Retrospective study of choroidal melanomas at the 1(st) Department of Ophthalmology, AHEPA hospital, Thessaloniki, from 2002 to 2011.

AIM: Retrospective study of cases of choroidal melanoma examined at the 1st Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, during the 10-year period, from January 2002 to December 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consists of 84 patients (84 eyes) with newly diagnosed choroidal melanoma. The documentation of the location and the dimensions of the melanomas, based on B-Ultrasonography findings (apical height, diameter), were included. A total of 58 patients were referred to a specialized center abroad for conservative irradiation therapy. Twenty six eyes were enucleated due to large size of the tumor and the histopathological type was determined. RESULTS: Of the 84 cases, 44 were located at the posterior pole while 40 anteriorly. Based on size, 6% (5/84) were small, 58% (49/84) were medium and 36% (30/84) large. Based on the histopathological analysis of 22 of the 26 eyes enucleated, 36% were mixed-cell, 32% were spindle cell and 27% were epithelioid cell melanomas. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first documentation and classification of newly diagnosed cases of choroidal melanomas. The large number of mandatory enucleations, due to large size, is surprising. Patients need to be better informed about preventive fundoscopy for diagnosis of asymptomatic melanoma at an earlier stage.

Endothelin-1 concentration is increased in the aqueous humour of patients with exfoliation syndrome.

BACKGROUND: /aim: Endothelin 1 (ET-1) is considered the most potent vasoconstrictor in the body and the eye. This molecule may play a significant role in the pathobiology of exfoliation syndrome (XFS), a disorder characterised by a progressive iris vasculopathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concentration of ET-1 in the aqueous humour of cataract patients with and without XFS. METHODS: Aqueous humour samples were obtained from 25 consecutive eyes of 25 cataract patients with XFS and an equal number of age matched controls during phacoemulsification cataract surgery. None of the subjects had elevated intraocular pressure or glaucoma. ET-1 concentration in the aqueous was measured using a specific immunoassay with 100% immunoreactivity for ET-1. Total aqueous humour protein concentration was measured with a microplate Coomassie blue based method and was correlated with ET-1 concentration. RESULTS: Mean ET-1 concentration in the XFS aqueous samples (4.6 (SD 2.3) pg/ml) was significantly higher than that measured in the age matched control samples (2.8 (SD 1.71) pg/ml); (p = 0.006). Although total protein concentration was significantly elevated in the XFS samples (0.380 (SD 0.159) v 0.279 (SD 0.144) mg/ml in the controls); (p = 0.023), no correlation was found between aqueous ET-1 and total protein concentration (p = 0.730). CONCLUSION: The increased concentration of ET-1 in the aqueous humour of XFS patients suggests that ET-1 may play a role in the pathobiology of XFS.

Conjunctiva is an estrogen-sensitive epithelium.

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether the conjunctival epithelium shows cyclical maturation changes during the ovarian cycle and to study the cytological appearance of the conjunctiva in postmenopausal and pregnant women. PATIENTS: Fifteen menstruating women with ovulatory cycles, ten postmenopausal women, and twelve pregnant women in the second or the third trimester of their pregnancy. INTERVENTIONS: Conjunctival and vaginal smears were taken on a near-daily basis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The percentage of the parabasal, the intermediate and the superficial cells (Maturation Index) in each specimen was determined. RESULTS: In the conjunctival smears of the menstruating women cyclical maturation changes were noted. These changes were parallel to those of the vaginal smears, but to a minor degree. No cyclical changes were found in either the postmenopausal women or in the pregnant women, showing an extreme shift to the left in the Maturation Index. CONCLUSION: Conjunctiva appears to be a relatively estrogen-sensitive epithelium.