SummaryA series of coagulation parameters and lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) were explored in plasma from 40 patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO, non-ischemic type n = 12; ischemic type n = 28) free of local and systemic predisposing factors, 1 to 12 months after the acute event. Forty age- and sex-matched patients with cataract served as controls. Prothrombin fragment 1.2 (FI.2), D-dimer, FVII:C - but not FVII: Ag - were higher and fibrinogen was lower in CRVO patients than in controls. Patients with non-ischemic CRVO had higher FI .2 and FVII:C and lower heparin cofactor II than patients with ischemic CRVO. Lp(a) levels greater than 300 mg/1 were observed in 12 patients with CRVO and in 4 controls (30% vs 10%, p <0.025). Patients with high Lp(a) - consistently associated with the S2 phenotype - had higher FVII:C, FVII:C/Ag ratio, and fibrinogen than the remaining CRVO patients. Plasma FI.2 and D-dimer correlated fairly in controls (r = 0.41) and patients with normal Lp(a) levels (r = 0.55), but they did not in the group of patients with high Lp(a) (r = 0.19), where the latter parameter was negatively related to D-dimer (r = −0.55). There was no dependence of the abnormalities observed on the time elapsed from vein occlusion. The findings of activated FVII and high FI.2, D-dimer, and Lp(a) are not uncommon in patients with CRVO. Increased thrombin formation with fibrin deposition and impaired fibrinolysis may play a role in the pathophysiology of CRVO and require specific treatment

No abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the range of diameters of extraocular muscles in myopic patients and to obtain the baseline data to follow progression or regression of pathologies involving them. Standardized A scan and B scan ultrasound was used to measure the thickness of straight extraocular muscles at the muscle belly. No statistical differences were seen between right and left eyes. We found no consistent correlation with age or with axial length in the control or in the myopic patients (p>0.05). Diameters in myopic and control eyes were similar. This lack of difference between myopic and control muscle sizes means that we can obtain accurate measurements also from myopic patients.