Changes in choriocapillaris structure occurring in idiopathic macular hole before and after vitrectomy.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the anatomical choroidal vascular layers and the changes in idiopathic macular hole (IMH) eyes over time after vitrectomy. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational case-control study. Fifteen eyes from 15 patients who received vitrectomy for IMH and age-matched 15 eyes from 15 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Retinal and choroidal structures were quantitatively analyzed before vitrectomy and 1 and 2 months after surgery using spectral domain-optical coherence tomography. Each choroidal vascular layer was divided into the choriocapillaris, Sattler's layer, and Haller's layer, and then, the choroidal area (CA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), and central choroidal thickness (CCT) were calculated using binarization techniques. The ratio of LA to CA was defined as the L/C ratio. RESULTS: The CA, LA, and L/C ratios were 36.9 ± 6.2, 23.4 ± 5.0, and 63.1 ± 7.2 in the choriocapillaris of IMH and were 47.3 ± 6.6, 38.3 ± 5.6, and 80.9 ± 4.1 in that of control eyes, respectively. Those values were significantly lower in IMH eyes than in control eyes (each P < 0.01), whereas there was no significant difference in total choroid, Sattler's layer, and Haller's layer or CCT. The ellipsoid zone defect length showed a significant negative correlation with the L/C ratio in total choroid and with CA and LA in the choriocapillaris of IMH (R = - 0.61, P < 0.05, R = - 0.77, P < 0.01, and R = - 0.71, P < 0.01, respectively). In the choriocapillaris, the LA were 23.4 ± 5.0, 27.7 ± 3.8, and 30.9 ± 4.4, and the L/C ratios were 63.1 ± 7.2, 74.3 ± 6.4, and 76.6 ± 5.4 at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months after vitrectomy, respectively. Those values showed a significant increase over time after surgery (each P < 0.05), whereas the other choroidal layers did not alter consistently with respect to changes in choroidal structure. CONCLUSIONS: The current OCT-based study demonstrated that the choriocapillaris was exclusively disrupted between choroidal vascular structures in IMH, which may correlate with the ellipsoid zone defect. Furthermore, the L/C ratio of choriocapillaris recovered after IMH repair, suggesting an improved balance between supply and demand of oxygen that has collapsed due to temporary loss of central retinal function by IMH.

Diffuse large b-cell lymphoma of the ocular adnexa with flow cytometry analysis and review of the literature.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features and flow cytometry (FCM) of tumor tissues in ocular adnexal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: This retrospective, multicenter case study was designed to evaluate the clinical and immunohistochemical features of tumors. DLBCL was diagnosed based on histopathology, immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain gene rearrangement, and FCM in all surgically removed periocular tumor tissues. This study involved assessing percentages (%) of B-cell/T-cell markers, a natural killer cell marker, and cell-surface Ig kappa/lambda (κ/λ) expression measured by FCM analysis in tumor tissues. RESULTS: Eleven DLBCL patients (4 men and 7 women) with 11 tumors were enrolled in this study. The median age at the time of initial presentation was 73 years. The tumor cells were immunohistochemically positive for cluster of differentiation (CD) 20, while CD5 was negative in all 8 cases tested. At the time of ophthalmic diagnosis, two cases already showed systemic dissemination of DLBCL throughout the body. FCM of tumor tissues detected a high percentage of B-cell markers including CD19 and CD20 in all 11 tumors. One case with high CD10 levels in FCM was histologic transformation from follicular lymphoma. One case with a relatively low CD20 population involved a history of systemic treatments including intravenous rituximab. CONCLUSION: Although caution should be exercised when interpreting the data, FCM is useful for not only supportive diagnosis complementary to immunohistochemistry, but also facilitates a better understanding of immunopathology including histologic transformation of follicular lymphoma to DLBCL in the ocular adnexa.

Involvements of choroidal vascular structures with local treatments in patients with diabetic macular edema.

PURPOSE: To examine changes of the choroidal morphology in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) before and after local treatments. METHODS: This study was on 20 eyes with DME, observed for more than 24 months. All patients underwent laser photocoagulation (Laser), sub-tenon triamcinolone acetonide injection (TA), or intravitreal aflibercept injection (IVA). Central macular and choroidal thicknesses (CMT/CCT), and choroidal vascular structures consisting of the total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), and stromal area (SA) were measured by a binarization method. The ratios of LA in TCA were eventually determined as the L/C ratio in each case. RESULTS: The L/C ratio significantly decreased for 24 months in patients with DME (p = 0.01), whereas no significant differences were noted in other parameters including TCA, LA, SA, or CCT. Among patients treated with Laser ± TA ± IVA, a significant correlation was found between a high L/C ratio at pretreatment and a lower cumulative number of injections (1-2 times/24 months) (p = 0.04). The L/C ratio in pretreatment showed a significantly inverse correlation with CMT (-0.60, p = 0.02) and subsequent BCVA (logMAR) (-0.59, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: This study highlighted that the L/C ratio in pretreatment might predict a change of the visual acuity in DME.

