Subretinal fibrosis and uveitis: a spectral domain OCT study of its evolution and the minimal therapeutic effect of the off-label treatment with ranibizumab.

PURPOSE: The subretinal fibrosis and uveitis (SFU) syndrome is a rare multifocal posterior uveitis characterized by progressive subretinal fibrosis and significant visual loss. METHODS: Slit-lamp examination, dilated fundoscopy, fluorescein angiography, Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) and laboratory testing were employed. RESULTS: A 52-year-old male presented with bilateral (best-corrected visual acuity: 2/10) visual loss. Clinical examination revealed bilateral anterior uveitis with posterior synechiae and posterior uveitis. Medical workup revealed no pathologic findings. Treatment included 1 gr intravenous prednisone followed by oral prednisone, immunosuppresive therapy and three ranibizumab injections in the right eye with no improvement. One year later, there was significant subretinal fibrosis. In the second year follow-up, the picture was slightly worse, with persisting bilateral macular edema and fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first SFU syndrome report monitored with SD-OCT. This novel imaging modality can localize the lesion level, guide the therapeutic approach and may prove helpful in assessing disease prognosis.

A comparative study of visual function of young myopic adults wearing contact lenses vs. spectacles.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of contact lenses wear vs. spectacles wear on visual function of young adults with mild to moderate myopia. METHODS: 57 students (27 male and 30 female) with a mean age of 23 years old participated in the study. Their mean best corrected visual acuity was 10/10 binocularly, all suffered from mild to moderate myopia (-3.75 sph/SD 1.25 sph) and they were both contact lenses and spectacles wearers. The VF-14 questionnaire was administered to assess the contact lenses wear vs. spectacles wear impact score on general daily living among the young individuals. It was used translated in Greek after following the 'translation-back translation' procedure. RESULTS: The mean VF-14 score among spectacles and contact lenses wearers was 100 and 86.78 (SD 4.08) respectively. Although there was a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05), both scores were related to a satisfactory functional vision for daily living. The contact lenses wearers were facing difficulty especially while driving at night, seeing steps, as well as doing fine handwork (i.e. sewing, knitting or carpentry). CONCLUSIONS: The use of both spectacles and contact lenses provides satisfactory visual functioning for daily activities in young individuals suffering from mild to moderate myopia. However, there is a spectacles' wear superiority in personal satisfaction when compared to contact lenses.