ELECTRORETINOGRAPHY IN SOLAR MACULAR INJURY

Casteldaccia eye study: prevalence of cataract in the adult and elderly population of a Mediterranean town.

Prevalence of cataract was studied in a population based survey performed in adults aged 40 years or more living in Casteldaccia, a small Sicilian town. Lens opacities of moderate or severe grade (type II or worse, according to the Lens Opacity Classification System II) were found at the following rates: nuclear opalescence in 18.5%, cortical cataract in 12.9%, posterior subcapsular cataract in 10.8%. All these types of cataract were much more frequent in the elderly population and were about 1.5 times more common in women than in men. Late cataract was found in about 1/3 of subjects aged 60 to 69 years, in 2/3 of subjects aged 70 or more, but rarely under 60 years of age. However, early ca…

Efficacy and safety of combined diclofenac 0.1 % and gentamicin 0.3 eyedrops after phacoemulsification

To study the efficacy of combined diclofenac 0.1% and gentamicin 0.3% (Digen) eyedrops to treat postoperative inflammation and prevent ocular infection in eyes having phacoemulsification.Department of Ophthalmology, University of Milan, San Paolo Hospital, Milan; Eye Clinic, University of Verona; and Department of Ophthalmology, University of Palermo, Italy.This double-masked, randomized, clinical trial comprised 90 patients; 45 received Digen and 45, gentamicin 0.3% eyedrops. The main outcome measure of the study was the reduction in signs and symptoms of inflammation, graded on a four-point scale. Also assessed were the presence of bacteria in the conjunctival swab and the proportion of p…

Clinical patterns and electrophysiological findings in retinal pigment epithelium diseases. Does a correlation exist?

At present it is difficult to distinguish those human chorioretinal diseases in which the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the primary site of dysfunction. This difficulty is caused by several factors such as scarcity of biochemical and histological information and a lack of correlation of basic science information available with the clinical body of knowledge. In the present study we examined 134 eyes at early or late stages of hereditary diseases involving the RPE. We tried to distinguish primary RPE involvement by using standard ERG (a- and b-wave) and EOG testing. We conclude that in general primary RPE damage can be better assessed by current electrophysiology in those diseases whic…

The role of electroretinography in the diagnosis and prognosis of retinitis pigmentosa.

Lactate Dehydrogenase Isozymes in the Developing Rat Brain

THE immaturity and the lack of differentiation of the rat brain at birth has been shown some fifty years ago by Sugita1 in a classic paper on the postnatal morphogenesis of the brain in this animal. The sequence of physiological and biochemical changes which parallel the histological maturation of the rat brain has been investigated, however, only recently.

The electrofunctional investigations in the diagnosis of orbital diseases

The importance of electrofunctional examinations (electroretinography, electro-oculography and visual evoked potentials) in orbital diseases is emphasized. Although such tests cannot give the same support to the clinical diagnosis as ultrasonography or CT scanning, they do give information about the functional state of the various orbital components. Visual evoked potentials can monitor the functionality of the optic nerve during and after trauma or compressive orbital diseases; electroretinography shows retinal changes secondary to traumatic or vascular orbital diseases, while electro-oculography allows to record extraocular muscle dysfunction.

Effects of retinotoxic drugs on rats heterozygotic for recessive retinitis pigmentosa

Psychophysical and electrofunctional contrast sensitivity in cataractous patients treated with bendazac-lysine salt

The clinical progression of the cataract may be influenced by drugs which reduce the denaturation of lens proteins. One of the most promising drugs is the bendazac-lysine salt. The drug was used in a double-blind study of a group of patients with initial cortical cataract in order to evaluate the changes in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity by means of a psychophysical and an electrophysiological method. After 6 months of treatment with bendazac the mean values of visual acuity showed a statistically significant increase in respect to baseline values, as well as an improvement of the threshold of contrast for most spatial frequencies. In the eyes treated with placebo there was no stati…

LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE ISOENZYMES IN THE NERVOUS TISSUE. IV. AN ONTOGENETIC STUDY ON THE RAT BRAIN.

