Jacó Lavinsky

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is associated with microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in working-age individuals. Diabetic patients with proteinuria or those on dialysis usually present severe forms of diabetic retinopathy, but the association of diabetic retinopathy with early stages of diabetic nephropathy has not been entirely established. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1214 type 2 diabetic patients to determine whether microalbuminuria is associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy in these patients. Patients were evaluated by direct and indirect ophthalmoscopy and grouped according to the presence or absence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. The agreement of diabetic retinopathy classification performed by ophthalmoscopy and by stereoscopic color fundus photographs was 95.1% (kappa = 0.735; P < 0.001). Demographic information, smoking history, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, glycemic and lipid profile, and urinary albumin were evaluated. On multiple regression analysis, diabetic nephropathy (OR = 5.18, 95% CI = 2.91-9.22, P < 0.001), insulin use (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.47-4.31, P = 0.001) and diabetes duration (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.07, P = 0.011) were positively associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and body mass index (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.86-0.96, P < 0.001) was negatively associated with it. When patients with macroalbuminuria and on dialysis were excluded, microalbuminuria (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.56-6.98, P = 0.002) remained associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, type 2 diabetic patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy more often presented renal involvement, including urinary albumin excretion within the microalbuminuria range. Therefore, all patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy should undergo an evaluation of renal function including urinary albumin measurements.

Treatment of diffuse diabetic maculopathy with intravitreal triamcinolone and laser photocoagulation: randomized clinical trial with morphological and functional evaluation

PURPOSE Treatment of diffuse macular edema in diabetes mellitus is currently unsatisfactory. The purpose of this double blind randomized clinical trial was to compare the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema with intravitreal triamcinolone or laser in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients using a morphofunctional assessment. METHODS Fourteen patients (21 eyes) with clinically significant diffuse macular-edema, previously untreated and with a macular thickness >250 µm at optical coherence tomography were randomized for treatment with laser or intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetate. Optical coherence tomography, biomicroscopy, fundoscopy, fluorescein angiography, tonometry, scotometry, visual and contrast acuities were performed at 0, 1, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS At pre-treatment stage, Laser (n=9) and Triamcinolone (n=12) groups did not differ regarding retinal thickness, visual and contrast acuities. In Triamcinolone group macular thickness decreased after 1 month (424.1 ± 19.9 µm to 358.4 ± 18.2 µm; p=0.04) and started to return to the initial values in the 3(rd) month (p=0.02). No changes occurred in macular scotometry and visual and contrast acuities. No side effects were observed with both treatments. CONCLUSION During the study macular thickness diminished in the triamcinolone group, especially in the first month of treatment. At 3 and 6 months there was no difference. Macular thickness did not change during the study in the laser group. In the study sample it was not possible to demonstrate differences relates to visual acuity and scotometry between the two groups. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00668239.

The macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field analyzer: a superior functional outcome of intravitreal bevacizumab for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration

PURPOSE To evaluate the decibel loss on the Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field as a reliable functional outcome of the intravitreal bevacizumab treatment. METHODS Thirteen patients were evaluated at baseline and on the week 6 for best corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography central macular thickness and decibel loss on Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field after 1.25 mg intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. The outcomes were analyzed separately and in correlation using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. RESULTS The improvement of the optical coherence tomography and the Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field from baseline to week 6 were significant with p=0.032 and p=0.003, respectively. The visual acuity did not show a significant improvement. The correlation of the visual acuity and Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field was significant at baseline (p=0.041) and on week 6 (p=0.019). CONCLUSION The Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field significantly improved despite the fact that the best corrected visual acuity did not. The Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field correlated with the visual acuities significantly. The optical coherence tomography was significant to demonstrate improvement but did not correlate with best corrected visual acuity and Macular threshold protocol of the Humphrey visual field. These findings suggest that the Macular threshold protocol of the visual field may be a more reliable tool for evaluation of global macular function after intravitreal bevacizumab treatment.

Síndrome de Bardet-Biedl: relato de dois casos

Bardet-Biedl syndrome is a hereditary autosomal recessive disease characterized by retinal dystrophy, polydactyly, obesity, mental retardation, and hypogenitalism. One or more of the clinical features characterizing the syndrome may be absent, but retinal dystrophy is a consistent finding. It becomes clinically manifest in early childhood, with progressive loss of visual function, leading to severe visual disability in early adolescence. The authors describe two cases of Bardet-Biedl syndrome, the results of visual acuity, slit-lamp examination, ophthalmoscopy, angiography, visual fields and electroretinograms. The literature was reviewed stressing the importance of identifying systemic signs, ocular involvement, electrophysiologic tests and genetic evaluation.

Changes in choroidal thickness and volume are related to urinary albumin excretion in type 2 diabetic patients without retinopathy

Purpose To evaluate choroidal thickness and volume in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Methods We recruited 37 diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy (18 normoalbuminuric and 19 microalbuminuric) and 21 healthy controls. Choroidal thickness and volume were mapped using the automated Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid and a topographic map of thickness was generated manually. Choroid was also measured at 10 locations under the fovea, temporally and nasally. Results Mean choroidal thickness and volume among patients with diabetes and microalbuminuria was reduced in all locations compared to controls (P<0.05). A sectoral decrease of choroidal thickness and volume was shown between microalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric groups. Conclusion Choroidal changes were present in type 2 diabetic patients before clinical development of retinopathy. Microalbuminuria was associated with a decrease in choroidal thickness and volume in diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy.

Complicações da luxação do cristalino para a cavidade vítrea

Purpose: To evaluate the complications before and after vitrectomy, their correlation with the time the lens remained in the vitreous cavity, and final visual acuity. The long-term complications were also evaluated. Methods: Retrospective study of 12 patients who had lens material in the vitreous after cataract surgery. The patients underwent vitreous surgery from November 1994 to June 2000 at the Ophthalmology Service of the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). Results: After the displacement of the nucleus into the vitreous cavity, 5 patients had corneal edema, 3 had uveitis, 8 glaucoma, 1 retinal detachment, and all patients had reduced visual acuity. After vitrectomy, 2 patients had hyphema, 6 glaucoma, 2 retinal detachment, 1 phthisis bulbi, 1 cystoid macular edema, 2 perfluorcarbon in the anterior chamber, and 7 corneal edema. Almost all complications resolved on the long-term evaluation (mean 6 months). The length of time the nucleus remained in the vitreous cavity was less than 15 days in 3 patients and more than 15 days in 9 patients. Conclusion: The results suggest that the fragments retained in the vitreous cavity should be promptly removed to prevent the inflammatory response and to improve the visual prognosis.