bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Uncorrected refractive errors in Senegalese school‐aged children
Authors: Galindo‐Romero Caridad , Ordoñez‐Angamarca Luis , Berrio Esther , Villegas Eloy A. 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: To assess the visual health and the prevalence of visual impairment (VI) due to uncorrected refractive errors, the most common cause of VI in developing countries, in Senegalese school‐aged children.Methods: Through the campaign carried out by the Spanish NGO “Azul en Acción” in Senegal (Africa), a total of 235 children aged 6–14 years from four schools were examined. Ocular abnormalities and uncorrected distance visual acuity (VA) were analysed and VI was defined as presenting visual acuity worse than 0.3 logMAR in any of the eyes (Bourne et al. 2022). In children with VA worse than 0.3 logMAR, refractive error was measuring by retinoscopy and subjective refraction and defined using spherical equivalents (SE).Results: A total of 235 Senegalese children aged from 6 to 14 years (mean ± SD, 8.7 ± 2.4 years‐old) were examined. Of them, 15.3% of the children (N = 46) were affected of VI, most of them due to uncorrected refractive errors, easily resolved with spectacles (N = 37, 76.9%). The mean value of SE was +0.42 ± 1.18 D, with myopia as the least frequent ametropia (N = 13, 29.7%). Only 9 VI‐children did not improve the VA with optical prescription and were referred to hospital for a whole ocular examination.Conclusions: The prevalence of VI in Senegalese children is very low, as well as the incidence of infant myopia compared to developed countries (Sankaridurg et al., 2021). However, little was known about visual health in Senegalese children and this results confirm the need for early eye care practitioner interventions in developing countries to prevent and treat VI due to uncorrected refractive errors.References1. Bourne RRA, Cicinelli MV, Sedighi T et al. Effective refractive error coverage in adults aged 50 years and older: estimates from population‐based surveys in 61 countries. Lancet Glob Health 2022; 10: e1754‐e1763.2. Sankaridurg P, Tahhan N, Kandel H et al. IMI Impact of Myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021; 62: 2.
Optic neuritis post SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and vaccination; a systematic review exploring the clinical features of optic neuritis after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and vaccination
Authors: Georganta Iliana , Chasapi Despoina , Smith Charlotte , Kopsidas Konstantinos , Tatham Andrew 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: This study aims to characterize the symptoms and clinical features of Optic Neuritis (ON) following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and vaccination.Methods: A literature search was conducted in 4 databases (Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Google Scholar) to identify relevant case reports and case series. The records were screened and articles adhering to the inclusion criteria were critically appraised.Results: Sixty‐eight studies were found to be eligible for inclusion, including 34 reporting ON following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and an equal number reporting cases post vaccination. In total 93 patients and 125 eyes were included. The infection cohort included 42 patients and 56 eyes, 48.8% were female and 33.3% experienced bilateral ON. The mean visual acuity was 1.64 LogMAR, while pain was present in 75%. Oligoclonal bands were present in 3 patients, MOG antibodies in 18, and AQP‐4 antibodies in 4. The vaccination cohort included 51 patients and 69 eyes. 60.8% were female and 35.3% had a bilateral ON. The mean visual acuity was 0.93 LogMAR. Oligoclonal bands were present in 46.7%, MOG antibodies in 9 patients and AQP‐4 antibodies in 3.Conclusions: Patients with ON post SARS‐CoV infection were more likely to experience severe visual impairment than in cases following vaccination. Further research is required to outline the clinical features of ON after COVID‐19 infection and vaccination, and establish causality.
