Modern vitreoretinal surgery is now one of the most effective tools for treating posterior segment diseases. Recent advances in the pathogenesis and classification and better indicators of visual outcome for idiopathic macular holes have led to a renewed interest in this clinical entity. Refinements in the techniques and instrumentation have led to improvement in surgical results. This article reviews the diagnosis and management of idiopathic macular holes.

Posterior scleritis is relatively uncommon and is often misdiagnosed due to its protean manifestations. We report eight cases of posterior scleritis to analyse the clinical profile, ultrasonographic and computed tomography (CT) scan features of this rare disorder. Fundus findings included serous retinal detachment, choroidal folds, retinal folds, subretinal mass, choroidal detachment, disc edema, and macular edema. There was associated anterior scleritis and anterior uveitis in the majority of the cases. In all cases ultrasound with or without CT scan confirmed the clinical diagnosis. All patients responded to systemic steroids except one who required immunosuppressive therapy. This paper describes the clinical profile of a series of posterior scleritis cases highlighting varied clinical presentation, and the role of ultrasound and CT scan findings in the diagnosis.

Our technique of pterygium excision with conjunctival-limbal autografting is described and the safety and efficacy of the procedure in India is analysed. Case records of 51 consecutive patients (53 eyes) who underwent surgery at our institute between November 1992 and September 1994 were retrospectively analysed. Recurrence was defined as fibrovascular tissue crossing the corneoscleral limbus onto clear cornea in the area of previous pterygium excision. 2 (3.8%) of the 53 pterygia (primary 36; recurrent 17) recurred, after a mean follow up of 18.9±12.1 months (range: 1.5-43 months). Both recurrences occurred within a year of follow up, in patients who were ≤40 years of age. No major operative or postoperative complications were encountered. The inclusion of limbal tissue in conjunctival autografts following pterygium excision appears to be essential to ensure low recurrence rates. The technique is safe, simple and inexpensive and is recommended for the management of both primary and recurrent pterygia in Indian eyes.

The relation between the prevalence of open-angle glaucoma and of different types of cataract on the one hand and the patient's season of birth on the other was studied with special reference to natives of the Indian Subcontinent. Partial comparisons were made with results obtained on British-born patients. Both primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and the mixed nuclear/posterior-subcapsular type (NP) showed a statistically significant variation with the month of birth for the Asian patients, but only NP showed significant variation for the European patients in a month-by-month analysis. The Asian data are examined from the point of view of seasonal variations in maternal nutrition and of low birth-weight babies.

In response to reports of an excessive number of cases of trachoma at the end of 1995 from the western parts of the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 837 children in the age-group 1-10 years were examined in three villages from where the maximum number of cases hailed. Clinically, the prevalence of trachoma was found to be 8.5% (71). The prevalence was significantly higher in males as compared to females (p < 0.05); and was observed to increase with age. 85.9% (61) of the clinically diagnosed children were active infective cases. 54.9% (39) of the clinically diagnosed cases showed the presence of antigen in the upper tarsal conjunctival scraping from the affected eye, using the Chlamydia trachomatis direct specimen kit (Syva MicroTrak, UK). It was concluded that ophthalmologists must be reoriented to the clinical diagnosis of trachoma to prevent overdiagnosis.

The present study was designed as a hospital-based, group-matched, case-control investigation into the risk factors associated with age-related cataract in central India. The study included 262 cases of age-related cataract and an equal number of controls. A total of 21 risk factors were evaluated: namely, low socioeconomic status (SES), illiteracy, marital status, history of diarrhoea, history of diabetes, glaucoma, use of cholinesterase inhibitors, steroids, spironolactone, nifedipine, analgesics, myopia early in life, renal failure, heavy smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, hypertension, low body mass index (BMI), use of cheaper cooking fuel, working in direct sunlight, family history of cataract, and occupational exposure. In univariate analysis, except marital status, low BMI, renal failure, use of steroids, spironolactone, analgesics, and occupational exposure, all 14 other risk factors were found significantly associated with age-related cataract. Unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed the significance of low SES, illiteracy, history of diarrhoea, diabetes, glaucoma, myopia, smoking, hypertension and cheap cooking fuel. The etiological role of these risk factors in the outcome of cataract is confirmed by the estimates of attributable risk proportion. The estimates of population attributable risk proportion for these factors highlight the impact of elimination of these risk factors on the reduction of cataract in this population.

