The progressive nature of glaucoma suggests it should be possible to detect structural changes such as retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness loss before the condition becomes clinically apparent with visual field (VF) impairment. Therefore, the aim was to analyze RNFL thickness and VF changes in study groups with unilateral exfoliation syndrome (XFS), bilateral XFS and bilateral exfoliative glaucoma (XFG), and compare it with controls. The study included 114 subjects (228 eyes) divided into 4 groups according to the presence of exfoliation: 30 subjects with unilateral XFS (30 with clinically visible XFS and 30 fellow eyes), 24 subjects (48 eyes) with bilateral XFS, 28 (56 eyes) subjects with bilateral XFG, and control group (32 subjects). All subjects underwent VF and RNFL measurements after ophthalmologic examination. Both eyes of unilateral XFS (clinically -visible and fellow eye) showed positive correlation between Mean Defect (MD) and square root of Loss of Variance (sLV) and between MD and inferior quadrant RNFL thickness. In bilateral XFS and XFG, there was negative correlation between MD and inferior quadrant RNFL thickness. Inferior, superior and nasal quadrant RNFL thickness was lower in XFG group than in other groups. In bilateral XFS group, the inferior quadrant RNFL thickness was lower as compared with unilateral XFS group (in both eyes). The mean RNFL thickness negatively correlated with MD in bilateral XFS and XFG groups. In conclusion, structural changes before VF impairment have an important role in early detection of glaucoma in subjects at risk.

For highly myopic patients MRI biometry was a more accurate measurement of axial length in silicone oil-filled eyes. A-scan and MRI biometry were comparably accurate in measuring axial length in patients with axial length <26 mm.

SUMMARY -Th e aim of the study was to analyze the resident learning process of phacoemulsifi cation cataract surgery and to assess the resident phacoemulsifi cation learning curve. Th is prospective study comprised 86 consecutive cases of phacoemulsifi cation performed using standard technique by eight residents over a one-year period at Clinical Department of Ophthalmology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb. Operative data on each case included resident and attending surgeon, date of operation, step-by-step success questionnaire, and intraoperative complications. Postoperative data included visual acuity at one-month postoperative visit and postoperative complications. Eighty-six operations were performed under the supervision of attending surgeon. Th e mean best-corrected visual acuity improved from 0.47±0.25 to 0.8±0.25 postoperatively. Intraoperative complications occurred in 13 (15.12%) cases and continued to decrease throughout residency training. Th e mean number of individually performed steps per operation increased throughout residency (from 7.6 to 9.0). Th ere was one early postoperative complication, endophthalmitis, which was successfully treated, and no other postoperative complications occurred. Resident surgical competency can be improved by maximizing the number of cataract procedures since the complication rates and the number of individually performed steps improved continuously with increasing surgical experience.

Myocilin seems to be a very strong candidate for explaining some of the pathophysiological pathways leading to the development of both glaucoma and high myopia. As our finding was obtained in a relatively under-powered sample, further research and replication of these results is needed.

Purpose: It has been hypothesized that isolated human communities are particularly favourable for identifying genetic variants underlying complex human traits and diseases because of their reduced genetic and environmental diversity. The aim of this study was to identify genomic loci that may control variation in visual quantitative traits in 1,057 examinees in isolated island of Vis, Croatia, by positional cloning. Methods: Using refractometer, ultrasound and Canon CR‐DGI non‐mydriatic fundus retinal camera we obtained a number of visual quantitative and qualitative traits in our set of examinees. All measurements have been adjusted for potential confounders that were identifyied through an appropriate questionnaire. Both linkage analysis and and genome‐wide association approach were used (PLINK and GENABEL softwares) to identify genomic loci that may have significant contribution to the variation observed in those traits. Results: A number of loci have been identified in the genome that approached formal significance levels after Bonaferroni correction of 10‐6. Those loci now require repeat in other populations to eliminate false positive findings, and further study in bioinformatics and functional genomics to understand their potential role in trait variation and possible development of pathological states. Conclusions: This study showes that mapping genetic variants underlying complex human traits in isolated population is a feasible and powerful approach. We aim to expand our studies to other Croatian islands to further increase the power of the study.