[Optic disc drusen. Communication 1. The possibilities of diagnosis].

The study enrolled 63 patients (108 eyes) suspected for optic disc drusen (ODD). ODD were found in 45 patients (83 eyes). Ophthalmoscopic study determined only visible superficial drusen, which accounted for 36.4% of all the found cases. The autofluorescence technique could reveal mainly superficial or shallow drusen in 70.1% of cases and differentiate pseudodrusen. The most reliable and sensitive diagnostic method was B-scanning that determined ODD in 100% of cases. However, B-scanning could not differentiate true drusen from pseudodrusen.

[Optic disc drusen. Communication 2. Their role in the etiopathogenesis of optic neuropathy].

Forty-five patients (83 eyes) aged 17 to 80 years with optic disc drusen (ODD) were examined. Acute anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) was detected in 6% of all the cases. Chronic optic neuropathy (ON) was revealed in 60%, which was predominantly slowly, progressive, asymptomatic and manifested as changes in the paracentral and peripheral fields of vision. Ultrasound study showed small-sized ODD in patients without clinical signs of optic nerve pathology and large-sized ODD in patients with manifestations of chronic ON. ODD affected central retinal artery blood flow (CRABF): in 96.8% of the patients with chronic ON and in 45.5% of those without visual impairments. There was a relationship of the values of the field of vision and CRABF to the extent of ODD.

[Optic disc drusen. Communication 3. The possibilities of optic coherence tomography].

Twenty-six patients (45 eyes) (median age 55 years) with optic disc drusen (ODD) (a study group) and 24 healthy volunteers (47 eyes) (median age 53 years) (a control group) were examined. Nerve fiber layer thinning determined by optic coherence tomography (OCT) was found in 65% of the ODD. In 20% of the patients with ODD, nerve fiber layer thinning, as evidenced by OCT, was observed with the normal field of vision, which suggests the higher sensitivity of a morphometric study of the retinal nerve fiber layer. According to OCT data, 11% of the patients with pathological changes in the field of vision had increased retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in some quadrants or from the mean value. These changes may be associated with the large-sized optic disc in these patients.

[Characteristics of the vitreous body in terminal glaucoma].

Two-dimensional echographic study was conducted in 54 patients (54 eyes) with terminal glaucoma. Posterior vitreous detachment was found in all the study eyes. Kinetic echographic testing revealed a uniform instantaneous displacement of structures in the vitreal cavity, which indirectly indicates the evenness of pressure distribution in the fluid media of the posterior eye segment in terminal glaucoma.

[Three-dimensional echography in the diagnosis of hemophthalmia].

Ultrasound study involving three-dimensional echography was made in 250 patients aged 25 to 70 years who had vitreous body hemorrhage of varying etiology. Three degrees of acoustic hemophthalmia density: 1) low (from 5 to 25 MG); 2) moderate (from 25.1 to 40 MG); 3) high (from 40.1 to 55 MG or higher). According to the extent of a pathological focus, the authors identified total hemophthalmia (from 50 to 100% of the volume of the vitreous body) that is equal to a volume of 2.61 cm3 or more; disseminated hemophthalmia (from 25 to 50% of the volume of the vitreous body) that corresponds to a volume of 1.31 to 2.6 cm3; partial hemophthalmia (up to 25% of the volume of the vitreous body) to a volume of 0.1 to 1.3 cm3. Three-dimensional echography makes it possible to measure the extent of intraocular hemorrhage, its acoustic density, to define criteria for evaluating the severity of intraocular hemorrhage, and to assess the risk of retinal detachment.

[Role of pentoxifylline retard dosage forms in the correction of hemodynamic disorders in retinal venous occlusion and diabetic retinopathy].

