Cellular toxicity profile of a new ophthalmic sponge.

Introduction: Ophthalmic sponges are used for cleaning the eye surface and absorbing fluids during ophthalmic procedures. This study compared the biological safety and stability of a new ophthalmic sponge, Occucell® (OccuTech Inc, Seongnam, Korea), on the human conjunctival epithelial cells with those of preexisting products to evaluate its clinical application.Materials and Methods: The cytotoxicity of four products, Occucell, a new product, Ultracell®, Eyetec-1, and Eyetec-2, on conjunctival epithelial cells, was evaluated using the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) analysis. Additionally, human conjunctival epithelial cells were stained with a Live & Dead marker and observed using a fluorescence microscope. To evaluate the effect of the ophthalmic sponges on the secretion of IL-1ß and TNF-α, cultured conjunctival epithelial cells were treated with 0.5% DMSO eluates of the ophthalmic sponges, and IL-1ß and TNF-α mRNA levels were estimated using real-time polymerase chain reaction assays.Results: Cells treated with Occucell showed comparable viability to those treated with other preexisting products. Conjunctival epithelial cells showed more than 90% viability when treated with the ophthalmic sponge extracts, as determined by the MTT assay. No significant differences in the number of live & dead cells were observed between the control and treatment groups. Cells treated with all four ophthalmic sponge eluates showed similar IL-1ß and TNF-α mRNA levels.Discussion: Occucell, an eye sponge used during ophthalmic surgery in clinical practice, did not affect the viability of conjunctival epithelial cells, and more than 90% of the cells were viable after the treatment. Further, Occucell showed similar effects on IL-1ß and TNF-α secretion as that of other ophthalmic sponges used in the clinic. This suggested that Occucell is a safe product comparable to the preexisting products.

Prevalence and Progression of Stage 0 Macular Hole in Fellow Eyes of Patients with Idiopathic Full-thickness Macular Hole.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence and progression of a stage 0 macular hole in the fellow eye of patients with an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole. METHODS: The fellow eyes of 189 patients who underwent idiopathic full-thickness macular hole surgery were examined by biomicroscopy and spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). A subset of 21 fellow eyes with a stage 0 macular hole was observed. Changes in the macular hole were evaluated by biomicroscopy and SD-OCT for an average of 29 months. RESULTS: Among the 21 eyes, 15 showed no change in perifoveal vitreous detachment (71.4%). Two eyes (9.5%) developed complete vitreofoveal separation, and one of the two developed a separation after progression to stage 1A. Among 21 eyes, 5 (23.8%) developed above stage 1A, and one of the five progressed to stage 1B after five years, which was successfully treated with vitrectomy and gas tamponade. CONCLUSIONS: Perifoveal vitreous detachment in the fellow eye on SD-OCT, defined as a stage 0 macular hole, occurred at an earlier phase than stage 1A macular holes and may progress to an advanced stage. Therefore, patients who undergo macular hole surgery and have a stage 0 macular hole or perifoveal vitreous detachment in the fellow eye should be followed closely.

Comparative quantification of plasma TDRD7 mRNA in cataract patients by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between plasma TDRD7 mRNA and lens transparency, and to evaluate plasma TDRD7 mRNA as a potential marker for cataracts and its sub-type by quantitatively analyzing human peripheral blood. METHODS: Plasma RNA was extracted from 40 patients with cataracts, and 30 normal controls of matched age and gender. Blood cholesterol and fasting glucose were measured, and the RNA extracted from the sample was synthesized into cDNA. After polymerase chain reaction, the results were compared after quantifying the TDRD7 mRNA using ABL1 mRNA for normalization. We analyzed the relative gene expression data via the ΔΔCt method. RESULTS: The normalized 2(-ΔΔCt) of plasma TDRD7 mRNA based on ABL1 mRNA was 1.52 ± 0.63 in the case of the control group and 1.05 ± 0.34 in the case of the cataract patients, and the TDRD7 expression level of the cataract patients was lower than that of the control group (p = 0.048). The comparison of the genetic values of different types of cataracts demonstrated that the TDRD7 expression level of the cortical type and mixed type were lower than those of the nuclear type and posterior subcapsular opacity type (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Human cataracts and the TDRD7 gene loss-of-function mutations are strongly causally related, as the expression level of plasma TDRD7 mRNA in patients with cataracts was statistically significantly lower than in the normal control group.

Keratitis with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica occurring after contact lens wear: a case report.

To report keratitis with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, which occurred in a healthy patient after wearing contact lenses for 6 months. A 24-year-old male patient visited our hospital with ocular pain. This patient had a history of wearing soft contact lenses for 6 months, about 10 hours per day. At initial presentation, slit lamp examination showed corneal stromal infiltrations and small epithelial defect. Microbiological examinations were performed from corneal scrapings, contact lenses, and the contact lens case and solution. The culture results from contact lenses, contact lens case and solution were all positive for Elizabethkingia meningoseptica. Thus, we could confirm that the direct cause of keratitis was contamination of the contact lenses. The patient was treated with 0.3% gatifloxacin. After treatment, the corneal epithelial defect was completely healed, and a slight residual subepithelial corneal opacity was observed. We diagnosed keratitis with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in a healthy young male wearing soft contact lenses. We conclude that Elizabethkingia meningoseptica should be considered as a rare but potential pathogen for lens-related keratitis in a healthy host.