International Conference on Eye Disorders and Treatment July 13-15, 2015 Baltimore, USA

Epee Emilienne is a Cameroonian ophthalmologist trained in Germany for undergraduates and in Zimbabwe for Masters in ophthalmology. She is currently a Senior\r\nLecturer in the Department of Ophthalmology in University of Yaounde in Cameroon and a PhD student at UKNZ in South Africa researching on ocular morbidity. Her area of interest is primary eye care.

Trachoma is one of the tropical neglected diseases. Its active form affects 84 million people worldwide and more than\r\n10 million people suffer from trichiasis. In Cameroon, North and Far North regions are affected with prevalence upto\r\n1.09%. Despite synergistic action for control and eradication of the disease programs are failing to have adequate adhesion of\r\nthe communities’ to surgical management of complications causing blindness. We aim at identifying the barriers to surgery.\r\nIn May 2014 after a surgical campaign, we undertook a descriptive qualitative and quantitative study and in the health area\r\nof Tourou. We sampled per convenience. Included were patients with trichiasis and entropion irrespective of age identified\r\nthrough the record books who refused to adhere to the surgical campaign present and available for data collection; With a pre\r\nprepared guide we had a deep interview with each patients in their homes when they consented. We included 30 participants a\r\nsex ratio of 1,7 in favor of females, They were all homemakers for females and farmers for males , living within 5to 10 km away\r\nfrom the health center, 36% had been having trichiasis and entropion for more than a year while others could not remember\r\nwhen it started. Eighty percent of cases knew what they had they had used drops or ointment seen traditional healers and had\r\nepilation for x y z cases respectively. Among the barriers came fear in 33% sociocultural beliefs rejecting surgery in 23% and\r\ntime in 13% of all cases. Lack of awareness about the benefit of surgery as management of trichiasis and entropion is the main\r\nbarrier not poverty neither access to the health center. Therefore precampaign strategies should consider communities beliefs to improve adherence to surgery.

Aim: To evaluate the performance of the color vision discrimination degree in binocular and monocular vision and comparison\r\nthe its differences either with dominant or non-dominant eye seeing in monocular condition among medical students with\r\nnormal color vision.\r\nMethods: A total of 52 students studying at Baskent University Faculty of Medicine including 33 males (63.46%) and 19\r\nfemales (36.54%) with the mean age of 21, 18±252 years (mean±SD) each of them have visual acuity of 20/20 and none of them\r\nhad congenital color vision deficiency (CCVD) were recruited for this study. Ishihara Pseudoisochromatic Plate Test (IPPT)\r\nwas used to evaluate CCVD. The color vision discrimination ability degree for the right eye (RE), left eye (LE) and both eyes\r\ntogether were examined using the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue (FM100) test. Total and local error scores were calculated.\r\nDominant eye (DE) was determined using the Gundogan Method. The total error scores (TES) from the FM100 test between the\r\nbinocular vision (BV) and monocular condition of both with DE and non-dominant eye (NDE) were compared. The presence\r\nof the binocularity and stereoscopic sensitivity (SS) were investigated using the TNO test. All participants divided into four\r\ngroups within a range of 480-60 arc/s. The statistical software; SPPS 20 (IBM Corp. Released 2011) and IBM SPSS Statistics for\r\nWindows (Version 20.0 Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) was used for calculations. All values presented as mean±standard deviation\r\nand frequencies. Repeated measures of analysis of variance were analyzed by Mauchy’s sphericity test and Box’s Test of Equality\r\nof Covariance Matrices. For comparisons of means of repeated measures Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance was used.\r\nIf parametric tests (factorial design for repeated measures analysis) dos not provide the preconditions, Greenhouse-Geisser\r\n(1959) correction or Huynh-Feldt (1976) correction was used for corrections to the Degrees of Freedom. The Corrected\r\nBonferroni test was used for multiple comparisons.\r\nResults: The color vision discrimination ability degree of all students TES of BV, DE and NDE were found 61.22±30.32, 58.80±\r\n29.92 and 68.44±31.46 respectively. The differences were no significant between each group. (p=0.189) the blue/yellow (b/y)\r\nlocal error scores of BV, DE and NDE were 35.80±19.32, 34.68±18.95 and 36.24±17.56 respectively, the differences were not\r\nstatistically significant either. (p=0.412) The red/green (r/g) local error scores of BV, DE and NDE detected were 25.42±14.65,\r\n24.12±14.70 and 32.20± 14.21. The error score of NDE was significantly higher than that of other two groups (p=0.009). Even\r\nnot sported statistically the error scores of DE were lower even than BV for each spectrum. All individuals’BV, DE and NDE\r\nFM100 test of TES were detected according to stereoscopic degree in which participant with 480 arc/s Stereoscopic Sensivity\r\n(SS) have 61.32±30.63, 59.22±29.89, 68.10±32.13, subject with 240 arc/s in SS have 61.32±30.63, 59.22±29.89, 68.10±32.13\r\nin 120 arc/s SS, 60.75±31.12, 58.48±29.77, 66.24±31.49 and with 60 arc/s SS have 61.59±30.96, 59.02±29.90, 66.15±31.85\r\nrespectively. The differences were not significant in each stereoscopic level.\r\nConclusion: In normal subjects without CCVD the color vision discrimination was lower in NDE than in both DE and in\r\nBV for each spectrum but it is only significant in R/G spectrum. According to our research result R/G spectrum is the most\r\naffected one by eye dominance. The further studies are necessary to evaluate our research results, the reason of inhibiting DE’s\r\ncolor vision discrimination ability in binocular seeing position. According to our research, FM100 tests showed no correlation\r\nin terms of mean TES with the depth perception evaluated with the test based on color perception

