The authors observed 4 cases of retinitis punctata albescens presented in a family, namely, a sister and 3 brothers of 6 siblings. Typical fundus findings were found in all four patients. Under ordinary illumination, the perripheral visual field was within the limit of normal, but concentrically contracted in 5 to 30 degrees under the reduced illumination.
Humans ; Lighting ; Retinitis* ; Siblings ; Visual Fields

The use of succinylcholine chloride(Anectin(R)) prior to intubation, can cause increased contracture of ocular muscles. Therefore the authors studied the change of the squint angle under general anesthesia using pancronium bromide (Myoblock(R)) in 81 horizontal strabismus patients who had no neurologic disease and mechanical restrictions of eye movement. We used the alternative cover test and Krimsky method to measure the eye position under general anesthesia.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General* ; Contracture ; Eye Movements ; Humans ; Intubation ; Muscles ; Strabismus* ; Succinylcholine

Glaucoma screening is an important means of detecting early cases of glaucoma. It is particularly valuable if targeted either at groups who otherwise do not have access to the health care system or at groups who have the risk factors for glaucoma such as aging, being male and having a medical history of diabetes or vascular diseases. We conducted glaucoma screenings by tonometry and direct ophthalmoscopy in the outpatient department of ophthalmology at Korea University Haewha Hospital and in the homes for the aged that are located in Seoul between Sep. 1987 and Sep. 1989. A total of 282 subjects were screened in the outpatient department and 198 subjects were screened in the homes for the aged. Referral rate was 6.7% and 3.0%, respectively. Groups who have the risk factors showed greater referral rates than groups who have not, but they are not statistically significant(p>0.05).
Aged ; Aging ; Delivery of Health Care ; Glaucoma* ; Homes for the Aged ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Manometry ; Mass Screening* ; Ophthalmology ; Ophthalmoscopy ; Outpatients* ; Referral and Consultation ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Vascular Diseases

Glaucoma screening is an important means of detecting early cases of glaucoma. It is particularly valuable if targeted either at groups who otherwise do not have access to the health care system or at groups who have the risk factors for glaucoma such as aging, being male and having a medical history of diabetes or vascular diseases. We conducted glaucoma screenings by tonometry and direct ophthalmoscopy in the outpatient department of ophthalmology at Korea University Haewha Hospital and in the homes for the aged that are located in Seoul between Sep. 1987 and Sep. 1989. A total of 282 subjects were screened in the outpatient department and 198 subjects were screened in the homes for the aged. Referral rate was 6.7% and 3.0%, respectively. Groups who have the risk factors showed greater referral rates than groups who have not, but they are not statistically significant(p>0.05).
Aged ; Aging ; Delivery of Health Care ; Glaucoma* ; Homes for the Aged ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Manometry ; Mass Screening* ; Ophthalmology ; Ophthalmoscopy ; Outpatients* ; Referral and Consultation ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Vascular Diseases

Hypotony and choroidal detachment have been found to be the most common complication after trabeculectomy, with a mean onset time of 5.6 days. We experienced five eyes of four patients with glaucoma, which developed a flat anterior chamber, hypotony, and choroidal detachment two to nine days after technically uncomplicated trabeculectomy. After treatment with topical and systemic corticosteroids and mydriatic-cycloplegic eyedrops, four of five eyes showed clinical improvement within six days. The one remaining eye eventually improved after surgical drainage of the choroidal detachment and reformation of the anterior chamber performed on the seventh postoperative day.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anterior Chamber ; Choroid* ; Drainage ; Glaucoma ; Humans ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Trabeculectomy*