Long‐term efficacy of idebenone in patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy in the LEROS study: Analysing change in visual acuity according to causative mutation and disease phase
Authors: Yu‐Wai‐Man Patrick , Carelli Valerio , Llòria Xavier , Tomasso Livia , Klopstock Thomas 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrial disease resulting in severe vision loss. The causative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation impacts disease progression and prognosis. In LEROS, a Phase IV, open‐label interventional study (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02774005), visual acuity (VA) outcomes following 24 months of idebenone treatment (IDE) were compared to those of an external Natural History (NH) cohort. Here, we compare VA change from baseline to Month 24 according to primary mtDNA mutation and disease stage.Methods: Eyes of patients with LHON and either a m.G11778A, m.T14484C or m.G3460A, mtDNA mutation were stratified by time since onset: subacute/dynamic (≤1 year) and chronic (>1 but ≤5 years). Data from 181 patients were compared to retrospective data from the NH cohort (N = 372), matched by time since symptom onset at baseline. We compare the difference in least squares‐mean VA change, or delta VA, from baseline to Month 24 in IDE versus NH eyes (a negative value favours IDE).Results: In treated subacute/dynamic m.G11778A eyes (n = 60 IDE), delta VA was −0.32 logMAR (p = 0.002) versus the NH cohort (n = 47). In chronic m.G11778A eyes, delta VA was −0.11 logMAR (n = 82 IDE vs n = 51 NH; p = 0.043). In subacute/dynamic m.T14484C eyes, delta VA was +0.20 logMAR (n = 35 IDE vs n = 10 NH; p = 0.285). In chronic m.T14484C eyes, delta VA was −0.52 logMAR (n = 11 IDE vs n = 18 NH; p < 0.001). In subacute/dynamic m.G3460A eyes, delta VA was +0.53 logMAR (n = 26 IDE vs n = 18 NH; p = 0.001). In chronic m.G3460A eyes, delta VA was −0.13 logMAR (n = 23 IDE vs n = 24 NH; p = 0.162).Conclusions: Idebenone improved VA in a large proportion of eyes; this benefit manifested to varying degrees depending on disease stage and mtDNA mutation. m.G11778A eyes saw a consistent benefit regardless of disease stage. m.T14484C and m.G3460A results should be interpreted with caution in some cases due to the relatively low number of eyes; further study is warranted.
Optic nerve head dimension as biomarker in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy
Authors: Battista Marco , Carbonelli Michele , Coutinho Catarina P. , Oakley Jonathan , Cascavilla Maria Lucia , Galzignato Alice , Lari Giorgio , Amore Giulia , La Morgia Chiara , Bandello Francesco , Carelli Valerio , Barboni Piero 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: To study the optic nerve head (ONH) dimension in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and to correlate ONH parameters with genotype and clinical phenotype.Methods: Seventy‐eight affected patients, 175 asymptomatic carriers, and 29 age‐matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent ONH optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements by DRI OCT Triton (Topcon, Japan) and were analysed with the Orion custom software (Volexeron, CA, USA). The following parameters were obtained for each eye: disc area, horizontal and vertical diameter; retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and ONH volume. For the comparison of the different parameters the ANOVA with Bonferroni post‐hoc test was performed.Results: LHON‐affected patients appeared to have smaller ONH size parameters compared to control cases, but only the vertical disc diameter of patients with mutations 11 778 and 14 484 were statistically significant. Also, carrier patients with the mutation 11 778 presented a statistical significantly smaller vertical disc diameter compared to controls, instead 14 484 carriers presented a bigger diameter. ONH volume of all affected patients was significantly smaller. Moreover, asymptomatic 11 778 carriers older than 35 years were significantly smaller. Linear regression sustained the relationship between age, volume, and RNFL, unlike between age and disc area.Conclusions: This study exposed the differences of ONH size in LHON‐affected and ‐carrier patients with different mutations: smaller disc in 11 778 affected and unaffected patients and larger disc in 14 484 carriers. A strong correlation was found between ONH volume both in affected patients and carriers older than 35 years old. These results highlight the importance of the 3D ONH structure as a potential biomarker to support clinicians in the characterization of symptomatic LHON patients and possibly at‐risk mutation carriers with different genetic mutations and clinical course.
