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Tomas Loureiro,1 Sandra Rodrigues-Barros,1 Ana Rita Carreira,1 Filipe Gouveia-Moraes,1 Pedro Carreira,1 Ana Vide Escada,1 Paul Campos,1 Ines Machado,1 Nuno Campos,1 Renato Ambrosio Jr,2 Timothy J Archer,3 Dan Z Reinstein3 1Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal; 2Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 3London Vision Clinic, London, UKCorrespondence: Tomas Loureiro, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Avenida Torrado da Silva, Almada, 2805-267, Portugal, Tel +351 913 513 175, Email loureiro.tomas@gmail.comPurpose: To evaluate the changes on epithelial thickness before and after topical treatment in primary Sjögren syndrome-associated dry eye disease (SS-DED).Methods: This was a prospective study that included referred women with SS-DED and healthy age-matched controls. Corneal epithelial thickness was evaluated using high-definition anterior segment optical coherence tomography (Cirrus 5000 HD-OCT) in the baseline first consultation, and four weeks after treatment with preservative free 1mg/1mL sodium hyaluronate. Schirmer test 1 (ST1), tear break-up time (TBUT), tear meniscus height (TMH), SICCA Ocular Surface Score (SICCA OSS) and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) were evaluated. Statistical significance was defined as p-value < 0.05.Results: The study included 40 eyes, 20 with SS-DED and 20 controls. At baseline, SS-DED patients had lower ST1 (11.1 ± 2.2mm vs 14.1 ± 3.1mm, p< 0.01), faster TBUT (9.1 ± 1.8s vs 13.2 ± 1.1s, p< 0.01) and lower TMH (211.2 ± 68.4 μm vs 217.2 ± 60.1μm; p< 0.01) than the control group, whereas SICCA OSS and OSDI were higher (p< 0.01). The superior epithelium was thinner in SS-DED group (41.1 ± 3.2 μm vs 43.1± 2.3 μm, p< 0.01). After treatment, ST1, TBUT, TMH, SICCA OSS, and OSDI improved (p< 0.01), and superior epithelium thickened (p< 0.01) in the SS-DED group.Conclusion: Treatment with sodium hyaluronate improved ST1, TBUT, TMH, SICCA-OSS, and OSDI score. Superior epithelium tends to be thinner in SS-DED but becomes thicker with treatment. Our results seem to illustrate the morphological changes in the corneal epithelium in DED, which could be further recognized as a clinical biomarker of SS-DED.Keywords: dry eye disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, epithelial thickness, AS-OCT

Tomás Loureiro,1 Sandra Rodrigues-Barros,1 Ana Rita Carreira,1 Filipe Gouveia-Moraes,1 Pedro Carreira,1 Ana Vide Escada,1 Paul Campos,1 Inês Machado,1 Nuno Campos,1 Timothy J Archer,2 Dan Z Reinstein,2 Renato Ambrósio Jr3 1Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal; 2London Vision Clinic, London, UK; 3Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCorrespondence: Tomás Loureiro, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Avenida Torrado da Silva, Almada, 2805-267, Portugal, Tel +35 1 913 513 175, Email loureiro.tomas@gmail.comPurpose: To evaluate the effect of eye rubbing on the epithelial thickness profile in tomographically normal corneas by AS-OCT and to compare right and left eyes in right-handed children.Methods: Thirty right-handed boys (mean age 11.2 years) with ocular allergy and history of eye rubbing were evaluated using Scheimpflug (Pentacam HR, Oculus Wetzlar, Germany) and anterior segment optical coherence tomography. Epithelial thickness (ET) and full corneal thickness (CT) parameters were compared between right and left eyes with a non-parametric Mann–Whitney test. A p-value lower than 0.05 was considered for statistical significance.Results: No eyes had topometric nor tomographic criteria for keratoconus. The min-max ET was lower in right eyes (− 2.8 μm vs − 3.5; p = 0.02). The difference between inferior and superior (I-S) octants was lower in right eyes (1.1 μm vs 1.9 μm; p = 0.03) as a result of inferotemporal thinning. The highest ET difference was registered between nasal and temporal octants and was more pronounced in the right eyes (2 μm vs 3.1 μm; p < 0.001).Conclusion: AS-OCT analyses reveal different epithelial thickness patterns between the eyes in young atopic patients, likely eye rubbers. Inferior and temporal epithelial thickness seem to be more affected by thinning in the eye on the side of the dominant hand.Keywords: eye rubbing, keratoconus, epithelial thickness, AS-OCT, pediatrics

