Hand-Held Nidek versus Table-Mounted Huvitz Autorefractors and Their Agreement with Subjective Refraction in Adults.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the agreement between commercially available table mounted and a hand-held autorefractors and their agreement with subjective refraction. The effect of different body position with the handheld autorefractometer was also evaluated. METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 253 healthy eyes. Refraction was acquired by a table-mounted Huvitz and hand-held Nidek autorefractometer, subjective refraction was acquired. Refractive errors were compared in terms of spherical equivalent (SE), cylinder power, and the J0 and J45. The level of agreement was evaluated by Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in SE measurements between both devices and between them and subjective refraction (P=0.00). The Huvitz SE readings tended to be less myopic. However, limits of agreement (LOA) for SE were narrowest for Nidek sitting vs supine followed by Huvitz vs subjective SE refraction. The LOA for SE for Nidek sitting vs subjective SE were of wider range. For cylinder values, LOA were similar for all devices and positions and between them and subjective cylinder refraction. CONCLUSION: Table mounted Huvitz and Nidek portable autorefractor cannot be used interchangeably in clinical practice except for estimation of the cylinder power. No difference in refraction between sitting and supine positions for portable Nidek autorefractor but with caution in cylinder axis. High agreement was achieved between subjective refraction and Huvitz readings but not with Nidek hand-held autorefractor. A highly reliable spectacle prescription could be done based on Huvitz readings. Both devices and positions could be used interchangeably in estimation of K-readings.

Analysis of Bimatoprost-Induced changes on Rabbits eyelash Follicle: Clinical and Electron microscopic study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze ultrastructural changes of rabbits' eyelash follicles treated with bimatoprost eye drops to increase our knowledge of how this drug works. METHODS: The study included 15 clinically healthy male rabbits. All rabbits were treated with bimatoprost 0.03% daily for 4 weeks with one drop of the topical eye drops applied to the conjunctival fornix of the right eyes; left eyes were used as controls. Eyelash lengths were measured before and after treatment. The eyelid of each animal was dissected for light and electron microscopic analysis. RESULTS: Both control and treated rabbit eyes matched regarding eyelash length before treatment (9.80±0.388mm vs 9.88±0.24mm) (P=0.108). There was a significant increase in eyelash length between control (9.75±0.33 mm) and treated rabbit eyes (11.60±0.46 mm) (P=0.369). Light and electron microscopy revealed, bimatoprost treated eyes had thick epidermis. The dermis contained two hairs growing out of the same hair follicle. Heavily keratinized Henle's layer, the cortical cells (Cx) have prominent nucleolus and cytoplasm is studded with melanin granules. CONCLUSION: Bimatoprost-induced eyelash changes were not restricted to increased eyelash length, thickness, and pigmentation but also showed increased number of eyelashes within the same hair follicle which were stronger and could resist pulling from the skin without any evidence of inflammatory cells within the specimens. These changes occurred as early as 1 month of treatment, giving rise to thoughts about the possibility of using bimatoprost eye drops as a prophylaxis against madarosis associated with chemotherapy if it is started 1 month before chemotherapy and continued afterwards, making eyelashes stronger and resistant to falling out.

Solar maculopathy: prognosis over one year follow up.

BACKGROUND: To document the visual acuity, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings and prognosis in10 eyes of 6 patients with foveal damage from solar retinopathy in 1 year. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational case series of patients presented by solar maculopathy at Ophthalmology department, Sohag University. All patients underwent visual acuity (VA) testing, refraction, dilated fundus examination fluorescein angiography (FA) and SD-OCT (spectral Domain ocular coherence Tomography) imaging and follow up for 1 year. RESULTS: The mean age was 16.5 years (range 9-27 years, both eyes are affected in 4 patients. The mean spherical equivalent (SE) was - 0.25 ± 0.50 D. The visual acuity of the affected eyes ranged from 0.4 to 0.9 on presentation. At presentation Significant foveal pathology was identified on SD-OCT in 10 eyes, All eyes showed disruption of the photoreceptor ellipsoid zone and the interdigitation zone on SD-OCT, Follow up of the cases continued for 1 year.100% of cases showed improvement in VA: 20% eyes regained 1, 50% eyes with VA of 0.9; two eyes 20% 0.8 and one eyes (10%) with 0.4. The improvement began after 1 week and reached its maximum and became stationary after the 6th month of follow up, the outer retinal hole persist in OCT in 80% of cases. CONCLUSION: Solar maculopathy has a good prognosis yet shows no improvement after 6 months. Young age might pose as a risk factor.

Corneal Endothelial Cell Density and Morphology in Healthy Egyptian Eyes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in normal Egyptian eyes. METHODS: In total, 568 healthy eyes of 568 Egyptian volunteers aged 20 to 85 years were examined using noncontact specular microscopy for the central corneal thickness (CCT), mean endothelial cell density (MCD), coefficient of variation (CV) in cell area, mean cell area (MCA), and hexagonal cell (Hex) percentage. Variables were compared between sexes and between different age groups. RESULTS: The mean CCT, MCD, and MCA were 514.45 ± 43.04 µm, 2647.50 ± 382.62 cells/mm2, and 390.59 ± 149.94 µm2, respectively. MCD and MCA showed no significant differences between men and women (P=0.171 and 0.099, respectively), whereas CV (%) and Hex (%) showed significant differences (P=0.024 and 0.015, respectively). CCT (P=0.007, r = -0.113) and MCD (P < 0.001, r = -0.357) exhibited a significant negative correlation with age, whereas CV (%) (P < 0.001, r = 0.341) and MCA (P=0.008, r = 0.111) exhibited a significant positive correlation. The mean rate of endothelial cell loss from 20 to 85 years of age was 0.3% per year. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide normative data for the corneal endothelium in healthy Egyptian eyes, thus increasing the knowledge base for corneal endothelial cell parameters in healthy Egyptian eyes. Furthermore, our findings can be used as baseline values for comparisons between Egyptian and other populations and for studies of the endothelial cell reserve and capacity for intraocular surgery and corneal transplantation.