Prevalence and causes of blindness and low vision in the Casteldaccia Eye Study.

In a population-based survey performed on the middle-aged and elderly population of Casteldaccia, Sicily, we found that the prevalence of blindness was 0.47% and the prevalence of low vision 1.22%. Unilateral blindness affected 2.81% of the population and unilateral low vision 4.12%. Visual impairment was much more frequently seen in subjects aged 70 years or more than in younger persons. The main cause of visual impairment was cataract, followed by amblyopia, which was responsible for many cases of unilateral low vision.

Prevalence of glaucoma and distribution of intraocular pressure in a population. The Casteldaccia Eye Study.

IOP was measured in 1062 middle-aged and elderly subjects of a small Sicilian town, enrolled in a population based survey. The mean IOP was 15.1 +/- 3.7 mmHg without interocular or sex differences. A small but significant age-dependent increase of IOP was found. Circadian and seasonal influences were recorded: IOP was higher in the morning and in winter. The prevalence of chronic open-angle glaucoma was 1.2%, but it grew to 3.6 if only subjects aged 70 years or more were considered. IOP of 24 mmHg or more was found in 2.7%, while 4.3% of subjects showed IOP of 21 mmHg or more. This survey shows that mean IOP of the Mediterranean population studied is similar to the IOP found in other epidem…

Efficacy of diclofenac eyedrops in preventing postoperative inflammation and long-term cystoid macular edema.

Abstract Purpose: To compare the efficacy and tolerance of diclofenac 0.1 % eyedrops with a regimen that included a brief course of steroids in the treatment of postoperative inflammation after extracapsular cataract surgery and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. A second objective was to compare the efficacy of diclofenac 0.1% eyedrops in the same patients and control group in preventing cystoid macular edema (CME). Setting: Eight university/hospital centers and one company in Italy. Methods: The multicenter, controlled, randomized, prospective, double-blind study included 281 patients. All were evaluated at baseline, at surgery, and after 1, 5, 36, 67, and 140 days. Postoper…

Amino acid transport in the retina.

The uptake, exit, homoexchange, inhibitory pattern, and kinetic analysis of transport of three amino acids were studied in the isolated retina of adult rat under different metabolic conditions. Only in the case of glycine, uptake and exit were shown to duplicate the processes observed in brain slices. In the case of lysine, glucose and oxygen showed an inhibitory effect, but with glutamate spontaneous exit could not be measured. It was also found that the rate of homoexchange for glycine and glutamate, but not for lysine, increases in the presence of oxygen and glucose.

Risk factors of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. The Casteldaccia Eye Study.

A case-control study was planned as a part of the Casteldaccia Eye Study in order to investigate about risk factors of ocular hypertension and glaucoma. Cases were 44 subjects with glaucoma or intraocular pressure of 24 mm Hg or more. Controls were 220 subjects with intraocular pressure of 20 mm Hg or less and no signs of glaucoma. A number of environmental, behavioral, systemic and ocular variables were studied. Among the others we investigated the following: sunlight exposure, smoking, alcohol intake, pregnancies, systemic hypertension, diabetes, use of corticosteroids, refractive status, anterior chamber depth, lens nuclear sclerosis, iris color and texture. After univariate analysis the…

ATPase in the normal and dystrophic developing retina of the rat

Viene descritto un aumento significativo dell'attivita specifica dell'ATPasi (attivita/mg proteine) durante lo sviluppo post-natale della retina in ratti normali ed in ratti con retinite pigmentosa ereditaria. Il rapporto tra attivita ATPasica in presenza di Mg++-Na+-K+ ed attivita ATPasica in presenza di Mg++ non varia nella retina normale, mentre esso va incontro ad un precoce declino durante lo sviluppo della retina distrofica. Il significato di questi dati e discusso molto brevemente.