Conjunctivitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Conjunctivitis, including details on pink eye, symptoms, causes, treatment, medication.

Comparison of clinical and photographic assessment of trachoma.

Roper KG, Taylor HR

National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to determine the rates of trachoma in Aboriginal communities and to compare clinical assessment with photographic assessment for the presence of signs of trachoma. METHODS: Five Aboriginal communities in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia, were assessed for the presence of trachoma. Trachoma was diagnosed by clinical eye examination using a fine grading based on the World Health Organization (WHO) simplified grading system. Photographs were taken of the left eye of every person and graded using the fine grading system. The clinical assessment was compared with the photographic assessment for each person using the fine grading system. RESULTS: A total of 1316 people out of 1545 (85.2%) were screened for trachoma from five communities, with 1254 photographs being compared with clinical assessment scores. The overall prevalence of active trachoma was greater than 10% across the five communities, and greater than 20% in two communities. CONCLUSION: Active trachoma in young people and scarring in older people remain as problems in Aboriginal communities. Photographic assessment is a useful technique, but in comparison with clinical assessment it can result in overestimation of scoring for trachoma for inflammation.

Published 27 May 2009 in Br J Ophthalmol, 93(6): 811-4.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 27 May 2009:

Hyperexpression of the high-affinity IgE receptor-beta chain in chronic allergic keratoconjunctivitis.   Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 50(6): 2871-7.

PURPOSE: Although the existence of Fc(epsilon)RI-alphabetagamma(2) and Fc(epsilon)RI-alphagamma(2) receptor subtypes was reported, there has been no direct evidence of these two subtypes of Fc(epsilon)RI in vivo. To investigate the existence of these two subtypes of Fc(epsilon)RI in vivo, the authors evaluated the expression of Fc(epsilon)RI-beta in the giant papillae of chronic allergic conjunctivitis and compared the expression level of Fc(epsilon)RI-beta with control conjunctivae using the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 25 May 2009:

Successful treatment of Stevens-Johnson syndrome with steroid pulse therapy at disease onset.   Am J Ophthalmol, 147(6): 1004-11, 1011.e1.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the visual prognosis of patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and its severe variant, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), followed by general and topical high-dose corticosteroids administration from disease onset. DESIGN: Prospective, observational case series. METHODS: Between May 1, 2003 and June 30, 2005, we enrolled 5 patients with SJS or TEN with ocular complications at the acute stage. Intravenous pulse therapy with methylprednisolone (steroid pulse therapy; 500 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 27 April 2009:

Trachoma: global magnitude of a preventable cause of blindness.   Br J Ophthalmol, 93(5): 563-8.

OBJECTIVES: Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. It is known to be highly correlated with poverty, limited access to healthcare services and water. In 2003, the WHO estimated that 84 million people were suffering from active trachoma, and 7.6 million were severely visually impaired or blind as a result of trachoma: this study provides an updated estimate of the global prevalence of trachoma based on the most recent information available. METHODS: A literature search ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 23 April 2009:

A new model of experimental autoimmune keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) induced in Lewis rat by the autoantigen Klk1b22.   Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 50(5): 2245-54.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to generate an inducible autoimmune model of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) for study of pathogenesis of the disease. METHODS: Lewis rats were immunized with a mixture of lacrimal and salivary gland extract or recombinant mouse protein kallikrein 1b22 (Klk1b22) emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). For disease induction by adoptive transfer of primed cells, donor rats were received with T-cell blasts. KCS were observed by either clinical signs or ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 6 April 2009:

Diagnosis and treatment of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis with ocular complications.   Ophthalmology, 116(4): 685-90.

PURPOSE: To present a detailed clarification of the symptoms at disease onset of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and its more severe variant, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), with ocular complications and to clarify the relationship between topical steroid use and visual prognosis. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-four patients with SJS and TEN with ocular complications. METHODS: A structured interview, examination of the patient medical records, or both addressing clinical ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 2 April 2009:

Tear fluid concentration of mmp-8 is elevated in non-allergic eosinophilic conjunctivitis and correlates with conjunctival inflammatory cell infiltration.   Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 247(5): 681-6.

BACKGROUND: To investigate tear fluid concentration of matrix metalloproteinase 8 (MMP-8) and its relation to conjunctival inflammatory cell infiltration in persistent non-allergic eosinophilic conjunctivitis (NAEC). METHODS: Two groups were included: 26 consecutive adult patients with NAEC (conjunctival eosinophils at least 1+ [1-10 eosinophils/slide], skin prick test [SPT] to common allergens negative), and 26 asymptomatic adult persons (no conjunctival eosinophils, SPT negative). MMP-8 tear ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 30 March 2009:

Assessment of herd protection against trachoma due to repeated mass antibiotic distributions: a cluster-randomised trial.   Lancet, 373(9669): 1111-8.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma-control programmes distribute oral azithromycin to treat the ocular strains of chlamydia that cause the disease and to control infection. Theoretically, elimination of infection is feasible if untreated individuals receive an indirect protective effect from living in repeatedly treated communities, which is similar to herd protection in vaccine programmes. We assessed indirect protection against trachoma with mass azithromycin distributions. METHODS: In a cluster randomised ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Conjunctivitis published 26 March 2009:

Regulatory function of CpG-activated B cells in late-phase experimental allergic conjunctivitis.   Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 50(4): 1626-35.

PURPOSE: To determine how CpG, an immunostimulatory sequence, affects experimental allergic conjunctivitis and to determine the mechanisms of its action. METHODS: Experimental allergic conjunctivitis was induced in mice to investigate the suppressive mechanism of CpG treatment. Cytokine profiling, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses, and adoptive transfer were used to analyze suppressive mechanisms after CpG treatment. RESULTS: Administration of the CpG oligonucleotide induced ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

© 2004-2009 Conjunctivitis Research Today. All Rights Reserved.