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  1. Harminder S Dua,
  2. Arun D Singh

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      Autofluorescence of choroidal melanoma

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      Macular hole surgery

      Macular holes surgery requires very inconvenient postoperative face-down positioning. In an effort to study effects of limited face-down positioning, Hasler and Prünte evaluated 30 eyes (30 patients) with unilateral full-thickness macular hole (stage II–IV) that underwent PPV, ILM peeling and fluid–air exchange followed by postoperative face-down positioning only for initial 2 days postoperatively. They observed macular hole closure rate of 93% at 1 year. The authors concluded that shorter face-down positioning resulted in surgical outcomes that are comparable with prolonged face-down positioning.

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      Photodynamic therapy in paediatric and young adult patients

      Although uncommon, choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) may develop in children and young adults due to pathological myopia, ocular histoplasmosis, retinochoroiditis or trauma. Lipski et al conducted a prospective open-label photodynamic therapy (PDT) study in 16 eyes of 16 consecutive patients aged 30 years or younger. 81% of the patients either improved vision or maintained stable vision during a mean follow-up of 34 months. Alterations of the pigment epithelium increased in the area of PDT without changes in vision. The authors conclude that PDT is a valuable treatment even in young patients with CNV.

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      Intravitreal levofloxacin in experimental endophthalmitis

      This study evaluated treatment with 1.5% levofloxacin compared with 1% vancomycin plus 2.2% ceftazidime in an experimental model of bacterial endophthalmitis. The right eye of 75 New Zealand white rabbits were inoculated in the vitreous cavity with strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. At 24 h after treatment, 100 μl of vitreous and aqueous humor were harvested, and the number of colony-forming units (CFU) per ml was determined. Overall there was no significant difference between levofloxacin and vancomycin plus ceftazidime. Ferrer et al concluded that levofloxacin appears to be effective in treating experimental endophthalmitis in the rabbit model. Further studies on the toxicity of intravitreal levofloxacin are required before clinical application is recommended.

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      Inner retinal dysfunction precedes ganglion cell loss in a mouse glaucoma model

      In an attempt to correlate ganglion cell function with elevated IOP in a mouse glaucoma model and to determine the temporal relationship of these changes with ganglion cell death, Holcombe et al induced unilateral chronic ocular hypertension in C57BL6/J mice by laser ablation of the limbal episcleral veins. Scotopic flash electroretinograms (to isolate specific outer and inner retinal responses) were recorded at several intervals and peripheral and central ganglion cell densities were quantified by immunohistochemistry. The authors observed that inner retinal dysfunction preceded the progressive ganglion cell death, which correlated with the cumulative IOP insult, suggesting that a portion of the IOP-mediated ganglion cell dysfunction may be reversible.

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