Branch retinal artery occlusion in a patient with one eye. Laser Nd:YAG approach. / Oclusión de rama arterial retiniana en un paciente con ojo único. Abordaje mediante láser Nd:YAG.

CLINICAL CASE: An 82-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department complaining of a sudden painless visual loss in his left eye (OS). He was diagnosed with branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) with a visible embolus. In 2012, he had a central artery occlusion (CRAO) in his right eye (OD). An embolysis with Nd:YAG laser was attempted, the retinal arterial blood flow was restored completely and the visual field was improved, with no secondary complications. CONCLUSIONS: Nd:YAG laser embolysis is a treatment to be considered in patients with BRAO with a visible embolus. The risks and benefits of the procedure should be evaluated, comparing it with possible permanent loss of visual acuity and other vascular complications caused by BRAO.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Retinopathy of Prematurity.

OBJECTIVE: The goals were to isolate and study the genetic susceptibility to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), as well as the gene-environment interaction established in this disease. METHODS: A retrospective study (2000-2014) was performed about the heritability of retinopathy of prematurity in 257 infants who were born at a gestational age of ≤ 32 weeks. The ROP was studied and treated by a single pediatric ophthalmologist. A binary logistic regression analysis was completed between the presence or absence of ROP and the predictor variables. RESULTS: Data obtained from 38 monozygotic twins, 66 dizygotic twins, and 153 of simple birth were analyzed. The clinical features of the cohorts of monozygotic and dizygotic twins were not significantly different. Genetic factors represented 72.8% of the variability in the stage of ROP, environmental factors 23.08%, and random factors 4.12%. The environmental variables representing the highest risk of ROP were the number of days of tracheal intubation (p < 0.001), postnatal weight gain (p = 0.001), and development of sepsis (p = 0.0014). CONCLUSION: The heritability of ROP was found to be 0.73. The environmental factors regulate and modify the expression of the genetic code.