Articles

Recombinant human Nerve Growth Factor (rhNGF) may offer hope for patients with neurotrophic keratitis (NK), according to researchers in Milan, Italy, who presented preliminary data from a Phase I study at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

A tetracycline-inducible Cre mouse line created specifically to study the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is suitable for Cre/lox-based gene activation and inactivation in adult RPE, which makes the mice suitable for long-term studies requiring conditional gene targeting.

Implantation of a capsular tension ring effectively reduces the percentage area of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) and the Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy rate in patients with highly myopic eyes, according to researchers in Albania and Turkey.

Cigarette smoking causes a temporary but significant increase in choroidal thickness, according to research conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.

The eXcellence in Ophthalmology Vision Award (XOVA) competition is accepting entries until 30 June.

This year, the Vision UK 2014 conference was to be held on Thursday 12 June at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London, UK. Attendees can look forward to key opinion leaders discussing the UK Vision Strategy and emphasizing the initiatives that need to be implemented across the UK.

For a small percentage of patients who have macular holes, ocriplasmin injection represents an adequate treatment option; however, for most patients, pars plana vitrectomy will likely remain the treatment of choice.

In children, implantation of a multifocal IOL remains a topic of debate. With lacking evidence on post surgery outcomes and no head-to-head comparison of multifocal IOLs in children, this issue remains to be clarified. Therefore, the authors of this article were prompted to perform research in this area to address a number of concerns among paediatric ophthalmologists.

In this article, Dr Portaliou discusses a new multi-component adjustable lens that may be the answer paediatric ophthalmologists have been waiting for.

Determining the optimal IOL power for children is as much an art as a science.

Glaucoma, but not ageing, changes rapid contrast adaptation, which is vital to visual processing in natural visual environments, say researchers from Australia in a recent study.

Cyclosporine A (CSA) protects retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) against glutamate-induced excitotoxicty and should be tested to see whether its neuroprotective properties will work against RGC disorders, researchers recently reported

Oral diclofenac sufficiently manages pain after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and adding topical diclofenac 0.1% drops to a post-PRK oral diclofenac regimen does not add any additional pain-control benefit, according to recent research.

Intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) stabilizes vision in patients with retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), according to researchers from Japan.

Novaliq GmbH is launching a Phase 1 study of its 0.05% clear cyclosporine solution (CyclASol) following European and US patent approval of the solution for the treatment of dry eye syndrome.

Endophthalmitis is most often caused by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, and the antibiotics vancomycin and ceftazidime seem to perform well in treating it. That was one of the findings of a 25-year retrospective study conducted by Dr Ronald C. Gentile, of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and his colleagues in New York City and San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Cataract patients who have astigmatism of greater than 2.5 D are likely to benefit more from the implantation of a high-cylinder toric intraocular lens (IOL) than from the implantation of a low-cylinder toric IOL combined with limbal relaxing incision (LRI), according to research conducted at the Ouchi Eye Clinic and Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

Central visual field (VF) progression is faster in patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and lower heart-rate variability than it is in NTG patients with higher heart-rate variability, according to recently published research.

Patients receiving anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) exhibit a distinct response pattern and time course of certain retinal morphologic changes.

Lens geometry and gradient refractive index (GRIN) can be reconstructed in isolated human lenses by using 3D optical coherence tomography and laser ray tracing, and both geometrical changes and the increase in the meridional power of GRIN play a role in lens spherical aberration caused by age, according to researchers in Madrid.

Commercially available scleral lenses can help manage moderate to severe ocular surface disease (OSD), according to new research out of the Mayo Clinic. As a bonus, the lenses can improve visual acuity (VA) in those whose vision has been negatively affected by the disease.

Peripheral iris thickness is associated with iridotrabecular contact (ITC) in those who have angle closure, according to new research out of Japan.

Internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling surgery causes significant modification of retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, according to researchers at the Ophthalmology Units of the University of Bologna and the Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic.

Implantation of an intracorneal inlay (Kamra, AcuFocus) modified the normal structure of the corneal layer of the eye but did not cause severe complications in a recent small study.

Bruch's membrane thickness is not related to axial length in highly myopic eyes, and axially elongated eyes - despite having thinning of the sclera and choroid - have a normal Bruch's membrane thickness.

Physical activity and the occasional alcoholic libation may help decrease the risk of developing visual impairment, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Urgent vitrectomy/phacovitrectomy to treat retinal detachment will produce the best postoperative visual acuity when it is conducted within 2 days or less of the detachment, according to a recent study.

When predicting topographical change in corneal remodelling, the new curvature gradient map, acquired immediately after surgery, predicted change in tangential curvature over the subsequent 12 months in areas where initial tangential curvature was greatest.

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome is a significant risk factor for normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), according to a newly published research article.

Temperatures measured by a newly developed non-contact ocular surface thermographer (OST) can be used to evaluate the efficacy of topical anti-allergic agents because of the significant correlation of the conjunctival surface temperature and the severity of conjunctival allergic reaction, according to recently published data.