Issue 4 at a glance;
Esteemed readers,
In this issue, we present research conducted in Turkey in various fields of ophthalmology. We hope you will find the six original research articles, one review and three case reports in this issue both interesting and of practical value.
The long-term success of trabeculectomy, the gold standard in glaucoma surgery, is highly dependent on the presence of functional blebs. Güven Yılmaz et al. report a study of 28 eyes that underwent standard trabeculectomy with mitomycin C by the same surgeon; morphologic appearance of the blebs was assessed by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, while their interior structure was evaluated by optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). They found that the three techniques are consistent with one another, and emphasized that in addition to the easy and practical evaluation of bleb morphology by slit-lamp examination, IVCM and AS-OCT images provide valuable, objective data regarding the internal structure and functional features of blebs (pages 132-137).
Secondary Sjögren’s syndrome occurs with many autoimmune diseases. Türkoğlu et al. investigated the effect of systemic treatment with the tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonist infliximab on tear function tests and the ocular surface of secondary Sjögren’s syndrome patients. In the 3rd and 6th months of systemic infliximab treatment, they observed no positive effect on subjective or objective parameters (pages 138-141).
In a study evaluating tear osmolarity, tear film breakup time, and Schirmer’s scores in Parkinson’s disease, Sarı et al. compared data from 37 Parkinson’s patients followed for at least 1 year and 37 age -and gendermatched controls, and found significantly lower blink rates and Schirmer’s scores in Parkinson’s patients. This study by Sarı et al. is the first to evaluate tear osmolarity in Parkinson’s disease (pages 142-145).
Homocysteine and leptin have been proposed to contribute to the uveal inflammation and endothelial dysfunction which plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Behçet’s disease. Elbay et al. investigated serum levels of homocysteine and leptin in 23 patients with Behçet’s uveitis, 22 patients with noninfectious non-Behçet’s uveitis, and 25 age -and gender- matched healthy controls; they found that female uveitis patients had significantly higher leptin levels than female controls, but no other significant differences emerged (pages 146-151).
Altıntaş et al. share the surgical outcomes of modified lateral rectus Y-splitting combined with unilateral or bilateral horizontal rectus recession in Duane retraction syndrome patients exhibiting severe up or downshoot. In their 12 patients, 10 with type 1 and 2 with type 3 Duane retraction syndrome, they reported marked correction of horizontal deviation, no persistent abnormal head position, no co-contraction or globe retraction, and complete correction or marked reduction in abnormal vertical eye movements. Their results highlight this technique as an effective and safe surgical option for the treatment of Duane retraction syndrome (pages 152-155).
In a study by Savku and Gündüz investigating follow-up and treatment results in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), the records of 168 TAO patients followed for at least 6 months were analyzed retrospectively. They found that the most frequent thyroid pathology accompanying TAO was Graves’ disease. Severity of TAO was mild in nearly two thirds of the eyes, moderate-to-severe in nearly one third, and severe in 2% of the eyes. Male gender emerged as the only independent risk factor for disease severity, while increasing age and high thyroid receptor antibody titers were associated with disease activity. Patients were most commonly treated with systemic steroid therapy. Their results emphasize the importance of followup in this patient group (pages 156-163).
Sincerely on behalf of the Editorial Board,
Özlem Yıldırım, MD
