OPHTHALMOLOGICA - VOL: 234 ISSUE: 2

CROSS-HAIR SCAN OCT GIVES ACCURATE PROTECTION

Cross-hair scan spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) appears to provide an accurate measurement of changes in retinal fluid volume in eyes of patients receiving intravitreal ranibizumab for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to the results of a retrospective study. The study’s authors assessed visual acuity (VA) and the presence of retinal fluid using volume and cross-hair scan protocols in 31 treatment-naive patients receiving three intravitreal ranibizumab injections at monthly intervals. VA improved and central retinal thickness decreased significantly during the loading phase. Retinal fluid persisted in two thirds of the patients, but visual improvement was independent of the presence of the residual fluid. The cross-hair scan detected fluid with an accuracy of 93 per cent and may be sufficient for daily practice, the authors concluded. A Ebneter et al, “The Presence of Intra- or Subretinal Fluid during the Loading Phase in the Treatment of Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Intravitreal Ranibizumab Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography”, Ophthalmologica 2015; Volume 234 , Issue 2.

IDEBENONE PROTECTS RPE CELLS

Pre-treatment with the neuroprotective agent idebenone appears to improve the survival rate of cultured retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells when later challenged with exposure to hydrogen peroxide, according to a new study. The pre-treated cells in the study also had reduced levels of the proapoptotic factor BAX and increased levels of the antiapoptotic factor Bcl-2. Furthermore, the pre-treated cells had a significantly attenuated induction of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) and intracellular reactive oxygen species. N Arend et al, “Idebenone Prevents Oxidative Stress, Cell Death and Senescence of Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells by Stabilizing BAX/Bcl-2 Ratio”, Ophthalmologica 2015; Volume 234 , Issue 2.

25-GUAGE VITRECTOMY EFFECTIVE IN SELECT CASES

In patients with retained lens fragments following cataract surgery, 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) appears to provide its best results in cases with a smaller amount of fragments and in those treated during the first postoperative week, the findings of a retrospective study indicate. The study involved 40 eyes of 40 patients with a mean age of 78 years and a mean preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/80. By the sixth postoperative month, their mean logMAR BCVA had improved to 20/32. Retinal detachment occurred in four patients (10 per cent), all in patients with more than half of the nucleus in the vitreous (p<0.002). 

A Scupola et al, “25-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy for Retained Lens Fragments in Complicated Cataract Surgery”, Ophthalmologica 2015; Volume 234, Issue 2.