Indocyanine green-assisted epiretinal membrane peeling evaluated by optical coherence tomography and multifocal electroretinography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the anatomical and functional outcome in eyes with indocyanine green (ICG)-assisted idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) peeling by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and multifocal electroretinogram (MFERG). DESIGN: Prospective, interventional, noncomparative case series. METHODS: Twenty eyes of 20 patients with idiopathic ERM underwent pars plana vitrectomy and ICG-assisted ERM and internal limiting membrane (ILM) removal. Visual acuity (VA), OCT, and MFERG measurements were performed preoperatively and postoperatively at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: Best-corrected VA (BCVA) improved >/=2 Snellen lines in 70% of our patients at the 12th postoperative month. Mean VA increased from 20/100 preoperatively to 20/40 at 12 months. VA increased significantly at all postoperative examinations, compared to preoperative VA. Foveal thickness measured by OCT decreased significantly at all postoperative examinations. OCT mean values dropped from 472.3 mum preoperatively, to 249.2 mum at 12 months. Preoperative MFERG values significantly improved only at 12 months. OCT measurements and MFERG values did not correlate at any time. OCT values correlated with VA values only preoperatively while MFERG measurements correlated with VA at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: In our series of eyes with ERM surgery, OCT measurements and VA improved gradually throughout the first postoperative year, while MFERG values showed significant improvement at 12 months.

Study of patients with ocular hypertension with scanning laser polarimetry and short-wavelength automatic perimetry.

AIMS: To compare and correlate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements obtained by scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) with defects detected by short-wavelength automatic perimetry (SWAP) in eyes with ocular hypertension (OHT). METHODS: SLP and SWAP were performed in 96 eyes of 48 consecutive patients with OHT. RESULTS: Twenty-five eyes (26%) had SWAP visual field defects. Twenty-seven eyes (28.1%) had abnormal RNFL evaluation defined by the GDx neural network ('number' > 29). Fourteen eyes of 10 patients (14.5%) had abnormal RNFL evaluation and SWAP visual field defects. RNFL thickness measurements were significantly reduced in eyes with abnormal SWAP. A weak but statistically significant correlation between the 'number' and pattern standard deviation (r = 0.3, p = 0.006) and the corrected pattern standard deviation (r = 0.3, p = 0.007) in SWAP was found. Areas of abnormal RNFL thickness corresponded to the localization of the SWAP visual field defects in corrected pattern deviation plots in 10 of the 14 eyes with defects in both tests. CONCLUSIONS: SWAP visual field defects frequently coexist and correspond with abnormalities of RNFL detected by SLP in eyes with OHT. In certain eyes, however, the two methods detect different glaucoma properties.

The short-term effect of latanoprost on intraocular pressure and pulsatile ocular blood flow.

PURPOSE: There is evidence that ocular blood flow plays a critical role in the clinical course of glaucoma. Any reduction in ocular blood flow due to topical antiglaucoma treatment should therefore be avoided. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of local latanoprost application on ocular hemodynamics. METHODS: Intraocular pressure (IOP), ocular pulse amplitude (OPA), ocular pulse volume (OPV), systemic blood pressure, heart rate and the pulsatile component of ocular blood flow (POBF) were recorded using a pneumotonometer linked to the Langham Ocular Blood Flow System in 24 patients in a prospective, open-label study before and after 1 week of topical latanoprost application in both eyes. Twenty of the subjects had primary open-angle glaucoma and four had ocular hypertension. RESULTS: After 1 week of latanoprost treatment, IOP decreased significantly 6.2 +/- 2.9 mmHg in OD (P < 0.001) and 6.2 +/- 3.2 mmHg in OS (P < 0.001). Pulsatile OBF increased significantly by 201.2 +/- 167.4 microL/min in OD (P < 0.001) and 203.8 +/- 187.3 microL/min in OS (P < 0.001). Ocular pulse amplitude and OPV showed statistically significant increases (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively). Blood pressure and heart rate did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that 1 week after latanoprost application, POBF, OPA and OPV were significantly increased in the eyes treated. More information on the perfusion of the optic nerve head is needed before the relevance of these findings to optic nerve head blood flow can be interpreted correctly.