Macula and optic disk features in methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine addicts using optical coherence tomography.

PURPOSE: Methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine abusers were compared with healthy subjects using optical coherence tomography to assess their retinal nerve fiber layer, macula, and optic disk characteristics. METHODS: Forty-one methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine abusers and 42 healthy subjects (mean ± SD of age: 35.82 ± 8.6 and 37.76 ± 9.1 years, respectively) were incorporated in this cross-sectional study. The drug abusers had a history of at least five years of substance use through smoking. Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography was used to image and assess the characteristics of retinal nerve fiber layer, macular thickness, and optic disk in the study groups. RESULTS: The retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was significantly lower in the superior and temporal retinal quadrants of drug abusers than healthy subjects (P = 0.008 and P = 0.028, respectively). This study did not find a significant difference between drug abusers and healthy controls regarding optic to disk ratio, rim area, and disk area (P > 0.05). The comparison between the study groups showed that the reductions in perifovea and the superior quadrant of parafoveal thickness were statistically significant (P < 0.001 and P = 0.029, respectively). CONCLUSION: Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography measurements showed that the retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness were different between methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine abusers and healthy subjects, which should be considered in clinical practice. It seems that these drug abuses can cause alterations in retinal morphology.

Refractive characteristics of keratoconus eyes with corneal Vogt's striae: A contralateral eye study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess and compare clinical characteristics of bilateral keratoconus patients with unilateral Vogt's striae.MethodsIn this contralateral eye study, refractive status were evaluated in patients with bilateral keratoconus whose corneas had definite slit-lamp biomicroscopic evidence of unilateral Vogt's striae. All cases underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination. Some refractive errors components provided by autorefraction were converted to vectorial notation for power vector analysis. Finally, the outcomes were compared between keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae.ResultsFifty patients aged 20 to 38 years (27.43±5.5) were recruited in this study. The results showed a significant difference in uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), non-cycloplegic and cycloplegic autorefraction including sphere, cylinder, spherical equivalent, and J0, between keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae (all P<0.05), except for J45 (P=0.518 in non-cycloplegic autorefraction and P=0.574 in cycloplegic autorefraction). Comparison of cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic autorefraction in both study groups showed significant differences in the sphere and spherical equivalent (all P<0.001), but no significant difference was found in cylinder, J0, and J45 between the study groups (all P>0.05).ConclusionsComparison of the cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic autorefraction in keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae showed significant differences in UDVA, CDVA, and some refractive errors components provided by autorefraction between the two groups, with a worse condition in KCN eyes with Vogt's striae. (AU)

Refractive characteristics of keratoconus eyes with corneal Vogt's striae: A contralateral eye study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess and compare clinical characteristics of bilateral keratoconus patients with unilateral Vogt's striae. METHODS: In this contralateral eye study, refractive status were evaluated in patients with bilateral keratoconus whose corneas had definite slit-lamp biomicroscopic evidence of unilateral Vogt's striae. All cases underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination. Some refractive errors components provided by autorefraction were converted to vectorial notation for power vector analysis. Finally, the outcomes were compared between keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae. RESULTS: Fifty patients aged 20 to 38 years (27.43±5.5) were recruited in this study. The results showed a significant difference in uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), non-cycloplegic and cycloplegic autorefraction including sphere, cylinder, spherical equivalent, and J0, between keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae (all P<0.05), except for J45 (P=0.518 in non-cycloplegic autorefraction and P=0.574 in cycloplegic autorefraction). Comparison of cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic autorefraction in both study groups showed significant differences in the sphere and spherical equivalent (all P<0.001), but no significant difference was found in cylinder, J0, and J45 between the study groups (all P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of the cycloplegic and non-cycloplegic autorefraction in keratoconus eyes with and without Vogt's striae showed significant differences in UDVA, CDVA, and some refractive errors components provided by autorefraction between the two groups, with a worse condition in KCN eyes with Vogt's striae.

