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Purpose: To investigate the value of serum apelin-13 levels in age-related macular degeneration patients. Methods: Patients with dry-type AMD, treatment-naive neovascular-type AMD and the healthy control group were included in this study. Patients diagnoses were confirmed with detailed fundus examination, optical cohorence tomography and fundus flourescein angiography findings. Central foveal thickness and subfoveal choroidal thickness were evaluated. Both serum apelin-13 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were measured by competitive-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) principle. Results: A total of 84 patients, including 24 patients in the dry-type AMD group (group 1), 27 patients in the neovascular-type AMD (group 2) group and 33 in the control group (group 3) were included in the study. Mean BCVA were 76±4,5, 48,4±16,3, 83,4±3,09 ETDRS letters in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Values of serum VEGF were 44.11±26.14 pg/mL, 56.53±53.77 pg/mL and 61.47±41.62 pg/mL in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p=0.553, p=0.286, p=0.896, respectively). Values of serum apelin-13 were 586.47±167.56 pg/mL, 622.18±324.52 pg/mL, 379. 31±171.96 pg/mL in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively (p=0.847, p=0.04, p≤0.001, respectively). There was a negative correlation between the value of serum apelin and visual acuity and choroid thickness. Conclusion: Serum apelin-13 were higher in both dry-type AMD patients and neovascular AMD patients compared to the control group. Further studies are needed.

The aim in this study was to investigate if the use of dexpanthenol could play a role in the relief of pain in the treatment of corneal abrasions (CA). Materials and methods: Patients presenting to the ophthalmology department and had a diagnosis of CA were conducted in this retrospective, case-control study. A detailed ocular examination was done and pain severity was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) score. In group 1, subjects were treated with only topical ofloxacin 0.3% while subjects in group 2 were treated with topical ofloxacin 0.3% and dexpanthenol. Foreign body sensation, photophobia, excessive lacrimation and VAS were documented on the first, third and seventh days of follow up examinations. Results: 70 patients were allocated into group 1 and 68 patients were allocated into group 2. There were significant differences in VAS scores between the groups on the first, third and seventh days of follow up (p=0.002, p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). VAS scores were lower in group-2. There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in terms of photophobia, foreign body sensation, excessive lacrimation (p>0.05). All patients were free of any complications. Conclusion:Although it was shown that adding topical dexpanthenol to the treatment regimen could permit faster pain relief in treating CAs, the prospective studies should be done.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT) and lamina cribrosa depth (LCD) in adolescence with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and compare with those receiving methylphenidate (MPH) and healthy controls. Methods: Fifty-five children with ADHD (9.23 ± 1.92 years, mean ± standard deviation), 41 children with ADHD given MPH (9.24 ± 1.84 years), and 86 healthy controls (9.95 ± 2.16 years) were recruited for the study. All subjects were subjected to a complete eye exam and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to assess LCT and LCD. The severity of ADHD symptoms was evaluated by using parent-report measures, including Conners’s Parent Rating Scale–Revised: Short Form (CPRS-R: S) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Parent Form (SDQ: P). Results: The study showed a significant finding between the research groups with regard to LCT. LCT was shown to be significantly increased in ADHD subjects given MPH compared with the controls. However, LCD was not significantly different between cohorts. Also, a significant inverse correlation was found between the SDQ: P–Emotional Problems Subscale and LCT ( r = −0.253; P = 0.030) in ADHD patients. Conclusion: Changes in lamina cribrosa (LC) in ADHD children receiving MPH suggest that the mechanism of action for MPH may target developing LC structures. More studies to define the relationship between MPH medications and the LC variations are defensible.