ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To investigate the histopathological findings of the anterior lens capsule in pediatric patients who had surgery for cataracts. METHODS: This study is a prospective interventional study. Anterior capsule tissue samples that were obtained by the anterior capsulotomy method during phacoemulsification surgery were fixed and examined under a transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: Twenty-two eyes of 19 patients who were diagnosed with congenital and juvenile cataracts were included in this study. Five patients had associated systemic diseases, including hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, prematurity, juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, and Down's syndrome. Electron microscopic evaluation demonstrated single-layered epithelium under the capsule, degenerated organelles with round-oval and prismatic-oval nuclei, and degenerated mitochondria and heterochromatin-rich nuclei. In the case with cerebral palsy, collagen fibrils of the connective tissue and fibroblast-like cells were observed replacing the epithelium that should be underneath the capsule in both eyes, and there was a disorganized distribution of collagen fibrils and vacuole structures in the cytoplasm of fibroblast-like cells. CONCLUSION: Similar histopathological findings were found in pediatric cataracts with or without systemic disease except in one cerebral palsy case. The absence of lens epithelium may have been a result of degeneration in this patient, and this can be attributed to the presence of systemic inflammation and gliosis in cerebral palsy. The absence of lens epithelium can play a role in the development of dense subcapsular fibrosis and cataract formation.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the choroidal characteristics of typical polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (T-PCV) and polypoidal choroidal neovascularization (P-CNV) cases, and to investigate the presence of intervortex venous anastomoses in these PCV subtypes by using en face optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: A total of 35 eyes of 33 PCV cases were included. The PCV cases were divided into T-PCV and P-CNV groups. The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) was calculated. En face OCTA images were evaluated for the presence of intervortex venous anastomoses. The diameter of the largest anastomotic Haller vessel was measured. RESULTS: T-PCV cases had significantly higher mean CVI values (73.9 ± 3.7 vs. 70.8 ± 4.5%) than P-CNV cases (p = 0.039). Intervortex venous anastomoses were observed in 85.7% of T-PCV eyes and in 91.7% of P-CNV eyes on en face OCTA (p = 1.000). In the cases with intervortex venous anastomosis, the mean diameter of the largest anastomotic vessel on en face OCTA was 341.2 ± 109.1 µm in the T-PCV and 280.4 ± 68.4 µm in the P-CNV group (p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: The higher CVI value in T-PCV may be an important feature concerning the pathogenesis and classification of PCV. Although there was no difference between the two subtypes in terms of intervortex anastomosis, more dilated anastomotic vessels were observed in the T-PCV.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Migraine is thought to be a neurovascular disorder and increases the likelyhood to develop ischemic complications. Studies have shown that vascular disorders such as ischemic optic neuropathy, retinal artery and vein obstructions are more common in patients with migraine. This study aimed to evaluate the differences between retinal and optic disc microvasculature between migraine patients with and without aura and healthy controls using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging. METHODS: Thirty-three patients with migraine and 28 healthy subjects were included in this prospective cross sectional study. Optical coherence tomography angiography imaging was performed for the macula and optic disc. Vessel densities (VD) and choriocapillaris flow values were compared between three groups: control group, migraine with aura (MWA), and migraine without aura (MWOA). RESULTS: There was no difference between the three groups for the VDs of the foveal, perifoveal, parafoveal, and the whole area. The choriocapillaris flow of patients with MWA was significantly less than that of the MWOA and control groups. The VDs of the optic disc revealed no significant difference between the three groups. CONCLUSION: A lack of choriocapillaris autoregulatory mechanisms may be a possible cause of the decrease in choriocapillaris flow in patients with MWA.
