This issue of Acta (2010)

The cover photograph comes from the paper of Algvere et al. showing macular oedema in central retinal vein occlusion and its improvement following intravitreal bevacizumab. David McLeod in Manchester reviews the oxygen physiology of diabetic retinopathy and bases his article in part on the work of the Danish Nobel lauriate August Krogh. Algvere et al. in Stockholm report substantial improvement in visual acuity and decrease in retinal thickness following intravitreal bevacizumab injections for central retinal vein occlusion with macular oedema. Helb et al. in Bonn combined confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography for unique imaging of various maculopathies. Kavroulaki et al. in Basel report that choroidal blood flow decreases following menopause, whereas peripheral blood flow behaves in the opposite way. Forte et al. in Italy report good results from treatment of occult choroidal neovascularization with intravitreal bevacizumab, pegaptanib and triamcinolone, injected as needed. This paper is in the electronic version of the journal, see http://www.actaophthalmologica.com. Petrovic et al. in Slovenia report in the electronic part of this issue (http://www.actaophthalmologica.com) elevated levels of interleukin 8 in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, suggesting an inflammatory component in the disease. Sachdeva et al. in USA report in the electronic part of the journal (http://www.actaophthalmologica.com) a case series where they found photodynamic therapy to be moderately effective in treating capillary haemangioma of the retina. Åsman and Lindén in Sweden describe an Internet-based system to train and test medical students in ophthalmoscopy. Ehlers et al. in Denmark measured corneal thickness including epithelium and stroma in histological sessions and found considerable variability in these values. Habot-Wilner in Tel Aviv found topical bevacizumab to reduce corneal neovascularization in rats. Zaki and Farid in Egypt gave subconjunctival bevacizumab injections to patients with corneal neovascularization in trachoma, contact lens wear and other causes. The bevacizumab was well tolerated and effective. Nishi et al. in USA report in the electronic part of the journal (http://www.actaophthalmologica.com) that redox fluorometry microscopy could be useful for evaluating corneal endothelial damage following phacoemulsification. Shin et al. in Korea performed a randomized masked and sham-controlled trial on the use of acupuncture for dry eyes and found similar improvements in the patient groups with a real and sham acupuncture. This paper is in the electronic version of the journal, see http://www.actaophthalmologica.com. Lennerstrand et al. in Sweden and Italy studied eye muscle physiology in patients and found that succinylcholine produces typical slow muscle fibre activation. Morgan et al. in Australia and USA report on refraction of almost 40 000 children and found that emmetropia was not the predominant outcome. Most were mildly hyperopic, and a substantial number was myopic. Rüfer et al. in Germany found that anterior chamber depth decreases with age and suggest this may be clinically relevant in the selection of phakic intraocular lenses. Ates et al. in Turkey studied oxidative damage in cataracts. Endo et al. in Japan report that bromfenac as well as topical steroids suppress anterior chamber inflammation and reduce retinal thickening following cataract surgery in patients with diabetes. Habib et al. in Egypt used liposomes with fluconazole to successfully treat Candida albicans infection in rabbit cornea. Hamade and Tabbara in Saudi Arabia and USA found that early administration of corticosteroids may be harmful if it precedes antituberculosis therapy in patients with ocular tuberculosis infections. Habot-Wilner et al. in London and Sidney report good results from corticosteroid orbital floor injections in children with uveitis. This paper is in the electronic part of this issue and accessible on http://www.actaophthalmologica.com. Jonas in Germany found that the peripapillary arterial circle of Zinn-Haller was similar in glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous eyes, when examined in enucleated eyes. This paper is in the electronic version of the journal, see http://www.actaophthalmologica.com. Prata et al. in New York describe how slit lamp adapted optical coherence tomography can be used to evaluate a glaucoma filtering bleb. Marie Louise Roed Rasmussen in Copenhagen presents an abstract of her PhD thesis that is in electronic supplement see http://www.actaophthalmologica.com. She reviews eye amputations in Denmark, which is most frequently carried out for painful blind eyes and neoplasms. Criado et al. in Spain report permanent visual loss secondary to airbags in cars. Seve et al. in France used infliximab in a patient with serpiginous choroiditis with good results. Lee et al. in Korea found cataract and increased intraocular pressure in many Korean children receiving steroids for chronic glomerulonephritis. Choi et al. in Korea report on broken haptics with transscleral fixation of intraocular lenses. Zhang et al. in China and Germany tested a cell-based device that was implanted into rabbit eyes and produced glucagon-like peptide. Xu et al. in China and Germany relate high myopia and parapapillary atrophy in the Beijing Eye Study. Siddiqui et al. in United Kingdom found that socioeconomic status was related to delayed diagnosis of retinal detachments. I wish the readers of Acta Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I thank you for your support of Acta through the year and hope you enjoy both the printed and the electronic part of the journal, which is accessible on http://www.actaophthalmologica.com.