[High-energy ocular trauma and changes in vision: a reason for a careful search for an intraocular foreign body]. / Hoogenergetisch oogletsel en visusveranderingen: reden voor nauwkeurig onderzoek naar een intraoculair corpus alienum.

A 50-year-old man visited his family physician one day after he had felt something entering his left eye following the blow of a metal hammer on metal, after which he began to see black spots. After the eye had been occluded for 4 days, his visual acuity had decreased to 0.1. Ophthalmologic examination revealed a defect in the cornea and iris, a foreign body in the vitreous and local cataract. Following surgical removal of the metal splinter and the lens, the visual acuity was restored to 0.8. Implantation of an artificial lens was planned. Ocular trauma is a major cause of permanent visual loss or blindness in (young) adults in the western world. Traumas in which a foreign body is propelled into the eye with high energy are most likely to penetrate the sclera. Damage and complications due to intraocular foreign bodies may lead to loss ofvision. The entry site of an intraocular foreign body may be difficult to find and the diagnosis may be missed. Therefore, an ophthalmologist should be consulted in case of a high-energy trauma in combination with visual loss.

Familial congenital grouped pigmentation of the retina.

Congenital grouped pigmentation of the retina is an uncommon disorder characterized by a grouping together of round to oval spots of pigment in one or more quadrants of the retina, except for the macula. Detection is usually coincidental during routine ocular examination. We examined a mother and daughter with bilateral grouped pigmentation of the retina. Visual acuity, visual fields, and results of electrophysiologic examination were normal. Autosomal dominant inheritance with variable expression was likely.

Contact lens induced severe epithelial disruption. A case report.

The authors describe a patient with bilateral severe disruption of the epithelium while wearing MMA/VP70 contact lenses. Withdrawal of the contact lenses and the contact lens care system resulted in complete recovery. Later on Boston IV contact lenses with another care system were fitted successfully.

Ornithine decarboxylase activity in rabbit retina following treatment with alpha-difluoromethylornithine.

The rabbit retina has been utilized as a model for the study of abnormal cellular proliferation on the retinal surface and into the vitreous, a process commonly initiated by trauma and generally leading to retinal detachment. This study characterizes the ability of alpha-difluoromethylornithine (alpha-DFMO), a suicide inactivator of L-ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17) to inactivate normal retinal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in the crude supernatant fraction after incubation with different concentrations of alpha-DFMO and at various times after intraocular administration. Partial inactivation of ODC activity occurred following preincubation of crude retinal supernatant fraction with 10(-5) M alpha-DFMO (N = 3; 34 +/- 6.9% of control), whereas preincubation with 10(-8) M alpha-DFMO did not alter ODC activity significantly (N = 3; 94 +/- 2% of control). Different concentrations of alpha-DFMO administered intraocularly inactivated retinal ODC activity to varying degrees with different rates of recovery. No gross toxicity occurred with ocular tissues following intravitreal administration of alpha-DFMO as determined by electrophysiologic measurements, by indirect examination of the retina, and by measurement of intraocular pressure. These results suggest that alpha-DFMO may be a useful tool in which to define the physiologic role of ODC and polyamines in intraocular cellular proliferative diseases.

Cellular migration, proliferation, and contraction. An in vitro approach to a clinical problem--proliferative vitreoretinopathy.

Presently used animal models of proliferative vitreoretinopathy reflect only cell proliferation and contraction. We used an in vitro model that measured cell migration, proliferation, and contraction. The following four drugs were assayed on this system: daunomycin, taxol, colchicine, and cytochalasin B. Daunomycin was the most effective drug against cell proliferation and cell migration but had no effect on cell contraction; taxol and colchicine affected all three parameters. Cytochalasin B was the least effective drug tested.

Ornithine decarboxylase activity during formation of experimental epiretinal membranes.

This study demonstrates in a rabbit model of epiretinal membrane formation that retinal-associated ODC activity increases during this pathological process. These changes in retinal-associated ODC activity most likely occur in relationship to the proliferative lesion itself, since the retina consists primarily of nonproliferative tissues. Further knowledge of intraocular polyamine metabolism during epiretinal membrane formation which can result in retinal detachment may lead to the development of an effective pharmacological treatment.