Choroidal thickness as a biomarker for axial length change
Authors: Biba Matilda , Lingham Gareth , Acquah Emmanuel Kobia , Loughman James , Flitcroft Daniel 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Assessing axial eye growth is a key component in myopia management; however, access to biometry is limited in primary eye care settings. This study evaluated choroidal thickness, compared to spherical equivalent refraction, as a potential biomarker of axial elongation.Methods: The Myopia Outcome Study of Atropine in Children (MOSAIC) is a double‐blind, randomized controlled trial of 0.01% atropine eye drops. Irish myopic participants aged 6–16 years used either 0.01% atropine or placebo eye drops nightly for 2 years. Spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was measured by cycloplegic autorefraction, axial length (AL) by partial coherence interferometry and choroidal thickness (ChT) by Swept Source‐OCT. The respective 12‐month changes in both eyes were included in mixed linear regression analysis, while controlling for treatment group and within‐subject correlation. ROC analysis was conducted to assess the ability of ChT and/or SER to identify eyes in the top 25% (fast progressors) of AL change.Results: Of the 250 participants enrolled in MOSAIC (mean age 11.8 years, 62% female), 217 (87%) completed the 12‐month visit. Mean 12‐month change in AL, ChT and SER were 0.268 ± 0.19 mm, −3.62 ± 33.3 um and −0.437 ± 0.346 DS respectively. Analysis revealed a significant association between change in ChT and AL (−0.01 ± 0.002 mm per 10 μm; p < 0.001) and change in SER and AL (−0.28 ± 0.02 mm per 1D; p < 0.001). When both SER and ChT were combined in a single model, a 1D myopic change in SER and a 10um decrease in ChT were associated with a 0.27 mm (p < 0.001) and 0.007 mm increase in AL (p = 0.002), respectively. ROC analysis revealed that change in ChT was a stronger predictor of fast AL progression (AUC = 0.77) compared to SER change (AUC = 0.72), with the combined model performing better than either variable alone (AUC = 0.80).Conclusions: ChT change was significantly associated with AL change over 12 months and better than SER alone at identifying fast AL progressors, with a combined SER and ChT model achieving the best results.
Retinal ganglion cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: A temporal study
Authors: Sanchez‐Puebla Lidia , Gómez‐Moreno Mar , Matamoros José A. , Fernández‐Albarral José A. , de Hoz Rosa , Salazar Juan Jose , Salobrar‐Garcia Elena , López‐Cuenca Inés , Nieto‐Vaquero Carmen , Cuartero María Isabel , Ramírez Ana I. , Ramirez Jose Manuel 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative neurological disorder characterized by the progressive loss of neurons and their synapses in the brain. Similar alterations have been observed in the retina even before they manifest in the brain. The retina has been proposed as a readily accessible biomarker for AD. In a previous work utilizing a murine model of AD (APPNL‐F/NL‐F), changes in retinal thickness, as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT), were observed at 15 and 17 months. The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess the population of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in this same AD murine model over a specified time period and compare it with wild‐type (WT) mice.Methods: To quantitatively assess the population of retinal ganglion cells we used two study groups: the APPNL‐F/NL‐F model throughout the time period of (6, 9, 12, 17, and 20 months) and compared with wild‐type (WT) mice age matched (n = 30 in both groups). The quantification of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) was conducted using immunohistochemical analysis with the Brn3a marker. This analysis was performed using a semi‐automatic algorithm implemented in the MatLab environment, which was developed by the Ramón Castroviejo Institute for Ophthalmic Research. For the analysis, the entire retina was considered and segmented into the peripapillary, intermediate, and peripheral zones.Results: A statistically significant decresase (p < 0.05) in the population of Brn3a + cells was observed in the APPNL‐F/NL‐F group compared to the WT group. This decreased was found in the total retina at 12 months, in the peripapillary zone at 9, 12, and 20 months, and in the intermediate zone at 12 months of the study.Conclusions: The APPNL‐F/NL‐F mouse model exhibits RGCs loss at 9, 12, and 20 months, mirroring the patterns observed in human cases. These findings suggest that the model holds promise for investigating and studying mechanisms related to RGC degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
Gradient myopic defocus causes scleral tissue reinforcement and structural scleral remodelling
Authors: Hileeto Denise , Gillis Thomas , Irving Elizabeth 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: To determine histological effects of lens induced refractive change on scleral remodelling in chicks.Methods: 18 Ross‐Ross chicks were raised for 14 days on a 14 hr light/10 hr dark cycle. 6 chicks were allowed to develop normally. 6 chicks wore conventional ‐10D lenses for the full 14 days. 6 chicks wore conventional ‐10D lenses for the first 7 days and myopia progression control (MPC) lenses or the next 7 days. MPC lenses had a central power of ‐10D and a gradient power rise at pupil edge (+ 2.75D). Birds were euthanized after 14 days and eyes were routinely processed for histopathological evaluation. Whole mount H&E‐stained tissue sections were microscopically analysed using bright field microscopy.Results: All lens treated birds developed significant myopia as expected Total scleral thickness was significantly reduced in the group wearing conventional ‐10 lenses (p < 0.05), but remained comparable to the normal control group for the MPC lenses treated birds. New appositional growth of the cartilaginous sclera was observed in all MPC lenses treated eyes and only in those eyes. The thickness of the cartilaginous component of the sclera was 135 ± 6, 153 ± 5, 125 ± 8 μm for conventional myopic, MPC lenses treated, and control birds respectively. There was a significant increase in the cartilaginous scleral thickness in the MPC lenses treated birds compared to the other two groups (p < 0.03), but not between the conventional ‐10D lens treated and control birds (p > 0.05).Conclusions: It is possible to induce appositional growth in hyaline cartilage in the chick sclera. In our study, this has only been achieved by using MPC lenses to reverse previously induced experimental myopia with conventional minus lenses. Our finding suggests that gradient decrease in peripheral lens power and the resulting differential level of defocus it causes could be a potential trigger of scleral reinforcement through stimulation of cartilage growth in the chick sclera.
