1,354,061 research outputs found
Visual field global indices and heidelberg retinal tomograph II parameters after glaucoma surgery
No full textPurpose: To detect and quantify changes in optic nerve morphology after glaucoma surgery, using Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT), and in visual field global indices, using
Humphrey perimeter.
Methods: The authors enrolled 14 adult patients with chronic open-angle glaucoma (PAOG) undergoing incisional glaucoma surgery, such as trabeculectomy and deep sclerectomy, for
progressive glaucoma damage. Intraocular pressure (IOP), visual field and HRT were performed 2 weeks before surgery and then repeated 3 and 6 months after.
Results: Our clinical trial evidenced a IOP reduction superior to 40% after glaucoma surgery. The pre-operative average IOP was 24.36 ± 5 mmHg: 3 months after surgery average IOP
was 12.07 ± 3.12 mmHg, while it was reduced to 10.64 ± 2.84 mmHg after 6 months. Changing in optic nerve morphology parameters, using Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph, revealed
a significant increase in the overall mean RNFL thickness, in Rim Area and Rim Volume, whereas Cup Area, Cup Volume, Cup/Disc Area Ratio, and Maximum Cup Depth decreased.
Visual field functional global indices, such as MD and PSD, improved a little bit less than morphological indices. In 57% of our patients we discovered an improvement of all the
considered parameters. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that, among the optic disk sectors, the temporal and the super nasal octant improved in direct proportion to the magnitude of IOP reduction. The improvement appeared to be significant in the first 3 months of follow-up, probably because of the immediate IOP reduction after surgery. By HRT,
we noticed an increase in retinal fibres of 0.9 microns and of 0.4 microns every mmHg of IOP reduction, respectively in the first 3 months and in the second period of follow-up.
Moreover, between risk factors, such as age, pre-surgery MD, IOP variation, the last one was the most important in changing of optic disc parameter. Regarding visual field global indices, we registered an average evolution from the 4th to the 3rd - 4th stage, using the Brusini Glaucoma Staging System.
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the beneficial effect of IOP reduction, obtained with glaucoma surgery techniques, as trabeculectomy and deep-sclerectomy, on visual field global
indices and optic disc parameter evaluated by Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph
Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis: results of a 1-month, single-masked randomized study
No full textPURPOSE. To compare the effects of topical antiallergic eyedrops in relieving the signs and symptoms of patients with allergic conjunctival pathology. METHODS. In this multicenter, single-masked, randomized study, 240 patients with signs and symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis were randomized to receive 1 of the following 8 treatments twice daily: cromolyn sodium/chlorpheniramine maleate, diclofenac, epinastine, fluorometholone, ketotifen, levocabastine, naphazoline/antazoline, and olopatadine. Clinical signs and symptoms were evaluated by a masked operator using a 10-point scale at the moment of enrollment (day 0) and at weeks 1, 2, and 4. The percentage of patients achieving at least a small (at least 50% reduction of the total scale score) or a good (at least 75%) improvement of signs and symptoms was calculated at each visit. Tolerability was also evaluated as the duration of discomfort after instillation. RESULTS. All drugs gave some improvement in symptoms in more than 85% of cases. Epinastine and olopatadine obtained at least a good relief of symptoms in 37% and 33% of cases at week 1. At the end of the study, good improvement of symptoms was obtained in at least 70% of patients by epinastine, ketotifen, fluorometholone, and olopatadine, whereas a 75% improvement for signs was obtained only by fluorometholone and ketotifen. Naphazoline/antazoline induced higher discomfort compared to the other study treatments (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS. The efficacy of epinastine, ketotifen, and olopatadine in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis was comparable to fluorometholone. Naphazoline/antazoline had lower tolerability than the other study treatments. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2010; 20: 811-8
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Aceclidine, brimonidine tartrate, and dapiprazole: comparison of miotic effect and tolerability under different lighting conditions.
