OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of ocular findings of the external structures and anterior segment of the eye, detected by biomicroscopic examination in schoolchildren in Natal (RN)-Brazil. METHODS After previous random selection, 1,024 pupils from elementary and secondary public and private schools in the city of Natal were evaluated from March to June 2001. All were submitted to prees...

PURPOSE To present a follow-up on children with persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) when surgery was not performed. METHODS From January 1992 through June 2001, 31 infants (31 eyes) with PFV were evaluated to document the number of eyes operated on versus eyes not operated on to determine whether the latter group remained stationary or became worse. RESULTS Seventeen of the 31 eyes underwent...

PURPOSE Increased lenticular oxidative stress and altered calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) homeostasis underlie cataractogenesis. We developed a liposomal formulation of magnesium taurate (MgT) and studied its effects on Ca/Mg homeostasis and lenticular oxidative and nitrosative stress in galactose-fed rats. METHODS The galactose-fed rats were topically treated with liposomal MgT (LMgT), liposomal t...

Masera and colleagues recently published case reports of lens opacities in three patients with b-thalassemia major that were suggested to be associated with exposure to deferasirox (ICL670, Exjade); the opacities developed 7, 16 and 26 months after initiating deferasirox therapy. These three patients are from a total of 12 being followed by the authors at their institution. This reported incide...

BACKGROUND Opacities of the lens are typical age-related phenomena which have a high influence on photoreception and consequently circadian rhythm. In mouse lemurs, a small bodied non-human primate, a high incidence (more than 50% when >seven years) of cataracts has been previously described during aging. Previous studies showed that photoperiodically induced accelerated annual rhythms alter so...

Program Number: 1206 Poster Board Number: C0294 Presentation Time: 3:15 PM–5:00 PM Targeted Deletion of the Murine GPR48 Gene Decreases Lens Epithelial cells Resistance to Oxidative Stress and Induces AgeRelated Cataract Formation Qiang Hou, Jun Zhu, Lili Tu. School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. Purpose: We and collaborators ...

We discovered a new cataract mutation, kfrs4, in the Kyoto Fancy Rat Stock (KFRS) background. Within 1 month of birth, all kfrs4/kfrs4 homozygotes developed cataracts, with severe opacity in the nuclei of the lens. In contrast, no opacity was observed in the kfrs4/+ heterozygotes. We continued to observe these rats until they reached 1 year of age and found that cataractogenesis did not occur i...