Prospective randomized trial: outcomes of SF6 versus C3F8 in macular hole surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare macular hole (MH) closure and visual acuity improvement after vitrectomy using SF6 versus C3F8 gas tamponade. The secondary purposes were to report the cumulative incidence of cataract development at 1 year after MH surgery and the proportion of complications. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one patients were prospectively randomized to the SF6 group and 28 patients to the C3F8 group. METHODS: Preoperative data included MH minimum diameter, Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), cataract staging, and intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement. Postoperative data included optical coherence tomography confirmation of the closure at 6 weeks and 1 year, and ETDRS BCVA and cataract development/extraction, both 1 year after the MH surgery. RESULTS: Primary MH closure was achieved in 93.3% in the SF6 group and 92.9% in the C3F8 group. Mean ETDRS BCVA improved by 17.7 letters in the SF6 and 16.9 letters in the C3F8 group. The difference in cumulative incidence of cataract development and extraction between both groups was not statistically significant. Regardless of the dye used, similar results were achieved. Finally, the proportion of adverse events was similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: MH surgery with SF6 gas achieves results similar to C3F8 in terms of visual acuity improvement, MH closure, cataract development/extraction, and adverse events.

Retinal function assessment of trypan blue versus indocyanine green assisted internal limiting membrane peeling during macular hole surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) retinal function and the anatomical and visual outcomes of macular hole surgery performed with indocyanine green (ICG) or trypan blue (TB). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five eyes of 24 patients. METHODS: Patients underwent a pars plana vitrectomy with removal of the internal limiting membrane. In 14 eyes, internal limiting membrane visualization during macular hole repair was performed using TB, and ICG was used in 11 eyes. The examination protocol (performed before surgery and at 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery) included optical coherence tomography, mfERG (mfERG-103 hexagons), and assessment of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and contrast sensitivity (CS). RESULTS: Closure of macular hole was achieved in 100% of the cases. In the TB group, P1 amplitude and implicit time improved significantly at 12 months after surgery (P < 0.05), whereas in the ICG group, significant improvement occurred at both 6 (P < 0.05) and 12 months (P < 0.01). BCVA improved significantly in both groups at 6 and 12 months (P < 0.01). Both groups also showed a statistically significant CS improvement at spatial frequency of 6 cycles per degree (P = 0.01) 1 year postoperatively. At 12 months, improvement of P1 amplitude and implicit time, BCVA, and CS was not different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the use of TB or ICG appears to yield similar improvement in terms of BCVA, CS, and mfERG amplitude and implicit time changes at 12 months.

Bevacizumab and ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a treatment approach based on individual patient needs.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab and ranibizumab for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration using an as-needed treatment regimen. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and ninety two eyes of 184 patients. METHODS: Patients received an initial treatment of 3 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab or bevacizumab and retreatment is individually considered for each patient on the basis of optical coherence tomography, angiography, and clinical examination. RESULTS: Fifty eyes treated with ranibizumab and 142 eyes treated with bevacizumab were included. The average age of the patients at baseline was 76.9 ± 8 years and 76.4 ± 8 years in the ranibizumab and bevacizumab group respectively. Mean visual acuity improved from 0.69 to 0.55 logMAR at 12 months in the ranibizumab group and from 0.70 to 0.67 logMAR in the bevacizumab group. At 12 months, 92% of eyes treated with ranibizumab had lost fewer than 0.3 logMAR, as compared with 83% in the bevacizumab group. The ranibizumab group received a mean of 4.92 injections, compared to 4.75 injections in the bevacizumab group over 12 months. After the first 3 injections, 20% of patients in the ranibizumab group and 26% in the bevacizumab group never needed another injection. CONCLUSIONS: An approach based on clinical onset and choroidal neovascularization progression at angiography may provide benefit by reducing the number of intravitreal injections required.

Influence of sp1/sp3 expression on corneal epithelial cells proliferation and differentiation properties in reconstructed tissues.

PURPOSE: Primary cultured epithelial cells are widely used for the production of tissue-engineered substitutes and are gaining popularity as a model for gene expression studies. However, as such cells are passaged in culture, they often lose their ability to proliferate by progressing toward terminal cell differentiation, a process likely to be determined by altered expression of transcription factors that have functions critical for cell adhesion and differentiation. This study was designed to determine whether the variable life span of primary cultured human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) might be the consequence of varying expression levels of the well-known transcription factors Sp1 and Sp3 (Sp1/Sp3). METHODS: HCECs were obtained from donor eyes and cultured on irradiated Swiss-3T3. Sp1/Sp3 expression was monitored by Western blot and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). The Sp1/Sp3 regulatory influence was evaluated by transfection of HCECs with a recombinant plasmid bearing the Sp1/Sp3-dependent poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (rPARP) promoter fused to the CAT reporter gene. HCECs that expressed various levels of Sp1/Sp3 were also used for the production of corneal substitutes. RESULTS: Expression of Sp1/Sp3 was dramatically inconsistent between HCECs isolated from the eyes of different donors. Both factors were highly expressed during one passage and then totally disappeared as cells terminally differentiated. Proper stratification of HCECs on reconstructed tissue substitutes could be obtained only with cells that also had a delayed peak of Sp1/Sp3 expression when cultured in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of Sp1/Sp3 may represent a good predictor for selecting HCECs that are most likely to proliferate, stratify, and differentiate properly when used for the production of reconstructed corneal substitutes.