Chronic membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type II (dense deposit disease) is a renal disease characterized by dense deposits in the glomerular and tubular basement membranes. We report a retinopathy with diffuse retinal pigment alterations in 11 out of 12 patients with this disease. Four of the eleven patients also presented disciform macular detachment and choroidal neovascularisation. The lesions were observed at the earliest 1 year after the diagnosis of the renal disease. In a control group of 17 patients with chronic membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type I none of the patients presented similar fundus lesions.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

CMSS-VEPs: contrast modulated steady state visual evoked potentials: its neuronal origin and clinical use.

CMSS-VEPs are presented as a sensitive, non-invasive functional investigation technique of the visual function, applicable in clinical practice. New improvements of the technique are presented. The underlying neuronal mechanisms are discussed. The clinical use is illustrated in a case of optic neuritis.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Topical 0.1% indomethacin solution versus topical 0.1% dexamethasone solution in the prevention of inflammation after cataract surgery. The Study Group.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of topical 0.1% indomethacin with 0.1% dexamethasone after cataract surgery. METHODS: 145 patients (indo = 71, dexa = 74) were enrolled in a randomised, double-masked study and received one drop 4 times a day of indomethacin or dexamethasone for 1 month. RESULTS: Proteinic flare and cellular Tyndall decreased with time in both groups, with a difference in favour of indomethacin for cellular Tyndall on day 30 (p = 0.046). Conjunctival hyperaemia was less pronounced in the dexamethasone group on day 30 (p = 0.03). Tolerance of both drugs was good. CONCLUSION: 0.1% Indomethacin solution appears to be as safe and efficient as 0.1% dexamethasone eyedrops in the management of post-operative inflammation and could be a good alternative to the use of steroids.

Administration, Topical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Intraocular pressure in children up to five years of age.

We established a value scale (Figure) of IOP for children without glaucoma. Under the age of 4 months the IOP was measured with topical anesthesia; halothane anesthesia was used in children from 4 months to 5 years. In 30 children under the age of 4 months the IOP is 8.4 +/- 0.6 mm Hg. In 44 children from 4 months to 5 years, the IOP measured under halothane general anesthesia is 7.8 +/- 0.4 mm Hg at the age of 1 year, and it gradually increases by about 1 mm Hg per year of age to 11.7 +/- 0.6 mm Hg at the age of 5 years.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cortical visual impairment following perinatal hypoxia: clinicoradiologic correlation using magnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the visual prognosis of cortical visual impairment following perinatal hypoxia. METHODS: MRI findings of 19 babies with the diagnosis of a perinatal hypoxic-ischemic insult and cortical visual impairment (CVI) were reviewed. Two groups of patients based on gestational age were compared. Babies with a gestational age > or = 34 weeks were included in group 1(n = 8). Infants < 34 weeks' gestation were included in group 2(n = 11). All 19 children underwent MRI. RESULTS: Normal MRI always correlated with better visual outcome, regardless of the gestational age at which the insult occurred. Among infants born at or later than 34 weeks' gestation, a favorable visual recovery occurred in two with normal MRI findings. The presence of infarcts or periventricular leukomalacia indicated that full visual recovery would not occur. Among infants born before 34 weeks' gestation, the MRI findings were normal in two who had a favorable visual outcome. A normal visual cortex and the absence of periventricular leukomalacia were helpful in prognosticating the visual outcome. A general delay in the myelination-particularly in the myelination of the optic radiation-was a common finding and until now has not been described in children with CVI routinely. CONCLUSION: MRI's ability to follow the process of myelination may be of predictive value. MRI, therefore, should be obtained in a child with CVI following perinatal hypoxia.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Corneal ablation profiles for correction of hyperopia with the excimer laser.

PURPOSE: To calculate smooth corneal ablation profiles for the correction of hyperopia by means of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy and to quantify the typical topographical changes, especially in the transition zone, in terms of axial distance and instantaneous radius of curvature. METHODS: Conditions were determined to yield a smooth transition surrounding a hyperopic photorefractive keratectomy. Functions for the ablation depth in the transition zone were calculated. Theoretical optical zones of 4-mm diameter with 1 or 2-mm transition zones were required. The variation in axial and instantaneous power along one semimeridian was subsequently calculated. The power profile of a +10 diopters (D) correction on a spherical surface (47 D) was presented as an example for both ablation profiles. RESULTS: In photorefractive keratectomy for hyperopia, the transition zone is necessarily flatter than the original cornea. The more abrupt the transition, the more pronounced the flattening. A central steepening of +10 D entailed a mid-peripheral flattening of -7.00 D or -15.00 D in transition zones of 2 and 1 mm width, respectively. In the transition zone, the mean rate of change of axial power was 15 and 45 D/mm, respectively. CONCLUSION: Making the central cornea steeper by means of photorefractive keratectomy implies that the periphery should be flattened (axial power). The amount of flattening is directly proportional to the degree of steepening, and is relatively larger if the transition is more abrupt.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Topography of rabbit corneas after photorefractive keratectomy for hyperopia using airborne rotational masks.

PURPOSE: To determine the long-term outcome of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) for hyperopia on the rabbit cornea using ablation profiles with a smooth transition zone. METHODS: Two profiles were ablated by means of an excimer laser and rotational masks, each profile on four rabbit eyes. Corrections of +10 diopters (D) were planned in all operations. The right eye was treated with a 4-mm optical zone and a 2-mm transition zone (4-mm/8-mm profile), the left eye with a 4-mm ablation and a 1-mm transition zone (4-mm/6-mm profile). Corneal topography was measured with an EyeSys videokeratoscope at 3, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 65, 75 and 120 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: After more than 2 years the axial power-not corrected for the physiologic flattening of the corneas-showed a residual steepening of +3.60 (+/-3.90) D for the right eyes and +3.9 (+/-2.8) D for the left eyes. The diameter of the topographic optical zone was equal to or smaller than the innermost mire. The power started to decrease paracentrally, giving the profile graph of the power a characteristic peak pattern. The flat transition zone, typical of PRK for hyperopia, could be recognized on the Placido images as a characteristic broadening of the midperipheral rings. The axial power map and the power profile did not show this flattening in the transition zone. CONCLUSION: A steepening of the central cornea by PRK is possible. The diameter of the topographic optical zone of homogeneous power is smaller than induced, increasing considerably the asphericity of the central cornea. The 4-mm/8-mm ablation profiles did not give a larger diameter topographic optical zone nor less regression than the 4-mm/6-mm ablation profiles. The videokeratoscope makes errors in measuring axial power of mixed convex-concave surfaces.

Animals↗