No abstract

IntroductionThe incidence of blindness due to methanol intoxication is higher in males of productive age. The management of methanol-induced toxic optic neuropathy is yet to produce satisfactory results. Antioxidant therapy is now used as an alternative method of preventing methanol intoxication. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl), a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic, on retinal ganglion cells in methanol-intoxicated rats.MethodsThis experimental study was conducted with 20 male Wistar rats that were 10–12 weeks old and weighed 300–350 g. The rats were divided into four groups that each received a different treatment: a negative control group, a positive control group, a methanol group, and a methanol + TEMPOL group. Enucleated eyes from all groups were sliced and stained using hematoxylin–eosin (HE). Retinal layer and ganglion cells were assessed based on cellular structure, cellular swelling, and vacuole formation in the ganglion cell layer as observed at × 200 magnification. The Kruskal–Wallis test and the Mann–Whitney test were used, with significance taken to correspond to p < 0.05.ResultsRetinal ganglion cells of the control group had fewer vacuoles and a more well-organized cellular structure compared to those of the methanol group. The histopathologic scores of the methanol-intoxicated group were lower than those of the TEMPOL therapy group; p = 0.011 (i.e., p < 0.05).ConclusionsTEMPOL had a positive impact on the cellular structure of retinal ganglion cells in methanol-intoxicated rats.

Since coronavirus disease 2019 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, it has become a challenging situation to continue medical education, including in Indonesia. The situation prohibited face-to-face (direct) educational activities in clinical settings, therefore also postponing examinations involving especially procedural skills. Adaptations were urgently needed to maintain the delivery of high-stake examinations to sustain the number of ophthalmology graduates and the continuation of eye health service. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been one of our widely used method to assess clinical competencies for ophthalmology residents, and is the one method that involves gatherings, close contact of examiners, examinees and patients, therefore the most difficult to adjust. Pandemic challenges brought technical changes in our delivering the OSCE to online, maximizing digital platforms of meetings, while still concerned to guarding the safety of candidates, patients and staffs. OSCE scenarios were also made as timely efficient as possible by changing continuous station models to a cascade one. The purpose of this article is to document our experience in conducting a feasible and reproducible OSCE in this pandemic era filled with limitations.

No abstract