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Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major worldwide health disorder. There is an increasing number of neurological complications recognized with COVID-19 including patients with GBS and its variants., Development: A review of the clinical cases of GBS associated to COVID-19 infection published in the last months has been developed. We included 48 patients (31 men, mean age 56.4 years). The most common COVID-19 symptoms were cough (60.4%) and fever (56.3%). Mean time from COVID-19 symptoms to neurologic manifestations was 12.1 days, but in nine patients (18.8%) developed GBS within seven days. Eleven patients (22.9%) presented cranial nerve involvement in the absence of muscle weakness; 36 presented the classic sensory motor variant (75%) and one had a pure motor variant (2.1%). The electrodiagnostic pattern was considered demyelinating in 82.4% of the generalized variants. The presence of hyposmia/dysgeusia was associated with a latency shorter than seven days to GBS onset of symptoms (30% vs 15.6%), and cranial nerve involvement in the absence of weakness (30.8% vs 17.1%). Most patients (87.5%) were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Neurological outcome was favorable in 64.6%; 29.2% had respiratory failure and 4.2% died shortly after being admitted., Conclusions: GBS in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection resembles clinically and electrophysiology the classical forms. Further studies are necessary to understand whether GBS frequency is actually increased due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and explore pathogenic mechanisms.

Purpose: To identify spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) predictive morphological features for the outcome of Ranibizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD)., Methods: This is a retrospective multicentric study that involved 64 eyes with naïve AMD. Patients who received three monthly intravitreal injections of Ranibizumab were stratified into (1) "responders" [≥ 5 letters gain on Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) scale] and (2) "nonresponders" (< 5 letters gain). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and SD-OCT morphological features were compared at baseline and one month after three consecutive injections of Ranibizumab. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to correlate these morphological features with the change in BCVA., Results: Among the 64 patients enrolled, 40 (62.5%) were "responders" and 24 (37.5%) "nonresponders". Age, sex, and BCVA were comparable between both groups. A multivariate correlational analysis found that subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and the presence of pigment epithelial detachment (PED) > 250 μ m at baseline were two independent prognostic indicators of final BCVA. No other SD-OCT morphological studied features seem to affect final BCVA after Ranibizumab treatment., Conclusion: SFCT and the presence of PED > 250 μ m are two significant biomarkers that may predict improvement after Ranibizumab therapy for AMD. These markers may guide ophthalmologists' treatment decision under financial constraints and limited time.