Apraclonidine(Iopidine, p-aminoclonidine hydrochloride, ALO 2145) is a peripheral alpha 2 agonist. We evaluated the effect of apraclonidine on IOP and its systemic or ocular side effects in normal subjects. We measured IOP, BP(systolic and diastolic), pulse rate, pupillary size, palpebral fissure width and checked the ocular side effects, such as conjunctival blanching, irritation, and headache, etc. Mean IOP of eyes instilled with 1% apraclonidine fell by 20 +/- 8.5%, from 15.5 +/- 3.9mmHg to 12.4 +/- 2.6 mmHg, 3 hours after instillation. The effect remained up to 7 hours after instillation(p<0.01). Mean IOP of the fellow eyes did not show statistically significant difference, compared with the baseline; but when compared with the placebo group, there was a slight but statistically significant difference(p<0.01) from 3 hours to 7 hours after instillation. There was no significant difference between the eyes instilled with 1% apraclonidine and the placebo in terms of the mean systolic and diastolic BP, pulse rate, pupillary size and palpebral fissure width. Conjunctival blanching was noted in 51.6% of the eyes instilled with 1% apraclonidine. Other side effects noted were headache(25.8%), lid elevation sense(16.1%), lid drooping sense of the fellow eye(6.4%), nausea(9.7%), and irritation(3.2%).
Glaucoma ; Headache ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure*

The purpose of glaucoma filtering surgery is to maintain low intraocular pressure byoontinuous filtration of aqueous humor. Filtration failure commonly results from scarring at the surgical site. Fibroblast plays an important role in the scarring process. Mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil are the antimetabolites capable of inhibiting fibroblast proliferation. In this animal experiment, the authors studied electron microscopically the effect of Mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil on the fibroblast proliferation at the surgical site. Posterior sclerectomy was performed to 9 eyes of 9 normal rabbits. Postoperatively, 3 eyes recieved subconjunctival injection of Mitomycin C, 3 eyes 5-fluorouracil and 3 eyes normal saline as a control. Additional one eye of a rabbit was used for observation of normol fibroblast. Animals were killed two days, four days, six days following surgery at the time of 12 hours after the last injection. Globes were immediately removed and processed for transmission electron microscopic examination. The results were as follows; 1. Normal fibroblasts in episclera showed dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). 2. Two days after operation, the fibroblasts were slightly activated. 3. Four days after operation, cytoplasmic organelles in fibroblasts were more activated. 4. Six days after operation, secreting forms of fibroblast were visible. The fibrillar materials of moderate electron density pooled in cisternae of RER, and the filamentous elements were in the periphery of the cytoplasm. 5. In Mitomycin C treated group, there was no remarkable change in the cytoplasmic organelles, but some dilation of RER was noted four days after operation. 6. In 5-fluorouracil treated group, there was the same feature as in Mitomycin C group, but milder. 7. Conclusively, Mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil are considered effective on the inhibition of fibrogenesis with lowering of fibroblastic activity.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Antimetabolites ; Aqueous Humor ; Cicatrix ; Cytoplasm ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Fibroblasts ; Filtering Surgery* ; Filtration ; Fluorouracil ; Glaucoma* ; Intraocular Pressure ; Mitomycin* ; Organelles ; Rabbits

Patient noncompliance with the physician's prescribed therapeutic regimen is a serious problem in glaucoma because of the possibility of blindness. In this report the compliance with medical treatment of 67 patients with chronic glaucoma was studied for 2 years and 45% of the patient was identified as noncomplier. The authors' observations relative to noncompliance were lack of the knowledge of disease and its prognosis, little concern about disease, side effects of medication, improper timing and increased number of medication dosage, long-term use of medication, improperties of the physician-patient interaction, and other serious medical disorder, etc. The noncompliance does not correlate with the patient's age, sex, education, marital status, previous surgery for glaucoma,concerh of family, and increased waiting time to see the doctor.
Blindness ; Compliance* ; Education ; Glaucoma* ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Patient Compliance ; Prognosis

