Quantitative assessment of breast mammographic density with a new objective method

Women with increased mammographic density (MD) have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. The purpose of our study is to evaluate an experimental method to quantify MD using a program (compatible with Windows XP, Vista and 7) which measures black areas as 0, white areas as 100 and grey scale areas with intermediate values between 0 and 100, depending on the "density" of the area. Digital screening mammograms were directly estimated with this method. Initial idea and steps of the program were based on a Mac utility used by our research team.

Effect of laser photocoagulation treatment for diabetic macular oedema on patient's vision-related quality of life

PURPOSE

To evaluate the effect of laser photocoagulation for diabetic macular oedema (DME) on patients' Vision Related Quality Of Life (VR-QOL) and to investigate associations between changes in self reported VR-QOL and changes in visual acuity following application of laser treatment.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study of 55 subjects who underwent laser treatment for DME. Eligible patients with no history of previous laser photocoagulation self-administered the 51-item field-test version of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ) prior to treatment and 3 months following the last session of laser application. Visual acuity was measured by means of the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy (ETDRS) chart. Multi-item scales rating different aspects of VR-QOL were compared prior and after photocoagulation and the change in questionnaire's composite score following treatment was correlated to change in visual acuity and other determinants previously reported as risk factors in the diabetic population.

RESULTS

Scale scores associated with general vision, near vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, vision-specific social functioning, vision-specific mental health, expectations for visual function and dependency due to vision were significantly improved following laser treatment. Multivariate models revealed that improvement of the NEI-VFQ composite score was significant in subjects younger than 65 years of age (p = 0.04) who received more laser burns (p = 0.02) and had worse vision-related QOL prior to laser treatment as expressed by the baseline NEI- VFQ composite score (p = 0.03). There was no statistically significant association between change in the composite score following laser treatment and stage of diabetic retinopathy, duration of diabetes or laser settings used during photocoagulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Photocoagulation for DME has a beneficial effect on patients' subjective perception of visual function. The use of vision-targeted health status questionnaires in conjunction with the clinical examination appears to provide a more comprehensive overview of individuals' daily well- being following laser treatment.

Management of pseudophakic retinal detachment with various intraocular lens types

In the last five years, 25 cases of retinal detachment (RD) after intraocular lens implantation were treated in the University Eye Clinic of Thessaloniki. The incidence of RD was lower with posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC-IOL, 0.46%) implantation than in the cases with anterior chamber IOL (AC-IOL, 2.6%) implantation. The successful reattachment rate was higher with PC-IOL (100%) than in cases with AC-IOL where the low success (87%) rate was caused by proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Therefore, the eyes with AC-IOL required reoperation more frequently, and the ultimate failure rate (despite multiple operations) was higher in the AC-IOL group. Conventional surgical techniques were used in the first procedure. In the reoperated cases, the most advanced techniques were used, such as vitrectomy combined with gas or silicone oil injection.