A systems biology approach to understand retinal ciliopathies
Authors: Liu Xiaonan , Pacwa Anna , Bugara Klaudia , Machna Bartosz , Rodak Piotr , Machowicz Joanna , Lewin‐Kowalik Joanna , Smedowski Adrian 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Many of the described ciliopathies display multi‐organ developmental phenotypes, including retina. A variety of proteins encoded by genes associated with retinal ciliopathies are present in the connecting cilium of the retina, which is essential for photoreceptor function. Owing to the complicated genetic networks of ciliopathies, it is more difficult to characterize ciliopathies than other rare diseases, and only a handful of exact genotype–phenotype correlations have been established. The scientific aim of this study was to unravel the protein‐level mechanisms of retinal ciliopathies using system and molecular biology techniques.Methods: Due to the network of protein interactions, the effect of a ciliopathy mutation is not limited to a single gene product. Instead, it impacts the interacting partners and, as a result, can have an effect on the activity of a whole subnetwork. To analyse this, we selected 46 genes that have been previously associated with non‐syndromic and multi‐syndromic retinal ciliopathies and applied proximity labeling‐based method (UltraID) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) approach for systematic analysis of retinal ciliopathy proteomes.Results: Bioinformatic analysis of the comprehensive dataset reveals 3772 high confidence interactions and among them 179 interactions (4.7%) were previously reported for the retinal ciliopathy protein. We further conducted a subcellular localization analysis on the interacting proteins. There are 232 unique prey proteins (13.6%) with annotated subcellular localization or tissue distribution in photoreceptor, cilium, retina, or eye, indicating our PPI data are retinal ciliopathy context specific.Conclusions: Protein–protein interaction (PPI)‐based analyses, rather than focusing on specific genes or loci implicated in retinal ciliopathies, highlight connections that are most affected by the disease state, thereby facilitating the discovery of higher‐order relationships within the genetic architecture of ciliopathies.
A colour vision test assisted by neural networks
Authors: Monteiro José , Alves Paulo , Gomes Andreia , Nascimento Sérgio , Linhares João 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Traditional computerized colour vision tests resort to the magnitude of chromatic thresholds to determine the quality of the colour vision of an observer. The limits of perceived colours are tested against a background that will be conspicuous to normal colour vision observers, but inconspicuous to colour vision deficient (CVD) observers. The purpose of this work was to implement a Neural Network capable of performing independent and automatic classification of the colour vision of an observer, using as inputs the sRGB chromaticity coordinates, response times, and eye movements obtained using a colour vision test on a computer screen calibrated in colour and luminance (Display++).Methods: Chromatic discrimination limits were estimated using a staircase procedure that tested colour vision close to the dichromatic confusion lines. Only the last 8 responses were considered in the analysis. 50 normal colour vision observers and 8 CVD observers performed the test on Display++. CVD participants were diagnosed using the results of the anomaloscope and the CAD colour vision tests. A Sequential Neural Network was implemented with a dense structure (256–128–64‐16‐1 nodes), with relu and sigmoid activation functions, dropout commands to prevent overfitting, the Adam optimizer, and the binary crossentropy loss function. The performance of the neural network was estimated by computing its accuracy, where variables are related to the results obtained after training the Neural Network and inspecting the test results. The database was divided into a training/test following different splitting strategies: T1 observers' responses considering sRGB coordinates, response times, and eye movements. T2 observers' responses considering only sRGB coordinates.Results: The averages and standard deviations of the estimated accuracy for five consecutive trials with a random division between training/test for conditions T1 and T2 was 91% ± 7% and 93% ± 5% respectively. It was found that the implemented neural network had an accuracy of more than 90% across all conditions.Conclusions: The accuracies found across conditions considered seem to indicate that the implemented Neural Network can analyse and classify the colour vision of human observers, with an accuracy greater than 90% of success.
