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Purpose. To compare biometric and optical coherence tomography parameters as well as refractive status in preterm children aged 4–8 years with or without retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and evaluate their correlations with age and gender‐matched full‐term children. Methods. Retrospective comparative cohort study of four groups of children. Children with a history of preterm birth, including ROP who received intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) treatment, children with a history of ROP that regressed without treatment and those with no history of ROP were compared to age and gender‐matched full‐term children as a control group. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spherical equivalent of refraction (SE), macular and choroidal thickness, as well as biometric parameters was measured. Results. A total of 120 eyes of 120 children (30 children in each group) were included. There was no significant difference in BCVA, SE, and subjective cylinder between groups (p = 0.05, p = 0.3, p = 0.6, respectively). Axial length was significantly shorter, and the cornea was steeper in both ROP groups than in other groups (p = 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The central macular thickness was significantly thicker in the treated, regressed ROP and preterm groups than in full‐term children (p < 0.001). The gestational age was negatively correlated with macular thickness in both treated and regressed ROP groups (r = −0.517; p = 0.003, r = − 0.490; p = 0.006, respectively). Conclusions. Children with a history of ROP had a shorter axial length, steeper cornea, and thicker macula that correlated with lower gestational age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry eye disease (DED) and vitamin D deficiency are both common clinical entities. Vitamin D has been reported to play a significant role in ocular surface homeostasis. This study aimed to determine the therapeutic effect of oral vitamin D supplementation in dry eye disease patients with vitamin D deficiency. A randomized, controlled study was completed in 100 patients with dry eye disease and concurrent vitamin D deficiency (< 20 ng/ml). Participants were randomly allocated to 8 weeks of oral vitamin D supplementation with both groups receiving conventional dry eye treatment with artificial tears. Schirmer's, tear break-up time (TBUT) and osmolarity tests were measured before and after eight weeks of treatment. The mean age of participants was 36.8 ± 8.56 years in the treatment group (n: 50) and 34.8 ± 10.13 year in the control group (n: 50). After eight weeks of treatment the mean differences in Schirmer's, TBUT and tear osmolarity were 2.38 ± 1.55 mm, 3.95 ± 1.48 s and −16.9 ± 6.28 mOsm/L, respectively in the treatment group, and 0.7 ± 0.86 mm, 0.92 ± 1.57s and −3.34 ± 2.0 mOsm/L respectively in the control group (p < 0.001 for all parameters). The treatment group demonstrated a more significant improvement than the control group in Schirmer's, TBUT and osmolarity values (p < 0.001). Vitamin D supplementation as an adjuvant to routine dry eye treatment improves ocular surface hemostasis parameters, results in better tear stability and a more improved tear osmolarity in patients with vitamin D deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meibomian gland dysfunction is the main cause of evaporative dry eye disease and can lead to ocular discomfort and ocular surface damage. Early diagnosis and management of this condition can prevent its impact on patients 'visual health and quality of life. In the last decade, intense pulsed light therapy (IPL) has been introduced as a therapeutic option for patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Various treatment modalities and protocols have been reported to increase the efficacy of this technique. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a novel five-flash IPL technique in combination with home-based therapy and to compare it with conventional home care alone in patients with MGD. In a randomised controlled trial, 100 symptomatic MGD patients were enrolled. The treatment group underwent three sessions of a five-flash IPL therapy. For all participants, eyelid warming, lid hygiene and lubricant therapy was prescribed. Ocular surface parameters were compared for control and treatment groups. Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), non-invasive keratograph tear break up time (NIKBUT), fluorescein TBUT, MG expressibility, meibum quality and tear osmolarity were improved at follow up visits in both groups (p < 0.05). On day 75, NIKBUT was significantly higher in the IPL group (p = 0.045). The IPL treatment effect was not statistically significant (p > 0.05), except for bulbar and limbal hyperaemia (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02). In both groups, younger patients showed more improvement in NIKBUT (p = 0.02, r = −0.32; p < 0.001, r = −0.52). IPL therapy combined with conventional home-based therapy, and home care alone are both effective for patients with MGD. IPL may have an additional role in the improvement of ocular hyperaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of gene delivery systems is essential to improve their transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. Combination of lipid and polymeric nanoparticles with the characteristics of both systems have been considered as a next‐generation gene delivery platform. In the current study, we