Topical rhNGF is safe and more effective than vehicle in promoting healing of moderate-to-severe NK.

The visual limitation in keratoconus could be explained by different alterations that occur in these corneas and allowed development of a new grading system for this condition.

Patients treated with a combination of topical bromfenac 0.09% and dexamethasone 0.1% had a lower risk for developing CSME after cataract surgery than patients treated with a single drug.

PURPOSE: To analyze the outcomes of intracorneal ring segment (ICRS) implantation for the treatment of keratoconus based on preoperative visual impairment. DESIGN: Multicenter, retrospective, nonrandomized study.METHODS: A total of 611 eyes of 361 keratoconic patients were evaluated. Subjects were classified according to their preoperative corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) into 5 different groups: grade I, CDVA of 0.90 or better; grade II, CDVA equal to or better than 0.60 and worse than 0.90; grade III, CDVA equal to or better than 0.40 and worse than 0.60; grade IV, CDVA equal to or better than 0.20 and worse than 0.40; and grade plus, CDVA worse than 0.20. Success and failure indices were defined based on visual, refractive, corneal topographic, and aberrometric data and evaluated in each group 6 months after ICRS implantation.RESULTS: Significant improvement after the procedure was observed regarding uncorrected distance visual acuity in all grades (P < .05). CDVA significantly decreased in grade I (P < .01) but significantly increased in all other grades (P < .05). A total of 37.9% of patients with preoperative CDVA 0.6 or better gained 1 or more lines of CDVA, whereas 82.8% of patients with preoperative CDVA 0.4 or worse gained 1 or more lines of CDVA (P < .01). Spherical equivalent and keratometry readings showed a significant reduction in all grades (P £ .02). Corneal higher-order aberrations did not change after the procedure (P ‡ .05).CONCLUSIONS: Based on preoperative visual impairment, ICRS implantation provides significantly better results in patients with a severe form of the disease. K ERATOCONUS IS AN ECTATIC DEBILITATING corneal disorder characterized by a progressive corneal thinning that results in corneal protrusion, irregular astigmatism, and decreased vision. 1 A variety of options have been described for the management of this pathologic condition, such as rigid gas-permeable contact lenses, 2 corneal collagen cross-linking, 3 intracorneal ring segment implantation, 4-11 or keratoplasty. 12 In a number of studies intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) have been demonstrated to be effective in improving visual acuity and reducing the refractive error and the mean keratometry in selected cases of keratoconic eyes. 4-11 Such a positive therapeutic effect is considered to be based on the induction of a remodeling of the corneal anterior and posterior surface's topography, which improves the optical quality of the cornea and reduces the optical aberrations, with consequent improvement in best-corrected visual acuity. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Although in the healthy cornea, the sectorial arcuate addition to the corneal local volume caused by these implants at the corneal midperiphery induces a flattening of the central cornea in an arc-shortening effect, with the consequence of a decrease in myopic spherical equivalent attributable to the overall reduction in the optical power of the cornea, 13 such corneal modeling effect may be different in structurally abnormal corneas such as in keratoco...

Genetic and epidemiologic studies have shown that lipid genes and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) are implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We studied circulating lipid levels in relation to AMD in a large European dataset, and investigated whether this relationship is driven by certain sub fractions. Design: (Pooled) analysis of cross-sectional data. Participants: 30,953 individuals aged 50+ participating in the E3 consortium; and 1530 individuals from the Rotterdam Study with lipid sub fraction data. Methods: In E3, AMD features were graded per eye on fundus photographs using the Rotterdam Classification. Routine blood lipid measurements were available from each participant. Data on genetics, medication and confounders such as body mass index, were obtained from a common database. In a subgroup of the Rotterdam Study, lipid sub fractions were identified by the Nightingale biomarker platform. Random-intercepts mixed-effects models incorporating confounders and study site as a random-effect were used to estimate the associations. Main Outcome Measures: early, late or any AMD, phenotypic features of early AMD, lipid measurements. Results: HDL was associated with an increased risk of AMD, corrected for potential confounders (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.21 per 1mmol/L increase (95% confidence interval[CI] 1.14-1.29); while triglycerides were associated with a decreased risk (OR 0.94 per 1mmol/L increase [95%CI 0.91-0.97]). Both were associated with drusen size, higher HDL raises the odds of larger drusen while higher triglycerides decreases the odds. LDL-cholesterol only reached statistical significance in the association with early AMD (p=0.045). Regarding lipid sub fractions: the concentration of extra-large HDL particles showed the most prominent association with AMD (OR 1.24 [95%CI 1.10-1.40]). The CETP risk variant (rs17231506) for AMD was in line with increased-HDL levels (p=7.7x10-7); but LIPC risk variants (rs2043085, rs2070895) were associated in an opposite way (p=1.0x10-6 and 1.6x10-4). Conclusions: Our study suggests that HDL-cholesterol is associated with increased risk of AMD and triglycerides negatively associated. Both show the strongest association with early AMD and drusen. Extra-large HDL sub fractions seem to be drivers in the relation with AMD, variants in lipid genes play a more ambiguous role in this association. Whether systemic lipids directly influence AMD or represent lipid metabolism in the retina remains a question to be answered.