[Intraocular pressure with miniscleral contact lenses]. / Oftal'motonus v usloviyakh nosheniya miniskleral'nykh kontaktnykh linz.

According to literature data, some experts do not exclude the possibility that scleral lens wear could influence intraocular pressure. PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of rigid gas permeable miniscleral contact lenses on intraocular pressure (IOP), keratometry readings and corneal thickness, and to study the correlation between scleral (IOPs) and corneal (IOPc) intraocular pressure using the Icare ic100 tonometer (model TAO11, Icare Finland Oy). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 99 volunteers without history of ocular diseases. The first group consisted of 66 participants (122 eyes) aged 22.3±2.2 years - IOPc and IOPs were measured by the Icare ic100 tonometer in order to determine the correlation. The second group (33 participants, aged 22.7±1.7 years) - day 1, diurnal IOPc and IOPs fluctuations were measured; on day 2, a miniscleral lens (diameter 14.9 mm) was placed on the study eye and was worn for 6 hours, the paired eye served as control. IOP was measured before, after lens placement, after 2 hours of lens wear, and before and after lens removal. Corneal topography was evaluated before and after lens removal. RESULTS: In the first group, there was a weak but significant correlation between IOPc and IOPs (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.285, p=0.001). In the second group, IOPc in the study eye before lens placement (14.8±3.8 mm Hg) and IOPc after its removal (13.6±3.9 mm Hg) were not different from those in the control eye. There were also no statistically significant changes in IOPs before, during lens wear, and after lens removal. The central corneal thickness increased by 2.9% (p<0.001) after 6 hours of lens wear. CONCLUSION: In young individuals without history of ocular diseases, wearing the miniscleral lens for 6 hours does not have significant influence on IOP and does not cause clinically significant corneal edema.

[Modern options for non-surgical correction of keratoconus]. / Sovremennye vozmozhnosti «nekhirurgicheskoi¼ korrektsii keratokonusa.

The article reviews data on the so called non-surgical methods of keratoconus (KC) correction. The combined approach to KC treatment entails three main tasks: prevention of progression, optical correction of induced refractive disorders, and structural repair. Measures taken to accomplish the first two tasks should be regarded as symptomatic treatment, while addressing the last task requires pathogenetically oriented solutions. Corneal cross-linking and optical correction of refractive disorders with rigid gas permeable (RGP) scleral contact lenses should be regarded as the first choice for symptomatic non-surgical correction of keratoconus.

[Structural organization of subcortical-stem formations of the human brain during aging]. / Strukturnaia organizatsiia nekotorykh podkorkovo-stvolovykh obrazovanii mozga cheloveka v protsesse stareniia.

Using "Videoplan" apparatus manufactured by "Reihert" (Austria) the authors studied qualitative and quantitative cytoarchitectonic characteristics of the ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus, individual reticular nuclei of the pontomesencephalic fissure, Meynert's nucleus and locus coeruleus in senile dementia (simple-type) and Alzheimer's disease in comparison with their structure in normal subjects of various age (from 30 to 90 years). Examination of 20-microns thin sections stained after Nissl has revealed both qualitative and quantitative cytoarchitectonic changes (a reduction in the area of the profile fields of neurons) which were more pronounced, along with cholinergic Meynert's nucleus, in the serotoninergic nuclei of the fissure and particularly in patients with Alzheimer's disease in whom they were far more expressed than in those with senile dementia.