Use of Tachosil® as an adjuvant therapeutic option in neurotrophic keratopathy in order to prevent perforation.

We present two cases of women who suffered from neurotrophic keratopathy (one of them had undergone penetrating keratoplasty) which had led to corneal thinning. Tachosil® was used as an adjuvant treatment after topical medication by itself failed in both cases. To our knowledge, there are no reported cases of the use of Tachosil® in corneal grafts.

Aflibercept as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Treatment-Naïve Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Prospective Case Series Analysis in Real-Life Clinical Practice.

PURPOSE: To assess the 13-month effectiveness and safety of aflibercept in naïve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) in a real-life clinical setting. METHODS: Thirty-two treatment-naïve patients with nvAMD participated in a prospective two-center study. Patients received intravitreal injections of aflibercept (Eylea®), a loading dose of three monthly injections (2 mg/0.05 ml) every 4 weeks for the first 3 months, followed by intravitreal injections every 2 months. RESULTS: At 3 and 13 months, the mean best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly as compared with baseline (logMAR 0.53 ± 0.30 and 0.55 ± 0.32 vs. 0.30 ± 0.24, respectively, p < 0.001). At 3 and 13 months, 46.8% of patients (15/32) gained ≥15 ETDRS letters. The mean decrease in central macular thickness was also significant at 3 months (252 ± 35 µm) and at 13 months (249 ± 38 µm) as compared with pretreatment values (383 ± 76 µm) (p < 0.01). Also, 50% resolution of pigment epithelial detachment (PED) was observed in 8 out of 9 eyes (88.9%) with PED at baseline. Intravitreal injections were well tolerated and no adverse events were recorded. CONCLUSION: Aflibercept was effective and safe for treating nvAMD in naïve patients in routine daily practice.

Glistenings in the Artiflex phakic intraocular lens.

PURPOSE: To report the appearance of glistenings in the Artiflex iris-claw phakic intraocular lens (pIOL) (Ophtec B.V.); evaluate their prevalence, severity, and visual significance; and determine whether a large in-depth study of the IOL is warranted. SETTING: La Fe University Hospital, Valencia, Spain. METHODS: Twenty eyes of 13 patients who had the Artiflex pIOL implantation at the same institution over a 2-year period were randomly selected and evaluated by slitlamp examination; visual acuity was also measured. Glistenings in the Artiflex pIOL were graded from trace to 4+ at the slitlamp. RESULTS: Four Artiflex pIOLs had lenticular glistenings ranging from grade 1+ to grade 4+. Analysis of visual acuity and patient satisfaction showed that the glistenings had no clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Glistenings appeared some Artiflex pIOLs to varying degrees, although they were not visually significant in any case. A larger study of this IOL is needed to determine whether severe cases of glistenings affect visual function and assess their cause and evolution over time.

Rate of cataract formation in 343 highly myopic eyes after implantation of three types of phakic intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of using phakic intraocular lenses (PIOL) to treat high myopia, and evaluate the incidence of cataract, comparing three different lens types. METHODS: From 1989 to 2002, we implanted three different phakic intraocular lenses (PIOL) in 343 eyes of 232 patients; 231 eyes recieved an Ophtec (Worst-Fechner model, iris-claw), 89 an Adatomed (silicone posterior chamber), and 23 a Staar (posterior chamber, models V2, V3, V4). Average follow-up was 96.2 months for the Ophtec group, 31.5 months for the Adatomed group, and 19.3 months for Staar group. Eyes that subsequently developed cataract were studied for clinical evolution and had PIOL explantation and cataract extraction. RESULTS: Nuclear cataract developed in 7 of 231 eyes (3.04 %) with an Ophtec lens. Anterior subcapsular cataract developed with the two types of posterior PIOLs (Adatomed group: 38/89 eyes, 42.69%; Staar group: 3/23 eyes, 13.04%). Anterior subcapsular cataract in the Adatomed group developed more rapidly compared to the Staar group. We explanted 7 lenses in the Ophtec group, 16 lenses in the Adatomed group, and 2 lenses in the Staar group (models V2 and V3 only). Patient age older than 40 years at implantation of PIOLs and axial length greater than 30 mm were factors significantly related to nuclear cataract formation and the Ophtec lens. However, these two factors had a weaker correlation with the posterior phakic lenses (Adatomed, Staar) for high myopia than with the Ophtec lens. Postoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity remained stable after explantation, phacoemulsification, and posterior chamber lens implantation. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed cataract development and cataract type (nuclear) in patients with an Ophtec lens and the variables of patient age (>40 yr) and axial length (>30 mm) may considered prognostic factors. Other factors such as lens design, material, and placement probably influenced cataract formation in patients with the Adatomed and Staar PIOLs. The lens styles used in this study are no longer manufactured.