Purpose To compare the measurements of intraocular pressure (IOP) with dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) in healthy and glaucomatous eyes and to evaluate the influence of corneal thickness (CCT), corneal curvature (CC), axial length (AL), and age on these tonometric alternatives. Methods Three hundred eyes of 100 healthy subjects, 100 patients with primary open angle glaucoma, and 100 patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma underwent IOP evaluation with DCT and GAT, and measurements of CCT, CC, and AL. Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between tonometers. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of ocular structural factors on IOP measurements obtained with both tonometers. Results Bland-Altman plots indicated that the 95% limits of agreement between tonometers were À1.4 to 6.6 mmHg. DCT values measured 2.6 ± 1.9 mmHg higher than GAT readings (Po0.001). The mean IOP difference between DCT and GAT (DIOP) was higher in healthy than in glaucomatous eyes and the magnitude of difference increased with increasing CCT. A significant reduction of DIOP with an increase in both CCT (Po0.001) and IOP values (Po0.001) was found. Regression analysis showed no effect of CC, AL, and age on both DCT and GAT readings. In contrast to GAT (Po0.001), DCT measurements were not influenced by CCT (P ¼ 0.43).Conclusions IOP readings obtained by DCT were higher and less affected by CCT than those by GAT. The DIOP was higher in healthy than in glaucomatous eyes and decreased in relation to increased CCT and IOP values.

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Gas tamponade with cyclocryotherapy represents a minimally invasive technique that is worth considering for patients with cyclodialysis clefts associated with a shallow anterior chamber and that had failed to respond to medical therapy. This technique should be useful in cases of cyclodialysis clefts that are not amenable to treatment with more conservative efforts.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of cysteine oral supplements in corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). Methods: A total of 200 eyes (100 patients) underwent PRK. We divided patients into 2 groups; each group was composed of 50 patients (100 eyes). Group 1 patients were assigned to use oral L-cysteine, with a daily dose of 200 mg (100-mg pills to be taken twice a day) for a duration of 14 days, starting from the week preceding the operation; the patients in group 2 were used as a control, and received the oral supplementation of 40-mg placebo pills to be taken twice a day for a duration of 14 days, starting from the week preceding the operation. Results: All the eyes of patients treated with cysteine oral supplements showed shorter times to re-epithelization than the eyes of the control group. The mean time of corneal wound healing observed in group 1 was 102 ± 15 h, compared to an average of 159 ± 9 h in group 2. Conclusion: Our research showed that oral cysteine supplementation, in a daily dose of 200 mg, reduces mean corneal wound healing time in patients after PRK.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of preparedbasic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) eyedrops in corneal epithelial healing of transgenic mice after excimer laser photoablation. Materials and Methods: In our prospective case series, 60 eyes of 30 mice had uneventful bilateral excimer laser photoablation. In each mouse, 1 eye received the standard topical postoperative therapy with tobramicin, diclofenac and dexamethasone eyedrops, plusbFGF eyedrops 5 μg/10 μl PBS 3 times a day for 1 week, or until corneal reepithelialization was complete. The fellow eye served as the control and received the standard postoperative therapy plus placebo. The mice were monitored daily, commencing the day after surgery and for 7 days, in order to evaluate the corneal reepithelialization rate by using a video slitlamp camera with a cobalt blue light. The mean diameter of the corneal wounds was measured. Videotaped images were recorded and analyzed by computer planimetry. Results: All the eyes treated withbFGF eyedrops healed completely before day 5 after surgery, with a mean reepithelialization time of 90 ± 12 h (standard deviation); the mean reepithelialization time was 124 ± 10 h in those eyes receiving placebo. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in corneal haze presentation during the follow-up, perhaps because the time period was too brief (7 days). However, corneal clarity on slitlamp biomicroscopy was greater in the study group than in the control group. No side effects or toxic effects were documented. Conclusions: These data suggest that the bFGF significantly accelerates epithelial healing after excimer photoablation. A further clinical study should be performed to prove the results obtained in this study as well as the long-term efficacy of bFGF to prevent corneal haze.