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Purpose: The spectrum of intraocular and systemic findings in patients with ocular syphilis is described. Persistent visual dysfunction and structural abnormality, in spite of targeted antibiotic therapy, were identified and analysed., Methods: Patients with ocular syphilis who were treated at University Hospital Zurich (USZ) between 2010 and 2018 were included in this study. General characteristics, ocular manifestation and visual function (best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA], visual field) before and after treatment were analysed retrospectively., Results: Ocular syphilis was diagnosed in one female and 16 male patients (median age 42 years, range 22 to 53 years). A bilateral infection was present in 11 cases, and 28 of 34 eyes were affected (82%). Manifestations included anterior (n = 3), intermediate (n = 4), posterior (n = 10) uveitis, as well as panuveitis (n = 5) and papillitis (n = 6). Abnormal liquor findings were present in 8 patients (47%). Six patients were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive. In all patients, intravenous benzyl penicillin was initiated and led to inactivation of intraocular inflammation. Before the initial intravenous treatment, all patients received one dose of steroids orally (Prednisone [PDN] 50 to 70 mg). Seven patients had systemic steroids added over the course of the antibiotic treatment being gradually decreased during and after the antibiotic treatment. The initial median BCVA of all affected eyes (n = 28) of 17 patients was 0.1 logMAR (0.8 decimal), range 2.8 to - 0.1 logMAR (light perception to 1.25 decimal). At the last visit, the median BCVA was 0 logMAR, range 0.4 to - 0.1 logMAR (0.4 to 1.25 decimal). Median follow-up time was 11 months (range 3 to 60 months). At the last visit, BCVA of 4 eyes (3 patients) was ≤ 0.6. Six eyes of 5 patients had a persisting scotoma with central visual field defects. Morphologically, disintegration and irregularities of outer retinal layers after central retinitis (5 eyes) and atrophy of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (4 eyes) after papillitis correlated with abnormal vision., Conclusions: The spectrum of ocular manifestations in syphilis is broad. Despite targeted antibiotic therapy, more than a third of affected eyes had lasting abnormal vision. Patients with papillitis and retinitis were at an increased risk for persistent visual dysfunction., Competing Interests: Alcon Laboratories, Inc.: Consultant/Advisor; Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals: Consultant/Advisor, Lecture Fees, Grant Support; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Consultant/Advisor, Lecture Fees, Grant Support; Allergan: Lecture Fees., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Wilson's disease or hepatolenticular degeneration Abstract. Wilson's disease, or hepatolenticular degeneration, is a rare inherited disorder of copper metabolism. The most common clinical presentations are liver disease and / or neuro-psychiatric manifestations. Pathophysiologically, Wilson's disease is caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene, which lead to defective biliary excretion of copper and subsequent accumulation of copper in the liver and in other organs. Its prevalence is approximately 1:30 000, however its penetrance, clinical presentation and disease severity vary widely, ranging from asymptomatic elevation of liver enzymes to cirrhosis or acute liver failure with or without neuro-psychiatric symptoms. For this reason, Wilson's disease should be suspected and ruled out in cases of indeterminate liver disease or neuropsychiatric disturbances. The diagnostic algorithms are complex and involve clinical tests, ophthalmologic examination (Kayser-Fleischer rings in split-lamp examination), blood and urine tests, genetic testing, imaging and histology. In compensated liver disease, treatment of Wilson's disease by copper depletion (chelators, zinc) is usually effective. In case of liver failure liver transplantation may be needed, which corrects the underlying error of copper metabolism. New drugs with improved efficacy and tolerability are in clinical development.

Background: Randomized controlled phase III studies have shown that intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy is effective for exsudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) over two years. Recently, the seven-year outcomes in ranibizumab-treated patients of the ranibizumab phase III studies have been published. Only a few other studies with such a long follow-up for intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy in patients with exsudative AMD have been published so far. We report on the outcome of patients receiving intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy for exudative AMD at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Zurich with follow-up of 3 to 7 years., Patients: Retrospective chart review of all patients treated at our institution for exudative AMD with begin of treatment since 2006., Results: The numbers of patients with a follow-up of 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 6, 6 to 7, and more than 7 years were 430, 277, 151, 87, and 47, respectively. Mean follow-up time was 4.9 years, and median was 4.6 years. Changes in visual acuity for these patients were -5.0, -7.8, -11.7, -12.8, and -19.2 ETDRS letters, respectively., Conclusions: Whereas in patients with exudative AMD during the first two years of intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment visual acuity can at least be stabilised, after three and more years visual acuity decreases in spite of continued treatment., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background: Reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) is still the primary goal of glaucoma treatment. The aim of this prospective study was to examine the IOP lowering effect of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in patients on maximum tolerated medical therapy (MTMT), especially with regard to a potential influence of pseudophakia and topical prostaglandin analogues (PGA) on IOP reduction., Material and Methods: A total of 30 patients with a diagnosis of primary open angle glaucoma, normal tension glaucoma and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma with uncontrolled IOP despite MTMT underwent SLT treatment circumferentially over 360°. Follow-up visits were conducted 1 day after SLT and then 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-treatment. The initial medication was continued unchanged for 3 months., Results: Median follow-up was 11.97 ± 3.1 months, mean IOP at baseline was 19.60 ± 4.69 mmHg, mean IOP reduction was -19.95 ± 17.14% 1 month after and -14.07 ± 23.57% 12 months after SLT (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively). Patients with higher baseline IOP had greater reduction of IOP after SLT (R(2) = 0.482, p < 0.001). Phakic patients had a significantly greater IOP reduction compared to pseudophakic patients (- 4.55 ± 4.45 mmHg and + 2.75 ± 6.75 mmHg, respectively, p = 0.010). Patients without PGA had a statistically insignificant greater IOP reduction compared to patients with PGA (- 7.40 ± 4.72 mmHg and -2.48 ± 5.22 mmHg, respectively, p = 0.066) and four patients needed additional surgery to lower IOP., Conclusion: Even in patients already on maximum IOP lowering medication, SLT has the potential to significantly reduce IOP up to 1 year after treatment. The IOP reduction is most pronounced in phakic eyes with high preoperative IOP.

Background: A prototype of a pressure-sensitive contact lens (CL-DCT) based on dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) has been developed for continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring. The purpose of the present study was to assess the clinical applicability of this CL-DCT., Material and Methods: In 24 healthy subjects continuous IOP recording with the CL-DCT for 100 s was accomplished including IOP monitoring during 2 consecutive Valsalva manoeuvres. The measurement procedure was repeated after 5 min on the same eye and compared with the initial measurement., Results: Continuous pressure curves were recorded in 20 subjects. The CL-DCT revealed an individual increase in IOP from 0.74 to 8.26 mmHg during the Valsalva manoeuvres. Comparison of the 2 consecutive IOP measurements yielded a mean deviation of +/-0.4 mmHg., Conclusions: CL-DCT allows non-invasive and continuous measurements of IOP. The measured values are comparable to the expected ones. Further studies are necessary to compare the measurement accuracy of CL-DCT with that of slit lamp adapted DCT (SL-DCT).