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Purpose: To assess accumulation of p53 protein in samples of primary pterygium from people living in two different climatic regions in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Group 1 included 101 pterygium specimens from people in Adana located in southern Turkey. Group 2 included 39 pterygium specimens from people in Ankara, located in the middle of Turkey. Climatic conditions throughout the year are sunnier and warmer in Adana than they are in Ankara. The control group (Group 3) included 30 specimens of conjunctiva that had been excised during cataract surgery from 30 patients without pterygium. The pterygial specimens and control conjunctiva were studied by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against p53 protein. Pearson′s chi-square test was used to compare the p53 immunoreactivity. Results: The p53 immunoreactivity in Groups 1 and 2 was greater than it was in the control group ( P< 0.001). There were no differences in p53 immunoreactivity between Groups 1 and 2 ( P= 0.060). Conclusion: The p53 immunoreactivity was not correlated with ultraviolet irradiation exposure. The p53 immunoreactivity in our pterygium specimens suggests that pterygium could be a result of uncontrolled cell proliferation.

We report a rare presentation of brucellosis as bilateral optic nerve and right abducent nerve involvement, and endocarditis complicated by right premacular hemorrhage in a 28-year-old white female. The patient showed improvement with both medical and surgical therapy. Brucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of papillitis, gaze palsy and endocarditis complicated with premacular hemorrhage in endemic regions.

Aims: To investigate the effect of surgery type on the postoperative astigmatism in pterygium surgery. Settings and Design: Retrospective comparative clinical trial. Materials and Methods: Data of 240 eyes that underwent pterygium excision were investigated. Following removal of the pterygium, patients underwent 5 different types of surgeries: Conjunctival autograft with sutures (CAG-s) or fibrin glue (CAG-g), conjunctival rotational flap (CRF), or amniotic membrane transplantation with either suture (AMT-s) or with glue (AMT-g). The preoperative and postoperative keratometric measurements, evaluated using an automated keratorefractometer, were noted. Statistical Analysis: The overall changes in BCVA and astigmatic degree were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed rank test. The difference in astigmatic values between groups was calculated using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The most commonly performed procedure was CAG-s (N = 115), followed by CAG-g (N = 53), CRF (N = 47), AMT-s (N = 15), and AMT-g (N = 10). Following surgery, astigmatic values decreased from 3.47 ± 2.50 D to 1.29 ± 1.07 D (P < 0.001, paired t test). The changes in astigmatism was significantly related to the preoperative size of the pterygium (ρ = 3.464, P = 0.005). The postoperative astigmatism correlated with preoperative astigmatism (ρ = 0.351, P < 0.001, Spearman correlation analysis). The changes in astigmatic values was not related to the method of surgery (P = 0.055, ANOVA). Conclusion: Pterygium results in high corneal astigmatism, which decreases to an acceptable level following excision. According to our study, the type of grafting as CAG, CRF or AMT or the use of suture or glue to fixate the graft does not have a significant effect on the change in astigmatism degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]