No abstract

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to evaluate a measure of retinal thinning at the posterior pole in eyes with increasing axial myopia. Methods: 129 eyes of 79 healthy persons with different refractive conditions were examined using a commercially available prototype of retinal thickness analyzer. Results: Increasing myopia has been found to be accompanied by bulbus elongation, and calculation of the values obtained with the instrument revealed a significant decrease in retinal thickness at the posterior pole in eyes with increasing axial myopia, i.e. 4.8 μm/spherical equivalent in the foveolar region and 6.6 μm/spherical equivalent in the other areas of the posterior pole. Conclusion: Our data show retinal thinning at the posterior pole in myopic eyes based for the very first time on in vivo measurements. Furthermore, our findings might influence measurement data for other purposes, if the degree of myopia is not taken into account.

The influence of serum lipid fractions [triglyceride, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol] on the visual outcome after central laser photocoagulation of 39 patients (65 eyes) with clinically significant macular edema was investigated in a prospective study. Referring to normal Austrian serum lipid levels, the patients were classified into a normal and a pathological group for each of the 4 lipids. Concerning triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, the normal group (triglyceride < 2.29mmol/l, HDL cholesterol > 1.3 mmol/l) showed a statistically significantly better visual outcome than the pathological group. Also, patients with normal total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol values tended to achieve better results after treatment. We therefore conclude that serum lipid fractions may influence not only the success of laser treatment but also the corse of diabetic macular edema.

The neuropeptide secretoneurin has been detected in the anterior segment of the eye for the first time. The elevation of secretoneurin in formaldehyde-treated eyes may be induced by an enhanced release from the iris/ciliary body complex, as formaldehyde is known to provoke neurogenic inflammation in the anterior segment via release of sensory peptides originating from the trigeminal ganglion. This is why our results indicate a sensory origin of secretoneurin in the eye.