Pachiappan Arjunan has completed his PhD from National University of Singapore (NUS) and postdoctoral training from National Eye Institute/NIH. He is a Junior Faculty\r\nin the Dept. of Periodontics at GRU. He has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an honorable consulting editor of Eye and Brain,\r\npermanent reviewer of JoVE, and volunteer reviewer for more than 10 journals etc.

Despite its early discovery and high sequence homology to the other VEGF family members, the molecular mechanism of\r\nVEGF-B in retinal degeneration in a disease model of retinitis pigmentosa has not been delineated yet. Thus, we aimed to\r\ntest our hypothesis that either VEGF-B functions as a potent photoreceptors survival or rescue factor in retinal degenerative\r\ndisease. We used different animal models and cultured cells to show that VEGF-B is a potent neuro protective and survival\r\nfactor. Retinal thickness was measured by IF and H&E staining in VEGF-B, treated rd1 and VEGF-B-/- mice retinae compared\r\nwith their respective controls. VEGF-B regulated genes related to neurotrophic/survival, angiogenic, apoptotic, antioxidants\r\n& oxidative stress were tested using microarray, pathway focused PCR-array, qPCR and western. Role of VEGF-B mediated\r\nsurvival of photoreceptors were examined after VEGF-B and H2O2 treatment. Increased retinal thickness was observed in\r\nVEGF-B treatment whereas reduced in VEGFB-/- mice. VEGF-B activates the expression of the protein and antioxidant\r\ndefense, cell survival related genes whereas inhibits oxidative damage, cell death related genes in rd1 mic retinae. Western and\r\nIF confirms VEGF-B specificity and increased rho-4D2 positivity, respectively, in VEGF-B treated rd1 mice retina. Our finding\r\nshows that VEGF-B treatment up-regulates the array of survival & antioxidant related genes, which activates the glutathione\r\ndefense system and rescues and protect the retinal photoreceptor cells in rd1 mice. Thus, our data demonstrates VEGF-B\r\nplay a pivotal role in conserving/survival under pathological condition and may be of therapeutic value in treating retinal\r\ndegenerative disease.