PURPOSE: Telomerase is known to play a role of adding repetitive parts to chromosomal ending and to be involved in carcinogenic process through cell immortalization. The purpose of this study is to evaluate that restraining of telomerase activation can have killing effect on cancer cell and enhance susceptibility of cancer cells to anticancer substance. METHODS: The killing effect on melanoma cells was studied by using recombinant adenovirus that makes it possible to inhibit telomerase from getting activated, with such targets as two types of melanoma cell lines. This recombinant adenovirus was used combined with cisplatin, one of the most representative anticancer medicine to evaluate enhancement in susceptibility of cancer cells to anticancer substance. RESULTS: From the result of cytotoxic assay, it is found that melanoma cells have much resistance to cisplatin on the whole. In the case of using Ad-OA of recombinant virus alone, killing effect on melanoma cells was insignificant. On the other hand, when Ad-OA was used in combination with cisplatin, susceptibility of melanoma cell lines to cisplatin was enhanced. CONCLUSIONS: Ad-OA, recombinant adenovirus, could be used as a supplementary medicine in the targeted cancer gene therapy against cancer cell lines resistant to cisplatin.
Adenoviridae* ; Cell Line* ; Cisplatin* ; Genes, Neoplasm ; Hand ; Homicide ; Melanoma* ; Telomerase

Hyperosmotic agents such as mannitol are widely used in ophthalmology to lower intraocular pressure as a short-term or emergency method. The mechanism of action of these agents is not fully understood, but probably relates primarily to a reduction in vitreous volume. There are other theories of hypotensive meechanism such as hypothalamic-neural theory and altered epithelium theory. The author performed this animal experiment for the eletronmicroscopic study of ciliary epithelium after the intravenous mannitol injection. Five healthy adult male albino rabbits weighing 2.5 kg were used in this experiment. Four rabbits were administered 25 ml(2 gm/kg) of 20% mannitol and the other one was given 25 ml of normal saline as a control through ear vein within 5 minutes each. The mannitol group was enucleated 10, 20, 40 and 80 minutes after injection and the control one was enucleated 20 minutes after injection. The enucleated eyes were opened and fixed in mixed solution of 2% paraformaldehyde, 3% glutaraldehyde and 0.2M Milonig's buffer. Small pieces consisting of ciliary body were excised, postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in ethylalcohol and embedded in Epon 812. Thin section were stained with toluidine blue for general histologic study and ultrathin sections stained with 4% uranyl acetate and 0.4% lead citrate were examined with a Hitachi H-600 transmission electronmicroscopy. The results were as follow: 1. The ciliary epithelium showed normal appearence 20 minutes after injection of normal saline and was composed of double layered epithelial cells. The tight juctions(zonulae occludens) were present between nonpigmented epithelial cells. The active Golgi apparatus, numerous mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum and smooth endoplasmic reticulum were visible in the nonpigmented epithelial cells. The intercellular spaces were not dilated. 2. In mannitol group, no cellular necrosis was observed and cells were invariably present and apparently unaltered. 3. The intercellular spaces of ciliary epithelium began to dilate 10 minutes after intravenous mannitol injection, maximally dilated after 40 minutes and recovered after 80 minutes. 4. In view of the morphological changes of cytoplasmic organelles such as Goigi apparatus, the secretory function of nonpigmented epithelial cells after intravenous mannitol seemed to be inhibited maximally at 20 minutes and then recovered after 80 minutes. 5. In conclusion, the hypotensive mechanism of the mannitol on the ciliary epithelium was considered of secretory inhibition of nonpigmented epithelial cells besides diffusion by the osmotic gradient.
Adult ; Animal Experimentation ; Ciliary Body ; Citric Acid ; Cytoplasm ; Diffusion ; Ear ; Emergencies ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Smooth ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelium* ; Extracellular Space ; Glutaral ; Golgi Apparatus ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Male ; Mannitol* ; Mitochondria ; Necrosis ; Ophthalmology ; Organelles ; Osmium Tetroxide ; Rabbits ; Tolonium Chloride ; Veins