Corneal graft survival after therapeutic keratoplasty for Acanthamoeba keratitis.

PURPOSE: To describe corneal graft survival and visual outcome after therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty in patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) that is unresponsive to clinical treatment. METHODS: Retrospective study. Thirty-two patients with AK who underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (tPK) from August 1996 to August 2005 were included. Data relating to clinical features, visual acuity, surgical technique, graft survival and complications were collected. Graft survival was evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and comparisons were performed using the Log-rank test. RESULTS: Most patients (62.5%) were female. Mean age [+/- standard deviation (SD)] was 35 (+/- 13) years (range 15-68 years). All patients were contact lens wearers. Eighteen patients (56%) presented paralytic mydriasis and glaucoma during the treatment. Thirteen patients (40%) developed glaucoma after surgery; eight of them (61%) required a second PK because of graft failure. Of the 32 keratoplasty eyes, 56.2% presented graft failure at any follow-up point. Forty-five per cent of graft failures occurred before the 12 month follow-up, so 55% remained clear in the first year after surgery. Twelve patients underwent a second PK; seven of them failed and 45% were clear at 1 year. Two patients presented graft recurrence of amoebic infection. There was no significant difference in graft survival when eyes with or without mydriasis were compared (P = 0.40). Eyes with glaucoma presented a significantly shorter graft survival (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Penetrating keratoplasty is a treatment option for eyes that are unresponsive to clinical treatment infections. However, graft survival is poor; postoperative glaucoma is frequent and is associated with shorter graft survival.

Herpes zoster ophthalmicus in otherwise healthy children.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the complications of herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) in children. DESIGN: Prospective-observational case series. METHODS: Ten healthy patients (five boys, five girls) with HZO were prospectively followed. Data regarding best-corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure, corneal sensitivity, and funduscopy were collected. The median duration of follow-up was 19 months (range eight to 78 months). RESULTS: The mean age at presentation was 8.7 years (range two to 14 years +/-3.95). At last visit, two patients (20%) had decreased visual acuity and nine (90%) had some degree of abnormal corneal sensitivity and corneal opacity despite good final visual acuity. CONCLUSION: In general, HZO seems to have a good prognosis in healthy children; nonetheless, some cases can present severe eye complications causing visual loss.

Glycomics analyses of tear fluid for the diagnostic detection of ocular rosacea.

A Glycomics approach to detect disease is illustrated in the analyses of human tear fluid for rosacea. The diagnosis of ocular rosacea is particularly challenging in a subgroup of patients that do not present with typical facial skin findings but have ocular signs and symptoms. Indeed, up to 90% of patients with ocular rosacea may have neither obvious roseatic skin changes nor a previous diagnosis of rosacea. Tear fluid was collected from 37 subjects (21 controls and 16 patients with ocular rosacea) after conjunctival stimulation with filter (Schirmer) paper. O-linked oligosaccharides were released from tear fluid by beta-elimination and then purified using solid-phase extraction. Mass spectra were recorded on an external source HiResMALDI with a 7.0 T magnet. Mass spectra were obtained in both the positive and negative modes. However, signals were stronger in the negative mode. Tear fluid samples from rosacea patients yielded distinctive clusters of peaks that extend to higher masses. Patients with rosacea presented several oligomeric series that were not found in the controls. To discriminate the ocular rosacea cases from the normal controls, the sum of absolute intensities of 13 series corresponding to nearly 50 identified mass spectrum peaks was used. Thirty-six out of the 37 samples were correctly classified. This yields a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 79.5-100) and specificity of 95.2% (95% CI 76.2-99.9). The high abundance of oligosaccharides in the tear fluid of patients with rosacea may lead to an objective diagnostic marker for the disease.

Factors modulating p63 expression in cultured limbal epithelial cells.

PURPOSE: The expression pattern of p63, a homologue of the transcription factor p53, and whether it can be used as a corneal epithelial stem cell specific marker remain controversial. We investigated the p63 expression pattern in cultured limbal epithelial cells at different time points in culture, in sparse and confluent cultures, after growth factor starvation, and in single-cell-derived colonies. METHODS: Harvested limbal epithelial cells were plated at 2.5 (sparse) or 5 (dense) x 10 cells/cm and evaluated for p63 expression at day 1, day 4, day 7, after starvation for 72 hours, or in colonies derived from single cells. Expression of corneal lineage specific differentiation marker keratin 3 (K3) was correlated with p63 expression. Results were compared by 1-way ANOVA. RESULTS: More than 85% (85%-90%) of cells expressed p63 on day 1 regardless of cell plating density. On day 4, sparsely plated cultures were subconfluent and demonstrated high p63 expression (87.4%), whereas densely plated cells were confluent and had markedly reduced p63 expression (16.9%). Starvation of subconfluent cultures arrested cell division but did not decrease p63 expression. High-p63-expressing cultures expressed low levels of K3, and this trend was reversed in confluent cultures. Most cells in all colonies derived from single cells expressed p63. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of corneal limbal epithelial cells express p63 in colonies derived from single cells and in subconfluent cultures regardless of time in culture or continuance of cell division. This suggests that p63 expression in culture cannot be used as a marker for stem cells. Significantly reduced number of cells express p63 in confluent cultures, associated with increased cell-cell contact. It is notable that these cells continue to express p63 amid areas of increased cell-cell contact several days after cultures have attained full confluency. This may represent a unique subpopulation of cells that retain proliferative potential in a confluent culture and may be analogous to a subpopulation of stem cells present in vivo.

Ocular rosacea.

