Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Asymmetry is a common occurrence in bilaterian animals, particularly human beings. Through examination of patients and their photographs during rhinoplasty, we noted wider left-sided nasal and facial features in most patients. This observation led us to hypothesize that this might be consistent to the whole body. METHODS:We conducted a study in 3 parts to test the question above. First, we analyzed operating notes of 50 rhinoplasty patients to determine the wider side of the upper, middle, and lower thirds of the nose. Second, we analyzed the width of the face and chest wall in 31 patients to discern any correlation between facial and bodily asymmetry. Third, computerized tomographic scans of the thorax and body of 48 patients were studied to measure the width of the hemithorax and hemipelvic bone. RESULTS:(1) Upper vault width was wider on left side (78%). Left middle vault width was wider (88%). The lower lateral cartilage, lateral crura convexity was more prominent on left side (48%), and a wider scroll area was found and trimmed in 21 (left) and 0 (right) cases. The alar base was wider on left side (56%). (2) In the body and face analysis, 64.5% had a wider left-sided face and body. (3) In the computed tomographic scan analysis, same-sided thorax and pelvis asymmetry was seen (85.35%), 33 and 7 of which were left- and right-sided, respectively. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:We observed generalized asymmetry of the face and body with left-sided predominance.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To identify biomechanical and topographic changes of the cornea during pregnancy and the postpartum period and its association to hormonal changes. DESIGN/METHODS:Prospective single-center observational cohort study. METHODS:Participants were 24 pregnant women (48 eyes), monitored throughout pregnancy and after delivery. Biomechanical and topographic corneal properties were measured using the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) and a Scheimpflug imaging system (Pentacam HR) each trimester and 1 month after delivery. At the same consultations blood plasma levels of estradiol (E2) and thyroid hormones (TSH, T3t, T4t) were also determined. A factorial MANCOVA was used to detect interactions between hormonal plasma levels and ocular parameters. RESULTS:Significant differences in corneal biomechanical and topographic parameters were found during pregnancy in relation to T3t (p = .01), T4t (p < .001), T3t/T4t (P = .001), and TSH (p = .001) plasma levels. E2 plasma levels (p = .092) and time period of measurement (p = .975) did not significantly affect corneal parameters. TSH levels significantly affected the maximal keratometry reading (p = .036), the vertical keratometry reading (p = .04), and the index of height asymmetry (p = .014). Those results persist after excluding hypothyroidism patients from the statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS:Hormonal changes affecting corneal biomechanics and topography during pregnancy could be thyroid related. Dysthyroidism may directly influence corneal biomechanics and represents a clinically relevant factor that needs further investigation.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:We studied changes in gene transcription after corneal crosslinking (CXL) in the rabbit cornea in vivo and identified potential molecular signaling pathways. METHODS:for 5 minutes (Group 5, accelerated). At 1 week after treatment, corneal buttons were obtained; mRNA was extracted and subjected to cDNA sequencing (RNA-seq). RESULTS:(Group 1) induced a more distinct change in gene transcription than the accelerated CXL protocols, which induced a lower biomechanical stiffening effect. CONCLUSIONS:Several target genes have been identified that might be related to the biomechanical stability and shape of the cornea. Stiffening-dependent differential gene transcription suggests the activation of mechano-sensitive pathways. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE/CONCLUSIONS:A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind CXL will permit an optimization and individualization of the clinical treatment protocol.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate if three dentin treatments improved mechanical properties of demineralized dentin. METHODS:Dentin slices were demineralized and treated with a universal adhesive, Scotchbond Universal (SBU), a cross-linker, Riboflavin (RF), and a calcium phosphate-based product, Teethmate (TM). The groups (n= 8 per group) were: Group 1: SBU, Group 2: RF + SBU, Group 3: RF + TM + SBU. Tensile tests were performed; stress/strain curves and E modulus were calculated. Differences between groups were assessed by one-way ANOVA and Duncan post hoc test. RESULTS:At high strains, no significant differences in E moduli were observed between dentin specimens treated only with SBU and those treated with RF + SBU. A significantly higher E modulus was observed in dentin specimens treated with RF + TM + SBU. In the presence of an adhesive system, crosslinking collagen with RF and TM addition significantly improved mechanical properties of dentin. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE/CONCLUSIONS:Restitution of mineral content into dentin, in addition to collagen strengthening, may significantly improve mechanical properties of previously demineralized dentin, when covered by an adhesive system in a reasonable clinical timeframe.

