[Atrophic tamoxifen maculopathy]. / Maculopathie atrophique au tamoxifène.

Tamoxifen maculopathy is characterized by perifoveal white refractile deposits associated with pigmentary changes and cystoid macular edema. We report a case of atrophic maculopathy related to tamoxifen in a 70-year-old patient. Fundus examination showed refractile deposits in the macula predominantly in the left eye. Fundus autofluorescence demonstrated foveolar autofluorescence in both eyes. Fluorescein angiogram showed bilateral foveolar hyperfluorescence without leakage in the late phase. Optical coherence tomography disclosed an interruption of the photoreceptor layer in both eyes with a foveolar cystoid space. Multifocal electroretinogram showed bilateral alteration of the foveolar pic. The perifoveal foveolar cyst disappeared on OCT after discontinuation of tamoxifen. This case highlights the usefulness of optical coherence tomography and multifocal electroretinogram in the early diagnosis of atrophic form of tamoxifen maculopathy.

[Screening for diabetic retinopathy using a three-field digital nonmydriatic fundus camera in the North of France]. / Dépistage de la rétinopathie diabétique par télémédecine en utilisant des rétinophotographies non mydriatiques dans un groupe hospitalier du Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

PURPOSE: To evaluate screening for diabetic retinopathy, using three-field nonmydriatic fundus photography, combined with telemedicine, in two hospitals. METHODS: Patients from the Endocrinology Department of Saint Philibert Hospital were screened consecutively from March 2007 to September 2008. Three 45 degrees digital images per eye examination were taken using a nonmydriatic fundus camera and sent by intranet to the Department of Ophthalmology of Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital for grading by two ophthalmologists. RESULTS: A total of 1147 patients (52% males, 48% females) were screened. The mean age was 60 years (range, 19-92 years). Most patients had type 2 diabetes (n=1000; 90%). The mean HbA1c was 8%. Microalbuminuria was detected in 239 patients (20.8%). Of these 1147 patients, 521 (45%) said they had never had a fundus examination before. Fundus photography of at least one eye could not be graded in 160 patients (14%). Diabetic retinopathy was detected in 187 patients (19%). Suspected macular edema (hard exudates within one disc diameter of the macular center) was found in 38 patients (3.8%). Referral to an ophthalmologist was required in 347 patients (30%) for diabetic retinopathy and unreadable photographs. During the period of the study, 107 patients had both three-field nonmydriatic photography and dilated funduscopy, which was used as reference. Agreement between the two readers was 0.97. CONCLUSIONS: Nonmydriatic photography combined with telemedicine is useful for screening for diabetic retinopathy and identifies patients requiring further complete eye examination. Good collaboration between the two centers is required to improve the follow-up after screening in the future.

Diffusion in the Atmospheres of Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars.

We investigate the effects of diffusion in the atmospheres of hot horizontal-branch stars using a model atmosphere code including diffusion self-consistently. Equilibrium stratifications (i.e., for which the diffusion velocity equals zero in each layer) are computed for models of effective temperatures between 10,000 and 25,000 K. The stratified models provide much better agreement with many observational features [jump in the (u, u-y) color-magnitude diagram, gaps, lower spectroscopic gravities] in comparison with classical horizontal-branch models. The observed abundance anomalies are also consistent with the amounts that can be supported in the atmospheres.