Follicular lymphoma of the ocular adnexa: Clinicopathological findings with flow cytometry analysis of eight cases.

PURPOSE: Flow cytometry (FCM) is used to evaluate cell surface markers of various leukocyte populations quantitatively. However, little is known about the usefulness of FCM in follicular lymphoma (FL) of the ocular adnexa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features and FCM results in ocular adnexal FL. MATERIALS: This is a retrospective multicenter case study on clinical and immunohistochemical features. All tumors, surgically excised, were diagnosed based on histopathology, immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement, and FCM. The percentages (%) of B-cell markers, T-cell markers, a natural killer cell marker, and cell surface kappa/lambda measured by FCM analysis in tumor tissues were searched based on medical records. RESULTS: This study enrolled nine tumors in eight FL patients (three men and five women). The median age at the time of initial presentation was 74 years. All the tumors surgically excised histologically exhibited cluster of differentiation (CD)10, CD20, and BCL2-positive cells. At the time of ophthalmic diagnosis, lymphomas were already disseminated throughout the body in five cases. FCM demonstrated high percentage of B-cell markers including CD10, CD19, CD20, and CD23 in all nine tumors. CD10 population was 73.5% ± 11.9% in seven out of nine tumors, while that in the other two tumors was particularly low being 11.7% ± 1.13%, which showed the relatively high T-cell lineages compared to the other seven tumors. CONCLUSION: For ophthalmologists involving managements of ocular adnexal tumors, FCM can provide useful information for complementing the diagnosis and understanding pathophysiology of FL.

Factors based on optical coherence tomography correlated with vision impairment in diabetic patients.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between retinal structures and visual acuity in diabetic patients using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA). This study was a retrospective observational study conducted at a single medical center in Japan. Evaluation of retinal images was analyzed using spectral domain OCT. Twelve factors including central retinal thickness, length of disorganization of retinal inner layer (DRIL), number of inner hyperreflective foci, number of outer hyperreflective foci, height of intraretinal fluid, height of subretinal fluid, length of external limiting membrane disruption, length of external ellipsoid zone (EZ) disruption, vessel density of superficial capillary plexus (SCP), foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, and FAZ circularity were analyzed based on OCT/OCTA findings. Multivariate analysis was used to investigate the OCT-based factors that could be correlated with poor visual acuity in treatment-naïve diabetic eyes. A total of 183 eyes of 123 diabetic patients with type 2 diabetes (mean age 61.9 ± 12.3 years, 66 men and 57 women) and 62 eyes of 55 control subjects (mean age 64.4 ± 12.5 years, 15 men and 40 women) was enrolled in this study. Multiple regression analysis showed that OCT-based factors correlated with visual acuity were length of DRIL (ß = 0.24, P < 0.01), length of EZ disruption (ß = 0.35, P < 0.001), and FAZ circularity (ß = - 0.14, P < 0.05). The other factors showed no significant correlation. In conclusion, the length of DRIL, length of EZ disruption, and FAZ circularity measured by OCT were identified as related factors for visual impairment in treatment-naïve diabetic eyes.

Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Orbit: A Clinicopathologic Study of Two Cases With Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Orbital solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare lesion among orbital tumors, which can be misdiagnosed as another mesenchymal tumor. In this study we report two cases of orbital SFT, focusing on the imaging and pathological findings of the vascular structure inside the tumor. CASE REPORT: A 26-year-old woman and 43-year-old man presented with orbital SFT. The pathological findings revealed a patternless growth pattern of the tumor cells and hemangiopericytoma-like vascularity as well as thickened, dilated blood vessels within the tumor tissue. Tumor cells revealed a diffuse strong positivity for cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) in both cases, while B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2) and CD99 were positive in one case. Characteristic findings within the tumor were the arterial components, where a variety of STAT6, CD99 and bcl-2-positive smooth muscle cells were intermingled. CONCLUSION: Histologically, the tumor tissues might be characterized by not only conventional hemangiopericytoma-like vasculature but also dilated arterial vessels, which were shown to be part of the tumor components.

