Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension and Anemia: A Matched Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: An association between idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and anemia has been speculated from previous case reports and case series. Retrospective studies to date have not used matched case controls to compare standardized complete blood count (CBC) values for the presence of anemia. METHODS: At our tertiary care facility, 50 patients with IIH were matched with 50 case-control patients to compare CBC values from laboratory affiliates with standardized ranges. RESULTS: No significant difference was found for any CBC parameters for IIH vs control patients. For female IIH and control patients as well as male IIH patients, values for red blood cell count, hemoglobin (HGB), and hematocrit (HCT) tended to trend on the lower end of "normal" range, whereas this was not seen in male control patients. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective, matched case-control study, no significant association was found between IIH and anemia when comparing standardized CBC values. In accordance with previous studies, the prevalence of anemia may be relatively higher in the IIH population due to a prominent demographic overlap of females of child-bearing age.

Vitamin D and Selenium in a Thyroid Eye Disease Population in Texas.

There is growing evidence of thyroid eye disease association with nutritional deficiencies including selenium and vitamin D. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with clinical diagnosis of TED seen at our clinic from 2016 to 2017. Thirty-five patients met inclusion criteria and had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels available, and 19 had selenium levels available. 7/35 (20%) patients had vitamin D deficiency, and 11 (31%) had vitamin D insufficiency, but none had selenium deficiency. Although both selenium and vitamin D supplementation have been recommended for TED, further investigation is necessary to justify supplementation for patients with TED.

Supraorbital Nerve and Cavernous Sinus Invasion with Poorly Differentiated Carcinoma of Unknown Primary.

A 50-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of right-sided trigeminal neuropathy in the V1 and V2 distribution, right sixth nerve palsy and Horner syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed enhancement and thickening along the right ophthalmic nerve and supraorbital nerve and fullness at the right cavernous sinus extending to Meckel's cave. Evaluation for a primary tumour was negative. Cavernous sinus biopsy showed infiltrating poorly differentiated carcinoma; the patient underwent radiation therapy. To our knowledge this is the only case of poorly differentiated carcinoma involving the supraorbital nerve presenting with trigeminal neuropathy and Horner syndrome in the English ophthalmic literature.

From A to Z(OOR): The Clinical Spectrum of Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy.

Acute idiopathic blind spot enlargement (AIBSE) is often caused by Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy (AZOOR), an outer retinal disease. We report two illustrative cases of AZOOR. The first one was a 21-year-old white female who presented with a scotoma and "shimmering lights" in her left eye. In the second case, a 73-year-old white female was referred for evaluation of a "bitemporal hemianopsia" that started years prior, with no clinical significant photopsias. To our knowledge, case two is the longest documented duration of bilateral, progressive, and chronic, idiopathic, enlargement of the blind spot (CIBSE) documented in the English language ophthalmic literature.

Ethambutol optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We provide a summary of the epidemiology, clinical findings, management and outcomes of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy (EON). Ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy is a well-known, potentially irreversible, blinding but largely preventable disease. Clinicians should be aware of the importance of patient and physician education as well as timely and appropriate screening. RECENT FINDINGS: Two of the largest epidemiologic studies investigating EON to date showed the prevalence of EON in all patients taking ethambutol to be between 0.7 and 1.29%, a value consistent with previous reports of patients taking the doses recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Several studies evaluated the utility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in screening for EON. These showed decreased retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with clinically significant EON, but mixed results in their ability to detect such changes in patients taking ethambutol without visual symptoms. SUMMARY: Ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy is a well-known and devastating complication of ethambutol therapy. It may occur in approximately 1% of patients taking ethambutol at the WHO recommended doses, though the risk increases substantially with increased dose. All patients on ethambutol should receive regular screening by an ophthalmologist including formal visual field testing. Visual evoked potentials and OCT may be helpful for EON screening, but more research is needed to clarify their clinical usefulness. Patients who develop signs or symptoms of EON should be referred to the ethambutol-prescribing physician immediately for discontinuation or a reduction in ethambutol dosing.

