The macular hole closure rate, improved visual acuity, and no extra complications indicate noninferiority of the modified inverted ILM technique. Internal limiting membrane finishing, tucking, and massage may not be required to obtain surgical success.

Intraoperative sustained-release dexamethasone implant, a powerful antiinflammatory agent with significant efficacy in vitrectomized eyes, did not result in a significant change in macular thickness and volume compared with the vitrectomy alone without dexamethasone implant at 6-month follow-up. These data support the hypothesis that its etiology does not seem to be mainly related to an inflammatory process.

C-X-C chemokine receptor (CXCR)3 and its interferon(IFN)γ-dependent chemokines (CXCL10, CXCL9, CXCL11) are implicated in the immune-pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroiditis (AT), Graves disease (GD) and Graves Ophthalmopathy (GO). In tissue, recruited Th1 lymphocytes produce IFNγ, enhancing the tissue secretion of IFNγ-inducible chemokines, initiating and perpetuating the autoimmune process. Patients with AT (with hypothyroidism), and with GO and GD, particularly in the active phase, have high IFNγ-inducible chemokines. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ or -α agonists and methimazole exert an immune-modulation on CXCR3 chemokines in AT, GD and GO. Other studies are ongoing to evaluate new molecules acting as antagonists of CXCR3, or blocking CXCL10, in Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), GD and GO. Recently, novel molecules targeting the various agents involved in the pathogenesis of GO, such as rituximab, have been proposed as an alternative to corticosteroids. However, randomized and controlled studies are needed to generalize these interesting results.

Objective: Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by visual acuity and contrast sensitivity loss, refractory to pharmacological and optical treatments in adulthood. In animals, the corpus callosum (CC) contributes to suppression of visual responses of the amblyopic eye. To investigate the role of interhemispheric pathways in amblyopic patients, we studied the response of the visual cortex to transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) applied over the primary visual area (V1) contralateral to the “lazy eye.”Methods: Visual acuity (logMAR) was assessed before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 60’ following the application of cathodal tDCS (2.0 mA, 20’) in 12 amblyopic patients. At each time point, Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs) triggered by grating stimuli of different contrasts (K90%, K20%) were recorded in both hemispheres and compared to those obtained in healthy volunteers.Results: Cathodal tDCS improved visual acuity respect to baseline (p < 0.0001), whereas sham polarization had no significant effect. At T1, tDCS induced an inhibitory effect on VEPs amplitudes at all contrasts in the targeted side and a facilitation of responses in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the amblyopic eye; compared with controls, the facilitation persisted at T2 for high contrasts (K90%; Holm–Sidak post hoc method, p < 0.001), while the stimulated hemisphere recovered more quickly from inhibition (Holm–Sidak post hoc method, p < 0.001).Conclusions: tDCS is a promising treatment for amblyopia in adults. The rapid recovery of excitability and the concurrent transcallosal disinhibition following perturbation of cortical activity may support a critical role of interhemispheric balance in the pathophysiology of amblyopia.

UHS 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy is a safe procedure for treatment of elective vitreous-retina cases. The risk of developing iatrogenic breaks seems to be correlated with adhesion of the posterior vitreous hyaloid. Other complications, such as rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or hypotony, were similar to previous reports. No correlation was found between iatrogenic retina breaks and other complications.