Pegaptanib sodium for ocular vascular disease.

Pegaptanib sodium (Macugen) is a selective RNA aptamer that inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 165 , the VEGF isoform primarily responsible for pathologic ocular neovascularization and vascular permeability, while sparing the physiological isoform VEGF 121 . After more than 10 years in development and preclinical study, pegaptanib was shown in clinical trials to be effective in treating choroidal neovascularization associated with age-related macular degeneration. Its excellent ocular and systemic safety profile has also been confirmed in patients receiving up to three years of therapy. Early, well-controlled studies further suggest that pegaptanib may provide therapeutic benefit for patients with diabetic macular edema, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion. Notably, pegaptanib was the first available aptamer approved for therapeutic use in humans and the first VEGF inhibitor available for the treatment of ocular vascular diseases.

Clinico-microbiological profile and visual outcomes of post-traumatic endophthalmitis at a tertiary eye care center in South India.

PURPOSE: To analyze the clinical and microbiological characteristics of eyes with post-traumatic endophthalmitis and factors influencing the visual outcomes in these cases. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart analysis of the clinical and microbiological data of 97 consecutive patients with post-traumatic endophthalmitis presenting to a tertiary eye care hospital in South India. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (40.2%) cases were culture-positive, gram-positive cocci (n=24/42, 57.1%) being the commonest isolates. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeuruginosa were the commonest single isolates (n=10; 23.8%). Majority of the organisms were sensitive to chloramphenicol (n=27) or ciprofloxacin (n=26). Susceptibility to vancomycin (n=3) and amikacin (n=4) was poor. Cases with negative cultures at presentation were more likely to have improvement in visual acuity compared with culture-positive cases (on multivariate analysis, OR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.1, 9.0). CONCLUSIONS: In this series of post-traumatic endophthalmitis, a high prevalence of resistance of the culture isolates to vancomycin and amikacin was observed.

A pilot study on awareness of diabetic retinopathy among non-medical persons in South India. The challenge for eye care programmes in the region.

This study was conducted to determine awareness and practices relating to diabetic retinopathy among non-medical persons in a south Indian population. In this population-based cross-sectional study, trained social workers conducted face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire with 200 randomly selected paramedical personnel and 204 persons randomly selected from the community. Responses were graded on a five-point scale. Over half of respondents were not aware of risk factors for diabetic retinopathy. Only one-fifth of paramedics and one-tenth of persons from the community were aware that uncontrolled diabetes was a risk factor for retinopathy. Over 75% of respondents were not aware of either laser or surgery as an intervention for retinopathy. Although 80% of respondents from the community felt that yearly eye examinations were essential, only 43.5% had ever visited an ophthalmologist. Nearly three-fourths of paramedical personnel did not have any material related to diabetes for health education. It is evident that considerable effort is required to improve awareness of diabetic retinopathy, and to translate this improved awareness to actual utilisation of services.