No full textPurpose: To evaluate the effect on pupil diameter of three different miotic eye-drops: aceclidine, brimonidine tartrate 0.20% and dapiprazole, when applied topically in normal subjects
Methods: The eyes of 30 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Pupil diameter was measured under scotopic, mesopic (4 lux) and photopic (50 lux) conditions, using an infrared pupillometer, in conjunction with a CSOTM topographer. The first measurement was obtained before the sole instillation of the three different kinds of eye drops. Afterwards, measurements were performed after 30, 120 and 240 minutes. Each additional eye medication was tested further after at least a 10 day interval in order to avoid any possible drug interference. Every patient received a questionnaire to grade the tolerability of each kind of eye drops by a subjective scoring system.
Results:Aceclidine had an unimportant miotic effect. Brimonidine caused significant miosis within 30 and 120 minutes: then the effect reduced without reaching the initial baseline at the forth hour in all different luminance conditions. Dapiprazole had a quite similar miotic effect to brimonidine but it produced many side effects, including hyperemia and burning, which caused too much discomfort for most of patients. Conclusions: Brimonidine tartrate 0.20% seems to have the best miotic effect together with good patient tolerability in comparison with aceclidine and dapiprazole. The reproducible miotic effect of this eye drop under all lighting conditions might help postoperative refractive patients who report night-vision difficulties related with large pupils
Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis : results of a 1-month, single-masked randomized study
No full textPURPOSE: To compare the effects of topical antiallergic eyedrops in relieving the signs and symptoms of patients with allergic conjunctival pathology.
METHODS: In this multicenter, single-masked, randomized study, 240 patients with signs and symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis were randomized to receive 1 of the following 8 treatments twice daily: cromolyn sodium/chlorpheniramine maleate, diclofenac, epinastine, fluorometholone, ketotifen, levocabastine, naphazoline/antazoline, and olopatadine. Clinical signs and symptoms were evaluated by a masked operator using a 10-point scale at the moment of enrollment (day 0) and at weeks 1, 2, and 4. The percentage of patients achieving at least a small (at least 50% reduction of the total scale score) or a good (at least 75%) improvement of signs and symptoms was calculated at each visit. Tolerability was also evaluated as the duration of discomfort after instillation.
RESULTS: All drugs gave some improvement in symptoms in more than 85% of cases. Epinastine and olopatadine obtained at least a good relief of symptoms in 37% and 33% of cases at week 1. At the end of the study, good improvement of symptoms was obtained in at least 70% of patients by epinastine, ketotifen, fluorometholone, and olopatadine, whereas a 75% improvement for signs was obtained only by fluorometholone and ketotifen. Naphazoline/antazoline induced higher discomfort compared to the other study treatments (p<0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of epinastine, ketotifen, and olopatadine in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis was comparable to fluorometholone. Naphazoline/antazoline had lower tolerability than the other study treatment
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Treatment of allergic conjunctivitis: results of a 1-month, single-masked randomized study.
No full textTrattamento delle congiuntiviti allergiche. Studio multicentrico randomizzato in singolo cieco
No full textRare Complications of CSF Diversion: Paradoxical Neuroimaging Findings in a Double, Chiasmic Case Report
No full textTwo patients with CSF shunting systems exhibited symptoms of altered intracranial pressure. Initial neuroimaging led to misinterpretation, but integrating clinical history and follow-up imaging revealed the true diagnosis. In the first case, reduced ventricular size was mistaken for CSF overdrainage, while the actual problem was increased intracranial pressure, as seen in slit ventricle syndrome. In the second case, symptoms attributed to intracranial hypertension were due to CSF overdrainage causing tonsillar displacement and hydrocephalus. Adjusting the spinoperitoneal shunt pressure resolved symptoms and imaging abnormalities. These cases highlight the necessity of correlating clinical presentation with a deep understanding of CSF dynamics in shunt assessments
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