Evaluation of Horner Syndrome in the MRI Era.

BACKGROUND: To identify the etiologies of adult Horner syndrome (HS) in the MRI era using a targeted evaluation approach and to assess the value and yield of targeted imaging. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of 200 adult outpatients with HS, confirmed with cocaine eyedrop testing. Patients were divided into subgroups based on the presence or absence of symptoms and those who did or did not receive additional testing with hydroxyamphetamine drops. Imaging was obtained based on pharmacologic localization and/or clinical evaluation. The etiology of HS and the yield of imaging were determined in all subgroups. RESULTS: Imaging showed causative lesions in 24 of 179 (12.84%) imaged patients with HS, and 13 (69.0%) were determined "idiopathic." Of the patients who underwent testing with hydroxyamphetamine drops (132 patients), 86 had a postganglionic localization with an imaging yield of 8.1%, and 46 had preganglionic cause with an imaging yield of 21.7%. Fifty-three patients (26.5%) never noticed ptosis/anisocoria before examination, and the imaging yield in this subgroup was 2.8%. Eighteen of the 200 patients (9.0%) had serious pathology, including carotid artery dissection, brain, or neck mass, and 6 of these (31.6%) had acute symptoms and/or pain. CONCLUSIONS: HS is most often idiopathic with serious pathology being relatively infrequent. When determining etiology, the absence of symptoms is not predictive of the pathology. However, acute onset of symptoms and/or pain are possible indicators for serious pathology. Localizing the lesion using hydroxyamphetamine drops whenever obtainable and available is still an efficient way to target imaging evaluation.

Compound-gene interaction mapping reveals distinct roles for Staphylococcus aureus teichoic acids.

Staphylococcus aureus contains two distinct teichoic acid (TA) polymers, lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and wall teichoic acid (WTA), which are proposed to play redundant roles in regulating cell division. To gain insight into the underlying biology of S. aureus TAs, we used a small molecule inhibitor to screen a highly saturated transposon library for cellular factors that become essential when WTA is depleted. We constructed an interaction network connecting WTAs with genes involved in LTA synthesis, peptidoglycan synthesis, surface protein display, and D-alanine cell envelope modifications. Although LTAs and WTAs are synthetically lethal, we report that they do not have the same synthetic interactions with other cell envelope genes. For example, D-alanylation, a tailoring modification of both WTAs and LTAs, becomes essential when the former, but not the latter, are removed. Therefore, D-alanine-tailored LTAs are required for survival when WTAs are absent. Examination of terminal phenotoypes led to the unexpected discovery that cells lacking both LTAs and WTAs lose their ability to form Z rings and can no longer divide. We have concluded that the presence of either LTAs or WTAs on the cell surface is required for initiation of S. aureus cell division, but these polymers act as part of distinct cellular networks.

Stabilization of Visual Function After Optic Nerve Sheath Fenestration for Optic Nerve Meningocele.

A 10-year-old boy with bilateral colobomatous cavitary disc anomalies presented with a 3-month history of vision loss in his right eye. MRI of the head and orbit revealed bilateral tubular cystic enlargement of the optic nerve/optic sheath complex with thickening of the optic nerves without inflammation or neoplasm, suggestive of bilateral optic nerve meningocele. An optic nerve sheath fenestration was performed OD, and he experienced an improvement and stabilization of vision in his right eye during a 1-year follow-up period. The authors recommend that surgical decompression, particularly optic nerve sheath fenestration, should be considered in cases with progressive vision loss due to optic nerve meningocele.

Biologic agents in experimental autoimmune uveitis.

Experimental uveitis models were developed in an effort to elucidate the pathogenesis of human uveitis. The therapeutic effects of numerous anti-inflammatory agents including corticosteroids and immunomodulatory agents including biologic response modifiers have been investigated in both experimental and human uveitis. Monoclonal antibodies to tumor necrosis factor alpha and anti-interleukins, among others, demonstrate efficacy and are employed in the treatment of uveitis refractory to conventional immunomodulatory agents.