Purpose and Context: Intravitreal administration of anti-VEGF agents, available in France since 2007, allows stabilization and improvement in visual acuity in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the past few years, the management of this disease has evolved in terms of both diagnostic methods and treatment schedules, which have been adapted to the pathophysiology of AMD. The goal of this survey, performed in a representative sample of French ophthalmologists, was to describe the evolution of medical practices one year after a similar survey (Massé et al., J Fr Ophtalmol 2016; 39: 40-7)., Method: The survey was performed from December, 2014 to March, 2015 in 191 ophthalmologists (53 general ophthalmologists and 98 retina specialists) with an on-line questionnaire. This questionnaire was designed by a committee of ophthalmologists to describe practices concerning screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of wet AMD., Results: An initial intravitreal injection of an anti-VEGF agent was usually performed within 10 days after the diagnosis of wet AMD by 98% of ophthalmologists and within 5 days by 63%. The treatment protocols favored by retina specialists were pro re nata (PRN) for 58%, Observe and Plan for 25% and Treat and Extend for 17%. Bilateral intravitreal injections were performed on the same day by 46% of retina specialists, mostly for the convenience of the patient and because of the low infectious risk. The initial protocol was maintained by one third of retina specialists throughout the course of treatment, while two thirds of them reported that they reassessed the protocol on average after 5 months., Conclusion: This survey on the practices of the ophthalmologists in wet AMD highlights an improvement in the time course of patient management and an evolution of treatment schedules toward individualized protocols., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Background and Objectives: Wet AMD is characterized by the formation of choroidal neovascularization, mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and responsible for a decrease in visual acuity and metamorphopsia of sudden onset. Intravitreal anti-VEGF can stabilize or even improve visual acuity. Although there is a consensus among ophthalmologists about the induction phase injection of anti-VEGF, there appear to be differences in practice regarding therapeutic treatment modalities. The goal of this work was to explore this hypothesis and to better understand real life practices., Method: The Ipsos institute conducted a qualitative survey of 16 retinal specialists and 9 general ophthalmologists in September and October 2013, using a questionnaire developed by a scientific committee of experts. Fifteen telephone interviews and 4 face-to-face meetings with a retina specialist and an ophthalmologist were conducted. This qualitative study allowed the development of a quantitative survey of 200 retina specialists and general ophthalmologists, conducted between November 2013 and January 2014, to describe practices in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of wet AMD., Results: A distribution of roles between the ophthalmologist making the initial diagnosis and the retinal specialists responsible for treatment and follow-up was noted. Treatment was initiated within 10 days of diagnosis as recommended by the HAS in only one third of patients. After the induction phase of treatment, i.e. three monthly injections of anti-VEGF, treatment and monitoring practices were heterogeneous with 74% of physicians using a PRN treatment protocol, 22% a bimonthly protocol (with monthly monitoring in 19.4% of cases) and 4% a "treat and extend" protocol. There was little change in the protocol chosen in the case of recurrence., Conclusion: Three quarters of ophthalmologists report using a PRN protocol, and over 90% report seeing their patients monthly, either for injection or for a check-up. This apparent uniformity is in reality more complex: for the large majority, they prefer to closely follow the patient so as to treat the slightest recurrence, but with great variability in practices with regard to individualization of treatment., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To compare the quality of vision with an aspheric intraocular lens (IOL) with no aberration and an IOL with negative spherical aberration., Setting: Bretonneau University Hospital, Tours, France., Methods: Patients scheduled for cataract surgery were randomly chosen to bilaterally receive a SofPort Advanced Optics IOL with no aberration (no-aberration IOL group) or a Tecnis Z9000 IOL with negative spherical aberration (negative-aberration IOL group). Six-month postoperative outcomes included patient-centered visual disability assessed with the Activities of Daily Vision Scale (ADVS), contrast sensitivity testing, and wavefront aberration analysis., Results: There was no difference in the overall ADVS score between the 2 groups (P = 0.07); however, the negative-aberration IOL group had a better night-driving score (mean 82.7 +/- 15.1 [SD] versus 66.4 +/- 7.6) (P<.001) and the no-aberration IOL group had a better corrected near-vision score (mean 96.5 +/- 6.2 versus 86.2 +/- 13.2) (P<.001). Mesopic contrast sensitivity was significantly better in the negative-aberration IOL group at intermediate and high frequencies; the no-aberration IOL group performed better under photopic conditions at intermediate frequencies. There was significantly higher spherical aberration (mean 0.11 +/- 0.05 microm versus 0.01 +/- 0.06 microm; P = .001) and lower 3rd-order coma (mean 0.09 +/- 0.06 microm versus 0.15 +/- 0.06 microm; P<.001) in the no-aberration IOL group than in the negative-aberration IOL group, which had better MTF., Conclusions: Bilateral implantation of an IOL with no aberration resulted in better quality of near vision. A negative spherical aberration IOL provided better night-driving vision and improvements in mesopic contrast sensitivity and MTF.

Purpose: To assess the quality of vision in pseudophakic patients with aspheric intraocular lens (IOL) without spherical aberration compared to patients with spherical IOL., Methods: Twenty-four patients (48 eyes) undergoing cataract surgery were randomly divided into two groups: 12 patients received an aspheric IOL in both eyes and 12 received spherical IOLs. The integrity of ocular functions was assessed with clinical examination and multifocal electroretinogram. Postoperative evaluations were conducted 3 months after surgery. Refraction, best-corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivities, and wavefront ocular aberrations were analyzed. Patient-centered visual functions were evaluated according to the Activities of Daily Vision Scale., Results: The ADVS score was better in the aspheric IOL group (p=0.01), particularly concerning the best-corrected near vision (p=0.006). Refraction and BCVA were similar. Contrast sensitivities in photopic conditions was better in the aspherical IOL group (p<0.001). Higher-order aberration was not different, except from spherical aberration (p=0.022)., Conclusion: Patients with the aspherical IOLs felt they had better quality of vision, particularly near vision, compared with the spherical IOL group. These patient-centered benefits were associated with better photopic contrast sensitivity and reduced spherical aberration.

Nucleic acid fragmentation (footprinting) by *OH radicals is used often as a tool to probe nucleic acid structure and nucleic acid-protein interactions. This method has proven valuable because it provides structural information with single base pair resolution. Recent developments in the field introduced the 'synchrotron X-ray footprinting' method, which uses a high-flux X-ray source to produce single base pair fragmentation of nucleic acid in tens of milliseconds. We developed a complementary method that utilizes X-rays generated from a conventional rotating anode machine in which nucleic acid footprints can be generated by X-ray exposures as short as 100-300 ms. Our theoretical and experimental studies indicate that efficient cleavage of nucleic acids by X-rays depends upon sample preparation, energy of the X-ray source and the beam intensity. In addition, using this experimental set up, we demonstrated the feasibility of conducting X-ray footprinting to produce protein-DNA protection portraits at sub-second timescales.