Rosacea is a common skin disease that frequently involves the eye. Although the pathogenesis of the disease remains undefined, recent findings suggest that an altered inflammatory response plays an important role in both cutaneous and ocular rosacea. Ocular manifestations include lid and ocular surface alterations. Chronic inflammation can lead to corneal vascularization, which may compromise vision. Treatment of ocular rosacea is aimed at preventing irritation of the ocular surface (e.g., lubricants, lid hygiene) and controlling inflammation with topical and systemic anti-inflammatory drugs. Systemic tetracyclines are the mainstay of treatment. These drugs act multifactorially by decreasing bacterial flora and the expression of matrix metalloproteinases, altering meibum secretion, inhibiting the production of bacterial lipases, and providing an immunomodulatory effect.

The long-term results of keratoplasty in eyes with a glaucoma drainage device.

PURPOSE: To study the outcome of penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in eyes with a glaucoma drainage device (GDD). DESIGN: Retrospective case-controlled study. METHODS: We reviewed all patients who underwent PK from December 1986 to September 2002 at the University of California, Davis (n = 1,974). We identified 33 patients (40 grafts) who were treated with a GDD and followed up for 6 months or more after PK. Graft survival and glaucoma control were compared with grafts in patients without glaucoma (n = 40) and patients with medically controlled glaucoma (n = 17). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, log rank test, repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), Fisher exact test, and chi(2) were used in group comparisons. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: The percentages of clear grafts in the glaucoma drainage device group were 58.5% and 25.8% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. At these time points, glaucoma was controlled in 74.0% and 63.1% of the eyes, respectively. Both medically controlled glaucoma patients and nonglaucomatous patients had higher graft survival percentages at comparable time points. The presence of a GDD was an important factor influencing graft survival (Hazard ratio = 6.8). CONCLUSION: A GDD implant is an independent risk factor for graft failure. Although these devices are effective in controlling intraocular pressure (IOP) in the majority of eyes in the presence of PK, corneal graft clarity is often compromised.

Anterior stromal puncture in Brown-McLean syndrome.

We describe 2 cases of Brown-McLean syndrome with corneal edema successfully treated by anterior stromal puncture (ASP). Ophthalmologic examinations showed peripheral edema and aphakia in both patients. The patients had ASP to control the severe foreign-body sensation. The procedure was effective over a long-term follow-up, suggesting that peripheral ASP may be an effective therapeutic option for patients with symptomatic Brown-McLean syndrome.

Trisomy 13: a rare case of congenital tarsal kink.

We describe the management of the eyelid anomaly associated with Patau syndrome. Trisomy 13 is the genotype of the syndrome's phenotype. The eyelid anomaly was a tarsal kink, a congenital malformation of the tarsus that causes entropion. A 2-month-old white girl presented with unilateral upper eyelid entropion and central corneal ulceration. To correct this condition, two 6-0 polyglactin sutures were passed through the gray line of the upper and lower eyelids and tied. Correction of the entropion and improvement in the corneal condition were achieved after surgery. No recurrence of the entropion or corneal ulceration was noted after 2 months of follow-up. This simple technique, which corrected the eyelid malposition, providing an excellent cosmetic result without incision of the tarsus, has been previously reported in other cases of tarsal kink but not in a patient with Patau syndrome.

Efficacy and safety of recurrent pterygium surgery using human processed pericardium.

PURPOSE: To investigate the safety and efficacy of human processed pericardium used as an onlay after pterygium excision. METHODS: Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients (11 female, 14 male) with recurrent pterygium were included in this study. The median age was 50 years (range 24-89 years). Twenty-eight percent of the eyes previously had been operated on two or more times. The mean follow-up was 9.4 months (+/- 2.1 months, range 8-15 months). Following bare-sclera surgical removal of recurrent pterygium, a patch of processed human pericardium was sutured to cover the area of excision. The pericardium was not covered with conjunctiva, nor were adjuvant radiation or antimetabolite administered. All patients were treated with a combination of dexamethasone 0.1% / chloramphenicol drops three times per day for 1 month. Ketorolac tromethamine 0.5% three times per day was added to this regimen after complete corneal reepithelialization. RESULTS: Recurrence (any growth >1 mm onto the cornea) was detected in 12 patients (48%). The mean time of recurrence was 4.1 +/- 1.7 months. Three patients (12.0%) presented a regrowth of fibrovascular tissue not reaching 1 mm of the cornea. Pyogenic granulomas occurred in three patients, and all of them required surgical excision. Corneal thinning was present in one patient and was treated with a therapeutic contact lens and artificial tears with complete resolution and vascularization of the thinned area. No decrease in visual acuity was observed in any patient. CONCLUSIONS: The use of processed pericardium in pterygium surgery is a safe procedure but is associated with a relatively high rate of recurrence. It should only be considered as an option in managing recurrent pterygium when conjunctival autografting is not an available alternative.

Córnea plana congênita: relato de caso e revisäo de literatura / Congenital cornea plana: case report

Objetivo: Descrever os casos de dois irmäos com diagnóstico de córnea plana congênita bilateral e alta hipermetropia, uma vez que näo temos, no Brasil, conhecimento de referências anteriores sobre famílias afetadas por tal entidade. Relato dos casos: Dois irmäos com grave aplanamento corneal, "esclerizaçäo" limbar, opacidade estromal central, achatamento da câmara anterior, elevada hipermetropia e pseudo-ptose. Discussäo: Córnea plana congênita é uma entidade extremamente rara, característica desta entidade que neste caso, ao lado da distribuiçäo familiar, corrobora com o diagnóstico de córnea plana congênita com herança autossômica recessiva. Chama-se a atençäo para o erro de refraçäo e prevençäo do glaucoma, cuja incidência está aumentada nestes casos.