Alteration of choroidal vascular structure in diabetic macular edema.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze choroidal structures in healthy subjects and patients with/without diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: This was a retrospective observation case control study. Four hundred and two eyes of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), and 124 age-matched eyes of healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. DM patients were divided into 3 groups: presence of central-involved (CI) DME (n = 81) and nonCI-DME/non-DME (n = 321), based on OCT findings. Central choroidal thickness (CCT) and total choroidal, luminal, and stromal areas were determined using EDI-OCT and a binarization method, respectively. The luminal area expressed as a ratio of the total choroidal area was defined as the L/C ratio. RESULTS: DM eyes showed a significantly lower L/C ratio than control eyes, whereas there was no significant difference in CCT or total choroidal, luminal, or stromal areas. There was no significant difference between CI-DME and non-DME groups in HbA1c, blood pressure, dyslipidemia, or renal function. CCT and total choroidal, luminal, and stromal areas were significantly greater in the CI-DME group than non-DME group (each P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that CCT was thickened in the presence of DME, associated with both increased luminal and stromal areas, which might be related to the pathology of DME.

Relationship between diabetic macular edema and choroidal layer thickness.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between diabetic macular edema (DME) and the choroidal layer thickness in diabetic patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective observation study. Three hundred eighteen eyes of 159 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and age-matched 100 eyes of 79 healthy controls were enrolled. DME was defined as over 300 µm in the central retinal subfield of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grid sector. The central choroidal thickness (CCT), as well as inner and outer layers were determined based on enhanced depth imaging (EDI)-OCT. Diabetic patients with/without systemic diabetic treatments (DT) at the start of this study was defined as DT+ and DT-, respectively. The number of eyes examined was 62 and 256 eyes in DME+and DME-groups, respectively. DM patients were further subdivided into 4 groups with/without DME and DT; DME+DT+(35 eyes), DME-DT+(159 eyes), DME+DT-(27 eyes), and DME-DT-group (97 eyes). Multiple comparisons on CCT layers including control and each DM group were statistically examined. RESULTS: The total CCT layer was 254±83, 283±88, and 251±70 µm in the control, DME+, and DME-group, respectively. A total CCT layer in DME+was significantly thicker than the DME-group (P < 0.05). The outer CCT layer was 195±75, 222±83, and 193±63 µm in the control, DME+, and DME-group, respectively. The outer CCT layer in DME+ was significantly thicker than the DME-group (P < 0.05). In the subdivided groups, the total CCT layers in the control, DME+DT+, DME-DT+, DME+DT-and DME-DT-groups were 254±83, 274±88, 247±66, 290±84 and 258±75 µm, respectively. The outer CCT layers in each group were 195±75, 214±83, 189±58, 228±77, and 201±70 µm, respectively. Total CCT and the outer layer in DME+DT-was significantly thicker than the DME-DT+group (each P < 0.05). In contrast, there was no significant difference in inner layer between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The total and outer CCT layers of diabetic eyes were significantly thickened in the DME+DT-as compared with the DME-DT+group, suggesting that CCT may be related to the pathology of DME.

Usefulness of Flow Cytometry in Diagnosis of IgG4-Related Ophthalmic Disease and Extranodal Marginal Zone B-Cell Lymphoma of the Ocular Adnexa.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Although flow cytometry (FCM) is used to evaluate cell surface markers of various leucocyte populations quantitatively, little is known about the usefulness of FCM in lymphoproliferative disorders of the ocular adnexa. The aim of this study was to disclose results of FCM, which were compared among IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD), idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI), and extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (EMZL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study. Sixty-nine tumors comprising of 16 IgG4-ROD, 24 IOI, and 29 EMZL were enrolled in the study. All tumors, surgically excised, were diagnosed based on histopathology, immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain gene rearrangement, and FCM. In FCM, the percentage of T-cell markers (CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, CD7, CD8), B-cell markers (CD10, CD19, CD20, CD23), NK cell marker (CD56) and cell surface kappa/lambda was searched based on medical records. Ig light chain restriction was evaluated from results in kappa/lambda deviation by FCM. RESULTS: The percentage of CD2, CD3, CD4, CD7, and CD10 was significantly higher in IgG4-ROD/IOI than EMZL (p<0.05 in every factor). In contrast, CD19 and CD20 percentages were significantly greater in EMZL than IgG4-ROD/IOI (p<0.01). There was no significant difference in any marker between IgG4-ROD and IOI. Kappa-positive cells were significantly greater in EMZL than IgG4-ROD/IOI (p<0.05). In kappa/lambda deviation, false-positive was noted in 3 (7.5%) benign IgG4-ROD/IOI and false-negative was observed in 10 (34.5%) EMZL cases. Sensitivity and specificity of Ig light chain restriction were 65.5 and 92.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Analyses of cell surface markers using FCM were useful in differentiating EMZL from IgG4-ROD/IOI. Sensitivity of Ig light chain restriction was relatively low in diagnosis of EMZL using FCM.

