfusion by fluorescein angiography (FA) and by the presence of a b/a ratio less than 1.5 by full-field electroretinogram (ffERG). Nine eyes with iCRVO received monthly bevacizumab 0.5 mg injections at baseline and months 1 to 5 for a maximum of six injections. Main outcome measures were visual acuity (Snellen), central foveal thickness, and central choroidal thickness as measured by Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) at baseline and at 6 month following initial intravitreal bevacizumab injection. Pairwise t-tests and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were conducted to compare the outcome measures. Results After intravitreal administration of bevacizumab, there was a significant reduction of central foveal thickness from 858 ± 311 μm at baseline to 243 ± 106 μm at the 6-month follow-up, as well as a significant reduction of central choroidal thickness from 282 ± 38 μm at baseline to 227 ± 56 μm at the 6-month follow-up (p = 0.0006, p = 0.0003 respectively). The visual acuity worsened from a median of 1.3 to 1.7 (p = 0.02). Conclusion In patients with iCRVO, intravitreal bevacizumab led to a reduction of central macular edema and central choroidal thickness, but a worsening of visual acuity. Intravitreal bevacizumab reduces macular edema but is not able to overcome the poor prognosis of iCRVO.

Purpose: Late hypotony is an undesirable and challenging complication of glaucoma surgery. We describe our use of the Ologen Collagen Matrix to treat late hypotony developing after trabeculectomy. Study design: A retrospective study performed at three eye surgery centers in Brazil. Participants: Eighteen patients who underwent 19 eye surgeries. Intervention: Subconjunctival Ologen was implanted at the trabeculectomy sites to treat over-filtering or leaking blebs in patients experiencing late hypotony after trabeculectomy (obtained 6 months after glaucoma surgery). The primary outcome was the intraocular pressure (IOP); we gathered preoperative data records from 19 Ologen treated eyes and days 1, 7, 30, 60, and 180 postoperatively. The secondary outcomes included visual acuity and macular thickness measured via optical coherence tomography; we compared preoperative data to subsequent ones up to sixth-month-evolution. Results: Over the 6-month period, the IOP rose from 2.89 ± 1.59 mmHg preoperatively to 8.21 ± 3.46 mmHg ( p = 0.0001). Visual acuity improved from 0.33 ± 0.29 to 0.21 ± 0.31 LogMar ( p = 0.0013). Macular thickness fell from 325.62 ± 58.7 to 283.08 ± 47.35 µm ( p = 0.0097). We encountered two complications: one related to suture dehiscence following an ocular trauma and one instance of transitory choroidal detachment. Conclusion: Subconjunctival Ologen implants preserved bleb function and successfully treated post-trabeculectomy hypotony as revealed by data collected at the 6-month follow-up. Longer follow-up is necessary to confirm long-term efficacy and safety. There are no financial conflicts of interest to disclose.