Study of peripheral blur in retinal electrical activity
Authors: Queiros António , Nevado Ana , Pereira‐da‐Mota Ana Filipa , Amorim‐de‐Sousa Ana , Fernandes Paulo 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in peripheral refraction by the use of a contact lens to control the progression of myopia. In addition, the response of electrophysiological activity in different areas of the retina with and without contact lens was also determined.Methods: We recruited 7 myopic individuals (23.71 ± 5.41 years) with refraction up to −4.50D (spherical equivalent), without eye pathologies and surgeries. Visual acuity was recorded, high and low contrast, with the updated refraction and with the Misight 1 Day contact lens. Peripheral refraction measurements were obtained using an open‐field autorefractometer. Multifocal electrophysiology measurements were performed binocularly with and without contact lens, with dilated pupil. Topography and aberrometry values were also recorded.Results: lens, peripheral refractions become significantly more myopic. The change in peripheral refraction induced at 30° Nasal is −0.66D. High Contrast Visual Acuity was always superior to Low Contrast VA in both conditions. The Misight 1 Day contact lens manifests a different behaviour along the anterior surface of the cornea. LC induces a significant increase in high‐order aberrations, especially in comatic aberrations, which increase three times their initial value.Conclusions: Regarding the electrophysiological response of the retina, with the use of the LC Misight 1 Day, it presented a greater implicit time and amplitude of the P1 component, in the superior temporal retina, these differences being statistically significant. The implicit time of the P2 component increased in the temporal retina and in the retinal area delimited by Rings 3, 4 and 5.
Healthy aging does not alter centre surround orientation effects in foveal intraocular and interocular contrast suppression
Authors: Pitchaimuthu Kabilan , Nguyen Bao , McKendrick Allison 
Published: January 2024

Aims/Purpose: Healthy aging alters how the perceived contrast of a pattern is influenced by its surround. Neural mechanisms underlying this aging effect can be disentangled by manipulating stimulus orientation, duration, and by using dichoptic viewing. Here, we tested whether intraocular and interocular center surround contrast suppression demonstrate distinct effects of surround orientation, and if so, whether they are altered by healthy aging.Methods: We measured the perceived contrast of a circular, vertically oriented sine grating (0.67° diameter, 20% contrast) alone and in the presence of annular sinusoidal surround (6° diameter, 40% contrast) in 18 younger (19–32 years) and 18 older adults (61–78 years). Factors explored were: intraocular versus interocular viewing, parallel versus orthogonal surround orientation, and 40 ms versus 200 ms stimulus duration. Surround orientation effect (SOE) was calculated as 1‐ (contrast suppression by orthogonal surround/ contrast suppression by parallel surround). SOE was 0 if contrast suppression was equal between both surround orientations, and the value increased if parallel surround produced stronger suppression than orthogonal surround.Results: The interocular SOE was not influenced by stimulus duration, whereas, intraocular SOE was stronger at 40 ms compared to 200 ms (viewing condition x stimulus duration: F(1,34) = 24.38, p < 0.01). Older and younger adults showed similar SOE under all test conditions (main effect of age: F(1,34) = 0.02, p = 0.89). Age did not affect how stimulus duration influenced intraocular and interocular SOE (age x viewing condition x stimulus duration: F(1,34) = 0.41, p = 0.52).Conclusions: Our results suggest that centre surround orientation effects on intraocular and interocular contrast suppression is dependent on stimulus duration and this relationship is unaltered by healthy aging.