PURPOSE:To assess whether full biomechanical stiffening can be achieved with corneal crosslinking (CXL) when applying a reduced ultraviolet (UV) fluence during the standard irradiation time. SETTING:Laboratory of Ocular Cell Biology, Center for Applied Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. DESIGN:Experimental study. METHODS:). The controls were soaked with riboflavin but not exposed to UV light. Elastic (stress-strain) and viscoelastic (stress-relaxation) 2-dimensional testing was performed with a commercial stress-strain extensometer to quantify the biomechanical stiffening. RESULTS:Corneas crosslinked with low and standard UV irradiances had a significantly higher mean elastic modulus (65.9 MPa ± 15.7 [SD] and 67.1 ± 15.6 MPa, respectively) than controls (52.4 ± 12.3 MPa) (P < .001). Also, the remaining stress after 120 seconds of stress-relaxation was significantly higher after CXL with low and standard UV irradiances (159 ± 21 kPa and 158 ± 25 kPa, respectively) compared with controls (135 ± 20 kPa) (P ≤ .013). No difference was observed in low and standard irradiances between CXL conditions (P = .64). CONCLUSIONS:The UV fluence for CXL might be reduced while maintaining the biomechanical efficacy by using a lower UV irradiance and the same irradiation duration. This might open avenues in the treatment of extremely thin corneas.

PURPOSE:To evaluate the biomechanical stability of ex vivo porcine corneas after femtosecond lenticule extraction (FLEx) and small incision lenticule extraction (SmILE) refractive surgeries. METHODS:Forty-five porcine eyes were equally divided into three groups: Groups 1 and 2 were treated with FLEx and SmILE procedure, respectively. Group 3 served as control. A refractive correction of -14 diopters (D) with a 7-mm zone using either a 160-μm flap (FLEx) or a 160-μm cap (SmILE) was performed. For two-dimensional (2D) elastic and viscoelastic biomechanical characterization, two testing cycles (preconditioning stress-strain curve from 1.27 to 12.5 N, stress-relaxation at 12.5 N during 120 seconds) were conducted. Young's modulus and Prony constants were calculated. RESULTS:At 0.8% of strain, FLEx (370 ± 36 kPa) could resist a significantly lower stress than SmILE (392 ± 19 kPa, P = 0.046) and the control group (402 ± 30 kPa, P = 0.013). Also, FLEx (46.1 ± 4.5 MPa) had a significantly lower Young's modulus than the control group (50.2 ± 3.4 MPa, P = 0.008). The Young's modulus of SmILE (48.6 ± 2.5 MPa) had values situated between untreated corneas and FLEx-treated corneas. When compared to untreated controls, the stress resistance decreased by 8.0% with FLEx and 2.5% with SmILE; Young's modulus decreased by 5.1% with FLEx and 1.04% with SmILE. With a cap-based procedure, both anterior cap and stromal bed carry the intraocular pressure, while in a flap-based procedure, only the stromal bed does. CONCLUSIONS:Compared to flap-based procedures like FLEx, the cap-based technique SmILE can be considered superior in terms of biomechanical stability, when measured experimentally in ex vivo porcine corneas.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To study the mid-term effects of implanting a single intracorneal ring segment (ICRS) for treatment of mild to moderate progressive keratoconus. METHODS:This retrospective study was conducted on patients with progressive keratoconus treated with ICRS. The mean follow-up time was 15.2 ± 8.8 (range, 7-26) months before and 27.8 ± 7.5 (range, 18-35) months after surgery. Patients received no other treatment during this time. Of the cases studied, 59.1% had inferior keratoconus. RESULTS:Thirty eyes of 30 patients with a mean age of 27.5 ± 4.6 years were included in the study. Corrected distance visual acuity decreased by 1 line during the preoperative follow-up and improved by 2 lines after surgery (P < 0.05). Maximum keratometry (Kmax) of the anterior (2.39 ± 0.75 D) and posterior (0.33 ± 0.32 D) corneas at 3 mm and anterior Kmax at 8 mm (2.39 ± 0.95 D) decreased after treatment (all P < 0.05). The posterior Q value shifted toward a more oblate curvature (0.50 ± 0.52, P = 0.023). Decreases in anterior elevation at the thinnest point (5.22 ± 7.21 μm) and posterior corneal central elevation (8.89 ± 11.26 μm) were significant (both P < 0.05). Corneal thickness at the center (11.11 ± 12.38 μm) and thinnest point (15.89 ± 12.75 μm) increased after treatment (all P < 0.001). Other significant changes included postoperative decreases in the keratoconus index (0.12 ± 0.06), index of height decentration (0.06 ± 0.05), index of surface variance (27.32 ± 13.08), index of vertical asymmetry (0.42 ± 0.21), index of height asymmetry (8.42 ± 20.57), and an increase in the center keratoconus index (0.01 ± 0.02) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:This study demonstrates that ICRS implantation provides favorable mid-term outcomes in treatment of mild and moderate progressive keratoconus and can improve corneal indices compared with their preoperative states.