A contralateral eye study comparing characteristics of corneal endothelial cells in bilateral keratoconus patients with unilateral corneal Vogt's striae.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze and compare corneal endothelial cell morphology and characteristics in bilateral keratoconus (KCN) patients with unilateral Vogt's striae. METHODS: Fifty patients aged 20-38 years were recruited in this cross-sectional contralateral eye study. In this study, corneal endothelial cell parameters were evaluated in patients with bilateral KCN and unilateral Vogt's striae using the Topcon SP2000P specular microscope (Topcon, Tokyo, Japan). RESULTS: In the current study, there were no significant differences in corneal endothelial cell parameters including endothelial cell density (ECD), hexagonal cell ratio (HEX), and coefficient of variance of cell size (CV) between the KCN groups with and without Vogt's striae, [(2968.34 ± 276.65 vs. 2980.05 ± 253.30, P = 0.618), (51.88 ± 13.57 vs. 53.24 ± 9.31, P = 0.658), and (32.50 ± 5.40 vs. 32.97 ± 4.07, P = 0.467), respectively]. Also, among study groups with and without Vogt's striae, ECD did not correlate with anterior chamber depth (ACD) [(P = 0.564, r = 0.09), (P = 0.219, r = -0.18), respectively], maximum keratometry (Kmax) [(P = 0.215, r = 0.18), (P = 0.898, r = 0.02), respectively], and central corneal thickness (CCT) [(P = 0.989, r = -0.02), (P = 0.643, r = -0.07), respectively].Our results showed significant differences in corrected and uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), cycloplegic refractive error components (calculated by vectorial analysis), CCT, and Kmax between two study groups (all P < 0.05) except for J45 (Jackson cross cylinder, axes at 45 and 135°) (P = 0.131). CONCLUSIONS: We were not able to find the statistically significant differences in ECD, HEX, and CV between KCN eyes with and without Vogt's striae. Despite clinical and tomographic results, it seems that Vogt's striae cannot cause deterioration in the corneal endothelial morphology.

Comparative evaluation of tomographic and biometric characteristics in bilateral keratoconus patients with unilateral corneal Vogt's striae: a contralateral eye study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare tomographic and biometric characteristics measured by the corneal tomography and ocular biometry in bilateral keratoconus (KCN) patients with and without corneal Vogt's striae. METHODS: Ninety-two eyes of 46 subjects with a reliable diagnosis of bilateral KCN with unilateral Vogt's striae were enrolled in this cross-sectional contralateral eye study. In addition to refraction (calculated by vectorial analysis) and visual acuity, corneal tomographic measurements were obtained by the Pentacam (Scheimpflug-based anterior segment tomography). Also, ocular biometric characteristics were evaluated using the Ocuscan® RxP (ultrasound biometer). The KCN eyes were categorized into two groups, including eyes with Vogt's striae and eyes without Vogt's striae. RESULTS: Our results showed significant differences in the sphere, cylinder, spherical equivalent, J0, corrected and uncorrected distance visual acuity, flat, steep and maximum keratometry, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and central corneal thickness (CCT) between the two groups (all P<0.001). The eyes without Vogt's striae had a shorter ACD measured by the Pentacam and biometer. There were no differences in axial length (AL) and vitreous length (VL) between the two groups (all P>0.05). Also, there was poor agreement between the measurements of the Pentacam and ultrasound biometer for ACD in the study groups. CONCLUSION: Corneal tomographic and ocular biometric measurements showed significant differences between KCN eyes with and without Vogt's striae except for AL and VL. These differences should be noticed in clinical evaluations and treatment of KCN patients.

Investigation of the effects of Islamic fasting on ocular parameters.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of religious fasting during the month of Ramadan on intraocular pressure (IOP), refractive error, corneal tomography and biomechanics, ocular biometry, and tear film layer properties. METHODS: This prospective study was carried out one week before and in the last week of Ramadan. Ninety-four eyes of 94 healthy adult volunteers (54 males and 40 females) with a mean ± SD age of 35.12 ± 9.07 were enrolled in this study. Patients with any systemic disorder, ocular disease, or a history of previous surgery were excluded. Corneal tomography and biomechanics, ocular biometry, IOP, refractive error, and tear break up time (TBUT) were evaluated in non-fasting and fasting periods by the Pentacam (Oculus), Corvis ST (Oculus), IOL Master (Carl Zeiss), computerized tonometer (Topcon CT-1/CT-1P), auto kerato-refractometer (Topcon KR-1), and Keratograph 5M (Oculus), respectively. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the central corneal thickness (CCT) between the study groups (P = 0.123) using the Pentacam while the Corvis ST showed a significant difference in all participants (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the peak distance (distance of the two surrounding peaks of the cornea at the highest concavity) of male and female participants showed a significant difference between the fasting and non-fasting groups (P = 0.002). The anterior chamber depth (ACD) using the Pentacam decreased in the male group (P = 0.004) in the fasting period. During the fasting period, computerized tonometer showed a decrease in IOP only in males in comparison to the non-fasting group (P = 0.018) while the Corvis ST showed decreased IOP in all participants (P < 0.0001). The steep keratometry (K2) in the corneal posterior surface appeared to be different in males between the study groups (P = 0.034). We were unable to show any significant difference in other ocular parameters between fasting and non-fasting periods. CONCLUSION: This study showed that ACD, IOP, CCT, and peak distance were different between fasting and non-fasting groups while no difference was observed in other ocular parameters. Interpretations of these significant differences should be considered in the clinical setting.

