This issue of ABO brings interesting articles in epidemiology, basic research, new technologies and randomized clinical trials.Kara-Júnior and his colleagues (1) presented the results of a questionnaire administered to more than 600 patients treated in a campaign to perform cataract surgery in São Paulo. The study showed a sad reality for patients excluded from the comprehensive eye care. Almost half of all patients interviewed were unable to gain access to cataract surgery before the campaign, because they have abandoned the free public service as a result of the long waiting lists or for failing to schedule their surgeries (19%), or did not have the resources to afford the costs associated with surgeries performed by health insurance or private care (29%). The costs reported by patients who had not sought public service ranged from R$ 1,000 to over R$ 4,000.00. Authors rightly emphasized in their conclusions "the need to continue to carry out community campaigns to meet people who would not have access to surgery by conventional means." I also believe it is important to consider that, despite the campaigns being indispensable at the present time the Brazilian public health, we must keep in mind that, ideally, access to health care should be possible for the whole population without the need to create specific campaigns.Patients with anophthalmic cavities were evaluated in two articles (2,3) . Narikawa and colleagues (2) retrospectively analyzed the epidemiological profile of 107 patients with anophthalmic cavity in a reference service in the state of São Paulo, detecting trauma as the most frequent etiology, especially in men. In another study conducted in the Federal District, Goulart and colleagues (3) assessed the psychosocial aspects involved in the rehabilitation of patients with anophthalmic cavity. In their study, which evaluated 44.4% of patients with anophthalmic cavity since 2004, the trauma was also nominated as the most frequent cause. In this sample, one third of patients said that the eye loss negatively influenced their daily routine.Several epidemiological, clinical and basic research articles focused on retinal aspects. In another epidemiological study, evaluating patients with sickle cell disease, Freitas and colleagues (4) demonstrated that routine eye examination may, in specific cases, establish clinical suspicion of systemic diseases. Gil and colleagues (5) conducted a randomized double-blind clinical trial to compare, through morphological and functional assessment, the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema with intravitreal triamcinolone and with laser phototherapy. Twenty-one eyes of 14 patients were randomly assigned to each group. Although intravitreal injection have led to the decrease in retinal thickness measured by OCT, the study showed no functional differences between the initial examination after three months of treatment in either group. In a study of basic research, evaluating a promising anti-inflammatory drug for intravitreal use, Rassi et al. (6) demonstrated that...