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Laila Salah Aldokhail,1 Abdulaziz Mohammad Alhadlaq,2 Lujain Mohamed Alaradi,1 Lamees Mohamed Alaradi,1 Fatimah Yaseen AlShaikh1 1Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Division of Ophthalmology, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ophthalmology Department, College of Medicine, Qassim university, Qassim, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Laila Salah Aldokhail, Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email Aldokhail.laila@gmail.comBackground: Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy has revolutionized the management of various ocular conditions, including diabetic macular edema (DME), retinal vein occlusion (RVO)-related macular edema (ME), and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). However, there remains a need to systematically assess its effectiveness across these distinct conditions.Methodology: A systematic review was conducted to identify studies evaluating the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in improving ocular outcomes in patients with DME, RVO-related ME, and nAMD. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant articles published up to 2024. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were critically appraised, and data on the proportion of patients gaining ≥ 15 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), mean change in BCVA (ETDRS letters), and reduction in central macular thickness (CMT) (μm) were extracted and synthesized.Results: The systematic review identified 18 studies comprising randomized controlled trials, prospective studies, retrospective analyses, and observational studies. Anti-VEGF therapy demonstrated efficacy across all three conditions, with varying proportions of patients experiencing improvements in BCVA and reductions in CMT. Notably, the proportion of patients gaining ≥ 15 ETDRS letters ranged from 18.1% to 44.8% in DME, while mean changes in BCVA ranged from +4.2 letters to +21.4 letters in RVO-related ME and nAMD. Reductions in CMT ranged from 183.1 μm to 294 μm in DME and RVO-related ME.Conclusion: Anti-VEGF therapy represents a cornerstone in the management of DME, RVO-related ME, and nAMD, with significant improvements observed in BCVA and reductions in CMT across diverse patient populations. While our findings support the effectiveness of anti-VEGF therapy in improving ocular outcomes, further research is warranted to compare its efficacy with alternative treatment modalities and to elucidate its long-term safety profile.Keywords: outcomes, anti-VEGF, diabetic macular edema, retinal vein occlusion, neovascular AMD

Background An ocular chemical injury is a critical medical condition that results in harm to many components within the orbit, including the epithelium, cornea, and anterior segment. Most accidents tend to transpire among individuals in younger age groups, primarily as a result of their exposure to hazardous conditions either within their domestic environment or in occupational settings. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the extent of community awareness of chemical eye injuries and the appropriate measures for urgent care, focusing on different age groups within the Al-Qassim region. Methods A cross-sectional study was utilized in this research, employing data from a sample of 384 individuals residing in Qassim. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which was administered online and ensured anonymity. The questionnaire used in this study had been previously validated. Results The study included a total of 384 participants who were not affiliated with the medical field, selected from the Al-Qassim region. Most of the respondents demonstrated fairly good level of awareness regarding ocular chemical injury (69%). There was a statistically significant relationship between age and the level of awareness (p-value=0.00001<0.05). Most participants believed that ocular chemical injury could cause ocular complications (93.8%) and identified chloride and detergents (92.2%) as the main materials that cause ocular injuries. Conclusion Overall summary, this study's findings suggest that there exists a moderate degree of knowledge among the public regarding chemical injuries to the eye and the appropriate rapid response to such injuries. Majority of the community members were aware that ocular chemical injury can cause ocular complications, blindness, perforation, scarring, and cataracts. Additionally, chloride and detergents were found to be the most common causes of ocular injuries among the population. The study found the most common immediate action when exposed to ocular chemical injury was to irrigate the eye with large amount of water. The study established a statistically significant association between the age and awareness about ocular chemical injury; thus, age appears to be a key factor influencing the amount of awareness seen., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Alotaibi et al.)