designed a novel and efficient targeted gene delivery system based on liposome and PAMAM dendrimer in cancer cells. Two polymeric formulations containing polyamidoamine‐TAT (PAMAM‐TAT) and PAMAM‐TAT‐Hyaluronic acid (HA) and two lipopolymeric carriers including PAMAM‐TAT‐Liposome and PAMAM‐TAT‐HA‐Liposome were complexed with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) plasmid and then evaluated in terms of physicochemical characteristics. The cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency of these synthetized carriers were accomplished against murine colon carcinoma cell line (C26). The biodistribution of polyplexes and lipoployplexes was also evaluated in the C26 tumor bearing mice. The results showed no significant toxicity for all designed nanoparticles (NPs) in C/P4. The highest gene expression was observed using lipopolyplex PAMAM‐TAT‐HA‐Liposome in C/P4 (ratio polymer/DNA; wt/wt). Biodistribution study demonstrated more aggregation of targeted lipopolyplex in tumor cells than other nanoparticles (NPs). It could be concluded that the developed targeted lipopolymeric complex could serve as promising nanotherapeutic system for gene therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To determine four-year changes of corneal biomechanical parameters in Iranian children aged seven to eleven years and their correlation with optical components.Methods: In this four-year prospective cohort study, 468 children aged seven to eleven years who were initially evaluated in 2012 were re-evaluated in 2016-2017. Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling was applied. Cycloplegic refraction, biometry using LENSTAR/BioGraph, and corneal biomechanical assessment using Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) were undertaken for each participant. The corneal biomechanical parameters assessed were corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), areas under the peaks 1 and 2 (p1 and p2 areas) and irregularity indices (A and B indices).Results: All biomechanical parameters except A index decreased in phase 2. The mean changes of CH and CRF were 0.68 ± 0.16 mmHg (for both parameters) during four years. The mean difference in CH and CRF was 0.23 ± 0.23 and 0.24 ± 0.23 mmHg in females and 1.03 ± 0.23 and 0.96 ± 0.23 mmHg in males, respectively. Different age groups showed varying amounts of decrease in all parameters except for A index. The age group 'ten years' experienced the smallest decrease in CH (0.02 ± 0.48 mmHg) and CRF (0.20 ± 0.47 mmHg) and the age group 'eleven years' showed the greatest decrease in CH (1.41 ± 0.35 mmHg) and CRF (0.99 ± 0.34 mmHg). According to linear regression analysis, CH and CRF had a significant direct relationship with corneal power and an inverse relationship with axial length (p < 0.001).Conclusion: Age and sex are influencing factors on the ORA parameters. Older age is associated with reduced biomechanical parameters and reductions are more significant in males than females. Axial elongation and corneal flattening decrease CH and CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the pooled prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and evaluate its risk factors by gender, age, and ethnicity. Methods: Articles were searched reporting the prevalence of MGD from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases. Results: The estimated pooled prevalence of MGD was 0.358 (95% CI 0.26–0.46; I2: 99.57%). The prevalence of MGD was 0.358 (95% CI 0.24–0.50) in clinical and 0.359 (95% CI 0.22–0.52) in population-based studies. Men were more prone to MGD than women (OR: 1.24, 95% CI 1.01–1.52, p = 0.034). The rate of MGD was between 21.2% and 29.5% in Africans and Caucasians, to 71.0% in Arabs, and 67.5% in Hispanics. Conclusion: MGD is a quite prevalent disorder with an estimated pooled prevalence of 35.8%. Men are more prone to MGD than women. There is a large variation between studies in terms of quality, sample size, age ranges, diagnostic criteria, and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess and compare preoperative refractive, aberrometric, topographic, and contrast sensitivity (CS) measurements with postoperative values after corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) in patients with progressive keratoconus. Methods: Twenty-two eyes of 11 patients with keratoconus were enrolled in this prospective study. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), best spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), CS, and higher order aberrations (HOAs) were evaluated at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 8 months after surgery. Results: The mean total HOAs of the included patients were 2.24, 2.34, 2.28, 2.17, and 2.03 before and 1, 3, 6, and 8 months after CXL, respectively. A significant reduction in corneal HOAs including vertical coma, vertical and horizontal trefoil and spherical aberration was observed 6 and 8 months after CXL. UDVA and BSCVA improved significantly in all patients who completed the follow-up period (P = 0.001). Although mean CS declined significantly 1 month postoperatively, it improved significantly after 3, 6, and 8 months (P<0.001). Maximum keratometry was significantly lower 8 months postoperatively compared to the preoperative value. (P = 0.006). Conclusions: CXL seems to improve UCVA, BSCVA, and CS and reduce most corneal HOAs in progressive forms of keratoconus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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