Long-term visual pathway alterations after elemental mercury poisoning: report of a series of 29 cases.

BACKGROUND: There are few clinical data on retinal involvement after acute exposure to high concentrations mercury and the available reports are based on a small number of patients suffering chronic exposure. The purpose of this paper is to report findings in workers acutely exposed to very high concentrations of mercury vapor with the aim of providing data on a possible direct retinal involvement. METHODS: Twenty-nine patients and 16 controls were evaluated in a comparative case series. Mercury levels in blood and urine samples, visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS), visual field (VF), color discrimination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were recorded. The pattern reversal visual-evoked potentials (PRVEP), full-field and multifocal electroretinography (ffERG/mfERG), pattern electroretinography (PERG), systemic symptoms, presence of erethism, and electromyography (EMG) were also gathered. A descriptive analysis was performed. The correlations between variables also were studied. In addition, electrophysiological data from those patients with deeper VF defects (group 1) were compared with a normal control group. RESULTS: Twenty-six workers exhibited symptoms of erethism. The EMG showed sensorimotor polyneuropathy and multiple mononeuropathy. The VA was slightly affected in 48.27% (n = 14) of subjects. Loss of CS in at least one of four spatial frequencies and color vision alterations occurred in 96.5% (n = 28) and 44.8% (n = 13), respectively. VF alterations were identified in 72.4% (n = 21) patients. No morphologic changes were seen in the OCT scans. Latencies over 100 milliseconds and reduced amplitudes of P100 were found in the PRVEP (p < 0.05). The reduced amplitude of the b wave at the ffERG, of the P50 at the PERG and of the P1 wave at the mfERG results (p < 0.05) suggested that the outer retina was involved. Significant negative correlations among blood mercury levels, VA, and ffERG were observed. CONCLUSIONS: In this case series, showed that acute exposure to mercury vapor had a hazardous effect on the visual system. Although neurologic and visual pathway involvement was clearly demonstrated, the differences found compared to control support the existence of a direct functional retinal damage and participation in impaired vision in mercury poisoning.

Reading Performance Improvements in Patients with Central Vision Loss without Age-Related Macular Degeneration after Undergoing Personalized Rehabilitation Training.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a reading rehabilitation program (RRP) in patients with central visual loss (CVL) and assess the impact of the RRP on the quality of life (QoL). METHODS: The RRP included four in-office and 39 in-home training sessions over 6 weeks. Reading speed, duration, and font size were evaluated during each in-office session. The subjective perception of the QoL was assessed before and after the RRP using the short version of a questionnaire (World Health Organization Quality of Life). A control group who received advice about ocular conditions and low-vision aids also was included. RESULTS: Seventeen patients with Stargardt's disease (STGD), 11 with adult-onset foveomacular vitelliform dystrophy (AFVD), and eight with myopic macular degeneration (MMD) were included. The control group included five patients each with STGD, AFVD, and MMD. The respective mean corrected distance visual acuities (VAs) in patients with STGD, AFVD, MMD, and the control group were 0.57 ± 0.38, 0.51 ± 0.38, 0.49 ± 0.24, and 0.55 ± 0.25 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution; the mean corrected near VAs were 0.89 ± 0.20, 1.08 ± 0.17, 0.99 ± 0.34, and 1.18 ± 0.37 (M notation) using low-vision aids. The reading speed, duration, and font size improved in all groups. The RRP groups obtained (p ≤ 0.01) greater improvements than the control group in each reading performance variable assessed. Patients with STGD obtained greater improvements in the subjective evaluation; the control group did not obtain noteworthy improvement in any domain. CONCLUSIONS: The RRP improved reading performance in patients with CVL and positively impacted the subjective perception of the QoL.

Autofluorescence Images with Carl Zeiss versus Topcon Eye Fundus Camera: A Comparative Study.

Purpose. To compare the autofluorescence images of the Zeiss versus Topcon eye fundus cameras and design an objective way to quantify it. Procedures. The IMAGEJ software was used to determine the gray level corresponding to the darkest veins and the peripapillary ring (thresholds), the level of white of the brightest perifoveal area, their difference (contrast level), and the suprathreshold area for each photograph. Results. Carl Zeiss has higher contrast values than Topcon. The Topcon contrast presented a crest with further decline as the suprathreshold area continued to increase. On the contrary, the Zeiss profile did not decline in contrast. Conclusions and Message. The Carl Zeiss camera showed superior contrast ability over the Topcon when performing autofluorescence imaging. We set objective parameters to compare fundus cameras FAF images. These parameters could be the base to objectively measure and determine changes and realize followup to areas of hyper- or hypofluorescence.

