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Aims: To report spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in cases of impending or occult central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) in which a diagnosis other than CRAO was made on initial presentation. Methods: Retrospective, observational case series of patients diagnosed with CRAO for whom on initial presentation fundal examination and OCT findings were deemed unremarkable and/or a diagnosis other than CRAO was made. OCT images from the initial presentation were then reviewed for evidence of inner retinal ischaemia. Results: In total, 214 cases of CRAO were identified. Eleven patients (5.14%) had been given an alternative initial diagnosis at their first presentation in casualty and were included. The age range was 20–84 years and 81% (9/11) were male. On review of initial OCT imaging performed in casualty, all cases had evidence of inner retinal ischaemia. Conclusions: CRAO is an ophthalmic emergency which leads to vision loss which is often irreversible. Examination of the fundus may be normal early in the course of the disease and therefore a timely diagnosis may be missed. This case series reports the OCT findings of inner retinal ischaemia in patients with occult or impending CRAO which may aid in the early diagnosis and referral to stroke services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The treatment of idiopathic full-thickness macular holes involves surgery to close the hole. Some surgeons advise patients to adopt a face-down position to increase the likelihood of successful macular hole closure. However, patients often find the face-down positioning arduous. There is a lack of conclusive evidence that face-down positioning improves the outcome. The 'Positioning In Macular hole Surgery' (PIMS) trial will assess whether advice to position face-down after surgery improves the surgical success rate for the closure of large (≥400 μm) macular holes.Methods/design: The PIMS trial is a multicentre, parallel-group, superiority clinical trial with 1:1 randomisation. Patients (n = 192) with macular holes (≥400 μm) will be randomised after surgery to either face-down positioning or face-forward positioning for at least 8 h (which can be either consecutive or nonconsecutive) a day, for 5 days following surgery. Inclusion criteria are: presence of an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole ≥400 μm in diameter, as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans, on either or both eyes; patients electing to have surgery for a macular hole, with or without simultaneous phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implant; ability and willingness to position face-down or in an inactive face-forward position; a history of visual loss suggesting a macular hole of 12 months' or less duration. The primary outcome is successful macular hole closure at 3 months post surgery. The treatment effect will be reported as an odds ratio with 95% confidence interval, adjusted for size of macular hole and phakic lens status at baseline. Secondary outcome measures at 3 months are: further surgery for macular holes performed or planned (of those with unsuccessful closure); patient-reported experience of positioning; whether patients report they would still have elected to have the operation given what they know at follow-up; best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) measured using Snellen charts at a standard distance of 6 m; patient-reported health and quality of life assessed using the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25).Discussion: The PIMS trial is the first multicentre randomised control trial to investigate the value of face-down positioning following macular hole standardised surgery.Trial Registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number registry, ID: ISRCTN12410596. Registered on 11 February 2015. United Kingdom Clinical Research Network, ID: UKCRN17966 . Registered on 26 November 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a rare presentation of brain tumour in the region of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) presenting as a homonymous horizontal sectoranopia (HHS). The case highlights that subtle field defects can be asymptomatic and only detected by formal perimetry. Although homonymous sectoranopia is a rare form of visual field defect, it should be recognised as a potential manifestation of potentially significant intracranial pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocular angiogenesis and macular oedema are major causes of sight loss across the world. Aberrant neovascularisation, which may arise secondary to numerous disease processes, can result in reduced vision as a result of oedema, haemorrhage, and scarring. The development of antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents has revolutionised the treatment of retinal vasogenic conditions. These drugs are now commonly employed for the treatment of a plethora of ocular pathologies including choroidal neovascularisation, diabetic macular oedema, and retinal vein occlusion to name a few. In this paper, we will explore the current use of anti-VEGF in a variety of retinal diseases and the impact that these medications have had on visual outcome for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal aim of this study was to develop tests of source memory in both the verbal and visuo-spatial domains, which would be brief and easy to use in clinical and population settings. Source memory, that is, memory for context or attributes, is very vulnerable to the effects of ageing and to the early stages of dementia. Because longitudinal studies of cognitive function, including clinical trials, involve repeat testing, practice effects may hamper interpretation when identical tests are administered on each occasion. Accordingly, we developed parallel versions of each of the source memory tests. Rather than assuming equivalence by design, we tested the parallel versions to determine whether they were in fact equivalent in difficulty. We also explored the use of different analytic approaches to establishing equivalence. We report the results of a study in which we compared within- and between-subject performance on three parallel versions of visuo-spatial and verbal source memory tests, as well as three parallel versions of standard tests of episodic memory (word list recall) and executive function (letter fluency, category fluency, ideational fluency) in a sample of healthy elderly volunteers. Participants were tested on three occasions separated by 1 week, and test versions were counterbalanced across test sessions. We also examined performance in a group of participants tested on one occasion only, with test versions being allocated at random. We found that for a number of tests, versions which were designed to be parallel, failed to produce equivalent performance in our sample. We show how the results of this study may be of general use to researchers wishing to select particular versions of the tests in our battery. We also urge researchers to be cautious when using parallel versions of other tests. The careful matching or random allocation of items to parallel versions of a test is no guarantee that performance on the different versions will be equivalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]