PURPOSE To evaluate the performance of the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) in the screening of forme fruste keratoconus (FFKc). METHODS A retrospective comparative study was conducted involving 180 eyes. ORA preoperative data were analyzed for 125 normal control eyes (64 patients) undergoing laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) without corneal ectasia after 24 months of follow-up and 55 case e...

PURPOSE Air puff systems have been presented recently to measure corneal biomechanical properties in vivo. In our study we tested the influence of several factors on corneal deformation to an air puff: IOP, corneal rigidity, dehydration, presence of sclera, and in vivo versus in vitro conditions. METHODS We used 14 freshly enucleated porcine eyes and five human donor eyes for in vitro experim...

PURPOSE Identifying the mechanism(s) that regulate gene expression during the transition of the limbal stem cell to a differentiated superficial cell is an important area of interest in the corneal epithelium. METHODS However, the factors that regulate gene expression during this process are not well understood. In the present study, the human involucrin (hINV) gene was used as a model to stu...

LABORATORY DATA chromosomal assignment chromosome 5q localization gene, structural-functional anomalies gene analysis-DNA analysis TGFBI (CSD2) (CDGG1) (CSD) (BIGH3) transforming growth factor, beta-induced 68kD, gene chr.5q31 OCULAR DISORDERS corneal defects not including dystrophy isolated ocular defects: corneal dystrophy, isolated defects corneal dystrophy, isolated defect corneal dystrophy...

PURPOSE To analyze the microbiologic spectrum and patterns of resistance of infectious keratitis in patients treated at a tertiary hospital in South Australia. METHODS Retrospective review of microbiology laboratory records of all patients with infectious keratitis who had corneal scrapings, from 1998 to 2003. All records were subsequently reviewed for Gram staining and culture results, as we...

PURPOSE To investigate the effects of 30 nights of overnight orthokeratology (OOK) on corneal epithelial permeability (Pdc) and corneal biomechanical properties. METHODS BE Retainer and Paragon CRT lenses were used. Visits were scheduled approximately 4 hours after awakening at baseline and after 1, 5, 10, 14, and 30 days of treatment. Pdc was measured at baseline and at day 30, whereas corne...

PURPOSE To evaluate acute corneal epithelial toxicity induced by benzalkonium chloride (BAC) homologs with different alkyl chain lengths using an in vivo electrophysiological method. METHODS BAC homologs with C12, C14, and C16 alkyl chain lengths were used at concentrations of 0.0025%, 0.005%, and 0.01%, respectively. Cytotoxicity of BAC homologs on the normal rabbit corneal epithelial cells ...

PURPOSE To describe the trends in pathogens and antibacterial resistance of corneal culture isolates in infectious keratitis during a period of 13 years at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center. METHODS A Retrospective analysis of bacterial corneal isolates was performed during the months of January 2002 to December 2014 at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center. Demographics, microbio...

PURPOSE To report transient corneal edema after phacoemulsification as a predictive factor for the development of pseudophakic cystoid macular edema (PCME). METHODS A total of 150 eyes from 150 patients (59 men and 91 women; mean age, 68.0 ± 10.15 years) were analyzed using spectral domain optical coherence tomography 1 week and 5 weeks after routine phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Tran...

PURPOSE To determine the role of thrombomodulin (TM) in corneal epithelial wound healing, and to investigate whether recombinant TM epidermal growth factor-like domain plus serine/threonine-rich domain (rTMD23) has therapeutic potential in corneal epithelial wound healing. METHODS TM localization and expression in the murine cornea were examined by immunofluorescence staining. TM expression a...