Anterior chamber aspirate cultures were done for 66 patients who underwent either an uncomplicated intracapsular cataract extraction, extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior-chamber intraocular lens implantation, or phacoemulsification with posterior-chamber intraocular lens implantation. The aspirate was obtained at the time of wound closure. The aspirates were immediately transferred to the microbiology laboratory where one drop of the aspirate was placed on a glass slide for gram stain, and the remainder was unequally divided and inoculated into blood agar, chocolate agar and thioglycolate broth. The cultures were incubated at 37° C with 5% CO₂ and held for 5 days. Of 66 patients 4 (6%), had smear-positive anterior chamber aspirates. None of the aspirates showed any growth on any of the 3 culture media used. None of the eyes in the study developed endophthalmitis. This study concludes that there is no contamination of the anterior chamber by viable bacteria after cataract surgery, irrespective of the mode of intervention.

The biochemical mechanism(s) underlying brunescent cataracts remain unclear. Oxidative stress due to reactive oxygen species may have a role in the pigmentation process in eye lens. We have analysed human cataractous lenses for flavins by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), since flavins are light sensitive and act as endogenous sensitizers generating reactive oxygen species in the eye. The most significant observation in this study is that higher levels of flavin nucleotides occur in brown lens compared to yellow lens. The concentration of flavin nucleotides (flavin monouncleotide, FMN + flavin adenine dinucleotide, FAD) was highest in the nuclear region of the lens followed by the cortical and capsule-epithelial regions. However, the ratio of FAD/FMN was lowest in the nuclear region of the lens followed by other regions. On the other hand, riboflavin was not detected in any of the lens (cataractous) regions. These results suggest that the observed increase in flavin nucleotides in the ocular tissue could contribute towards deepening of lens pigmentation.

Changes in the closed, open and reflex eye tear proteins of normal subjects were compared and analysed. Tear proteins were resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) utilising both gel filtration (P-300 SW) and reverse-phase (C-18) columns and the HPLC fractions were further analysed by sodium dodecyl sulphate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) under reducing and non-reducing conditions. The protein composition of the closed-eye tear was significantly different from that of the open and reflex-eye tear. Secretory IgA (sIgA) was the predominant protein in closed eye tears constituting 49% of the total protein compared to 11% in reflex tears, whereas lysozyme was the predominant protein (53%) in reflex tears. Levels of lactoferrin, lipocalin and lysozyme were relatively constant in both open and reflex tears. HPLC profiles of the closed-eye tears, upon continuous stimulation of lacrimal glands indicated that sIgA was significantly reduced whereas lactoferrin, lipocalin, and lysozyme were significantly increased. These results indicate that the tear composition upon waking attains that of the open eye within 4 to 5 minutes, and upon continuous stimulation this reflects the reflex-eye tear composition. It also indicates that mechanisms responsible for changes in concentration of constitutive and regulated tear protein with stimulus can be studied successfully using non-invasive methods to collect human tears.

Writing a scientific article requires proper planning and a methodical approach. This article provides practical tips to organize the materials before writing, and discusses how to approach the writing of different parts of an article; that is, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. It also provides guidelines on authorship, citing references, selecting photographs, tables and legends, and finally on style, grammar and syntax.

Gonioscopy forms part of a complete ophthalmic examination and is mandatory for the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. Gonioscopy permits identification of eyes at risk for closure and detects angle abnormalities that could have diagnostic and therapeutic implications. The technique of gonioscopy, its value in management, and guidelines for routine use are discussed in this paper.

With the continuing high magnitude of blindness in India, fresh approaches are needed to effectively deal with this burden on society. The International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care (ICARE) has been established at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad to develop such an approach. This paper describes how ICARE functions to meet its objective. The three major functions of ICARE are design and implementation of rural eye-care centres, human resource development for eye care, and community eye-health planning. ICARE works with existing eye-care centres, as well as those being planned, in underserved areas of India and other parts of the developing world. The approach being developed by ICARE, along with its partners, to reduce blindness is that of comprehensive eye care with due emphasis on preventive, curative and rehabilitative aspects. This approach involves the community in which blindness is sought to be reduced by understanding how the people perceive eye health and the barriers to eye care, thereby enabling development of strategies to prevent blindness. Emphasis is placed on providing good-quality eye care with attention to reasonable infrastructure and equipment, developing a resource of adequately trained eye-care professionals of all cadres, developing a professional environment satisfactory for patients as well as eye-care providers, and the concept of good management and financial self-sustainability. Community-based rehabilitation of those with incurable blindness is also part of this approach. ICARE plans to work intensively with its partners and develop these concepts further, thereby effectively bringing into practice the concept of comprehensive eye care for the community in underserved parts of India, and later in other parts of the developing world. In addition, ICARE is involved in assessing the current situation regarding the various aspects of blindness through well-designed epidemiologic studies, and projecting the eye-care needs for the future with the help of reliable information. With balanced attention to infrastructure, manpower, financial self-sustenance, and future planning, ICARE intends to develop a practical model to effectively reduce blindness in India on a long-term basis.