Colour perception develops throughout childhood with increased risk of deficiencies in children born prematurely.

AIM: To quantify the impact of prematurity on chromatic discrimination throughout childhood, from 2 to 15 years of age. METHODS: We recruited two cohorts of children, as part of the TrackAI Project, an international project with seven different study sites: a control group of full-term children with normal visual development and a group of children born prematurely. All children underwent a complete ophthalmological exam and an assessment of colour discrimination along the three colour axes: deutan, protan and trytan using a DIVE device with eye tracking technology. RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 1872 children (928 females and 944 males) with a mean age of 6.64 years. Out of them, 374 were children born prematurely and 1498 were full-term controls. Using data from all the children born at term, reference normative curves were plotted for colour discrimination in every colour axis. Pre-term children presented worse colour discrimination than full-term in the three colour axes (p < 0.001). Even after removing from the comparison, all pre-term children with any visual disorder colour discrimination outcomes remained significantly worse than those from full-term children. CONCLUSION: While colour perception develops throughout the first years of life, children born pre-term face an increased risk for colour vision deficiencies.

Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity in Preterm and Full-Term Children Using a Novel Digital Test.

Visual assessment in preverbal children mostly relies on the preferential looking paradigm. It requires an experienced observer to interpret the child's responses to a stimulus. DIVE (Device for an Integral Visual Examination) is a digital tool with an integrated eye tracker (ET) that lifts this requirement and automatizes this process. The aim of our study was to assess the development of two visual functions, visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS), with DIVE, in a large sample of children from 6 months to 14 years (y) of age, and to compare the results of preterm and full-term children. Participants were recruited in clinical settings from five countries. There were 2208 children tested, 609 of them were born preterm. Both VA and CS improved throughout childhood, with the maximum increase during the first 5 years of age. Gestational age, refractive error and age had an impact on VA results, while CS values were only influenced by age. With this study we report normative reference outcomes for VA and CS throughout childhood and validate the DIVE tests as a useful tool to measure basic visual functions in children.

PlayStation PortableTM como tratamiento de la ambliopía en los niños / PlayStation PortableTM as treatment for children with amblyopia

Objetivo: Determinar la efectividad de la terapia visual con el uso del PlayStation PortableTM en la ambliopía. Método: Se incluyeron 40 pacientes de 5-10 años de edad con ambliopía estrábica, anisometrópica o ambas, aleatorizados en 4 grupos según el tipo de terapia a utilizar (10 pacientes por grupo): grupo 1, PlayStation PortableTM y lentes rojo-verde; grupo 2, PlayStation PortableTM y lentes con vidrio esmerilado en el ojo fijador (no ambliope); grupo 3, PlayStation PortableTM y parche oclusivo en el ojo fijador; grupo 4, parche oclusivo en el ojo fijador sin el PlayStation PortableTM. Todos los pacientes utilizaron su refracción. Las actividades de los grupos 1 al 3 incluyeron jugar videojuegos y ver películas 1-2 horas al día; el grupo 4 podía realizar cualquier actividad. Se valoró la agudeza visual mejor corregida semanalmente, hasta completar 3 meses de tratamiento. En el postratamiento se valoró la agudeza visual mejor corregida mensualmente durante 3 meses. Resultados: En total se estudiaron 40 pacientes, de los cuales el 60 por ciento fueron del sexo femenino, con un promedio de edad de 8,2 años, rango de 5-10 años. El tipo más frecuente de ambliopía fue la estrábica (55 por ciento), seguido de la anisometrópica (37,5 por ciento) y ambas (7,5 por ciento). En cuanto al ojo afectado, en el 62,5 por ciento fue el ojo izquierdo y en el 37,5 por ciento el ojo derecho. Conclusiones: En este estudio el grupo con mejores resultados fue el de filtro rojo-verde. Al suspender la terapia se observó un deterioro visual en los cuatro grupos, sin regresar a la basal. Se demuestra que el PlayStation PortableTM funciona como terapia en la ambliopía con una mejoría en la agudeza visual mejor corregida(AU)

Objective: Determine the effectiveness of visual therapy with PlayStation PortableTM for amblyopia. Methods: The study sample was composed of 40 patients aged 5-10 years with strabismic amblyopia, anisometropic amblyopia or both, randomized to 4 groups according to the therapy to be used (10 patients per group): Group 1: PlayStation PortableTM and red-green lenses; Group 2: PlayStation PortableTM and frosted glass lenses on the fixating (non-amblyopic) eye; Group 3: PlayStation PortableTM and occlusive patch on the fixating eye; Group 4: occlusive patch on the fixating eye without PlayStation PortableTM. All the patients used their refraction. The activities performed by Groups 1-3 included playing video games and watching movies 1-2 hours per day; Group 4 could perform any activity. Best corrected visual acuity was measured weekly until completing 3 months of treatment. In the post-treatment period best corrected visual acuity was measured monthly for 3 months. Results: A total 40 patients were studied, of whom 60 percent were female, with a mean age of 8.2 years, range of 5-10 years. Strabismic amblyopia was the most common type (55 percent), followed by anisometropic amblyopia (37,5 percent) and both (7.5 percent). The affected eye was the left eye in 62.5 percent and the right eye in 37.5 percent. Conclusions: It was found that PlayStation PortableTM is effective as therapy for amblyopia, improving best corrected visual acuity. The group with the best results was the red-green filter group. Upon suspension of the therapy, visual deterioration was observed in the 4 groups, without returning to baseline values(AU)

Efecto de la cloroquina en la uveítis experimental recurrente inducida con melanina bovina en ratas Lewis / Effect of chloroquine on experimental melanin-protein induced uveitis in Lewis rats

Objetivo: Valorar la efectividad de la cloroquina para el control de la UER.Material y Métodos: Se indujo uveítis con melanina bovina en 8 ratas y a 6 de éstas se les administró cloroquina a 5 mg/kg/día durante 6 meses. Se aplicaron dos reinyecciones de melanina para inducir recurrencias. Las ratas se sacrificaron cuando presentaron uveítis después del segundo refuerzo y se estudiaron histopatológicamente. A un grupo adicional de 4 ratas se les administró cloroquina para valorar su toxicidad en retina.Resultados: las dos ratas que no recibieron cloroquina tuvieron 3 cuadros de uveítis severa a diferencia del grupo de cloroquina que presentó 3 cuadros de uveítis leve a moderada clínica e histopatológicamente. p < 0.05 El grupo de ratas sin uveítis tratada con cloroquina no mostró alteraciones clínicas ni histopatológicas.Conclusiones: la cloroquina fue capaz de disminuir la duración y la intensidad de la uveítis e incluso pudo inhibir la aparición de nuevos cuadros, por lo que consideramos es un fármaco útil para el tratamiento de la UER.