Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a well-characterized and extensively studied disease. It is currently considered the leading cause of visual disability among patients over 60 years. The hallmark of early AMD is the formation of drusen, pigmentary changes at the macula, and mild to moderate vision loss. There are two forms of AMD: the “dry” and the “wet” form that is less frequent but is responsible for 90% of acute blindness due to AMD. Risk factors have been associated with AMD progression, and they are taking relevance to understand how AMD develops: (1) advanced age and the exposition to environmental factors inducing high levels of oxidative stress damaging the macula and (2) this damage, which causes inflammation inducing a vicious cycle, altogether causing central vision loss. There is neither a cure nor treatment to prevent AMD. However, there are some treatments available for the wet form of AMD. This article will review some molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with the onset of AMD focusing on feasible treatments for each related factor in the development of this pathology such as vascular endothelial growth factor, oxidative stress, failure of the clearance of proteins and organelles, and glial cell dysfunction in AMD.

The active-fluidics Centurion phacoemulsification system achieved higher surgical efficiency than the gravity-fluidics Infiniti IP system for NII and NIII cataracts.

The aim of our investigation was to examine the possible correlations between optical aberrations, angle kappa, angle alpha, and visual outcomes following cataract surgery. In total, 56 eyes of 28 patients were implanted with the Liberty 677MY trifocal intraocular lens (IOL). Pre- and postoperative higher-order aberrations, coma, astigmatism, angle alpha, and angle kappa were registered, along with uncorrected and corrected visual acuities at multiple distances. Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity defocus curves were plotted, and the areas under the curve were calculated 1 and 3 months postoperatively. Excellent visual outcomes were found at all distances. Patients reported low levels of dysphotopsia, and 96.4% of patients achieved complete spectacle independence. While angle kappa significantly decreased during cataract surgery (p = 0.0007), angle alpha remained unchanged (p = 0.5158). Angle alpha correlated with postoperative HOAs and had a negative impact on near vision (p = 0.0543). Preoperative corneal HOA and coma had a strong adverse effect on future intermediate and near vision. Residual astigmatism significantly affected postoperative intermediate vision (p = 0.0091). Our results suggest that angle kappa is not an optimal predictive factor for future visual outcomes, while angle alpha and the preoperative screening of optical aberrations might help patient selection prior to multifocal IOL implantation.

Purpose: To assess the effect of patient education on videotaped topical instillation of artificial tear drops on subsequent topical instillation.Materials and methods: Forty-five patients, who had been using glaucoma drops for at least 6 months and with a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/100 or better, were studied. The patients were asked to instill an artificial tear drop using their accustomed technique while being video recorded. The patients viewed the recordings, and the errors in their drop instillation method were pointed out. This was followed by an educational session on proper drop instillation technique. After 30 minutes, patients were videotaped instilling drops to ascertain the effect of the educational session. The variables compared were: number of drops instilled, number of drops reaching the ocular surface, and the number of times the tip of the medication bottle touched the eye or ocular adnexa.Results: Before the instruction session, patients squeezed an average of 1.5 ± 0.9 drops from the bottle, and the average number of drops reaching the conjunctival fornix was 0.9 ± 0.7. The tip of the bottle touched the ocular adnexa in 29/45 (64.4%) patients. After the education session, the patients squeezed an average of 1.2 ± 0.5 drops and an average of 1.2 ± 0.4 drops reached the conjunctival fornix. The tip of the bottle touched the ocular adnexa in 13/45 (28.9%) patients. With proper instructions, the percentage of patients that instilled just one drop on the eye increased from 66 to 82%.Conclusion: A single educational session on the proper use of topical drops improves the successful instillation of eye drops. However, it was not determined whether the patients will retain the improved instillation technique for long-term or if the intervention results in only a short-term improvement.How to cite this article: Lazcano-Gomez G, Castillejos A, Kahook M, Jimenez-Roman J, Gonzalez-Salinas R. Video-graphic Assessment of Glaucoma Drop Instillation. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2015;9(2):47-50.

To evaluate indications and outcomes of pediatric keratoplasty in a tertiary eye center, and identify factors that affect visual outcomes.We performed a retrospective review of penetrating keratoplasty in children aged 0 to 18 years between 1995 and 2011 in the Asociación para Evitar la Ceguera en México IAP, Hospital “Dr. Luis Sánchez Bulnes”.A total of 574 penetrating keratoplasties were performed during the study interval. Median follow-up was 5.0 years. Main indications included keratoconus (55.58%), postherpetic scarring (9.58%), traumatic opacities (7.49%), and bullous keratopathy (6.09%). Rejection rates at 5 years were 27% overall, and among indications, keratoconus showed the best graft survival at 60-months follow-up (85%). The percentage of patients with best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) posttransplant >20/400 at 5 years in the nonrejection group was 81.25% and 82.74% in < and > 10 years of age (YOA) groups, respectively, versus a BCVA posttransplant > 20/400 at 5 years in the rejection group of 53.68% and 51.72% in < and > 10 YOA groups, respectively. There was a statistically significant reduced rejection rate between genders at 18 months of follow-up, favoring males.Despite being considered a high-risk procedure in children, penetrating keratoplasty can achieve good results, especially in patients with keratoconus. It can achieve significative improvements of visual acuity, provided there is an adequate follow-up and treatment adherence.