Emanuela Canzano has graduated with honors in Orthoptics and Ophthalmic Assistance in 2006 at the University of “G D’Annunzio” in Chieti (Italy). She has completed\r\nseveral Masters and other courses of specialization in Italy and abroad where she acquired diagnostic, rehabilitative and surgical skills. She has technical skills in performing\r\ndiagnostic tests ophthalmologic as fluorescein angiography, HRT, Matrix, OCT, microperimetry, electrophysiology, visual fields (binocular, manual, computerized), automatic\r\nrefractometer I, ophthalmometry, tonometry, corneal map, orbscan, pachymetry laser and digital, pupillometry and slit-lamp examination. In 2010, she opened her private\r\npractice in Italy, where she visits and make visual, muscular and functional rehabilitation. She has 7 years of experience in optical stores.

The visual system is the anatomical-functional entity whose aim is to allow the vision as a whole resulting from a complex\r\ncombination of elementary functions. To guarantee this, there is also a neuro-muscular system that allows the eyes to move\r\nin a synchronous way during the visual exploration. The visual stability of neuro-muscolar system is guaranteed by the six\r\noculomotor muscles. The most obvious sign is common to all neuromuscular abnormalities of the eye is an altered alignment\r\nof the visual axis (Strabismus): Eterophorias; Strabismus latent, i.e., not occurs through the process of merging eye (fixation\r\nof an object); Eterotropias: Fixed strabismus or not kept under control by the mechanism of fusion eye. Fusion is a process\r\nthat allows aI two eyes to work as a single organ, locate an object stimulating the corresponding points of the two retinas so\r\nthat it can appear only. The objective of this study is to assess efficacy of muscular rehabilitation and fusion for the resolution\r\nof symptoms and reduction of phorias/tropias with attached fusion deficit. We enrolled 50 subjects aged between 14 and 50\r\nyears. All subjects with eterotropias or eterophorias at angles over 15 prism diopters. All patients had large deficit of fusion for\r\ndistance and near and presented vagal ocular symptoms with nausea, dizziness, visual disturbances of night lights, difficulty\r\ndriving at night, unable to see 3D movies and discomfort in enclosed particularly crowded (Hypermarkets).

Epee Emilienne is a Cameroonian ophthalmologist trained in Germany for undergraduates and in Zimbabwe for Masters in ophthalmology. She is currently a Senior\r\nLecturer in the Department of Ophthalmology in University of Yaounde in Cameroon and a PhD student at UKNZ in South Africa researching on ocular morbidity. Her area\r\nof interest is primary eye care.

The causes of childhood blindness are largely treatableand avoidable if detected early and treated adequately. General\r\npractitioners are involved in the early step of children consultations, therefore contributing to the prevention of blindness.\r\nWe aimed at assessing the knowledge attitudes and practice of General practitioners concerning some childhood blinding\r\ndiseases in Cameroon. A cross-sectional descriptive study including registered general practitioners in health institutions\r\nin Yaoundé and Douala was undertaken. Using a structured multi point questionnaire, we assessed basic demographic data\r\nregarding the respondents and their responses to questions about cataract, glaucoma, newborn conjunctivitis, retinoblastoma\r\nocular trauma and refractive errors in 3 sections of knowledge; attitude and practice patterns. The data were analyzed by\r\nSPSS. An ethical clearance was obtained from. Out of 458 general practitioners in 30 health institutions 115 participated .The\r\nknowledge higher scores was 106 for refractive errors followed by traumas. The poor score was in glaucoma 78.In average half\r\nof the GPs have a salvaging attitude especially in trauma and neonatal conjunctivitis with respective scores of 110,5(96.08\r\n%) and 102,66(89.26%) With Exposure in posting 77, 91% (29,6) right attitude increases . Visual acuity is not part of the\r\nroutine examination by 80 GPs 69,56% irrespective of age of children. Practice pattern was good concerning cataract but\r\npoorest performance were with retinoblastoma11 (0,9%). In conclusion general practitioners are able to screen and refer for\r\nmost blinding eye diseases in children. A posting in ophthalmology during the training improve the practice pattern.