Neurotrophic keratopathy: General features and new therapies.

Neurotrophic keratopathy is an uncommon degenerative corneal disorder characterized by compromised corneal sensory innervation, resulting in the formation of epithelial defects and nonhealing corneal ulcers. Various treatment modalities are available to stabilize disease progression, improve patient well-being, and prevent vision loss. For eligible patients, medical and surgical reinnervation have emerged as pioneering therapies, holding promise for better management. This article presents a comprehensive review of the disease, providing an update relevant to ophthalmologists on pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment options, and novel therapies targeting pathophysiological pathways.

Cogan syndrome: a case report and review of the literature.

Cogan syndrome is a rare disease whose etiology is still undetermined. It typically affects men and women between the second and fourth decade of life. We report a case of Cogan syndrome with ocular and audio-vestibular involvement as a systemic manifestation in a 31-year-old woman.

Comparison of mini-simple limbal epithelial transplantation and conjunctival-limbal autograft for the treatment of primary pterygium: a randomised controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this double-masked, parallel randomised controlled trial was to compare the recurrence rate and other outcomes between conjunctival-limbal autograft (CLAu) and mini-simple limbal epithelial transplantation (mini-SLET) after excision of pterygium. METHODS: Eligibility criteria for participants was the presence of a primary nasal pterygium extending equally to or greater than two millimetres on the cornea on its horizontal axis from the nasal limbus. The participants were allocated into two groups (CLAu and mini-SLET) using simple randomisation with a table of random numbers. Participants and the outcome assessor were masked to the intervention. The study protocol is listed and available on https://clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03363282). RESULTS: A total of 61 eyes were enrolled in the study, 33 underwent CLAu (group 1) and 28 mini-SLET (group 2), all eyes were analysed in each group. At 2, 3, 6 and 12 months the CLAu group exhibited a recurrence of 0%, 6.1%, 8.1% and 8.1%, while the mini-SLET exhibited a recurrence of 0%, 17.9%, 50% and 53.5% (p<0.05). There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications in either of the two groups. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that mini-SLET has a higher recurrence rate and provides no advantage over CLAu in the treatment of primary pterygium.

Global impact of COVID-19 on corneal donor tissue harvesting and corneal transplantation.

Introduction: The purpose of this review is to consolidate and examine the available literature on the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and its effect on corneal transplantation and eye banking. Methods: A primary literature search was conducted using the PubMed (Medline) database with keywords and MeSH terms such as "corneal transplantation," "eye banks," "keratoplasty" and then were combined with COVID-19. Relevant articles through September 2022 were assessed and 25 articles were included in this review. Results: Donor tissue volumes declined globally during lockdown periods due to a lower number of referrals and tighter tissue screening guidelines. Rates of elective surgeries decreased in the lockdown period compared to respective periods in previous years. However, changes in rates of emergency procedures were not uniform across different regions. Moreover, rates of different elective corneal grafts [i.e., penetrating keratoplasty (PK), endothelial keratoplasty (EK), or anterior lamellar keratoplasty (ALK)] were affected differently with the pattern of change being dependent on region-specific factors. Conclusion: Both donor tissue volumes and rates of corneal transplant procedures were affected by lockdown restrictions. The underlying etiology of these changes differed by region. Examining the range of impact across many countries as well as the contributing factors involved will provide guidance for future global pandemics.

Safety and efficacy of pilocarpine, cevimeline, and diquafosol compared to artificial tears for the treatment of dry eye: protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Dry eye disease (DED) is a condition that compromises the ocular surface and affects millions of people around the world. In recent years, a scheme has been proposed for the treatment of DED, with the use of artificial tear being the mainstay of treatment. In this scheme, the use of secretagogues is suggested as part of the treatment for patients with moderate to severe affectation. With this systematic review, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of secretagogues for DED. METHODS: Electronic databases will be searched; we will include randomized controlled trials that compare secretagogues and artificial tears. Study inclusion will not be restricted on the basis of language or publication status. We will use Google Translate to assess studies written in languages other than English and Spanish. Identification, evaluation, data extraction, and assessment of risk of bias will be conducted by two authors of the review, a third review author will resolve any disagreement. The outcomes will be the ocular surface disease index score, tear film break-up time, Schirmer test score, VRQoL Score, and tear film osmolarity. We will use the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool for assessing the risk of bias of the included studies. Based on the heterogeneity of the included studies, we will combine the findings in a meta-analysis using a fixed effect model if heterogeneity ≤ 50% or a random effect model if heterogeneity > 50%. If we deem meta-analysis as inappropriate, we will document the reasons and report findings from the individual studies narratively. DISCUSSION: Based on the evidence obtained, we will evaluate the effect of pilocarpine, cevimeline, and diquafosol and compare it to artificial tears on multiple outcome measures. This systematic review aims to determine the efficacy and safety of the secretagogues pilocarpine, cevimeline, and diquafosol to help clinicians in the decision-making process. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42020218407 .

Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma arising from an ectopic lacrimal gland involving both nasal orbits: a rare clinical entity.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a slow-growing, locally invasive tumor of epithelial origin. The common sites of origin are the minor and major salivary glands and also the lacrimal glands. ACC accounts for 4.8% of primary orbital neoplasms and commonly arises superolaterally from the main lacrimal gland. Primary ACC of the orbit from an extra lacrimal region is quite rare. We present a case of ACC that occurred in ectopic lacrimal gland tissue involving the medial region of both orbits. A 74-year-old woman was admitted with a 4-week history of progressive painful proptosis in her left eye. Examination revealed a medium-size bilateral nasal canthal mass. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a nasal mass in both orbits with bone erosion. The patient underwent bilateral anterior orbitotomy and incisional biopsy was performed. Histopathology exam revealed an ACC with perineural and bone invasion. She refused orbital exenteration and radiation therapy was initiated.

Laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) with a mechanical microkeratome compared to LASIK with a femtosecond laser for LASIK in adults with myopia or myopic astigmatism.

BACKGROUND: Laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is a surgical procedure that corrects refractive errors. This technique creates a flap of the outermost parts of the cornea (epithelium, bowman layer, and anterior stroma) to expose the middle part of the cornea (stromal bed) and reshape it with excimer laser using photoablation. The flaps can be created by a mechanical microkeratome or a femtosecond laser. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness and safety of mechanical microkeratome versus femtosecond laser in LASIK for adults with myopia. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Trials Register) (2019, Issue 2); Ovid MEDLINE; Embase; PubMed; LILACS; ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). We used no date or language restrictions. We searched the reference lists of included trials. We searched the electronic databases on 22 February 2019. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of LASIK with a mechanical microkeratome compared to a femtosecond laser in people aged 18 years or older with more than 0.5 diopters of myopia or myopic astigmatism. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We included 16 records from 11 trials enrolling 943 adults (1691 eyes) with spherical or spherocylindrical myopia, who were suitable candidates for LASIK. Five hundred and forty-seven participants (824 eyes) received LASIK with a mechanical microkeratome and 588 participants (867 eyes) with a femtosecond laser. Each trial included between nine and 360 participants. In six trials, the same participants received both interventions. Overall, the trials were at an uncertain risk of bias for most domains. At 12 months, data from one trial (42 eyes) indicates no difference in the mean uncorrected visual acuity (logMAR scale) between LASIK with a mechanical microkeratome and LASIK with a femtosecond laser (mean difference (MD) -0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.06 to 0.04; low-certainty evidence). Similar findings were observed at 12 months after surgery, regarding participants achieving 0.5 diopters within target refraction (risk ratio (RR) 0.97, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.11; 1 trial, 79 eyes; low-certainty evidence) as well as mean spherical equivalent of the refractive error 12 months after surgery (MD 0.09, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.19; 3 trials, 168 eyes [92 participants]; low-certainty evidence). Based on data from three trials (134 eyes, 66 participants), mechanical microkeratome was associated with lower risk of diffuse lamellar keratitis compared with femtosecond laser (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.78; low-certainty evidence). Thus, diffuse lamellar keratitis was a more common adverse event with femtosecond laser than with mechanical microkeratome, decreasing from an assumed rate of 209 per 1000 people in the femtosecond laser group to 56 per 1000 people in the mechanical microkeratome group. Data from one trial (183 eyes, 183 participants) indicates that dry eye as an adverse event may be more common with mechanical microkeratome than with femtosecond laser, increasing from an assumed rate of 80 per 1000 people in the femtosecond laser group to 457 per 1000 people in the mechanical microkeratome group (RR 5.74, 95% CI 2.92 to 11.29; low-certainty evidence). There was no evidence of a difference between the two groups for corneal haze (RR 0.33, 95% CI 0.01 to 7.96; 1 trial, 43 eyes) and epithelial ingrowth (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.11 to 9.42; 2 trials, 102 eyes [50 participants]). The certainty of evidence for both outcomes was very low. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the visual acuity outcomes, there may be no difference between LASIK with mechanical microkeratome and LASIK with femtosecond laser. Dry eye and diffuse lamellar keratitis are likely adverse events with mechanical microkeratome and femtosecond laser, respectively. The evidence is uncertain regarding corneal haze and epithelial ingrowth as adverse events of each intervention. The limited number of outcomes reported in the included trials, some with potentially significant risk of bias, makes it difficult to draw a firm conclusion regarding the effectiveness and safety of the interventions investigated in this review.

Copolymer-1 enhances cognitive performance in young adult rats.

Cognitive impairment is a dysfunction observed as a sequel of various neurodegenerative diseases, as well as a concomitant element in the elderly stages of life. In clinical settings, this malfunction is identified as mild cognitive impairment. Previous studies have suggested that cognitive impairment could be the result of a reduction in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and/or immune dysfunction. Copolymer-1 (Cop-1) is an FDA-approved synthetic peptide capable of inducing the activation of Th2/3 cells, which are able to release BDNF, as well as to migrate and accumulate in the brain. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on improvement of cognition in adult rats. For this purpose, we performed four experiments. We evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on learning/memory using the Morris water maze for spatial memory and autoshaping for associative memory in 3- or 6-month-old rats. BDNF concentrations at the hippocampus were determined by ELISA. Cop-1 immunization induced a significant improvement of spatial memory and associative memory in 6-month-old rats. Likewise, Cop-1 improved spatial memory and associative memory when animals were immunized at 3 months and evaluated at 6 months old. Additionally, Cop-1 induced a significant increase in BDNF levels at the hippocampus. To our knowledge, the present investigation reports the first instance of Cop-1 treatment enhancing cognitive function in normal young adult rats, suggesting that Cop-1 may be a practical therapeutic strategy potentially useful for age- or disease-related cognitive impairment.