Intravitreal triamcinolone as a primary therapy in diabetic macular oedema.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of intravitreal triamcinolone in eyes with diabetic macular oedema that had no previous laser treatment. METHODS: In all, 12 eyes of 12 patients with diabetic retinopathy, aged 47-70 years (mean 59.2), made up the study. All the eyes had persistent diabetic macular oedema despite having received medical treatment for at least 3 months. In this consecutive case series, none of the eyes received previous laser photocoagulation. Intravitreal injection of 0.1 ml (4 mg) triamcinolone acetonide was offered to treat macular oedema. The visual and anatomic responses were observed as well as complications related to the injection procedure and corticosteroid medication. RESULTS: The follow-up period was between 6 and 10 months (mean 7.9 months) and all eyes completed 6 months of follow-up. Macular oedema was documented for an average of 3.5 months (ranged 3-5 months) before intravitreal corticosteroid injection. Baseline mean central macular thickness was 448.6 microm. At 1 month follow-up, a reduction in mean central macular thickness of 40.8% from 448.6 microm to 265.4 microm was obtained. At 3 and 6 months follow-up, mean central macular thicknesses, were 310 mum and 294.5 mum, respectively. No eyes lost vision at 1 month and 10 eyes (83.2%) showed improvement. At 3 months, no eyes lost vision from baseline and 8 eyes (66.6%) showed improvement. At 6 months, again no eyes lost vision from baseline and 10 eyes (83.2%) maintained improved visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal triamcinolone is a promising therapeutic method in eyes with diabetic macular oedema without previous application of laser treatment. Further study with longer follow-up and large series is warranted to assess the long-term efficacy and safety and the need for retreatment.

Short-term chlorambucil for refractory uveitis in Behcet's disease.

AIM: To evaluate the effects of short-term chlorambucil therapy in the management of uveitis due to Behcet's disease. METHODS: Forty-four patients with refractory uveitis associated with Behcet's disease who had had short-term chlorambucil therapy for about 23 weeks were included in the study. The frequency of attacks (number of attacks per year) and the longest period between the attacks were analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of the therapy. The therapy was judged to be effective if the patient had < or =1 attack a year and/or > or =1 year between the attacks. RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 51.4 +/- 32.5 months (range: 13-122 months). Following the therapy, the mean frequency of attacks had decreased from 4.9 +/- 2.3 to 0.9 +/- 1.4 (p < 0.0001) and the mean longest period between the attacks was prolonged from 4.4 +/- 2.3 months to 25.7 +/- 23.1 months (p < 0.0001). The ratio of severe attacks had decreased from 74.1 +/- 34% to 51.3 +/- 36.6% (p = 0.0218). The best-corrected visual acuity was increased in 32.9%, decreased in 34.2%, and the same in 32.9% of the eyes. Phytsis bulbi developed in three (3.8%) eyes. New attacks were seen in 56.8% of patients and another immunosuppressive agent(s) was given to 40.9% of the patients 1-8 months after treatment. No serious side effects were observed during the chlorambucil therapy. CONCLUSION: Short-term chlorambucil therapy for refractory uveitis in Behcet's disease is effective in controlling the disease in two-thirds of patients.

Laser photocoagulation for persistent central serous retinopathy: results of long-term follow-up.

PURPOSE: The authors evaluated the effect of laser photocoagulation for persistent central serous retinopathy (CSR). METHODS: The authors evaluated 45 eyes of 38 patients who had been offered laser photocoagulation for CSR that did not resolve after 4 months of observation. Sixteen eyes of 14 patients who did not accept laser photocoagulation were followed as the control group. The remaining 29 eyes of 24 patients comprised the study group. Argon green laser photocoagulation was performed on 9 eyes, dye-yellow laser photocoagulation was performed on 12 eyes, and dye-orange laser photocoagulation was performed on 8 eyes. Mean follow-up was 4.8 years (range, 1-7 years). RESULTS: In the group that received laser treatment, duration of the serous detachment was shorter (P < 0.0001) and final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was better (P = 0.006) than those of the control group. Although none of the eyes in the laser photocoagulation group had a recurrence, seven eyes in the control group had one or more recurrences during the mean follow-up period of 4.8 years (P = 0.0003). Although the duration of the serous detachment was shorter in the dye-yellow laser photocoagulation subgroup than in the argon green laser treatment subgroup (P = 0.01), there were no other differences between the laser photocoagulation subgroups with respect to the duration of the serous detachments or the final BCVA. CONCLUSION: Direct laser photocoagulation of the leakage site(s) for CSR that persists for 4 months is safe and effective to shorten the duration of the serous detachment, to improve final BCVA, and to decrease the incidence of recurrence.

Associated ocular findings in pericentral pigmentary retinopathy.

Macular complications occurred in two isolated patients who had pericentral pigmentary retinopathy. One patient demonstrated bilateral bull's-eye maculopathy and a unilateral full-thickness macular hole. Later, she developed central retinal artery occlusion in the fellow eye. The second patient had a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that was reattached by scleral buckling surgery, but a full-thickness macular hole was found 3 months postoperatively. In both patients, foveal ischemia may have played a role for the development of macular hole, resulting in poor visual prognosis in pericentral pigmentary retinopathy.

Treatment of diabetic macular edema: a comparison between argon and dye lasers.

To compare the efficacy of argon green and dye yellow photocoagulations, 85 eyes of 85 diabetic patients with diffuse macular edema were included in a prospective randomized clinical trial. One year after treatment, visual acuity was unchanged or better in 85.1% of eyes treated with an argon and 89.5% of eyes treated with a dye laser. A reduction of macular edema was accomplished in 67.3% of eyes in the argon-laser group and in 71.1% of eyes in the dye-laser group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in regard to visual acuity results or the reduction of macular edema.