Effect of topical rebamipide on goblet cells in the lid wiper of human conjunctiva.

It has been demonstrated that topical administration of rebamipide, which is an antiulcer agent, increases the mucin level of the tear film and ameliorates ocular surface conditions such as lid wiper epitheliopathy. The aim of the present study was to analyze the changes in goblet cell number, cell proliferation, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) induced by topical rebamipide addition to the lid wiper of humans. A total of 30 eyelid tissue samples were obtained during involutional entropion surgeries, fixed in paraformaldehyde, embedded in paraffin and divided into two groups: Rebamipide or non-rebamipide. The tissues in the rebamipide group were obtained from patients who had a medical history of topical rebamipide use prior to surgery. The number of goblet cells was counted under light microscopy. A total of 22 eyelid tissue samples were further examined using immunohistochemistry with anti-Ki-67 and anti-EGFR antibodies to evaluate cell proliferation and EGFR expression, respectively. Histologically, the lid wiper and palpebral conjunctiva were clearly identified in the tissues. The number of goblet cells was significantly higher in the rebamipide group compared with the non-rebamipide group (P=0.0367). There was no significant difference in lid wiper cell proliferation between the rebamipide and non-rebamipide groups. Immunohistochemistry revealed that EGFR levels in the lid wiper epithelial cells were significantly higher in the rebamipide group compared with the non-rebamipide group (P=0.0237). These results suggest that topical rebamipide application increases the number of goblet cells in the lid wiper, which in turn upregulates the expression of EGFR. These findings may be clinically relevant and provide a therapeutic basis for the treatment of ocular disease such as dry eye and lid wiper epitheliopathy.

Coincidence of Inflamed Conjunctival Carcinoma in situ and Primary Pterygium.

BACKGROUND: We report a rare case of carcinoma in situ (CIS) in conjunction with a primary pterygium that exhibited characteristic angiographic and histopathological findings. CASE: A 78-year-old man presented with a pterygium and a whitish tumor adjacent to the pterygium in his right eye. Indocyanine green angiography displayed that feeder vessels within the primary pterygium spread to the whitish tumor. The tumor and pterygial tissues were surgically removed. Histologically, the resected tissue contained CIS as well as squamous metaplasia. There was a marked inflammatory cell infiltration within the tumor and beneath the epithelium. Topical interferon alfa-2b was given 4 times per day for 2 months. The patient has been well without local recurrence of tumor or distal metastases to 54 follow-up months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Because CIS can occur adjacent to pterygial tissues, long-term follow-up is necessary in patients with pterygia.

Choroidal thickness in diabetic retinopathy in relation to long-term systemic treatments for diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE: To measure central choroidal thickness (CCT) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and analyze the correlation with clinical backgrounds regarding medications for diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 86 patients with DR (172 eyes) and 43 healthy subjects (57 eyes) who underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Among the 86 patients with DM who had received no intraocular treatments, 61 were diabetic patients who had continuously received systemic treatments for DM (under treatment group). Twenty-five were patients who had discontinued the treatments or had not received any treatment for DM until this study started (no treatment group). RESULTS: The results of CCT acquired by 2 masked raters showed a significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.98), indicating high reproducibility in this study. No correlation of CCT was noted between normal (272 ± 71 µm) and DM eyes (264 ± 77 µm), the presence of diabetic macular edema, or CCT and the severity of DR in the patients examined. Interestingly, there was a significant decrease in CCT (175 ± 42 µm) in eyes with mild/moderate nonproliferative DR (NPDR) in the no treatment group (p<0.05), whereas CCT was prominently thicker in eyes with severe NPDR (354 ± 76 µm) and proliferative DR (286 ± 74 µm) than in eyes without DR. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that CCT was significantly decreased in the presence of mild/moderate NPDR in the no treatment group, suggesting that a continuously high blood sugar state caused by insufficient treatments for DM may facilitate vascular damage in the choroid in the early stage of DR.

