Occupational ocular health problems among marble workers at Shaq El Tho'ban industrial area in Egypt.

Eye health of the working population is an essential condition for productivity. Marble industry is processed at large scale at Shaq El Tho'ban area where much dust, crushed pieces of stone, and fluctuating temperatures are endangering employees' health generally and eye health specifically. The objectives of this study were assessing the prevalence of the most common ocular health problems associated with marble industry and investigating the impact of the working environment and occupational risk factors on the oculo-visual status of marble workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 workers, working at Shaq El Tho'ban area in Egypt during the period from August 2020 to September 2021, using a semi-structured questionnaire and eye examination comprised of full ocular history, visual acuity testing (unaided/aided), slit lamp examination, ophthalmoscopy, and Schirmer's type I and tear break up time tests. The current study showed that gritty sensation (65.2%) and eye dryness (51.2%) were the commonest symptoms complained. By examination, conjunctival hyperemia (59.6%) was the most prevalent finding. By performing dry eye tests, dry eye was diagnosed in 60.4% and 51.2% of workers by Schirmer's test and tear break up time test respectively. The study's results indicated that age, working category, smoking, and diabetes had significant impact on development of ocular symptoms, while working duration, diabetes, smoking, ocular symptoms, and ocular foreign body had significant impact on development of dry eye disease. Implementation of engineering control measures, proper designing, and supply of eye PPE together with adequate health education to all workers about occupational health risks and preventive measures are recommended.

Secondary Intraocular Lens Implantation After Simultaneous Penetrating Keratoplasty and Cataract Extraction for Coexisting Corneal and Lens Opacities.

PURPOSE: To report the results of a new approach to the 2-stage surgical management of coexisting visually significant corneal opacities and cataract. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of eyes with corneal opacities and cataract that were surgically treated with simultaneous penetrating keratoplasty and cataract surgery, followed by secondary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation after removal of corneal sutures, was conducted. The parameters used for assessment were the following: mean percentage of graft endothelial cell loss after IOL implantation, deviation of the postoperative mean spherical equivalent from the target refraction, and mean uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA). RESULTS: Twenty-nine eyes were included in the study. The mean baseline UDVA was 1.94 ± 0.46, and the mean baseline best-corrected distance visual acuity was 1.56 ± 0.42. The mean interval between the 2 surgical interventions was 13.3 ± 2.2 months. Just before secondary IOL implantation, the mean endothelial cell density was 2198 ± 311 cells. The mean percentage of corneal endothelial cell loss was 7.3% at 6 months after IOL implantation (P = 0.16). Before IOL implantation, the mean spherical equivalent was +11.75 ± 3.38 D. After IOL implantation, the mean spherical equivalent improved to -0.19 ± 0.93 D (P = 0.003) at 6 months. The mean UDVA improved to 0.34 ± 0.18 (P = 0.017), whereas the mean corrected distance visual acuity improved to 0.18 ± 0.29 at 6 months (P = 0.016). All grafted corneas maintained their clarity until the final follow-up visit. CONCLUSIONS: Postponing IOL implantation some months after simultaneous penetrating keratoplasty and cataract extraction has a negligible effect on the corneal graft endothelium and achieves near postoperative target refraction with significant improvement in UDVA.

Intravitreal Clindamycin and Dexamethasone Combined with Systemic Oral Antitoxoplasma Therapy versus Intravitreal Therapy Alone in the Management of Toxoplasma Retinochoroiditis: A Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: To compare clinical outcome of IVCD combined with oral therapy with IVCD alone in patients with toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty eyes were reviewed. Two equal groups were identified (15 eyes each). Clinical outcome measures were resolution of active inflammation, changes in BCVA and CMT, adverse drug reactions, and rate of recurrence. RESULTS: Mean baseline of BCVA 1.08 ± 0.17 and 1.03 ± 0.15 improved to 0.64 ± 0.18 and 0.69 ± 0.17 at the end of follow-up in group I and II, respectively. No statistically significant difference was observed. CMT was 392.6 ± 33.16 µm and 397.3 ± 14.6 µm significantly decreased to 314.7 ± 4.43 µm and 319.6 ± 7.8 µm. Resolution of acute inflammation was achieved in all cases in both groups. There were no recurrent cases in group I, and only one out of 15 (6.7%) in group II. No ocular or systemic adverse events were recorded. CONCLUSION: IVCD is an effective route of treatment for active toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis that can be used solely without the need to use systemic medications..

Effect of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells administered by intravenous or intravitreal routes on cryo-induced retinal injury.

Traumatic optic neuropathy is an important cause of severe vision loss. So, many attempts were performed to transplant stem cells systemically or locally to regenerate the injured retina. In this study, we investigated the effect of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (hUBMSCs) on histological structure, apoptotic, antiapoptotic, oxidant and antioxidant markers in an experimental model of cryo-induced retinal damage in mice. Forty-eight mice were included with 4 major groups; group I contained 18 mice as controls. The others included 30 mice exposed to cryo-induced retinal injury and were subdivided into three equal groups: group II received no treatment after injury. Group III was intravenously injected with hUCBMSCs after injury and group IV received an intravitreal injection with hUCBMSCs into both eyes. Retinal tissues were used for histopathological, immunological and gene expression studies. Real time-PCR was performed to assess B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl2), Bcl2-associated X protein (bax), heme oxygenase-1 (hmox-1) and thioredoxin-2 (tnx-2) expression and to assess the differentiation of the stem cells into the retinal tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to assess caspase-3, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Disturbed retinal structure was seen in cryo-injured mice while hUCBMSCs treated groups showed nearly normal structure. By real time-PCR, significantly reduced mRNA expressions of Bax and notably enhanced mRNA expression of Bcl-2, hmox-1 and txn-2 were demonstrated in retinal injured mice with hUCBMSCs treatment compared to those without. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis confirmed downregulation of 3-NT and caspase-3 and upregulation of bFGF after hUCBMSCs injection in injured retina. Furthermore, there was no differentiation of transplanted stem cells into the retinal tissue. In conclusions, hUCBMSCs could improve the morphological retinal structure in cryo-induced retinal damage model by modulation of the oxidant-apoptotic status and by increased the expression of bFGF. © 2017 IUBMB Life, 69(3):188-201, 2017.