Objectives: to evaluate the effectiveness of piezocision in enhancing retention when performed after orthodontic tooth movement., Methods: Four mature goats had their second incisors removed bilaterally. For each goat, the two sides of the mandible were either treated with piezocision or served as a positive control. Using fixed orthodontic appliance, the first and third incisors on each side were approximated and then retained in place for two weeks. Relapse was measured by the amount of space developed between the approximated incisors after six weeks from the end of the retention period. The periodontal ligament of all incisors was assessed histologically with micro computed tomography and regular hematoxylin and eosin staining., Results: A significantly less relapse was observed in the piezocision group than in the control group (p ≤ 0.05). Bone formation occurs in the vicinity and periphery of the periodontal ligament and thus results in the narrowing of the periodontal ligament., Conclusion: A protocol of post-orthodontic retention involving piezocision can be promising to enhance stability of orthodontic treatment outcome., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Orthodontic Science.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of bisphosphonates in reducing relapse after orthodontic tooth movement when injected intra-periodontally in a goat model., Methods: Right and left second incisors of four goats were extracted and the first and third incisors were approximated orthodontically and retained. A bisphosphonate gel was injected into the mesial and distal periodontal spaces of first and third incisors on one side, while the first and third incisors of the other side received normal saline as a control. After 12 weeks of retention, the orthodontic appliance was removed and teeth were relieved from any active force. Following 6 weeks from appliance removal, millimetric measurements were performed to calculate the amount of relapse of orthodontically moved incisors. Histological and microcomputed tomographic examination was performed to assess the periodontal space and surrounding alveolar bone of the study and control incisors., Results: The millimetric measurements and microcomputed tomographic scanning revealed that the orthodontically moved incisors in the side of bisphosphonate injection had significantly less relapse (p ≤ 0.05) and significantly narrower periodontal ligament width (p ≤ 0.05) than in the control side, respectively. Histologically, newly formed bone projecting into the periodontal ligament was observed in the side of bisphosphonate injection with newly formed cementum overlying areas of resorbed cementum., Conclusion: The results suggest that bisphosphonate injection has the potential to enhance post-orthodontic stability and repair of root resorption following orthodontic treatment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Objective: To establish the anterior alveolar dimensions among a sample of Saudi subjects with different vertical facial heights., Materials and Methods: Lateral cephalometric radiographs of 63 Saudi subjects (30 males and 33 females) were included in this retrospective study. The sample was divided into high angle (SN-MP ⩾ 39°), low angle (SN-MP ⩽ 28°) and average angle (30° < SN-MP < 37°) groups. The anteroposterior and vertical dimensions of the alveolus surrounding the root apex of upper and lower incisors were calculated., Results: The anterior alveolar dimensions exhibited significant differences (p < 0.05) between the different vertical facial height groups. The males and females demonstrated significant differences (p < 0.05) in the anterior alveolar dimensions for the same vertical jaw relationship., Conclusions: Both gender and the vertical jaw relationship can be factors for different height and thickness of the anterior alveolus. Clinicians must be aware of differences in the anterior alveolar dimensions for safe and sound orthodontic tooth movement.

Background: The analysis of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) may be an acceptable way to examine the ongoing biochemical processes associated with bone turnover during orthodontic tooth movement. If it is possible to biologically monitor and predict the outcome of orthodontic forces, then the management of appliances could be based on individual tissue responses, and the effectiveness of the treatment could be improved., Methodology: A literature search was carried out in major databases, such as medline, EMBASE, cochrane library, web of science, google scholar and scopus for relevant studies. Publications in English between 2000 and 2014 which estimated GCF markers as indicators of orthodontic tooth movement were included., Results: The list of biomarkers available to date was compiled and presented in table format. Each biomarker is discussed separately based on the available evidence., Conclusion: Several sensitive GCF markers are available to detect the biomechanical changes occurring during orthodontic tooth movement. Further focused research might help to analyze the sensitivity and reliability of these indicators, which in turn can lead to the development of chairside tests to assess the outcome of orthodontic therapy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of admissions criteria at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to predict students' early academic performance at three health science colleges (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy). A retrospective cohort study was conducted with data from the records of students enrolled in the three colleges from the 2008-09 to 2010-11 academic years. The admissions criteria-high school grade average (HSGA), aptitude test (APT) score, and achievement test (ACT) score-were the independent variables. The dependent variable was the average of students' first- and second-year grade point average (GPA). The results showed that the ACT was a better predictor of the students' early academic performance than the HSGA (β=0.368, β=0.254, respectively). No significant relationship was found between the APT and students' early academic performance (β=-0.019, p>0.01). The ACT was most predictive for pharmacy students (β=0.405), followed by dental students (β =0.392) and medical students (β=0.195). Overall, the current admissions criteria explained only 25.5% of the variance in the students' early academic performance. While the ACT and HSGA were found to be predictive of students' early academic performance in health colleges at KSU, the APT was not a strong predictor. Since the combined current admissions criteria for the health science colleges at KSU were weak predictors of the variance in early academic performance, it may be necessary to consider noncognitive evaluation methods during the admission process.

Objective: To investigate the validity of a new approach to assess the cervical vertebral maturation based on angular measurements of the lower border concavity of cervical vertebral bodies., Methods: Hand-wrist and lateral cephalometric radiographs of 197 male subjects with age range of 10-15 years attending the orthodontic clinic at King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were utilized. The study was carried out between September 2009 and May 2011. The study sample was divided into 6 groups (group 1: 10 years to group 6: 15 years) based on the chronological age of the subject. The skeletal age of the subjects was determined using Greulich and Pyle's standard radiographic atlas, and skeletal maturation was assessed by Fishman's skeletal maturity indicators. The cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) of subjects was determined using angular measurements of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebral bodies. The validity of the newly developed method was assessed by examining the correlation between CVM stages determined by the angular measurements and the skeletal maturation level as determined by the standard hand-wrist methods., Results: A significant correlation (r=0.94) was found between the angular CVM stages and the skeletal age determined by Greulich and Pyle's atlas from hand-wrist radiographs. Also, a high correlation (r=0.94) was found between the angular CVM stages and the Fishman's hand-wrist skeletal maturity indicators., Conclusion: The new angular measurement approach to determine CVM is valid and has the potential to be applied in assessing skeletal maturity level in growing male children.