Unilateral acute idiopathic maculopathy: angiography, optical coherence tomography and microperimetry findings.

Unilateral acute idiopathic maculopathy (UAIM) is an uncommon inflammatory disease of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) that affects young adults. The variability of clinical features of UAIM makes the diagnosis cumbersome. We report on a 25-year-old man with sudden loss of visual acuity (VA) and a central scotoma in his right eye. Fluorescein angiography localised the lesion in the RPE. Microperimetry revealed a central scotoma extending beyond the lesion margins with complete recovery of retinal sensitivity over weeks. Optical coherence tomography at presentation showed a thickened RPE. We are unaware of previous reports of UAIM studied by microperimetry and could find no reference to it in a computerised search using MEDLINE.

Reproducibility of measurements and variability of the classification algorithm of Stratus OCT in normal, hypertensive, and glaucomatous patients.

PURPOSE: To assess the reproducibility of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements and the variability of the probabilistic classification algorithm in normal, hypertensive and glaucomatous eyes using Stratus optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Forty-nine eyes (13 normal, 17 ocular hypertensive [OHT] and 19 glaucomatous) of 49 subjects were included in this study. RNFL was determined with Stratus OCT using the standard protocol RNFL thickness 3.4. Three different images of each eye were taken consecutively during the same session. To evaluate OCT reproducibility, coefficient of variation (COV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated for average thickness (AvgT), superior average thickness (Savg), and inferior average thickness (Iavg) parameters. The variability of the results of the probabilistic classification algorithm, based on the OCT normative database, was also analyzed. The percentage of eyes with changes in the category assigned was calculated for each group. RESULTS: The 50th percentile of COV was 2.96%, 4.00%, and 4.31% for AvgT, Savg, and Iavg, respectively. Glaucoma group presented the largest COV for all three parameters (3.87%, 5.55%, 7.82%). ICC were greater than 0.75 for almost all measures (except from the inferior thickness parameter in the normal group; ICC = 0.64, 95% CI 0.334-0.857). Regarding the probabilistic classification algorithm for the three parameters (AvgT, Savg, Iavg), the percentage of eyes without color-code category changes among the three images was as follows: normal group, 100%, 84.6% and 92%; OHT group, 89.5%, 52.7%, 79%; and Glaucoma group, 82%, 70.6%, and 76.5%, respectively. A probabilistic category switch from pathologic to normal or vice versa was observed in three eyes (15.8%) of the glaucomatous group for the Savg parameter and in two eyes of the OHT group: one eye (5,9%) for the AvgT and one eye (5.9%) for the Savg parameter. CONCLUSIONS: OCT RNFL measurements showed a good reproducibility in normal, OHT, and glaucoma eyes. The probabilistic classification for the three main parameters showed certain variability, especially in glaucoma group and OHT group. Therefore, one isolated category result should be interpreted with caution before clinical classification of the patient.

Measurement of corneal swelling variations without removal of the contact lens during extended wear.

PURPOSE: To validate the use of noncontact scanning slit pachymetry and OCT pachymetry measurements without contact lens (CL) removal, to determine corneal swelling variations during extended wear (EW). METHODS: Central corneal thickness (CCT) was measured with ultrasonic (US) pachymetry, noncontact scanning slit pachymetry (Orbscan II; Bausch & Lomb, Tampa, FL), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) 1 week before the wearing of CLs and during 1 week of EW. High-Dk (lotrafilcon A) and low-Dk (etafilcon A) soft CLs were randomly fitted for EW in the right and left eyes of 20 subjects with normal ocular health. Orbscan and OCT were also performed without CL removal after 3 and 7 days of wear. RESULTS: CCT measured with Orbscan and OCT showed a high correlation with US pachymetry. There were corneas with edema and without edema. Bland-Altman analysis showed a high level of agreement between Orbscan and OCT, with and without CL removal and with US pachymetry. High repeatability of Orbscan (r(2) = 0.000) and OCT (r(2) = 0.001) measurements without CL removal was also found. Etafilcon A lenses induced significantly higher corneal swelling than did lotrafilcon A lenses measured with Orbscan and OCT. CONCLUSIONS: Orbscan and OCT are accurate, noninvasive, and reproducible techniques for evaluation of CCT without CL removal. OCT has more accuracy and repeatability than does Orbscan. Both techniques allowed for measurement throughout the study period of the CCT differences induced by CL wear.