Tomás de Oliveira Loureiro, Sandra Rodrigues-Barros, Diogo Lopes, Ana Rita Carreira, Filipe Gouveia-Moraes, Ana Vide-Escada, Nuno Patricio Campos Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, PortugalCorrespondence: Tomás de Oliveira LoureiroOphthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Avenida Torrado da Silva, Almada, 2805-267, PortugalTel +351 913 513 175Email loureiro.tomas@gmail.comIntroduction and Objective: To evaluate corneal epithelial thickness (ET) and corneal thickness (CT) profiles in healthy eyes of Portuguese children and provide information to establish the first normative Caucasian database for these age group.Methods: Sixty healthy eyes of 60 children aged between 8 and 18 were evaluated using the Cirrus high-definition optical coherence tomography device. The average ET and CT were assessed using Cirrus Review Software with predefined concentric corneal ring-shaped zones. Specific regions of ET (central, superior, inferior, temporal, nasal, superonasal, inferotemporal, superotemporal and inferonasal) were also assessed. The mean ET, the mean CT and the difference of ET in corresponding octants were compared by gender. Correlations between central epithelial thickness (CET), age and refractive error were evaluated.Results and Discussion: The average ET was lower in the peripheric zones, whereas the average CT was higher. ET was thinner in the superior area than in the inferior (p< 0.05). ET was thicker in boys than in girls (p< 0.05), but CT did not differ. CET was not correlated with older age or refractive error.Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography analysis of ET reveals that it is thinner in the periphery, where the CT is thicker. Unlike CT, ET seems to be influenced by gender. ET profile proved to be a useful tool in keratoconus diagnosis and subclinical keratoconus detection in adults. As epithelial changes occur early in the disease and keratoconus is more aggressive in pediatric population, a normative database of ET profile could contribute to enhance early recognition of the disease in this age group.Keywords: epithelial thickness, AS-OCT, keratoconus, children

Background: To evaluate retinal morphological and vascular parameters in patients recently diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and determine the correlation between retinal vascular density and the severity of OSAS.Methods: We performed a retrospective study on the retinal vasculature of patients with OSAS and age-match healthy controls. OSAS was confirmed by full-night cardiorespiratory polygraphy. Patients were divided into three groups according to disease severity given by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) i.e., mild, moderate or severe. Retinal thicknesses and vascular density were compared between groups, for both the macula and optic disc. Correlation between vascular density and clinical features were also assessed.Results: The study included 30 eyes of patients with OSAS and 12 controls. No differences were found regarding retinal thickness in both the macula and the optic disc between OSAS patients and controls. In contrast significant differences were found in the peripapillary vessel density between groups versus control patients. The greatest difference being between severe OSAS and controls (49.4% ± 2.1 versus 40.4% ± 4.2 respectively, p=0.01). Peripapillary vessel density was found to significantly and negatively correlate with AHI (p=0.02; r= -0.74) and directly correlate with the lowest percutaneous oxygen saturation (p=0.02; r= 0.58).Conclusions: This study indicates that OSAS is associated with retinal microvasculature impairment, that seems to mainly affect the optic disc. This suggests that microvascular damage increases with the increasing severity of OSAS. As such prospective trials are needed to clarify if this vascular peripapillary damage precedes glaucomatous optic neuropathy in OSAS patients.