Measurement of interleukins in vitreous infusion fluid.

Measurements of interleukin (IL)-6 and -10 concentrations in the vitreous can be used to differentiate intraocular lymphoma (IOL) from uveitis. This is the first study reporting the IL-6 and -10 concentrations in the undiluted vitreous fluid and vitreous infusion fluid, which were simultaneously examined in the patients. A total of 2 females presented with intraocular inflammation, and underwent pars plana vitrectomy. Undiluted anterior vitreous and vitreous infusion fluid were collected simultaneously. IL concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay systems. Vitreous infusion fluid of 20 ml was eventually collected following completion of core vitrectomy in the two patients. IL-6 concentrations of the first patient were 513 and 106 pg/ml in the undiluted vitreous and the infusion fluid, respectively, while those of the second patient were 263 and 29 pg/ml. By contrast, IL-10 was under the detectable levels in all the fluids. The IL-10/-6 ratio was <1 in both fluids in the patients. Cytological examination revealed the presence of reactive inflammatory cells in the vitreous fluid. The two patients were eventually diagnosed with uveitis. Measurements of IL concentrations in the vitreous infusion fluid provided significant evidence on the differential diagnosis between IOL and uveitis, when considering how vitreous infusion fluid was diluted. The present study highlighted a novel application of cytokine analyses using the vitreous infusion fluid, which may contribute to the development of future translational researches on uveitis/IOL patients.

Histological observation of goblet cells following topical rebamipide treatment of the human ocular surface: A case report.

The topical administration of rebamipide (Mucosta®), an antiulcer agent, clinically increases the mucin level of tear film. The aim of this study was to report the histological changes of goblet cells following the topical administration of rebamipide to a patient with nevus of the lacrimal caruncle. A 62-year-old male exhibited a pigmented nodule located in the lacrimal caruncle in the left eye. An excisional biopsy and subsequent surgical resection were conducted at the caruncle, prior to and three months after topical rebamipide administration. Histologically, a biopsy specimen revealed a pigmented nevus beneath the caruncle epithelium containing a few goblet cells [4 cells/high power field (HPF)]. A few nevus cells were present at the surgical margin. By contrast, the secondary resected specimen obtained three months after the initiation of topical rebamipide treatment revealed the epithelium and nevus, where numerous goblet cells were present (28 cells/HPF), and mucin-like substances were markedly secreted from the goblet cells. Topical rebamipide markedly increased the number of goblet cells and stimulated the secretion of mucin-like substances in the caruncular tissue of a human patient. These results suggest that topical rebamipide is useful in patients following surgery and/or biopsy to support tissue repair of the ocular surface.

IgG4-related lacrimal sac diverticulitis.

IgG4-related disease is characterized by elevated serum IgG4 and tissue infiltration by IgG4-positive plasma cells. We herein report a case of lacrimal sac diverticulitis with marked IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration. An 89-year-old woman presenting with right lower eyelid mass. Imaging modalities demonstrated a cystic orbital mass located beneath the globe and adjacent to enlarged lacrimal sac. Serological tests showed high IgG4 and normal IgG levels, measuring 242 and 1603 mg/dl, respectively. The orbital mass was surgically excised. Histologically, the excised tissue demonstrated marked inflammation with fibrosis surrounded by mononuclear epithelial cells. A variety of IgG and IgG4-positive plasma cells infiltrated the stroma. This patient was diagnosed as an IgG4-related lacrimal sac diverticulitis, based on current diagnostic criteria of IgG4-related disease. It is likely that IgG4-related inflammation occurs in a lacrimal sac diverticulum, which should be considered a differential diagnosis in inferior orbital tumors.

Choroidal neovascularization in a patient with blunt trauma-caused traumatic retinopathy without choroidal rupture.

PURPOSE: To report a case of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) following blunt trauma without choroidal rupture, with past history of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS: A 43-year-old man with a nonperforating injury caused by a baseball that hit his right eye exhibited traumatic retinopathy. The damage was localized to the outer layer of the retina at the macula and there was no choroidal rupture. Five years prior to the accident, the patient suffered from a CSC attack with retinal pigment epithelium detachment. Two weeks after the blunt trauma, fundus examination revealed CNV extending into the subfoveal space, which led to an abrupt development of retinal hemorrhage and serous retinal detachment at the macula. Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab led to the resolution of retinal detachment 15 days later, with complete absorption of retinal hemorrhage 41 days later. Fluorescein angiography performed 2 months later revealed hyperfluorescent points with no leakage. CONCLUSION: CNV following blunt trauma in this case occurred in traumatic retinopathy, with the damage localized in the outer layer of the retina. This suggests that the retinal pigment epithelium-Bruch's membrane complex developed susceptibility to anteroposterior forces, which is subsequent to the spontaneous healing of CSC. Bevacizumab treatment also reduced exudation from CNV.

Arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy with positive myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody.

BACKGROUND: Myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) is related to smallvessel vasculitis. There have been some reports of optic nerve involvements with increased values of MPO-ANCA. We report two cases of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) in which ANCA-associated vasculitis was suspected to be responsible for the pathogenesis. CASES: A 66-year-old man and a 72-year-old man had ocular symptoms of AION in both eyes with positive MPO-ANCA. OBSERVATIONS: Both patients showed high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and MPOANCA values at first. Temporal artery biopsies were negative for temporal arteritis, whereas small-vessel vasculitis was found only in the latter patient. Visual dysfunctions remained unchanged after steroid pulse therapy, although laboratory data returned to normal levels after the treatment. Fluorescein angiography revealed selective occlusion of capillaries, arterioles, and precapillaries in the retina and choroid as well as in the optic disc. CONCLUSIONS: The identical characteristics of the angiographic findings of both eyes in the two cases indicated that the obliteration of small vessels in the intraocular arterial system was closely related to MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Incomplete oculomotor palsy with pupil sparing caused by compression of the oculomotor nerve by a posterior communicating posterior cerebral aneurysm.

PURPOSE: To report a patient with agenesis of both internal carotid canals who presented with incomplete oculomotor palsy with pupil sparing. METHODS: The incomplete oculomotor palsy was followed clinically, and the precise anatomical relation of the aneurysm to the subarachnoid oculomotor nerve was investigated during clipping surgery for the aneurysm. RESULTS: A 39-year-old woman with agenesis of both internal carotid arteries was admitted because of diplopia and left blepharoptosis. The left superior palpebral and the superior rectus muscles were severely palsied. The paralysis of the medial rectus muscle was milder than that of the former two muscles, and the inferior rectus was the least affected muscle. The papillary reflexes were normal. Examination during clipping surgery showed that the aneurysm was located below the oculomotor nerve in the subarachnoid space about 6.5 mm from its exit from the midbrain. The differences in severity and resolution time of the palsies of the extraocular muscles suggested that the fibers destined for the superior levator and the superior rectus were concentrated on the caudomedial portion of the subarachnoid oculomotor nerve. The fibers innervating the medial rectus muscle were located within the core of the nerve, and the fibers innervating the pupils and the inferior rectus muscle occupied a more rostral part. CONCLUSIONS: The functional distribution of fibers within the subarachnoid oculomotor nerve about 6.5 mm from its exit from the midbrain succeeds to that of the intraparenchymal oculomotor nerve.

Positive association of pigment epithelium-derived factor with total antioxidant capacity in the vitreous fluid of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a glycoprotein with potent neuronal differentiating activity, was recently found to inhibit advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced retinal hyperpermeability and angiogenesis through its antioxidative properties, suggesting that it may exert beneficial effects on diabetic retinopathy by acting as an endogenous antioxidant. However, the inter-relationship between PEDF and total antioxidant capacity in the eye remains to be elucidated. AIMS: To determine vitreous PEDF and total antioxidant levels in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and to investigate the relationship between them. METHODS: Vitreous levels of PEDF and total antioxidant capacity were measured by an ELISA in 39 eyes of 36 patients with diabetes and PDR and in 29 eyes of 29 controls without diabetes. RESULTS: Vitreous levels of total antioxidant capacity were significantly lower in patients with diabetes and PDR than in controls (mean (SD) 0.16 (0.05) vs 0.24 (0.09) mmol/l, respectively, p<0.001). PEDF levels correlated positively with total antioxidant status in the vitreous of patients with PDR (r = 0.37, p<0.05) and in controls (r = 0.41, p<0.05). Further, vitreous levels of PEDF in patients with PDR without vitreous haemorrhage (VH(-)) were significantly (p<0.05) decreased, compared with those in the controls or in patients with PDR with vitreous haemorrhage (VH(+); PDR VH(-), 4.5 (1.1) microg/ml; control, 7.4 (4.1) microg/ml; PDR VH(+) 8.5 (3.6) microg/ml). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that PEDF levels are associated with total antioxidant capacity of vitreous fluid in humans, and suggests that PEDF may act as an endogenous antioxidant in the eye and could play a protective role against PDR.