A Contralateral Eye Study Comparing Corneal Biomechanics in Subjects with Bilateral Keratoconus with Unilateral Vogt's Striae.

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare corneal biomechanics in patients with bilateral keratoconus (KCN) with unilateral Vogt's striae. In this prospective contralateral study, visual acuity, refraction, and corneal biomechanical parameters were evaluated in patients with bilateral KCN with unilateral Vogt's striae using the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) (Reichert Inc., Buffalo, NY) and Corvis ST (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). All patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination, including uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), refraction (calculated by vectorial analysis), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, and Scheimpflug-based tomography. The patients enrolled in this study had a reliable diagnosis of bilateral clinical KCN with unilateral Vogt's striae based on slit-lamp signs as well as corneal topographic/tomographic maps. Fifty patients aged 18 to 40 years were included in this study. There was a significant difference in all clinical (distance visual acuity and refraction) and corneal biomechanical parameters between KCN eyes with and without unilateral Vogt's striae (all P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in peak distance (P = 0.291), corneal compensated intraocular pressure (IOPCC) (P = 0.08), and J45 (P = 0.131) between the two groups. Most corneal biomechanical parameters, except for peak distance, IOPCC, and J45, showed a significant difference between KCN eyes with and without unilateral Vogt's striae. Vogt's striae may cause corneal biomechanical deterioration. This information could be used in clinical practice.

The Relationship of Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure with Corneal Biomechanical Parameters in Healthy Subjects.

This study aimed to assess the possible relationship of body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) with corneal biomechanical parameters in healthy subjects. The study included 88 eyes of 88 healthy subjects aged 20-40 years. After a thorough medical history, a digital sphygmomanometer was used to measure the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In addition, several hematological and biochemical parameters were determined to assess general health. Prior the ophthalmic examination, the body height and weight were measured; then, the BMI was calculated. Finally, after comprehensive ophthalmic examination, all cases were evaluated with Pentacam (Oculus) in order to rule out corneal ectasia; then, the corneal biomechanical parameters of all individuals were measured using the Scheimpflug-based Corvis ST (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). If the measurements of the hematological and biochemical parameters were within normal range, the results of the Corvis ST, BMI, and BP were included in the analysis carried out with SPSS software. The mean (± standard deviation [SD]) BMI, SBP, DBP, intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), deformation amplitude, radius, and peak distance was 27.24 ± 4.80 kg/m2, 116.47 ± 11.21 mmHg, 80.51 ± 5.68 mmHg, 15.10 ± 1.70 mmHg, 533.10 ± 30.97 micrometer, 1.03 ± 0.11 mm, 7.51 ± 0.86 mm, and 5.03 ± 0.30 mm, respectively. Results showed no significant difference in IOP, CCT, peak distance, radius, and deformation amplitude between different BMI subcategories defined by World Health Organization (all P > 0.05). The results of the Corvis ST showed that corneal biomechanical parameters had no significant correlation with BMI, SBP, and DBP in three subgroups of BMI and all participants (all P > 0.05) but the results showed a positive correlation between CCT and IOP (P < 0.001, r = 0.504) in all participants. CCT and IOP had no correlation with BMI, SBP, and DBP (P > 0.05). This study showed that BMI and BP had no correlation with corneal biomechanical parameters in healthy subjects using the Corvis ST.