Tomás de Oliveira Loureiro, Sandra Rodrigues-Barros, Diogo Lopes, Ana Rita Carreira, Filipe Gouveia-Moraes, Ana Vide-Escada, Nuno Patricio Campos Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, PortugalCorrespondence: Tomás de Oliveira LoureiroOphthalmology Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Avenida Torrado da Silva, Almada, 2805-267, PortugalTel +351 913 513 175Email loureiro.tomas@gmail.comIntroduction and Objective: To evaluate corneal epithelial thickness (ET) and corneal thickness (CT) profiles in healthy eyes of Portuguese children and provide information to establish the first normative Caucasian database for these age group.Methods: Sixty healthy eyes of 60 children aged between 8 and 18 were evaluated using the Cirrus high-definition optical coherence tomography device. The average ET and CT were assessed using Cirrus Review Software with predefined concentric corneal ring-shaped zones. Specific regions of ET (central, superior, inferior, temporal, nasal, superonasal, inferotemporal, superotemporal and inferonasal) were also assessed. The mean ET, the mean CT and the difference of ET in corresponding octants were compared by gender. Correlations between central epithelial thickness (CET), age and refractive error were evaluated.Results and Discussion: The average ET was lower in the peripheric zones, whereas the average CT was higher. ET was thinner in the superior area than in the inferior (p< 0.05). ET was thicker in boys than in girls (p< 0.05), but CT did not differ. CET was not correlated with older age or refractive error.Conclusion: Optical coherence tomography analysis of ET reveals that it is thinner in the periphery, where the CT is thicker. Unlike CT, ET seems to be influenced by gender. ET profile proved to be a useful tool in keratoconus diagnosis and subclinical keratoconus detection in adults. As epithelial changes occur early in the disease and keratoconus is more aggressive in pediatric population, a normative database of ET profile could contribute to enhance early recognition of the disease in this age group.Keywords: epithelial thickness, AS-OCT, keratoconus, children

Background/objectives: Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) is a treatment for type 1 diabetes that improves metabolic control and reduces micro and macrovascular complications. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of CSII versus traditional multiple daily injections (MDI) therapy on retinal vasculature. Methods: We performed a prospective study with type 1 diabetic patients with no prior history of ocular pathology other than mild diabetic retinopathy. The patients were divided into two groups according to their therapeutic modality (CSII vs MDI). The retinal nerve fiber layers thickness and vascular densities were compared between groups in both macula and optic disc. The correlations between vascular density and clinical features were also determined. Statistical significance was defined as p Results: The study included 52 eyes, 28 in the insulin CSII group. The mean age was 36.66 ± 12.97 years, with no difference between groups ( p = 0.49). The mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was found to be lower in the CSII group (7.1% ± 0.7 vs 7.5% ± 0.7 p Conclusion: We found that CSII provided better metabolic control than MDI and this seemed to result in higher parafoveal vascular density. As lower vascular density is associated with an increased risk of diabetic retinopathy, these results suggest that CSII could be the safest therapeutic option to prevent retinopathy.

Purpose: To assess long-term vascular density measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) in former preterm children with history of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with and without need of laser treatment. Methods: This observational study included former preterm children that developed ROP stage 2 or 3. Infants were divided in two groups according to previous need of laser treatment, and underwent a complete ophthalmologic evaluation, including assessment of macular morphologic and vascular parameters by OCT-A. Results: Fifteen eyes were included in group 1 (laser-requiring ROP) and 19 in group 2 (non-treated ROP). Group 1 had lower mean gestational age and birth weight values than group 2 ( p −1, p = 0.05; 13.74 ± 1.00 vs 15.86 ± 0.64 mm−1, p = 0.05; respectively), and lower avascular zone circularity (0.58 ± 0.06 vs 0.76 ± 0.02, p Conclusion: Laser-requiring ROP seems to result in a decrease of long-term BCVA, which is at least partially attributed to a decrease in superficial macular vascular density. However, prematurity degree was more pronounced in children that required treatment, which might have influenced our results.

Purpose To show that Straatsma Syndrome can have a good outcome and to highlight an unusual presentation of this disease. Observations A four-year-old boy presents with severe right eye amblyopia in association with high myopia, esotropia, heterochromia iridum and extensive myelinated retinal fibers involving both temporal arcades and the optic nerve head. Right eye initial visual acuity was less than 20/400 for distance and less than R6W10 for near. Left eye examination was unremarkable. Despite the indicators for bad prognosis, intensive occlusion therapy was prescribed. Parents were strongly involved in the treatment regimen. After four months, the patient presented an unexpected good visual recovery both for distance and near, that has persisted until present. Right eye visual acuity is 20/30 with −9.00 dioptres contact lens for distance and R2W1 for near. Esotropia also improved to 12 prism dioptres. Fundoscopic alterations and heterochromia iridum have remained stable. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images of the right eye showed thinner superior outer ring measurements. Conclusions and importance Straatsma Syndrome can present with heterochromia iridum. When strabismus is present, early surgery should be withheld. Intensive treatment of Straatsma Syndrome can yield an unexpected good result, despite initial high degree anisometropia and low vision acuity.