The investigation was undertaken to study the effect of the pentoxifylline retard dosage form Vasonit on ocular hemodynamics in patients with retinal vein occlusions and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR). Forty-two patients aged 45 to 75 years, including 20 patients (20 eyes) with retinal vein occlusion in the presence of hypertensive disease and atherosclerosis (Group 1) and 22 patients (44 years) with non-proliferative DR (Group 2), were examined. All the patients received the pentoxifylline retard dosage form Vasonit, 600 mg twice a day, for 2 months. After a course of pentoxifylline therapy, the patients were observed to have improved visual functions, positive clinical changes in the fundus of the eye as a reduction in the frequency and extent of retinal hemorrhages, in the degree of manifestations of macular edema, in the number of retinal microaneurysms and ischemic areas. The results of color Doppler mapping of ocular and orbital vessels are indicative of improved hemodynamics as an increase in the values of blood flow velocity and normalization of blood flow resistance and pulsation indices in the arteries supplying blood to the retina and optic nerve.

[Effect of vasoactive agents on visual functions and ocular blood flow in patients with early manifestations of age-related macular degeneration].

Forty patients aged 40 to 65 years who had non-exudative forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including 20 patients with degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), 15 with retinal drusen, and 5 with RPE atrophy were examined. All the patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 comprised 20 patients receiving, in addition to conventional therapy, cavinton forte (1 tablet contains 10 mg of vinpocetine). Group 2 (control) included 20 patients receiving conventional therapy (antioxidants, peptide bioregulators, lutein-containing agents). Medical treatment was performed during 2 months. After a course of cavinton therapy, patients with AMD were observed to have better visual acuity, improved retinal function, and increased a- and b-wave amplitudes on a macular electroretinogram. There was improvement of ocular blood flow values, which is indicative of better uveal blood supply.

[Value of color doppler imaging in the diagnosis of occlusive retinal venous lesions].

A hundred and twenty-five patients aged 47 to 72 years who had retinal venous occlusions were examined. Occlusion of the central retinal vein (CRV) was observed in 82 (65.6%) patients and that of CRV branches was seen in 43 (34.4%) patients. In all the patients, color Doppler imaging (CDI) was performed to study blood flow in the ophthalmic artery, central retinal artery (CRA), CRV, and short posterior ciliary arteries. The study indicated a marked reduction in diastolic velocity, no diastolic component of the Doppler blood flow spectrum, and a significant increase in the CRA resistance index (from 0.9 to 1.0), and a pronounced decrease in the maximum systolic velocity in the CRV, as well as a considerable reduction in blood flow velocity parameters, and a rise in the resistance index in the ophthalmic artery and short posterior ciliary arteries. CDI is a highly informative, non-invasive technique that makes it possible to study the blood flow in the CRA and CRV for the evaluation the severity of disease and the efficiency of therapy for occlusive retinal venous lesions.

[The specific features of ocular blood flow and brachiocephalic arteries in patients with non-exudative senile macular degeneration].

A hundred and twenty patients (240 eyes) aged 40-65 years (mean age 56.9 +/- 2.1 years) who had non-exudative age-related (AMD) macular degeneration (AMD) were examined. Ultrasound studies, including Doppler color mapping, were conducted to study blood flow in ophthalmic vessels and brachiocephalic arteries. Hemodynamic parameters deteriorated in all patients with non-exudative AMD, which suggests that blood flow deficit in the ophthalmic arterial system, central retinal artery, and posterior ciliary arteries. 88.3% of patients with non-exudative AMD were diagnosed as having brachiocephalic arterial deformities of which bilateral C- and S-shaped pathological tortuosity of carotid and vertebral arteries were most common.

[Effect of fezam on ocular dynamics in patients with senile macular degeneration].

The complex treatment in 25 patients with non-exudative forms of senile macular degeneration (ARMD) included the use of the nootropic agent fezam. Better visual acuity after a course of therapy was noted in 76% of the eyes of patients with ARMD. Color Doppler mapping prior to treatment indicated that all the patients had a significant reduction in the maximum systolic and end-diastolic blood flow velocities (Vs and Vd, respectively), and the increased peripheral resistance index (RI) in the ophthalmic artery, central artery of the retina, and short posterior ciliary arteries as compared to the normal values. Higher ophthalmic arterial blood flow velocities after a course of therapy are indicative of better blood supply to the tunics of the eye, which is a favorable sign for the prognosis of the disease. The use of fezam is effective in the complex therapy of non-exudative forms of senile macular degeneration.