Inadvertent LASIK flap creation over a soft contact lens.

PURPOSE: To report the findings and outcomes in two cases in which a contact lens was inadvertently present during creation of a LASIK corneal flap. METHODS: Interventional case report. RESULTS: A soft contact lens blocked the successful creation of the corneal flap with a femtosecond laser in one patient. Repeat surgery 1 week later resulted in a normal flap. In the second patient, a thin but normal-shaped flap was successfully created using a microkeratome despite the presence of a soft contact lens in the patient's eye. No adverse effect on vision was noted in either case. CONCLUSIONS: Refractive surgeons are encouraged to establish or review current procedures to ensure adequate contact lens removal prior to LASIK surgery, as it may result in an aborted procedure or a potentially thin and/or irregular corneal flap.

An unusual presentation of convergence insufficiency in a patient with Parkinson's disease stimulated by deep brain stimulation.

Purpose: To report convergence insufficiency in a patient with Parkinson's' disease stimulated by turning on the deep brain stimulator. Observations: 72-year-old male with Parkinson's disease and hypertension presenting for the evaluation of blurry vision at near and mid distance that started after activation of an implanted Deep brain stimulator.Baseline ophthalmologic evaluation prior to deep brain stimulator implantation surgery and with the deep brain stimulator turned off demonstrated a full motility, centered eyes for distance and near and a best corrected visual acuity of 20/20, normal pupil exam, confrontational visual fields and dilated fundus exam. Following this examination, the Deep brain stimulator was turned on and re-evaluation few minutes later demonstrated the same findings except for a 6-prism diopter exotropia at near consistent with convergence insufficiency.Following our evaluation a set of +3 diopters base-in prisms were added to near glasses with total relief of symptoms. The patient did not require surgical adjustment of the deep brain stimulator leads. Conclusions and importance: Given the therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation on convergence insufficiency reported in several studies, in addition to the influence of deep brain stimulation as Parkinson's Disease treatment in areas possibly associated with vergence control, convergence insufficiency secondary to deep brain stimulation does not seem very unlikely, although not often reported. Further studies are needed to optimize deep brain stimulation surgery to maximize benefits and limit adverse events, as well as being aware of convergence insufficiency as a possible cause for visual disturbance.

Size Matters: Ab Interno Canaloplasty Revision with Suture Trabeculotomy.

Aim: To report the efficacy of the revision of failed ab interno canaloplasty with micro-invasive suture trabeculotomy (MIST) over a follow-up period of 24 months. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 23 eyes with open-angle glaucoma (OAG), on whom an ab interno canaloplasty revision with MIST was performed for glaucoma progression. The primary outcome was the proportion of eyes with a significant intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction at 12 months post trabeculotomy, defined as an IOP ≤ 18 mm Hg or ≥20% reduction in IOP without any secondary intervention (SI), and with the same or fewer number of glaucoma medications (NGM). All parameters, including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), IOP, NGM, and SI, were evaluated at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Results: At 12 months, eight out of 23 eyes (36.4%) achieved complete success, maintained in six eyes (27.3%) at 24 months. A significantly lower mean IOP was recorded at all visits [14.3 ± 4.0 mm Hg at 24 months vs 23.1 ± 6.8 mm Hg at baseline (BL)] with a percent IOP change of up to 27.3% at 24 months postoperatively. NGM and BCVA did not significantly decrease from BL. A total of 11 eyes (47.8%) needed an SI throughout the follow-up period. Conclusion: Ab interno trabeculotomy in patients with failed canaloplasty was not shown to be effective in providing a satisfactory control of IOP in OAG patients, possibly due to the small suture gauge used in the initial canaloplasty. Clinical significance: Further research is needed to optimize the surgical outcome. How to cite this article: Seif R, Jalbout NDE, Sadaka A, et al. Size Matters: Ab Interno Canaloplasty Revision with Suture Trabeculotomy. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2022;16(3):152-157.